ABHRAK BHASMA AND SiO2 INFLUENCED FREE RADICAL STATUS IN LIVER AND KIDNEY OF CCl4-INDUCED ACUTELY INTOXICATED MALE ALBINO RAT

Objective: The objective of the study was to study the mechanism of action of abhrak bhasma-mediated liver and kidney protection in CCl4-induced acute hepatotoxicity-induced male albino rats. Action of abhrak bhasma is compared with the action of SiO2 in similar experimental conditions to differentiate the role of silicon. Methods: Male albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) were used for experiments. The acute hepatotoxicity was induced by daily dose of CCl4 (3.0 ml/kg body wt for 7 days consecutive). Concurrent treatment of abhrak bhasma in graded doses (10, 20, 30, and 40 mg) was given for 7 days (PO). SiO2 (10, 20, 30, and 40 mg) in graded doses was also given in independent groups of rats as silica control. Lipid peroxidation (LPO) in liver and kidney was studied by malondialdehyde (MDA) estimations as parameter of toxicity and also to study protection. Results: CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity (MDA levels) is partially managed by low doses of SiO2 but not by high doses. Abhrak bhasma hepatoprotective activities were dose dependent. A 40 mg dose maintained normal levels of LPO. Abhrak bhasma also protected associated renal toxicity. Conclusion: Abhrak bhasma protected CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity and also associated renal toxicity. Silicon from both SiO2 and abhrak bhasma is hepatoprotective in 10 ml doses (10 and 20 mg) but silicon processed in abhrak bhasma by traditional Ayurvedic processes increased its potency and hepatoprotection and added the potency of renal protection

Tin Hat Games – Producing, Funding, and Consuming an Independent Role-Playing Game in the Age of the Interactive Spectacle

Spectacle 2.0 recasts Debord's theory of spectacle within the frame of 21st century digital capitalism. It offers a reassessment of Debord’s original notion of Spectacle from the late 1960s, of its posterior revisitation in the 1990s, and it presents a reinterpretation of the concept within the scenario of contemporary informational capitalism and more specifically of digital and media labour. It is argued that the Spectacle 2.0 form operates as the interactive network that links through one singular (but contradictory) language and various imaginaries, uniting diverse productive contexts such as logistics, finance, new media and urbanism. Spectacle 2.0 thus colonizes most spheres of social life by processes of commodification, exploitation and reification. Diverse contributors consider the topic within the book’s two main sections: Part I conceptualizes and historicizes the Spectacle in the context of informational capitalism; contributions in Part II offer empirical cases that historicise the Spectacle in relation to the present (and recent past) showing how a Spectacle 2.0 approach can illuminate and deconstruct specific aspects of contemporary social reality. All contributions included in this book rework the category of the Spectacle to present a stimulating compendium of theoretical critical literature in the fields of media and labour studies. In the era of the gig-economy, highly mediated content and President Trump, Debord’s concept is arguably more relevant than ever

Use of Extracted Green Inhibitors as a Friendly Choice in Corrosion Protection of Low Alloy Carbon Steel

Mitigation of corrosion impact on environment is an important step in environmental protection. Use of environmentally friendly corrosion protection methods is very important. It is smart to choose cheap and safe to handle compounds as corrosion inhibitors. The use of green inhibitors (extracted inexpensively, from the seed endosperm of some Leguminosae plants), and investigation of their efficiency in corrosion protection is the aim of this study. As green inhibitor one kind of polysaccharides (galactomannan) from locust bean gum (also known as carob gum, carob bean gum) extracted from the seed of carob tree is used. Corrosion protection efficiency of these extracted green inhibitors was tested for carbon steel marked as: steel 39, steel 44, and iron B 500 (usually applied as reinforcing bars to concrete). Sulfuric acid solution in the presence of chloride ions was used as corrosion media. The composition of corrosion acid media used was 1 mol L^-1 H₂SO₄ and 10^-3 mol L^-1 Cl^- (in the form of NaCl). Electrochemical techniques such as potentiodynamic polarization methods were used for inhibitor efficiency testing

Treatability of digested piggery/poultry manure by anammox bacteria

The liquid fraction of digested material is rich in ammonium and may require nitrogen removal. The aim of this research was to evaluate the applicability of the anammox process for the biological N removal from a supernatant coming from the anaerobic digestion of a mixture of piggery manure, poultry manure, and of agro-wastes. The supernatant was pre-treated in a partial nitritation pilot-scale reactor located at the farm. A batch procedure for testing the short term effect of high-strength wastewaters on anammox activity is presented. The anammox process was successfully applied for the first time to undiluted digestate, and the average N removal efficiency achieved during 350 days of experimentation in a SBR lab-scale reactor was 91%

Evaluation of multi-stress tolerant maize varieties for sustainable intensification in Northern Guinea Savanna of north eastern Nigeria

