Plant disease identification using contextual mask auto-encoder optimized with dynamic differential annealed optimization algorithm

Most of the food consumed worldwide is produced by plants. Plant disease is a major cause of reduced production, but can be managed with regular monitoring. Manually observing plant diseases takes more time and is error-prone. Early detection of plant diseases with the aid of artificial intelligence and computer vision can decrease the effects of disease and help plants withstand the downsides of continuing surveillance. In this manuscript, plant disease identification using contextual mask auto-encoder optimized with dynamic differential annealed optimization algorithm (PDI-CMAE-DDAOA) is proposed. The plant village dataset is used to collect the images. Then the image is fed to preprocessing. Using an adaptive self-guided filter approach, the noise is removed from the input images during the pre-processing phase. The result of the pre-processing section serves as input for the feature extraction segment. Four statistical features, including mean, variance, entropy, and kurtosis, are recovered from the cosine similarity hidden Markov model (CSHMM). The contextual mask auto-encoder (CMAE) is given the extracted features to accurately classify the healthy and unhealthy regions of the plant image. The issue of slow convergence affects the CMAE. However, it is noted that the CMAE converges more quickly with deep learning features than with texture features in this instance. The CMAE classifier generally does not exhibit any adaptation of optimization algorithms for determining the best parameters to ensure the precise classification of plant disease. Therefore, dynamic differential annealed optimization algorithm (DDAOA) is considered to enhance the CMAE classifier, which accurately distinguishes between healthy and diseased plants. The proposed PDI-CMAE-DDAOA is done in Python. The efficacy of PDI-CMAE-DDAOA is evaluated under some performance metrics, like accuracy, precision, sensitivity, F1-score, specificity, error rate, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), computational time. The proposed method provides higher accuracy 23.34%, 34.33%, and 32.07%; higher sensitivity 36.67%, 36.33%, and 23.21%; higher F1-score 46.67%, 57.56%, and 43.21%; higher specificity 56.67%, 67.56%, and 23.21% analyzed with existing models, like transfer learning-based deep ensemble neural network for plant leaf infection recognition (PDI-DENN), plant disease detection with hybrid model based on convolutional auto-encoder and convolutional neural network (PDI-CAE-CNN), and automatic and reliable leaf disease finding depending on deep learning methods (PDI-EN-CNN), respectively. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: To find the plant disease at early stage. To present PDI-CMAE-DDAOA. To get better classification accuracy by extracting the optimal features with the help of efficient CSHMM. To minimize the error during classification process. To maximize high area under curve value.

Effectiveness of multi-disciplinary structured training program on mentoring and mental well-being for officers and instructors in the Indian Air Force

Background

The military environment is characterized by unpredictable situations, intensive training, demanding workload, and job-associated stressors, which make it highly stressful. Mentorship and mental well-being training could be beneficial to both officers and the new adolescent recruits of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Aim

This study aimed at evaluating the effect of a multi-disciplinary structured training on mentoring and mental well-being among officers and instructors in the IAF.

Methods

Seventy IAF officers/instructors underwent a week-long multi-disciplinary structured training program, which was conducted at a tertiary care neuro-psychiatric hospital in South India. A quasi-experimental design with a single-group pre- and post-test was adopted. Outcome measures included a) knowledge on mentorship and mental health and b) self-perceived competence in addressing mental health distress.

Results

Post training, there was a statistically significant improvement in scores on mentorship/mental health knowledge and a significant increase in self-perceived competence in addressing mental distress.

Conclusion

Mentorship and mental well-being training for officers and instructors in the IAF improved mental health knowledge and self-perceived competence. Therefore, administration of regular and in-depth structured mental health-related training interventions could be beneficial not only to the officers but also to the new recruits/mentees in the IAF.

Formulation and Evaluation of Topical Gel Loaded with Fluconazole Niosomes

Aim: The study aims to formulate and evaluate topical gel-loaded fluconazole niosomes. Fluconazole is a macrolide antibacterial used against various susceptible bacteria. Niosomes have a substantial role in the delivery of drugs as they can reduce toxicity and modify pharmacokinetics and bioavailability. Niosomes which are applied topically improve the deposition of drugs within stratum corneum and epidermis at the same time reducing systemic availability. Methodology: In current investigation, fluconazole was entrapped into niosomes by thin-film hydration technique with the optimization of various process parameters like entrapment efficiency, vesicle size, shape and in-vitro drug release studies. Results: Optimized formulations FNS5 and FNT4 prepared with Span-60 and Tween-60 exhibited vesicle sizes of 845.6 nm and 164.2 nm, zeta potential -10.2 mV and -46.4 mV indicating the formulation has good stability. The optimized niosomes were integrated into carbopol 934 and guar gum gels and then extensively characterized for zeta potential and vesicle size. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that entrapment of drugs into niosomes led to prolonged drug release time, enhanced permeation and drug retention.

