Editor-in-Chief

ABSTRACT

PUNE RESEARCH DISCOVERY 

SOPAN T. YASHWANTRAO

ABSTRACT

Traditional NSAIDs, such as Aspirin, Naproxen, Piroxicam, Ibuprofen, Diclofenac, etc., inhibit both COX-1 and COX-2, which accounts for NSAIDs anti-inflammatory effects as well as their notorious side effects of GI toxicity and blood thinning. Thus, inhibition of COX-2 over COX-1 should be useful for treatment of inflammation without incurring the side effects associated with inhibition of COX-1. The mechanism by which these drugs alleviate pain and inflammation has been found to be inhibition of prostaglandin synthase (Cyclooxygenase, COX), that is responsible for formation of prostanoids, including thromboxane and prostaglandins such as prostacyclin. The COX exists as two isoforms that is COX-1 and COX-2. COX-1 is responsible for the maintenance of mucosal integrity of gastrointestinal tract, while COX-2 plays a pivotal role in the process of inflammation. A poor selectivity for COX-2 was shown to result in mucosal damage, nephrotoxicity and undesirable cardiovascular side effects due to its COX-1 inhibition. Many drugs that were introduced into the market as anti-inflammatory agents (Rofecoxib and Valdecoxib) eventually had to be withdrawn due to their unbearable side effects. Research groups across the globe have been in the quest for a potent and COX-2 inhibitor. Recently, many groups reported that N-acyl hydrazones (NAH) pharmacophore containing compounds as new class of anti-inflammatory agents by targeting COX-2 enzyme. These studies inspired us to design new hybrid NAH containing COX-2 inhibitors as anti-inflammatory agents. In the current study, we have designed set of NAH hybrid compounds and confirmed their binding modes using docking methods. Further, these compounds were synthesized and biologically tested as COX-2 inhibitors.

Key words: Inflammation, COX-2 inhibitors, synthetic drugs

Ar. SHAMIKA PRASHANT BAGAL; Ar. KULDEEP KAUR BHATIA & Ar. ANKITA AGRAWAL

ABSTRACT

A unique characteristic of a city is determined by its urban sprawl and urban form. The historic core of a city represents the heritage and cultural system. This is the most dynamic space, exhibiting the layers of heritage, culture, diverse communities, religious values, and traditions. The fabric, activities, and communities are the important tangible and intangible aspects of the core. The sense of space is felt better with these aspects, and this makes it more lively than the newly urbanized part of the city. Kolhapur city is an important pilgrimage center in the state of Maharashtra, as it has the temple of Goddess Ambabai one of the 31/2 Shaktipeeth in the Hindu religion. This temple is the nucleus of the city and is surrounded by the old historic core area of the city. The presence of the temple and other heritage monuments with all intangible activities add dynamism to the core. To understand the cultural system of the city one can visit its heritage core and get acknowledge with the system. The most interesting part is the communities’ dependent on the temple complex for their livelihood. These communities are the important stakeholders of the core. With growing urbanization trends there is a decline in the activities of core. As urban trends change land use patterns are changing, people are migrating to more urbanized areas, and occupational communities are no longer working in their fields. This all results in a change in the character of the space and eventually tends to lose the city’s unique character. This paper aims to highlight the issues and challenges of the core areas and convey the alarming need to conserve the historic character of the core.

Keywords: Historic Core, Tangible - Intangible, Heritage, Urban conservation.     

DR. ANUKRITI RAJ

ABSTRACT

The phenomenon of disability had been an indispensable part of human experience and it cannot be separated from the social milieu where it is produced. It cannot exist outside the periphery of the social structures. Disability is an outcome of certain principle that makes it a social phenomenon. This implies that disability is a social construct and is culturally exacerbated. That is, the physical, mental and sensory disability does not attribute to an individual but it becomes a complex accumulation of conditions, activities and relationships. Most of these are in fact the by-product of social environment. These individuals with physical abnormalities or defects of some kind or the other were for centuries termed as ‘crippled’ having some sort of social stigma.