bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Global water access fund: a new idea to bridge operations and maintenance shortfalls for the poorest water utilities
Authors: Nagpal Tanvi , Eldridge Matthew , Malik Ammar A.
Published: September 2019

Reaching the sustainable development goal for water and sanitation access will require significant investments. For some utilities, the private sector or blended public–private investments offer opportunities to expand and improve services, but this is not an option for many utilities serving the poorest households. These utilities are often unable to cover their current operations and maintenance costs and have limited capacity to increase tariffs in order to do so. Yet supporting these utilities is crucial to expanding access to safe drinking water for the majority of citizens. We argue that a new solution is needed to provide utilities serving the poorest with sufficient subsidies to cover their operational costs, stabilize service, and make performance improvements to advance towards sustainable operation. This article presents a potential solution which blends funding from global philanthropy, solidarity levies, and local matching funds. Such a fund, if structured to reflect the principles of results-based funding, transparency, sustainability, and performance improvement, can make a meaningful impact on water access.
Treatment of low strength wastewater using compact submerged aerobic fixed film (SAFF) reactor filled with high specific surface area synthetic media
Authors: Gurjar Rishi , Shende Akshay D. , Pophali Girish R.
Published: September 2019

Studies on laboratory-scale submerged aerobic fixed film reactor (SAFF) packed with synthetic media having specific surface area of 165 m2/m3 with a void volume of 89% were carried out to assess its performance under various organic loading rates (OLR) and hydraulic retention times (HRT). Synthetic wastewater having chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of 400 ± 10% and 210 ± 10% mg/L respectively was fed and the reactor was subjected to OLRs ranging from 0.37 to 1.26 kg COD/m3.d. It was observed that steady sloughing of biofilm occurs within the SAFF reactor all the times and average concentration of sloughed biomass in the effluent was 26 mg/L. The COD and BOD removal efficiencies varied between 85 and 89% and 86 to 94%, respectively. The kinetic studies demonstrated that SAFF reactor followed Stover–Kincannon and Grau models, with high correlation coefficients (R2) of 0.9977 and 0.9916, respectively. Thus, the values of kinetic coefficients such as maximum substrate utilization rate, Umax = 64.1 g/(L.d); saturation value constant, KB = 72.31 g/(L.d) and Grau second-order substrate removal rate constant, Ks = 2.44 day−1 can be useful to develop and design large scale SAFF reactors. Finally, the study reveals that the optimum range for OLR can vary within 0.68–0.94 kg COD/m3.d.
Five Generations of Russian Constitutions: Russia as Part of the Western Legal Heritage
Authors: Butler W.
Published: September 2019

The paper is devoted to the study of the relationship between the Russian constitutional history and Western legal traditions. The author argues the position according to which the constitutionalism has been a part of Russian legal history for centuries. On one view of Russian legal history, a written constitution remained an aspiration of the Russian people that was only partly realized in 1906. Marxist legal thought contemplated, or predicted, the “withering away of law” after a proletarian Revolution; adopting a constitution seemed counter-intuitive to this projected vector of history. This paper explores in general outline the five generations of the constitutions of Russia (1918, 1925, 1937, 1978, and 1993) and the maturing of a constitutional tradition in Russia which has led from a blueprint for communism to fully-fledged constitutional rule-of-law social State in which the constitution acts as a restraint upon the exercise of State power and performs the role that a constitution routinely performs as part of the western legal heritage. The author concludes the 1993 Russian Constitution is, for the first time, a living document that could be considered as a reaction against the Russian past, the embodiment of Russian experience, and the repository of Russian values and desires for its future.
Reisner vs. Stalin: The RSFSR Constitution of 1918
Authors: Shakhray S. , Krakovskiy K.
Published: September 2019

In 2018, the centenary of the Constitution of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (RSFSR) was celebrated. Scholarly debate over this legal and political document – Russia’s first constitution – has continued across time up to the present day. The process of drafting the Constitution of 1918 has received very contradictory coverage in the historical and legal literature. Writers’ assessments of the works on this topic have often been influenced by political circumstances. In particular, for a long time the role of the famous Soviet legal scholar and lawyer Mikhail Reisner in the preparation of the draft of the first Soviet Constitution was hushed up. This article examines Reisner’s contribution to the creation of the draft of the first Soviet Constitution and his confrontation with Joseph Stalin over the issue of federation in the Constitutional Commission. These two men proposed diametrically opposed approaches to the principles and foundation of the Soviet Federation. If Stalin believed that the Soviet Federation should be built on the national-state principle, Reisner considered this principle bourgeois and offered to abandon the national principle and build a Federation of Russia as a multi-stage Federation of Soviets. The article then analyzes the content of the draft of the Constitution prepared by Professors Reisner and Goikhbarg (the “professorial project”) and identifies its provisions, borrowed by the authors of the final text of the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918. Additionally, the article describes a number of the provisions of the draft prepared by Reisner and Goikhbarg and distinguishes it from the final text of the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918.
A New Assessment on Two Portraits
Authors: Arlı Yaşar
Published: September 2019

