Indian scientists found a low-cost non-surgical treatment for Cataract (मोतियबिंद) using Nano Technology. No operaiton required

 Indian scientists found NanoTechnology for Cataract (मोतियबिंद), no Operation required

Indian scientists have invented a low cost preventive alternative nonsurgical treatment method to prevent Cataract (मोतियबिंद)—a common eye problem in people above 50. The preventive treatment through effective nanorods developed by Indian scientists may help nearly 70 lakh Cataract patients who otherwise have to undergo costly and sensitive Cataract eye surgery.

 

The scientists have developed nanorods from a very popular medicine Aspirin drug which is a common pain killer medicine in India used to cure fever or inflammation. The nanorods derived from this cheapest medicine have been found to be effective, non-invasive based on molecule-based nanotherapeutics against cataract.

The technology they sed is used low-cost material with high yield, derived from aspirin as compared to the existing costly and laborious physical methods used for the synthesis of nanoparticles.

 

A team of scientists from the Institute of Nano Science & Technology (INST) an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India have found that the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) Aspirin is very cost-effective treatment against cataract.

 

In their research published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry B, the scientists from INST said nanorods derived from Aspirin could help in preventing cataracts in an economical and less complicated way. The scientists used the anti-aggregation ability of these aspirin nanorods as an effective and non–invasive small technology against the cataract. 

heir research said that Aspirin nanorods would prevent the formation of crystallin protein and various peptides derived from its fragmentation, which would play a crucial role in cataract formation.

Cataract basically is a major form of blindness that occurs due to milky blue or brown layers in our eyes affecting lens transparency. It causes partial or maybe full blindness if not treated properly.

 

The layer occurs when the structure of crystallin proteins that make up the lens in our eyes deteriorates, causing damaged or disorganised proteins. The normal strategy is to prevent the formation of these aggregates as well as their destruction in the early stage of disease progression. This treatment strategy for cataracts can carry out this task could make cataract prevention affordable and accessible.

 

According to their research paper, the nanorods prevents protein and peptide growth through biomolecular interactions. It actually converts these peptides, responsible for amyloid formation into coils and helices.

 

These were found to prevent cataract formation by preventing the growth of crystallin, and crystallin derived peptide. As with ageing and under various conditions, the lens protein crystallin aggregates to form opaque structures in the eye lens, which impairs vision and cause cataract.

 

The targeted stoppage of the accumulated alpha-crystallin protein and crystallin derived peptide increases in aged and cataractous human lenses is found to be a viable therapeutic strategy for the prevention of cataract formation.

The scientists produced these aspirin nanorods using the process of molecular self-assembly to generate the aspirin nanorods as compared to the existing costly laborious physical methods generally used for the synthesis of nanoparticles.

Computational studies based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to investigate the molecular mechanism of aspirin’s anti-aggregation behaviour and the nature of protein (peptide)-inhibitor interactions between the synthetic peptides and aspirin. It was observed that the peptide-aspirin (inhibitor) interactions eventually transformed peptides secondary structures from beta-turns, those are responsible for the formation of the amyloid, into various coils and helixes, preventing its formation.

These simulations revealed aspirin’s ability to act as a potential inhibitor towards amyloid-like fibril formation by the model cataract peptides.

Many natural compounds have already been reported as potential aggregation inhibitors for crystallin aggregation, but the utility of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin in this direction will open a new paradigm. In addition, aspirin nanorods due to their nano-size will enhance the bioavailability, improve drug loading, lower toxicity, etc. Hence, the delivery of the aspirin nanorods as eye drops is going to serve as an effective and viable option to treat cataract non-invasively.

 

This easy to use and low-cost alternative nonsurgical treatment method will benefit patients in developing countries who cannot access expensive cataract treatments and surgeries.

Nanorods

 

In nanotechnology, nanorods are one morphology of nanoscale objects. Each of their dimensions ranges from 1-100 nanometre. They may be synthesized from metals or semiconducting materials. Standard aspect ratios (length divided by width) are 3-5. Nanorods are produced by direct chemical synthesis. A combination of lingands act as shape control agents and bond to different facets of the nanorod with different strengths. This allows different faces of the nanorod to grow at different rates, producing an elongated object.

