Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2009"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 871

Stabilization of β-galactosidase (from peas) by immobilization onto Amberlite MB-150 beads and its application in lactose hydrolysis
(2009) Alka Dwevedi; Arvind M. Kayastha
The soluble PsBGAL (from Pisum sativum) is extremely unstable with loss of over 80% in enzyme activity within 24 h at 4 °C when the protein concentration was lower than 0.1 mg/mL Enzyme immobilization onto Amberlite MB-150 beads (diameter = 5 μm) greatly stabilized the enzyme preparation, with almost no loss for 12 months at room temperature (27 °C). Enzyme (21.9 μg) was immobilized by 62.56% onto activated 100 mg of Amberlite MB-150 beads using 4% glutaraldehyde, at pH 6.0 (50 mM, sodium phosphate buffer). Statistical analysis carried out by ANOVA revealed that all parameters used during immobilization were equally important at P < 0.05 (level of significance). An approach toward commercial exploitation of Amberlite-PsBGAL especially in lactose hydrolysis was anticipated due to improved physicochemical properties including broad optimum pH and temperature, with a Km of 4.11 ± 0.21 mM for lactose. Amberlite-PsBGAL hydrolyzed 64.57 and 69.18% of lactose present in milk and milk whey, respectively, within 10 h (at room temperature). Immobilized enzyme has reusability of over 10 batchwise uses, with almost no loss in activity. The easy accessibility of enzyme source, ease of its immobilization on Amberlite, lower cost of Amberlite, enhanced stability of Amberlite-PsBGAL, and comparable lactose hydrolysis in milk and milk whey described here make it a suitable product for future applications at laboratory and industrial scale. © 2009 American Chemical Society.
Fuzzy model: Time dependent dispersion in rivers
(2009) Vinay Singh; Atul Kumar; Dilip Kumar Jaiswal
In this paper, two dimensional dispersion equation is considered with time dependent along uniform flow. The solution of time dependent dispersion equation is converted in fuzzy environment. The fuzzy arithmetic used to simulate the fuzzy relation in modeling river water qual-ity. The parameters of two dimensional dispersion equation of water quality model are assumed as trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. From fuzzy model the concentrations can be obtained by corresponding to the specified α-cut technique and arithmetic operations of trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. Solution of Fuzzy model is compared with determinate solution of dispersion equation. Copyright © 2009 by IICAI.
Assessment of different tests to detect methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus
(SEAMEO TROPMED Network, 2009) Hare Krishna Tiwari; Darshan Sapkota; Ayan Kumar Das; Malay Ranjan Sen
The heterogeneous expression of methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus affects the efficiency of tests available to detect it. Not all laboratories have access to accurate molecular tests used for this purpose. This study compares the performances of four phenotypic tests used to detect methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) with the mecA gene polymerase chain reaction. Two hundred thirty-seven S. aureus isolates were isolated from different patients visiting Sir Sundar Lal Hospital, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India and subjected to cefoxitin and oxacillin disc diffusion tests, oxacillin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test, and oxacillin screen agar test. The tests showed the following sensitivities and specificities, respectively: cefoxitin disc diffusion (98.5% and 100%), oxacillin disc diffusion (77.3% and 84.6%), oxacillin MIC (89.4% and 87.2%), and oxacillin screen agar (87.9% and 94.9%). The cefoxitin disc diffusion test can be the best method for routine detection of MRSA when molecular techniques are not available. We recommend the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) cut-off point for determining cefoxitin resistance be reexamined to see if it should be revised from ≤ 19 mm to ≤ 20 mm.
