Assessment of Physicochemical Parameters from Vermicompost of Eudrilus eugenae and Esienia foetida

In present investigation attempt has been made to investigate the physicochemical parameters like pH, temperature, moisture, salinity, nitrogen, electrical conductivity, nitrate, phosphate, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) from vermicompost of Eudrilus eugenae and Esienia foetida species. The shade of size 10x10 meter and height 1.98 meter was constructed for rearing Eudrilus eugenae and Esienia foetida species. The production of vermicompost was found better in Eudrilus eugenae than Esienia foetida

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF UV SPECTROSCOPIC METHOD FOR ESTIMATION OF ABACAVIR IN TABLET DOSAGE FORM

Objective: To develop and validate simple, rapid, linear, accurate, precise and economical UV Spectroscopic method for estimation of Abacavir in tablet dosage form. Methods: The drug is freely soluble in analytical grade methanol. The drug was identified in terms of solubility studies and on the basis of melting point done on the melting point apparatus of Equiptronics. It showed absorption maxima were determined in analytical grade methanol. The drug obeyed the Beer’s law and showed good correlation of concentration with absorption, which reflect in linearity. The UV spectroscopic method was developed for estimation of Abacavir in tablet dosage form and also validated as per ICH guidelines. Results: The drug is freely soluble in analytical grade methanol, slightly soluble in water and practically insoluble in ethanol. So, the analytical grade methanol is used as a diluent in method. The melting point of Abacavir was found to be 164-165 ˚C (uncorrected). It showed absorption maxima 256 nm in analytical grade methanol. On the basis of absorption spectrum the working concentration was set on 15µg/ml (PPM). The linearity was observed between 5-25 μg/ml (PPM). The results of analysis were validated by recovery studies. The recovery was found to be 98.75, 101 and 99.17% for three levels respectively. The % RSD for precision was found to be 0.32% and for Ruggedness is 0.46% Conclusion: A simple, rapid, linear, accurate, precise and economical UV Spectroscopic method has been developed for estimation of Abacavir in tablet dosage form. The method could be considered for the determination of Abacavir in quality control laboratories

Evaluation of antibacterial and antifungal activity of various concentrations of Azadirachtaindica (Neem) against human pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains

Drugs  from  natural  sources  are  used  for  treating  various  diseases  since  ancient  times. From  the  literature  it  is  clear  that  various  type  of  pharmacological  and  biological  activities  are  associated  with  Azadirachta  indica. The  objective  of  study  is  to  evaluate  antibacterial  and  antifungal  activity  of  Neem  (Azadirachta indica)  leaves  extracts  (Ethanol  and  Aqueous)  against  bacterial  strain Escherichia  coli(gram  negative), Staphylococcus  aureus (Gram  positive)  and  fungal  strain  Aspergillus  niger.  Ethanol  and  aqueous  extracts  of  varying  concentrations  such  as  0% , 3% , 6% , 9%  were  prepared  and  tested  against  test  microorganisms  using agar well  diffusion  method.The  values  of  Zone  of  inhibition  were tabulated  according  to  the  concentration  of  the  tested  agent  and  data  was  statistically  analyzed.. The  Zone  of  inhibition  showed  efficiency  of  plant  extract. Neem’s  apparent  ability  to   control  certain  strains  of  this  bacterium  is  been  of  great  importance  to  dairying  in  the nations  where  Neem  is  used. The  results  showed  that  E.coli  showed  highest  antibacterial  activity  of  24mm  Zone  of  inhibition  at 9%  as  compaired  with  activity  against  S.aureus  of  22mm  Zone  of  inhibition  at  9%. Antifungal  activity  against A.niger  showed  highest  Zone  of  inhibition  of  19mm  and  15mm  at  9%  concentration  of  both  aqueous and  ethanol  extracts.The  antibiotics  such  as  gentamicin, penicillin  and  antifungicides  such  as  streptomycin  were  tested  against  human  pathogens  as  positive  control. The  antibiotic   and   antifungal   activity  of   leaves  of  Neem  tree  and  their  utility  in  diseases  have  been  confirmed  experimentally. The  results  therefore  confirm  the  traditional  use  of  Neem  for  its  antimicrobial  properties

Intraoperative manufacturing of patient specific instrumentation for shoulder arthroplasty: a novel mechatronic approach

