FORMULATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF FLOATING TABLET DOSAGE FORM OF DUAL DELIVERY OF DRUG CURCUMIN AND BERBERINE HYDROCHLORIDE USING SIMULTANEOUS ESTIMATION BY UV SPECTROSCOPY

Objective: The present study was aimed to develop a combinational floating tablet of curcumin and berberine HCl utilizing synthetic polymers synthetic HPMC K-15M and evaluate its various characteristics. Methods: The formulations were developed by the process of wet granulation and evaluated for drug content, content uniformity, floating lag time, total floating time, in vitro buoyancy studies, and in vitro drug release profile. A simultaneous estimation method for curcumin and berberine was developed using U. V spectroscopy. Results: The results clearly indicated that the tablets produced were having acceptable physical parameters. The absence of any drug/polymer/excipient interactions was confirmed using infrared spectroscopy. It was found that the drug content of was in between 96.22 to 99.45 % in all the formulations. Because of their low densities, in vitro floatability tests showed that most of the tablets floated for more than 8 h. The in vitro release studies confirmed the sustained release of more than 80 percent of drug contained within a period of 8 h. In vitro buoyancy was good in all three batches (F1-F3). The overall floating time for the F2 formulation was 24 h. After one month of storage at 40 °C and 75 percent RH, the F2 formulation showed no noticeable change in physical as well as pharmaceutical performance characteristics. Conclusion: Floating tablets of curcumin and berberine was successfully developed and had passed on various pharmaceutical parameters

Arsenic in Eggs and Excreta of Laying Hens in Bangladesh: A Preliminary Study

The aim of this study was to detect arsenic concentrations in feed, well-water for drinking, eggs, and excreta of laying hens in arsenic-prone areas of Bangladesh and to assess the effect of arsenic-containing feed and well-water on the accumulation of arsenic in eggs and excreta of the same subject. One egg from each laying hen (n=248) and its excreta, feed, and well-water for drinking were collected. Total arsenic concentrations were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer, coupled with hydride generator. Effects of arsenic-containing feed and drinking-water on the accumulation of arsenic in eggs and excreta were analyzed by multivariate regression model, using Stata software. Mean arsenic concentrations in drinkingwater, feed (dry weight [DW]), egg (wet weight [WW]), and excreta (DW) of hens were 77.3, 176.6, 19.2, and 1,439.9 ppb respectively. Significant (p<0.01) positive correlations were found between the arsenic contents in eggs and drinking-water (r=0.602), drinking-water and excreta (r=0.716), feed and excreta (r=0.402) as well as between the arsenic content in eggs and the age of the layer (r=0.243). On an average, 55% and 82% of the total variation in arsenic contents of eggs and excreta respectively could be attributed to the variation in the geographic area, age, feed type, and arsenic contents of drinking-water and feed. For each week\u2019s increase in age of hens, arsenic content in eggs increased by 0.94%. For every 1% elevation of arsenic in drinking-water, arsenic in eggs and excreta increased by 0.41% and 0.44% respectively whereas for a 1% rise of arsenic in feed, arsenic in eggs and excreta increased by 0.40% and 0.52% respectively. These results provide evidence that, although high arsenic level prevails in well-water for drinking in Bangladesh, the arsenic shows low biological transmission capability from body to eggs and, thus, the value was below the maximum tolerable limit for humans. However, arsenic in drinking-water and/or feed makes a significant contribution to the arsenic accumulations in eggs and excreta of laying hens

Sperm Motility Regulatory Proteins: A Tool to Enhance Sperm Quality

Sperm forward motility is an essential parameter in mammalian fertilization. Studies from our laboratory have identified and characterized a few unique sperm motility regulatory proteins/glycoproteins from the male reproductive fluids and mammalian blood serum. The purified sperm motility-initiating protein (MIP) from caprine epididymal plasma as well as the forward motility-stimulating factor (FMSF) and motility-stimulating protein (MSP) from buffalo and goat serum, respectively, have high efficacy to initiate or increase motility in nonmotile or less motile sperm. Antibody of sperm motility inhibitory factor (MIF-II) has the high potential to enhance sperm vertical velocity and forward motility by increasing intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) level. The appearance and disappearance of D-galactose–specific lectin and its receptor along the epididymis has been reported to be involved in motility regulation in spermatozoa. A novel synthetic cryopreservation method and role of lipid to protect membrane damage during cryopreservation have been demonstrated. Motility-promoting proteins may be extremely useful for improving cattle breeding and breeding of endangered species, thereby helping in enhanced production of animal products as well as in the conservation of animals. Isolated proteins and developed cryopreservation technology may also be beneficial in human infertility clinics to increase the chance of fertilization

Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester Causes p21Cip1 Induction, Akt Signaling Reduction, and Growth Inhibition in PC-3 Human Prostate Cancer Cells

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) treatment suppressed proliferation, colony formation, and cell cycle progression in PC-3 human prostate cancer cells. CAPE decreased protein expression of cyclin D1, cyclin E, SKP2, c-Myc, Akt1, Akt2, Akt3, total Akt, mTOR, Bcl-2, Rb, as well as phosphorylation of Rb, ERK1/2, Akt, mTOR, GSK3α, GSK3β, PDK1; but increased protein expression of KLF6 and p21Cip1. Microarray analysis indicated that pathways involved in cellular movement, cell death, proliferation, and cell cycle were affected by CAPE. Co-treatment of CAPE with chemotherapeutic drugs vinblastine, paclitaxol, and estramustine indicated synergistic suppression effect. CAPE administration may serve as a potential adjuvant therapy for prostate cancer

