Effect of Hypocaloric Stress on Body and Tissue Composition of Rats K

Rats fed ad libitum, a ration comprising fresh foods (F ration) for 10 days, were switched over to another ration consisting of processed foods (P ration) for a similar period. Thereafter, the animals were subjected to a 50 per cent diet restriction for a period of 10 days and rehabilitated either on F ration or P ration for an equal period. The results showed a decline in growth rate, food consumption and food efficiency ratio in the group fed ad libitum on P ration compared to that on F ration. Fifty per cent diet, restriction induced loss of body weight due to depletion of body fat. A fall in the gross weight of liver,kidney and epididymal fat pad along with a reduction in the contentsof lipid in liver and fat pad were also observed. Refeeding ofdiet-restricted rats induced hyperphagia and super-normal weight gainwith both rations. The data on liver triglycerides appeared to show anage-related rise which could be controlled by diet restriction to someextent. Feeding of P ration tended to predisperse to higher adiposetissue cholesterol attributable to higher fat content of this ration

CHARACTERIZATION OF ALPHA-AMYLASE FROM THE SEEDS OF Mucuna pruriens

Amylases are hydrolytic enzymes which are widely distributed in nature, animals, plants and microorganisms. Amylases are of great significance in present-day biotechnology. In present study, amylases are isolated from the soaked seeds of Mucuna pruriens under extreme acidic conditions. Conventional protein purification techniques such as salt fractionation, ion exchange chromatography on CM-cellulose and sephadex G-75 was employed for the purification of amylase from the seeds of Mucuna pruriens. The amylase activity was eluted in one peak. The specific activity and yield of the purified amylase was 6.25 and 29.99, respectively. Native PAGE, SDS-PAGE and gel electrofocussing were employed to establish homogeneity of the purified amylase. SDS-PAGE and gel-filtration chromatography on sephadex G-75 was used to determine the molecular weight of the purified amylase. The purified amylase was nearly homogenous and its molecular weight was found to be 78.4 kDa. The optimum pH and temperature of the purified amylase were 7.0 and 50oC, respectively. The isolectric pH of the purified amylase was 7.2 and the activity was linear up to 60 minutes

Is screening for diabetes among tuberculosis patients feasible at the field level?

Supported by the TB Union/MSF Course on Operational Researc

Antimicrobial effects of Indian medicinal plants against acne-inducing bacteria

Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis have been recognized as pus-forming bacteria triggering an inflammation in acne. The present study was conducted to evaluate antimicrobial activities of Indian medicinal plants against these etiologic agents of acne vulgaris. Ethanolic extracts of Hemidesmus indicus (roots), Eclipta alba (fruits), Coscinium fenestratum (stems), Curcubito pepo (seeds), Tephrosia purpurea (roots), Mentha piperita (leaves), Pongamia pinnata (seeds), Symplocos racemosa (barks), Euphorbia hirta (roots), Tinospora cordyfolia (roots), Thespesia populnea (roots), and Jasminum officinale (flowers) were tested for antimicrobial activities by disc diffusion and broth dilution methods. The results from the disc diffusion method showed that 07 medicinal plants could inhibit the growth of Propionibacterium acnes. Among those Hemidesmus indicus, Coscinium fenestratum, Tephrosia purpurea, Euphorbia hirta, Symplocos racemosa, Curcubito pepo and Eclipta alba had strong inhibitory effects. Based on a broth dilution method, the Coscinium fenestratum extract had the greatest antimicrobial effect. The MIC values were the same (0.049 mg/ml) for both bacterial species and the MBC values were 0.049 and 0.165 mg/ml against Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis, respectively. In bioautography assay, the Coscinium fenestratum extract produced strong inhibition zones against Propionibacterium acnes. Phytochemical screening of Coscinium fenestratum revealed the presence of alkaloid which could be responsible for activity. Taken together, our data indicated that Coscinium fenestratum had a strong inhibitory effect on Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis. . Keywords: Acne; Propionibacterium acnes; Staphylococcus epidermidis; Antimicrobial activity > Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research Vol. 6 (2) 2007: pp. 717-72

FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF LEVOFLOXACIN-CHITOSAN / β- CYCLODEXTRIN NANOPARTICLES BY IONIC GELATION

Background: Levofloxacin is a broad spectrum anti-infective agent, which is rapidly and completely absorbed after oral administration. The half life of Levofloxacin is 6-8 h after conventional dosing. The objective of the present work was to develop Levofloxacin nanoparticles to retain the dosage form in the absorption site more than the half life of the drug, enhance the bioavailability of drugs, reduce dose frequency, toxicity and patient compliance. Methods: The compositions of different formulations of Levofloxacin nanoparticles by the ionic gelation method using biodegradable polymer chitosan and tripolyphosphate as cross linking agent. Result and Discussion: The particle size lies of the prepared nanoparticles between 199 and 369 nm and the drug content found between 51.13± 0.28 and 71.12 ± 0.14 %. The particle size of nanoparticles increased with increasing concentration of polymer matrix density and this may be due to the increased viscosity of the inner phase and decreased with increasing concentration of β-cyclodextrin. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that the prepared nanoparticles were discrete, uniform and spherical with a smooth surface. The in vitro release showed that the drug release from the prepared nanoparticles was characterized by an initial fast release and followed by a delayed release phase. During and at the end of the accelerated stability study, the tested formulation showed almost same drug content, in vitro drug release and no colour changes were observed from that observed at the opening of the study. Conclusion: Among all the formulations (GIA, GIB, GIC, GID, GIE and GIF), the formulations G1C, G1E and G1F followed the drug release in a controlled manner. The in vitro release profile showed that this is a potential drug delivery for Levofloxacin and has to confirm in the in vivo settings as a separate investigation in future. Key words: Controlled drug delivery, In vitro drug release, Nanoparticle, Particle size, Stability studies, Surface morpholog

