SHODHANA DECREASES NOOTROPIC ACTIVITY OF SEMECARPUS ANACARDIUM

ABSTRACTObjective: To evaluate the nootropic activity of methanolic extract of pre-shodhit and shodhit Semecarpus anacardium (SA) nuts and to observe theeffect of shodhana on nootropic activity of SA.Methods: Spatial learning and working memory was considered for evaluation. The parameters used were spontaneous alternation behavior(Y-maze), number of correct responses (radial maze), and transfer latency in day 1 (elevated plus maze). Scopolamine, an anticholinergic drug, wasused to induce cognitive deficit. % inhibition of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) was measured in vitro.Results: Both pre-shodhit and shodhit drug reversed the scopolamine-induced a decrease in percentage spontaneous alternation behavior in Y-mazeand number of correct responses in radial maze. Scopolamine-induced increase in transfer latency in elevated plus maze was significantly decreasedby pre-shodhit drug only. Shodhit drug has no significant effect on transfer latency. Both pre-shodhit and shodhit drug showed dose-dependentinhibition of AChE activity in vitro. Pre-shodhit drug showed a more nootropic activity than shodhit drug.Conclusion: Methanolic extract of the nuts of S. anacardium possesses nootropic activity which may be attributed to inhibition of cholinesteraseactivity. Shodhana of the nuts decreases nootropic activity.Keywords: Semecarpus anacardium, Acetylcholine esterase, Shodhana, Nootropic

Imprint of cyclone Phailin on water quality of Chilika lagoon

The very severe cyclonic storm Phailin, a category-5 hurricane, was developed over the north of Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 9 October 2013. Subsequently, it propagated towards north-northwest and made landfall at the Gopalpur coast, Odisha on 12 October1. Chilika lagoon, the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia, is in close proximity to Gopalpur

Modelling macronutrient dynamics in the Hampshire Avon river: a Bayesian approach to estimate seasonal variability and total flux

The macronutrients nitrate and phosphate are aquatic pollutants that arise naturally, however, in excess concentrations they can be harmful to human health and ecosystems. These pollutants are driven by river currents and show dynamics that are affected by weather patterns and extreme rainfall events. As a result, the nutrient budget in the receiving estuaries and coasts can change suddenly and seasonally, causing ecological damage to resident wildlife and fish populations. In this paper, we propose a statistical change-point model with interactions between time and river flow, to capture the macronutrient dynamics and their responses to river flow threshold behaviour. It also accounts for the nonlinear effect of water quality properties via nonparametric penalised splines. This model enables us to estimate the daily levels of riverine macronutrient fluxes and their seasonal and annual totals. In particular, we present a study of macronutrient dynamics on the Hampshire Avon River, which flows to the southern coast of the UK through the Christchurch Harbour estuary. We model daily data for more than a year during 2013-14 in which period there were multiple severe meteorological conditions leading to localised flooding. Adopting a Bayesian inference framework, we have quantified riverine macronutrient fluxes based on input river flow values. Out of sample empirical validation methods justify our approach, which captures also the dependencies of macronutrient concentrations with water body characteristics

CLINICAL EVALUATION OF APAMARGA PRATI-SHARANIYA (TEEKSHNA) KSHARA (LOCAL APPLICATION) HARITAKI CHURNA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ARSHA (HEMORRHOIDS)

Arsha (Hemorrhoids) is one of the most common conditions affecting peoples since time immemorial. The prevalence is equal in both sexes, peaks between the ages of 45 and 65 and declining thereafter. The main cause of hemorrhoids is constipation over a prolonged period of time and has to strain to pass stools, it can damage the lining of anal canal. Sushruta the Father of Surgery advocated four method of treatment of Arsha, which are Bheshaja, Kshara, Agni and Shastra. Under Sushrutas operative procedure local application of Pratisharaniya Kshara in the prolapse piles mass helps to reduce pile mass effectively (Ref.Su.Chi.6). It is safe, cheap, effective, simple, easily approachable procedure and ambulatory treatment and the patients acceptability is good to overcome such problem. Aims & Objective is to evaluate the clinical efficacy of Apamarga Pratisharaniya teekshna kshara in the management of Arsha. & to evaluate the safety of Apamarga Pratisharaniya teekshna kshara in the management of Arsha. Material and Methods: 30 patients were enrolled for the study within a period of one year and Teekshna pratisharaniya kshara was applied on piles mass intra anally under operative procedure with the help of a instrument proctoscope. Observation and result: Reduction in the piles mass evident by Inspection/ proctoscopy /Visual perception was observed remarkably.Bleeding and pain were also reduced remarkably in all the piles patient. 100% relief in bleeding, reduction of pile mass and total reduction in size of pile mass was recorded. Conclusion: Recently these Oldest technique advocated by Sushruta have been proven to be most effective and free from post-operative complications

Predicting Pair Correlation Functions of Glasses using Machine Learning

Glasses offer a broad range of tunable thermophysical properties that are linked to their compositions. However, it is challenging to establish a universal composition-property relation of glasses due to their enormous composition and chemical space. Here, we address this problem and develop a metamodel of composition-atomistic structure relation of a class of glassy material via a machine learning (ML) approach. Within this ML framework, an unsupervised deep learning technique, viz. convolutional neural network (CNN) autoencoder, and a regression algorithm, viz. random forest (RF), are integrated into a fully automated pipeline to predict the spatial distribution of atoms in a glass. The RF regression model predicts the pair correlation function of a glass in a latent space. Subsequently, the decoder of the CNN converts the latent space representation to the actual pair correlation function of the given glass. The atomistic structures of silicate (SiO2) and sodium borosilicate (NBS) based glasses with varying compositions and dopants are collected from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to establish and validate this ML pipeline. The model is found to predict the atom pair correlation function for many unknown glasses very accurately. This method is very generic and can accelerate the design, discovery, and fundamental understanding of composition-atomistic structure relations of glasses and other materials