What is Cataract?

We have a natural lens in our eyes. The lens bends (refracts) light rays that come into the eye to help us see. The lens should be clear, but if you have cataract your lens has become cloudy, like the bottom lens in the illustration. It is like looking through a foggy or dusty car windshield. Things look blurry, hazy or less colorful with a cataract.

Its common symptoms are having blurry vision, seeing double, being extra sensitive to light, having trouble seeing well at night, or needing more light when you read, and finally seeing bright colours as faded or yellow instead.

Its causes 

A cataract is common among 50 + people. It is due to normal eye changes which starts at 40. That is when normal proteins in the lens start to break down and it causes the lens to get cloudy. People over age 50 usually start to have some clouding of their lenses. However, vision problems may not happen until years later.

How to slow down the development of cataracts

Protecting your eyes from sunlight is the best way to do this. Wear sunglasses that screen out the sun's ultraviolet (UV) light rays. You may also wear regular eyeglasses that have a clear, anti-UN.

Publication details:

Bisht, A., Sharma, M., Sharma, S., Ali, M. E., & Panda, J. J. (2019). Carrier-free self-built aspirin nanorods as anti-aggregation agents towards alpha-crystallin-derived peptide aggregates: potential implications in non-invasive cataract therapy. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 7(44), 6945-6954.

 

For further details, Dr. Jiban Jyoti Panda (jyoti@inst.ac.in) can be contacted.)

Despite COVID-19 LOCKDOWN, Red Spider mite attack on tea gardens, Tea sector has reason to cheers, they are getting almost double the price of their produce, claimes Tea Board

Tea garden farmers are doubly hit this time, one the lockdown that hampered tea plucking, and two from the Red Spider Mite and tea bugs in some region of North East area. Yet revenue generation wise, the year has been very good to farmers, tea processing units and for labours, as they are betting better labour than last year, feels senior officers of the Tea Board.

The sudden increase in price of tea leaves has probably come from COVID-19, as people have started using tea leaves frequently in India as well as worldwide to make a hot potion to prevent Corona, fees the expert in the tea industry. The farmers initially had problems, but after they started getting a good price of their crop, they were literally thrilled.

Lockdown and subsequent economic slowdown have been very painful to many, even the tea industry was in very bad shape. At a time when the farmers harvest 60 % of their tea crop, the government had imposed Lockdown or partial lockdown.

Then came the attack of Red Spider mite and tea bugs which hit some parts of the North East region. As if this was not enough, the farmers had to prune most of their gardens to get a fresh leaf. Yet Everyone engaged in the tea sector is happy--for them, COVID-19 is not that BAD.

The farmers of Tea gardens in North-Eastern states were doubly hit this year, one by the non-plucking of tea leaves due to COVID-19 lockdown, and then the attack of ‘red spider mite’, which is likely to affect their production by more than 10 %.

Yet there is no worry on their face and are rather happy with the ongoing tea business—thanks to the sudden surge in the demand of tea leaves, which has almost doubled their selling price. If senior officers of Tea Boards are to be believed, all those involved in the tea garden business from labourers to small tea garden owners, and tea processing units are happy despite the fact they hardly did any business in the month of March, April and June.

“We are expecting a decline of nearly 13 % in tea production.. last year it was 750 Million Kg, this year it would not be more than 650 million Kg. but still, they are very happy. Last year the selling price of leaves were Rs 140-190 per Kg, and this year the price has crossed Rs 330 per Kg—almost double than the last year price,” said a senior officer of the Tea Board requesting anonymity.

Even the small farmers who do not process tea leaves and sell green leaves are elated. “Last year they were selling it at Rs 15 a Kg and this year it around Rs 35 a Kg ..,” the officer said.

Initially, the tea garden owners were very upset. Due to sudden lockdown on March 23, the plucking was stopped for many days. And when it started after some times by the time the leaves had grown big, which is not worth plucking. “Ultimately, the entire crop at most of the places was pruned again. This spoiled another fortnight. Ultimately, there was not much plucking in March, April, May. It picked up in June, yet it has not reached to its previous pace,” said another officer of the Board involved in monitoring tea harvesting in North-Eastern region.

