THE ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUG DOXEPIN: A PROMISING ANTIOXIDANT

ABSTRACTObjective: Oxidative stress contributes to the pathophysiology of exposure to environmental pollutants and to different free radical generatingbiochemical reactions in a human system leading to various types of age-related ailments. An antioxidant is a substance capable of preventingor slowing down oxidation of other molecules. Administration of different natural or synthetic antioxidants can ably lead to prevention andattenuation of such stress-induced biochemical alterations. Best examples of natural antioxidants are plant-derived flavonoids. The presentstudy has been designated to determine antioxidant properties in antidepressant compound doxepin which is structurally similar to flavonoidquercetin.Methods: Antioxidant capacity in doxepin was determined with help of several standard conventional procedures such as phosphomolybdenumassay, Ferric ion and cupric ion reducing power assays, ferrous ion chelating activity assay, hydrogen peroxide, and nitric oxide scavenging activityassays.Results: Doxepin showed a stable rise in its antioxidant activity in a dose-dependent manner as determined by ferric as well as cupric ion reducingcapacity and by phosphomolybdenum assay. An almost identical observation was noted while determining ferrous ion chelating activity. Furthermore,doxepin showed a strong nitric oxide scavenging activity in all the concentrations used in the study while its hydrogen peroxide scavenging activitywas only observed at 500 μg/ml of doxepin.Conclusion: Thus, our study opens up a new vista in search for antioxidants not only from plant sources but also from clinically establishedpharmaceutical compounds that are already in practical use among patients.Keywords: Antioxidant, Antidepressant, Doxepin, Quercetin, Flavanol, Flavonoids

Factors for COVID-19 Infection that Govern the Severity of Illness

Coronaviruses have been posing a serious threat to mammals and birds and a new class of SARS-CoV is creating havoc to the world after its first incidence in Wuhan City in China in December 2019. These viruses are mainly responsible for causing serious respiratory tract infections which generally appear initially as the common cold and can be lethal just like SARS-CoV. The problems seem to vary and worsen from one person to another depending on age, gender, ethnicity, blood groups, host genetics, and associated comorbidities. Complications should also arise as this virus keeps mutating and evolving. This review points out the various underlying causes behind the severity of the illness and the mechanisms associated with it. This review will help society to understand the risks and severities associated with COVID-19. Individuals with health complexities and predispositions listed in this review are the most vulnerable in terms of severity and should take every possible measure to protect themselves from getting infected. As a consequence, this will lead to a decrease in mortality rates arising from COVID-19.   Doi: 10.28991/SciMedJ-2021-0302-9 Full Text: PD

Cu(II) and Gd(III) doped boehmite nanostructures: a comparative study of electrical property and thermal stability

The present article reports the effect of transition (Cu2+) and rare earth metal (Gd3+) ion doping on structural, microstructural and electrical properties of boehmite nanoparticles. Rietveld refinement is adopted here to refine the x-ray diffractograms for further analyzing the microstructural details and their alteration due to the incorporation of foreign cations. This is probably the first time when dielectric properties of these doped boehmite samples having been reported herein. These samples show remarkably high dielectric constant values which corroborate that doping enhances the microstrain values inside the orthorhombic structure and results in higher crystallographic defects. Enhancement in defect sites causes the augmentation of relative permittivity and ac conductivity. Temperature stability has also been enhanced significantly in our Cu-doped sample. The present study enables us to determine a relationship between crystalline deformation and electrical properties of nanomaterials which may be highly beneficial in fabricating cost-effective energy harvesting devices

The prevalence, preventive measures and economic impact of pandemic COVID-19 in India : the initial phase

The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is posing a serious threat to the mankind with its massive infection rate and potentially fatality. A total of 212 countries have been infected within the 112 days of fi rst report causing 2 314 621 confi rmed cases and 157 847 deaths worldwide. India, the country which is already battling with poverty, malnutrition and high population density is also at the second stage of coronavirus transmission. The situation is worsening and the attention has focused on the prevalence and preventive measures to be taken to protect 1.35 billion people of the largest democratic country of the world. In this review, a study has been designed to evaluate the prevalence, transmission, clinical symptoms, and preventive measures to control the community transmission of this fatal disease. The initial impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak on Indian economy has also been dealt with. This study reviews and summarizes the main points of the epidemic in India until the end of April 2020

"The fruits of independence": Satyajit Ray, Indian nationhood and the spectre of empire

