EPIDEMIOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF 2019 NOVEL CORONA VIRUS: A REVIEW

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), having a high demise rate, which radiate from the Middle East. Novel Coronavirus is the causative living being for MERS and (2019-nCoV) was recognized infection by Chinese experts on January 7. On December 31, 2019, the WHO China Country Office was educated regarding instances of pneumonia of obscure etiologic (obscure reason) identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. Besides, MERS-CoV first found in dromedary camels and in bats, people. Proof recommends that animals are acting as host for MERS-CoV and transmitting the malady to people. Till the finish of November 2019, an aggregate of 2494 lab instances of MERS, were recorded which incorporates 858 deaths around the world. At present, no drug or immunization is accessible for MERS. As we knew that prevention is better than cure, taking precautions before attacking of the disease is the best way of preventing disease. In this study, we discussed about the pathological aspects, treatment strategies, and precautions of the disease

Particle Engineering Techniques: A Boon in Enhancing Dissolution Rate of Poorly Water Soluble Drugs

For any dosage forms enhancing dissolution is the first criteria i.e. it should give increased bioavailability in order to provide onset of action. In market many poorly soluble drugs are available which are having problem of low solubility. Low solubility of these poorly water soluble drugs are the main issue factor in preparing dosage forms of these drugs as with low solubility enhanced or effective dissolution to reach therapeutic effect is difficult. To overcome these problems there are main engineering techniques came in market which helps in enhancing the dissolution of these drugs. Some of the common use techniques are cryogenic, super critical fluid technology, evaporative precipitation into aqueous solution, nano- milling methods were developed based on the drug properties and required nanoparticles character. Making use of these techniques has increases the in vitro dissolution rates and in vivo bioavailability of many poorly water soluble drugs. This review highlights about the materialistic availability of particle engineering processes recently reported in the literature for enhancing the dissolution properties of poorly water soluble drugs. Keywords: Solubility. Dissolution Rate, Poorly Soluble Drugs, Particle Engineering Technique

Microemulsions: Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems With Enhanced Bioavailability

Microemulsions are preferred because of its advantages like low cost of preparation and enhanced bioavailability due to increased absorption of drug through skin which is achieved by adding penetration enhancers. Most frequently used permeation enhancers are saturated and unsaturated fatty acids like oleic acid . Microemulsions are the systems which can be used as a carrier to enhance the solubility of the drug and they protect the drug from oxidation, degradation and hydrolysis. As this system is directly applied on the skin, there is lesser risk of side effects like toxicity. Thus, microemulsions can be used as safe and effective dosage form to enhance the bioavailability of drugs in the transdermal drug delivery system. This article summarizes the structure of microemulsions, its components, merits and demerits of microemulsion system. Keywords: Microemulsion, transdermal drug delivery, bioavailability

An Empirical Examination of the Influence of Information and Source Characteristics on Consumers’ Adoption of Online Reviews

The growth of online commerce has given consumers a number of convenient options to shop from. This has led to the proliferation of e-commerce players that offer variety of products and services with customer-centric terms and conditions. However, absence of avenues to test the product(s) before buying, shoppers perceive inherent risk associated with online buying, especially related to products’ quality and features, terms and conditions of sales, etc. To overcome this pre-purchase dissonance and compensate for the lack of previous experience, they look for reliable information and guidance. Hence, to make decisions, e-buyers rely on the reviews provided by other shoppers. Therefore, it becomes imperative for e-retailers to determine antecedent factors that influence the adoption of online reviews. Using heuristic-systematic model, this study has identified the relative significance of information credibility, argument quality, quantity sufficiency and source credibility in influencing the adoption of reviews available online. It was observed that the two categories of influencers impact the reviews’ adoption albeit through the two mediators - perceived usefulness and perceived value of reviews. Theoretical and practical implications have also been highlighted. Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/pajais/vol9/iss1/5

Flotation of low-grade graphite ore using collector derived from low density polyethylene waste