The
most important issue in the field of international portrait research is whether
a portrait is official or private. This question also presents the answers to
the questions of which emperor or empress the portrait belongs to or which
emperor or empress was inspired by. Thus, this important issue is an important
factor guiding us in the definition and dating of the work we are dealing with.
In this article, which I dealt with according to the criteria of international
portrait research, the male head which dealt with by Buschor in 1949 and 1971
and was also handled by Inan Rosenbaum in 1966, has emerged two different
definitions and dating dates. The female head has been studied by Inan in 1974
and Inan-Rosenbaum in 1979 and later, it has been examined by many researchers,
including Fejfer and Güven and a different definition and dating has been made
by each researcher. Therefore, in this paper prepared with the concern of
finding answers to the questions mentioned above, I will try to make a new
interpretation about male and female heads on which there are disagreements
about definition and dating.
Discussão Política no Facebook
Authors: Angeli Alzira Ester , Sampaio Rafael Cardoso
Published: September 2019

A partir da ideia de que alguns ambientes não especializados da Internet podem se constituir em espaços de discussão política frequentados por cidadãos comuns, este artigo apresenta os resultados do estudo de caso da campanha “Pequenas Corrupções – Diga Não!”. A pesquisa tem por objetivo descobrir em que medida essa iniciativa digital do governo brasileiro promoveu discussões no Facebook e com quais características se deram essas conversações. O conjunto de achados indicou que a campanha gerou muito engajamento e pouca discussão e que a discordância esteve presente em apenas um em cada cinco comentários, o que sugere a pouca heterogeneidade de visões entre os usuários da página da CGU no Facebook.
"Ralé" do Telejornalismo
Authors: Chagas Reis Aline Grupillo
Published: September 2019

Embora indispensáveis ao telejornalismo, os jornalistas de imagem constituem um grupo de agentes estatutariamente rebaixados na hierarquia da produção noticiosa. Seu lugar de “ralé”, no sentido sociológico, está relacionado à atividade que realizam, considerada “técnica” e braçal, reflexo da falta da credencial acadêmica para o exercício profissional. Como consequência, temos a permanência dos cinegrafistas na zona de conflito entre as legislações que regulam os radialistas e os jornalistas brasileiros. Sendo assim, o termo “jornalista amador” é utilizado neste artigo para designar cinegrafistas não credenciados academicamente, a fim de colocar o seguinte problema: de que maneira a atuação desses agentes expõe os limites da autoridade jornalística? Analisamos 15 entrevistas em profundidade tendo a história oral como metodologia principal.
Cultura cívica e esfera pública
Authors: Rothberg Danilo , Berti Pedro Luis Bueno
Published: September 2019

A pesquisa apresentada neste artigo foi realizada com o objetivo de conhecer, em perspectiva comparada, a qualidade da conversação online em dois ambientes digitais deliberativos, em países diferentes: os portais Votenaweb.com.br (Brasil) e ISideWith.com (Estados Unidos), que têm o potencial de incentivar a aproximação entre o público em geral e as instituições políticas formais, ao permitirem a expressão de opiniões sobre projetos de lei e temas legislativos em geral através de votos simbólicos. No total, foram coletados e analisados 30.192 comentários. A análise de conteúdo foi realizada em cinco categorias construídas com base na literatura especializada, a saber: justificação; reciprocidade; reflexividade; respeito; informação. Os resultados indicam similaridades notáveis entre os dois ambientes estudados, mas também diferenças importantes, que podem estar ancoradas em características culturais.
Cenário político brasileiro e participação
Authors: Camargo Aline Cristina
Published: September 2019

De acordo com as normas da revista o resumo não é necessário no caso de envio de entrevista.
Performance of a semi-automatic machine leaning method for discriminating HER2 2+ status of breast cancers based on DCE-MRI (Preprint)
Authors: Song Lirong , Jiang Zejun , Lu Hecheng , Yin Jiandong
Published: September 2019

BACKGROUND

Amplification status of human epidermal growth factor receptor2 (HER2) 2+ is currently tested by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). However, the FISH technique is expensive, time consuming, and requires off-site testing. The requirement for alternative low-cost and accurate surrogate measures to formal genetic analysis is urgent. In addition, machine learning is broadly accepted for its ability to decipher complicated connections between medical image features and gene expression status.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the potential association between texture features extracted from dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) and HER2 2+ amplification status of breast cancer.

METHODS

92 patients with HER2 2+ breast cancer who underwent 3T MRI and FISH detection in 2018 were retrospectively selected, including 52 HER2 2+ positive and 40 negative cases. The lesion area was delineated semi-automatically with MATLAB, and a total of 307 texture features were extracted from precontrast, postcontrast, and subtraction images, independently. The Student’s t-test or Mann-Whitney U test was performed to identify significant features between different HER2 2+ amplification status. Principal component analysis was used to eliminate the feature correlations. Three machine learning classifiers, logistic regression analysis, quadratic discriminant analysis, and support vector machine (SVM), were with a leave-one-outcross validation method used to establish the classification models of HER2 2+ amplification status. Classification performance was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

RESULTS

Texture features calculated from subtraction images showed more promising results than those obtained from pre- and postcontrast images. The model with the SVM based on features from subtraction image achieved the best performance, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.890, sensitivity of 80.77%, specificity of 85.00%, and accuracy of 82.61%.