An effective community-based link prediction model for improving accuracy in social networks

Link prediction plays a predominant role in complex network analysis. It indicates to determine the probability of the presence of future links that depends on available information. The existing standard classical similarity indices-based link prediction models considered the neighbour nodes have a similar effect towards link probability. Nevertheless, the common neighbor nodes residing in different communities may vary in real-world networks. In this paper, a novel community information-based link prediction model has been proposed in which every neighboring node’s community information (community centrality) has been considered to predict the link between the given node pair. In the proposed model, the given social network graph can be divided into different communities and community centrality is calculated for every derived community based on degree, closeness, and betweenness basic graph centrality measures. Afterward, the new community centrality-based similarity indices have been introduced to compute the community centralities which are applied to nine existing basic similarity indices. The empirical analysis on 13 real-world social networks datasets manifests that the proposed model yields better prediction accuracy of 97% rather than existing models. Moreover, the proposed model is parallelized efficiently to work on large complex networks using Spark GraphX Big Data-based parallel Graph processing technique and it attains a lesser execution time of 250 seconds.

A supervisory fuzzy logic control scheme to improve effluent quality of a wastewater treatment plant

The application of control strategies in wastewater treatment plants has increased to improve their performance for treating influent. The fuzzy logic controller plays a vital role in this work and simulation work was carried out in a benchmark simulation model no.1 (BSM1) framework. The attempted work proposes two control schemes with the objectives of improving the effluent quality and minimizing the number of measurements taken from the plant. The design of fuzzy control schemes is based on five inputs and six outputs in order to accomplish the objectives. Experimental results show improvement in the effluent quality and increase in the efficacy of the control system. The proposed design is implemented using MATLAB with the adaptation in 2014a.

Prenatal diagnosis of a rare aortic arch anomaly with left aortic arch and right ductus arteriosus: Cross ribbon sign

Here, we report a fetus with a rare aortic arch anomaly with left aortic arch and right ductus arteriosus, which has not been reported so far. In this condition, the aorta extends to the left of the trachea as in normal, while the ductus arteriosus extends to the right of the trachea and joins the descending aorta posterior to the trachea, with a cross-ribbon sign.

Shewanella algae and Microbulbifer elongatus from marine macro-algae - isolation and characterization of agar-hydrolysing bacteria

Macro-algae are a good source of agar oligosaccharides, which can be obtained through bacterial enzymatic hydrolysis. The agarase enzyme secreted by the micro-organisms cleaves the cell wall of the algae and releases agar oligosaccharides as degradation products with various applications. Agarolytic bacteria were isolated from the marine algae Kappaphycus sp., and Sargassum sp., and studied for their agar-degrading properties. Among the 70 isolates, 2 isolates (A13 and Sg8) showed agarase activity in in vitro assays. The maximum agarolytic index was recorded in the isolate Sg8 (3.75 mm and 4.29 µg ml-1 agarase activity), followed by the isolate A13 (2.53 mm and 2.6 µg ml-1 agarase activity). Optimum agarase production of isolate Sg8 was observed at pH7 and at a temperature of 25 °C in 24-48 h, whereas for isolate A13 the optimum production was at pH7 and at a temperature of 37 °C in 48 h. The identities of the agarolytic isolates (Sg8 and A13) were confirmed based on microscopy, morphological, biochemical and molecular analysis as Shewanella algae [National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GenBank accession number MK121204.1] and Microbulbifer elongatus [NCBI GenBank accession number MK825484.1], respectively.

