Neuroprotective effects of Zingerone against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced brain mitochondrial toxicity in Swiss albino mice

The present study targeted the brain mitochondria dysfunction in Swiss albino mice through carbon tetrachloride intoxication and its treatment with Zingerone. It is proposed that brain mitochondria is the main organelle responsible for oxidative stress by producing  reactive oxygen species (ROS). Swiss albino mice were divided into four groups; Group-1 was control; Group-2 was carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) toxic (1.5mg kg-1 bm i.p two days in a week.); Group-3 was pretreated with Zingerone (100 mg kg-1 b.m)  a day before  the administration of CCl4 and Group-4 was only Zingerone (100 mg kg-1 bm) given orally for 15days once in a day. At the end of the experiment mice were sacrificed and mitochondria were isolated from brain. Isolated brain mitochondria were further analyzed for oxidative stress marker. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) content was increased significantly by CCl4 administration in Group-II as compared to the control Group-I, while the antioxidant (GSH) and other antioxidant enzyme GPx , GR, and CAT was depleted significantly in CCl4 treated Group-II as compare to control Group-I. Zingerone protected the  toxicity of brain mitochondria by reducing the lipid peroxidation and enhancing the antioxidant enzyme in Group-III and there was no significant changes were noticed in Group-IV as  compared to Group-I. Overall results showed the potential effects of Zingerone in protecting the neuronal cell loss by oxidative stress. Thus, the  present study indicated that the Zingerone may be used as the potential therapeutic tools for the prevention of CCl4 induced brain mitochondrial toxicity. &nbsp

ZnO anchored graphene hydrophobic nanocomposite-based bulk heterojunction solar cells showing enhanced short-circuit current

Hydrophobic and surfactant-free ZnO nanoparticles and ZnO decorated graphene nanocomposite (Z@G) with narrow and uniform size distribution were synthesized by a time-efficient microwave-assisted hydrothermal reaction that can be used specifically for application in hybrid photovoltaics. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles and Z@G nanocomposite showed stable and clear dispersion in chloroform and methanol (with volume ratio of 9 : 1) and chloroform and ethanol (volume ratio 9 : 1). Being hydrophobic, these inorganic samples blend very well with organic polymer solution in chlorobenzene, which is a prerequisite to cast smooth and undisrupted film for hybrid solar cell application. The introduction of these hydrophobic nanoparticles into PCPDTBT: PCBM-based bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cells resulted in significant improvement in solar cell J-V characteristics with enhancement in open circuit voltage (VOC), short circuit current density (JSC) and thereby overall improvement in cell efficiency. With the optimization of the weight ratio of polymer, fullerene and synthesized ZnO nanoparticles/Z@G nanocomposite, the power conversion efficiencies 1.76% and 3.65% were achieved

Control of Some Human Pathogenic Bacteria by Seed Extracts of Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.)

Antibacterial activity of seed extracts of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) was investigated against 10 gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Disc diffusion method was used to test antibacterial activity. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) were determined by using standard procedures. The highest (effective) inhibition zone of 16.67±0.47 mm was found at 250 mg/ml for Escherichia coli. On the other hand, the inhibition zones 15.00±0.82 mm for ethanol, 15.33±0.47 for methanol, and 15.67±0.82 for acetone were found against Bacillus subtilis, Sarcina lutea and Klebsiella pneumonia, respectively. MIC value (20 to 50 mg/ml) and MBC value (40 to 60 mg/ml) were measured against studied bacteria. On the basis of investigation, we can say, cumin seeds could be used as a source of new antibacterial agent for developing drugs to inhibit some human pathogenic bacteria

Pomegranate juice attenuates acetaminophen induced hepatotoxicity in rat model of experiment

Background: Pomegranate fruit has high contents of various polyphenols and antioxidants due to which it possesses variety of therapeutic properties. In particular, pomegranate fruit peel and flowers have exhibited high antioxidant activity in different studies. Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose is the most common cause of drug induced liver toxicity including both accidental and intentional types. In our study, we investigated the protecting mechanism of pomegranate fruit juice (PJ) against toxicity caused by APAP in Wistar rats.Methods: Rats were fed with 0.2% (w/v) pomegranate fruit extract as prophylaxis to counter single dose of APAP (2 g/kg, p.o). After that variation in levels of glutathione, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GR) were marked.Results: A single dose of APAP elevated serum toxicity markers including lipid peroxidation. A simultaneous sharp depletion of glutathione and its metabolizing enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR) was observed. Oral doses of PJ at (0.1% & 0.2% w/v) caused a significant (P<0.001) reduction in toxicity marker enzymes. A striking elevation in antioxidant armory was seen as in response to PJ.Conclusion: The results provide a clear picture of the defensive effect of PJ against APAP induced hepatic toxicity

Synthesis of ternary copper antimony sulfide via solventless thermolysis or aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition using metal dithiocarbamates.