Challenging the longstanding consensus that Satyajit Ray's work is largely free of ideological concerns and notable only for its humanistic richness, this article shows with reference to representations of British colonialism and Indian nationhood that Ray's films and stories are marked deeply and consistently by a distinctively Bengali variety of liberalism. Drawn from an ongoing biographical project, it commences with an overview of the nationalist milieu in which Ray grew up and emphasizes the preoccupation with colonialism and nationalism that marked his earliest unfilmed scripts. It then shows with case studies of Kanchanjangha (1962), Charulata (1964), First Class Kamra (First-Class Compartment, 1981), Pratidwandi (The Adversary, 1970), Shatranj ke Khilari (The Chess Players, 1977), Agantuk (The Stranger, 1991) and Robertsoner Ruby (Robertson's Ruby, 1992) how Ray's mature work continued to combine a strongly anti-colonial viewpoint with a shifting perspective on Indian nationhood and an unequivocal commitment to cultural cosmopolitanism. Analysing how Ray articulated his ideological positions through the quintessentially liberal device of complexly staged debates that were apparently free, but in fact closed by the scenarist/director on ideologically specific notes, this article concludes that Ray's reputation as an all-forgiving, ‘everybody-has-his-reasons’ humanist is based on simplistic or even tendentious readings of his work

Dual-Labeling Strategies for Nuclear and Fluorescence Molecular Imaging: A Review and Analysis

Molecular imaging is used for the detection of biochemical processes through the development of target-specific contrast agents. Separately, modalities such as nuclear and near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging have been shown to non-invasively monitor disease. More recently, merging of these modalities has shown promise owing to their comparable detection sensitivity and benefited from the development of dual-labeled imaging agents. Dual-labeled agents hold promise for whole-body and intraoperative imaging and could bridge the gap between surgical planning and image-guided resection with a single, molecularly targeted agent. In this review, we summarized the literature for dual-labeled antibodies and peptides that have been developed and have highlighted key considerations for incorporating NIRF dyes into nuclear labeling strategies. We also summarized our findings on several commercially available NIRF dyes and offer perspectives for developing a toolkit to select the optimal NIRF dye and radiometal combination for multimodality imaging

Single walled carbon nanotube-borosilicate glass composite as broadband near infrared emitter for multifunctional photonic applications

Near infrared fluorescence was observed from single walled carbon nanotube-borosilicate glass composite around 0.84-2.03 mm with 325 nm laser excitation. Band gap fluorescence of SWCNT bundles along with defect related fluorescence from SiO2 structure were the source of the NIR emissions of the composite. The emission spectra was 1185 nm wide that contains three main transmission windows for fiber optic telecommunications. The results strongly indicate high potentiality of this material in broadband fiber optic telecommunications and fabrication of NIR tunable lasers. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Near infrared fluorescence and enhanced electrical conductivity of single walled carbon nanotube-lead silicate glass composite

Enhanced electrical conductivity of SWCNT-Lead silicate glass composite was observed in the temperature range of 308 K-473 K. Current-Voltage characteristics of the composite was found to be ohmic in nature, wherein the electrical conductivity was observed to increase significantly with the increase in temperature. Optical properties of the composite through UV-VIS-NIR absorption and NIR fluorescence spectroscopy were ascertained wherein one can observe broad fluorescence between 861 and 1904 nm at room temperature. Micro structural analysis by HRTEM and FESEM shows that single walled carbon nanotubes were randomly distributed inside the glass matrix in the form of bundles. Finally the electrical and optical properties of the composite were explained by fluctuation induced tunneling model, exciton-exciton resonance and excitonic energy transfer. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Enhanced mechanical properties of single walled carbon nanotube-borosilicate glass composite due to cushioning effect and localized plastic flow

A borosilicate glass composite has been fabricated incorporating Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNT) in the glass matrix by melt-quench technique. Hardness and the fracture toughness of the composite, were found to increase moderately with respect to the base glass. Interestingly one can observe accumulation of SWCNT bundles around the crack zone though no such accumulation was observed in the crack free indentation zone. The enhanced hardness of the composite was discussed by correlating the cushioning as well as toughening behavior of the agglomerated SWCNT bundles. On the other hand enhanced plastic flow was proposed to be the prime reason for the accumulation of SWCNT bundles around the crack, which increases the toughness of the composite by reducing the crack length. Moreover to ascertain the enhanced plasticity of the composite than that of the glass we calculated the recovery resistance of glass and the composite where recovery resistance of composite was found to be higher than that of the glass

Heat-induced voltage generation in hexadecyl merocyanine dye-probed planar lipid-membranes

A hexadecyl merocyanine dye was used as a heat driven proton gate, by incorporating it in a planar lipid membrane which is a good model for biological membranes. Being hydrophobic in nature, it prevents charge recombination, and transmembrane voltages of high magnitude (similar to 310 mV) were obtained upon heating. The process was reversible and the whole cycle took about 20 h, suggesting that the system could be used as a heat driven storage cell. Comparison of the X-ray diffraction patterns of the thin films of the dye at 30 degrees C showed a heat-induced conformational change in the crystalline structure of the dye. From differential thermal analysis three reversible phase transitions were observed, at 39.2 degrees C, 53.7 degrees C and 62.1 degrees C, and the associated enthalpy changes were calculated The results indicate that the heat-induced conformational change of the dye molecule is responsible for the observed thermovoltage generation