The plucking would continue till October- November, but by now half of the crop should have been harvested. “This was our concern. Seeing the price farmers are getting for their crop, our that concern is almost over,” he added.

Another concern for authorities was the attack of ‘Red Spider mite’ and 'tea bug' at many places in the North-Eastern region. It did affect crop at some places. It badly damaged some tea gardens, however, considering the fact that the farmers are getting almost double the price of their produce, they are still “very happy”,  the officer said.

Three months ago, the entire Tea industry in North Eastern was under distress. The plucking of tea leaves was halted due to sudden lockdown on March 23.

 They had to manage labour payments through partially so as to meet their ends. Then there was another attack of Red Spider Mite in most part of the North-Eastern region. It was always thought that 

The Red spider mite is a tiny mite of the Tetranychidae family. It attacks leaf and flower plants, indoors and outside.

The term “spider” is a bit misleading, because, in reality, this is a mite. However, it does have 8 legs, spins webs, and is related to the same zoological class as spiders, Arachnida.

A few red spider mites will only cause little damage. If they are numerous, though, they might lead the plant to perish.

Conditions for red spider mite to appear

Red spider mites tend to multiply and attack plants when the weather is hot and dry. That’s why they are found indoors all year round and in the garden in summer, when it doesn’t rain and that temperatures stay above 70°F (20°C).

Additionally, these spiders aren’t insects, and abusive use of pesticides actually contributes to their spread. Since many other insects are their predators, killing insects blindly helps spider mites prosper.

Red spider mites quickly adapt to chemical threats. They build up immunity to many pesticides. Their tiny size makes them very difficult to see with the naked eye, but a small magnifying glass helps lift any doubt. 

The first symptom is the appearance of small white or yellow dots and then leaves turn completely yellow. Unlike thrips that produce larger white patches, red spider mite feeding is randomly spread around the area.

As mentioned earlier, red spider mites love it when the air is very dry, it helps them spread.

If you want to learn more about red spider mite, you may consult the following website: https://www.nature-and-garden.com/gardening/red-spider-mite.html

Modi Goverment to hit China with Incense Sticks, plans cut its Rs 546 crore import its "boycott Chinese product' call

In another move to hit China and intensify 'Wallet War', India has launched a unique scheme to cut import of Aggarbati (Incense Sticks) from China and generate nearly 1 lakh domestic self-employment with little or no investment by the artisans.

If KVIC is to be believed it would hit nearly Rs 546 crore Chinese Industry, which is providing raw material to Indian manufacturers. If all goes well India would not only become self-reliant in Agarbati sector but would also export it to various counties--doubly hit the Chinese industry.

The unique PPP model prepared by the Government is aimed at largescale production, reducing production cost and generating employment at large scale particularly in village areas. As per the Modi government’s plan of action,  KVIC, Agarbatti machine manufacturer and major Agarbatti production houses, would train the men force. While the KVIC would finance machines to artisans at easy instalment with 25 % capital subsidy, Agarbatti production houses would enter into an agreement with the artisans to purchase their entire production. They would pay the artisans on a weekly basis and would take care of packaging, marketing and selling of the produce, said a senior officer of the MSME.

It is really sorry that despite being a cottage industry, India is heavily dependent upon the import of Agarbati. If senior officers of KVIC (Khadi and Village Industries Commission) are to be believed, Agarbatti import has increased from Rs 31 crore in 2009 to Rs 546 crore in 2019. The dependence of Agarbatti raw material has increased from 2 % to 80% during the same period, the KVIC claimed.

The government has claimed that the unique employment generation program was proposed by KVIC to make India Aatmanirbhar in Agarbatti production. The program named as “Khadi Agarbatti Aatmanirbhar Mission” aims at creating employment for unemployed and migrant workers in different parts of the country while increasing domestic Agarbatti production substantially.

KVIC would soon launch a pilot project and late on it would be implemented in a full-fledged manner aimed at generating nearly one lakh jobs in the coming one years.

The scheme designed by KVIC is on PPP mode. It is unique in a sense that with hardly any investment, it would create sustainable employment and help private Agarbatti manufacturers to scale up Agarbatti production without any capital investment by them.

