Evaluation of some effective potentialities of newly formulated rice fermented food using Elephantopus scaber L. rhizome as herbal starter

Traditionally, fermented food and beverages are prepared by adding a mixture of plant residues as a starter or source of microbes. Most of the conventional fermented foods use a local starter which contains a mixture of herbs or old ferment or otherwise cereal dust-coated tablet. In this study, we have made an attempt to prepare a rice-based fermented food with the herbal starter (0.5% w/w) of Elephantopus scaber L. rhizome, and also examined its microbial and nutrient profiles. The food product is fortified with organic acid and titratable acidity of 0.58% and also contained an excellent source of microbes (LAB and Bifidobacterium sp.). The fermented food contains significant amount of fat, protein, minerals, vitamins, oligosaccharide, unsaturated fatty acids (?3, ?6, ?7 and ?9) and a pool of free amino acids. The presence of phytochemical contents in the fermented rice was also exhibited significant effects against commercially available free radicals (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and OH-radicals). Thus, food-grade microbes containing newly formulated fermented food would provide essential macro-and micro-nutrients to the individuals and convey the sustainability of good health. Therefore, the mentioned plant part would be used as an effective starter for aiding rice-based food products.

Reutilization of waste fungal biomass for concomitant production of proteochitinolytic enzymes and their catalytic products by Alcaligenes faecalis SK10

Fungal biomass, being organic waste, could be an excellent source of protein, carbohydrate and minerals. However, it has not been exploited fully until now. Efficient management of this waste can not only address the environmental impact on its disposal but also yield value-added metabolites. In the present study, in order to explore its potential, we subjected dead fungal biomass of Aspergillus niger SKN1 as substrate for both fermentative and enzymatic biodegradation, respectively by potent proteo-chitinolytic bacteria Alcaligenes faecalis SK10 and its enzyme cocktail. The results revealed that reasonable amount of protease and chitinase could be biosynthesized by the fermentative mode of utilization, while a mixture of amino acid, peptides and low-molecular weight amino-sugar (mono and oligomeric form of N-acetylglucosamine) could be generated through enzymatic hydrolysis. The physicochemical condition of both the bioprocess was subsequently optimized through statistical approach. The projected utilization of waste zero-valued fungal biomass offer a sustainable and environmentally sound method for production of microbial metabolites and large scale execution of the same could be proficient and in tune with the principle of circular economy.

Oral Manifestations of Chronic Renal Disease

Chronic Renal Disease is a Global Health Problem which has multiple clinical features which are problematic to the patient, reduces their life expectancy and changes their way of living. It is mainly comprised of hematuria, proteinuria and progressive loss of kidney function. If it reaches end-stage that means there is 90% loss of the kidney function. At times, it also gives rise to oral manifestations which are misdiagnosed and as a result go untreated. This review article deals with the oral manifestations of Chronic Renal Disease so that proper awareness of this problem can be met among Dentists as well.

Spectrum of Neurological Illnesses in Pregnancy – An Observational Study from a Tertiary Care Centre of Eastern India

