FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF PARENTERAL METHOTREXATE NANOLIPOSOMES

Objective: The objective of the present study was to encapsulate Methotrexate in liposomal formulation for treatment of cancer. Conventional compositions of Methotrexate are available but in high doses showvariation in bioavailability and they are associated with a number of toxicities when administered orally. To overcome these problems, in the present study, inclusion of Methotrexate in parenteral liposomal formulation was approached with the aim of increasing retention time at the site of action which leads to improvement in bioavailabilityand better tumor targeting. Methods: In this study, PEGylated Methotrexate liposomes containing Hydrogenated Soy Phosphatidyl Choline and Cholesterol were prepared by thin film hydration method. The main advantage of PEGylated lipid vesicles lies in the possibility of active-targeted delivery of drugs to the tissues or organs that need those most. Attempts were made to enhance the encapsulation by use of non-ionic surfactants such as Tween-80, Tween-20 and solubilityenhancers such as β-cyclodextrin. The characterization of formulated liposomes was carried out by vesicle size, zeta potential, %free drug and in-vitro dissolution. Results: Formulation containing 10mg/ml of Tween-20 and 20 mg/ml of β-cyclodextrin showed highest encapsulation efficiency. The optimized formulation has exhibited more than 90% release of the drug within a period of 4 days. The accelerated stability studies (40±2°C/ 75±5% RH) of the Methotrexate liposome were conducted for a period of three months and the formulation was found to be stable. Conclusion: These results suggest that the liposome encapsulated MTX may serve as a useful targeted drug delivery system for effective management of neoplastic diseases

Assessment of GPS radiosonde descent data

Radiosondes are widely used to obtain basic meteorological parameters such as pressure (<i>P</i>), temperature (<i>T</i>), relative humidity (RH) and horizontal winds during the balloon ascent up to the altitude of balloon burst, usually ~ 32–35 km. Data from the radiosondes released from Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E), a tropical station in India, have been collected during the ascent and during the descent as well without attaching any parachute or its equivalent since the year 2008. In the present study an attempt has been made to characterize the radiosonde descent data with the main objective of exploring its usefulness and reliability for scientific purposes. We compared the data obtained during ascent and descent phases of the same sounding. The mean differences in <i>T</i>, RH and horizontal winds between ascent and descent data are found to be small and are sometimes even within the uncertainty of the measurements and/or expected diurnal variation itself. The very good consistency observed between the ascent and the descent data shows that one more profile of the meteorological parameters can be constructed within 3 h of time of balloon launch practically at no additional cost. Further checks are done by utilizing the 3-hourly radiosonde observations collected during the Tropical Tropopause Dynamics campaigns conducted at Gadanki. In the process of checking the consistency between the radiosonde ascent and descent data, several new findings are arrived at and are reported in this study. In general, it has taken more than half an hour for the balloon to reach the ground from the burst altitude. It is also observed that the fall velocity is close to 10 m s⁻¹ near the surface. Finally, it is suggested to record the observations also when the balloon is descending as this information is useful for scientific purposes

Expression Analysis of Novel microRNAs in Rice During High Temperature Stress

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs which play an important role in regulating the genes involved in plant growth and development. Several studies showed that miRNAs are involved in plants response to different kinds of abiotic stresses also. In our previous study, temperature responsive miRNAs were predicted in O.sativa. 27 miRNAs were predicted to be novel in rice using homology search. In continuation to our previous study, expression of 14 novel miRNAs was done in shoot and root of 13 days old seedlings of five different rice cultivars using real time PCR. Expression these miRNAs was analyzed in control and high temperature stress environment. Out of 14 predicted novel miRNAs, two novel miRNAs- miR157a and miR165a showed expression in all five rice cultivars. Interestingly, miR165a showed a differential expression pattern among heat tolerant (N22, IR64 and Rasi) and susceptible (Vandana and Sampada) cultivars suggesting that it might have specific role in high temperature tolerance

