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The development of an effective oral therapeutics is an immediate need for the control and elimination of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). We exemplify the preparation and optimization of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPCD) modified solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) based oral combinational cargo system of Amphotericin B (AmB) and Paromomycin (PM) against murine VL. The emulsion solvent evaporation method was employed to prepare HPCD modified dual drugloaded solid lipid nanoparticles (m-DDSLNs). The optimized formulations have a mean particle size of 141 ± 3.2 nm, a polydispersity index of 0.248 ± 0.11 and entrapment efficiency for AmB and PM was found to be 96% and 90% respectively. The morphology of m-DDSLNs was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The developed formulations revealed a sustained drug release profile upto 57% (AmB) and 21.5% (PM) within 72 h and were stable at both 4 °C and 25 °C during short term stability studies performed for 2 months. Confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed complete cellular internalization of SLNs within 24 h of incubation. In vitro cytotoxicity study against J774A.1 macrophage cells confirmed the safety and biocompatibility of the developed formulations. Further, m-DDSLNs did not induce any hepatic/renal toxicities in Swiss albino mice. The in vitro simulated study was performed to check the stability in simulated gastric fluids and simulated intestinal fluids and the release was found almost negligible. The in vitro anti-leishmanial activity of m-DDSLNs (1 µg/ml) has shown a maximum percentage of inhibition (96.22%) on intracellular amastigote growth of L. donovani. m-DDSLNs (20 mg/kg × 5 days, p.o.) has significantly (P < 0.01) reduced the liver parasite burden as compared to miltefosine (3 mg/kg × 5 days, p.o.) in L. donovani-infected BALB/c mice. This work suggests that the superiority of as-prepared m-DDSLNs as a promising approach towards the oral delivery of anti-leishmanial drugs. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as Kala-Azar is the most severe form of leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani, The disease is transmitted to human host by the bite of an infected female haemo-flagellate sand fly 1. According to WHO, 0.5-0.9 million new VL cases are reported every year, > 95% of which occur in ten countries Bangladesh,

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Purpose – An employee’s satisfaction with the work context may affect her/his perception of the organization and may hence be a predictor of her/his intention to leave. The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible mediating role of context satisfaction between employees’ perception of job characteristics and their turnover intention and rests on the Job Characteristics Model (JCM). Design/methodology/approach – Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the moderation hypothesis on sample data of 214 employees of 19 public sector banks in India. The population comprised both junior and middle management grade employees as these are expected to succeed retiring middle and senior management employees. Findings – Findings suggest that in addition to enriched jobs, context satisfaction is critical to establish a positive environment to lessen turnover intention of employees. This highlights the need for a positive and supportive work context to maximize the benefits of jobs with positive characteristics. Originality/value – The study is important for academicians and practitioners alike as it is evidence to the underlying process of how perception towards job characteristics together with work context as a less researched construct of JCM may influence intention to quit. The findings find relevance in the Indian banking sector, where retaining talent is a major challenge.

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The relative abundance of the weed functional types in dryland and irrigated rice in the Kharif (summer) crop field and dryland lentil and wheat in the irrigated Rabi (winter) crop field was studied at the agricultural farm of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. A total of 22 species, belonging to 17 families, was recorded in the dryland and irrigated rice ecosystems and 18 species, belonging to eight families, were recorded in the dryland lentil and irrigated wheat ecosystems.The Importance Value Index (IVI) of the hemicryptophytes showed an increasing trend with the crop growth period in the case of the dryland rice, whereas in the irrigated rice plots, a reduction in the IVI of the hemicryptophytes, with a related increase in the importance of the therophytes, was observed as the crop attained maturity.Also, the trend of a decreased IVI was observed for the geophytes in the fertilized dryland rice plots.The principal components analysis (PCA) ordination showed the uniqueness of the crop plot in terms of weed species composition.The PCA analysis of the functional types on the basis of the crop plots indicated that the hemicryptophyte and therophyte weed species composition was heavily altered at the initial and final sampling, although the weed flora was dominated by the therophytes and geophytes. These results suggest the prioritization of hierarchical temporal management options for the functional weed types in different crop plots and that this approach warrants further investigation.

BACKGROUND: Exercise is a modifiable lifestyle risk factor associated with prostate cancer risk reduction. However, whether this association is different as a function of race is unclear. In the current study, the authors attempted to characterize the link between exercise and prostate cancer (CaP) in white and black American men. METHODS: Using a prospective design, 307 men (164 of whom were white and 143 of whom were black) who were undergoing prostate biopsy completed a self-reported survey that assessed exercise behavior (metabolic equivalent [MET] hours per week). Crude and adjusted logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the risk of prostate cancer controlling for age, body mass index, digital rectal examination findings, previous biopsy, Charlson comorbidity score, and family history of CaP stratified by self-reported race. RESULTS: There was no significant difference noted with regard to the amount of exercise between racial groups (P ¼ .12). Higher amounts of MET hours per week were associated with a decreased risk of CaP for white men in both crude (P ¼ .02) and adjusted (P ¼ .04) regression models. Among whites, men who exercised ! 9 MET hours per week were less likely to have a positive biopsy result compared with men exercising < 9 MET hours per week (odds ratio, 0.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.22-0.99 [P ¼ .047]). There was no association noted between MET hours per week and risk of CaP among black men in both crude (P ¼ .79) and adjusted (P ¼ .76) regression models. CONCLUSIONS: In a prospective cohort of men undergoing biopsy, increased exercise, measured as MET hours per week, was found to be associated with CaP risk reduction among white but not black men. Investigating race-specific mechanisms by which exercise modifies CaP risk and why these mechanisms disfavor black men in particular are warranted.