The present study investigated the effect of colchicine and trimethylcolchicinic acid on liver fibrosis induced by common bile duct ligation in albino rats. Bile duct ligated rats showed cirrhosis where liver architecture completely distorted with diffused fibrosis and generation of abnormal nodules. Hepatocytes with nuclear changes and highly proliferated bile ductules were also detected. Alpha smooth muscle actin positive cells increased markedly. Biochemical results also showed elevation in serum transaminases (AST, ALT) and alkaline phosphatase activities as well as total bilirubin concentration. Most of these effects were gradually reversed with colchicine and trimethylcolchicinic acid treatment. Both colchicine and trimethylcolchicinic acid were nearly similar in there therapeutic effect when used at the same dose and under similar conditions. Moreover, higher doses of trimethylcolchicinic acid were more efficient and safer than colchicine in treating liver fibrosis in the experimental animals.

Influence of blue, green, yellow, orange, red and white lights on lipase activity of Oryza sativa L. (Jyothi), Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. (Kanakamani) and Arachis hypogaea L. (CO-3) seedlings was analysed and it showed plant-wise variations. Considering the initial 7 days of development of the seedlings, green light for O. sativa, yellow light for V. unguiculata and red light for A. hypogaea were more influential in inducing lipase activity. In A. hypogaea, lipase activity was significantly higher under red light than other wavelengths from 2nd to 5th day which is the active period of seedling establishment. In Oryza sativa red light induced significant variation only on certain days. In Vigna unguiculata red light seemed to be least effective in stimulating lipase activity except on the first day. Thus effect of red light on lipase activity is species dependent and arguably, it depends on the lipid content of the seed. Blue wavelength exposure depressed the lipase activity in all the three seedlings studied.

The present paper describes scientific evaluation of a traditional herbal medicine for relief in cough and asthma. The formulation had been used by a practitioner of traditional medicine from Jalandhar (Punjab, India) over a period of time and found to be quite efficacious in providing relief in cough and asthma. The same comprises a powdered mixture of five herbs viz. Acorus calamus (rhizome), Alpinia galanga (rhizome), Psoralea corylifolia (fruit), Piper longum (fruit) and Piper nigrum (fruit) in equal proportions. This polyherbal mixture showed antibacterial activity against Grampositive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger. Analytical studies revealed absence of any externally added steroidal content in the formulation. To ensure adequate quality control of the formulation, HPLC fingerprints of different extracts prepared from this polyherbal mixture were generated and two major constituents, i.e. piperine and asarone were quantified by HPLC.

The present study is based on the impact of habitat destruction on the population of amphibians with reference to status of frogs and toads in Karachi and Thatta districts of Sindh. During the years 2004-2006, four species of frogs, Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis cyanophlyctis (Common Skittering Frog), Hoplobatrachus tigerinus (Tiger Frog), Tomopterna breviceps (Indian Burrowing Frog) and Limnonectes limnocharis (Indian Cricket Frog), and two toads species, Bufo stomaticus (Marbled Toad) and Bufo melanostictus (Common Asian Toad) were recorded from the area. In Thatta district, four species of frogs and two species of toads were recorded, Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis cyanophlyctis was rated as abundant, Bufo stomaticus as common, Bufo melanostictus as less common, while Hoplobatrachus tigerinus, Tomopterna breviceps and Limnonectes limnocharis were rated as rare. Three species of frogs and two species of toads were recorded in Karachi district. Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis cyanophlyctis was found to be abundant, Bufo stomaticus as common, Bufo melanostictus as less common, while Hoplobatrachus tigerinus and Tomopterna breviceps were rated as rare. On the basis of present study, it is concluded that due to habitat alteration, destruction of habitat, indiscriminate use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers and increase in human population, three species viz. Hoplobatrachus tigerinus, Tomopterna breviceps and Limnonectes limnocharis have declined and may be recorded as threatened species in Thatta district, while two species Hoplobatrachus tigerinus and Tomopterna breviceps were found to be rare in Karachi district.

