An Early Permian Glossopteris flora from the Umrer Coalfield, Wardha Basin, Maharashtra, India

A rich and well-preserved Glossopteris-dominated plant fossil assemblage is described from the Barakar Formation of the Makardhokra and Umrer open-cast projects, Umrer Coalfield, Nagpur District, Wardha Basin, Maharashtra, India. The assemblage includes equisetalean axes, cordaitalean leaves (Noeggerathiopsis hislopii), Gangamopteris clarkeana and diverse Glossopteris leaves and a fertile organ assigned to Scutum sp. cf. S. leslii. The flora, although similar to that of the Barakar Formation of the Damodar Basin complex (the reference basin system with respect to the qualitative and quantitative distribution of Indian Permian plant taxa), exhibits unique characteristics and is Artinskian to Kungurian in age. Besides supplementing knowledge of the broader Wardha Basin flora, this is the first systematic documentation of the Glossopteris flora from the Barakar Formation of this basin.

delta-Lactam derivative from thermophilic soil fungus exhibits in vitro anti-allergic activity

From cultures of thermophilic soil fungus Humicola grisea var thermoidea, a delta-lactam derivative (3-(2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-oxoethyl)-5,6-dihydropyridin-2( 1H)-one) that displayed anti-allergic activity was isolated, which was predicted by in silico computational chemistry approaches. The in vitro anti-allergic activity was investigated by beta-hexosaminidase release assay in rat basophilic leukaemia RBL-2H3 cells. The delta-lactam derivative exhibited similar anti-allergic activity (IC50 = 18.7 +/- 6.7 mu M) in comparison with ketotifen fumarate (IC50 = 15.0 +/- 1.3 mu M) and stronger anti-allergic activity than azelastine (IC50 = 32.0 mu M). Also, the MTT cytotoxicity assay with RBL-2H3 cells showed that delta-lactam does not display cytotoxicity at concentrations lower than 50 mu M. This study suggests that the delta-lactam derivative has the potential to be used as a lead compound in the development of anti-allergic drugs for clinical use in humans.

Rheological Measurements and Thermal Characterization of Lamellar Gel Phase Emulsions Developed with Cetearyl Alcohol/Nonionic Ethoxylated Surfactants

The aim of this research was to characterize emulsion systems (ES) containing nonionic ethoxylated surfactants by using rheological, microscopic, and thermogravimetric assays. Three formulations were developed: ES-1: 8.0% (w/w) oleth-20; ES-2: 4.0% (w/w) oleth-20/4.0% (w/w) steareth-21; and ES-3: 8.0% (w/w) steareth-21. The systems showed typical non-Newtonian pseudo-plastic behavior. The presence of a lamellar gel phase was observed for all systems, with ES-2 being more pronounced. Through thermogravimetry, the profiles of the three systems were found to be similar, consisting of two main events, the first one being characterized by loss of water and, beyond 110 degrees C, by loss of the oil phase.