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Dosage forms that can be retained in the stomach are called gastroretentive drug delivery systems (GRDDS). GRDDS can improve controlled delivery of drugs with an absorption window by continuously releasing the drug for a prolonged period before it reaches its absorption site, thus ensuring optimal bioavailability. Drugs with a narrow absorption window are mostly associated with improved absorption at the jejunum and ileum due to the enhanced absorption properties of these sites (e.g. large surface area), or because of enhanced solubility in the stomach as opposed to the more distal parts of the GIT. Objective of the present work is to design and evaluate Gastroselective Buoyant Tablets of Cefuroxime axetil. Different formulae were developed by incorporating various polymers. All the developed formulations were subjected to in vitro dissolution testing and the data was fitted to various exponential equations in order to assess the exact release mechanism. Compatibility among the drug and polymers was checked by subjecting the samples to FTIR and DSC characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finger millet is susceptible to abiotic stresses, especially drought and salinity stress, in the field during seed germination and early stages of seedling development. Therefore developing stress tolerant finger millet plants combating drought, salinity and associated oxidative stress in these two growth stages is important. Cellular protection through osmotic adjustment and efficient free radical scavenging ability during abiotic stress are important components of stress tolerance mechanisms in plants. Mannitol, an osmolyte, is known to scavenge hydroxyl radicals generated during various abiotic stresses and thereby minimize stress damage in several plant species. In this study transgenic finger millet plants expressing the mannitol biosynthetic pathway gene from bacteria, mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase (mtlD), were developed through Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated genetic transformation. mtlD gene integration in the putative transgenic plants was confirmed by Southern blot. Further, performance of transgenic finger millet under drought, salinity and oxidative stress was studied at plant level in T1 generation and in T1 and T2 generation seedlings. Results from these experiments showed that transgenic finger millet had better growth under drought and salinity stress compared to wild-type. At plant level, transgenic plants showed better osmotic adjustment and chlorophyll retention under drought stress compared to the wild-type. However, the overall increase in stress tolerance of transgenics for the three stresses, especially for oxidative stress, was only marginal compared to other mtlD gene expressing plant species reported in the literature. Moreover, the Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation protocol developed for finger millet in this study can be used to introduce diverse traits of agronomic importance in finger millet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To know the effect of Wilson's disease in pregnancy and its perinatal outcome. Conclusions Though there is a higher chance of growth restriction and preterm deliveries in Wilson's disease, Patients on regular follow-up in a tertiary care centre and who are on regular medications can have successful pregnancy outcomes. [Extracted from the article]

Large number of primary transgenic events were generated in groundnut by an Agrobacterium mediated, in planta transformation method to assess the efficacy of cry1AcF against the Spodoptera litura. The amplification of required size fragment of 750 bp with npt II primers and 901 bp with cry1AcF gene primers confirmed the integration of the gene. The expression of the cry gene was ascertained by ELISA in T generation, and the maximum concentration of cry protein in transgenic plants reached approximately 0.82 μg/g FW. Further, Southern blot analysis of ten T transgenic plants proved that transgene had been integrated in the genome of all the plants and Northern analysis of the same plants demonstrated the active expression of cry1AcF gene. The highest mean % larval mortalities 80.0 and 85.0 with an average mean % larval mortalities 16.25 ( n = 369) and 26.0 ( n = 80) were recorded in T and T generations, respectively. Segregation analysis of the selected lines in the T generation demonstrated homozygous nature. This clearly proved that though there is considerable improvement in average mean % larval mortality in T generation, the cry1AcF gene was effective against S. litura only to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress adaptation in plants involves altered expression of many genes through complex signaling pathways. To achieve the optimum expression of downstream functional genes, we expressed At bHLH17 ( AtAIB) and At WRKY28 TFs which are known to be upregulated under drought and oxidative stress, respectively in Arabidopsis. Multigene expression cassette with these two TFs and reporter gene GUS was developed using modified gateway cloning strategy. The GUS assay and expression analysis of transgenes in transgenic plants confirmed the integration of multigene cassette. The transgenic lines exhibited enhanced tolerance to NaCl, Mannitol and oxidative stress. Under mannitol stress condition significantly higher root growth was observed in transgenics. Growth under stress and recovery growth was substantially superior in transgenics exposed to gradual long term desiccation stress conditions. We demonstrate the expression of several downstream target genes under various stress conditions. A few genes having either WRKY or bHLH cis elements in their promoter regions showed higher transcript levels than wild type. However, the genes which did not have either of the motifs did not differ in their expression levels in stress conditions compared to wild type plants. Hence co-expressing two or more TFs may result in upregulation of many downstream target genes and substantially improve the stress tolerance of the plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dangers confronting forest ecosystems are many and the strength of these biological systems is deteriorating, thus substantially affecting tree physiology, phenology, and growth. The establishment of genetically engineered trees into degraded woodlands, which would be adaptive to changing climate, could help in subsiding ecological threats and bring new prospects. This should not be resisted due to the apprehension of transgene dispersal in forests. Consequently, it is important to have a deep insight into the genetic structure and phenotypic limits of the reproductive capability of tree stands/population(s) to endure tolerance and survival. Importantly, for a better understanding of genes and their functional mechanisms, gene editing (GeEd) technology is an excellent molecular