Under the scheme, KVIC will provide Automatic Agarbatti making machines and powder mixing machines to the artisans through the successful private Agarbatti manufacturers who will sign the agreement as business partners. KVIC has decided to procure only locally made machines by Indian manufacturers which also aims at encouraging local production. 

While KVIC will provide 25% subsidy on the cost of the machines and will recover the remaining 75% of the cost from the artisans in easy instalments every month. The business partner will provide the raw material to the artisans for making Agarbatti and will pay them wages on job work basis.

Cost of artisans’ training will be shared between KVIC and the private business partner wherein KVIC will bear 75% of the cost while 25% will be paid by the business partner.

Each automatic Agarbatti making machine makes approximately 80 kg Agarbatti per day which will provide direct employment to 4 persons. One powder mixing machine, to be given on a set on 5 Agarbatti making machines, will provide employment to 2 persons.

The current job work rate for Agarbatti making is Rs 15 per kg. At this rate, 4 artisans working on one Automatic Agarbatti machine will earn a minimum Rs 1200 per day by making 80 kg of Agarbatti. Hence every artisan will earn at least Rs 300 per day. Similarly, on the powder mixing machine, each artisan will get a fixed amount of Rs 250 per day.

As per the scheme, the wages to the artisans will be provided by the business partners on a weekly basis directly in their accounts through DBT only. Supply of raw material to the artisans, logistics, quality control and marketing of the final product will be the sole responsibility of the business partner. After recovery of the 75% cost, the ownership of the machines will automatically be transferred to the artisans.

A two-party agreement to this effect will be signed between KVIC and the Private Agarbatti manufacturer for the successful running of the project on PPP Mode.

The scheme has been designed in the wake of the two major decisions – import restriction on Raw Agarbatti and an increase in import duty on Bamboo sticks - taken by the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Finance respectively on the initiative of UNION MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari.

KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said the two decisions of the Central Government created a huge employment opportunity in the Agarbatti industry. “In order to encash the huge employment generation opportunity, the KVIC designed a program namely “Khadi Agarbatti Aatmanirbhar Mission” and submitted to the Ministry of MSME for approval,” Saxena said.

The program aims at handholding artisans and supporting the local Agarbatti industry. The current consumption of Agarbatti in the country is approximately 1490 MT per day; however, India’s per day production of Agarbatti is just 760 MT. There is a huge gap between the demand and the supply and hence, immense scope for job creation.

Ends.

India recorded highest recoveries & new COVID-19 cases in the world. Besides India's case Fatality Rate (CFR) reduced to 2.13%.

India recorded the highest number of highest Covid-19 patients, 54,865 in the world as well as the highest number of recoveries, 51,225 during the past 24 hours in a day.

A staggering recovery of more than 51,225 was registered in India in the last 24 hours. “With 51,225 patients cured and discharged, India’s total recoveries from COVID-19 have touched 11,45,629,” said a senior officer of the Home Minister here on Sunday. Besides India has one of the lowest Case Fatality Rate (CFR) at 2.13% as compared to the global average, the Ministry said.

With the highest-ever single-day increase in recovered patients in the last 24 hours, the recovery rate has seen a high of 65.44%. This means that more and more COVID-19 patients are getting cured and discharged, the officer said.

“Coordinated implementation of COVID-19 management strategy by the Union and State/UT governments and selfless sacrifice of all frontline health and other workers and COVID-19 warriors across sectors have ensured that the recoveries are continuously on the rise,” the Home Ministry claimed.

The gap between the recoveries and the active cases has seen a steady rise. On June 10, for the first time, the total number of recovered patients exceeded the active cases with a difference of 1,573 which has increased to 5,77,899 as on today. The active cases are the actual case load for India and currently, the active cases account for 32.43% of the total cases. All active cases are under medical supervision either in hospitals or in-home isolation, it said.

The successful and coordinated implementation of the effective containment strategy, aggressive testing and standardized clinical management protocols based on a comprehensive Standard of Care framework. This has resulted in a consistent trend of rising Recovery Rate and progressively reducing Case Fatality Rate.