CONCLUSIONS

To a certain extent, texture features of breast cancer extracted from DCE-MRI are associated with HER2 2+ amplification status. Additional studies are necessary to confirm the present preliminary findings.
How I Whiten My Teeth”: YouTube™ as a patient information resource for teeth whitening (Preprint)
Authors: Şimşek Hüseyin , Buyuk Suleyman Kutalmış , Cetinkaya Ebru , Tural Mubin , Koseoglu Murside Seda
Published: September 2019

BACKGROUND

Internet offers an attractive and useful platform for patients seeking information about health. YouTubeTM is one of the most visited sites by patients who want to access medical information, and the YouTubeTM website is the world's second most popular site after Google in Internet.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to assess the quality and content of information presented on YoutubeTM for patients seeking information on teeth whitening.

METHODS

YouTubeTM were searched for videos about teeth whitening using the term ‘‘teeth whitening’’. One hundred and ten results were assessed to obtain 100 acceptable videos. General video evaluation included views, duration, time since video upload, likes/ dislikes, number of comment, source, material types (dental, natural and other) and whilst video purpose was analyzed under nine categories (definition, material preparation, procedure of application, material comparison, after/before comparison, symptoms, post-op experience, commercial, educational). Each video was classified according to quality of information content as ‘good’, ‘moderate’ or ‘poor’. The Kruskal–Wallis, Pearson’s chi-squared test, and Spearman correlation coefficient were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Most videos were uploaded by layperson (60%). Definition of teeth whitening was the most commonly covered topics (74.0%), followed by procedure of application (54.0%), post-op experience (36.0%). Only 12% of videos were classified as having good information quality content, 53% moderate and 35% were rated as poor. Poor content videos had significantly higher number of viewing rate than the other groups (p=0.016), while the duration was significantly higher in low content videos (p=0.003). There was a significant difference between the quality of video information and material types (p <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

YouTubeTM should not be used as a fully reliable and accurate source for patient information. More studies are needed to investigate the quality of information about teeth whitening.
Development of a Mobile Time Banking system on Blockchain (MTBB) for Community Elderly Care (Preprint)
Authors: Chen Hungyi , Chu Yuan-Chia , Lai Feipei
Published: September 2019

BACKGROUND

Time banking is a good mechanism to provide elderly care in community services with members having mutual benefits, besides social welfare and out-of-pocket fee payment mechanisms. With further integration with off-line works, mobile time banking may provide a better way, compared to traditional web access. On the other hand, blockchain technology has been long encountering difficulty in integrating with real-world economies or activities. Development of a mobile time banking system on blockchain (MTBB) may provide a realistic solution for community elderly care. Besides, the tracking mechanism from blockchain technology itself may also help track the elderly care service transaction records in order to measure better Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by United Nations (UN).

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to develop the MTBB, which enables tracking service transaction records in community elderly care through mutual helps.

METHODS

The MTBB was developed to empower organizations, either Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) organizations, or Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs), to issue time tokens of their proprietary token types to the members who participate in the volunteer activities organized by the organizations respectively. In the service activities, members sign in and sign out before and after the services by using a smartphone app, and then get the time tokens afterwards. Members with time tokens can then exchange time tokens for elderly care services using the same smartphone app. MultiChain is used as the blockchain technology stack, as one of its features to support multiple token types is critical.

RESULTS

Database applications with smartphone apps integrated with MultiChain were developed. The whole set of the database schema was integrated with two smartphone apps, one for members, and the other for organizations, in addition to the two backend operations modules, one for organizations, and the other for managing all organizations and members. The MultiChain wallet was also integrated into the member app, as well as the organization backend modules for keeping track of the service transactions and time tokens. Metadata with the service transaction information is stored in the MultiChain blocks so that the transaction records are immutable and can thus be analyzed in the future.

CONCLUSIONS

The twelve characteristics of Cahn’s time banking are the guidelines of developing this MTBB with integration of MultiChain blockchain technology for tracking service transaction records. The study also combines the 1-to-1 member service exchange with organizations holding volunteer activities and issuing proprietary time tokens. With the blockchain transaction tracking mechanism, all of the elderly care service records through or within organizations can be tracked and analyzed to align with UN’s five SDGs.
Social Media and Crowdsourced Election Monitoring
Authors: Sassetti Francisca
Published: September 2019

With the rise of social media in Sub-Saharan Africa, citizen-led organizations in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana have embraced crowdsourcing for domestic election monitoring, at a time when holding competitive elections has proven insufficient to ensure democratic elections. Yet, while existing literature focuses on the contrast between crowdsourcing and traditional monitoring, the effects of crowdsourced election monitoring on the transparency and quality of elections remain unaddressed. This paper makes a comparative analysis of elections in Nigeria from 2003-2015, framed within Sub-Saharan Africa, supported by a dataset of election monitoring deployments. Findings show that, in Nigerian elections where crowdsourcing was used, higher levels of election transparency were registered based on the introduction of the concept of participatory democracy and its practical application. This would, then, contribute to more peaceful and democratic elections. This research also sheds some light on the benefits of domestic election monitoring for citizen engagement.
Media Socialization of Children on Eating Habits: A Study of How Television Content Nourish Their Lives
Authors: Fernando Theodore , Wickramasinghe Thiwankee , Wijethunge L. D. I. , Jeewanthi M. K. Geethani , Nuwansala H. U. C.
Published: September 2019

