PAT-Based Control of Fluid Bed Coating Process Using NIR Spectroscopy to Monitor the Cellulose Coating on Pharmaceutical Pellets

Current endeavor was aimed towards monitoring percent weight build-up during functional coating process on drug-layered pellets. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is an emerging process analytical technology (PAT) tool which was employed here within quality by design (QbD) framework. Samples were withdrawn after spraying every 15-Kg cellulosic coating material during Wurster coating process of drug-loaded pellets. NIR spectra of these samples were acquired using cup spinner assembly of Thermoscientific Antaris II, followed by multivariate analysis using partial least squares (PLS) calibration model. PLS model was built by selecting various absorption regions of NIR spectra for Ethyl cellulose, drug and correlating the absorption values with actual percent weight build up determined by HPLC. The spectral regions of 8971.04 to 8250.77 cm^?1, 7515.24 to 7108.33 cm^?1, and 5257.00 to 5098.87 cm^?1 were found to be specific to cellulose, where as the spectral region of 6004.45 to 5844.14 cm^?1was found to be specific to drug. The final model gave superb correlation co-efficient value of 0.9994 for calibration and 0.9984 for validation with low root mean square of error (RMSE) values of 0.147 for calibration and 0.371 for validation using 6 factors. The developed correlation between the NIR spectra and cellulose content is useful in precise at-line prediction of functional coat value and can be used for monitoring the Wurster coating process.     

Studies on freshwater protozoa of South India II: Ciliophora

Summary A systematic account of 81 species of free living ciliophora found living in dirty water of gutters, ditches, wells, tanks etc. belonging to 31 families of Euciliata and Suctoria is given in this paper. It includes 30 new records for the Indian sub-continent and 37 new records for the Southern region.     

Relationship between African dust carried in the Atlantic trade winds and surges in pediatric asthma attendances in the Caribbean

Asthma is epidemic in developed and developing countries including those in the Caribbean where it is widely believed that African dust, transported in high concentrations in the Trade Winds every year, is a major causative factor. The link between asthma and dust in the Caribbean is based largely on anecdotal evidence that associates sharp increases in the occurrence of asthma symptoms with hazy conditions often caused by dust. Here we report on a 2-year study of the relationship between the daily concentrations of dust measured in on-shore Trade Winds at Barbados and pediatric asthma attendance rates at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH). We looked for large increases in QEH daily attendances in relation to daily dust concentrations as previously suggested by anecdotal observations. We could not find any obvious relationship although there may be more subtle linkages between dust and asthma. Our measurements show, however, that the concentration of dust in the size range under 2.5 μm diameter is sufficiently high as to challenge United States Environmental Protection Agency air quality standards for respirable particles. Thus, African dust may constitute a health threat of a different nature, producing symptoms less obvious than those of asthma.     

Association between living environment and human oral viral ecology

The human oral cavity has an indigenous microbiota known to include a robust community of viruses. Very little is known about how oral viruses are spread throughout the environment or to which viruses individuals are exposed. We sought to determine whether shared living environment is associated with the composition of human oral viral communities by examining the saliva of 21 human subjects; 11 subjects from different households and 10 unrelated subjects comprising 4 separate households. Although there were many viral homologues shared among all subjects studied, there were significant patterns of shared homologues in three of the four households that suggest shared living environment affects viral community composition. We also examined CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat) loci, which are involved in acquired bacterial and archaeal resistance against invading viruses by acquiring short viral sequences. We analyzed 2 065 246 CRISPR spacers from 5 separate repeat motifs found in oral bacterial species of Gemella, Veillonella, Leptotrichia and Streptococcus to determine whether individuals from shared living environments may have been exposed to similar viruses. A significant proportion of CRISPR spacers were shared within subjects from the same households, suggesting either shared ancestry of their oral microbiota or similar viral exposures. Many CRISPR spacers matched virome sequences from different subjects, but no pattern specific to any household was found. Our data on viromes and CRISPR content indicate that shared living environment may have a significant role in determining the ecology of human oral viruses.     

Mercury alters the bacterial community structure and diversity in soil even at concentrations lower than the guideline values

This study evaluated the effect of inorganic mercury (Hg) on bacterial community and diversity in different soils. Three soils—neutral, alkaline and acidic—were spiked with six different concentrations of Hg ranging from 0 to 200 mg kg⁻¹ and aged for 90 days. At the end of the ageing period, 18 samples from three different soils were investigated for bacterial community structure and soil physicochemical properties. Illumina MiSeq-based 16s ribosomal RNA (rRNA) amplicon sequencing revealed the alteration in the bacterial community between un-spiked control soils and Hg-spiked soils. Among the bacterial groups, Actinobacteria (22.65%) were the most abundant phyla in all samples followed by Proteobacteria (21.95%), Bacteroidetes (4.15%), Firmicutes (2.9%) and Acidobacteria (2.04%). However, the largest group showing increased abundance with higher Hg doses was the unclassified group (45.86%), followed by Proteobacteria. Mercury had a considerable negative impact on key soil functional bacteria such as ammonium oxidizers and nitrifiers. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that among the measured soil properties, Hg had a major influence on bacterial community structure. Furthermore, nonlinear regression analysis confirmed that Hg significantly decreased soil bacterial alpha diversity in lower organic carbon containing neutral and alkaline soils, whereas in acidic soil with higher organic carbon there was no significant correlation. EC₂₀ values obtained by a nonlinear regression analysis indicated that Hg significantly decreased soil bacterial diversity in concentrations lower than several guideline values.

     

Bioremediation of mercury: not properly exploited in contaminated soils!

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology - Contamination of land and water caused by heavy metal mercury (Hg) poses a serious threat to biota worldwide. The seriousness of toxicity of this neurotoxin...     

Chronic energy deficiency in some low socio-economic populations from South India: Relationships between body mass index, waist–hip ratio and conicity index

This paper reports the prevalence of chronic energy deficiency (CED) based on body mass index (BMI) and its relation to other adiposity measures namely, waist-hip ratio (WHR) and conicity index (CI) in some low socio-economic groups from South India. Two ethnic groups from each area type, namely, tribal, rural and urban areas, are included and samples of 646 men and 670 women belonging to six groups are selected on a multistage basis. Based on the measurements, BMI, WHR and CI are calculated. A considerable proportion of populations studied here experience CED. A higher proportion of women than men show CED. The BMI and WHR are slightly higher among men and WHR exhibits significant intersex difference. The CI is in expected ranges and all ethnic groups differ from each other in all measurements and indices. Age is strongly correlated with WHR and CI, but not with BMI. Both WHR and CI are influenced by BMI. BMI and sex are found to be significant contributors to the variation in WHR, and ethnicity also added to the variation in CI. The present study also concludes that adult malnutrition (as indicated by BMI) is spread to a considerable extent in these populations of low socio-economic status. It appears that the ethnic differences occurring in several measurements/indices reflect the economic and social conditions.     

First stereoselective total synthesis and anticancer activity of new amide alkaloids of roots of pepper

The first stereoselective total synthesis of new natural amide alkaloids 1–3 have been achieved from commercially available starting materials. Wittig olefination, Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation, epoxidation, a trans regioselective opening of 2,3-epoxy alcohol, Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons (HWE) olefination and amide coupling are the key steps. The amide alkaloids 1–3 are evaluated for their anticancer activity against colon (HT-29), breast (MCF-7) and lung (A-549) human cancer cell lines for the first time.