Comparative genomics of two jute species and insight into fibre biogenesis.

Jute (Corchorus sp.) is one of the most important sources of natural fibre, covering ∼80% of global bast fibre production1. Only Corchorus olitorius and Corchorus capsularis are commercially cultivated, though there are more than 100 Corchorus species2 in the Malvaceae family. Here we describe high-quality draft genomes of these two species and their comparisons at the functional genomics level to support tailor-designed breeding. The assemblies cover 91.6% and 82.2% of the estimated genome sizes for C. olitorius and C. capsularis, respectively. In total, 37,031 C. olitorius and 30,096 C. capsularis genes are identified, and most of the genes are validated by cDNA and RNA-seq data. Analyses of clustered gene families and gene collinearity show that jute underwent shared whole-genome duplication ∼18.66 million years (Myr) ago prior to speciation. RNA expression analysis from isolated fibre cells reveals the key regulatory and structural genes involved in fibre formation. This work expands our understanding of the molecular basis of fibre formation laying the foundation for the genetic improvement of jute.

Bacterial vaginosis: Etiology and modalities of treatment-A brief note.

A large women population of the world is suffering from a vaginal infection commonly known as bacterial vaginosis. The disease is associated with the decrease in the lactobacilli count in the vagina. Till date, there is a lack of full proof treatment modalities for the cure of the disease. The treatment includes the use of antimicrobials and/or acidifying agents and probiotics, either separately or in combination. This note discusses about the etiology and the various present-day modalities of treatment of bacterial vaginosis.

Patent protection strategies.

It is widely recognized that the pharmaceutical industry faces serious financial challenges. Large numbers of blockbuster drugs are losing patent protection and going generic. The pipeline of new drugs is too sparse to fill the gap and generate a platform for future growth. Moreover, many of the new products are biologics with much narrower target patient populations and comparatively higher prices relative to traditional pharmaceuticals. So now the time has come for pharmaceutical scientists to have a better understanding of patent fundamentals. This need is illustrated by analyses of key scientific and legal issues that arose during recent patent infringement cases involving Prozac, Prilosec, and Buspar. Facing this scenario, the pharmaceutical industry has moved to accelerate drug development process and to adopt at the same time different strategies to extend the life time of the patent monopoly to provide the economic incentives and utilizing it for drug discovery and development. This review covers the need of patent protection and various strategies to extend the patent.

E-tongue: a tool for taste evaluation.

Taste has an important role in the development of oral pharmaceuticals. With respect to patient acceptability and compliance, taste is one of the prime factors determining the market penetration and commercial success of oral formulations, especially in pediatric medicine. Taste assessment is one important quality-control parameter for evaluating taste-masked formulations. Hence, pharmaceutical industries invest time, money and resources into developing palatable and pleasant-tasting products. The primary method for the taste measurement of a drug substance or a formulation is by human sensory evaluation, in which tasting a sample is relayed to inspectors. However, this method is impractical for early stage drug development because the test in humans is expensive and the taste of a drug candidate may not be important to the final product. Therefore, taste-sensing analytical devices, which can detect tastes, have been replacing the taste panelists. In the present review we are presenting different aspect of electronic tongue. The review article also discussed some useful patents and instrument with respect to E-tongue.

Synthesis and antihyperlipidemic activity of some novel condensed 2-chloroalkyl-4-chloro/hydroxy-5,6-disubstituted pyrimidines.

Synthesis and antihyperlipidemic activity of a series of novel condensed 2-chloroalkyl-4-chloro/hydroxy-5,6-di-substituted pyrimidines are described. The design of these compounds is based on the earlier QSAR study on the antihyperlipidemic 2-substituted methylthienopyrimidin-4-ones. The newly synthesized condensed 4-chloro-2-chloroalkylpyrimidines (IIIa-n) have exhibited much superior antihyperlipidemic activity, compared to their earlier reported 4-hydroxy analogs. Notably, in this series, five compounds, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IIIi and IIIm showed good ability to reduce total cholesterol and two compounds, IIIa and IIIk exhibited better reduction in serum triglycerides. All the newly synthesized compounds have been evaluated by the Triton WR 1339 induced hyperlipidemia in albino Wistar rats model for antihyperlipidemic activity, and their activity is superior to that exhibited by the standard gemfibrozil used in the study. A 3D QSAR study has also been performed to delineate the effect of the substituents at 5 and 6 positions on the antihyperlipidemic activity of 2-chloromethyl-5,6-substituted thieno(2,3-d) pyrimidin-4(3H)-ones (IIa-e).