Sri Lankan mass media from time to time have published reports that many school children in cities are overweight or obese. How serious is the problem? Is Television viewing the most probable cause for health problems connected with children? The aim of this research was to investigate the association between assumed risk factors and Body Mass Index (BMI) in children in urban schools in Sri Lanka. Specifically, the study attempts to identify the relationship between television viewing, fast foods, physical activity, and vegetable consumption in relation to BMI. Using a multiple cluster sample, out of nine provinces of Sri Lanka six provinces were purposely chosen for this study representing urban and semi-urban districts. This study was conducted through a mix approach including all ethnic groups in Sri Lanka. Our findings indicate that in both groups (male and female) there was a positive association between television viewing and BMI and there was evidence that the more television was watched the higher the BMI. We found that physical activity in both groups was negatively associated with BMI, although the effect size was small. In both groups eating vegetables (+nuts) were associated with a lower BMI, and there was a dose-effect. In girls eating fast food was positively associated with BMI, but in boys was negatively associated with BMI.
Formulation and Evaluation of Floating Tablets of Sitagliptin with Extract of Triphala
Authors: Sundaramoorthy Revathi , Gopal V , Jeyabalan G
Published: September 2019

The aim of the present work is to formulate, optimize and evaluate hydrodynamically balanced antidiabetic system incorporated with sitagliptin and phytochemical constituents of Triphala extract for the treatment of constipation associated with diabetes.  The Triphala churna of two different ratios, 1:1:1 (TC1) and 1:2:4 (TC2) were subjected to hot percolation using Soxhlet apparatus using methanol as solvent. The floating matrix tablets of Sitagliptin with methanolic Triphala extract was prepared by wet granulation technique using HPMC K4M as polymer, starch/honey as binder and sodium bicarbonate & citric acid as effervescent agents by 24 factorial design.  The compatibility studies showed that there is no chemical interaction between the drug, polymer and the excipients used in the tablets.  The independent variables are drug & Triphala extract ratio (X1), Triphala proportion (X2), binder used for granulation (X3), and amount of effervescent excipients used (X4).  The dependent variables are hardness (Y1), buoyancy lag time (Y2), total floating time (Y3), in-vitro drug release (Y4), and T50% (Y5).  The prepared floating tablets were subjected to all post compression parameters such as hardness, friability, swelling capacity, buoyancy, total floating time, drug content & in-vitro drug release and were found to be within normal limits.  Based on drug content, buoyancy lag time and in-vitro drug release the formulations F14 and F16 were selected for in-vivo study of the formulation. 
Keywords:  Triphala, Sitagliptin, honey, floating tablet.
Formulation and Evaluation of Ritonavir Immediate Release Tablets by Hot Melt Extrusion Method
Authors: Hussain Shaik. Md. Zakir , Shiva J. , Venkateswarlu Goli , Suthakaran D , Ghouse Syed
Published: September 2019

In the present work, an attempt has been made to develop immediate release coated tablets of Ritonavir by hot met extrusion method using 16 station rotary tablet punching machine. The blend of all the formulations showed good flow properties such as bulk density, tapped density. The prepared IR coated tablets of ritonavir shown good post compression parameters. They passed all the quality control evaluation parameters as per USP limits. Among all the formulations, F5 formulation showed maximum % drug release i.e., 99 % in 120 mins hence it is considered as optimized formulation. The optimized formulation was compared to innovator tablets.
Keywords: Ritonavir, HPMC, Ethyl cellulose, Copovidone immediate release tablets.
Comparative Study of Herbal Extract of Piper Nigrum, Piper Album and Piper Longum on Various Characteristics of Pyrazinamide and Ethambutol Microspheres
Authors: Pingale Prashant L , Ravindra R. P.
Published: September 2019

Bioenhancers are the ‘bioavailability enhancers’; they do not show any therapeutic effect, but when used in combination enhances the activity of drug molecule. In a cited research paper, the effect of various species of piper used as bioenhancer singly and in combination in an equal ratio. The methods used for preparation of microspheres are Complex Coacervation and Modified Emulsion Method. The prepared microspheres were evaluated for various parameters like in-vitro release, drug entrapment efficiency, percent bioadhesion, permeability study using intestinal sac method. The in-vitro drug release of drugs from formulations where Piper nigrum was used as bioenhancers was found to be about 66-70% in 12 hrs. when used singly. When bioenhancers used in combination the in-vitro drug release of drugs was increased up to 85-90% for combination of Piper album and Piper longum in an equal proportion, the same was about 35-40% in case of formulations where no bioenhancers was used. The microspheres found to be less than 130 micron in size. The DEE was found to be in the range of 27-67%. The bioadhesion of the microsphere were found to be 20-76% (increased in formulations where bioenhancers incorporated). The in- vitro release study by USP paddle apparatus, the important results from in-vitro release study relates to the very significant enhancement in drug release, due to presence of bioenhancers.
Keywords: Microspheres, Bioenhancer, Piper nigrum, Piper album, Piper longum, Pyrazinamide, Ethambutol
Fabrication and Characterization of Anticancer Drug Loaded Double Walled Microspheres
Authors: Nagarajan Elangovan , Rama B , Swetha M , Sharma G.S , Jyothi Rani L , Sudhamani K
Published: September 2019