Biosynthesis of noble metal nanoparticles and their application
(2009) V.C. Verma; R.N. Kharwar; A.C. Gange
Nanotechnology is one of the most significant research areas to emerge in the last decade or so. It is based on the concept of creating applications based on nanomaterials at the molecular level, thus we can describe it as the science of 'domesticating molecules'. Although it is a new tool to the scientific community, the importance and impact of this technology is already being felt. As nanotechnology evolves, we are moving beyond simple materials to the nanoscale materials to construct and redesign nanoscale solutions to large-scale problems. Such solutions help us not only in combating problems with size and sophistication but also in improving sensitivity. Synthesizing the nanomaterials is the primary step in addressing all nano needs. Besides the available chemical methods, the biosynthesis of the nanomaterials using microbial strains is now looking promising as a source for mining nanomaterials. 'Green nanomaterials' are now a major objective of research in nanotechnology. Fungal strains such as Fusarium, Aspergillus, Verticillium and some others are well documented for their potential to bioreduce metal ions. Bacteria and actinomycetes have also been evaluated and found promising for microbial mining of nanomaterials. Thus, the microbes may be used at an industrial scale for mining of nanomaterials in an alternative and eco-friendly manner. In this review, we emphasize the biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles from micro-organisms and to some extent from plants as alternative sources, and exploring their application in several areas such as agriculture, medicine and in pollution control. The coming era of nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize our lives, in which we can imagine sophisticated nanoscale machines that operate at atomic precision. These include molecular motors that mimic our muscles and can convert chemical to mechanical energy with extraordinary efficiency. Thus, the evolution of nanotechnology is certainly going to lead to far-reaching changes to human society, which we are just starting to feel today. © 2009 CAB International.
Acute dyskinesia and extrapyramidal disorder in a child after ingestion of escitalopram
(2009) Sunil Muthusami; Sriparna Basu; Ashok Kumar; Amitabh Dash
[No abstract available]
Conduction mechanism in un-irradiated and γ-irradiated PVA-H3PO4 polymer electrolytes
(2009) G.K. Prajapati; P.N. Gupta
The a.c. conductivity and the dielectric properties of both un-irradiated and γ-irradiated PVA-H3PO4 complexed electrolytes are investigated as a function of frequency and temperature. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss have been studied in the frequency range of 10 kHz-1 MHz and in the temperature domain of 303-383 K. The a.c. conductivity is found to obey the "Universal power law". The variation of frequency exponent with temperature obtained from experimental results has been used to explain the mechanism of ion transport. It has been shown that correlated barrier hopping is the suitable model to study the electrical conduction mechanism of the complexed system. According to this model the maximum barrier height was calculated to be 0.31 eV for un-irradiated sample while for γ-irradiated, it was 0.28 eV. Moreover, the frequency exponent, which is a function of temperature, decreases slowly in the lower temperature range and at a faster rate in higher temperature range. The electrical activation energy at various frequencies was estimated in the range of 0.44-0.80 eV in two distinct temperature ranges. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Synthesis, and characterization of ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes containing α-amino acids and its DNA binding behavior
(2009) Prashant Kumar; Ashish Kumar Singh; Jitendra Kumar Saxena; Daya Shankar Pandey
