COMPOSITION OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL FROM MIMOSA PUDICA LINN.

Objectives: To determine the composition of the essential oil obtained from Mimosa pudica L. (Mimosaceae) Methods: The essential oil   of M. pudica was obtained by hydro distillation using a Clevenger apparatus and the chemical composition was determined by GC-MS analysis. Results: About 23 compounds were identified from the essential oil which constitutes about 98.92 % of the oil. Among the compounds identified phthalic acid dioctyl ester (27.76 %), α-Linolenic acid (20.34 %), Cinnamaldehyde (16.24 %) are the major compounds.  α-Linolenic acid is an n-3 fatty acid. Conclusion: α-Linolenic acid is one of the essential fatty acids, which is necessary for health and cannot be produced within the human body. Mimosa pudica L. (Mimosaceae) appears to be a promising herb to undergo a wide exploratio

Intern’s knowledge of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics at Puducherry: a cross-sectional study

Background: Internship is the intermediate period between under-graduation and general practice. The dexterity of health professional relies upon prescribing practices. Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CPT) is a crucial discipline for interns to acquire safe and rational prescription of drugs. Cultivating sound knowledge about CPT during under graduation is, henceforth, mandatory.Aims and objectives:To assess whether the undergraduate CPT teaching and internship training had prepared interns adequately for safe and rational prescription.To assess the awareness and reporting of adverse drug reaction (ADR).Methods: 110 interns were enrolled after obtaining informed written consent. A structured questionnaire was given to them including basic demographic information, undergraduate CPT teaching, experience of ADR and any deficiency in the under-graduate CPT teaching.Results: Response rate was 91 % in which 53 were males and 47 females. 81 considered themselves aware of CPT. 56% & 57% interns were able to prescribe drug safely and rationally respectively. Without supervision, they were confident to prescribe antacids (93%), vitamins and minerals (90%), NSAIDS (85%), antihistamines (82%), antibiotics (75%), antiemetics (62%) and antiasthmatics (52%). Only 22% had reported ADR and opined that it could lead to hospitalization (51%), prolonged hospital stay (33%), morbidity (16%) and death (21%). According to interns, the topics where more emphasis needed were ADR, dosage calculation, pediatric and emergency medicine and therapeutic drug monitoring during undergraduate CPT teaching.Conclusion: CPT teaching should be improved at undergraduate level for safe and rational prescribing including ADR monitoring, ADR reporting and dosage calculation

DOCKING STUDIES IN TARGET PROTEINS INVOLVED IN ANTIBACTERIAL ACTION MECHANISMS: ALKALOIDS ISOLATED FROM SCUTELLARIA GENUS

Objective: In the present work, docking study was performed for 22 selected alkaloids isolated from the genus Scutellaria to evaluate their affinity to bacterial proteins that are known targets for many antibiotics with a different mechanism of action: Inhibitors of cell wall synthesis, inhibitors of nucleic acids synthesis and antimetabolites.Methods: Molecular docking study was carried out using AutoDock 4.2 version and the visualization result using Chimera 1.10 and DiscoveryStudio 4.5.Result: Among the 22 alkaloids studied, with the DNA gyrase protein 1KZN and a dihydropteroate synthase enzyme 3TYE, the compound scutebarbatine E showed a docking score of −8.5 and −8.7 Kcal/mol, respectively, involving with hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions. With respect to MurD ligase involved in cell wall synthesis 1UAG and 2X5O, the compound 6,7,nicotinyl scutebarbatine G fared well with a docking score of −10.1 and −10.2 Kcal/mol, respectively. Scutebarbatine G performed well with respect to 3UDI with binding scores of −9.3 K cal/mol.Conclusion: Overall, it seems that for the selected alkaloids from the genus Scutellaria, the main mechanism of the action is the inhibition of cell wallsynthesis.Keywords: Scutebarbatine, Alkaloids, Molecular docking, Antimicrobial studies

Gadanki radar observations of daytime E region echoes and structures extending down to 87 km

Observations of daytime E region echoes extending to altitudes as low as 87 km made using the Gadanki MST radar are presented. The echoing regions display descending layer resembling the characteristics of tidal winds and show structures with periods 2–4 min having both positive and negative slopes. At the center of the layer where strongest SNR is observed, the velocity is maximum and spectral width is minimum. At altitudes slightly above and below, where SNR is relatively low, velocity is low but spectral width is maximum. Daytime observations of echoes extending to such a low altitude and associated structures akin to nighttime quasi-periodic echoes throughout the observational period are the most significant results, not reported earlier from Gadanki and other locations. Other notable results are large SNR (as high as 15 dB) and spectral width (as high as 70 m/s) at the bottommost altitudes, where collisional damping of the plasma waves is significan

