Development of low Cost Portable Platform for Bioimpedance Based Diagnostics

Analyzing the impedance of biological samples has gained importance in the last decade. Presently all the bioimpedance analyzer available in the market are heavy and costly. In this context, an attempt has been made to develop a portable, low cost bioimpedance analyzer. For this purpose, the portable cartridges for sample analysis were prepared on cupper print circuit board by chemical etching. The developed device was successfully operated in a frequency range of 50 Hz to 20 KHz to measure impedance of various samples such as glucose, NaCl solution, bacterial cell culture and xanthan gum. All the measured samples were shown capacitive dominance. Optimization of electrode spacing and area was done to improve its efficacy in measuring the bioimpedance. Furthermore, the device was also employed for screening of anticancer drugs like cis-platin using HT-29 colon cancer cell line. The device was found operational for analyzing small sample volume (50-200ìl) , moreover portability of this developed device makes it a special among commercially available instruments used for measuring bioimpedance

DRUG UTILIZATION BASED ADRs DETECTION OF ANTIBIOTICS PRESCRIBED FOR LRTI IN TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL, NEW DELHI

Objective: Aim of to present study was to assess drug utilization pattern of antibiotics use in Lower respiratory tract infection and their adverse drug reaction assessment.Methods: The present study was an observational and prospective study. 110 patients fulfill the inclusion criteria were included in study. Physician prescription records, patient's medication profile types of antibiotics prescribed were recorded and analyzed.Results: Out of 110 LRTI patients, 74 (67.27%) patients were male and 36(32.72%) patients were female. 72 patients were suffered from bronchitis while 38 patients were suffering from pneumonia. 30 patients were in the age range of 56-65 y, followed by 21 patients who were in the age range of 66-75 y. It has been observed that among all the prescribed antibiotic agent's frequency of β-lactam 199(45.53%), quinolones115 (26.27%), macrolides 53(12.12%) chloramphenicol44 (10.06%) sulphonamide 17 (3.89%) and aminoglycosides 9(2.05%) were prescribed to all the patients. Average 3.97 antibiotic agents were prescribed to all the patients. Majority of drugs were given by oral route (68.19%) and Prescriptions are mainly ordered in brand names. The most frequent co-morbid condition was found to be diabetes mellitus (25.45%) followed by hypertension (16.36%) and coronary artery disease (11.81%).45.45%. Only 23 ADRs were detected in 110 patients. The most common culprit was an amoxicillin with clavulanic acid.Conclusion: The present study provides an overall pattern of antibiotic usage in different patients. The area of concern in the present study is polypharmacy and use of antibiotics in LRTI without following any guideline. ADRs monitoring is also required to prevent noxious effects of drugs by the use of antibiotics

Appraisal of Thermal Comfort in Non-Air-conditioned and Air-conditioned Railway Pantry Car Kitchens

This study details the consequences of a thermal comfort survey conducted in N-AC “Non-Airconditioned†and AC “Airconditioned†pantry car kitchens in Indian Railways. The research was carried out on 6 railway pantry car kitchens in which 29 chefs participated. Field measurement and subjective evaluation techniques performed in this study during the working period of chefs. The aim of the present research to compare N-AC and AC railway pantry car kitchen. While the objective of the study to determine the thermal comfort parameters “air temperature, mean radiant temperature, relative humidity and air velocity†of both pantry car kitchens and examine the subjective responses; and to evaluate the thermal comfort of both pantry car kitchens using the PMV “Predicted Mean Vote†and PPD “Predicted Percent Dissatisfied†indices and compare them with actual sensation votes. A result of this study revealed that all thermal comfort parameters do not comply with the recommended ASHRAE 55 Standard in both pantry car kitchens. There is no considerable difference between both pantry car kitchen based on the subjective assessment during the working period and all the chefs' votes were found to be outside the range of the ASHRAE 55 central three categories (-1, 0, +1) votes. Which indicates that the chefs are not satisfied with the current environment. While for N-AC pantry car, PMV and PPD value estimated were 3.10 and 99% respectively, with "hot" thermal sensation. Similarly, for AC pantry car, PMV and PPD value estimated were 2.21 and 85% respectively, with "warm" thermal sensation. The estimated values of PMV and PPD do not follow the ASHRAE-55 2017 and ISO 7730 standard. Therefore, PMV indices are not directly applicable for thermal comfort application in a pantry car kitchen environment due to high temperature. In both the pantry car kitchen, there is no difference between predicted and actual sensation votes. In further establish the other method and technique to identify the comfort temperature for better workmanship of chefs in a pantry car kitchen.   &nbsp