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of interrelated risk factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes mellitus. The increase in prevalence of hyperuricemia was considered to be directly related to increasing incidence of obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in developing and developed countries. Hyperuricemia is defined as serum uric acid of 6.0mg/dl and 7.0mg/dl for females and males respectively. Aims and Objectives: To study correlation of hyperuricemia with metabolic syndrome or its components. Materials and Methods: An observational, cross sectional single centre study with 316 patients fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria was carried out. Results: Out of 316 patients, 202 (63.9%) were males and 114 (36.1%) were females. 138(43.7%) were from rural areas and 178 (56.3%) were from urban areas. 126 (39.9%) patients had an active lifestyle and 190 (60.1%) had a sedentary lifestyle. Mean waist circumference among114 females was 82.10 cm and among men was 87.07cm. 113 patients fulfilled the criteria for central obesity with the mean uric acid level of 8.14 mg/dl (p=0.001); Mean uric acid level of patients without central obesity was 7.36 mg/dl. 99 (31.33%) fulfilled the criteria for hypertriglyceridemia with mean s.uric acid level 8.24mg/dl (p=0.0440). 124 had elevated blood pressure with mean s.uric acid 8.28 mg/dl (p=0.004). Patients with normal blood pressure had a mean value of s. uric acid 7.86 mg/dl. 33.44% fulfilled the criteria for metabolic syndrome (41.23%of total females and 32.10% of total males). Odds ratio was 1.28 and 0.864 for females and males respectively. Conclusion: Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with hyperuricemia was 35.4%. More common in females than males. Hyperuricemia is more prevalent in patients with a sedentary lifestyle. Hyperuricemia positively correlates with central obesity, blood pressure, hypertriglyceridemia and hyperglycemia. Hence, it is of utmost importance to screen patients of hyperuricemia for metabolic syndrome or its components to prevent mortality and morbidity associated with CVDs.

Type II diabetes mellitus and obesity: Common links, existing therapeutics and future developments

Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity are two common pathophysiological conditions of metabolic syndrome(MetS), a collection of similar metabolic dysfunctions due to sedentary lifestyle and overnutrition. Obesity arises fromimproper adipogenesis which otherwise has a crucial role in maintaining proper metabolic functions. Downstream eventsarising from obesity have been linked to T2DM. The nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator activator gamma (PPAR-c),responsible for maintaining lipid and glucose homeostasis, is down-regulated under obesity leading to a weakened insulinsensitivity of the human body. In course of our review we will outline details of the down-regulation mechanism, provide anoverview of the current clinical therapeutics and their shortcomings. Toxicity studies on the seminal drug troglitazone,belonging to the most effective glitazone anti-diabetic category, is also discussed. This will lead to an overview aboutstructural adaptations on the existing glitazones to alleviate their side effects and toxicity. Finally, we forward a concept ofnovel therapeutics mimicking the glitazone framework, based on some design concepts and preliminary in silico studies.These could be later developed into dual acting drugs towards alleviating the deleterious effects of obesity on normalglucose metabolism, and address obesity in itself.

Comparisons of Results of Type 1 Tympanoplasty Using Temporalis Fascia and Tragal Perichondrium: A Prospective Study

Introduction: Type 1 tympanoplasty is one of the commonest operations done by an ENT surgeon. There are a number of choices regarding the graft material that one uses in this operation. Among those, temporalis fascia and tragal perichondrium are the most common. The aim of the study was to compare the results of tympanoplasty between two groups of patients- one using temporalis fascia as the graft material and the other using tragal perichondrium. Material and methods: This prospective study group consisted of 46 patients between the ages of 10 to 49 years. Only patients with dry safe central perforations and pure conductive hearing loss were included. Success was defined as ear-drum closure with no residual perforation. Hearing improvement was defined as air-bone gap less than 10dB. Results: We had included 46 patients in our study. Of them, 23 had tympanoplasty with temporalis fascia and the other 23 had tympanoplasty with tragal perichondrium. Conclusion: The study showed that both temporalis fascia and tragal perichondrium gave more or less the same results with regard to successful drum closure and hearing improvementthere was little to choose between these two

Docetaxel/Oxaliplatin/Capecitabine (TEX) triplet followed by continuation monotherapy in advanced gastric cancer

