PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROSCOPY ANALYSIS OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS AND BIOSYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES USING SPROUT EXTRACTS OF VIGNA RADIATA L. AND THEIR ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY

Objectives: The present study was aimed to investigate the facile synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using the green gram sprout extract (GGSE) of Vigna radiata L. and also in vitro studies of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Methods: Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy techniques have been used for the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the phytochemicals present in the green gram seedlings. The antioxidant activity of AgNPs and GGSE was analyzed using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. In vitro antibacterial activity was performed using the agar well diffusion method. Results: The presence of various secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids, alkaloids, amino acids, polyphenol, glycoside, and protein was found in samples. The major chemical compounds of V. radiata were n-hexadecanoic acid, stigmasterol, caffeine, hexadecanoic acid, cholest-5-en-3-ol (3.beta.)-, and cyclopentane. The percentage of DPPH activity was enhanced on increasing the concentration of AgNPs. In vitro antibacterial effect of the diverse concentrations of AgNPs was investigated against each Gram-negative (Klebsiella aerogenes, and Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Bacillus substilis and Staphylococcus aureus) bacterial strains. Conclusion: The result suggests that biosynthesized AgNPs have good antibacterial and antioxidant activity and might be a potential for the bioactive components

Nonnegative Moore–Penrose inverses of Gram operators

AbstractThis paper is concerned with necessary and sufficient conditions for the nonnegativity of Moore–Penrose inverses of Gram operators between real Hilbert spaces. These conditions include statements on acuteness (or obtuseness) of certain closed convex cones. The main result generalizes a well known result for inverses in the finite dimensional case over the nonnegative orthant to Moore–Penrose inverses in (possibly) infinite dimensional Hilbert spaces over any general closed convex cone

EFFECT OF SILYMARIN ON INTESTINAL ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE LEVEL IN A RAT MODEL OF TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: STREPTOZOTOCIN AND HIGH-FAT DIET TREATED WISTAR RATS

Objective: This research elucidated the role of silymarin on intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) level in type 2 diabetic rats.Methods: The type 2 diabetes mellitus was induced by a high-fat diet (HFD - 58% calories fat) for 2 weeks, and rats were intraperitoneally injected with streptozotocin (STZ) 35 mg/kg. Wistar rats were divided into four groups. Group I served as a non-diabetic (normal), Group II served as diabetic, Group III diabetic animals treated glibenclamide 600 μg/kg for 14 days, and Group IV diabetic animal treated with glibenclamide and silymarin 50 mg/kg/twice/d for 14 days. At the end of the study, blood glucose, lipid profile, and IAP level were measured.Results: A significant decrease in IAP, elevated levels of blood glucose, and lipid profile was seen in diabetic rats when compared with normal. The silymarin treatment showed a significant increase in IAP level, a significant reduction in glucose and lipid profile than diabetic rats.Conclusion: The present study concludes that silymarin treatment enhances the IAP levels which protect against hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and vascular complications in diabetic rats

STUDY OF VIBRIO SPECIES AND ITS OCCURRENCE FREQUENCY IN COLLECTED SEAFOOD SAMPLES

ABSTRACTObjective: The intention of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of Vibrio species in seafood samples.Methods: A total of 20 seafood samples include finfishes and crustaceans of marine origin were collected from the local fish market of Kanchipuram,Tamil Nadu. Vibrio colonies were isolated from the samples and identified by cultural, morphological, and biochemical studies. Then, the percentagefrequencies of the Vibrio species were intended.Results: A total of 58 Vibrio colonies were isolated from the collected seafood samples. In this, Barracuda fishes contained a higher number ofVibrio colonies (16.07%) followed by Indian mackerel and Crustaceans (12.5%). The foremost three Vibrio species, viz., Vibrio cholerae, VibrioParahaemolyticus, and Vibrio alginolyticus were identified by studying cultural, morphological, and biochemical characteristics, and the incidencepercentage was found as 22.41%, 17.24%, and 12.07%, respectively, from the total Vibrio colonies isolated.Conclusion: Thus, these results revealed that the pathogenic Vibrio species of V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus was found higher percentages incollected seafoods.Keywords: Seafood, Vibrios, Finfish, Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Future Prospects For Foreign Investment In Lithuania: Does This Baltic Tiger Still Have Teeth?