Synthesis, Analgesic, Anti-inflammatory and Antimicrobial Activities of Some Novel Pyrazoline Derivatives

Purpose: Microbial infections often produce pain and inflammation. Chemotherapeutic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed simultaneously in normal practice. The compound possessing all three activities is not common.The purpose of the present study was to examine whether molecular modification might result in detection of new potential antirheumatic drugs having antimicrobial activities. Method: A series of novel 4-(5′-substituted aryl-4′, 5′-dihydropyrazole-3′-yl-amino) phenols 2a-f have been synthesized by treating substituted aryl-N-chalconyl amino phenols 1a-f with hydrazine hydrate. The starting materials were synthesized from p-aminoacetophenone. Their structures were confirmed by IR, 1H NMR spectral data. The synthesized compounds were investigated for analgesic, ant-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities. Result: The data reported in Tables 2, 3 & 4 shows that effect of variation in chemical structure on activity was rather unpredictable. Seldom did a particular structural modification lead to uniform alteration in activity in all tests. The substitution which appeared to be most important for high order of activity in the greatest number of test was the p-choloroaryl group. The introduction of p-nitro and p-hydroxy group in aryl moiety of the pyrazole analogs 2c and 2e produce compounds with potent analgesic, anti-inflamatory and, in a few cases, antimicrobial properties. Conclusion: The observed increase in analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities are attributed to the presence of 4-NO2, 2-OH and 4-Cl in phenyl ring at 5-position of pyrazoline ring of synthesized compounds. In some cases their activities are equal or more potent than the standard drugs. Keywords: Pyrazole, Analgesic, Anti-inflammatory, Antibacterial activity Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research Vol. 7 (2) 2008: pp. 961-96

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of some Anthranilic Acid and 2-Phenylquinazoline-4(3H)-one Analogues

In the present investigation a novel series of N-(phenyl) chalconyl anthranilic acids containing pyrazolines (4a–j), tetrahydropyrimidines (4k–o), tetrahydrothiopyrimidines (4p–t) and 2-phenylquinazolin-4(3H)-ones containing pyrazolines (8a–f), isoxazolines (8g–l), tetrahydropyrimidines (8m–r) and tetrahydrothiopyrimidines (8s–x) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, 1H NMR and mass spectroscopy. The title compounds (4a–t) and (8a–x) were investigated for their analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and in vitro protein denaturation activities. Compounds 4j and 8x were identified as lead compounds with optimum analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities.Keywords: Quinazolines, antimicrobial, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, protein denaturatio

Sink mechanism for significantly low level of ozone over the Arabian Sea during monsoon

Measurement of surface ozone over the Arabian Sea during the southwest monsoon season (June-September) of 2002 has shown an unusually low level of ozone with an overall average of 9 nmol/mol. Such a low level of ozone could not be explained by simulations using a three-dimensional chemistry transport model, Model for Ozone and Related Tracers (MOZART), which accounts for the known processes of advective transport and includes a standard photochemical mechanism. Thus, for the Arabian Sea region, we propose for the first time that destruction of ozone by reactive halides released from sea salt aerosols is the sink mechanism which played a crucial role in ensuring the significantly low ozone level over the Arabian Sea. Theoretical calculations constrained by observations have shown that, on average, ozone losses due to catalytic action of halogens and due to photolysis plus chemical reaction amount to 2.15 nmol mol-1d-1 and 4.64 nmol mol-1d-1, respectively

Distribution of hydro-biological parameters in coastal waters off Rushikulya Estuary, East Coast of India: A premonsoon case study

The hydro-biological parameters of coastal waters off Rushikulya estuary was investigated during premonsoon 2011. Important hydro-biological parameters such as water temperature, salinity, pH, DO, NO2, NO3, NH4, PO4, SiO4, TSM, Chl-α, phytoplankton and zooplankton were measured during the present study. Temperature established a strong positive correlation with salinity and pH during the present study. Chl-α found in positive relation with NO3, SiO4 and TSM. Analysis of variance revealed significant monthly variation in pH, salinity and TSM. Significant station wise variation was observed in DO and most of the nutrients i.e., NO3, NH4, PO4, SiO4. A total of 119 species of phytoplankton were identified of which 84 species are of diatoms, 22 species of dinoflagellates, 7 species of green algae, 5 species of cyanobacteria (blue green algae) and 1 species of cocolithophore. Phytoplankton abundance varied between 25543 (Nos. L-1) and 36309 (Nos. L-1). Diatoms dominated the phytoplankton community followed by dinoflagellates in all the months. Diatoms contributed to 82-89 of the total phytoplankton population density whereas dinoflagellates contributed to 6-12. The regression between Chl-α and phytoplankton abundance resulted with weak relation (R2 = 0.042). Zooplankton fauna composed of 134 species of holoplankton and 20 types of meroplankton were encountered during the study period. Zooplankton population dominated by copepod during all months and accounted for 74 to 85 to the total zooplankton. The population density ranged from 6959 to 35869 Nos./10 m3. Analysis of variance explained no significant variation in total zooplankton abundance and also for different groups of zooplankton

Oil pollution in Chilika lagoon: An anthropogenic threat to biodiversity

Chilika lagoon is situated on the east coast of India and is spread over three districts of Odisha, namely Puri, Khordha and Ganjam. The water spread area varies between 1165 and 906sq.km during monsoon and summer respectively. It is a hot spot for biodiversity, and the largest wintering ground for migratory avian guests on the Indian sub-continent