Performance of tall wheat under different sowing times and methods using various nutrient sources in western Haryana

To study the effect of different sowing times, methods and nutrient sources on the growth and productivity of tall wheat, a field experiment was conducted in a split-plot design with three replications. The analysis of data revealed that tall wheat crop sown in the last week of October on FIRBS recorded significantly higher plant height, dry matter accumulation (at different growth stages), yield attributes, grain yield (2599 kg ha-1) and biological yield (7212 kg ha-1) as compared to conventionally sown wheat crop in 1st and 2nd week of November. Among the different nutrient sources, the recommended doses of chemical fertilizers provided significantly higher values of growth parameters, yield attributes, grain yield (2658 kg ha-1) and biological yield (7426 kg ha-1) compared to organic fertilizers/ biofertilizers. Maximum temperature showed a significant and positive correlation with yield and yield attributes. In light of the results to maximize the productivity of tall wheat, it may be sown in the last week of October on FIRBS supplied with recommended doses of fertilizers on the basis of soil test

Design and optimization of gastro-retentive microballoons for enhanced bioavailability of cinnarizine

This study is focused on the design of gastro-retentive drug delivery system composed of hollow microspheres (microballoons) for the sustained delivery of cinnarizine (CIN). The microballoons (MBs) were prepared by the emulsion solvent diffusion method using cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) as the hosting polymer and absolute ethanol (ETH) and dichloromethane (DCM) as solvents. A 33 full factorial experimental design was adopted to study the effect of different variables and to find an optimum formula with desired properties. Prepared microballoons showed high drug loading capacities and controlled release behaviour. The optimum formulation was chosen on the basis of achieving maximum values for both drug loading capacity and release efficiency as well as having suitable size. The optimized MB (MB-F21) was composed of 200 mg CIN and 400 mg CAB with a DCM/ETH ratio of 2:1. Scanning electron microscopy for the optimum formulation showed a spherical outline with internal porous structure. An in vivo study using human volunteers was performed by determination of CIN concentration in the plasma using the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method. Results proved the superiority of the designed formulation over the market product Stuval® tablets in bioavailability parameters comprising T max as well as area under the plasma CIN concentration-time curve (AUC0–24 h) and AUC0–∞ values. Also, the significantly greater value of mean residence time (MRT) in case of MB-F21 indicates its higher gastric residence time and proves the advantages of micro-multiparticulate dosage forms over conventional one