Influence of different methods of rice (Oryzae sativa.l) cultivation – SRI vs NTP on microbes, soil health and grainyeild

System of Rice Intensification (SRI) developed in Madagascar, a systems approach to increasing rice productivity with less reliance on expensive external inputs, is gaining momentum all over the world including India. IIRR has conducted a long term experiments in sandy clay loam soils (2008-09 to 2010-11) to compare the organic and inorganic sources of nutrients for its productivity and soil health in SRI vs Best Management Practice (BMP) of Normal puddled Transplanted rice. The superior performance of SRI with higher microbial biomass corbon (17.2 %) coupled with higher dehydrogenase activity (ug TPFg-1soil 24h-1) with SRI (182) as compared to BMP indicating soil health improvement. SRI method with organic and inorganic nutrient application yielded 15.66 to 22.76 %mean higher grain yield in wet and dry seasons respectively as compared to BMP indicating a major factor contributing to positive SRI crop results is that its practices (young seedling, wider spacing, inter cultivation with weeder, saturation of soil use of organics) respectively taken together, create conditions in which beneficial microbes prosper due to well aeration and improves the soil health

Role Of Kunapa Jala For The Overall Enhancement And Growth Of Prishnaparni

Vrikshayurveda is a traditional branch of botany that studies plant growth and development. This science mostly recommends using Kunapa jala and Pancha gavya to increase crop output. This idea is around using organic farming to grow plants effectively. Kunapajala, is an organic liquid manure that is a by-product of fermentation and serves as a source of plant nutrients, was stated by Vrikshayurveda. The two main forms of Kunapajala used in practises are herbal and non-herbal, and both are made in accordance with the steps outlined in Vrikshayurvedha. Given its significance, we designed a study to examine the contribution of the Vrikshayurvedha idea to the evolution of medicinal plants; Prishniparni. Present study evaluated role of Kunapajala in the growth and % yield of plant Prishniparni. This study observed that Kunapajala treatment provides best response with respect to root yield and soil physico-chemical parameters. The yield of plant improved quantitatively as well as qualitatively after the use of Kunapajala

Deep sequencing of small RNAs reveals ribosomal origin of microRNAs in Oryza sativa and their regulatory role in high temperature

MicroRNAs are small noncoding regulatory RNAs which control gene expression by mRNA degradation or translational repression. They are significant molecular players regulating important biological processes such as developmental timing and stress response. We report here the discovery of miRNAs derived from ribosomal DNA using the small RNA datasets of 16 deep sequencing libraries of rice. Twelve putative miRNAs were identified based on highly stringent criteria of novel miRNA prediction. Surprisingly, 10 putative miRNAs (mi_7403, mi_8435, mi_12675, mi_4266, mi_4758, mi_4218, mi_8200, mi_4644, mi_14291, mi_16235) originated from rDNA of rice chromosome 9. Expression analysis of putative miRNAs and their target genes in heat tolerant and susceptible rice cultivars in control and high temperature treated seedlings revealed differential regulation of rDNA derived miRNAs. This is the first report of rDNA derived miRNAs in rice which indicates their role in gene regulation during high temperature stress in plants. Further studies in this area will open new research challenges and opportunities to broaden our knowledge on gene regulation mechanisms

Possible mechanisms of hypotension produced 70% alcoholic extract of Terminalia arjuna (L.) in anaesthetized dogs

