COMPARISON OF ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF HONEY AGAINST AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC BACTERIA

Objective: To compare the antibacterial activity of honey against aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Methods: Honey is extracted from the honey comb by trained persons. Antimicrobial activity of honey is performed by Agar Cup Diffusion technique for 3 bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Clostridium perfringens. Results: By performing the technique with proper guidance, it is observed that the Staphylococcus aureus specimen shows sensitivity to honey whereas the other two specimens Escherichia coli and clostridium perfringens doesn’t show any sensitivity to honey. Conclusion: Due to its vast antibacterial activity of honey, it can be used along with other antibiotics to increase its efficiency

Electron paramagnetic resonance evidence for Jahn-Teller glasses

Single crystal E.P.R. studies of copper as a dopant in lithium potassium sulphate, lithium ammonium sulphate and lithium sodium sulphate have been carried out from room temperature down to 77K. The three Jahn-Teller (JT) systems behave very similarly to one another. The room temperature dynamic JT spectra with giso = 2.19 ± 0.01 and Aiso = ±(33 ± 4)× 10-4 cm-1 transform around 247 K to spectra characterized by randomly frozen-in axial strains with g = 2.4307 ± 0.0005, g = 2.083 ± 0.001, A = ±(116 ± 2) × 10-4 cm-1 and A = ±(14 ± 4) ×10-4 cm-1. We proposed that the low temperature phase (below 247 K) of each of these systems provides an example of a Jahn-Teller glass

Development and in-vitro Evaluation of a Topical Drug Delivery System Containing Betamethazone Loaded Ethyl Cellulose Nanospheres

Purpose: Lipid nanospheres are used for the passive targeting of cosmetic agents to skin, thereby achieving major benefits such as reduction of total dose and avoidance of systemic absorption. The present study was carried out to exploit the feasibility of using polymeric nanospheres as an alternative and cheaper carrier for targeting corticosteroids to the skin. Methods: Nanospheres were prepared from ethyl cellulose by a modified method of desolvation and cross linking. The drug betamethazone was incorporated into nanospheres and the drug: polymer ratio was evaluated to determine the carrier capacity of the polymer. In-vitro release studies of drug-loaded nanospheres were carried out by the centrifugal ultrafiltration method. The kinetics of release was determined and fitted to an empirical equation. The release of drug from drug-loaded nanospheres dispersing in a conventional cream was evaluated. A comparative in-vitro diffusion study was carried out between a commercial brand of cream and the cream incorporating nanospheres. Results: Formulation of nanospheres of betamethazone by a modified method produced discrete particles. Studies on drug:polymer ratio showed a linear relationship between drug concentration and percentage of loading. The in-vitro release of drug-loaded nanospheres was found to be first order. The comparative in-vitro diffusion study between the commercial cream and the formulated cream showed a marked reduction in release rate from nanospheres-bound cream. Conclusion: Formulated topical cream containing nanospheres of betamethazone was found to be a potential dermal delivery system for sustaining the release of the drug. Keywords: Nanospheres, desolvation and cross-linking method, ethyl cellulose, betamethazone, in-vitro diffusion studies.> Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research Vol. 4 (2) 2005: pp. 495-50

A Review on Adverse Health Effects of Laboratory Volatile Solvents

The main objective of this review is to describe the health effects of commonly used laboratory volatile solvents in institutional laboratories. The most commonly used laboratory solvents such as petroleum ether, methanol, diethyl ether, benzene, acetone, mercury, etc. are having moderate to severe health effects on user. The mode of exposure and duration exposure of volatile solvents has greater effect on user. In a laboratory, when students/ researcher doing experiment unknowingly they are getting exposed with volatile solvents which has grater health (adverse) effect. The severity of the adverse effect varies based on type of exposure and duration exposure. The undesired effects of laboratory volatile solvents are sometime irreversible and may cause life-threatening problems

Household Coping Strategies after an Adult Non-Communicable Disease Death in Bangladesh

When facing adverse health from noncommunicable disease (NCD), households adopt coping strategies that may further enforce poverty traps. This study looks at coping after an adult NCD death in rural Bangladesh. Compared with similar households without NCD deaths, households with NCD deaths were more likely to reduce basic expenditure and to have decreased social safety net transfers. Household composition changes showed that there was demographic coping for prime age deaths through the addition of more women. The evidence for coping responses from NCDs in low- and middle-income countries may inform policy options such as social protection to address health-related impoverishment

Plasma chemokines as immune biomarkers for diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis

Abstract Background Diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) in children is challenging due to paucibacillary disease, and lack of ability for microbiologic confirmation. Hence, we measured the plasma chemokines as biomarkers for diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis. Methods We conducted a prospective case control study using children with confirmed, unconfirmed and unlikely TB. Multiplex assay was performed to examine the plasma CC and CXC levels of chemokines. Results Baseline levels of CCL1, CCL3, CXCL1, CXCL2 and CXCL10 were significantly higher in active TB (confirmed TB and unconfirmed TB) in comparison to unlikely TB children. Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis revealed that CCL1, CXCL1 and CXCL10 could act as biomarkers distinguishing confirmed or unconfirmed TB from unlikely TB with the sensitivity and specificity of more than 80%. In addition, combiROC exhibited more than 90% sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing confirmed and unconfirmed TB from unlikely TB. Finally, classification and regression tree models also offered more than 90% sensitivity and specificity for CCL1 with a cutoff value of 28 pg/ml, which clearly classify active TB from unlikely TB. The levels of CCL1, CXCL1, CXCL2 and CXCL10 exhibited a significant reduction following anti-TB treatment. Conclusion Thus, a baseline chemokine signature of CCL1/CXCL1/CXCL10 could serve as an accurate biomarker for the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis

Ternary Cu2SnS3: synthesis, structure, photoelectrochemical activity, and heterojunction band offset and alignment

Ternary Cu2SnS3 (CTS) is an attractive nontoxic and earth-abundant absorber material with suitable optoelectronic properties for cost-effective photoelectrochemical applications. Herein, we report the synthesis of high-quality CTS nanoparticles (NPs) using a low-cost facile hot injection route, which is a very simple and nontoxic synthesis method. The structural, morphological, optoelectronic, and photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties and heterojunction band alignment of the as-synthesized CTS NPs have been systematically characterized using various state-of-the-art experimental techniques and atomistic first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The phase-pure CTS NPs confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy analyses have an optical band gap of 1.1 eV and exhibit a random distribution of uniform spherical particles with size of approximately 15–25 nm as determined from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) images. The CTS photocathode exhibits excellent photoelectrochemical properties with PCE of 0.55% (fill factor (FF) = 0.26 and open circuit voltage (Voc) = 0.54 V) and photocurrent density of −3.95 mA/cm2 under AM 1.5 illumination (100 mW/cm2). Additionally, the PEC activities of CdS and ZnS NPs are investigated as possible photoanodes to create a heterojunction with CTS to enhance the PEC activity. CdS is demonstrated to exhibit a higher current density than ZnS, indicating that it is a better photoanode material to form a heterojunction with CTS. Consistently, we predict a staggered type-II band alignment at the CTS/CdS interface with a small conduction band offset (CBO) of 0.08 eV compared to a straddling type-I band alignment at the CTS/ZnS interface with a CBO of 0.29 eV. The observed small CBO at the type-II band aligned CTS/CdS interface points to efficient charge carrier separation and transport across the interface, which are necessary to achieve enhanced PEC activity. The facile CTS synthesis, PEC measurements, and heterojunction band alignment results provide a promising approach for fabricating next-generation Cu-based light-absorbing materials for efficient photoelectrochemical applications