Dextran Carrier Macromolecules for Colon-specific Delivery of 5-Aminosalicylic Acid

Present manuscript describes the sustained and targeted delivery of 5-aminosalicylic acid to the distal ileum and proximal colon, using dextran (40 kDa) as a carrier for targeting 5-aminosalicylic acid at the colonic site by attaching p-aminobenzoic acid and benzoic acid as linkers. Prepared conjugate were characterized by UV, HPLC, FT-IR, and ¹H NMR. The degree of substitution was estimated by complete hydrolysis of conjugates in borate buffer and in vitro hydrolysis study of conjugates was performed in different biological media. It was observed that 5-aminosalicylic acid alone have produced high incidence of gastric ulcer with high ulcer index whereas lower ulcer index was found for the dextran conjugates of 5-aminosalicylic acid. The release pattern of conjugates in 3% w/v rat caecal content was confirmed the colon specificity of 5-aminosalicylic acid conjugates.

Electromagnetic transition from the 4+ to 2+ resonance in 8Be measured via the radiative capture in 4He + 4He

An earlier measurement on the 4+ to 2+ radiative transition in 8Be provided the first electromagnetic signature of its dumbbell-like shape. However, the large uncertainty in the measured cross section does not allow a stringent test of nuclear structure models. This Letter reports a more elaborate and precise measurement for this transition, via the radiative capture in the 4He + 4He reaction, improving the accuracy by about a factor of 3. Ab initio calculations of the radiative transition strength with improved three-nucleon forces are also presented. The experimental results are compared with the predictions of the alpha cluster model and ab initio calculations.

Limited asymmetry dependence of correlations from single nucleon transfer

Single nucleon pickup reactions were performed with a 18.1 MeV/nucleon (14)O beam on a deuterium target. Within the coupled reaction channel framework, the measured cross sections were compared to theoretical predictions and analyzed using both phenomenological and microscopic overlap functions. The missing strength due to correlations does not show significant dependence on the nucleon separation energy asymmetry over a wide range of 37 MeV, in contrast with nucleon removal data analyzed within the sudden-eikonal formalism.

Evaluation of a commercial Dengue NS1 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for early diagnosis of dengue infection

PURPOSE

Dengue is one of the most serious mosquito-borne viral infections affecting tropical and subtropical countries in the world. Since there is no immunoprophylactic or specific antiviral therapy available, timely and rapid diagnosis plays a vital role in patient management and implementation of control measures. This paper evaluates a commercially available NS1 antigen capture ELISA vis-a-vis SD bioline Dengue NS1 antigen test for early detection of dengue virus.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To evaluate a commercial NS1 antigen detection kit vis-a-vis SD bioline Dengue NS1 antigen test, a total of 91 clinical samples were tested. Virological investigations with regard to dengue virus, viz. NS1 antigen capture ELISA (Panbio, Australia), SD bioline Dengue NS1 antigen test, RT-PCR and virus isolation were performed.

RESULTS

Out of 91 samples, 24 (26%) were positive by NS1 antigen capture ELISA, 15 (16%) by SD bioline Dengue NS1 antigen test and 11(12%) positive by RT-PCR analysis. The RT-PCR-positive samples were further subjected to virus isolation and resulted in three isolates. The results of the Panbio NS1 antigen capture ELISA, SD bioline Dengue NS1 antigen test, RT-PCR and virus isolation were correlated among themselves.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study comprehensively established the utility of NS1 antigen ELISA in early diagnosis of dengue infection.

Spontaneously ruptured splenic aneurysm in a young patient with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

The authors describe a young patient with a history of type IV vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) who underwent successful treatment for a spontaneous haemorrhage from a splenic artery aneurysm, and the authors would like to remind clinicians of the mortality and morbidity associated with vascular-type EDS.

Stability indicating high-performance liquid chromatography method for the estimation of artemether in capsule dosage forms

A new simple, sensitive, precise, and accurate high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method of analysis for artemether both as a bulk drug and in capsule formulations was developed and validated. The method employed mobile phase acetonitrile (ACN) and buffer in the ratio 65:35 of pH 6.5 adjusted with tryethylamine. The linear regression analysis data for the calibration plots showed good linear relationship with r² = 0.9996 in the concentration range 250-750 μg/ml. The mean value slope and intercept were 9355.5 and −93.5, respectively. The method was validated for precision, accuracy, and recovery studies. Limit of detection (LOD) and Limit of quantitation (LOQ) for artemether were found to be 21.83-750 μg/ml, respectively. The method has been successfully applied in the analysis of marketed capsule formulations. The presented method was found to be reliable to separate all the degradents from all the stress conditions with resolution of more than 1.5 showing that it is a stability indicating method.

Environmental impact of plantations in and around the petroleum refinery: a case study

Plantation or green belt (GB) grown around the factories and industrial premises improves the condition of land, mitigates air pollution (as the plants serve as a sink for pollutants and check the flow of dust, etc.), and reduces the level of noise pollution. The software developed by NEERI for the determination of the optimal width of GB in and around an industry is based on the pollution attenuation coefficient of selected plant species of deciduous trees existing in the region. The assessment of the impact of these plantations/green belts of 500-m width in and around a petroleum refinery in the west coast of India is evaluated for reducing/managing various waste generated, and it is observed that the overall efficiency is more than 60%.