Nifedipine loaded chitosan microspheres prepared by emulsification phase-separation

A high yield of nifedipine-chitosan microspheres could be obtained using an emulsification phase-separation method. A high level of entrapment of nifedipine in the microspheres was achieved. The microspheres exhibited excellent swelling properties. Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffractometry, and scanning electron microscopy confirmed that at 1.84% loading, nifedipine was dispersed molecularly. The microspheres exhibited faster release at low loadings compared to high loadings. Fitting the data to the coupled Fickian/case II equation, showed that at low loadings polymer relaxation coefficients (k₂) were high. As the polymer content increased in the microspheres, the value of n (diffusional exponent characteristic of the release mechanism) approached one, which is indicative of zero order.     

Whole plant response of Pongamia pinnata to drought stress tolerance revealed by morpho-physiological,biochemical and transcriptome analysis

Molecular Biology Reports - Pongamia is considered an important biofuel species worldwide. Drought stress in the early growth stages of Pongamia influences negatively on the germination and...     

Predicting breast cancer using an expression values weighted clinical classifier

Background

Clinical data, such as patient history, laboratory analysis, ultrasound parameters-which are the basis of day-to-day clinical decision support-are often used to guide the clinical management of cancer in the presence of microarray data. Several data fusion techniques are available to integrate genomics or proteomics data, but only a few studies have created a single prediction model using both gene expression and clinical data. These studies often remain inconclusive regarding an obtained improvement in prediction performance. To improve clinical management, these data should be fully exploited. This requires efficient algorithms to integrate these data sets and design a final classifier.LS-SVM classifiers and generalized eigenvalue/singular value decompositions are successfully used in many bioinformatics applications for prediction tasks. While bringing up the benefits of these two techniques, we propose a machine learning approach, a weighted LS-SVM classifier to integrate two data sources: microarray and clinical parameters.

Results

We compared and evaluated the proposed methods on five breast cancer case studies. Compared to LS-SVM classifier on individual data sets, generalized eigenvalue decomposition (GEVD) and kernel GEVD, the proposed weighted LS-SVM classifier offers good prediction performance, in terms of test area under ROC Curve (AUC), on all breast cancer case studies.

Conclusions

Thus a clinical classifier weighted with microarray data set results in significantly improved diagnosis, prognosis and prediction responses to therapy. The proposed model has been shown as a promising mathematical framework in both data fusion and non-linear classification problems.     

A mass mortality of fishes caused by receding water levels in the vegetated littoral zone of the West Kleinemonde Estuary,South Africa

On 15 November 2017 the mouth of the West Kleinemonde Estuary breached following heavy catchment rains and increased river flow. The water level in the estuary following mouth opening decreased by 1.65 m within 24 h, resulting in an almost complete draining of the littoral zone where large beds of the aquatic macrophyte Ruppia cirrhosa and mats of the associated filamentous algae were present. As the water depth within the plant beds decreased, the macrophytes, together with the algal filaments, created an increasingly dense mat, trapping fish that were resident, foraging or passing through the littoral zone. By 16 November 2017 large numbers of fishes belonging to at least 20 species were trapped in pools and depressions within the littoral, as well as within the R. cirrhosa beds and filamentous algal mats in the lower reaches of this system. Other affected taxa included crustaceans, especially isopods, and large numbers of small bivalves attached to macrophyte vegetation. Beneficiaries of the fish kill, in terms of unexpected food availability, included a variety of piscivorous bird species and the Cape clawless otter Aonyx capensis. This is the first documented account of a diverse species fish kill associated with estuary mouth breaching.     

Synthesis and release of N-acetylaspartyl glutamate (NAAG) in medial giant axons in crayfish]

Studies of crayfish Medial Giant nerve Fiber suggested that glutamate (GLU) released from the axon during action potential generation initiates metabolic and electrical responses of periaxonal glia. This investigation sought to elucidate the mechanism of GLU appearance extracellularly following axon stimulation. Axoplasm and periaxonal glial sheath from nerve fibers incubated with radiolabelled L-GLU contained radiolabeled GLU, glutamine (GLN), GABA, aspartate (ASP), and NAAG. Total radiolabel release was not altered by electrical stimulation of nerve cord loaded with [14C]-GLU by bath application or loaded with [14C]-GLU, [3H]-D-ASP, or [3H]-NAAG by axonal injection. However, radioactivity distribution among GLU and its metabolic products in the superfusate was changed, with NAAG accounting for the largest fraction. In axons incubated with radiolabeled GLU, the stimulated increase in radioactive NAAG in the superfusate coincided with the virtual clearance of radioactive NAAG from the axon. The increase in [3H]-GLU in the superfusion solution that was seen upon stimulation of nerve bathloaded with [3H]-NAAG was reduced when beta-NAAG, a competitive NAALADase inhibitor, was present. Together, these results suggest that some GLU is metabolized to NAAG in the giant axon and its periaxonal glia and that, upon stimulation, NAAG is released and converted to GLU by NAALADase. A quisqualate-, beta-NAAG-sensitive NAALADase activity was detected in nerve cord homogenates. Stimulation or NAAG administration in the presence of NAALADase inhibitor caused a transient hyperpolarization of the periaxonal glia comparable to that produced by L-GLU. The results implicate N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) and GLU as potential mediators. of the axon-glia interactions.     

Trends in Malaria in Odisha,India—An Analysis of the 2003–2013 Time-Series Data from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program

Background

Although Odisha is the largest contributor to the malaria burden in India, no systematic study has examined its malaria trends. Hence, the spatio-temporal trends in malaria in Odisha were assessed against the backdrop of the various anti-malaria strategies implemented in the state.

Methods

Using the district-wise malaria incidence and blood examination data (2003–2013) from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program, blood examination-adjusted time-trends in malaria incidence were estimated and predicted for 2003–2013 and 2014–2016, respectively. An interrupted time series analysis using segmented regression was conducted to compare the disease trends between the pre (2003–2007) and post-intensification (2009–2013) periods. Key-informant interviews of state stakeholders were used to collect the information on the various anti-malaria strategies adopted in the state.

Results

The state annual malaria incidence declined from 10.82/1000 to 5.28/1000 during 2003–2013 (adjusted annual decline: -0.54/1000, 95% CI: -0.78 to -0.30). However, the annual blood examination rate remained almost unchanged from 11.25% to 11.77%. The keyinformants revealed that intensification of anti-malaria activities in 2008 led to a more rapid decline in malaria incidence during 2009–2013 as compared to that in 2003–2007 [adjusted decline: -0.83 (-1.30 to -0.37) and -0.27 (-0.41 to -0.13), respectively]. There was a significant difference in the two temporal slopes, i.e., -0.054 (-0.10 to -0.002, p = 0.04) per 1000 population per month, between these two periods, indicating almost a 200% greater decline in the post-intensification period. Although, the seven southern high-burden districts registered the highest decline, they continued to remain in that zone, thereby, making the achievement of malaria elimination (incidence <1/1000) unlikely by 2017.

Conclusion

The anti-malaria strategies in Odisha, especially their intensification since 2008, have helped improve its malaria situation in recent years. These successful measures need to be sustained and perhaps intensified further for eliminating malaria from Odisha.