QUANTITATIVE ESTIMATION OF RILUZOLE USING SOLUBILIZING AGENT BY UV-SPECTROPHOTOMETRY

Objective: This study was designed to develop and validate a simple, rapid, and economical UV-spectrophotometric method using a solubilising agent for the estimation of Riluzole.Methods: In this study, a solution of 2% SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulphate) in PH 9.2 buffer was employed as the solubilising agent to solubilise a poorly water-soluble drug, Riluzole. In the UV-spectrophotometric method, Riluzole was estimated at 225 nm using solubilising agent.Results: Solubilising agent used did not interfere in spectrophotometric analysis of Riluzole. Riluzole followed linearity in the concentration range of 1-5 μg/ml with a coefficient correlation of 0.998.Conclusion: The developed method has shown to be linear (r2 = 0.9984), precise (%R. S. D of 0.87 and 0.84 at intra and inter day respectively), accurate (recovery of 100.37%) with limit of detection (0.54 µg/ ml) and limit of quantification of 1.64µg/ ml as per ICH guidelines. Keywords: Riluzole, UV Spectroscopy, SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulphate), PH 9.2 buffer

Lipid profile analysis of type 2 diabetic patients in Bengaluru population, India

Background: Prevalence of Diabetes in India is 69.2 million, among which type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), constitutes for 90% of all the diabetic populations. Previous studies have proved the association of T2DM, with increasing risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and the level of risk varies among males and females. The present study aims to analyze the lipid profile of T2DM patients and compare the lipid profile of T2DM males and females in Karnataka, Bengaluru population.Methods: The study included 171 T2DM patients, 59 females and 112 males aged 21 years and above. Total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) and triglycerides (TG) concentrations values were analyzed for each group. Paired students t test was applied to identify the differences in lipid profile values of males and females with T2D.Results: The mean value of TC, VLDL-C and LDL-C were higher in overall T2DM patients than the normal range and HDL-C was lower in T2DM patients. Comparison between males and females showed significantly higher LDL-C in females with T2DM than males. Other lipid parameters TC, TG and HDL-C did not show any significant differences between females and males with T2DM.Conclusions: This study demonstrated the existence of dyslipidemia in T2DM population which is major risk factor for CVD. Greater LDL-C was observed in T2DM females compared to T2DM males suggests higher risk for CVD in females compared to males

Long-Term Survival after Gamma Knife Radiosurgery in a Case of Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

The management of recurrent glioblastoma is highly challenging, and treatment outcomes remain uniformly poor. Glioblastoma is a highly infiltrative tumor, and complete surgical resection of all microscopic extensions cannot be achieved at the time of initial diagnosis, and hence local recurrence is observed in most patients. Gamma Knife radiosurgery has been used to treat these tumor recurrences for select cases and has been successful in prolonging the median survival by 8–12 months on average for select cases. We present the unique case of a 63-year-old male with multiple sequential recurrences of glioblastoma after initial standard treatment with surgery followed by concomitant external beam radiation therapy and chemotherapy (temozolomide). The patient was followed clinically as well as with surveillance MRI scans at every 2-3-month intervals. The patient underwent Gamma Knife radiosurgery three times for 3 separate tumor recurrences, and the patient survived for seven years following the initial diagnosis with this aggressive treatment. The median survival in patients with recurrent glioblastoma is usually 8–12 months after recurrence, and this unique case illustrates that aggressive local therapy can lead to long-term survivors in select situations. We advocate that each patient treatment at the time of recurrence should be tailored to each clinical situation and desire for quality of life and improved longevity

Clinical Outcomes of Gamma Knife Radiosurgery in the Treatment of Patients with Trigeminal Neuralgia

Since its introduction by Leksell, Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) has become increasingly popular as a management approach for patients diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia (TN). For this reason, we performed a modern review of the literature analyzing the efficacy of GKRS in the treatment of patients who suffer from TN. For patients with medically refractory forms of the condition, GKRS has proven to be an effective initial and repeat treatment option. Cumulative research suggests that patients treated a single time with GKRS exhibit similar levels of facial pain control when compared to patients treated multiple times with GKRS. However, patients treated on multiple occasions with GKRS are more likely to experience facial numbness and other facial sensory changes when compared to patients treated once with GKRS. Although numerous articles have reported MVD to be superior to GKRS in achieving facial pain relief, the findings of these comparison studies are weakened by the vast differences in patient age and comorbidities between the two studied groups and cannot be considered conclusive. Questions remain regarding optimal GKRS dosing and targeting strategies, which warrants further investigation into this controversial matter

