FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF FLOATING IN SITU GEL OF OMEPRAZOLE MAGNESIUM FOR ORAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM

Objective: Omeprazole magnesium is indicated for the treatment of erosive esophagitis associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease. It is one of the highly prescribed proton pump inhibitor in the management of peptic ulcer diseases. The therapeutic concentration of a drug in blood can be maintained for a prolonged period of time by administering it in the form of in situ floating gel dosage form. Omeprazole magnesium undergoes degradation at a low pH of the esophagus and stomach; it is therefore given as in situ gel, so, there is minimum contact with acidic pH. Methods: Omeprazole magnesium suspension prepared using various polymers and floating agents in varying concentrations. Several evaluation tests including dissolution test to ensure the release of the drug from formulation by in vitro technique, color and homogeneity, in vitro floating duration, in vitro gelling capacity, drug content determination, pH of the formulation, and floating lag time were studied. Results: All formulations demonstrated good Fourier-transform infrared compliance and no interaction between drug, polymer, and other excipients. The study’s findings show that the formulation F6 showed the best results. Conclusion: The developed formulation was a viable alternative conventional solution by virtue of its ability to enhance bioavailability through its longer gastric residence time and ability to sustain drug release as well as the advantage of floating and pH which minimize the degradation of omeprazole magnesium which is easily degraded by acidic environment

Cloth Based Biocompatiable Temperature Sensor

Circular economy focussing on the reuse and recycling of materials is gaining significant interest these days as the concern for environment sustainability is increasing [1] - [3] . In this regard, printed electronics or green electronics is being promoted as alternative to conventional electronics, which requires several hazardous and toxic materials. However, there is lot to be done to align this emerging field with the requirements of circular economy [4] , [5] and one way is to identify the waste materials and transfer them into a valuable products [6] . In this regard, integration of electronics in textiles is one of the attractive directions [7] and recently flexible devices like solar cells, sensors and electronics have been successfully integrated into textiles [8] - [12] . Here we present, a temperature sensor fabricated on biodegradable cellulose cloth. The fabricated cloth based temperature sensors shows a sensitivity of 30°C/Ω in the temperature range of 25-60°C

Printed temperature sensor based on PEDOT: PSS-graphene oxide composite

Temperature sensing is an important parameter needed to be measured by the eSkin during the physical interaction of robots with real-world objects. Yet, most of the work on sensors in eSkin has focused on pressure sensing. Here we present a skin conformable printed temperature sensor with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly (styr-enesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)-graphene oxide (GO) as a temperature sensitive layer and silver (Ag) as contact electrodes. The demonstration of PEDOT:PSS/GO as a highly temperature sensitive layer is the distinct feature of the work. The response of presented sensor observed over ~25 °C (room temperature (RT)) to 100°C, by measuring the variation in resistance across the GO/PEDOT:PSS layer showed ~80% decrease in resistance. The sensitivity of the sensor was found to be 1.09% per °C. The sensor's response was also observed under static and dynamic bending (for 1000 cycles) conditions. The stable and repeatable response of sensor, in both cases, signifies strong adhesion of the layers with negligible delamination or debonding. In comparison to the commercial thermistor, the printed GO/PEDOT:PSS sensor is faster (~73% superior) with response and recovery times of 18 s and 32 s respectively. Finally, the sensor was attached to a robotic hand to allow the robot to act by using temperature feedback

A transverse study to observe the health status of individuals working in frontline of COVID-19 Management

This study is aimed to observe the health status of the individuals working in the front line of the COVID-19 management in the Udaipur city along with immunomodulator and preventive effect of certain ayurvedic formulations. This study had become essential to be conducted by viewing in the surge of the COVID-19 (first wave) cases in the Udaipur city and by the urge of the local administration to the Principal of MMM Government Ayurveda College, Udaipur. For this study three (3) Ayurvedic formulations i.e., Navrasayan Yoga (powder), Mukhshodhak Yoga (Mouth wash) and Nasya Bindu Taila (Nasal drop) were prepared in the pharmacy of the MMM GAC, Udaipur, under the guidance of the expert panel of the college. These formulations were to be distributed among the people, who were working in the front line of the COVID-19 management in the city. A questionnaire (Performa) was also prepared for the evaluation of the immunity status of the individuals (participants). In this sequence, these Ayurvedic formulations were given to the registered individuals, and the immunity status of the participants were recorded before and after the trial of the medicine with the help of the questionnaire

Mechanical and Explosive Properties of Plastic Bonded Explosives Based on Mixture of HMX and TATB

This paper describes formulation of plastic bonded explosives (PBXs) compositions based on 2,4,6- triamino-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TATB), Octahydro l,3,5,7-tetranitro- 1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) by varying their relative amounts with Viton A as polymeric binder by slurry coating technique. These PBXs compositions are studied for mechanical and detonic properties. It has been observed that sensitivity and explosive performance of PBXs based on mixture of HMX and TATB were varied over a wide considerable range by varying relative amounts of TATB and HMX. The detonation study revealed there was increased in velocity of detonation (VOD) and detonation pressure with increasing amount of HMX from 10-80 % by weight. The sensitivity test results exhibited that insensitivity to impact for PBXs compositions was found to decrease with increasing HMX amount.  Friction sensitivity study showed that no reactions were observed upto 36 kg load for PBXs compositions namely HT6030, HT5040, HT4050, HT3060, HT2070 and HT1080. The compressive strength of these PBXs compositions was found within the range of 9-11 MPa.Defence Science Journal, 2013, 63(6), pp.622-629, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.63.576