tool to unravel adaptation progressions. Therefore, GeEd could be harnessed for resolving the allelic interactions for the creation of gene diversity, and transgene dispersal may be alleviated among the population or species in different bioclimatic zones around the globe. This review highlights the potential of the CRISPR/Cas tools in genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic-based assorted and programmable alterations of genes in trees that might be able to fix the trait-specific gene function. Also, we have discussed the application of diverse forms of GeEd to genetically improve several traits, such as wood density, phytochemical constituents, biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, and photosynthetic efficiency in trees. We believe that the technology encourages fundamental research in the forestry sector besides addressing key aspects, which might fasten tree breeding and germplasm improvement programs worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microencapsule was incorporated into an interpenetrating polymer network and applied over steel surface. A scratch was made on the coated surface and its self healing ability was studied using scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Results of SVET studies show that the current density increases in the initial stage. After 24 h, the current density decreases, which indicating the formation of passive polymer film due to the diffusion of core polymer present in the microcapsules through the holidays. Increase in the resistance (107 Ω/cm2) of the self healing coating was observed after 24 h in EIS studies confirming the formation of the passive film. The results of the studies are discussed in this article. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2012 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pigeon pea is an important legume. Yield losses due to insect pests are enormous in the cultivation of this crop. Expression of cry proteins has led to increased resistance to pests in several crops. We report in this paper, expression of a chimeric cry1AcF (encoding cry1Ac and cry1F domains) gene in transgenic pigeon pea and its resistance towards Helicoverpa armigera. PCR, Southern hybridization, RT-PCR and Western analysis confirmed stable integration and expression of the cry1AcF gene in pigeon pea transgenics. When screened for efficacy of the transformants for resistance against H. armigera, the transgenics showed not only high mortality of the larva but could also resist the damage caused by the larvae. Analysis for the stable integration, expression and efficacy of the transgenics resulted in the identification of four T3 plants arising from two T1 backgrounds as highly promising. The results demonstrate potentiality of the chimeric cry1AcF gene in developing H. armigera-resistant pigeon pea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the epoch of semiconductor technology, the design and development of doped semiconductor systems for spintronics and optoelectronics have allured hefty curiosity due to their modern physical characteristics. In this context, we report the chemical synthesis and tunable optical as well as magnetic properties of Zn0.99-xErxCr0.01S nanoparticles for the first time. Comprehensive structural studies proposed the effectual substitution of erbium and chromium ions into the parent matrix instead of Zn cation. A trivial spherical shaped cubic nanoparticle observed from the TEM micrographs. The erbium characteristic bands in the co-doped samples confirm the effectual incorporation of erbium co-doping in the ZnS matrix. The optical bandgap of the ZnS increased after chromium doing, and then, it decreased for erbium co-doping samples. The ferromagnetic feature of the ZnS:Cr nanoparticles significantly improved with respect to the Er co-doping concentration. The motto of the present investigation was to create the ferromagnetism in ZnS:Cr system and enrich that ferromagnetism via erbium co-doping. The plausible causes behind the enhanced ferromagnetism discussed in the results and discussion part. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are a few studies to explain the emergence of Third World Multinationals. But, none of them have so far touched on the selection and training imparted to personnel who are sent on foreign assignments from Indian companies. There are, of course, some studies done for developed country multinationals. Here, it is tried to present the current situation of offering an elective course on internatronal business to graduate students. A small sample study of Indian companies pattern of expatriate selection and training is given. Currently, there is a lack of appreciation on the need to train in international business courses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Multiferroic BiFeO 3 and Bi 0.8-X Gd X Er 0.2 FeO 3 (X = 0.0, 0.05, 0.1 & 0.15) nanoparticles have been prepared by sol-gel technique. The effect of Gd content (in Gd/Er co-dopant) on the structural, magnetic, dielectric, and optical properties of the BiFeO 3 materials has been studied. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed rhombohedral to orthorhombic phase transition of BiFeO 3 when doped with Er or Er/Gd. All samples composed of aggregated spherical nanoparticles and the size of the particles is decreased with increasing the Gd content in Gd/Er co-doped BiFeO 3 nanoparticles. Energy dispersive spectra confirm the presence of all the selective elements in synthesized samples and are in near stoichiometric ratio. The Fourier transform Infrared spectra confirmed the presence of functional groups of elements of synthesized nanoparticles only. Optical properties of the samples, as studied by UV–visible spectroscopy, showed the decreased optical band gap with increasing the Gd content in Bi 0.8-X Gd X Er 0.2 FeO 3 nanoparticles. The Er/Gd co-doping in BiFeO 3 had a significant effect on the magnetic properties and effectively reduced the leakage current. The simultaneous enrichment of magnetic and electric properties indicates the potential application of Bi 0.8-X Gd X Er 0.2 FeO 3 (X = 0.0, 0.05, 0.1 & 0.15) nanoparticles in future multifunctional devices. • Our work demonstrated a simple and effective strategy to synthesized pure BiFeO 3 (BFO) and Bi 0.8-X Gd X Er 0.2 FeO 3 (X = 0.0, 0.05, 0.1 & 0.15) nanoparticles (Quantum dots) via sol-gel technique with free of impurities. • Gd (0.15) doped BFO: Er (0.2) nanoparticles exhibited three times maxima of magnetization properties compare to pure, dielectric conductivity and low recombinations of photoluminescence properties observed in Gd doped BFO: Er nanoparticles. • The lower rate of recombinations of electron-hole pair was applicable for the photogeneration process and photoconductive devices. • It contributes to high efficient magneto-electronic and opto-electronic device applications. • Environmental Science: Nano. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]