The increasing wide range of applications of graphite for electrode, lubricants, refractory applications especially the recent surging electric automobile industry, resulting in significant need of graphite in future. Graphite demand in the energy storage industry is expected to grow 15 times faster than today's demand by 2030. Due to depleting high-grade ore, utilization of low-grade ore by beneficiation becomes utmost importance for sustainable development and resource management. In this work, low-grade graphite ore from Tamil Nadu, India with 86.84% ash was beneficiated by flotation technique for recovering graphite with lower ash content. Flotation, a surface phenomena, based on the surface hydrophobicity of the mineral surface to be separated and since graphite is naturally flotation mineral, this technique is adopted for beneficiation. The mostly commonly used collector in graphite flotation is diesel. In view of continuous cost escalation of diesel, an alternate collector was developed utilizing the low-density polyethylene (LDPE) waste paving way for plastic waste utilization. The flotation efficacy of this new collector (Collector PE) derived from LDPE waste was compared with that of diesel in graphite flotation. The run-of mine graphite ore was initially size reduced for liberation of values from its associated impurities, followed by flotation. The mesh-of-grind, dosages of collector (diesel and PE) and frother (Methyl Isobutyl Carbinol, MIBC) were optimized for better process efficiency for increasing the surface hydrophobicity of graphite particles leading to better separation efficacy. The ore characterization by x-ray diffraction revealed that graphite was accompanied predominantly by quartz with minor fractions of pyrites and several other phyllosilicates such as kaolinite and muscovite. Exfoliated morphology of graphite with thick layers were observed from SEM images. Flotation reagents such as diesel, collector PE and MIBC were characterized by FTIR to analyze their functional groups that enhances the efficiency of the separation process. A graphite float (rougher concentrate) with 15.2% weight recovery and 17.7% ash content was obtained after 10 minutes of grinding (d80: 240.5µm) with 0.85kg/t of collector (diesel) and 0.07kg/t of frother (MIBC) dosages and on two-stage cleaning, a final concentrate with 12.66% weight recovery and 8.70% ash content was obtained. A graphite final concentrate with 13.04% weight recovery and 8.90 % ash was achieved with two-stage cleaning, when treated with 0.57 kg/t of collector PE and 0.07 kg/t of MIBC. These results indicate that the flotation efficiency of the collector PE derived from LDPE wastes is comparable with that of diesel and would be economical when used in large scale industrial graphite flotation

FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF GEL LOADED WITH MICROSPHERES OF APREMILAST FOR TRANSDERMAL DELIVERY SYSTEM

Objective: The main objective of the present research work was to formulate and evaluate gel loaded with microspheres of apremilast to increase bioavailability and to reduce the dosing frequency and to improve patient compliance. Methods: Gel loaded with microspheres of apremilast was prepared by solvent evaporation method by taking different ratios of polymers. Ethyl cellulose as a polymer, dichloromethane solvent is used as drug solubility, polyvinyl alcohol as a surfactant, and sodium alginate is used as gelling agent. Prepared gel loaded with microspheres was evaluated for drug interactions by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry studies, and surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), to select effective one among all formulations. The prepared formulations (F1–F6) were evaluated for pre-formulation studies, spreadability, viscosity, pH measurement, gel strength, homogeneity, drug content, in vitro diffusion studies, drug kinetics, and finally for stability studies. Results: Differential scanning calorimeter studies confirmed that there is no drug interaction between drug and excipients. FTIR spectroscopy studies confirmed that there is compatibility between drug and excipients. Regular and spherical shape particles with smooth surface were observed in the SEM photographs. The optimized gel loaded with microspheres of F4 formulation (drug: polymer in 1:4 ratio) is more effective compared to all formulations. The prepared gel showed acceptable physical properties such as spreadability (5.86±0.54 g.cm/s), viscosity (568 cps), pH (6.33±0.55), gel strength (38 s) and drug content (90.00±0.71%). In vitro diffusion studies have shown 80.1±1.92% drug release in 10 h. Drug kinetics follows zero order kinetics and n value was found to be 0.721. Stability studies were done for 3 months. Conclusion: All the results show that the gel loaded with microspheres of apremilast can be effectively used for the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis

Pharmacognostical Studies and Preliminary Phytochemical Investigations on Roots of Sophora interrupta Bedd., Fabaceae

Sophora interrupta Bedd., is a woody perennial shrub which belongs to the family Fabaceae. Many species of this genus like S. flavescens Ait., and S. japonica L. are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Several phytochemical investigations on this genus revealed the presence of many bioactive constituents like matrine and oxymatrine alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides and polysaccharides which has medicinal importance. In view of its allied species, their importance in the Chinese medicine and in the absence of its scientifically reported pharmacognostical parameters, the present study attempts to undertake the study of qualitative and quantitative microscopic evaluation of the root along with physicochemical parameters and fluorescence analysis of root powder which helps to establish diagnostic characters and quality parameters for the identification of powdered form of root. Phytochemical evaluation of roots revealed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, glycosides and carbohydrates. TLC and HPTLC profile of Benzene extract was performed for flavonoids