Laser depth-profiling is a valuable tool for unraveling the complexities of subterranean diagenetic processes and postdepositional change associated with carbonate reservoirs. Core fragments were subjected to high-performance ICP-MS laser irradiation (213nm) at several ablation points to depths of 50?m at 10?m intervals. The method is convenient and adequately competent to study diagenetic phenomena of carbonates. It is capable of estimating the dimensions of pore spaces and grain-size distribution in carbonate reservoir rock and shedding light on sedimentary dolomitic-limestone trends within the matrix. Spectral evidence of secondary deposition and co-habitation of strontium and iron due to secondary fluid inclusions was observed at matrix grain boundaries. The application was successful in exploring the internal microstructure of carbonate cores and providing clues linked to certain aspects of pore sizes. The study is of relevance to geologists, reservoir engineers and petro-physicists and can be useful in geostatistical modeling and simulation.

The research described in this article investigates the utility of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) for predicting the daily river discharge. The work explores the capabilities of ANNs and compares the performance of Feed Forward Neural Network (FFNNS) and Radial Basis Function (RBF) network. Perceived strengths of ANNS are the capability for representing complex, non linear relationships as well as being able to model interaction effects. The application of the ANN approach is to a portion of Seonath River in Chhattisgarh and forecasting was conducted using daily records. ANN technique shows an enhancement of prediction capabilities & reduces the over fitting problem of neural networks. The results show that the ANN technique can be used to extract information from the data & to describe the non-linearity of river discharge.

In this study the literature related to Zinc-Aluminium cast alloy was reviewed and discussed. Few works have been published on the effect of Copper addition on the mechanical behaviour, hardness, and microstructure of the obtained alloys. The effect of 4% Cu addition to Zn-21Al on the mechanical behaviour and microhardness was investigated. It was found that the addition of 4% Cu resulted in 18.3% enhancement in microhardness where the mechanical characteristics were reduced (softening) by 14.5% at 0.2 strain. It has been found that after upsetting test, the microhardness was enhanced by 53.3 % and 42.7 % for Zn-21Al and Zn-21Al-4%Cu respectively.

An examination of analysis revealed that surface ozone concentration over Nigeria varied with direction of the local trade winds, namely the Harmatan, and the Gulf of Guinea maritime trade winds. In DJF and MAM the period of the dry dusty Harmatan seasons, surface ozone concentration in the southern Nigeria exceeded that of the north by 21DU and 24DU respectively. Whereas in the JJA and SON, the rainfall season, reversal was the case, the surface ozone concentration in the northern Nigeria exceeded that of the south by 20DU and 15DU respectively. Maximum temporal variation gradient of 20DU was also observed in MAM season while the minimum of 11DU occurred in JJA which is the peak of the raining season.

The pot culture technique has been employed for development of mycorrhizal soil in the green house. Mycorrhizal soil is a symbiotic association of bacteria, fungi and Actinomycetes which provides the effective rhizosphere for the growth of plants. The enrichment of microbial enzymes and plants exudates in mycorrhizosphere influences phytoremediation. The heavy metals (cadmium, lead and zinc) toxicity at varying concentrations, viz. 5, 10, 20, 50, 75 and 100ppm has been assessed for seed germination and growth of Medicago sativa plants both in mycorrhizal soil and non mycorrhizal soil. Mycorrhizosphere has found to provide suitable conditions for seed germination and growth of plants at concentrations ranging from 5-50ppm. The germination rate was found comparatively lower in NMS at the metal concentrations 5-50ppm. The seed germination M. sativa in cadmium amended mycorrhizal soil was found 87, 80, 70 and 55% at concentration of 5, 10, 20 and 50ppm, respectively; while for lead amended mycorrhizal soil, the percentage of seed germination was observed 80, 75, 70, and 60% at 5, 10, 20 and 50ppm, respectively. The seed germination percentage was 95, 90, 91 and 89% when zinc was amended with the concentration of 5, 10, 20 and 50ppm, respectively in mycorrhizal soil. Similarly the root/ shoot growth of M. sativa for each of this metal was propound in mycorrhizal soil. The higher metal concentrations i.e. 75 and 100ppm were found inhibitory for the seed germination and root/shoot growth. The enzymes studied; in particular acid & alkaline phosphatase and dehydrogenase in mycorrhizal soil have propounded the growth of plants in the mycorrhizosphere. The present research study has proved the effect of mycorrhizal soil for phytoremediation of heavy metals at concentrations ranging from 5-50 ppm using M. sativa as a potential candidate.