BACKGROUND: The bark of Terminalia arjuna L. (Combretaceae) is used in Ayurveda since ancient times for the treatment of cardiac disorders. Previous laboratory investigations have demonstrated the use of the bark in cardiovascular complications. The present study was aimed to find the effect of 70% alcoholic extract of Terminalia arjuna on anaesthetized dog blood pressure and probable site of action. METHODS: Six dogs were anaesthetized with intraperitoneal injection of thiopental sodium and the blood pressure of each dog (n = 6) was measured from the left common carotid artery connected to a mercury manometer on kymograph. The femoral vein was cannulated for administration of drug solutions. The extract of T. arjuna (dissolved in propylene glycol) in the dose range of 5 to 15 mg/kg were administered intravenously in a pilot study and the dose (6 mg/kg) which produced appreciable hypotension was selected for further studies. RESULTS: Intravenous administration of T. arjuna produced dose-dependent hypotension in anaesthetized dogs. The hypotension produced by 6 mg/kg dose of the extract was blocked by propranolol but not by atropine or mepyramine maleate. This indicates that muscarinic or histaminergic mechanisms are not likely to be involved in the hypotension produced by the extract. The blockade by propranolol of the hypotension produced by T. arjuna indicates that the extract might contain active compound(s) possessing adrenergic ß(2)-receptor agonist action and/or that act directly on the heart muscle. CONCLUSION: The results indicated the likely involvement of peripheral mechanism for hypotension produced by the 70% alcoholic extract of Terminalia arjuna and lends support for the claims of its traditional usage in cardiovascular disorders

Identification of promising lines for yield from IR64/Akihikari Recombinant Inbred Lines under low nitrogen

Not AvailableFor identification of lines with promising yield under low nitrogen (N), a total of 117 Recombinant Inbred Lines (RILs) derived from IR64, an improved and released variety in Akihikari as recurrent parent, were evaluated for two seasons dry (Rabi) 2014 and wet (Kharif) 2015 under field with low and recommended N. The difference between the mean yields of the low and recommended N in both seasons was not significant indicating the differential genotypic response under low and recommended N and the difference between the means of season was about 30%, indicating the role of the season in determining the yield under differential N. Out of 50 promising lines identified for low and recommended N, six promising lines were identified with yields ranging from 11.2 ± 0.65 to 18.3 ± 1.06 (Dry 2014) and 7.1 ± 0.41 to 15.4 ± 0.89 (Wet 2015) under low N suggesting the possibility of evaluation of the mapping populations as a promising strategy for the identification of breeding lines with promising yield under low N.Not Availabl

Expanding the simulation of East Asian super dust storms: physical transport mechanisms impacting the western Pacific

Dust models are widely applied over the East Asian region for the simulation of dust emission, transport, and deposition. However, due to the uncertainties in estimates of dust transport, these methods still lack the necessary precision to capture the complexity of transboundary dust events. This study demonstrates an improvement in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model dust treatment during long-range transport of dust from northwestern China to the South China Sea (SCS). To accomplish this, we considered a super dust storm (SDS) event in March 2010 and evaluated the dust scheme by including adjustments to the recent calibration (Dust_Refined_1) and bulk density (Dust_Refined_2) refinements individually and in combination (Dust_Refined_3). The Dust_Refined_3 normalized mean bias of PM10 was −30.65 % for the 2010 SDS event, which was lower in magnitude compared to Dust_Refined_1 (−41.18 %) and Dust_Refined_2 (−49.88 %). Indeed, Dust_Refined_3 improved the simulated aerosol optical depth (AOD) value during significant dust cases, e.g., in March 2005, March 2006, and April 2009. Dust_Refined_3 also showed more clearly that, in March 2010, a “double plume” (i.e., one plume originating from the Taiwan Strait and the other from the western Pacific) separated by the Central Mountain Range (CMR) of Taiwan affected dust transport on the island of Dongsha in the SCS. On 15–21 April 2021, both CMAQ simulations and satellite data highlighted the influence of Typhoon Surigae on dust transport to downwind Taiwan and the western Pacific Ocean (WPO). The CMAQ Dust_Refined_3 simulations further revealed that many dust aerosols were removed over the WPO due to Typhoon Surigae. Hence, the model indicated a near-zero dust particle concentration over the WPO, which was significantly different from previous dust transport episodes over the Taiwan region. Therefore, our study suggested an effective method to improve dust management of CMAQ under unique topographical and meteorological conditions.</p