Reactivity of the ruthenium complexes [Ru(κ3-tptz)(PPh3)Cl2] (1) and [Ru(κ3-tpy)(PPh3)Cl2] (2) [tptz = 2,4,6-tris(2-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine; tpy = 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine] with several α-amino acids [glycine (gly); leucine (leu); isoleucine (isoleu); valine (val); tyrosine (tyr); proline (pro) and phenylalanine (phe)] have been investigated. Cationic complexes with the general formulations [Ru(κ3-L)(κ2-L″)(PPh3)]+ (L = tptz or tpy; L″ = gly, leu, isoleu, val, tyr, pro, and phe] have been isolated as tetrafluoroborate salts. The resulting complexes have been thoroughly characterized by analytical, spectral and electrochemical studies. Molecular structures of the representative complexes [Ru(κ3-tptz)(val)(PPh3)]BF4 (6), [Ru(κ3-tpy)(leu)(PPh3)]BF4 (10) and [Ru(κ3-tpy)(tyr)(PPh3)]BF4 (13) have been determined crystallographically. The complexes [Ru(κ3-tptz)(leu)(PPh3)]BF4 (4), [Ru(κ3-tptz)(val)(PPh3)]BF4 (6), [Ru(κ3-tpy)(leu)(PPh3)]BF4 (10) [Ru(κ3-tpy)(tyr)(PPh3)] BF4·3H2O (13) exhibited DNA binding behavior and acted as mild Topo II inhibitors (10-40%). The complexes also inhibited heme polymerase activity of the malarial parasite Plasmodium yoelii lysate. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Inclusive cross section and double helicity asymmetry for π0 production in p+p collisions at s=62.4GeV
(American Physical Society, 2009) A. Adare; S. Afanasiev; C. Aidala; N.N. Ajitanand; Y. Akiba; H. Al-Bataineh; J. Alexander; K. Aoki; L. Aphecetche; J. Asai; E.T. Atomssa; R. Averbeck; T.C. Awes; B. Azmoun; V. Babintsev; M. Bai; G. Baksay; L. Baksay; A. Baldisseri; K.N. Barish; P.D. Barnes; B. Bassalleck; A.T. Basye; S. Bathe; S. Batsouli; V. Baublis; C. Baumann; A. Bazilevsky; S. Belikov; R. Bennett; A. Berdnikov; Y. Berdnikov; A.A. Bickley; J.G. Boissevain; H. Borel; K. Boyle; M.L. Brooks; H. Buesching; V. Bumazhnov; G. Bunce; S. Butsyk; C.M. Camacho; S. Campbell; P. Chand; B.S. Chang; W.C. Chang; J.-L. Charvet; S. Chernichenko; C.Y. Chi; M. Chiu; I.J. Choi; R.K. Choudhury; T. Chujo; P. Chung; A. Churyn; V. Cianciolo; Z. Citron; B.A. Cole; P. Constantin; M. Csanád; T. Csörgo; T. Dahms; S. Dairaku; K. Das; G. David; A. Denisov; D. D'Enterria; A. Deshpande; E.J. Desmond; O. Dietzsch; A. Dion; M. Donadelli; O. Drapier; A. Drees; K.A. Drees; A.K. Dubey; A. Durum; D. Dutta; V. Dzhordzhadze; Y.V. Efremenko; J. Egdemir; F. Ellinghaus; T. Engelmore; A. Enokizono; H. En'yo; S. Esumi; K.O. Eyser; B. Fadem; D.E. Fields; M. Finger; M. Finger Jr.; F. Fleuret; S.L. Fokin; Z. Fraenkel; J.E. Frantz; A. Franz; A.D. Frawley; K. Fujiwara; Y. Fukao; T. Fusayasu; I. Garishvili; A. Glenn; H. Gong; M. Gonin; J. Gosset; Y. Goto; R. Granier De Cassagnac; N. Grau; S.V. Greene; M. Grosse Perdekamp; T. Gunji; H.-Å. Gustafsson; A. Hadj Henni; J.S. Haggerty; H. Hamagaki; R. Han; E.P. Hartouni; K. Haruna; E. Haslum; R. Hayano; M. Heffner; T.K. Hemmick; T. Hester; X. He; J.C. Hill; M. Hohlmann; W. Holzmann; K. Homma; B. Hong; T. Horaguchi; D. Hornback; S. Huang; T. Ichihara; R. Ichimiya; Y. Ikeda; K. Imai; J. Imrek; M. Inaba; D. Isenhower; M. Ishihara; T. Isobe; M. Issah; A. Isupov; D. Ivanischev; B.V. Jacak; J. Jia; J. Jin; B.M. Johnson; K.S. Joo; D. Jouan; F. Kajihara; S. Kametani; N. Kamihara; J. Kamin; J.H. Kang; J. Kapustinsky; D. Kawall; A.V. Kazantsev; T. Kempel; A. Khanzadeev; K.M. Kijima; J. Kikuchi; B.I. Kim; D.H. Kim; D.J. Kim; E. Kim; S.H. Kim; E. Kinney; K. Kiriluk; A. Kiss; E. Kistenev; J. Klay; C. Klein-Boesing; L. Kochenda; V. Kochetkov; B. Komkov; M. Konno; J. Koster; A. Kozlov; A. Král; A. Kravitz; G.J. Kunde; K. Kurita; M. Kurosawa; M.J. Kweon; Y. Kwon; G.S. Kyle; R. Lacey; Y.S. Lai; J.G. Lajoie; D. Layton; A. Lebedev; D.M. Lee; K.B. Lee; T. Lee; M.J. Leitch; M.A.L. Leite; B. Lenzi; P. Liebing; T. Liška; A. Litvinenko; H. Liu; M.X. Liu; X. Li; B. Love; D. Lynch; C.F. Maguire; Y.I. Makdisi; A. Malakhov; M.D. Malik; V.I. Manko; E. Mannel; Y. Mao; L. Mašek; H. Masui; F. Matathias; M. McCumber; P.L. McGaughey; N. Means; B. Meredith; Y. Miake; P. Mikeš; K. Miki; A. Milov; M. Mishra; J.T. Mitchell; A.K. Mohanty; Y. Morino; A. Morreale; D.P. Morrison; T.V. Moukhanova; D. Mukhopadhyay; J. Murata; S. Nagamiya; J.L. Nagle; M. Naglis; M.I. Nagy; I. Nakagawa; Y. Nakamiya; T. Nakamura; K. Nakano; J. Newby; M. Nguyen; T. Niita; R. Nouicer; A.S. Nyanin; E. O'Brien; S.X. Oda; C.A. Ogilvie; H. Okada; K. Okada; M. Oka; Y. Onuki; A. Oskarsson; M. Ouchida; K. Ozawa; R. Pak; A.P.T. Palounek; V. Pantuev; V. Papavassiliou; J. Park; W.J. Park; S.F. Pate; H. Pei; J.