Introduction: Docetaxel/oxaliplatin/capecitabine (TEX) is a commonly used combination chemotherapeutic regimen in advanced gastric cancer (AGC). Application strategies in routine clinical practice are reported in this study. Materials and Methods: Patients diagnosed with AGC, receiving biweekly TEX (docetaxel - 60 mg/m (2)-D1; oxaliplatin - 85 mg/m (2)-D1, and capecitabine 500–625 mg/m (2) orally twice daily for 14 days) between July 2012 and May 2016 were retrospectively analyzed for tolerance, prognostic factors, event-free survival (EFS), and overall survival (OS). The proportion of patients continuing and terminating chemotherapy at various time-points was enumerated. Results: Overall, 208 patients were started on TEX. Median EFS was 6.34 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.80–6.87), and median OS was 15.31 (95% CI 12.65–17.96). Post 8 cycles of TEX, further 30 patients (14.4%) were continued on chemotherapy (docetaxel, capecitabine, or TEX) whereas 47 patients (22.6%) were on observation only, and there was a statistically significant difference in the median OS of these two groups (22.55 months vs. 14.89 months; P = 0.028). Raised serum alkaline phosphatase (SAP) levels (>100 U/L) predicted inferior survival (P = 0.006). Conclusion: TEX chemotherapy is a feasible, efficacious triplet regimen that can be used in clinical practice. SAP levels >100 U/L is a poor prognostic factor, as observed in this study. An initial “induction” such as combination chemotherapy regimen followed by monotherapy as continuation requires further evaluation

Perioperative Epirubicin, Oxaliplatin, and Capecitabine Chemotherapy in Locally Advanced Gastric Cancer: Safety and Feasibility in an Interim Survival Analysis

PURPOSE: Perioperative chemotherapy improves survival outcomes in locally advanced (LA) gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed patients with LA gastric cancer who were offered perioperative chemotherapy consisting of epirubicin, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine (EOX) from May 2013 to December 2015 at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. RESULTS: Among the 268 consecutive patients in our study, 260 patients (97.0%) completed neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 200 patients (74.6%) underwent D2 lymphadenectomy, and 178 patients (66.4%) completed adjuvant chemotherapy. The median follow-up period was 17 months. For the entire cohort, the median overall survival (OS), 3-year OS rate, median progression-free survival (PFS), and 3-year PFS rate were 37 months, 64.4%, 31 months, and 40%, respectively. PFS and OS were significantly inferior in patients who presented with features of obstruction than in those who did not (P=0.0001). There was no difference in survival with respect to tumor histology (well to moderately differentiated vs. poorly differentiated, signet ring vs. non-signet ring histology) or location (proximal vs. distal). Survival was prolonged in patients with an early pathological T stage and a pathological node-negative status. In a multivariate analysis, postoperative pathological nodal status and gastric outlet obstruction on presentation significantly correlated with survival. CONCLUSIONS: EOX chemotherapy with curative resection and D2 lymphadenectomy is a suggested alternative to the existing perioperative regimens. The acceptable postoperative complication rate and relatively high resection, chemotherapy completion, and survival rates obtained in this study require further evaluation and validation in a clinical trial.

Immunoevaluation and Characterization of Tetanus Toxoid by using Natural polymer as an adjuvant.

Natural polymer like potato starch is a mixture of amylose and amylopectin, . Extraction of Potato starch was performed by rasping, centrifugation, refining and drying method. In our research method, we employed potato starch as a biodegradable polymer; It has a great impact on pharmaceutical applications due to its bioavailability, non toxic, high change density and biodegradability. In our research work, we have selected Potato starch polymer as a model of immunomodulatory effect of vaccine of tetanus antigen. According to WHO, Tetanus is a systemic infectious disease caused by genus Cl Tetanii. It has been estimated that the tetanus fever endemicity among large populations and global emergence of multidrug resistant strains to impose greater urgency on the evaluation of existing and new vaccines to prevent mortality of neonates and in pregnancy. Recently available recombinant vaccine was seems to be side effect and cost effective. The starch polymer in the form of microspheres was preferred in order to replace the alum to elicit sustained immune response because alum induces local granuloma and hypersensitivity reaction to some individual. We have employed microencapsulation technique by using 0.5% ml glutaraldehyde as a crosslinking agent. The particle size was analyzed as 40.23μm. Invitro studies was analyzed by SEM, stabilities studies Immunogenicity studies was carried out by incubating the sample, centrifuged and tested for an antigen and the Compatibility study was performed by Infrared Spectroscopy, the antigen integrity was studied by SDS PAGE and ELISA. Immunoglobulin titer values was found out ( IgG, IgA,IgM, IgE) to show the increase level of antibody response.