Lithuania’s economy has gone through stages of feudal system, serfdom, centrally planned command economy and market-based economy. After its liberation at the end of the last century, Lithuania’s transition is in process, as evidenced by the development of economic frameworks. Radical reforms, including the opening of markets, implementation of flat tax rates, rapid privatization of businesses, and efforts to maintain a stable currency, set the tone for phenomenal economic growth, not only in Lithuania, but in neighboring Estonia and Latvia as well. The Baltic Region experienced monumental growth in the mid to late 1990s, which accelerated through the early 21st century. Sweeping reforms and growth culminated with the accession of Lithuania into the European Union in 2004. The combined economic story of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia is quite comparable to that of the Asian Tigers of South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. The three countries have thus earned the title of The Baltic Tigers. Lithuania’s accession into the EU fostered further development of the country and its economy on both the financial and political fronts

Intracranial hypotension in the setting of concurrent perineural cyst rupture and subarachnoid hemorrhage

pre-printAlthough most patients with intracranial hypotension typically present with headaches, the rest of the clinical spectrum is characteristically non-specific and often quite variable. In a patient with concurrent pathologies that can produce a similar clinical picture, a high index of suspicion must be maintained to garner the correct diagnosis. The authors report a case of intracranial hypotension in the setting of concurrent perineural cyst rupture and subarachnoid hemorrhage. A 63-year-old woman with a family history of ruptured intracranial aneurysms presented after a sudden thunderclap headache and was found to have diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage. Imaging revealed anterior communicating and superior hypophyseal artery aneurysms. Following the uneventful clipping of both aneurysms, the patient experienced a delayed return to her neurological baseline. After it was noted that the patient had an improved neurological examination when she was placed supine, further workup confirmed intracranial hypotension from perineural cyst rupture. The patient improved and returned to her neurological baseline after undergoing a high-volume blood patch and remained neurologically intact at postoperative follow-up. Although intracranial hypotension is known to be commonly associated with cerebrospinal fluid leak, its causal and temporal relationship with subarachnoid hemorrhage has yet to be elucidated

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHIC METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF DAPAGLIFLOZIN AND ITS IMPURITIES IN TABLET DOSAGE FORM

Objective: The aim of the present work is the development of new, sensitive, specific, and accurate high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the separation and determination of dapagliflozin and its impurities in tablet dosage form. Methods: The chromatographic separation of drug and its impurities was achieved using Hypersil BDS C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μ) with mobile phase consisted of mobile phase-A (Buffer pH 6.5) and mobile phase-B (acetonitrile:water 90:10) by gradient program at a flow rate of 1 mL/min with ultraviolet detection at 245 nm. Results: Dapagliflozin and its impurities A, B, C, D, E, and impurity-F were successfully eluted at the retention time of 16.95, 2.72, 7.82, 10.58, 21.11, 30.37, and 34.36 min, respectively, with good resolution. The method was validated according to the international conference on harmonization guidelines. The validation results showed good precision, accuracy, linearity, specificity, sensitivity, and robustness. Conclusion: Successful separation and determination of dapagliflozin and its six impurities were achieved by the proposed method. The developed method can be applied for the routine analysis of dapagliflozin and its impurities in pharmaceutical formulations

Variability analysis in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crosses under drought stress

Climate change in recent years has affected crop production to a greater extent. To overcome these effects, climate-resilient varieties are needed. Tomato is a versatile crop. However, its growth is hindered when it is affected by drought stress. Hence, a variability analysis of tomatoes under drought stress was carried out at Horticulture College and Research Institute, Coimbatore. Variability studies revealed that all the crosses for all parameters exhibited higher phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) values than genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV), indicating the influence of environmental effects. For all the crosses, viz., EC169966 × LE118, EC177824 × LE27 and Arka Ashish × LE27, high PCV and high GCV were recorded for characteristics including fruit number per plant, yield per plant, lycopene content and peroxidase activity. Characteristics such as the number of flowers per cluster, fruit number per plant, individual weight of fruit, yield per plant, relative water content, proline content, peroxidase activity and ascorbic acid content recorded higher heritability coupled with high genetic advance as a percentage of the mean (GAM). Thus, direct selection of the above parameters improves drought-tolerant breeding programs in tomato