Effective use of social media platforms for promotion of mental health awareness

BACKGROUND

Social media platforms are progressively developing as a rich source of mass communication. Increasing mental health awareness with the help of social media can be a good initiative to reach out to a large number of people in a short time frame. This study was conducted to understand the usefulness of social media platforms for health promotion.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

It was a qualitative study to evaluate the effectiveness of social media platforms in hosting health promotion campaigns in the field of mental health, which was observed over 5 months from May to September 2019 to reach more people for effective information dissemination. The campaigns were as follows (1) The Buddies for Suicide Prevention: an online campaign to create awareness about suicide prevention. The campaign included script writing, slogan writing, poster making, and short films making, organized for the general public who were interested to take part; (2) The #Iquitobacco was a 21-day campaign with an idea of tobacco cessation in the community, conducted among social media viewers who were willing to participate; and (3) #Migrainethepainfultruth was yet another campaign conducted among the social media viewers who were interested to participate. All the campaigns were conducted using two famous social media platforms commonly used by young adults. Descriptive statistics such as frequency and proportions were computed for the number of likes and shares.

RESULTS

The Facebook and Instagram posts concerning all the campaigns brought about a considerable amount of reach to the targeted population. After the campaigns, the page reached to around 10.3 k people (both fans and nonfans).

CONCLUSIONS

Use of social media to conduct mental health campaigns is an effective initiative as one can reach out to several people over a short time period. There is an increasing trend in the awareness of mental health with the effective use of digital media as a platform for disseminating information.

Microbiome digital signature of MCR genes - an in silico approach to study the diversity of methanogenic population in laboratory-developed and pilot-scale anaerobic digesters

The production of biogas by anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic/biological wastes has a firm place in sustainable energy production. A simple and cost-effective anaerobic jar at a laboratory scale is a prerequisite to study the microbial community involved in biomass conversion and releasing of methane gas. In this study, a simulation was carried out using a laboratory-modified anaerobic-jar-converted digester (AD1) with that of a commercial/pilot-scale anaerobic digester (AD2). Taxonomic profiling of biogas-producing communities by means of high-throughput methyl coenzyme-M reductase α-subunit (mcrA) gene amplicon sequencing provided high-resolution insights into bacterial and archaeal structures of AD assemblages and their linkages to fed substrates and process parameters. Commonly, the bacterial phyla Euryarchaeota, Chordata, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria appeared to dominate biogas communities in varying abundances depending on the apparent process conditions. Key micro-organisms identified from AD were Methanocorpusculum labreanum and Methanobacterium formicicum. Specific biogas production was found to be significantly correlating to Methanosarcinaceae. It can be implied from this study that the metagenomic sequencing data was able to dissect the microbial community structure in the digesters. The data gathered indicates that the anaerobic-jar system could throw light on the population dynamics of the methanogens at laboratory scale and its effectiveness at large-scale production of bio-methane. The genome sequence information of non-cultivable biogas community members, metagenome sequencing including assembly and binning strategies will be highly valuable in determining the efficacy of an anaerobic digester.