Optimal orthopaedic implant placement is a major contributing factor to the long term success of all common joint arthroplasty procedures. Devices such as three-dimensional (3D) printed, bespoke guides and orthopaedic robots are extensively described in the literature and have been shown to enhance prosthesis placement accuracy. These technologies, however, have significant drawbacks, such as logistical and temporal inefficiency, high cost, cumbersome nature and difficult theatre integration. A new technology for the rapid intraoperative production of patient specific instrumentation, which overcomes many of the disadvantages of existing technologies, is presented here. The technology comprises a reusable table side machine, bespoke software and a disposable element comprising a region of standard geometry and a body of mouldable material. Anatomical data from Computed Tomography (CT) scans of 10 human scapulae was collected and, in each case, the optimal glenoid guidewire position was digitally planned and recorded. The achieved accuracy compared to the preoperative bespoke plan was measured in all glenoids, from both a conventional group and a guided group. The technology was successfully able to intraoperatively produce sterile, patient specific guides according to a pre-operative plan in 5 minutes, with no additional manufacturing required prior to surgery. Additionally, the average guide wire placement accuracy was 1.58 mm and 6.82◦ degrees in the manual group, and 0.55 mm and 1.76◦ degrees in the guided group, also demonstrating a statistically significant improvement

A validation of the Oswestry Spinal Risk Index

Purpose The purpose of this study was to validate the Oswestry Spinal Risk Index (OSRI) in an external population. The OSRI predicts survival in patients with metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC). Methods We analysed the data of 100 patients undergoing surgical intervention for MSCC at a tertiary spinal unit and recorded the primary tumour pathology and Karnofsky performance status to calculate the OSRI. Logistic regression models and survival plots were applied to the data in accordance with the original paper. Results Lower OSRI scores predicted longer survival. The OSRI score predicted survival accurately in 74% of cases (p = 0.004). Conclusions Our study has found that the OSRI is a significant predictor of survival at levels similar to those of the original authors and is a useful and simple tool in aiding complex decision making in patients presenting with MSC

Coordination of Mobile Mules via Facility Location Strategies

In this paper, we study the problem of wireless sensor network (WSN) maintenance using mobile entities called mules. The mules are deployed in the area of the WSN in such a way that would minimize the time it takes them to reach a failed sensor and fix it. The mules must constantly optimize their collective deployment to account for occupied mules. The objective is to define the optimal deployment and task allocation strategy for the mules, so that the sensors' downtime and the mules' traveling distance are minimized. Our solutions are inspired by research in the field of computational geometry and the design of our algorithms is based on state of the art approximation algorithms for the classical problem of facility location. Our empirical results demonstrate how cooperation enhances the team's performance, and indicate that a combination of k-Median based deployment with closest-available task allocation provides the best results in terms of minimizing the sensors' downtime but is inefficient in terms of the mules' travel distance. A k-Centroid based deployment produces good results in both criteria.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, conferenc

HISTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF TWO MEDICINAL PLANTS IN MAHARASHTRA

The histochemical studies of leaves and wood of Butea monosperma ­Lam and Madhuca indica Gmel. are medicinal important plants in Maharashtra. For histochemical studies the free hand sections of leaves and wood were taken and treated with the respective reagent in localize components, viz. starch, protein, tannin, saponin, fat, glucosides and alkaloids in the tissues. Key words: Histochemistry, starch, protein, tannin, saponin, fat, glucosides and alkaloid

Bubble size prediction in gas–solid fluidized beds using genetic programming

The hydrodynamics of a gas–solid fluidized bed (FB) is affected by the bubble diameter, which in turn strongly influences the performance of a fluidized bed reactor (FBR). Thus, determining the bubble diameter accurately is of crucial importance in the design and operation of an FBR. Various equations are available for calculating the bubble diameter in an FBR. It has been found in this study that these models show a large variation while predicting the experimentally measured bubble diameters. Accordingly, the present study proposes a new equation for computing the bubble diameter in a fluidized bed. This equation has been developed using an efficient, yet infrequently employed computational intelligence (CI)-based datadriven modelling method termed genetic programming (GP). The prediction and generalization performance of the GP-based equation has been compared with that of a number of currently available equations for computing the bubble diameter in a fluidized bed and the results obtained show a good performance by the newly developed equation