-C. Peng; H. Pereira; V. Peresedov; D.Yu. Peressounko; C. Pinkenburg; M.L. Purschke; A.K. Purwar; H. Qu; J. Rak; A. Rakotozafindrabe; I. Ravinovich; K.F. Read; S. Rembeczki; M. Reuter; K. Reygers; V. Riabov; Y. Riabov; D. Roach; G. Roche; S.D. Rolnick; M. Rosati; S.S.E. Rosendahl; P. Rosnet; P. Rukoyatkin; P. Ružička; V.L. Rykov; B. Sahlmueller; N. Saito; T. Sakaguchi; S. Sakai; K. Sakashita; V. Samsonov; T. Sato; S. Sawada; K. Sedgwick; J. Seele; R. Seidl; A.Yu. Semenov; V. Semenov; R. Seto; D. Sharma; I. Shein; T.-A. Shibata; K. Shigaki; M. Shimomura; K. Shoji; P. Shukla; A. Sickles; C.L. Silva; D. Silvermyr; C. Silvestre; K.S. Sim; B.K. Singh; C.P. Singh; V. Singh; M. Slunečka; A. Soldatov; R.A. Soltz; W.E. Sondheim; S.P. Sorensen; I.V. Sourikova; F. Staley; P.W. Stankus; E. Stenlund; M. Stepanov; A. Ster; S.P. Stoll; T. Sugitate; C. Suire; A. Sukhanov; J. Sziklai; E.M. Takagui; A. Taketani; R. Tanabe; Y. Tanaka; K. Tanida; M.J. Tannenbaum; A. Taranenko; P. Tarján; H. Themann; T.L. Thomas; M. Togawa; A. Toia; L. Tomášek; Y. Tomita; H. Torii; R.S. Towell; V.-N. Tram; I. Tserruya; Y. Tsuchimoto; C. Vale; H. Valle; H.W. Van Hecke; A. Veicht; J. Velkovska; R. Vertesi; A.A. Vinogradov; M. Virius; V. Vrba; E. Vznuzdaev; D. Walker; X.R. Wang; Y. Watanabe; F. Wei; J. Wessels; S.N. White; S. Williamson; D. Winter; C.L. Woody; M. Wysocki; W. Xie; Y.L. Yamaguchi; K. Yamaura; R. Yang; A. Yanovich; J. Ying; S. Yokkaichi; G.R. Young; I. Younus; I.E. Yushmanov; W.A. Zajc; O. Zaudtke; C. Zhang; S. Zhou; L. Zolin
The PHENIX experiment presents results from the RHIC 2006 run with polarized p+p collisions at s=62.4GeV, for inclusive π0 production at midrapidity. Unpolarized cross section results are measured for transverse momenta pT=0.5 to 7GeV/c. Next-to-leading order perturbative quantum chromodynamics calculations are compared with the data, and while the calculations are consistent with the measurements, next-to-leading logarithmic corrections improve the agreement. Double helicity asymmetries ALL are presented for pT=1 to 4GeV/c and probe the higher range of Bjorken x of the gluon (xg) with better statistical precision than our previous measurements at s=200GeV. These measurements are sensitive to the gluon polarization in the proton for 0.06
Differential protection of ethylenediurea (EDU) against ambient ozone for five cultivars of tropical wheat
(2009) Shalini Singh; S.B. Agrawal; Madhoolika Agrawal
The antiozonant EDU (ethylenediurea) was used to assess the impact of ambient O 3 under field conditions on five cultivars of tropical wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). EDU solution (0 ppm and 400 ppm) was applied as soil drench (100 ml plant -1) 10 days after germination (DAG) at an interval of 12 days. EDU-treated plants showed significant increments in stomatal conductance, photosynthetic rate, variable fluorescence, total chlorophyll, ascorbic acid, proline and protein contents and protective enzymes (POX, SOD and APX) activities in HUW468, HUW510 and HUW234 cultivars, while, a reverse trend was observed for lipid peroxidation. EDU application restored grain yield significantly by maintaining higher levels of antioxidants, metabolites and enzymes in cultivars HUW468 and HUW510. Sonalika and PBW343 showed least response of measured parameters under EDU treatment suggesting their greater resistance to O 3. EDU, thus proved its usefulness in screening suitable wheat cultivars for areas experiencing elevated concentrations of O 3. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Morphometric characteristics of glaciers in Doda Valley, Zanskar basin, J and K
(2009) Praveen Kumar Rai; K. N. Prudhvi Raju; M.S. Nathawat; A.C. Pandey
