DEVADARU (CEDRUS DEODARA (ROXB.) LOUD.): A CRITICAL REVIEW ON THE MEDICINAL PLANT

Devadaru (Cedrus deodara) an important plant belongs to Pinaceae family found in the north-western Himalayas at altitude of 1200-3000 meter. The aromatic wood of this beautiful tree is used as carminative, anti inflammatory, diaphoretic, diuretics, antipyretic, antileprotic. In Caraka samhita it is one among the Satanya shodhana and Anuvasanopaga group of drugs and Sushruta also considered it as the Vata Shamana group, Katuvarga and Eladi group. It is the chief timber of north west India and is used for all purpose of construction of railway sleepers, bridges, and even for furniture and shingles. The oil obtained is used for mange in horses and sore feet in cattle. It is in use since vedic period in temples and in making incense even said that by sitting under its shade many diseases cures especially asthma. Here the present review study is an attempt to provide reported detail information of this herb from various Samhitas and its study in modern area like its phytoconstituents and pharmacological activities

Study of the use of dehydrated salts : as electrolytes in the fuel cells

117-123The main advantage of the non-conventional energy sources over the conventional energy sources is its cleanness, low chemical and noise pollution, high fuel efficiency with better fuel flexibility and economy. Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert the chemical energy of a fuel directly and very efficiently into electricity. Here we report a new class of electrolyte, i.e. polycrystalline dehydrated salts as an intermediate temperature fuel cell electrolyte. The porous conduction in the dehydrated salts was established by the study of DTA/TGA, transference number, bulk electrical conductivity measurement and EMF study

Production of solar hydrogen energy by nanostructured semiconductor photoelectrode

75-78The present paper describes the modification and solar hydrogen production studies employing a new semiconductor-septum (SC-SEP) photoelectrode ns-TiO2-In2O3 admixed/Ti based photoelectrochemical solar cell. The current-voltage characteristics of the above SC-SEP cell revealed that an enhancement in short-circuit current (ISC) up to three times (5~14.6 mAcm-2). The optimum hydrogen production rate was found to be 11.8 lh-1m-2 for 5 M H2SO4 and with a further increase in H2SO4 concentration, the hydrogen production rate was found to be invariant. In yet another part of our study instead of using new SC-SEP solar cell design, we used a new material form such as ns-TiO2-WO3. The WO3 admixed ns-TiO2 exhibited a high photo-current and photo-voltage of 15.6 mAcm-2, 960 mV, respectively. The ns-TiO2-WO3 electrode exhibited a higher hydrogen gas evolution rate of 13.8 lh-1m-2

HPLC Analysis and Standardization of Arjunarishta – An Ayurvedic Cardioprotective Formulation

Arjunarishta (Parthadyarishta) is an important Ayurvedic formulation used for cardiovascular disorders and is prepared by fermenting the decoction of specified plant materials using flowers of Woodfordia fruticosa. In present communication, an HPLC-PDA method was developed for the standardization of Arjunarishta by quantitative estimation of major antioxidant compounds, ellagic acid, gallic acid, ethyl gallate, quercetin and kaempferol as markers. The developed method was validated with respect to linearity, precision, accuracy, and robustness. The HPLC analysis showed an increase in amount of ellagic acid and gallic acid during preparation, i.e. decoction vs formulation. A similar increase in free radical scavenging activity of formulation vs decoction was also observed. Arjunolic acid and arjunic acid were not detected in the formulation

Integrated Microbial and γ-radiolytic process for Desulphurisation of High Sulphur Coals: Proof of the Concept and A case study on Polish & Indian Coals