Copper antimony sulfide (Cu-Sb-S) has recently been proposed as an attractive alternative photovoltaic material due to the earth-abundant and non-toxic nature of the elements, high absorption coefficients and band gaps commensurate with efficient harvesting of solar photonic flux across multiple phases of Cu-Sb-S. These materials are therefore highly desirable and sustainable and scalable deposition techniques&nbsp;to produce them are of interest. In this paper, we demonstrate two facile, low-temperature and inexpensive techniques (solventless thermolysis and aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD)) for the preparation of binary digenite (Cu1.8S), chalcocite (Cu2S) and stibnite (Sb2S3) and several phases of ternary copper-antimony-sulfide (Cu2xSb2(1-x)Sy, where 0 ≤ x ≤ 1). It was found that by utilising these different techniques and varying the ratio of Cu:Sb, pure phases of ternary chalcostibite (CuSbS2), fematinite (Cu3SbS4) and tetrahedrite (Cu12Sb4S13) can be achieved. Two single-source precursors were investigated for this purpose, namely the diethyldithiocarbamate (DTC) complexes of copper and antimony Cu(DTC)2 and Sb(DTC)3. These were decomposed both individually (to produce binary materials) and combined (to produce ternary materials) at different ratios. From the solventless thermolysis and AACVD methods, either particulate or thin film material was formed, respectively. These materials were then characterised by powder XRD, SEM, EDX and Raman spectroscopies to determine the crystalline phase, material morphology and uniformity of elemental composition. This analysis demonstrated that as the Cu-content increases, the phase of the ternary material changes from chalcostibite (CuSbS2) and fematinite (Cu3SbS4) at a low Cu:Sb ratio to tetrahedrite (Cu12Sb4S13) at a high Cu:Sb ratio

Sustainability of Self-Efficacy among Nascent Disable Entrepreneurs: A Case Study on Disable’s Home

The study has focused on practicality of self-efficacy theory, and how it helps to build confidence among the disables in building their career choice as entrepreneurs. For this we chose a case study approach on Disable’s home, which is a non- profit organization to provide support for disables. The study was conducted in two phases. First phase, from disable people’s perspective who were trainees in the Disable’s home. And second, from the Disable’s home’s perspective. Findings of the first phase suggest, in order to sustain self-efficacy with regard to career choice as entrepreneurs, not only institutional support is enough but other additional supports like social, financial, family supports&nbsp; are important. In the second phase, it was observed that institution needs to be resourceful in order to provide proper support to the disables and embed self-efficacy among them. &nbsp; JEL Classification Code:&nbsp; M3

Preventive role of Withania somnifera on hyperlipidemia and cardiac oxidative stress in streptozotocin induced type 2 diabetic rats

Purpose: The present study was intended to investigate the preventive role of Withania somnifera (WS) on hyperlipidemia and oxidative stress in the heart of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 2 diabetic rats.Methods: Single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (100 mg/kg) was given to 2 days rat pups to induce type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes was confirmed 90 days after the administration of STZ by measuring blood glucose level. WS (200 and 400 mg/kg) was administered orally once a day for 5 weeks after the confirmation of diabetes. Glucose, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatinine kinase (CK), total cholesterol (TCh), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), verylow density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) and markers of oxidative stress parameters like lipid peroxidation (LPO), reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were evaluated in the heart of type 2 diabetic rats.Results: Oral administration of WS for 5 weeks resulted in a significant (P&lt;0.001) reduction in glucose, LDH, CK, TC, TG, LDL-C, VLDL-C levels with significant elevation of HDL-C levels. On the other hand, WS treated diabetic rats significantly (P&lt;0.01-P&lt;0.001) reduced the elevated levels of LPO, increased levels of antioxidant enzymes (i.e, GSH, GPx, GR, GST, SOD and CAT).Conclusion: These findings propose the role of hyperlipidemia and cardiac oxidative stress in type 2 diabetic rats and suggested protective effect of WS in this animal model.Keywords: Withania somnifera; Hyperlipidemia; Oxidative stress; Streptozotocin; Type 2 diabete

Compliance of Boiler Standards and Industrial Safety in Indian Subcontinent

The economic development and industrialisation necessitate the use boilers/pressure vessels. With the increase of boiler numbers and uses, the boiler explosion due to non-compliance of standards and regulations, poor operation, maintenance, repair and safety awareness is also growing. Human error and poor maintenance are responsible nearly 50% of the global boiler explosions. The fatalities due to boiler explosions are sky rocketing in the Indian subcontinent. The paper has reviewed the global boiler explosions fatalities with a special emphasis on boiler accidents occurred in the Indian subcontinent and suggested some remedial actions