In the present work, double walled microspheres of Tamoxifen (antiestrogenic drug) using Sodium alginate, Hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) K100,Guar gum, Xanthun gum were formulated to deliver Tamoxifen (TMX) through  oral route to treat breast cancer patients. Details regarding the preparation and evaluation of the formulations have been discussed in results. From the study following conclusions could be drawn. The results of this investigation indicate that Ion gelation method can be successfully employed to fabricate TMX microspheres. FT-IR spectra of the physical mixture revealed that the drug is compatible with the polymers and copolymer used. Microspheres containing sodium alginate along with HPMC in 1:1 ratio had a least size range of 610µm. Increase in the polymer concentration led to increase in % Yield, % Drug entrapment efficiency, Particle size. The  invitro drug release decreased with increase in the polymer and copolymer concentration. Among all formulations F7 shows Maximum drug release in 12 th hr  when compared with other formulations. Analysis of drug release mechanism showed that the drug release from the formulations followed the Non fickian diffusion mechanism and follows zero order kinectics. Based on the results of evaluation tests formulation coded F7 was concluded as best formulation.
Keywords : Tamoxifen, sodium alginate, HPMC, Microspheres, Diffusion, Copolymers,  Entrapment efficiency.
Levosulpiride Induced Galactorrhea: A Case Report
Authors: Katta Srija , Nerella Mounika , Vasudha Bhakshi , Gollapalli Rajeev Kumar
Published: September 2019

Drug induced galactorrhea is a condition of increased prolactin level in the serum resulting in irregular menstrual cycle and galactorrhea in women. Levosulpiride is a novel drug with antipsychotic, anti-depressant, anti-emetic and anti-dyspeptic actions. Galactorrhea is the secretion of milky discharge from breast in men or women who are not breastfeeding for one year. It may result from excessive secretion of prolactin or increased sensitivity of breast tissue to prolactin.  A rare case on levosulpiride induced elevated serum prolactin level presenting as a distressing adverse effect of galactorrhoea in a female patient was reported. It’s important to keep a watch on prolactin levels during treatment with levosulpiride. For patients who present as a confirmed case of hyperprolactinemia, it is important to exclude other causes of prolactin elevation. Reporting the case would be a learning point for the fellow pharmacists and health care professionals in optimizing the therapy and requirement of strict monitoring of prescription that would minimize the medication errors.
Keywords: Levosulpiride, galactorrhoea, anti-depressant, hyperprolactinemia.
Simultaneous Estimation and Validation of Multicomponent Formulation in Tablets by Spectrophotometric Method
Authors: Joshi Rupali S. , Sanap Deepali S. , Sase Surekha M.
Published: September 2019

Two methods for the simultaneous estimation of atorvastatin calcium, glimepiride and metformin hydrochloride in three-component solid dosage forms have been developed. First method involved solving simultaneous equations based on measurement of absorbance at three wavelengths, 247.2 nm, 224.8 nm and 236 nm as the λmax of atorvastatin calcium, glimepiride and metformin hydrochloride respectively while in the second method the instrument is preprogrammed to collect and compile the spectral data from the scan of standards and produces the result by matrix calculations. The linearity for three drugs was in the range of 5-30 μg/ml. The procedures were successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of three drugs in laboratory prepared mixtures and commercial tablet preparation. High recovery and low % COV revealed the reliability of the methods indicating proposed methods are accurate and precise for the simultaneous estimation of three drugs in pure and tablet formulation.
Keywords: Atorvastatin calcium, Glimepiride, Metformin hydrochloride, Simultaneous equation method. Multiwavelength Spectroscopy
ASSESSMENT OF PREVALENCE, PREDISPOSING FACTORS, ETIOLOGY AND TREATMENT OF CORNEAL ULCER PATIENTS
Authors: Pant Bhawna , Mathur Prashant , Joshi Yogesh
Published: September 2019