27-33Coal will continue to be used in thermal power plants to produce electricity to meet the ever increasing demand of energy for several coming decades in the developing nations, particularly India. During thermal generation of electricity, coal is combusted, in the course of which several serious environmental problems are created. To mitigate these problems, lot of emphasis is being put on "clean coal technologies", which, inter alia, include environmental control equipment as also coal cleaning for obtaining clean fuel, especially coal beneficiation before combustion. Precombustion cleaning of coal comprises principally coal washing and desulphurisation. In this context, desulphurisation of high sulphur coals (such coals having 1% or more sulphur content), the total reserves of which is ca. 2840 million tonnes., assumes much greater importance, because the presence of sulphur in coal gives rise to several environmental problems such as environmental pollution causing ecological imbalance, depletion of ozone layer, acid rain etc. The processes in vogue for the precombustion desulphurisation of coal include physical, chemical biological and radiation methods. Of late, extensive research is being carried out on biological desulphurisation of coal. At CFRI Dhanhad a new and effective γ- radiolytic process of desulphurisation has also been developed.     The present paper reports the results of desulphurisation of high sulphur bituminous Polish (Janina coal mines of Lybiaz coal field ) and Indian (N-E coal fields, Tinsukia coal, Assam) coals (sulphur content 2-6%) by firstly individual microbial and γ- radiolytic methods, and then in succession (microbial followed by γ- radiolytic method). While the microbial desulphurisation entails the use of isolated cultures o f Thiobacillous ferrooxidans, the γ- radiolytic method comprises irradiation of acidic/ aqueous slurries of the coals at different γ- doses. It was found that the microbial method is more effective for the removal of pyritic sulphur, whilst the γ- radiolytic method is effective to remove both the pyritic and organic sulphur. A comparison between desulphurisation experiments by individual microbial and γ- radiolytic methods and the integrated method (microbial plus γ- radiolytic in succession) evinces that the combined method is much more effective for the removal of sulphur, including organic sulphur, from these coals. It is found that along with removal of sulphur from the coals, mineral matter is also removed simultaneously. The attractive feature of the process is that the caking property of the coal after desulphurisation is either increased slightly or remains unchanged. Another import ant feature is that the coal structure is not affected/ degraded to any appreciable extent after desulphurisation. As such the integrated mi crobial and γ- radiolytic process seems to be a better alternative for the deep desulphurisation of high sulphur coals and this could be a step forward in the direction of environment- friendly" clean coal technology"

<i><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US">Kalyanaka ghrita</span></i><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US">: an example of intertextuality among the<span style="font-size:15.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US"> <i><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US">Bower </span></i><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US">manuscript,<span style="font-size:15.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US"> <i><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US">Charak samhita</span></i><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US">, <i>Susruta samhita</i>,<span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US"> <i><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US">Astangahrdayam samhita</span></i><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US"> <span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US">and<span style="font-size:15.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:15.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US">Ayurvedic</span></i><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US"> Formulary of India<span style="font-size:15.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US"> <span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US">(AFI)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>

519-524This critical and careful study aimed to gather information on the common formulation(s) found in the following ancient medical texts: the<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing: -.1pt" lang="EN-US"> <span style="font-size: 9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing:-.1pt;mso-bidi-font-style:italic" lang="EN-US">Bower Manuscript<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing: -.1pt" lang="EN-US"> (Bower Ms.),<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> Charak Samhita (CS),<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> Susruta Samhita<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing: -.1pt" lang="EN-US"> (SS),<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> Astangahrdayam Samhita (AHS) and Ayurvedic Formulary of India<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> (AFI). We found that only one formulation,<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> Kalyanaka ghrita, had the same formula in all the texts.<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> Kalyanaka ghrita was prepared according to the formula provided in the AFI and in the ancient classical texts. The prepared<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:9.0pt;color:black; letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> ghrita was examined by high performance thin layer chromatography and then compared with commercial<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> Triphala Churna<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing: -.1pt" lang="EN-US"> with respect to chemical markers. We identified a connection among the<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> Bower Ms.,<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> CS,<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> SS,<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> AHS<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;color:black;letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> and AFI.<span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:9.0pt;color:black; letter-spacing:-.1pt" lang="EN-US"> </span

Access and availability of essential medicines in Chhattisgarh: Situation in public health facilities

