Formulation development and accelerated stability testing of a novel sunscreen cream for ultraviolet radiation protection in high altitude areas

The present study is aimed at the development of a sunscreen cream for use in high altitude areas which have been found to possess superior sun protection factor (SPF) along with remarkable antioxidant activity. The topical formulation is a standard oil-in-water emulsion of a combination of United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) approved ultraviolet filters; along with melatonin and pumpkin seed oil. The in-silico optimized formulation was characterized using established methods and the stability study was carried out as per International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. The formulation was prepared after requisite pre-formulation analysis by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetric and thermogravimetric analyses; followed by characterization based on color, odor, phase separation, spreadability, specific gravity, homogeneicity, centrifugation and sensitivity. For the stability study, a total of three samples from three batches of the finished product were subjected to the stability study. The samples were analyzed for content uniformity, pH, in vitro SPF, rheology, zeta potential, droplet diameter and microbial analysis of the 0th day and also the the end of the storage period. Results obtained from the stability study indicated that the formulation possesses 50+ in vitro SPF value and remained stable for 6?months and 12?months under storage at 40?±?2?°C and 75?±?5% relative humidity; and ?20?°C?±?5?°C respectively.     

A hexanuclear cerium(IV) cluster with mixed coordination environment

Synthesis and structure of a modified intermediate derived from ammonium cerium(IV) nitrate for oxidative reactions as a hexanuclear cerium(IV) complex that has cerium ions in two different coordination environment is reported. The complex having ability to oxidise three moles of catechol to corresponding quinone has a composition NH₄[Ce₆(µ³-O)₅(µ³-OH)₃(µ²-C₆H₅COO)₉(NO₃)₃(DMF)₃].DMF.H₂O is prepared under room temperature and is characterised by X-ray crystallography.     

CSD,a database of microbial strains for carbon fixation

The CSD database contains a list of microorganisms involved in biological fixation of carbon dioxide. The database allows managing of information related to carbon dioxide fixation utilizing microbes belonging to four different classes i.e. microorganisms, genus listing, mechanisms and literature. The database can help in devising biological strategies for reducing carbon dioxide from the environment. It can also serve as comprehensive knowledgebase to search the microbes capable of utilizing carbon dioxide.     

Mycorrhization of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L) to enhance the concentration and quality of essential oil

The effect of association of two vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi, Glomus macrocarpum and G fasciculatum, on the concentration and composition of essential oil in coriander (Coriandrum sativum) was studied. VAM inoculation increased the essential oil concentration in fruits by as much as 43%. Although significant variation in effectiveness of the two fungal species was observed, the quality of essential oil was significantly enhanced on mycorrhization. GC characterisation of essential oil showed increased concentration of geraniol and linalool in plants inoculated with G macrocarpum and G fasciculatum respectively. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Transplantation of hippocampal cell lines restore spatial learning in rats with ventral subicular lesions.

We have demonstrated in our previous studies that ventral subicular lesion induces neurodegeneration of the hippocampus and produces cognitive impairment in rats. In the present study, the efficacy of transplanted green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled hippocampal cell line (H3-GFP) cells in establishing functional recovery in ventral subicular lesioned rats has been evaluated. The survival of H3-GFP transplants and their ability to express trophic factors in vivo were also investigated. Adult male Wistar rats were subjected to selective lesioning of ventral subiculum and were transplanted with H3-GFP cells into the cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) hippocampus. The transplants settled mainly in the dentate gyrus and expressed neurotrophic factors, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The ventral subicular lesioned (VSL) rats with H3-GFP transplants showed enhanced expression of BDNF in the hippocampus and performed well in eight-arm radial maze and Morris water maze tasks. The VSL rats without hippocampal transplants continued to show cognitive impairment in task learning. The present study demonstrated the H3-GFP transplants mediated recovery of cognitive functions in VSL rats. Our study supports the notion of graft meditated host regeneration and functional recovery through trophic support, although these mechanisms require further investigation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adaptive second-order sliding-mode controller for shank-foot orthosis system