Fungal Planet description sheets: 558-624

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia: Banksiophoma australiensis (incl. Banksiophoma gen. nov.) on Banksia coccinea, Davidiellomycesaustraliensis (incl. Davidiellomyces gen. nov.) on Cyperaceae, Didymocyrtis banksiae on Banksia sessilis var. cygnorum, Disculoides calophyllae on Corymbia calophylla, Harknessia banksiae on Banksia sessilis, Harknessia banksiae-repens on Banksia repens, Harknessia banksiigena on Banksia sessilis var. cygnorum, Harknessia communis on Podocarpus sp., Harknessia platyphyllae on Eucalyptus platyphylla, Myrtacremonium eucalypti (incl. Myrtacremonium gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus globulus, Myrtapenidiella balenae on Eucalyptus sp., Myrtapenidiella eucalyptigena on Eucalyptus sp., Myrtapenidiella pleurocarpae on Eucalyptuspleurocarpa, Paraconiothyrium hakeae on Hakea sp., Paraphaeosphaeria xanthorrhoeae on Xanthorrhoea sp., Parateratosphaeria stirlingiae on Stirlingia sp., Perthomyces podocarpi (incl. Perthomyces gen. nov.) on Podocarpus sp., Readeriella ellipsoidea on Eucalyptus sp., Rosellinia australiensis on Banksia grandis, Tiarosporella corymbiae on Corymbia calophylla, Verrucoconiothyriumeucalyptigenum on Eucalyptus sp., Zasmidium commune on Xanthorrhoea sp., and Zasmidium podocarpi on Podocarpus sp. Brazil: Cyathus aurantogriseocarpus on decaying wood, Perenniporia brasiliensis on decayed wood, Perenniporia paraguyanensis on decayed wood, and Pseudocercospora leandrae-fragilis on Leandrafragilis.Chile: Phialocephala cladophialophoroides on human toe nail. Costa Rica: Psathyrella striatoannulata from soil. Czech Republic: Myotisia cremea (incl. Myotisia gen. nov.) on bat droppings. Ecuador: Humidicutis dictiocephala from soil, Hygrocybe macrosiparia from soil, Hygrocybe sangayensis from soil, and Polycephalomyces onorei on stem of Etlingera sp. France: Westerdykella centenaria from soil. Hungary: Tuber magentipunctatum from soil. India: Ganoderma mizoramense on decaying wood, Hodophilus indicus from soil, Keratinophyton turgidum in soil, and Russula arunii on Pterigota alata.Italy: Rhodocybe matesina from soil. Malaysia: Apoharknessia eucalyptorum, Harknessia malayensis, Harknessia pellitae, and Peyronellaea eucalypti on Eucalyptus pellita, Lectera capsici on Capsicum annuum, and Wallrothiella gmelinae on Gmelina arborea.Morocco: Neocordana musigena on Musa sp. New Zealand: Candida rongomai-pounamu on agaric mushroom surface, Candida vespimorsuum on cup fungus surface, Cylindrocladiella vitis on Vitis vinifera, Foliocryphia eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus sp., Ramularia vacciniicola on Vaccinium sp., and Rhodotorula ngohengohe on bird feather surface. Poland: Tolypocladium fumosum on a caterpillar case of unidentified Lepidoptera.Russia: Pholiotina longistipitata among moss. Spain: Coprinopsis pseudomarcescibilis from soil, Eremiomyces innocentii from soil, Gyroporus pseudocyanescens in humus, Inocybe parvicystis in humus, and Penicillium parvofructum from soil. Unknown origin: Paraphoma rhaphiolepidis on Rhaphiolepsis indica.USA: Acidiella americana from wall of a cooling tower, Neodactylaria obpyriformis (incl. Neodactylaria gen. nov.) from human bronchoalveolar lavage, and Saksenaea loutrophoriformis from human eye. Vietnam: Phytophthora mekongensis from Citrus grandis, and Phytophthora prodigiosa from Citrus grandis. Morphological and culture characteristics along with DNA barcodes are provided.