Solute transport in a heterogeneous aquifer: a search for nonlinear deterministic dynamics

International audienceThe potential use of a nonlinear deterministic framework for understanding the dynamic nature of solute transport processes in subsurface formations is investigated. Time series of solute particle transport in a heterogeneous aquifer medium, simulated using an integrated probability/Markov chain (TP/MC) model, groundwater flow model, and particle transport model, are studied. The correlation dimension method, a popular nonlinear time series analysis technique, is used to identify nonlinear determinism. Sensitivity of the solute transport dynamics to the four hydrostratigraphic parameters involved in the TP/MC model: (1) number of facies; (2) volume proportions of facies; (3) mean lengths (and thereby anisotropy ratio of mean length) of facies; and (4) juxtapositional tendencies (i.e. degree of entropy) among the facies is also studied. The western San Joaquin Valley aquifer system in California is considered as a reference system. The results indicate, in general, the nonlinear deterministic nature of solute transport dynamics (dominantly governed by only a very few variables, on the order of 3), even though more complex behavior is possible under certain (extreme) hydrostratigraphic conditions. The sensitivity analysis reveals: (1) the importance of the hydrostratigraphic parameters (in particular, volume proportions of facies and mean lengths) in representing aquifer heterogeneity; and (2) the ability of the correlation dimension method in capturing the (extent of) complexity of the underlying dynamics. Verification and confirmation of the present results through use of other nonlinear deterministic techniques and assessment of their reliability for a wide range of solute transport scenarios are recommended

FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF POLYMERIC NANOSUSPENSION OF NARINGENIN

Objective: The objective of this study was to formulate and evaluate the poorly soluble drug, naringenin (NAR) into nanosuspension to increase the solubility and enhance the dissolution rate and then improve its bioavailability.Methods: Nanosuspenion of naringenin (NARNS) was prepared using high-pressure homogenization method using Soya lecithin, Polaxamer-407, Polaxamer-188, Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) and Tween-80. Ten formulations were prepared to show the effect of stabilizer and its ratio. D-α-Tocopheryl polyethene glycol succinate 1000 (TPGS) was added as a co-stabilizer. All these formulations were evaluated for their particle size, PDI, zeta potential, FT-IR study, drug content, saturation solubility studies, entrapment efficiency, in vitro permeability and in vitro drug release. The formulation was further evaluated for scanning electron microscope (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Powder X-ray diffraction (P-XRD) and hemocompatibility assessment.Results: All the prepared formulations were in the nano size. The optimum concentration of the stabilizer was in the formulation was found 1:1.5:1 (drug: stabilizer: co-stabilizer ratio). Dramatic effect of the particle size reduction was found by the addition of the co-stabilizer (TPGS) in formulation N2 that has P. S 80.52±0.13 nm. The solubility and dissolution of NAR in the form of NARNS were significantly higher than those of pure NAR. SEM report shows that naringenin nanosuspension revealed a smooth texture. P-XRD crystallography diffraction and DSC studies indicated that the crystalline state of NAR was converted into amorphous nature. The safety evaluation showed that NARNS provided a lower rate of erythrocyte hemolysis. Conclusion: In this study, (NARNS) was successfully carried out by high-pressure homogenization technique and characterized. The physio-chemical characterization shown that crystalline naringenin was converted to a polymorphic form (DSC and P-XRD Study) which evidenced by enhanced dissolution rate in comparisons of the formulation with (NAR) pure drug. The NARNS has shown 7.5±0.4 fold increased relative bioavailability when compared to the NAR. The increased drug dissolution rate may have a significant impact in absorption which in turn the improved oral bioavailability of naringenin. Thus, this delivery system may prefer to improve the dissolution of poorly soluble drugs like NAR and thus enhanced oral bioavailability. The safety evaluation showed that nanoformulation (NF2) shows a lower rate of erythrocyte hemolysis. These findings suggest that the selected formulation may represent a promising new drug formulation for intravenous administration in the treatment of certain cancers