Contemporary Tamil Poems: Gyno Critic Approach

This article analyses the evidence on Gender – based issues in contemporary Tamil poems written by female authors. The aim of this paper is to find out female centric experience through poems by applying Gyno – Criticism. Gyno – Criticism is the branch of Feminist Literary Theory and studies. This critical term was coined by the famous critic Elaine Showalter. She analyses four theoretical models that explore these differences: Biological, Linguistical, Psychological and Cultural. This study shows that many Tamil poets (Women) represent their experiences and women issues in their work. This study also conveys resistance of social and cultural constructions which make the whole women society become a subordinate group through the attitude and life of women in their poems

Formulation Design, Development and Invitro Evaluation of Abacavir Sulphate Gastroretentive Microspheres

INTRODUCTION: During the last three decade many studies have been performed concerning the sustained release dosage form of drugs, which have aimed at the prolongation of gastric emptying time (GET). The GET has been reported to be from 2 to 6 hours in humans in the fed state. Accordingly orally, sufficient bioavailability and prolongation of the effective plasma level occasionally cannot be obtained. Gastric emptying of dosage forms is an extremely variable process and ability to prolong and control the emptying time is a valuable asset for dosage forms, which reside in the stomach for a longer period of time than conventional dosage forms. Several difficulties are faced in designing controlled release systems for better absorption and enhanced bioavailability. One of such difficulties is the inability to confine the dosage form in the desired area of the gastrointestinal tract. Drug absorption from the gastrointestinal tract is a complex procedure and is subject to many variables. It is widely acknowledged that the extent of gastrointestinal tract drug absorption is related to contact time with the small intestinal mucosa. Thus, small intestinal transit time is an important parameter for drugs that are incompletely absorbed AIM AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present work was to formulate and evaluate sustained release floating microspheres of Abacavir Sulphate. Abacavir Sulphate is used to in combination with other antiretroviral agents, are indicated for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection. Existing marketed products of the formulation has a dose of 300mg with dosing frequency of two to three times a day and very shorter biological half-life of about 1.54±0.63hour. Further a floating sustained release microsphere has been endeavored by employing polymer combination system to achieve effective plasma concentration with reduced side effects. Floating drug delivery system have a bulk density less than gastric fluids and so remains buoyant in the stomach without affecting gastric emptying rate for a prolonged period of time. Floating microspheres of Abacavir Sulphate for improving the drug bioavailability by prolongation of gastric residence time. Solubility of the selected drug decrease with increase in pH making stomach better site of absorption. Hence an attempt has been made to formulate a GI floating microsphere of the selected drug. Floating microspheres helps in retaining the microspheres in stomach fluids for longer duration and better absorption with site specificity. Formulation techniques involved solvent evaporation method and optimization of stirring speed technique and hydroxylpropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) as the rate controlling polymers. CONCLUSION: The ultimate goal for sustained drug release is to maximize therapeutic activity while minimizing the negative side effects of the drug. In this regard, floating microspheres have emerged as a novel drug delivery system to treat HIV with Abacavir sulphate. The type of polymer affects the drug release rate and the mechanism. Polymer swelling is crucial in determining the drug release rate and is also important for flotation. A lesser FLT and a prolonged floating duration could be achieved by using different polymer combinations. In this study sustained release Floating Microsphere approach for Abacavir sulphate purposes that with hydrophilic polymers the GI retention can be enhanced and reduce frequency of dosing, thereby minimizing the occurrence of side effects, site specificity, increase the effectiveness of the drug and better patient compliance This gives a signal to extending this approach to similar combinations of drugs used in clinical practice so as to improve bioavailability of poorly absorbed drugs in GIT. When these floating microspheres compared to other floating dosage forms like floating tablets have bulk density less than gastric fluid and so remain buoyant in the stomach for prolonged period of time and these are used as multiunit dosage form and drug release optimization and show efficiency level. So, Sustained release floating microspheres of Abacavir sulphate may provide a convenient dosage form for achieving best performance and release and show good bioavailability

Assessment of groundwater quality using spatial variation technique

Groundwater management is a potential solution to the global water crisis. We assessed the groundwater quality at Mettupalayam, Tamil Nadu, India, in order to determine its suitability for drinking. Groundwater samples were collected and their physicochemical characteristics such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total hardness (TH), total dissolved solids (TDS), Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42- and Cl- were determined and benchmarked with standard drinking water requirements. The variations of these parameters were presented spatially. The groundwater is generally brackish and hard; and of low alkalinity and high salinity. Consequently, the groundwater in most parts of the study area is unsuitable for drinking without treatment. It is recommended that point and nonpoint sources of groundwater pollution at Mettupalayam should be identified, monitored and managed in order to protect the groundwater

A Prospective Pilot Study to Validate the Management Protocol for Patients Presenting with Acute Urinary Retention: A Community-Based, Nonhospitalised Protocol