Fungal Planet description sheets: 469-557

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia: Apiognomonia lasiopetali on Lasiopetalum sp., Blastacervulus eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus adesmophloia, Bullanockia australis (incl. Bullanockia gen. nov.) on Kingia australis, Caliciopsis eucalypti on Eucalyptus marginata, Celerioriella petrophiles on Petrophile teretifolia, Coleophoma xanthosiae on Xanthosia rotundifolia, Coniothyrium hakeae on Hakea sp., Diatrypella banksiae on Banksia formosa, Disculoides corymbiae on Corymbia calophylla, Elsinoë eelemani on Melaleuca alternifolia, Elsinoë eucalyptigena on Eucalyptus kingsmillii, Elsinoë preissianae on Eucalyptus preissiana, Eucasphaeria rustici on Eucalyptus creta, Hyweljonesia queenslandica (incl. Hyweljonesia gen. nov.) on the cocoon of an unidentified microlepidoptera, Mycodiella eucalypti (incl. Mycodiella gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus diversicolor, Myrtapenidiella sporadicae on Eucalyptus sporadica, Neocrinula xanthorrhoeae (incl. Neocrinula gen. nov.) on Xanthorrhoea sp., Ophiocordyceps nooreniae on dead ant, Phaeosphaeriopsis agavacearum on Agave sp., Phlogicylindrium mokarei on Eucalyptus sp., Phyllosticta acaciigena on Acacia suaveolens, Pleurophoma acaciae on Acacia glaucoptera, Pyrenochaeta hakeae on Hakea sp., Readeriella lehmannii on Eucalyptus lehmannii, Saccharata banksiae on Banksia grandis, Saccharata daviesiae on Daviesia pachyphylla, Saccharata eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus bigalerita, Saccharata hakeae on Hakea baxteri, Saccharata hakeicola on Hakea victoria, Saccharata lambertiae on Lambertia ericifolia, Saccharata petrophiles on Petrophile sp., Saccharata petrophilicola on Petrophile fastigiata, Sphaerellopsis hakeae on Hakea sp., and Teichospora kingiae on Kingia australis.Brazil: Adautomilanezia caesalpiniae (incl. Adautomilanezia gen. nov.) on Caesalpina echinata, Arthrophiala arthrospora (incl. Arthrophiala gen. nov.) on Sagittaria montevidensis, Diaporthe caatingaensis (endophyte from Tacinga inamoena), Geastrum ishikawae on sandy soil, Geastrum pusillipilosum on soil, Gymnopus pygmaeus on dead leaves and sticks, Inonotus hymenonitens on decayed angiosperm trunk, Pyricularia urashimae on Urochloa brizantha, and Synnemellisia aurantia on Passiflora edulis. Chile: Tubulicrinis australis on Lophosoria quadripinnata.France: Cercophora squamulosa from submerged wood, and Scedosporium cereisporum from fluids of a wastewater treatment plant. Hawaii: Beltraniella acaciae, Dactylaria acaciae, Rhexodenticula acaciae, Rubikia evansii and Torula acaciae (all on Acacia koa).India: Lepidoderma echinosporum on dead semi-woody stems, and Rhodocybe rubrobrunnea from soil. Iran: Talaromyces kabodanensis from hypersaline soil. La Réunion: Neocordana musarum from leaves of Musa sp. Malaysia: Anungitea eucalyptigena on Eucalyptus grandis × pellita, Camptomeriphila leucaenae (incl. Camptomeriphila gen. nov.) on Leucaena leucocephala, Castanediella communis on Eucalyptus pellita, Eucalyptostroma eucalypti (incl. Eucalyptostroma gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus pellita, Melanconiella syzygii on Syzygium sp., Mycophilomyces periconiae (incl. Mycophilomyces gen. nov.) as hyperparasite on Periconia on leaves of Albizia falcataria, Synnemadiella eucalypti (incl. Synnemadiella gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus pellita, and Teichospora nephelii on Nephelium lappaceum.Mexico: Aspergillus bicephalus from soil. New Zealand: Aplosporella sophorae on Sophora microphylla, Libertasomyces platani on Platanus sp., Neothyronectria sophorae (incl. Neothyronectria gen. nov.) on Sophora microphylla, Parastagonospora phoenicicola on Phoenix canariensis, Phaeoacremonium pseudopanacis on Pseudopanax crassifolius, Phlyctema phoenicis on Phoenix canariensis, and Pseudoascochyta novae-zelandiae on Cordyline australis.Panama: Chalara panamensis from needle litter of Pinus cf. caribaea. South Africa: Exophiala eucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus sp., Fantasmomyces hyalinus (incl. Fantasmomyces gen. nov.) on Acacia exuvialis, Paracladophialophora carceris (incl. Paracladophialophora gen. nov.) on Aloe sp., and Umthunziomyces hagahagensis (incl. Umthunziomyces gen. nov.) on Mimusops caffra.Spain: Clavaria griseobrunnea on bare ground in Pteridium aquilinum field, Cyathus ibericus on small fallen branches of Pinus halepensis, Gyroporus pseudolacteus in humus of Pinus pinaster, and Pseudoascochyta pratensis (incl. Pseudoascochyta gen. nov.) from soil. Thailand: Neoascochyta adenii on Adenium obesum, and Ochroconis capsici on Capsicum annuum. UK: Fusicolla melogrammae from dead stromata of Melogramma campylosporum on bark of Carpinus betulus. Uruguay: Myrmecridium pulvericola from house dust. USA: Neoscolecobasidium agapanthi (incl. Neoscolecobasidium gen. nov.) on Agapanthus sp., Polyscytalum purgamentum on leaf litter, Pseudopithomyces diversisporus from human toenail, Saksenaea trapezispora from knee wound of a soldier, and Sirococcus quercus from Quercus sp. Morphological and culture characteristics along with DNA barcodes are provided.