The present paper deals with the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles via a direct precipitation method using zinc acetate dihydrate as a precursor. The synthesized ZnO powder was characterized by means of XRD, UV-Visible and IR spectroscopy, SEM-EDX and TG-DTA. The XRD results reveal that the synthesized ZnO has the wurtzite phase structure with a crystallite size of about 50nm. The ZnO particles are spherical in shape and only zinc and oxygen were detected by EDX analysis signifying the high purity of the synthesized ZnO. The UV-Vis. spectrum of the ZnO powder indicates a band gap of about 3.2 eV, showing a slight red shift compared to the band gap of the bulk ZnO (3.37 eV). The prepared ZnO powder exhibits a specific surface area of 16.5 m2 g-1, determined by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation.

The mass spectrum of the D wave mesons has been investigated in the frame work of non-relativistic quark model (NRQM). The Hamiltonian used in the investigation has kinetic energy, confinement potential, one-gluon-exchange potential (OGEP) and instanton induced quark-antiquark interaction (III). The calculated D wave meson masses are in agreement with the experimental D wave meson masses. The respective role of III and OGEP in the D wave meson spectrum is discussed.

Dilute sulphuric acid and enzymatic hydrolysis methods were used for sugar extraction. Xylose and glucose sugars were obtained from corn cobs. Acid hydrolysis of corn cobs gave higher amount of sugars than enzymatic hydrolysis. The results showed that optimal temperature for sugar fermentation was approximately 25°C by two yeast strains (S. cerevisiae and P. Stipitis). At 20°C and 40°C, less bioethanol was produced. Bioethanol produced at 25°C was 11.99mg/ml, while at 40°C and 20°C were 2.50mg/ml and 6.40 mg/ml respectively. Data obtained revealed that while xylose level decreased from 27.87 mg/ml to 3.92mg/ml during the first 50h of fermentation and complete metabolism of glucose was observed during this time. Xylose and bioethanol levels remained constant after 50 h. Therefore, by varying the temperature of the fermentation process the effective utilization of corn cobs sugars for bioethanol production can be achieved.

The effect of melittin at mole fractions of up to 3.75mol%, on the dynamic and mechanical properties of 1,2-dipalmitoylsn- glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) was investigated using ultrasound velocimetry and densitometry. The isothermal compressibility and volume fluctuations of DPPC – melittin bilayer membrane in their different transition phases were determined. At the melting temperature, Tm, a general increase in velocity number [u] as compared to the pure lipid was noticed. However, at 3.75 mol%, melittin displays the broadest peak and lowest value of [u] compared to the other melittin concentrations, which could be linked to the lytic property of melittin at high peptide concentrations. The melittin concentration effects on the partial specific volume, ?o and the adiabatic compressibility coefficient of the lipid, ?S lipid of the DPPC bilayer reveals a slight shift of the main transition to lower temperature and a continuous decrease in ?o with concentration increase above the Tm (except between 1 and 1.25%), as well as a decrease in ?S lipid with decrease in melittin concentration. Again, the isothermal compressibility peak at the main transition drops drastically upon addition of melittin at concentrations as low as 1 mol% and then increases with increase in melittin concentration. At all melittin concentrations, ?T lipid is greater than ?S lipid in the gel-fluid region by ? 20%. The maximum value of the relative volume fluctuations of 12 % is reached for DPPC at the main transition, and is strongly dampened upon addition of melittin. Only a slight decrease in the calculated relative volume fluctuations with melittin concentration is observed between concentrations 0 and 1.0 mol%.