Inventory of the glaciers is of prime interest to evaluate the nature of changes in glacier dimensions and also to establish relationship between climatic change and dynamics of glaciers. As glaciological studies in high altitude terrains are very difficult by conventional methods remote sensing data is used to map and monitor of permanent snowfields and glaciers. The study area covers Doda sub-basin, with about 13 individual glaciers with one of them ranked as the second largest glacier in India, of larger Zanskar basin in Ladakh of Jammu and Kashmir. It is about 2088.46 sq km in area. Its elevation ranges from 3071-6401 m above msl. An attempt is made here to study morphometric parameters like, length, width, area, perimeter, orientation, thickness, area accumulation ratio (AAR) and specific mass balance, of the glaciers using multi-temporal satellite data (FCCs as well as digital data of bands 234 of IRS LISS III) of July to September period (when snow cover is at its minimum and permanent snow cover and glaciers are fully exposed) of 1975,1992, and 2001 in conjunction with topographical map of 1962. Altitude information is generated from Digital Elevation Model (DEM) generated with Shuttle Range Topographic Mission (SRTM) data and some inputs from SOI toposheets. The analysis reveals a decreasing trend of AAR indicating possibility of faster retreat of glaciers. The study also reveals negative mass balance compared to the recorded positive mass balance in 1975 and 1992.
Y-haplotypes and idiopathic male infertility in an Indian population
(2009) Kiran Singh; Rajiva Raman
Infertility being a multifactorial disorder, both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the etiology of infertile phenotype. Chromosomal anomalies and Y-microdeletion are the established genetic risk factors of male infertility. Y-haplotypes has been found as risk factor for male infertility in certain populations, though in certain others no association has been reported, suggesting a population-specific association of these variations with male infertility. In a case-control study, 165 azoo-/oligospermic patients and 200 controls were haplotyped for certain Y-haplogroups for a possible association with idiopathic male infertility in an Indian population. Analysed Y-haplogroups showed no association with infertile phenotype. Thus this genetic factor is not a risk for infertility in the studied Indian population but that does not rule out the possibility of any of them, to be a risk in other populations.
Protection against radiation-induced DNA damage by amino acids: A DFT study
(American Chemical Society, 2009) N.R. Jena; P.C. Mishra; S. Suhai
Direct and indirect radiation-induced DNA damage is associated with the formation of radical cations (G·+) and radical anions (G ·-) of guanine, respectively. Deprotonation of G ·+ and dehydrogenation of G·- generate guanine neutral radical [G(-H)·] and guanine anion [G(-H) -], respectively. These products are of worrisome concern, as they are involved in reactions that are related to certain lethal diseases. It has been observed that guanyl radicals can be repaired by amino acids having strong reducing properties that are believed to be the residues of DNA-bound proteins such as histones. As a result, repair of G(-H)·+ and G(-H)-by the amino acids cysteine and tyrosine has been studied here in detail by density functional theory in both the gas phase and aqueous medium using the polarized continuum and Onsager solvation models of self-consistent reaction field theory. Solvation in aqueous medium using three explicit water molecules was also studied. Four equivalent tautomers of each the above radical and anion that will be formed through proton and hydrogen loss from all of the nitrogen centers of guanine radical cation and guanine radical anion, respectively, were considered in the present study. It was found that in both the gas phase and aqueous medium, normal guanine can be retrieved from its radical-damaged form by a hydrogen-atom-transfer (HT) mechanism. Normal guanine can also be retrieved from its anionic damaged form in both the gas phase and aqueous medium through a two-electron-coupled proton-transfer (TECPT) mechanism or a one-step hydrogen-atom- and electron-transfer (OSHET) mechanism. The present results are discussed in light of the experimental findings. © 2009 American Chemical Society.