DRUG UTILIZATION EVALUATION OF ANGIOTENSIN RECEPTOR BLOCKER (ARB) ALONG WITH THEIR ADRS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: To evaluate the drug utilization of Angiotensin Receptor Blocker (ARB) along with their ADRs in a tertiary care hospital. And to monitor, report of adverse drug reaction and drug interactions, if any. Methods: The patients who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled into the study. The pertinent data such as demographic details, drug name, dose, frequency, and laboratory data were gathered from medical records of the patient and results were analyzed. Results: Total of 100 patients were included in this study, the maximum utilization of antihypertensive drug (ARB) was telmisartan (90%) and widely use of ARBs in the age group of 41-50 y. Total 32 ADRs were observed and most probable ADRs included headache (42.8%), Nausea (14.28%) and dizziness (12.5%). Conclusion: Telmisartan was the most prescribed and utilized drug than the other drugs of ARBs. Maximum ADRs were noted in females, the most frequent ADRs headache, nausea and dizziness were reported. The majority of reactions were probable on causality assessment done by WHO-UMC and Naranjo’s scale having mild severity. So it can be concluded that considering risk factors, prevention and management of ADRs can drastically improve the therapeutic outcomes of the patients

Preventive role of Withania somnifera on hyperlipidemia and cardiac oxidative stress in streptozotocin induced type 2 diabetic rats

Purpose: The present study was intended to investigate the preventive role of Withania somnifera (WS) on hyperlipidemia and oxidative stress in the heart of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 2 diabetic rats.Methods: Single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (100 mg/kg) was given to 2 days rat pups to induce type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes was confirmed 90 days after the administration of STZ by measuring blood glucose level. WS (200 and 400 mg/kg) was administered orally once a day for 5 weeks after the confirmation of diabetes. Glucose, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatinine kinase (CK), total cholesterol (TCh), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), verylow density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) and markers of oxidative stress parameters like lipid peroxidation (LPO), reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were evaluated in the heart of type 2 diabetic rats.Results: Oral administration of WS for 5 weeks resulted in a significant (P<0.001) reduction in glucose, LDH, CK, TC, TG, LDL-C, VLDL-C levels with significant elevation of HDL-C levels. On the other hand, WS treated diabetic rats significantly (P<0.01-P<0.001) reduced the elevated levels of LPO, increased levels of antioxidant enzymes (i.e, GSH, GPx, GR, GST, SOD and CAT).Conclusion: These findings propose the role of hyperlipidemia and cardiac oxidative stress in type 2 diabetic rats and suggested protective effect of WS in this animal model.Keywords: Withania somnifera; Hyperlipidemia; Oxidative stress; Streptozotocin; Type 2 diabete

Topical nanoemulsion of turmeric oil for psoriasis: characterization, ex vivo and in vivo assessment

Psoriasis is a chronic; T lymphocyte mediated autoimmune inflammatory disorder characterized by well-defined erythematous (reddish) plaques with large adherent silvery scales that affects the skin and other parts of the body. The essential oil in turmeric is anti-inflammatory and effective in treating chronic disorders like psoriasis that have inflammation as a root symptom. Nanoemulsions are isotropic, thermodynamically stable transparent (or translucent) systems of oil, water, surfactant and co-surfactant with a droplet size usually in the range of 20–200 nm. Their long-term stability and ease of preparation (spontaneous emulsification) make it promising tool for drug delivery. The aim of this study was to obtain nanoemulsions of turmeric oil for psoriasis and to evaluate their physical stability, irritation potential and in vivo inflammatory activity. For the preparation of nanoemulsion titration method was used which was composed of 15% turmeric oil, 42 % Smix (1:1) and 43 % distilled water. The nanoemulsion was stable during the period of study and was found to be practically non-irritating in the organotypic HET-CAM model. The anti inflammatory activity of optimized nonoemulsion was carried out by carragennen induced paw edema and found to be 70.35 % inhibition

Effects of aliskiren on hemodynamic parametersin daunorubicin -induced acute cardiomyopathy in rats

