ARISTOLOCHIA BRACTEOLATA – ANTIHYPERGLYCEMIC AND ANTIHYPERLIPIDEMIC ACTIVITY IN DEXAMETHASONE-INDUCED DIABETIC RAT MODEL

  Objective: The present study was aimed to evaluate antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic activities of methanolic extract of Aristolochia bracteolata (MEAB) against dexamethasone-induced diabetic rat model.Methods: Methanolic extract was prepared by soxhlet extraction and was evaluated for antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic activity using dexamethasone-induced model. The MEAB was administered orally at a dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight glibenclamide was used as standard drug. On 0th and 11th day, blood was collected by retro-orbit plexus.Results: In this model blood glucose levels were determined on 0th and 11th days and MEAB significantly reduced the blood glucose levels in diabetic rats. The effect of MEAB on serum lipid profile such as total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), very LDL (VLDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) was also measured on the 11th day in the diabetic rats. Significant reduction in TC, TGs, LDL, and VLDL levels and improvement in HDL level were observed in diabetic rats.Conclusion: From the results, it was found that the MEAB possess antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic activities

Analysis of mixed convective heat transfer from a sphere with an aligned magnetic field

Numerical computations are performed to examine the flow and heat transfer characteristics for mixed convective flow past a sphere in an assisting flow arrangement with an aligned magnetic field. The flow is considered as laminar, steady and incompressible and the working fluids as Newtonian. A spherical geometry higher order compact scheme (SGHOCS) is employed to solve the set of non-linear governing transport equations. The results are enumerated in terms of streamlines, isotherms, drag coefficient together with local and average Nusselt number on the surface of the sphere by varying the following parameters: Reynolds number 1 ≤ Re ≤ 200; Prandtl number 0.72 and 7; Richardson number 0 ≤ Ri ≤ 1.5; interaction magnetic parameter 0 ≤ N ≤ 10. For lower values of Ri, although the flow separation phenomena in the downstream region suppresses for weaker strength of the magnetic field (N ≤ 0.5), it again increases on further increase in N. For higher values of Ri, with an increase of N, the flow separation phenomena completely suppresses. The drag coefficient (CD) increases with N for any values of Re, Ri and Pr and for N ≥ 1, where K and B are constants that depends on Ri and Pr and K = 0.32 for Ri = 0 which is consistent with the results in the literature. On the basis of variation of Nu on the sphere surface, three different regions are identified and moreover a strong interplay between N and Ri in dictating the characteristic of heat transfer is found for all values of Re. In the mixed convection domain the average Nusselt number () first decreases with N and then tends to a constant value for higher values of Reynolds number, in contrast with the forced convection case, when decreases with N and then tends to increase almost linearly with N. Based on the numerical results for the considered range of parameters, correlations are developed for CD and which are relatively in good agreement with reported results in the literature for special cases of both forced and mixed convective flows past a sphere in the absence of a magnetic field

PHOTOVOLTAIC BASED FLEXIBLE MICROGRID SYSTEM USING FUZZY LOGIC

This paper presents a flexible ac distribution system device for microgrid applications. The device aims to improve the power quality and reliability of the overall power distribution system that the microgrid is connected to. The control design employs a new model predictive control algorithm which allows faster computational time for large power systems by optimizing the steady-state and the transient control problems separately. In this paper Fuzzy logic controlling technique has been introduced to extract the harmonic spectra of the grid voltage and the load currents in the microgrid. The design concept is verified through different test case scenarios to demonstrate the capability of the proposed device and the Matlab/Simulink results are Presented

l-Asparagine–l-tartaric acid (1/1)

In the title compound, C4H8N2O3·C4H6O6, the amino acid mol­ecule exists as a zwitterion and the carb­oxy­lic acid in an un-ionized state. The tartaric acid mol­ecules are linked into layers parallel to the ab plane by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The amino acid mol­ecules are also linked into layers parallel to the ab plane by N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The alternating tartaric acid and amino acid layers are linked into a three-dimensional framework by N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Inter library loan service in Agricultural Libraries in India

134-138<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa;="" mso-bidi-font-style:italic"="" lang="EN-US">Importance of inter-library loan service is stressed. Inter-library loan relations of the agricultural libraries are studied. The type and number of documents borrowed and lent is discussed including the response. Certain steps for effective inter library loan service are suggested.</span

Translation of open reading frame in kinetoplast DNA minicircles of clinical isolates of L. donovani

Till today, it remains an enigma whether the open reading frames said to be transcribed in minicircle sequences are indeed translated into protein products or not. We establish a protein-coding gene in minicircle variable region of kinetoplast DNA from clinical isolates of Leishmania donovani. The protein was expressed as an N-tagged green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein in leishmanial expression system. Fluorescence microscopy of the transfectants carrying recombinant GFP construct showed the protein to be localized on the plasmalemma of the parasite. This shows that the minicircle transcript is indeed translated into a protein product in the parasite cell and further points toward probable biological function of minicircles in kinetoplastids

Information technology and financial services

This paper provides a summary of the project managers round table discussion related to the opportunities presented by Financial sector for Indian Information Technology (IT) firms. The discussions were held at Complete Business Solutions (India) at Chennai and published in the Management Review Magazine by Indian Institute of Management Bangalore during March 2000

Virulent disease epidemics can increase host density by depressing foraging of hosts

All else equal, parasites that harm host fitness should depress densities of their hosts. However, parasites that alter host traits may increase host density via indirect ecological interactions. Here, we show how depression of foraging rate of infected hosts can produce such a hydra effect. Using a foraging assay, we quantified reduced foraging rates of a zooplankton host infected with a virulent fungal parasite. We then parameterized a dynamical model of hosts, parasites, and resources with this foraging function, showing how foraging depression can create a hydra effect. Mathematically, the hydra arose when increased resource productivity exceeded any increase in resource consumption per host. Therefore, the foraging-mediated hydra effect more likely emerged (1) for hosts that strongly control logistic-like resources and (2) during larger epidemics of moderately virulent parasites. We then analyzed epidemics from 13 fungal epidemics in nature. We found evidence for a foraging-mediated hydra effect: large outbreaks depressed foraging rate and correlated with increased densities of both algal resources andDaphnia hosts. Therefore, depression of the foraging rate of infected hosts can produce higher host densities even during epidemics of parasites that increase host mortality. Such hydras might prevent the collapse of host populations but also could produce higher densities of infected hosts