High-technology materials based on modified polysaccharides
(2009) Ram P. Singh; Sagar Pal; S. Krishnamoorthy; P. Adhikary; Sk. Akbar Ali
Polysaccharides are abundantly available from farm, forest, and microbial resources. They are used in myriad applications. It has been established in the authors' laboratory that their performance is enhanced considerably on purification, grafting by polyacrylamide (PAM), and subsequent hydrolysis as well as cationization. The most significant performance is enhanced in flocculation where it has been found that the modified polysaccharides outperform existing flocculants in national and international markets. Similar effects are observed in their performance in turbulent drag reduction (DR), percolation, and rheology. The present article outlines the details of materials, mechanisms, and practical applications of these novel materials. © 2009 IUPAC.
Longitudinal seroepidemiologic study of visceral leishmaniasis in hyperendemic regions of Bihar, India
(American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2009) Kamlesh Gidwani; Rajiv Kumar; Madhukar Rai; Shyam Sundar
We conducted a seroepidemiologic study of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in hyperendemic communities in Bihar, India, to determine its seroprevalence. A direct agglutination test (DAT) and rK39 antigen strip test were used as serologic tests. Capillary blood samples were collected on filter papers from 870 healthy persons (574 and 296 from households with or without VL, respectively). Of these persons, 230 (26.43%) were positive by DAT (titer ≥ 1:1,600) and 120 (13.79%) were positive by the rK39 antigen strip test. During a two-year follow-up, 25 persons developed VL; 1 and 8 persons were positive by the rK39 strip test and DAT, respectively, and 1 was positive by both tests. Fifteen (2.57%) persons who were seronegative at baseline also developed VL. Disease occurred more among persons living in the same household (24 of 25). However, there was no significant difference in disease conversion among children (5-15 years of age) and adults (> 15 years of age). Seropositivity among asymptomatic persons is not a predictor for development of VL. Copyright © 2009 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Overexpression of interleukin-13 in a murine T-cell lymphoma: A possible factor of DL-induced immunosuppression and tumor progression
(2009) Praveen Deepak; Sanjay Kumar; Arbind Acharya
Interleukin-13 (IL-13) is a TH2 cytokine that plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of tumors and favor tumor growth and recurrence by negative regulation of tumor immunosurveillance. In the present investigation, we have determined the IL-13 level in the serum and ascitic fluid of the DL-bearing host and the possible source of IL-13 in the ascitic fluid. IL-13 level was elevated in serum and ascitic fluid of host bearing a transplantable T-cell lymphoma. DL cells as well as tumor-associated macrophages express and secrete IL-13 in the milieu, which provide further insight for DL-induced immunosuppression in a tumor-bearing host. Copyright © Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.
