Ethnopharmacology - Novel Approach for Drug Discovery
Authors: Ajita D. Khamkar, V. M. Motghare, Rushikesh Deshpande
Abstract
The era of blockbuster drugs is now ending, the pharmaceutical industry is not as innovative due to shortage of new lead structures. Ethnopharmacology and natural product drug discovery remains a significant hope in the current scenario. Ethno pharmacology provides a divergent approach involving indigenous knowledge with current technology for drug development using new approaches.Natural products have been the source of active ingredients of many medicines from 1981 till date. Aspirin, artimesinin, colchicine, digoxin, ephedrine are few important drugs that were developed from medicinal plants in the past. Hurdles like lack of trials, safety and efficacy records, gap between old concepts and modern understanding, malpractice due to intense competition in drug research, carelessly carried out bioassays and biopiracy stop this knowledge from becoming mainstream. Physician can play an important role in overcoming some of these hurdles and strict guidelines are required for ethnoergogenics. A sincere effort needs to be made to prevent the loss of this rich traditional knowledge which can help drug discovery for many years to come.
Creative Innovations in Pharmaceutical Packaging
Authors: Sunisha Kulkarni, Anisha Agrawal, Shyam Bihari Sharma, Suman Jain
Abstract
Packaging in Pharma Industry is an extensive, comprehensive and multi-faceted task. From containment and protection to convenience, identification and delivery, packaging’s role in the market cannot be underestimated. It is a means of protecting and preserving items contained within, as well as communicating marketing and regulatory information to consumers. Earlier the requirements of these packaging focused exclusively on preserving the quality of enclosed product, whereas today the packaging occupies a significant portion of the overall food and drugs markets. These are extended to cover criteria such as stability and shelf life; convenience and compliance of product use; prevention of product tampering and counterfeiting; ensuring product safety; and brand identity. These products should be designed in such a way that it gives a soothing impact to the users; also the medicine itself has healing effect, so its packaging should complement its features as well. While there is a drive for customisation within packaging industries, there have been concerns that innovation is being hindered by factors such as budgets and regulation. As the packaging industry continues to develop increasingly sophisticated concepts, industries are starting to embrace innovations in this field to improve patient adherence to drug regimens.
Secured Big Data Computing in Cloud Environments
Authors: G. Kishore Kumar, Dr. M. Gobi
Abstract
"Big Data" refers to data sets that are huge in size and/or complex. They may be evaluated computationally to reveal trends, associations and patterns, particularly connecting to human behavior and interactions wherein outdated data processing application software’s are inadequate to deal with them. There are various security challenges linked in this area and if any security breach occurs then it would result in great loss in data and reputation, as the massive volume of data is involved. In addition, traditional security mechanisms and tailored mechanisms for big data would not be sufficient. In this paper, we highlight the data security and privacy challenges proposed by various sources and proposed encryption technique in our future research. For making big data secure, techniques such as encryption must be necessary.
CFD Analysis on Performance and Emission in a Direct Injection Diesel Engine at Different Piston Bowl Re-Entrant Angle
Authors: Jinuchandran, Jyothis. S, Prof. Biju Cherian Abraham, Prof. Jijo Johnson, Prof. Dr. Shajan Kuriakose
Abstract
The present works investigates the influence of re-entrant angle in a piston bowl geometry on both engine performance and combustion efficiency in a direct injection (DI) diesel engine using STAR-CD. The analysis was done by varying the reentrant angle of piston bowl between 16.35˚ to 25.35˚. All the other relevant parameters namely, compression ratio, bowl volume, squish clearance, engine speed and the mass of fuel injected were kept constant. It is observed that the in-cylinder pressures and temperatures are higher for 19.35˚ reentrant angle. NOx emissions were observed higher for 22.35˚ reentrant angle. Lower soot emissions were observed for 19.35˚ reentrant angle when compared with the other reentrant angles. The simulation analysis revealed that 19.35˚ reentrant angle is the optimum reentrant angle yielding best performance and lower emissions for the chosen engine geometry. Higher turbulent energy and velocity magnitude levels are obtained with 19.35˚ reentrant angle indicating efficient combustion emphasizing the need for optimized combustion chamber geometry for better performance and emissions.
Citalopram Drug Interactions
Authors: Dilip Kumar V, Mahesh NM
Abstract
Citalopram is an antidepressant belonging to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Citalopram produces its activity by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin in the synaptic clefts. So, concomitant administration of drugs (opioids, Monoamino oxidase inhibitors) which are having affect on serotonin or other monoamine levels in the synaptic cleft may produce some adverse effects as a pharmacodynamic interaction. Citalopram is metabolized by CytochromeP450 (CYP) 2C19 and CYP2D6 to desmethylcitalopram and further by CYP3A4 to di- desmethylcitalopram. Some drugs may either induce (carbamazepine and rifapicin) or inhibit (buspirone, tramodol, Tricyclic antidepressants) these enzymes and affecting the citalopram levels producing either therapeutic failure or serotonin toxicity. Similarly, citalopram mildly inhibits CYP2C19, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 and thus affects the plasma levels of the drugs (imipramine, â-blockers, trazodone) which are metabolized by the above enzymes. So, in this review we tried to summarize both the interactions of citalopram with other drugs and other drugs interaction with citalopram and their probable mechanisms which may be helpful for the psychiatrists or physicians to judge the appropriate therapy when the patient is to be co-administered with citalopram.