Characterization of VHF radar observations associated with equatorial Spread F by narrow-band optical measurements

International audienceThe VHF radars have been extensively used to investigate the structures and dynamics of equatorial Spread F (ESF) irregularities. However, unambiguous identification of the nature of the structures in terms of plasma depletion or enhancement requires another technique, as the return echo measured by VHF radar is proportional to the square of the electron density fluctuations. In order to address this issue, co-ordinated radar backscatter and thermospheric airglow intensity measurements were carried out during March 2003 from the MST radar site at Gadanki. Temporal variations of 630.0-nm and 777.4-nm emission intensities reveal small-scale ("micro") and large-scale ("macro") variations during the period of observation. The micro variations are absent on non-ESF nights while the macro variations are present on both ESF and non-ESF nights. In addition to the well-known anti-correlation between the base height of the F-region and the nocturnal variation of thermospheric airglow intensities, the variation of the base height of the F-layer, on occasion, is found to manifest as a bottomside wave-like structure, as seen by VHF radar on an ESF night. The micro variations in the airglow intensities are associated with large-scale irregular plasma structures and found to be in correspondence with the "plume" structures obtained by VHF radar. In addition to the commonly observed depletions with upward movement, the observation unequivocally reveals the presence of plasma enhancements which move downwards. The observation of enhancement in 777.4-nm airglow intensity, which is characterized as plasma enhancement, provides an experimental verification of the earlier prediction based on numerical modeling studies

Simultaneous observations of ESF irregularities over Indian region using radar and GPS

In this paper, we present simultaneous observations of temporal and spatial variability of total electron content (TEC) and GPS amplitude scintillations on L1 frequency (1.575 GHz) during the time of equatorial spread F (ESF) while the MST radar (53 MHz) located at Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E, Dip latitude 6.3° N), a low latitude station, made simultaneous observations. In particular, the latitudinal and longitudinal extent of TEC and L-band scintillations was studied in the Indian region for different types of ESF structures observed using the MST radar during the low solar activity period of 2004 and 2005. Simultaneous radar and GPS observations during severe ESF events in the pre-midnight hour reveal that significant GPS L band scintillations, depletions in TEC, and the double derivative of the TEC index (DROTI), which is a measure of fluctuations in TEC, obtained at low latitudes coincide with the appearance of radar echoes at Gadanki. As expected, when the irregularities reach higher altitudes as seen in the radar map during pre-midnight periods, strong scintillations on an L-band signal are observed at higher latitudes. Conversely, when radar echoes are confined to only lower altitudes, weak scintillations are found and their latitudinal extent is small. During magnetically quiet periods, we have recorded plume type radar echoes during a post-midnight period that is devoid of L-band scintillations. Using spectral slopes and cross-correlation index of the VHF scintillation observations, we suggest that these irregularities could be "dead" or "fossil" bubbles which are just drifting in from west. This scenario is consistent with the observations where suppression of pre-reversal enhancement (PRE) in the eastward electric field is indicated by ionosonde observations of the height of equatorial F layer and also occurrence of low spectral width in the radar observations relative to pre-midnight period. However, absence of L-band scintillations during post-midnight event, when radar observed plume like structures and scintillations were recorded on VHF band, raises questions about the process of evolution of the irregularities. A possible explanation is that whereas small scale (∼3 m) irregularities are generated through secondary waves that grow on the walls of km scale size irregularities, in this case evolution of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability itself did not extend to irregularities of scale sizes of a few hundred meters that produce scintillation on a L-band signal

Direct correlation between the circadian sleep-wakefulness rhythm and time estimation in humans under social and temporal isolation

Several bodily functions in humans vary on a 24 h pattern and most of these variations persist with a circadian period of ca 25 h when subjects are studied under conditions of social and temporal isolation. We report in this paper that the estimates of short time intervals (TE) of 2 h are strongly coupled to the circadian rhythm in sleepwakefulness. There is a linear correlation between the number of hours humans stay awake (α) and their estimation of 2 h intervals. The coupling of TE to α appears to obtain only under conditions of physical well-being