Optimization of Vanadium Content for Achieving Higher Wear Resistance and Hardness in High Cr-V White Cast Irons for Ball Tube Mill Liner Application

The liner materials, being used, at present from high Cr cast iron grades in coal fired tube mills are less promising due to lower combination of abrasion wear resistance, hardness and impact toughness properties, thus giving life of only 25,000 to 35,000 hours. In this study, focus was given to develop a high Cr-V cast iron of high abrasion wear resistance with higher hardness and impact strength for ball tube mill liner application. The developed liner possesses high abrasive wear resistance and impact resistance simultaneously for having life of 40,000 to 50,000 hours. This grade was made using induction melting and sand casting method. The casting was heat treated in two stages to achieve higher abrasion wear resistance and mechanical properties. Various tests like chemical analysis, abrasion wear, hardness and impact tests were conducted on the above developed material. Abrasion wear test results show a low wear loss value (2.7 to 4.4 mg/min). Hardness and impact tests show a high combination of hardness (57 to 64 HRC) and impact strength (44 to 57 J/cm2). Prototype tube mill liners were manufactured and tested in a tube mill at 250MW site. Results obtained from site testing are also discussed in this study

Wild Meat

The meat of wild animals is a crucial part of the diets of millions of families in the tropics and subtropics. It is often the most accessible and sustainable source of protein and micronutrients and can also be a significant source of revenue for many people. Enabling these people, mostly the poor, to continue consuming wildlife in a sustainable manner — while reducing the impacts of overhunting on animal populations — are the main challenges facing researchers and policymakers. Since 2011, the research and policy initiatives led by the Bushmeat Research Initiative (the BRI-CIFOR team), in conjunction with many partners and collaborators worldwide, have made substantial contributions to this topic. These efforts increase the understanding of the current levels and trends of wild meat extraction and of the importance of this wild meat to consumers. The BRI-CIFOR team has generated important new data of wild meat use across a diverse number of environments worldwide. This publication presents some of the key FTA outputs on wild meat; over the last decade these efforts have contributed to inform science, policy and practice

Maximum gradient embeddings and monotone clustering

Let (X,d_X) be an n-point metric space. We show that there exists a distribution D over non-contractive embeddings into trees f:X-->T such that for every x in X, the expectation with respect to D of the maximum over y in X of the ratio d_T(f(x),f(y)) / d_X(x,y) is at most C (log n)^2, where C is a universal constant. Conversely we show that the above quadratic dependence on log n cannot be improved in general. Such embeddings, which we call maximum gradient embeddings, yield a framework for the design of approximation algorithms for a wide range of clustering problems with monotone costs, including fault-tolerant versions of k-median and facility location.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures. Final version, minor revision of the previous one. To appear in "Combinatorica

Hypothermia for encephalopathy in low-income and middle-income countries: feasibility of whole-body cooling using a low-cost servo-controlled device

Although therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is the standard of care for hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy in high-income countries, the safety and efficacy of this therapy in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) is unknown. We aimed to describe the feasibility of TH using a low-cost servo-controlled cooling device and the short-term outcomes of the cooled babies in LMIC. Design: We recruited babies with moderate or severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (aged <6 hours) admitted to public sector tertiary neonatal units in India over a 28-month period. We administered whole-body cooling (set core temperature 33.5°C) using a servo-controlled device for 72 hours, followed by passive rewarming. We collected the data on short-term neonatal outcomes prior to hospital discharge. Results: Eighty-two babies were included-61 (74%) had moderate and 21 (26%) had severe encephalopathy. Mean (SD) hypothermia cooling induction time was 1.7 hour (1.5) and the effective cooling time 95% (0.08). The mean (SD) hypothermia induction time was 1.7 hour (1.5 hour), core temperature during cooling was 33.4°C (0.2), rewarming rate was 0.34°C (0.16°C) per hour and the effective cooling time was 95% (8%). Twenty-five (51%) babies had gastric bleeds, 6 (12%) had pulmonary bleeds and 21 (27%) had meconium on delivery. Fifteen (18%) babies died before discharge from hospital. Heart rate more than 120 bpm during cooling (P=0.01) and gastric bleeds (P<0.001) were associated with neonatal mortality. Conclusions: The low-cost servo-controlled cooling device maintained the core temperature well within the target range. Adequately powered clinical trials are required to establish the safety and efficacy of TH in LMICs. Clinical trial registration number: NCT01760629