Assessment of nutritional status by composite index for anthropometric failure: A study among slum children in Bankura, West Bengal.

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted to find out the prevalence of composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF) among 117 slum dwelling under-five children in Bankura town, West Bengal and its relation with some common socio-economic factors. Among study population, the prevalence of underweight was 41.6%, whereas CIAF was 80.3%. CIAF gave a near complete estimation of undernutrition unlike underweight. Children who were unimmunized, with more number of siblings, living in a nuclear family, or with illiterate mothers were more likely to be undernourished.

Immunoevaluation and characterization of tetanus toxoid by using natural polymer as an adjuvant.

Natural polymer like potato starch is a mixture of amylose and amylopectin, . Extraction of Potato starch was performed by rasping, centrifugation, refining and drying method. In our research method, we employed potato starch as a biodegradable polymer; It has a great impact on pharmaceutical applications due to its bioavailability, non toxic, high change density and biodegradability. In our research work, we have selected Potato starch polymer as a model of immunomodulatory effect of vaccine of tetanus antigen. According to WHO, Tetanus is a systemic infectious disease caused by genus Cl Tetanii. It has been estimated that the tetanus fever endemicity among large populations and global emergence of multidrug resistant strains to impose greater urgency on the evaluation of existing and new vaccines to prevent mortality of neonates and in pregnancy. Recently available recombinant vaccine was seems to be side effect and cost effective. The starch polymer in the form of microspheres was preferred in order to replace the alum to elicit sustained immune response because alum induces local granuloma and hypersensitivity reaction to some individual. We have employed microencapsulation technique by using 0.5% ml glutaraldehyde as a crosslinking agent. The particle size was analyzed as 40.23μm. Invitro studies was analyzed by SEM, stabilities studies Immunogenicity studies was carried out by incubating the sample, centrifuged and tested for an antigen and the Compatibility study was performed by Infrared Spectroscopy, the antigen integrity was studied by SDS PAGE and ELISA. Immunoglobulin titer values was found out ( IgG, IgA,IgM, IgE) to show the increase level of antibody response.

Preparation and gamma scintigraphic evaluation of colon specific pellets of ketoprofen prepared by powder layering technology

Multiparticulates by powder layering process have advantages of the uniform distribution of the binder solution, easy-to-clean pan and the possibility of applying the successive functional film coating using the same equipment. This study relates to a multiparticulate formulation comprising pellets with a multilayer of pectin-ethyl cellulose on non pareil seeds by powder layering technology. The pellets were prepared to target ketoprofen in colon based on the microbial enzyme dependent drug release mechanism. Multiparticulate formulation by powder layering technology was prepared by conventional pan coating process to evaluate the effect of 59% methoxylated pectin and 45 cps ethyl cellulose on coating label. The formulations were tagged with 99mTc-DTPA, a tracer in gamma scintigraphy study to evaluate the transit behavior of drug loaded pellets and compared with uncoated pellets to evaluate its specific release. The transit behavior and scintigraphy image clearly indicates that the formulation can delay the drug release prior to colon. In albino rabbit, the coated pellets released drug in the colon indicating that site specificity has been achieved with pectin/ethyl cellulose coating at 1:2 ratio with 20% coating label. Formulation containing pectin and ethyl cellulose with suitable coating label may be suitable as a coating formulation for colon delivery of ketoprofen and can be successfully evaluated by gamma scintigraphy method

Fatal attraction: bacteria exploit fungal heterokaryon incompatibility to obtain nutrients.