A corneal ulcer is a painful open sore on the cornea that can cause loss of vision and even blindness. The aim the study is to assess the prevalence, predisposing factors, etiology and treatment of corneal ulcer patients. 100 patients with corneal ulcer were included in the study. A detailed history with socio-demographic information, presenting complaints, predisposing factors, associated risk factors followed by drug therapy was noted carefully. Gender wise distribution showed that males (61%) were mostly affected by corneal ulcer as compared to females (39%). Occupation wise distribution showed that farmers (38%) were affected more as compared to others. Most commonly affected age group was between 41-60 years and majority of affected people were from rural areas (75%). Based on severity of the diseased condition, majority (39%) were diagnosed severe followed by mild (34%) to moderate (27%) among all corneal ulcer patients. The most common predisposing risk factor found for corneal ulcer was ocular trauma (42%). Bacterial infections (44%) were found more commonly than fungal infections (35%) and other causes. Antibiotics were mostly prescribed (44%) followed by traditional eye medicines (23%) and antifungal (16%) drugs. Such comprehensive studies are important to assess the specific epidemiological characteristics of corneal ulceration and are also necessary to define the magnitude of the problem in society, to design an efficient public health program for rapid referral, diagnosis, treatment, and to prevent corneal ulceration in the population at risk, especially in the developing nations.
DRUG UTILIZATION AND PRESCRIBING PATTERN OF GLAUCOMA IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF DEHRADUN
Authors: Mamgain Vandana , Jauhari Reenoo
Published: September 2019

Glaucoma is a condition in which distinctive changes occur in the optic nerve and visual field. In glaucoma intraocular pressure (IOP) is raised that compresses and damages the optic nerve. As the optic nerve is damaged, it fails to carry the visual information to the brain which induce clinically progressive loss of peripheral visual field and ultimately loss of vision. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To Evaluate the drug utilization and prescribing pattern of drugs used for treatment of glaucoma, to analyze current prescribing trends in anti-glaucoma drugs, to perform a drug utilization study, to identify drugs per prescription, category wise identification of drugs prescribed, mono therapy vs combination therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was a prospective, observational study carried out in 105 patients at Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. RESULTS: Out of total 105 patients, 68 were males (64.76%) and 37 were females (35.24%). The most common age group was 46-60 years. Patients were mostly affected by primary open angle glaucoma (95.23%) then angle closer glaucoma (4.76%). Total 184 drugs were prescribed in the treatment of glaucoma. Average number of drugs per prescription was 1.75. Combination therapy was prescribed in 51.43% patients & most common used combination therapy was combination of Brimonidine+ timolol (81.48%) followed by Bimatoprost+ timolol (18.52%). Monotherapy was used in 48.57% patients in which drug dorzolamide (22.31%) was prescribed mostly which is belongs to the category of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors followed by timolol (19.23%) (β- blockers) which was second line choice of drug. Generic drugs were mostly prescribed in 77 patients (73.33%) followed by 28 patients (26.66%) were brand names. CONCLUSION: The prescription analysis of glaucoma patients concluded that monotherapy with dorzolamide was the first line choice for glaucoma therapy and timolol was found to be the second line choice. Timolol+ brimonidine was the mostly prescribed combination of drug. It also showed that all drugs were prescribed in their generic name instead of brand name.
Synthesis and Anxiolytic Activity of some novel benzotriazole derivatives
Authors: Singh V. K. , Bharadwaj Peeyush , Rishishwar Poonam
Published: September 2019

1,2,3-Benzotriazole (BTA) is a heterocyclic compound with three nitrogen atoms. It is a polar and colourless compound which can be used for its great versatility. The enormous investigations on derivatives of benzotriazole reveal wide applicability for tagging and delivering a number of heterocyclic nuclei with this molecule. In the present work synthesis of several derivatives of 2-(substituted)-5-[(N-benzotriazolomethyl)-1,3, 4-thiadiazolyl]- imidazole-2-thione has been synthesized and are evaluated for their anxiolytic activity. The antianxiety activities of the synthesized derivatives were evaluated using EPM test and Bright and dark box test experimental models of anxiety. All results were expressed as mean± standard error mean (SEM) and analysed by one-way ANOVA. Post-hoc comparisons were performed by applying Dunnet’s test. P <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Keywords: Benzotriazole; Thiadiazole; Thiazolidinone; Anxiolytic Activity; Anxiety; Elevated Plus Maize; Bright and Dark Arena.
Effect of Cross Linking on Evaluation of Chitosan Coated Pellets of Glipizide
Authors: Kar Nihar Ranjan , Pati Kanhu Charan
Published: September 2019

The objective of the current work is to develop and evaluate the effect of cross linking on drug release of chitosan pellets of Glipizide. Hence the present work was aimed to formulate glipizide pellets with a view to achieve and to maintain the plasma concentration for considerable period by controlling the release so to decrease the occurrence of doses and also to recover the patient fulfillment. Here the pellets of glipizide are designed by Pan Coating technique with solution layering with and without cross linking by Gluteraldehyde effectively. Then the optimized formulations are aimed to study the effects of polymer and cross linking on different evaluation parameters including the drug release study. Finally the conclusion was to arrive at better formulation based on comparison amongst the studied ones.
AN EFFICIENT, GREEN, CATALYST FREE SYNTHESIS AND CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC STUDY OF BENZO-4H-PYRANS IN AQUEOUS MEDIUM
Authors: SILAMBARASAN SEKAR SILAMBU , Abdul Nasser A. Jamal
Published: September 2019