Comparative Evaluation of Specific Phytochemical Indicatives in Cirivilvādi Kaṣāya Prepared Freshly and at Commercial Scale

Kaṣāya or decoction is an Ayurvedic dosage form, prescribed based on the stage of the disease according to the principles of Ayurveda. This dosage form is traditionally prepared fresh and consumed on the same day but for the sake of convenience; the process of preparation has been modified so that it can be stored with longer shelf life, easy availability and produced in large quantities. There is a need to understand the implications of this modification in terms of chemical changes. This work attempted to check the phytochemical profile of both freshly prepared decoction and commercially available decoction with reference to some analytical parameters like pH, total soluble solids, phenols, alkaloids, potassium and to assess the changes in the thin layer chromatography profiling of the decoction. The results showed that phenols and potassium are found to be two fold higher in freshly prepared decoction, compared to commercially available decoction diluted to dosage in practice (1:4 ratio). However, the total alkaloid content was found to be approximately ten fold higher in commercially available decoction. It was observed that the thin layer chromatography profile of decoctions was extracted into petroleum ether and chloroform was similar and consistent with different batches though the bands in commercially available decoction were slightly more intense compared to freshly prepared decoction. The total soluble solids in commercially available decoction were four times higher than freshly prepared decoction. The study reveals that there are differences in the phytochemical profiles of the freshly prepared decoction and commercially available decoction of the same formulation. However, the significance of these differences can be determined only by further clinical studies. On the other hand, the study lends support to the practice of diluting the commercially available decoction to make it equivalent to freshly prepared decoction.

Evaluation of anxiolytic activity of aqueous extract of Coriandrum sativum Linn. in mice: A preliminary experimental study

Objectives:

To evaluate the anxiolytic effect of Coriandrum sativum (CS) aqueous extract in mice. To compare the antianxiety activity of CS against standard drug diazepam (3 mg/kg).

Materials and Methods:

After obtaining Institutional Animal Ethics Committee approval, Swiss albino mice (18–25 g) of either sex were randomly divided into five groups of six animals each. Dried powder of CS leaves was boiled with distilled water, cooled, filtered, placed on a hotplate for complete evaporation, finally weighed and stored. The control group, test group, and standard drugs group received saline, CS extract (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg), diazepam (3 mg/kg), respectively, by oral feeding. The antianxiety effect was assessed by elevated plus maze (EPM) in mice.

Results:

In EPM, it implied that CS 50 mg/kg (Group III), 100 mg/kg (Group IV), and 200 mg/kg (Group V) significantly (P < 0.001) increases the number of entries in open arms compared to control. The time spent in open arms also increased in all the doses of CS extract significantly.

Conclusion:

The current study demonstrates statistically significant dose-dependent antianxiety activity of CS leaves.

Modeling, Analysis, and Intelligent Controller Tuning for a Bioreactor: A Simulation Study

In this paper, a novel modeling technique has been attempted to develop the mathematical model for a bioreactor functioning at multiple operating regions. The first principle mathematical equations of the reactor are used with the POLYMATH software to generate essential data for the model development. A relative analysis is also carried out with the existing models in the literature. An optimal PID controller is then designed using a multiobjective particle swarm optimization algorithm. The controller tuning procedure is individually discussed for both the stable and unstable steady state regions. The controller tuned for each region is scheduled using a set-point scheduler to achieve a complete control over the bioreactor. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme has been confirmed through a comparative study with the controller tuning methods proposed in the literature. The results show that, the proposed method provides enhanced performance in effective reference tracking and load disturbance rejection with minimal ISE and IAE. Finally the proposed method is validated on the nonlinear bioreactor model in the presence of a measurement noise. The results testify that the PSO tuned PID performs well in tracking the change in biomass concentration at the entire operating region.

Chronotherapeutic drug delivery systems: an approach to circadian rhythms diseases

The purpose of writing this review on chronotherapeutic drug delivery systems (ChrDDs) is to review the literatures with special focus on ChrDDs and the various dosage forms, techniques that are used to target the circadian rhythms (CR) of various diseases. Many functions of the human body vary considerably in a day. ChrDDs refers to a treatment method in which in vivo drug availability is timed to match circadian rhythms of disease in order to optimize therapeutic outcomes and minimize side effects. Several techniques have been developed but not many dosage forms for all the diseases are available in the market. ChrDDs are gaining importance in the field of pharmaceutical technology as these systems reduce dosing frequency, toxicity and deliver the drug that matches the CR of that particular disease when the symptoms are maximum to worse. Finally, the ultimate benefit goes to the patient due the compliance and convenience of the dosage form. Some diseases that follow circadian rhythms include cardiovascular diseases, asthma, arthritis, ulcers, diabetes etc. ChrDDs in the market were also discussed and the current technologies used to formulate were also stated. These technologies include Contin® , Chronotopic®, Pulsincaps®, Ceform®, Timerx®, Oros®, Codas®, Diffucaps®, Egalet®, Tablet in capsule device, Core-in-cup tablet technology. A coated drug-core tablet matrix, A bi-layered tablet, Multiparticulate-based chronotherapeutic drug delivery systems, Chronoset and Controlled release microchips.