Daunorubicin ((DNR)) used in oncological practice against a wide variety of solid organ tumors and hematologic malignancies, including leukemia, lymphoma, breast cancer, lung cancer, multiple myeloma and sarcoma. however clinical use of this agent is limited due to cardiomyopathy and cardiac heart failure. one of the important player in the development of cardic hypertrophy and reperfusion injury is renin-angiotensin system. Aliskiren (ALK) a recent drug of a direct inhibitor of the renin enzyme. It Protect cardiomyopathy by the inhibition of the renin activity. Present study is towards the evaluation of protective effcets of ALK 50 and 100 mg/kg/day in rats. The systolic, diastolic, mean BP and heart rate were significantly (P< 0.01) increased in DNR control group as compared to normal control group. Thus the results provide clear evidence that the ALK pretreatment offered significant protection against DNR-induced Hemodynamic parameters changes.  Keywords: Daunorubicin, Cardiomyopathy, Aliskiren, Telmisartan and Hemodynamic parameter

In-Vivo assessment of glucocorticoid loaded tea tree oil nanoemulsion gel

Optimized formulations were subjected to various in vivo studies like anti-inflammatory activity, Nickel induced dermatitis, irritation study and Acute and repeated dose dermal toxicity studies. Clobetasol propionate (CP) has anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antiproliferative activity. The aim of the present work was to test the hypothesis that the addition CP in nanoemulsions would result in enhancement CP delivery and leading to better antipsoriatic activity. Nanoemulsions were prepared by aqueous phase titration method, using Tea Tree oil, Tween 20, Transcutol P, and distilled water as the oil phase, surfactant, co-surfactant and aqueous phase, respectively.We developed a topical O/W nanoemulsion in which drug is incorporated in disperse phase of oil and evaluated its efficacy against different types of in vivostudies. It was also found that the significantly increased their anti-inflammatory activity. It was reported that CP-loaded nanoemulsion significantly increased NTPDase (Nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolases) activity in lymphocytes. This membrane protein is responsible for the hydrolysis of extracellular ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) which is responsible for cell proliferation, differentiation and inflammatory processes. In vivoirritation studies did not show any irritation in spite of having high amount of surfactant. Group treated with CP loaded nanoemulsion gel showed no evident toxicity even on repeated exposure. On the basis of above in vivo study we conclude that developed nanoemulsion is safe for human. Keywords: Clobetasol propionate, In-vivo study, Nanoemulsion, Anti-inflammatory study, Toxicity stud

Enhanced drug delivery and wound healing potential of berberine-loaded chitosan–alginate nanocomposite gel: characterization and in vivo assessment

Berberine–encapsulated polyelectrolyte nanocomposite (BR–PolyET–NC) gel was developed as a long-acting improved wound healing therapy. BR–PolyET–NC was developed using an ionic gelation/complexation method and thereafter loaded into Carbopol gel. Formulation was optimized using Design-Expert® software implementing a three-level, three-factor Box Behnken design (BBD). The concentrations of polymers, namely, chitosan and alginate, and calcium chloride were investigated based on particle size and %EE. Moreover, formulation characterized in vitro for biopharmaceutical performances and their wound healing potency was evaluated in vivo in adult BALB/c mice. The particle distribution analysis showed a nanocomposite size of 71 ± 3.5 nm, polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.45, ζ–potential of +22 mV, BR entrapment of 91 ± 1.6%, and loading efficiency of 12.5 ± 0.91%. Percentage drug release was recorded as 89.50 ± 6.9% with pH 6.8, thereby simulating the wound microenvironment. The in vitro investigation of the nanocomposite gel revealed uniform consistency, well spreadability, and extrudability, which are ideal for topical wound use. The analytical estimation executed using FT-IR, DSC, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated successful formulation with no drug excipients and without the amorphous state. The colony count of microbes was greatly reduced in the BR–PolyET–NC treated group on the 15th day from up to 6 CFU compared to 20 CFU observed in the BR gel treated group. The numbers of monocytes and lymphocytes counts were significantly reduced following healing progression, which reached to a peak level and vanished on the 15th day. The observed experimental characterization and in vivo study indicated the effectiveness of the developed BR–PolyET–NC gel toward wound closure and healing process, and it was found that >99% of the wound closed by 15th day, stimulated via various anti-inflammatory and angiogenic factors