Background: In 2013, the Government of Chhattisgarh announced a policy guaranteeing access to free generic medicines in all the public health facilities. This study was conducted with the objectives of evaluating the prescribing patterns of physicians in public health facilities with regard to generic medicines, and whether the prescribed generic medicines were made available to patients. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducting from December 2013-October 2014, using exit interviews of patients. Out of the total 27 districts of the state, 15 districts were selected, and one district hospital, three community health centers, and three primary health centers were selected from each of these districts, as per logistics feasibility. Descriptive statistics in the form of frequencies and percentages were calculated. Results: During the data collection period, a total of 1290 prescriptions were reviewed from 100 public health facilities. Around 68.89% of the medicines prescribed were generic and were from the 2013 generic drugs list. Around 58.28% of the prescribed generic medicines were available to the patients from these public health facilities, and the rest of the medicines were procured from private pharmacies. Conclusion: Chhattisgarh has made considerable progress in increasing access of generic medicines to patients in public health facilities. Our study shows that for the year 2013-14, about 58% of the prescribed medicines were available in various public health facilities. There is opportunity to further improve the state financial allocation for generic medicines, to improve supply chain and logistics for better distribution, and to mandate that physicians in these facilities prescribe generic medicines

Prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

Introduction: Psychiatric disorders, especially anxiety and depression have been reported to have an increased prevalence in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, but there is a paucity of data from India. Aims and Objectives: Aim of our study is to study the frequency of psychiatric comorbidities in COPD patients and their correlation with severity of COPD, as per global initiative for obstructive lung disease guidelines. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital (King George's Medical University). A total of 74 COPD patients were included in this study and compared with 74 controls. The diagnosis and severity of COPD were assessed by spirometry. Psychiatric comorbidities were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview questionnaire. Results: The frequency of psychiatric comorbidities was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in COPD patients (28.4%) as compared to controls (2.7%). As regards to severity, the frequency was significantly increased in severe and very severe COPD. The frequency of psychiatric comorbidities in COPD patients increased significantly with the increase in duration of symptoms being present in 67% of patients with duration of symptoms more than 10 years and only 23% of patients with duration of symptoms ≤5 years. Conclusion: The frequency of psychiatric comorbidities is increased in COPD patients as compared to controls. We recommend that all patients with COPD should be screened for psychiatric comorbidity, if any

Increased Expression of Membrane Type 3-Matrix Metalloproteinase in Human Atherosclerotic Plaque

BackgroundMatrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are thought to play a prominent role in atherogenesis and destabilization of plaque. Pericellularly localized membrane-type (MT)-MMPs activate secreted MMPs. We investigated the hypothesis that MT3-MMP is expressed in human atherosclerotic plaques and is regulated by locally produced inflammatory cytokines and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (Ox-LDL).Methods and resultsExpression and cellular localization of MT3-MMP in normal and atherosclerotic human coronary arteries were examined using specific antibodies. Abundant MT3-MMP expression was noted in medial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) of normal arteries. In atherosclerotic arteries, MT3-MMP expression was observed within complex plaques and colocalized with SMCs and macrophages (Mphi). Cultured human monocyte-derived Mphi constitutively expressed MT3-MMP mRNA and proteolytically active protein, as demonstrated by mRNA analyses, immunoblotting, and gelatin zymography, respectively. Ox-LDL, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, or macrophage colony-stimulating factor caused dose- and time-dependent increases in steady-state levels of MT3-MMP mRNA in cultured Mphi. This correlated with a 2- to 4-fold increase in levels of MT3-MMP immunoreactive protein and enzymatic activity in Mphi membranes. Confocal microscopy and flow cytometry confirmed induction and spatial distribution of MT3-MMP protein from intracellular domains to the Mphi plasma membrane by Ox-LDL, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, or macrophage colony-stimulating factor.ConclusionsMT3-MMP is expressed by SMCs and Mphi in human atherosclerotic plaques. Proinflammatory molecules cause a progressive increase in the expression of MT3-MMP in cultured Mphi. Our results suggest a mechanism by which inflammatory molecules could promote Mphi-mediated degradation of extracellular matrix and thereby contribute to plaque destabilization