A highly efficient and environmentally benign for the synthesis a of 2-amino-7-hydroxy-4-aryl-4H-chromene-3-carbonitrile derivatives (4a-n) in good to high yields (90%-97%) by one-pot three-component Michael addition reaction of malononitrile, aromatic aldehydes and resorcinol under reflux condition was developed in aqueous medium. Single crystal X-ray studies show that 4h crystallizes in the formula C22H15Cl2N2O2, Mr=410.26, Monoclinic, Space group P2(1)/c, a=12.753(9)Å, b=6.665(4)Å, c=24.050(14) Å, β=102.95(3)A° and 4i C16H10Cl2N2O2, Mr=333.16, Triclinic, Space group P-1, a=6.271(3)Å, b=18.697(5)Å, c =13.794(7) Å,  β =94.269(17)A°. The structure of the products were further confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, IR and Mass spectrum.
Keywords: Benzopyrans, malononitrile, resorcinol, Michael addition, water mediated synthesis, single crystal XRD
Phytochemical Screening, GC-MS Analysis and Antibacterial Evaluation of Ethanolic Leaves Extract of Avicennia marina
Authors: Vasanthakumar K , Dineshkumar G , Jayaseelan K
Published: September 2019

Medicinal plants were used to treat diseases traditionally since ancient times. The present work aims to investigate the bioactive constituents through GC MS analysis of ethanolic leaf extracts of A.marina. Phytochemical screening confirmed the presence of Alkaloids, Flavonoids, Phenols, Reducing sugars, Saponins, Tannin, Glycoside, Triterpenoids and Carbohydrate in A.marina. The characterization of the compounds by Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) technique has reported the presence of thirty compounds in A.marina leaves. These compounds possess different pharmacological properties like anti-microbial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective properties.
Keywords: Avicennia marina, GC-MS, Bioactive compounds, Antibacterial activity.
Growth of Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella Fed on Hybrid Napier Grass (CO-3) Mixed Diet
Authors: Sangeetha S. , Rajendran K.
Published: September 2019

The study was performed to examine the efficiency of hybrid napier grass (CO-3) mixed diet on growth performance of freshwater fish Ctenopharyngodon idella. Alive grass carp fingerlings were collected from commercial fish farm in Thanjavur from June 2015 to May 2016. Fishes were divided into two groups and acclimated for 7 days before feeding trial. The fishes were fed with control and experimental diet. The growth parameters such ABW, ABL, BWG and SGR were thoroughly studied adopting standard procedure. The result of the study clearly indicates that there was a significant variation in growth of control and experimental fishes. The fish fed with CO-3 grass mixed diet showed elevated level in body weight, body length, weight gain and specific growth rate. This study suggests that the CO-3 grass mixed diet is more suitable for grass carp aquaculture practice.
Keywords: Hybrid Napier grass, CO-3, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Specific growth rate.
Ameliorative effect of Ipomoea pes-caprae ethanolic leaf extract on carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes and oxidative status in Streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar rats
Authors: Suhasini S. , Elanchezhiyan C. , Chandirasegaran G.
Published: September 2019

In diabetic patients, hyperglycemia is developed due to increased hepatic glucose production and impaired utilization of glucose in cells, which leads to oxidative stress in cells. Ipomoea pes-caprae has been widely used as an oral treatment for many diseases. The aim of the present study is to assess the effect of Ipomoea pes-caprae ethanolic leaf extract on carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes and oxidative status in Streptozotocin (STZ) induced experimental diabetic rats. Experimental diabetic rats were induced by intraperitoneal administration of 55 mg/kg b.w of STZ. Diabetic rats were treated with I. pes-caprae ethanolic leaf extract at a concentration of 300 mg/kg b.w and glibenclamide (6 mg/kg b.w) for 45 days. Diabetic rats exhibited significant (P < 0.05) decline in the activity of glucokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, enzymatic antioxidants (SOD, CAT and GPx) and non-enzymatic antioxidants (GSH, vitamin E and vitamin C), while lipid peroxidation markers (LOOH and TBARS) and glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase were found to be significantly increased. Further in diabetic rats, the histopathology of pancreas, liver and kidney showed abnormal histo-architecture. The treatment with Ipomoea pes-caprae ethanolic leaf extract notably reversed the abnormal levels in carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes, restored the oxidative status and abnormal structures in pancreas, liver and kidney to near normal levels.
Keywords: Diabetes, antioxidant, lipid peroxidation, Ipomoea pes-caprae and carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes.
Isolation, Purification and Quantification of Enterocin from Enterococcus Species and Potential antibacterial activity
Authors: Razdan Aratrika , Kumar Rakesh , Kumar Ajit
Published: September 2019

Enterococcus is a large genus of lactic acid bacteria of the phylum Firmicutes.  Enterococci are Gram-positive cocci that often occur in pairs (Diplococci) or short chains. The purpose of this study was to determine the antimicrobial activity and occurrence of Enterocin in Enterococcus species isolated from different clinical samples. In this study, isolate Enterococcus in nutrient agar media. Perform biochemical testing and gram staining for identification of Enterococcus and sub culture in BHI (Brain Heart Infusion) and LAPTg broth. Enterocin was isolated from broth by different spectral techniques and used as an antibiotic against selective bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus, Escherichia coli and Streptomyces).
Keywords: - Clinical Samples; Enterococcus Spp.; Enterocin; Catalase; SDS-PAGE.
Antimicrobials Potential Activity from Selective Plant Parts of Fagonia cretica and Desmostachya bipinnata
Authors: Sayar , , Sharma Archana
Published: September 2019