Acute urinary retention (AUR) in males is managed conventionally by hospital admission, alpha-adrenergic therapy, and trial without catheter. To reduce inpatient bed pressures, we set up a protocol to manage such patients in the community. We review our results in this paper. We performed a prospective study of male patients presenting to our acute admissions ward and Accident and Emergency department over 6 months. Patients with chronic urinary retention, macroscopic haematuria, sepsis, urinary tract infection, and/or serum creatinine >130 mmol/l were excluded from the study. Those enrolled were catheterised, commenced on alfuzosin (10 mg nocte), and discharged to the community. A trial without catheter (TWOC) was performed 5—7 days later. QoL/IPSS, peak flow rate, and residual volume assessment were performed following successful TWOC 3 months later.Thirty-one male patients with a median age of 69 years were studied and the median residual volume following catheterisation was 900 ml. The aetiology of AUR was benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in 29 patients and constipation in the remaining 2 patients. TWOC was successful in 19 patients (61.3%) following first TWOC, 26 (83.9%) following second trial of voiding. The mean peak flow rate was 6.5 ml/sec and postvoid scan 165 ml, following an immediate TWOC. At 3 months follow-up, mean peak flow rate was 13.2 ml/sec, postvoid scan 26.5 ml, IPSS 4.5, and QoL score was 2. This study has shown that AUR can be managed safely and effectively in the community. Effective communication with the nurse urology specialist, general practitioner, and emergency department are crucial for the successful implementation of the protocol

Development and validation of stability indicating UPLC method for the estimation of ticagrelor in bulk and its tablet dosage form

The objective of the method was to develop a simple, rapid, sensitive, precise, accurate and validated Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatographic (UPLC) method for the estimation of Ticagrelor in tablet dosage form. Chromatographic separation was achieved on an acquity UPLC BDS C8 (150 x 4.6 mm, 5m) column with a mobile phase composed of Buffer 0.1% OPA (2.2 pH) and  Acetonitrile  in the ratio of 60:40   at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min and 1 μl injection volume. The effluents were detected at a wavelength of 240 nm using TUV detector. The retention time of Ticagrelor was  found to be at 0.942 min. %RSD of the Ticagrelor was found to be 0.7  The method was validated with respect to specificity, accuracy, linearity, precision, robustness. The correlation coefficient for Ticagrelor was found to be 0.999. Recovery of Ticagrelor in formulation was found to be 99.51% . LOD, LOQ values obtained from regression equations of Ticagrelor were 0.45, 1.35 respectively.  Due to simplicity, high precision and rapidness the method can be successfully applied for   estimation of Ticagrelor in tablet dosage form. Keywords: Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatographic, Ticagrelor, Tablet dosage form

Unique Locomotive Wheelchair Robot Mechanism using Gesture and Android

Wheelchairs are used by the people who cannot walk due to physical illness, injury or other disability. Elderly peoples are unable to walk, we need to take care of these peoples every days .so, elderly people to maneuver a mechanical wheelchair, which many of them normally use for locomotion. Hence there is a need for designing a wheelchair that is intelligent and provides easy transportation for the physically challenged peoples and elderly peoples. In this context, an attempt has been made to propose a thought controlled wheelchair, which uses the captured signals from the user’s action and processes it to control the wheelchair. The signals which are captured and translated into movement commands by the microcontroller which in turn move the wheelchair

Estrogen and progesterone receptors have distinct roles in the establishment of the hyperplastic phenotype in PR-A transgenic mice

Introduction: Expression of the A and B forms of progesterone receptor (PR) in an appropriate ratio is critical for mammary development. Mammary glands of PR-A transgenic mice, carrying an additional A form of PR as a transgene, exhibit morphological features associated with the development of mammary tumors. Our objective was to determine the roles of estrogen (E) and progesterone (P) in the genesis of mammary hyperplasias/preneoplasias in PR-A transgenics.Methods: We subjected PR-A mice to hormonal treatments and analyzed mammary glands for the presence of hyperplasias and used BrdU incorporation to measure proliferation. Quantitative image analysis was carried out to compare levels of latency-associated peptide and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1) between PR-A and PR-B transgenics. Basement membrane disruption was examined by immunofluorescence and proteolytic activity by zymography.Results: The hyperplastic phenotype of PR-A transgenics is inhibited by ovariectomy, and is reversed by treatment with E + P. Studies using the antiestrogen ICI 182,780 or antiprogestins RU486 or ZK 98,299 show that the increase in proliferation requires signaling through E/estrogen receptor alpha but is not sufficient to give rise to hyperplasias, whereas signaling through P/PR has little impact on proliferation but is essential for the manifestation of hyperplasias. Increased proliferation is correlated with decreased TGFβ1 activation in the PR-A transgenics. Analysis of basement membrane integrity showed loss of laminin-5, collagen III and collagen IV in mammary glands of PR-A mice, which is restored by ovariectomy. Examination of matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) showed that total levels of MMP-2 correlate with the steady-state levels of PR, and that areas of laminin-5 loss coincide with those of activation of MMP-2 in PR-A transgenics. Activation of MMP-2 is dependent on treatment with E and P in ovariectomized wild-type mice, but is achieved only by treatment with P in PR-A mice.Conclusions: These data establish a link between hormonal response, proliferation, modulation of MMP activity and maintenance of basement membrane integrity that depend on a balance in the expression levels of PR-A and PR-B isoforms. Notably, concomitant increased proliferation, due to inhibition of TGFβ1 activation, and loss of basement membrane integrity, via increased MMP-2 activity, appear to be prerequisites for the PR-A hyperplastic phenotype.Fil: Simian, Marina. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Estados Unidos. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Oncología "Ángel H. Roffo"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; ArgentinaFil: Bissell, Mina J.. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Barcellos Hoff, Mary H.. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Estados Unidos. NYU Langone Medical Center; Estados UnidosFil: Shyamala, Gopalan. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Estados Unido