Maize productivity is limited by multiple stresses in the savannas of West and Central Africa. Field trials were conducted in northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria in 2011 and 2012 to evaluate the performance of multi-stress tolerant maize varieties. Thirteen varieties including Local Check replicated three times were tested in randomized complete block design. Plant and ear heights were significantly higher for LNTP x LNP-WC3 and 2004 TZE-W DT-STRC4 than POOL 18-SR, 2009 TZE-W POP-STR, EVDT 99-W STR; and EVDT 2000-Y STRQPM, respectively. Striga count was significantly lower for EVDT 99-W STR and LNTP x LNP-WC3 than all the other entries. Days to 50% tassel and 50% silk were each significantly earlier for EVDT 99STR W-STR QPM, DT-W STR SYN, EVDT-99W STR and 2009 TZEW DT STR than the Local Check. Anthesis Silk Interval (ASI) was significantly lower for TZE COMP3 DT-WC2, 2009 TZEW DT STR, and EVDT 99-W STR than Local Check. Number of ears plant-1 was sig¬nificantly higher for 2008 DTMA-Y STR than Local Check. Grain yield ha-1 was significantly superior for DT-Y STR SYN, 2008 DTMA-Y STR, 2004 TZE-W DTSTR C4, 2009 TZEW DT STR and EVDT 99-W STRQPM, respectively. Plant height was positively correlated with ASI and ear height, while ear height was positively associated with ears plant-1, days to 50% silk and 50% tassel. Grain yield ha-1 was positively correlated with ears plant-1, days to 50 % silk, days to 50% tassel and ear height, while ears plant-1 was negatively correlated with ear weight. Farmer selec¬tion criteria for acceptance of variety were in the order: Striga tolerance > nutrient value > drought tolerance > flour value > good taste > high yield > early maturity. The five varieties: DTY STR SYN, 2008 DTMA-Y STR, 2004 TZE-W DT STRC4, 2009 TZEW DT STR and EVDT 99-W STRQPM satisfied farmers criteria and were promising and thus nominated for on-farm demonstration and subsequent adoption in the region

Primjena ekstrahiranih "zelenih" inhibitora pri zaštiti niskolegiranih ugljičnih čelika od korozije

Mitigation of corrosion impact on environment is an important step in environmental protection. Use of environmentally friendly corrosion protection methods is very important. It is smart to choose cheap and safe to handle compounds as corrosion inhibitors. The use of green inhibitors (extracted inexpensively, from the seed endosperm of some Leguminosae plants), and investigation of their efficiency in corrosion protection is the aim of this study. As green inhibitor one kind of polysaccharides (galactomannan) from locust bean gum (also known as carob gum, carob bean gum) extracted from the seed of carob tree is used. Corrosion protection efficiency of these extracted green inhibitors was tested for carbon steel marked as: steel 39, steel 44, and iron B 500 (usually applied as reinforcing bars to concrete). Sulfuric acid solution in the presence of chloride ions was used as corrosion media. The composition of corrosion acid media used was 1 mol L–1 H2SO4 and 10–3 mol L–1 Cl– (in the form of NaCl). Electrochemical techniques such as potentiodynamic polarization methods were used for inhibitor efficiency testing.Ublažavanje utjecaja korozije na okoliš važan je korak u očuvanju okoliša, Posebno se ističu metode zaštite od korozije prihvatljive za okoliš. Treba upotrebljavati jeftine i okolišu prijateljske korozijske inhibitore. To su tzv. zeleni inhibitori. U ovom radu istraživan je inhibitor dobiven iz endosperma sjemena rogača (karuba guma). Djelotvornost u zaštiti od korozije ispitivana je na ugljičnim čelicima (čelik 39 i čelik 44) te željezu B 500. Korozijski medij bio je otopina sumporne kiseline, c(H2SO4) = 1 mol L-1, čista i uz dodatak i kloridnih iona c(NaCl) = 10-3 mol L-1. Primijenjena je elektrokemijska metoda potenciodinamičke polarizacije

Complementary substrate specificity and distinct quaternary assembly of the Escherichia coli aerobic and anaerobic beta-oxidation trifunctional enzyme complexes

The trifunctional enzyme (TFE) catalyzes the last three steps of the fatty acid beta-oxidation cycle. Two TFEs are present in Escherichia coli, EcTFE and anEcTFE. EcTFE is expressed only under aerobic conditions, whereas anEcTFE is expressed also under anaerobic conditions, with nitrate or fumarate as the ultimate electron acceptor. The anEcTFE subunits have higher sequence identity with the human mitochondrial TFE (HsTFE) than with the soluble EcTFE. Like HsTFE, here it is found that anEcTFE is a membrane-bound complex. Systematic enzyme kinetic studies show that anEcTFE has a preference for medium- and long-chain enoyl-CoAs, similar to HsTFE, whereas EcTFE prefers short chain enoyl-CoA substrates. The biophysical characterization of anEcTFE and EcTFE shows that EcTFE is heterotetrameric, whereas anEcTFE is purified as a complex of two heterotetrameric units, like HsTFE. The tetrameric assembly of anEcTFE resembles the HsTFE tetramer, although the arrangement of the two anEcTFE tetramers in the octamer is different from the HsTFE octamer. These studies demonstrate that EcTFE and anEcTFE have complementary substrate specificities, allowing for complete degradation of long-chain enoyl-CoAs under aerobic conditions. The new data agree with the notion that anEcTFE and HsTFE are evolutionary closely related, whereas EcTFE belongs to a separate subfamily.Peer reviewe

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACY & LIFE SCIENCES Stability indicating LC estimation of ramipril and hydrochlorthiazide in its bulk and tablet formulation

Abstract A simple, rapid and sensitive HPLC method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of Ramipril and Hydrochlorothiazide in their dosage forms. Acetonitrile: Phosphate buffer (0.01 M) adjusted to pH 2.6 with Ophosphoric acid, was used as the mobile phase. A CHROMO Sil C-8 (4.6*250 mm) column was utilized as stationary phase. Detection was affected spectrophotometrically at 210 nm. The method was also applied for the determination of Ramipril in the presence of its degradation products. Linearity ranges for Ramipril and Hydrochlorothiazide were 10-50 and 10-150 mg/ml, respectively. The proposed method was further applied to the analysis of tablets containing the two drugs, the percentage recoveries S.D. (n_5) were 99.66% and, 99.63% for Ramipril and Hydrochlorothiazide respectively