Recently, the actuated orthosis is highly utilised to support the knee-joint movement of rehabilitees. However, uncertain disturbances arising in a nonlinear orthosis system is difficult to control, which in turn reduces the stability of the system. In this paper, an Adaptive Second-order Sliding-Mode Control (ASoSMC) is proposed to control the shank-foot orthosis system. Here, the actual position, velocity, and acceleration of the system are estimated using the final torque to determine the overall movement of the system. Moreover, these actual values are estimated by varying the sliding surface of the sliding-mode control and the positive gain of the system. Further, the performance is compared with conventional methods like Second-order Sliding-Mode Control (SoSMC) and Fuzzy SoSMC in terms of root-mean-square error, sliding surface, and positive gain. The controlling by ASoSMC is found to be precise in defining the position, velocity, and acceleration of the system against conventional methods.     

Amine catalysed silicon–oxygen bond formation

Catalytic amount of triethylenetetramine causes dehydration of diphenylsilanediol to form octaphenyltetrasiloxane, whereas, catalytic reaction of triethylenetetramine leads to dehydrogenative polymerisation of phenylsilane with various diols.     

An Adaptive Execution Scheme for Achieving Guaranteed Performance in Computational Grids

Nature of the resource pool in a Grid environment is heterogeneous and dynamic. Availability, load and status of the resources may change at the time of execution of an application. Therefore, in order to maintain the performance guarantee (as has been agreed upon through service level agreements (SLAs) between the client and the resource providers), an application may need to adapt to its run-time environment on the basis of resource availability and application demands. Often it may be required to migrate the application components to a new set of resources during their execution so that performance guarantee can be maintained. Objective of this paper is to present an adaptive execution scheme for achieving guaranteed performance on the basis of the SLAs. The scheme has been implemented based on the notion of performance properties and by deploying a set of autonomous agents within an integrated performance-based resource management framework.     

Theoretical Vibrational Spectra of Carbon Fullerenes

This article investigates the stretching vibrational modes of carbon fullerenes (C₂₄, C₂₈, C₃₂, and C₅₀) by using one-dimensional U(2) algebra. Considering the molecular symmetry, the model Hamiltonian is constructed which is able to describe the fundamental “stretching modes” of the physical system with less number of algebraic parameters. The calculated energies find an excellent agreement with the theoretical data of harmonic force constant calculation.     

Thermoelectric conversion of waste heat from IC engine‐driven vehicles: A review of its application,issues, and solutions

Thermoelectric generator (TEG) is a promising thermoelectric (TE) conversion technology to effectively recover and convert waste heat from vehicle exhaust into useful energy, ie, electricity. Exhaust TEG (ETEG) is a system that is incorporated into the exhaust manifold of a vehicle. Exhaust TEG comprises of a heat exchanger, TEG modules, heat sink, and power conditioning unit. The present work reviews different vehicular ETEGs based on engine type, engine‐rated power, type and number of TEG module, efficiency of ETEG and TEG, exhaust and coolant temperature, and power output of ETEG . In addition to these, the technical issues faced in these ETEGs are addressed under 2 categories, viz., primary (TEG with low ZT TE material and inefficient heat exchanger and heat sink) and secondary issues (low operating temperature TEG modules and installation position of ETEG). In addition to it, effects of vibration and thermal cycling of exhaust system on TEG modules that may arise in ETEG are also discussed. A review of preventive solutions to the issues is also presented. Finally, the economic aspects of an ETEG are also discussed. The review highlights the need of commercialization of TE materials with ZT > 2, high‐temperature operating range, and segmented TEG modules in large volumes so that their practice can be extended in vehicular applications. Heat exchanger modeling using computational fluid dynamics and interfacing with heat transfer theory is essential to maintain temperature uniformity across the TEG modules. Installation of ETEG in the exhaust pipe should be such that it does not affect the performance of the engine. It is also realized that sturdy TEG modules should be developed for long‐term operation to prevent degradation due to mechanical vibration and thermal cycling of the vehicle. Further, ETEG is economically beneficial in vehicles such as trucks owing to availability of high thermal energy in their exhaust stream.