Comparison Between Dexamethasone Versus Clonidine as Adjuvants to 0.75% Ropivacaine in Ultrasound Guided Brachial Plexus Block for Upper Limb Orthopedic Surgeries: A Randomized Prospective Clinical Study

Background: Ropivacaine is an amino-amide local anesthetic, extensively used for peripheral nerve blocks, numerous adjuvants have been added to Ropivacaine to prolong the duration of analgesia. Aim: To compare the effectiveness of adding Dexamethasone to Ropivacaine versus adding Clonidine to Ropivacaine in ultrasound guided supraclavicular brachial plexus block in terms of analgesic duration, onset & duration of sensory and motor blockade. Methods: A prospective randomized single blinded study carried out in 70 patients of ASA grade I and II, aged 20 to 60 years scheduled for elective upper limb orthopedic surgeries. Patients were randomly allocated into two groups, Group RC - patients received 20ml of 0.75% ropivacaine along with 1mcg/kg of clonidine diluted to 2ml of normal saline, Group RD - patients received 20ml of 0.75% ropivacaine along with 8mg of dexamethasone (2ml). Statistical Analysis: Onset & duration of sensorimotor blockade, duration of analgesia was assessed by Unpaired t-test. If p-value <0.05, results were statistically significant & p-value <0.001 were highly significant. Results: Duration of analgesia is superior and statistically significant in Group RD (1,172.57± 18.37 vs 931.09± 16.3). Onset time for sensory (3.14 ± 1.00 vs 9.71± 1.23) and motor (7.60 ± 1.54 vs 13.66± 1.03) block is rapid in Group RD. Duration of sensory (1,106.57± 20.28 vs 786.26± 31.43) and motor (997.74 ± 24.9 vs 674.57 ± 2.18) block is enhanced in Group RD Conclusion: Dexamethasone as an adjuvant to ropivacaine provided superior post-operative analgesia, faster onset and longer duration of sensory and motor blockade

Finite element computation of multi-physical micropolar transport phenomena from an inclined moving plate in porous media

Non-Newtonian flows arise in numerous industrial transport processes including materials fabrication systems. Micropolar theory offers an excellent mechanism for exploring the fluid dynamics of new non-Newtonian materials which possess internal microstructure. Magnetic fields may also be used for controlling electrically-conducting polymeric flows. To explore numerical simulation of transport in rheological materials processing, in the current paper, a finite element computational solution is presented for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD), incompressible, dissipative, radiative and chemically-reacting micropolar fluid flow, heat and mass transfer adjacent to an inclined porous plate embedded in a saturated homogenous porous medium. Heat generation/absorption effects are included. Rosseland’s diffusion approximation is used to describe the radiative heat flux in the energy equation. A Darcy model is employed to simulate drag effects in the porous medium. The governing transport equations are rendered into non-dimensional form under the assumption of low Reynolds number and also low magnetic Reynolds number. Using a Galerkin formulation with a weighted residual scheme, finite element solutions are presented to the boundary value problem. The influence of plate inclination, Eringen coupling number, radiation-conduction number, heat absorption/generation parameter, chemical reaction parameter, plate moving velocity parameter, magnetic parameter, thermal Grashof number, species (solutal) Grashof number, permeability parameter, Eckert number on linear velocity, micro-rotation, temperature and concentration profiles. Furthermore, the influence of selected thermo-physical parameters on friction factor, surface heat transfer and mass transfer rate is also tabulated. The finite element solutions are verified with solutions from several limiting cases in the literature. Interesting features in the flow are identified and interpreted

Developmenrt of EST-SSR and genomic-SSR markers to assess genetic diversity in Jatropha Curcas L.

