EVALUATION OF ANTI-ASTHMATIC ACTIVITY OF METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF BERLERIA PRIONITIS LINN. AERIAL PARTS

Objective: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the aerial parts of a plant of Barleria prionitis Linn., for its antiasthmatic activity with the separation of active moieties.Methods: Adult wistar albino rats were used for the anti-inflammatory study. Histamine-induced bronchospasm was conducted on isolated goat trachea.Results: The dried and powdered aerial parts of Berleria prionitis was extracted with continuous soxhlet extraction with Petroleum ether (40-60 ° C), Chloroform, Ethyl acetate, Acetone, Methanol, and Hydroalcoholic solvents. Preliminary phytochemical screening of all extracts was done. Preliminary animal studies by In vitro isolated goat trachea chain preparation of all extracts were done to find out the potent extract. In this study, the methanolic extract of aerial parts of Berleria prionitis was found to be potent comparative to another extract. The results of carrageenan induced rat paw oedema model indicated the dose-dependant anti-inflammatory activity. As compared to standard drug (Indomethacin), methanolic extract showed similar activity which was found to be statistically significant (P<0.0001). The extent of DPPH radical scavenging was determined by calculated the IC50 value of methanolic extract Berleria prionitis (133.5) compared with the Ascorbic acid (114.7) taken as standard. In the present study, the histamine-induced dose-dependent contraction of goat tracheal chain was significantly inhibited (p<0.001) by methanolic extract of aerial parts of Berleria prionitis (200 μg/ml). Thus the present study revealed that the methanolic extract of Berleria prionitis (MEBP) has significant antihistaminic (H1 receptor antagonist) activity.Conclusion: In view the fact that tribal have well experienced the antiasthmatic effects of the roots of Barleria prionitis Linn. The results of our study, for the first time, show that the methanolic extract of aerial parts of Berleria prionitis Linn. possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, Bronchodilator properties and therefore can be used for the antiasthmatic treatment

Strata Control for Mechanized Stopping Operation in Narrow and Weak Manganese Deposit of MOIL – A Case Study of Balaghat Mine

AbstractMOIL is producing annually around 1.13 million tones of manganese ore. It operates 7 underground and 3 opencast mines in the state of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The underground mines are operated at shallow to moderate depths. Asia's largest and oldest underground manganese mine is being operated by MOIL at Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh. Horizontal cut and fill mining with passive timber square set support has been replaced with advanced technique of pre-mining support by Cable bolting for reinforcement underground structures. The change in technology has enabled to transform the manual post filling of rock to hydraulic sand stowing operation in all the underground mines of the MOIL. With the available underground stopes, the panel working has been started with phased mechanization. The Side discharge loaders (SDL) has been introduced for mechanical handling of ROM in the stope and Load, haul and dump (LHD) machines for drivage development. These rapid mining operations have imposed the need for change in level interval for higher productivity. Presently below 12th level, level interval has been changed from exiting 30m to 45m at Balaghat Mine. Moreover, Single boomer electro hydrostatic crawler mounted drill jumbo has been introduced for drivage development at Balaghat Mine. The paper describes the phased rock mechanics investigations and its application in the underground mining for mechanized stoping operations at Balaghat mine of MOIL for better safety and productivity

First-order transition from ferromagnetism to antiferromagnetism in CeFe<SUB>2</SUB> based pseudobinary alloys

We present the results of alternating-current susceptibility measurements highlighting the presence of thermal hysteresis and phase coexistence across the ferromagnetic-to-antiferromagnetic transition in various CeFe2-based pseudobinary systems. These results indicate that the ferromagnetic-to-antiferromagnetic transition in these systems is first order in nature

A comparative study of second trimester termination of pregnancy with mifepristone and misoprostol vs misoprostol alone in 50 cases

The aim: To study the efficacy and safety of combined mifepristone and misoprostol used in second-trimester abortion(≥ 12 and ≤ 20 weeks) in comparison with only vaginal misoprostol. Materials and methods: This study was a prospective comparative randomised clinical study in women attending hospitals in need of a second-trimester abortion, i.e., 12–20 weeks of pregnancy were taken up and divided as Group A – 50 women with mifeprisptone and misoprostol, Group B – 50 women with misoprostol alone Results were analysed according to age, parity, gestational age, average dose of misoprostol required for complete abortion, Induction abortion interval, completeness of abortion, side effects and mean days of hospital stay. Results: Demographic details are comparable and insignificant in the comparison. The average dose of misoprostol (mcg) required for the completeness of abortion in group A is 596±28.28 mcg, and in group B, it is 1148±160.66 mcg (p&lt;0.001) which is statistically significant. In the present study, the induction abortion interval is significantly less in group A compared to group B, with p&lt;0.001. In addition, 10 out of 50 patients in group A aborted within 7 hours, whereas none in group B. Mean duration of hospital stay in group A is 24 hours. In group B, it is 34.82 hours which is statistically significant with a p-value of &lt;0.001. 12 patients in group A and 26 in group B had side effects like nausea, vomiting, fever, headache and diarrhoea. 8 % of group A and 20 % of group B had a fever. These patients were treated with antipyretics. 6 % in group A and 14 % in group B had nausea and vomiting and were treated with antiemetics. 4 % in group A and 8 % in group B had diarrhoea and were treated with antimotility drugs. 6 % in group A and 10 % in group B had a headache; these patients were treated with NSAIDs. Conclusions: The combination of mifepristone and misoprostol is a highly effective and safe method for second-trimester termination of pregnancy. The amount of misoprostol needed to accomplish the abortion, and the severity of the adverse effects are lower in the mifepristone-primed group than in the misoprostol-alone group. Since there are fewer difficulties, this approach can be employed in hospitals with high patient density

Studies on Magnetic-field induced first-order transitions

We shall discuss magnetization and transport measurements in materials exhibiting a broad first-order transition. The phase transitions would be caused by varying magnetic field as well as by varying temperature, and we concentrate on ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic transitions in magnetic materials. We distinguish between metastable supercooled phases and metastable glassy phase.Comment: 50th Golden Jubilee Solid State Physics Symposium during Dec.5-9 (2005) in Mumbai - manuscript of Invited tal

First order phase transition from ferromagnetism to antiferromagnetism in Ce(Fe0.96_{0.96}Al0.04_{0.04})2_2

Taking the pseudobinary C15 Laves phase compound Ce(Fe$_{0.96}$Al$_{0.04}$)$_2$ as a paradigm for studying a ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic phase transition, we present interesting thermomagnetic history effects in magnetotransport as well as magnetisation measurements across this phase transition. A comparison is made with history effects observed across the ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic transition in R$_{0.5}$Sr$_{0.5}$MnO$_3$ crystals.Comment: 11 pages of text and 4 figures; submitted to Physical Review Letter

Interesting thermomagnetic history effects in the antiferromagnetic state of SmMn_2Ge_2

We present results of magnetization measurements showing that the magnetic response of the antiferromagnetic state of SmMn_2Ge_2 depends on the path used in the field(H)-temperature(T) phase space to reach this state. Distinct signature of metastablity is observed in this antiferromagnetic state when obtained via field-cooling/field-warming paths. The isothermal M-H loops show lack of end-point memory, reminiscent of that seen in metastable vortex states near the field-induced first order phase transition in various type-II superconductors.Comment: 11 pages of text and 3 figure