Anthoceros subtilis Steph: A Rare Disjunct Species,New to North East India from Brahmaputra Valley

A rare bryophyte, Anthoceros subtilis Steph., earlier reported in India only from Western Ghats, (Karnataka and Maharashtra), Gujarat, Rajasthan and elsewhere in world from China, Thailand and Vietnam, has been discovered from southern Brahmaputra flood plains of Assam.     

Solubility enhancement of rosiglitazone by using melt sonocrystallization technique

The poor solubility and low dissolution rate in gastro-intestinal fluid, especially for class-II drugs according to Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) the bioavailability enhanced by increasing the solubility and dissolution rate. A novel melt sonocrystallization technique of particle engineering to enhance solubility as well as dissolution of hydrophobic drug and to study its effect on crystal properties of drug. The present study leads to use investigate solubility of melt sonocrystallization technique to modify the undesirable properties of Rosiglitazone is antidiabetic drug in thiozolidione category with (BCS II) to forms agglomerates with number of shallow circular pits on the surface leads to increase solubility. Melt sonocrystallization process was developed for Rosiglitazone in which Rosiglitazone melt was poured in deionized water and simultaneously subjected to ultrasonic energy for 20 min at amplitude 80 %. The product obtained was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffractometry (XPRD), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), solubility and dissolution rate. The irregular agglomerates with porous surface were obtained having different crystal habit which increases solubility and dissolution rate. FTIR shows thermal behavior of untreated Rosiglitazone and treated Rosiglitazone have no significant difference low intensity peaks in XPRD of treated Rosiglitazone were noticed crystals habit changes and lattice defects during processing have causes favorable changes in the physicochemical properties of Rosiglitazone. The use of melt sonocrystallization technique is promising technique that may affords powder with improved flow as well as improved solubility and dissolution.     

Detection of periodontal microorganisms in coronary atheromatous plaque specimens of myocardial infarction patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundMicrobial translocation from inflamed periodontal pockets into coronary atheroma via systemic circulation is one of the proposed pathways that links periodontitis and myocardial infarction (MI). The purpose of this systematic review is to determine the reported prevalence of periodontal microorganisms in coronary atheroma and/or aspirated clot samples collected from MI patients with periodontal disease.MethodologyThe “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Six databases were systematically searched using Medical Subject Headings/Index and Entree terms. After a thorough screening, fourteen publications spanning over ten years (2007–2017) were eligible for this systematic review and meta-analysis.ResultsOut of 14 included studies, 12 reported presence of periodontal bacterial DNA in coronary atherosclerotic plaque specimens. Overall, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans were the most frequently detected periodontal bacterial species. Meta-analysis revealed that the prevalence of P. gingivalis was significantly higher than A. actinomycetemcomitans in coronary atheromatous plaque samples. Apart from periodontal microbes, DNA from a variety of other microbes e.g. Pseudomonas fluorescens, Streptococcus species, Chlamydia pneumoniae were also recovered from the collected samples.ConclusionConsistent detection of periodontal bacterial DNA in coronary atheroma suggests their systemic dissemination from periodontal sites. It should further be investigated whether they are merely bystanders or induce any structural changes within coronary arterial walls.     

Reserpine modulates neurotransmitter release to extend lifespan and alleviate age-dependent Aβ proteotoxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans

Aging is a debilitating process often associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD occurs at a very high incidence posing a huge burden to the society. Model organisms such as C. elegans become essential to understand aging or lifespan extension - the etiology, molecular mechanism and identification of new drugs against age associated diseases. The AD model, manifesting Aβ proteotoxicity, in C. elegans is well established and has provided valuable insights. Earlier, we have reported that Reserpine, an FDA-approved antihypertensive drug, increases C. elegans lifespan with a high quality of life and ameliorates Aβ toxicity in C. elegans. But reserpine does not seem to act through the known lifespan extension pathways or inhibition of its known target, vesicular monoamine transporter, VMAT. Reserpine's mode of action and the pathways it activates are not known. Here, we have evaluated the presynaptic neurotransmitter(s) release pathway and identified acetylcholine (ACh) as the crucial player for reserpine's action. The corroborating evidences are: i) lack of lifespan extension in the ACh loss of function (hypomorphic) - synthesis (cha-1) and transport (unc-17) mutants; ii) mitigation of chronic aldicarb effect; iii) lifespan extension in dopamine (cat-2) and dopamine and serotonin (bas-1) biosynthetic mutants; iv) no rescue from exogenous serotonin induced paralysis in the AD model worms; upon reserpine treatment. Thus, modulation of acetylcholine is essential for reserpine's action.