The aim of the present study is to determine antimicrobial potential activity of Fagonia cretica and Desmostachya bipinnata plant parts to look into possible natural therapy agents. Fagonia cretica (Linn.) is most valuable therapeutic medicinal plant, commonly known as Dhamasa and belong to Zygophyllaceae family and Desmostachya bipinnata is also valuable medicinal plant, commonly known as Kusha or Dabh and belong to Poaceae family‎. Fagonia cretica and Desmostachya bipinnata have a good medicinal property and used as: urinary disorder, abdominal pain, chronic fever, cancer, dysentery and menorrhagia, and as a diuretic and a blood purifier. Selective plant parts were also used as medicine contents in pharmaceuticals. Antibacterial and antifungal activity has to be done from various selective medicinal plant parts. Potential activity as antimicrobials against bacteria and fungi Bacillus subtilis is maximum in methanol extract and minimum against Staphylococcus aureus in chloroform extract. Fagonia cretica most valuable medicinal plant, used as anti breast cancer drug.
Keywords: Fagonia cretica; Desmostachya bipinnata; Antimicrobials Activity; Methanol extract; Chloroform extract; Fungi strains; Bacterial strains.
Evaluation of antioxidant potential of Dicoma tomentosa and Alhagi maurorum leaf and stem powder
Authors: Dhaniya Shilpa , Parihar Suman Kumari
Published: September 2019

Dicoma tomentosa and Alhagi maurorum are perennial herbaceous plant having multiple medicinal health benefits. The free radicals are generated in the body as metabolic products of several reactions. These free radicals cause multiple harms to the cell, on their cell wall, to the DNA and cause number of diseases. In the present study, the plants were selected and collected from Rajasthan and were shade-dried. The powder was formed of leaves and stem of both the plants. The methanolic extract was prepared for further studies and the enzymatic and non-enzymatic potential of evaluated through their standard protocols. Dicoma tomentosa and Alhagi maurorum both showed strong antioxidant potential. While comparing both the plants with standard, the stem of Dicoma tomentosa was found having comparatively strong antioxidant potential.
Keywords: Alhagi maurorum, Dicoma tomentosa, antioxidant potential, in-vitro study, comparative evaluation.
In-vitro callus induction and multiplication of inter-nodal explants in plants Dicoma tomentosa and Alhagi maurorum
Authors: Dhaniya Shilpa , Parihar Suman Kumari
Published: September 2019

Dicoma tomentosa and Alhagi maurorum are the two medicinal plants with fast in-vitro growth. Both the plants have high economic values. Both the plants were investigated on nodal segments and on leaves. The plants were cultured in five different conditions of medium ranging from MS1- MS5. The hormones were used in these mediums in different concentrations. BAP, NAA, Kinetin, and 2,4 D were use. The MS medium in combination with BAP (2.0 and 2.0mg/ml) with NAA 0.1 mg/ml with kinetin 0.25 mg/ml with 2-4 D were taken, where BAP 1 mg/ml with 2 mg/ml of NAA, BAP 2 mg/ml with 0.5 mg/ml of NAA showed better results with callus growth and root-shoot initiation. The best rooting medium found was MS medium supplemented with IAA and IBA 0.5mg/ each. The culture medium was used in different concentrations for estimation of primary metabolites. Maximum protein and lipid percentage were noticed in leaves of both the plants. It can be concluded that both the studied plants have high medicinal importance and can be used as raw material for industry.
Keywords: - Dicoma tomentosa; Alhagi maurorum; Plant hormones; MS media.
Efficacy of partial purified bacteriocin of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus biofilm
Authors: Thangarasu Arumugam , Selvam Dhanam , Gattu Sampath , Nagarajan Kayalvizhi
Published: September 2019

Biofilms are microbial communities that cause serious chronic infections in the environment by enhancing antimicrobial resistance. Bacteria in the biofilm can be up to a thousand times more resistant to antibiotics than the same bacteria circulating in a planktonic state. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant microorganism has led to the exploration of different therapeutic agents like ribosomally synthesized microorganism peptides referred to as bacteriocins. In this study, bacteriocin producing bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from a soil sample. It was found to be effective against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Furthermore the bacteriocin was partial purified by ammonium sulfate, the precipitate has highly effective against MRSA (400AU/mL). MRSA cells were treated with precipitated culture supernatant of P. aeruginosa TA6 was analyzed by FT-IR. The treated and untreated MRSA showed band variations at 682.59 and 3442.15cm-1 corresponding to the alkyl and amide group respectively. Bacteriocin showed marked inhibition activity against the biofilm of MRSA. About 0.05% and 0.02% attachment of biofilm was observed in the presence of 1X MIC (10 μg/mL) and 2X MIC (20 g/mL) respectively. Our results recommend that bacteriocins that make stable pores on biofilm cells are extremely potent for the treatment of MRSA biofilm infections.