Nanomedicine and leishmaniasis: Future prospects
(S.C. Virtual Company of Phisics S.R.L, 2009) Jalaj Kumar Gour; Ankita Srivastava; Vinod Kumar; Surabhi Bajpai; Hemant Kumar; Manish Mishra; Rakesh K. Singh
The increasing incidences of leishmaniasis due to toxicity and resistance of drug as a result of high drug dose and its spreading to newer areas needt to develop newer drugs for its effective control. Major problem in the treatment of leishmaniasis is failure of humoral response. Moreover, immunodepression and particularly HIV-VL co-infection also present a major cause of treatment failure. Chemotherapy using present antileishmanial drugs is difficult due to the location of parasites within lysosomal vacuoles of the macrophages, which restricts the bioavailability of many potential antileishmanial compounds. So the treatment strategies mainly rely on induction of cellular immune response that can be effectively achieved by targeted drug delivery and the vaccine. Lacuna in its treatment regimen provokes scientists to generate a therapy that is cheaper, requires low dose of drugs and specific to its target of action as well. The causative agent of the disease, an intracellular parasite harbors macrophage and specific tissue sites, which can be the target of drug. Thus targeted drug delivery system is the need of the day. Nowadays the advancement in technology rekindles the hope for the treatment of this disease. This new hope is nanotechnology that employs the use of nanoparticles as drug carriers for the targeted drug delivery. Nanoparticles have proved to be highly stable as well as good carrier capacity as well as reduced toxicity. There are several carriers or drug delivery systems available and for leishmaniasis successful therapy with liposomes have shown some good results. For the researchers to develop the nanomedicine (anti leishmanial drugs) for leishmaniasis is on the top priority in order to get the lesser cost and pain of the patients. This article is an attempt to demonstrate the use of nanomedicine for the benefit of patients suffering with deadly disease leishmaniasis all over the world.
Replacement rate of filament lamps in an organisation: A rule of thumb
(SAGE Publications Ltd, 2009) D.C. Agrawal; V.J. Menon
We address the issue of renewal rate of fused filament lamps in an organisation and modify the description given in an old edition of the IESNA Lighting Handbook (1968). This is achieved by applying the standard mortality curve to formulate an exact algebraic relation for the renewal fraction at successive stages. Finally, for the benefit of illuminating engineers a rule of thumb is developed, which estimates the saturation number of lamps to be replaced as a function of burning time, half-life and the total number of lamps installed. © 2009 The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers.
Renal disease is a prodrome of multiple myeloma: An analysis of 50 patients from Eastern India
(2009) Jai Prakash; Anil K. Mandal; Rubina Vohra; I.A. Wani; J.K. Hota; R. Raja; Usha Singh
This study describes a spectrum of renal diseases that can precede the diagnosis of multiple myeloma (MM). Patients presenting manifestations of renal disease were recorded as individual patients of MM. Fifty patients (male 41; female 9) were included in this study. Diagnosis of MM was confirmed by two or more of the following four features: lytic bone lesions, serum or urine monoclonal peak, Bence Jones proteinuria, and greater than 20% plasma cells in bone marrow. Renal disease was present in 42 of 50 (84%) patients before MM was diagnosed. In only eight of 50 (16%) patients, diagnosis of MM preceded the detection of renal disease. Renal diseases consisted of acute renal failure in 26 patients (52%), chronic renal failure in 15 patients (30%) and nephrotic syndrome in 9 patients (18%). Some of the patients with acute or chronic renal failure also had heavy proteinuria. Percutaneous renal biopsy was done in 17 patients. Renal histopathology showed amyloidosis (n = 10), cast nephropathy (n = 5), nodular glomerulosclerosis (n = 1), and mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis with plasma cell infiltration (n = 1). Hypercalcemia (calcium 11-13.8 mg/dL) was the most common precipitating factor for acute renal failure. All 50 patients received combination chemotherapy of melphalan and prednisolone or vincristine, Adriamycin, and dexamethasone. More than half of the total number of patients did not complete chemotherapy because of death or lost to follow-up. Nineteen patients with acute renal failure and eight patients with chronic renal failure were treated with hemodialysis. Fourteen patients (28%) with acute renal failure had recovery of renal function. Twenty-three patients (46%) were lost to follow-up. Seven patients (14%) died from sepsis, uremia, or hyperkalemia. Remission of MM was found in 9 of 21 (42.8%) patients who completed chemotherapy. Thus, acute renal failure is the most common renal disease preceding the diagnosis of MM. Reversal of renal function is achieved with chemotherapy and hemodialysis treatment.
Studies on combining ability in okra
(Indian Academy of Horticultural Sciences, 2009) D.R. Singh; P.K. Singh; M.M. Syamal; S.S. Gautam
[No abstract available]
Dizziness and collapse? It's a steal!
(Elsevier B.V., 2009) Vishal Khurana; Inderjeet Singh Gambhir; Arvind Srivastava; Dhiraj Kishore
[No abstract available]