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Jatropha curcas L. </it>has attracted a great deal of attention worldwide, regarding its potential as a new biodiesel crop. However, the understanding of this crop remains very limited and little genomic research has been done. We used simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers that could be transferred from <it>Manihot esculenta </it>(cassava) to analyze the genetic relationships among 45 accessions of <it>J. curcas </it>from our germplasm collection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In total, 187 out of 419 expressed sequence tag (EST)-SSR and 54 out of 182 genomic (G)-SSR markers from cassava were polymorphic among the <it>J. curcas </it>accessions. The EST-SSR markers comprised 26.20% dinucleotide repeats, 57.75% trinucleotide repeats, 7.49% tetranucleotide repeats, and 8.56% pentanucleotide repeats, whereas the majority of the G-SSR markers were dinucleotide repeats (62.96%). The 187 EST-SSRs resided in genes that are involved mainly in biological and metabolic processes. Thirty-six EST-SSRs and 20 G-SSRs were chosen to analyze the genetic diversity among 45 <it>J. curcas </it>accessions. A total of 183 polymorphic alleles were detected. On the basis of the distribution of these polymorphic alleles, the 45 accessions were classified into six groups, in which the genotype showed a correlation with geographic origin. The estimated mean genetic diversity index was 0.5572, which suggests that our <it>J. curcas </it>germplasm collection has a high level of genetic diversity. This should facilitate subsequent studies on genetic mapping and molecular breeding.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We identified 241 novel EST-SSR and G-SSR markers in <it>J. curcas</it>, which should be useful for genetic mapping and quantitative trait loci analysis of important agronomic traits. By using these markers, we found that the intergroup gene diversity of <it>J. curcas </it>was greater than the intragroup diversity, and that the domestication of the species probably occurred partly in America and partly in Hainan, China.</p

Centromere protein A dynamics in human pluripotent stem cell self-renewal, differentiation and DNA damage

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) hold significant promise for use in regenerative medicine, or as a model to understand human embryo development. However, the basic mechanisms required for proliferation and self-renewal of hPSCs have not been fully uncovered. Proliferation in all eukaryotes is dependent upon highly regulated expression of the histone H3 variant Centromere protein A (CENP-A). In the current study, we demonstrate that hPSCs have a unique messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) reserve of CENP-A not found in somatic fibroblasts. Using short hairpin RNA technology to reduce but not ablate CENP-A, we show that CENP-A-depleted hPSCs are still capable of maintaining a functional centromeric mark, whereas fibroblasts are not. However, upon induction of differentiation or DNA damage, hPSCs with depleted CENP-A arrest in G2/M and undergo apoptosis. Analysis of CENP-A dynamics following DNA damage in hPSCs reveals that 60 min after irradiation, CENP-A is found in multiple small nuclear foci that are mutually exclusive to γH2AX as well as CENP-C. Furthermore, following irradiation, hPSCs with depleted CENP-A mount a normal apoptotic response at 6 h; however at 24 h, apoptosis is significantly increased in CENP-A-depleted hPSCs relative to control. Taken together, our results indicate that hPSCs exhibit a unique mechanism for maintaining genomic integrity by possessing the flexibility to reduce the amount of CENP-A required to maintain a functional centromere under self-renewing conditions, and maintaining a reserve of CENP-A mRNA to rebuild the centromere following differentiation or DNA damage

Changing perceptions of hunger on a high nutrient density diet

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>People overeat because their hunger directs them to consume more calories than they require. The purpose of this study was to analyze the changes in experience and perception of hunger before and after participants shifted from their previous usual diet to a high nutrient density diet.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a descriptive study conducted with 768 participants primarily living in the United States who had changed their dietary habits from a low micronutrient to a high micronutrient diet. Participants completed a survey rating various dimensions of hunger (physical symptoms, emotional symptoms, and location) when on their previous usual diet versus the high micronutrient density diet. Statistical analysis was conducted using non-parametric tests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Highly significant differences were found between the two diets in relation to all physical and emotional symptoms as well as the location of hunger. Hunger was not an unpleasant experience while on the high nutrient density diet, was well tolerated and occurred with less frequency even when meals were skipped. Nearly 80% of respondents reported that their experience of hunger had changed since starting the high nutrient density diet, with 51% reporting a dramatic or complete change in their experience of hunger.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A high micronutrient density diet mitigates the unpleasant aspects of the experience of hunger even though it is lower in calories. Hunger is one of the major impediments to successful weight loss. Our findings suggest that it is not simply the caloric content, but more importantly, the micronutrient density of a diet that influences the experience of hunger. It appears that a high nutrient density diet, after an initial phase of adjustment during which a person experiences "toxic hunger" due to withdrawal from pro-inflammatory foods, can result in a sustainable eating pattern that leads to weight loss and improved health. A high nutrient density diet provides benefits for long-term health as well as weight loss. Because our findings have important implications in the global effort to control rates of obesity and related chronic diseases, further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results.</p