Development and characterization of amoxicillin loaded floating microballoons for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori induced gastric ulcer

AbstractThe current communication reports in vitro characterization of the optimized hollow floating microballoons of amoxicillin on the basis of micromeritic properties and in vitro minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Amoxicillin loaded hollow microballoons were prepared by emulsion solvent diffusion method. The morphological characterization was done on the basis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to investigate drug–polymer interactions. The correlation between the in vitro buoyancy of microballoons and their physical properties, e.g. density and porosity were elucidated. The results of FTIR spectroscopy revealed the absence of any drug–polymer interactions. The porosity values of more than 69% and diameter to thickness ratio greater than 2.90, proved a high cavity volume within the microballoons in all size ranges. The spherical shape of microballoons with hollow internal cavity was confirmed from SEM photomicrographs. The in vitro MIC results showed a sustained drug effect from the microballoons. In conclusion, it can be said that the developed microballoons can be used for the effective treatment of Helicobacter pylori induced gastric ulcer

Maternal Healthcare Services and the Health Workers among the Migrant Slum Dwellers of Bangalore City, Karnataka, India

The health workers play a variety of roles which include provision of outreach, information, referral, advocacy and other support to promote health and help people meet their healthcare. The poor migrants usually settle in unauthorized slums or settlements. The migrant health is found in a disadvantageous position due to poor access to healthcare services. The present paper examines the maternal healthcare services provided by the peripheral health workers among the interstate migrants living in slums of Bangalore city. After conducting a pilot survey, five slums (migrant camps/non-notified slums) were identified based on the criteria of 1) inter- state migration 2) year of migration <7 years 3) having more than 100 households. Mothers with a child below 2 years (n=100) were interviewed with a pretested questionnaire. Qualitative data were collected from the mothers, key informants and healthcare workers through in- depth interviews. The maternal healthcare services by the health workers are not able to reach the migrant population due to migrants’ location of staying and many women went back to their native place for child delivery. The migrants who moved for delivery to their native place (32.4%) accessed the services of the health workers better than the respondents who stayed in the Bangalore city (13.5%). Similar situation was found for the visit of the heath workers for post-natal care. Some institutional lacuna like lack of space, toilets, water and also the shortage of staff etc. were pointed out by the health workers, which are required. The study warrants the need to understand the realities and healthcare needs of the migrant population. A better mechanism should be developed to improve the services of peripheral health workers in delivering primary healthcare services like maternal health care

Steric Hindrance as a Mechanistic Probe for Olefin Reactivity: Variability of the Hydrogenic Canopy over the Isomeric Adamantylideneadamantane/Sesquihomoadamantene Pair (A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study)

Access to each CC face of adamantylideneadamantane (AA) and sesquihomoadamantene (SA) is hindered by the hydrogenic canopy consisting of four β-hydrogens; otherwise, these olefins have quite normal environments. X-ray crystallography and density functional (DFT) calculations show a 0.5 Å larger annular opening in the protective cover of AA than that in SA. This contributes to the remarkable differences in reactivity toward various reagents, not only by limiting access to the olefin site in SA but also by inhibiting reactions which force these hydrogens closer together. Thus, AA is subject to typical olefin-addition reactions with bromine, sulfuryl chloride, m-chloroperbenzoic acid, dioxygen, and so forth, albeit sometimes at attenuated rates. On the other hand, SA is singularly unreactive under identical reaction conditions, except for the notable exceptions that include Brønsted (protonic) acids, a nitrosonium cation, and dichlorine. The exceptions are characterized as three sterically limited (electrophilic) reagents whose unique reactivity patterns are shown to be strongly influenced by steric access to the CC center. As such, the different degrees of steric encumbrance in the isomeric donors AA and SA shed considerable light on the diverse nature of olefinic reactions. In particular, they evoke mechanistic features in electrophilic addition versus electron transfer, which are otherwise not readily discernible with other less hindered olefinic donors. Transient structures of the olefinic-reaction intermediates such as the protonated carbocations AA−H+ and SA−H+ as well as the cation radicals AA•+ and SA•+ are probed by the combination of X-ray crystallographic analyses and density functional theoretical computations