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts

Impact of micro-credit programmes on poverty alleviation in Bangladesh

This present study examines the impact of micro-credit programmes of six government organisations (GO), non-government organisations (NGO) and micro-finance institutes (MFI) on poverty alleviation in Bangladesh using a purposive sample of 406 credit receivers. Alongside respondent’s perceived change in poverty situation this study devised an alternative measure of poverty change based on the change in household wealth and education of a household. Two-level binary logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression analyses suggest that amount of loan, different GO /NGOs/MFIs, satisfaction level, taken loan before and micro-credit as main means of asset change were the determinants of change in poverty situation. Significant community level variation was found in this analysis which indicates that the respondents from different communities with same set of characteristics will exhibit different influences on the change in poverty situation. Further research should be carried out to identify the sources of such variation to optimise the effect of micro-credit

DETERMINANTS OF FOOD INSECURITY STATUS OF FISHERIES COMMUNITY IN COASTAL REGIONS OF BANGLADESH

Food insecurity is a notable state of the well-being of people. However, the common determinants of food insecurity have nevertheless to be formally known, especially for the coastal region. This study aims to investigate the demographic and socio-economic determinants of food insecurity of the fishermen communities in the coastal areas, namely Galachipa, Kalapara and Dumki upazilas in Patuakhali district of Bangladesh. A two-stage cluster sampling technique has been used for getting the primary data (n=200). The food insecurity status was measured by using Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) suggested under the indicator of 2.1.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Logistic regression model has been used to identify the determinants of food insecurity status. Results reveal that families having larger number of members are more likely to be food insecure than the families with small numbers of members. Also, households having monthly income level below BDT 5000 are more food insecure than their counterparts. Another important determinant by which food insecurity is significantly affected is the education of household head. A range of viable policy interventions for the fishermen communities have been recommended. These include i) diversification of income generating opportunities, ii) improving education status of the community to enable to shift to safer employment when necessary, iii) building awareness on adverse effects of bigger family size through family planning campaign, and iv) providing skilled based training and necessary credit access among the unemployed members of the household

Arsenic residues in broiler meat and excreta at arsenic prone areas of Bangladesh

The aims of this study were to detect arsenic concentrations in feed, drinking water, tissues and excreta of broiler chickens in Bangladesh; and to assess the effect of arsenic in feed and drinking water on the retention of arsenic in broiler tissues and excreta. Total arsenic concentration (inorganic plus organic) was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Mean (± SE) levels of arsenic in drinking water, feed (dry weight) and excreta (dry weight) were 80.4 ± 5.5 µg/L, 119.0 ± 4.7 µg/kg and 1221.8 ± 58.3 µg/kg, respectively. In tissues (wet weight), highest arsenic concentration (µg/kg) was in skin (218.8 ± 11.7), followed by liver (102.1 ± 8.0), lung (96.3 ± 5.6), kidney (88.2 ± 7.5) and thigh muscle (67.8 ± 5.1). Arsenic in broiler meat was below the maximum tolerable limits for humans. Accumulations of arsenic in tissues and excreta were boosted with the relative increment of arsenic in drinking water and feed. High arsenic in excreta could be an environmental issue in Bangladesh

Arsenic in Eggs and Excreta of Laying Hens in Bangladesh: A Preliminary Study

The aim of this study was to detect arsenic concentrations in feed, well-water for drinking, eggs, and excreta of laying hens in arsenic-prone areas of Bangladesh and to assess the effect of arsenic-containing feed and well-water on the accumulation of arsenic in eggs and excreta of the same subject. One egg from each laying hen (n=248) and its excreta, feed, and well-water for drinking were collected. Total arsenic concentrations were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer, coupled with hydride generator. Effects of arsenic-containing feed and drinking-water on the accumulation of arsenic in eggs and excreta were analyzed by multivariate regression model, using Stata software. Mean arsenic concentrations in drinkingwater, feed (dry weight [DW]), egg (wet weight [WW]), and excreta (DW) of hens were 77.3, 176.6, 19.2, and 1,439.9 ppb respectively. Significant (p<0.01) positive correlations were found between the arsenic contents in eggs and drinking-water (r=0.602), drinking-water and excreta (r=0.716), feed and excreta (r=0.402) as well as between the arsenic content in eggs and the age of the layer (r=0.243). On an average, 55% and 82% of the total variation in arsenic contents of eggs and excreta respectively could be attributed to the variation in the geographic area, age, feed type, and arsenic contents of drinking-water and feed. For each week’s increase in age of hens, arsenic content in eggs increased by 0.94%. For every 1% elevation of arsenic in drinking-water, arsenic in eggs and excreta increased by 0.41% and 0.44% respectively whereas for a 1% rise of arsenic in feed, arsenic in eggs and excreta increased by 0.40% and 0.52% respectively. These results provide evidence that, although high arsenic level prevails in well-water for drinking in Bangladesh, the arsenic shows low biological transmission capability from body to eggs and, thus, the value was below the maximum tolerable limit for humans. However, arsenic in drinking-water and/or feed makes a significant contribution to the arsenic accumulations in eggs and excreta of laying hens