Formulation and evaluation of Norfloxacin gastro retentive drug delivery systems using natural polymers

Gastric retentive floating drug delivery system (GFDDS) is enabled the prolonged continuous input of the drug to the upper parts of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and improves the bioavailability of medications with narrow absorption window. The design of the delivery system is based on the controlled release formulation with floating and swelling features in order to prolong the gastric retention time of the drug delivery systems. In the present study norfloxacin as candidate, guar gum, sodium CMC, HPMC15 KM is studied along with other excipients like PVP K30 (binder), sodium bicarbonate microcrystalline cellulose were used in different concentrations to get the desired controlled release profile over a period of 12 hrs. All the formulations were evaluated for buoyancy lag time, duration of buoyancy, dimensional stability, drug content and in vitro drug release profile. Based on the in vitro studies carried out for the optimized formulation by dissolution the performance of the developed formulation promises to be efficient in controlling the drug release rate with the guar gum, a natural polymer.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/icpj.v1i7.10809International Current Pharmaceutical Journal 2012, 1(7): 155-164 

Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of Guar Gum-Based Colon-Targeted Drug Delivery Systems of Tinidazole in Healthy Human Volunteers

The aim of the present investigation was to determine the in vivo availability of guar gum-based colon-targeted tablets of tinidazole in comparison with immediate release tablets of tinidazole in human volunteers. Six healthy volunteers participated in the study, and a cross-over design was used. The plasma concentration of tinidazole was estimated by HPLC. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated from the plasma concentration of tinidazole versus time data. The immediate release tablets of tinidazole produced a peak plasma concentration (Cmax of 3239 +/- 428 ng/ml) at 1.04 +/- 0.32 hr (Tmax), whereas colon-targeted tablets produced peak plasma concentration (Cmax of 2158 +/- 78 ng/ml) at 14.9 +/- 1.6 hr. The delayed Tmax, decreased Cmax, and Ka, and unaltered bioavailability and elimination half-life of tinidazole from guar gum-based colon-targeted tinidazole tablets, in comparison with the immediate tablets, indicated that the drug was not released in the stomach and small intestine but delivered to the colon. Slow absorption of the drug from the less absorptive colon might result in the availability of the drug for local action in the colon. The guar gum-based colon-targeted tablets of tinidazole may be useful in providing an effective and safe therapy of intestinal amoebiasis.

Spectral investigations of preferential solvation and solute-solvent interactions of 1,4-dimethylamino anthraquinone in CH2Cl2/C2H5OH mixtures

The optical absorption and IR spectra of 1,4-dimethylamino anthraquinone (1,4-DMAAQ) in CH(2)Cl(2)/C(2)H(5)OH mixtures have been investigated. The preferential solvation of 1,4-DMAAQ in CH(2)Cl(2)/C(2)H(5)OH mixed solvents has been studied by monitoring the charge transfer band of 1,4-DMAAQ. The optical absorption spectral study indicates that 1,4-DMAAQ is preferentially solvated by CH(2)Cl(2) in CH(2)Cl(2)/C(2)H(5)OH mixtures. This can be confirmed by the observed index of preferential solvation value (delta(s1)) as well as higher mole fraction of CH(2)Cl(2) in the solvation microsphere (x(1)(L)) than in the bulk solvent (x(1)). The CH(2)Cl(2) molecules become more available to enter the solvation shell of 1,4-DMAAQ because of the hydrogen bonded clusters formed by ethanol molecules. This is also evident from the non-linear behavior of the transition energy (E(12)) as well as the absence of synergistic behavior. IR spectral studies show that the observed shifts in the nu(CO) and nu(NH) of 1,4-DMAAQ are due to the dipole-dipole interaction between the 1,4-DMAAQ and the associated ethanol.