Phyllosphere (above ground plant structures) is an interesting habitat where many plant associated bacteria, fungi and viruses coexist. Leaves, which form the major part of the phyllosphere serve as food resource for many epiphytic bacteria as well as fungi. The paper by Wichmann et al. (2008) describes a unique interaction of a plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae and fi lamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. It was a serendipitous fi nding. The authors observed a N. crassa hetC homologue in the genome of P. syringae by analysing the genome sequence of several P. syringae strains. In Neurospora, the hetC gene is involved in heterokaryon incompatiblity (HI), and the presence of dissimilar hetC allele is suffi cient to trigger a HI mediated programmed cell death (Debets et al. 1994). There is another locus in N. crassa called pinC, which is also involved in HI. For example, a hetC1pinC2, non allelic combination and/or a hetC1 hetC2 allelic interaction can trigger HI mediated programmed cell death. HI has been proposed as a barrier against non-self recognition which in turn may prevent virus transmission within fungal populations and resource plundering between genetically dissimilar individuals (Debets et al. 1994). Wichmann et al. (2008) showed that the P. syringae phcA (P. syringae het-c homologue) is suffi cient to trigger HI in N. crassa and HI induced by heterologous expression of PhcA in N. crassa is dependent on the presence of a fungal counterpart of hetC and pinC. This results in growth inhibition of N. crassa a characteristic hallmark of HI. They further showed by co-immune precipitation and western blotting that PhcA and HetC1 interact with each other and form a hetero-complex in vivo in N. crassa hyphae undergoing HI. The authors did some elegant experiments in which they incubated P. syringae strains labelled with different fl uorescence colours in close proximity to growing hyphae of N. crassa and observed that the bacterium effi ciently colonizes the growing hyphae. By limiting the carbon and nitrogen source, P. syringae could grow only in the presence of only N. crassa, as a sole carbon source. These results indicated that P. syringae exploits the HI phenomena in fi lamentous fungi, thereby inducing programmed cell death, which may in turn leak out nutrients for the feeding of the bacteria. This study indicates an important ecological relationship, in which leaf associated microbes like bacteria and fungi interact and the bacteria try to manipulate a well conserved genetic pathway of non-self recognition in fungi, to get nutrients for growth. DNA analysis of several P. syringae strains indicated that phcA homologues are present in diverse strains isolated from soil, plant as well as water. The phenomena of HI are conserved in many different divisions of fi lamentous fungi, including ascomycete, basidiomycete and zygomycete species. This research work opens up a yet another very interesting aspect of inter-kingdom interactions which occurs in nature where members try to exploit each other resources by manipulating conserved pathways.

Fabrication and evaluation of ethyl cellulose and cellulose acetate coated controlled release multiparticulate formulation of ketoprofen by dry powder layering technology.

Multiparticulate is one of the most widely accepted technologies in the pharmaceutical industries. Present study aim is to prepare controlled release multiparticulate of Ketoprofen by drug powder layering technology using two different release retardant (Ethyl Cellulose & Cellulose Acetate) in five different drug: release retardant concentrations (5%, 10%, 20%, 30% & 40%). The most widely used multiparticulate system in pharmaceutical industries is Dry Powder Layering Technique. Powder layering involves the deposition of successive layers of dry powder(s) and excipients on preformed nuclei or cores with the help of binding liquids. The prepared multiparticles were evaluated for friability, drug content uniformity, density and percentage yield. The release rate was evaluated by dissolution studies. To establish drug polymer compatibility DSC and FT IR was done. Study concluded that Dry Powder Layering of Ketoprofen can be effectively used for drug loading on non-pareil seeds. It was also found that formulation having Ethyl Cellulose have more retarding capacity than the Cellulose Acetate in both formulations and drug release follows Zero order kinetics. DSC and FT IR study concluded that there is no interaction between EC and CA. From dissolution parameter of the prepared multiparticles it is concluded that formulation EC3 (20%) and CA4 (30%) posses the required characteristics of oral controlled release formulation. It is assumed that above 90% of the drug will be released within 24 hours. Hence this formulation can be used as once daily dosage regimen for the controlled release of Ketoprofen.