PEDOT: PSS microchannel based highly sensitive stretchable strain sensor

This paper presents poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate polymer microchannel (diameter ≈175 µm) based stretchable strain sensor developed inside polydimethylsiloxane substrate. The microchannel diameter changes when subjected to various strains, leading to change in the resistance of strain sensor. The sensor exhibits about three order (ΔR /R 0 ≈ 1200) increase in the resistance (R ) for 10% applied strain (ΔL /L , L = length of the sensor). This leads to a gauge factor (GF Δ (ΔR /R 0)/(ΔL /L ) of ≈12 000, which is about ≈400 times higher than most of the reported polymer‐based strain sensors. The sensor is evaluated up to a maximum strain of 30%, which is the standard strain limit associated with human body parts such as fingers and wrists. The sensor exhibits a considerably good average degree of hysteresis (<9%). Further, the sensor is also studied for bending and twisting experiments. A response of (ΔR /R 0 ≈ 250) and (ΔR /R 0 ≈ 300) is recorded for 90° bending and 150° twisting, respectively. The sensor shows an electrical resolution of ≈150% per degree of free bending and ≈12k% per percentage of stretching. Finally, the potential application of presented sensor in robotics and wearable systems is demonstrated by using sensor feedback from human hand to remotely control the robotic hand movements

High Performance Printed Electronics on Large Area Flexible Substrates

Printed electronics has attracted significant interest in recent years due to simple, cost-effective fabrication, reduced e-waste and potential for the development of multifunctional devices over large areas. Over the years, various printing technologies have been developed to pattern flexible surfaces to develop wide range of electronic devices. A large part of the research so far has focussed on organic semiconductors based devices, even if the modest performance they offer is insufficient for several emerging applications (e. g. internet of things (IoTs), smart cities, robotics, etc.) where fast computation and communication are required. The high-performance requirements could be addressed with printed devices from high-mobility materials such as single crystal silicon (Si) and graphene. This paper presents the printing methodologies (i.e. contact and transfer printing) that are being explored for highperformance devices and circuits using nano to macro scale structures such as semiconductor nanowires (NWs), nanoribbon (NR), and ultra-thin chips (UTCs) as well as graphene. Few examples of high-performance devices obtained using contact and transfer printing are also presented

Genomic characterization and epidemiology of an emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant in Delhi, India

Delhi, the national capital of India, experienced multiple severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreaks in 2020 and reached population seropositivity of >50% by 2021. During April 2021, the city became overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases and fatalities, as a new variant, B.1.617.2 (Delta), replaced B.1.1.7 (Alpha). A Bayesian model explains the growth advantage of Delta through a combination of increased transmissibility and reduced sensitivity to immune responses generated against earlier variants (median estimates: 1.5-fold greater transmissibility and 20% reduction in sensitivity). Seropositivity of an employee and family cohort increased from 42% to 87.5% between March and July 2021, with 27% reinfections, as judged by increased antibody concentration after a previous decline. The likely high transmissibility and partial evasion of immunity by the Delta variant contributed to an overwhelming surge in Delhi

Montelukast medicines of today and tomorrow: from molecular pharmaceutics to technological formulations

Montelukast sodium is a leukotriene antagonist of growing interest as an alternative therapy for asthma across different age groups due to its bronchoprotective, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties. Currently, montelukast is commercialized only in oral solid dosage forms, which are the favorite of adult patients but may pose challenges in administration to children of young age or patients suffering from dysphagia. This review presents a comprehensive revision of scientific reports and patents on emerging strategies for the delivery of montelukast. A common ground to these reports is the pursue of an enhanced montelukast performance, by increasing its bioavailability and physico-chemical stability. A wide variety of strategies can be found, from the formation of supramolecular adducts with cyclodextrins to encapsulation in nanoparticles and liposomes. The new dosage forms for montelukast are designed for non-enteric absorption, some for absorption in the oral cavity and another two being for local action in the nasal mucosa or in the pulmonary epithelium. The review describes the emerging delivery strategies to circumvent the current limitations to the use of montelukast that are expected to ultimately lead to the development of more patient-compliant dosage forms

Burden and risk factors for Pseudomonas aeruginosa community-acquired pneumonia:a Multinational Point Prevalence Study of Hospitalised Patients

Pseudornonas aeruginosa is a challenging bacterium to treat due to its intrinsic resistance to the antibiotics used most frequently in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Data about the global burden and risk factors associated with P. aeruginosa-CAP are limited. We assessed the multinational burden and specific risk factors associated with P. aeruginosa-CAP. We enrolled 3193 patients in 54 countries with confirmed diagnosis of CAP who underwent microbiological testing at admission. Prevalence was calculated according to the identification of P. aeruginosa. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for antibiotic-susceptible and antibiotic-resistant P. aeruginosa-CAP. The prevalence of P. aeruginosa and antibiotic-resistant P. aeruginosa-CAP was 4.2% and 2.0%, respectively. The rate of P. aeruginosa CAP in patients with prior infection/colonisation due to P. aeruginosa and at least one of the three independently associated chronic lung diseases (i.e. tracheostomy, bronchiectasis and/or very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) was 67%. In contrast, the rate of P. aeruginosa-CAP was 2% in patients without prior P. aeruginosa infection/colonisation and none of the selected chronic lung diseases. The multinational prevalence of P. aeruginosa-CAP is low. The risk factors identified in this study may guide healthcare professionals in deciding empirical antibiotic coverage for CAP patients