Id-1 is not expressed in the luminal epithelial cells of mammary glands

BACKGROUND: The family of inhibitor of differentiation/DNA binding (Id) proteins is known to regulate development in several tissues. One member of this gene family, Id-1, has been implicated in mammary development and carcinogenesis. Mammary glands contain various cell types, among which the luminal epithelial cells are primarily targeted for proliferation, differentiation and carcinogenesis. Therefore, to assess the precise significance of Id-1 in mammary biology and carcinogenesis, we examined its cellular localization in vivo using immunohistochemistry. METHODS: Extracts of whole mammary glands from wild type and Id-1 null mutant mice, and tissue sections from paraffin-embedded mouse mammary glands from various developmental stages and normal human breast were subjected to immunoblot and immunohistochemical analyses, respectively. In both these procedures, an anti-Id-1 rabbit polyclonal antibody was used for detection of Id-1. RESULTS: In immunoblot analyses, using whole mammary gland extracts, Id-1 was detected. In immunohistochemical analyses, however, Id-1 was not detected in the luminal epithelial cells of mammary glands during any stage of development, but it was detected in vascular endothelial cells. CONCLUSION: Id-1 is not expressed in the luminal epithelial cells of mammary glands

The long noncoding RNA SPRIGHTLY acts as an intranuclear organizing hub for pre-mRNA molecules

Molecular mechanisms by which long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) molecules may influence cancerous condition are poorly understood. The aberrant expression of SPRIGHTLY lncRNA, encoded within the drosophila gene homolog Sprouty-4 intron, is correlated with a variety of cancers, including human melanomas. We demonstrate by SHAPE-seq and dChIRP that SPRIGHTLY RNA secondary structure has a core pseudoknotted domain. This lncRNA interacts with the intronic regions of six pre-mRNAs: SOX5, SMYD3, SND1, MEOX2, DCTN6, and RASAL2, all of which have cancer-related functions. Hemizygous knockout of SPRIGHTLY by CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas9 in melanoma cells significantly decreases SPRIGHTLY lncRNA levels, simultaneously decreases the levels of its interacting pre-mRNA molecules, and decreases anchorage-independent growth rate of cells and the rate of in vivo tumor growth in mouse xenografts. These results provide the first demonstration of an lncRNA’s three-dimensional coordinating role in facilitating cancer-related gene expression in human melanomas

Invasive apple snails in wetlands of Selangor, Malaysia: Species, distribution, and ecological associations

Apple snails in the genus Pomacea are among the worst invasive species in Southeast Asia. Our objectives were to survey a selection of different wetlands in Selangor for Pomacea, verify which species of Pomacea occurred in that location, and assess basic environmental parameters associated with their presence and relative abundance. Aquatic parameters including pH and concentrations of selected electrolytes were measured at 25 wetland sites distributed among eight localities in Selangor. DNA from snails collected at each locality was extracted and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) was sequenced. We detected two of the most successful invaders of this genus: P. canaliculata was found in five localities and P. maculata in two. Both pH and calcium ion concentrations were negatively associated with Pomacea presence. Pomacea were absent in brackish wetlands with high pH and calcium concentrations reflecting possible physiological intolerance or that dispersal into these habitats has yet to occur. P. maculata is reported to tolerate pH as low as 4.5-6; thus most freshwater wetlands in Selangor and most of Malaysia can potentially be invaded. Pomacea canaliculata and P. maculata have demonstrated remarkable capacity for depleting aquatic macrophytes and may cause rapid changes in aquatic plant communities with potential impacts to wetland state and function. Public awareness and environmentally safe recommendations to mitigate the reproduction and spread of this invasive snail is needed for protecting the biodiversity and health of natural wetlands