Theoretical infra-red, Raman, and Optical spectra of the B36N36 cage

The B36N36 fullerene-like cage structure was proposed as candidate structure for the single-shell boron-nitride cages observed in electron-beam irradiation experiment. We have performed all electron density functional calculations, with large polarized Gaussian basis sets, on the B36N36 cage. We show that the cage is energetically and vibrationally stable. The infra-red, Raman and optical spectra are calculated. The predicted spectra, in combination with experimentally measured spectra, will be useful in conclusive assignment of the proposed B36N36 cage. The vertical and adiabatic ionization potentials as well as static dipole polarizability are also reported.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, 4 figures (TO appear in Physical Review A (Breif Report)

Extremely large size VSD with pulmonary stenosis

Defect in the ventricular septum with obstruction to right ventricular outflow tract encompass a wide anatomic, physiological & clinical spectrum. Large ventricular septal defects occur with pulmonary stenosis that varies from mild to severe to complete (pulmonary atresia). Very large VSD (size 6.4cm, in our case) with severe PS is a rare CHD & without surgical correction only 10% patients can survive beyond 20 year of age. With the help of noninvasive investigation (echocardiography) we can diagnose CHD very easily

Determination of hepatoprotective effect of Mussaenda erythrophylla in paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity

Background: Hepatotoxicity may be defined as liver injury caused by drugs and chemicals. Drug-induced liver injury is a major reason for withdrawing drugs from a market by Food Drug Administration, and it is based on the fact that drug-induced liver injury is responsible for more than 50% of all cases of acute liver failure. Many studies revealed about the hepatotoxic potential of paracetamol. Hence, the present study has undertaken to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of Mussaenda erythrophylla (ME) in paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity in Wistar albino rats.Methods: The ethanolic extract ME studied for its hepatoprotective effect on paracetamol induced acute liver damage in Wistar albino rats. The degree of protection was measured using biochemical parameters such as serum glutamate oxalate transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), total bilirubin (TBL), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) peroxidase (GPx), GSH, and ceruloplasmin levels.Results: Paracetamol treated group had enhanced levels of SGPT, SGOT, TBL (p<0.001) and decreased levels of GSH, SOD, and GPx (p<0.001) when compared with control group. Treatment with silymarin and also 200 mg/kg of MEleaf extract had significantly (p<0.001) brought down the elevated levels of SGPT, SGOT, and TBL and an increase in the levels of GSH, SOD, (p<0.01), GPx and ceruloplasmin (p<0.001).Conclusion: The results showed that ethanolic extract of ME leaf extract possesses significant hepatoprotective activity

Gain–of–Function Genetic Models to Study FSH Action

Follicle–stimulating hormone (FSH) is a pituitary-derived gonadotropin that plays key roles in male and female reproduction. The physiology and biochemistry of FSH have been extensively studied for many years. Beginning in the early 1990s, coincident with advances in the then emerging transgenic animal technology, and continuing till today, several gain-of-function (GOF) models have been developed to understand FSH homeostasis in a physiological context. Our group and others have generated a number of FSH ligand and receptor GOF mouse models. An FSH GOF model when combined with Fshb null mice provides a powerful genetic rescue platform. In this chapter, we discuss different GOF models for FSH synthesis, secretion and action and describe additional novel genetic models that could be developed in the future to further refine the existing models

Stoichiometry control of sputtered CuCl thin films: Influence on ultraviolet emission properties

We demonstrate that the chemical composition of the sputtered CuCl thin films could be finely controlled by adjusting the bias to the substrate. The films deposited without any intentional bias were Cl rich (CuCl1+x), a bias of −22 V yielded stoichiometric CuCl, and a further increase in the negative bias resulted in Cl deficient films (CuCl1−x). The crystalline and optical properties were found to be associated with the chemical composition. Cl rich films showed a deep level green emission at around 515 nm in addition to ultraviolet (UV) excitonic emission. The stoichiometric films have higher optical quality, exhibiting a sharp UV emission at around 385 nm at room temperature, compared to nonstoichiometric samples. Visible luminescence related to deep level defects was not observed in the stoichiometric films. Changes in energy of the flux from the target and the subsequent ion bombardment on the substrate surface are correlated with the variations in chemical composition and their impact on the film microstructure and UV emission