A drug based model to predict enhanced transdermal and blood brain barrier drug deliverability using ultrasonic methods

Abstract A previously described equation using the free energy of water desolvation (ΔG desolv,CDS), the lipophilicity free energy (ΔG lipo,CDS), dipole moment and molecular volume that describes the ability of drugs to cross the blood brain barrier and other cell membranes has been shown to apply to transdermal permeation when combined with ultrasound treatment. The dipole moment is particularly important when seeking to predict how drugs will interact with the transient pores in the cell membrane or blood brain barrier under ultrasound treatment. A quantum mechanical DFT analysis of the molecular interaction of mannitol and BCNU interacting with a surrogate membrane based on DPhPC has shown that the unexpected greater US induced permeability of mannitol compared to BCNU is due to differences in how the dipoles of mannitol and BCNU interact with the electric dipole potential of the lipid bilayers of the blood brain barrier, specifically by interacting with the phosphatidylcholine headgroup not the ester group. This result indicates that the design of therapeutic drugs to cross dermal and BBB membranes should consider whether such drugs can interact with the phosphatidylcholine headgroup of the membranes thereby possibly lowering the dipole potential of the lipid bilayer and hence enhancing drug permeation. The observed increase in electrical conductivity of the stratium corneum of the skin and blood brain barrier upon ultrasound treatment is an important factor which determines the transient permeabilization enhancement of drugs. It is likely that the dipole moment of permeating drugs may be a critically important factor that interacts with the membrane dipole potential of the stratium corneum of the skin and blood brain barrier upon ultrasound treatment. Transient pores are known to be involved when electrical fields are exerted on biological membranes, with conductance spikes occurring during the opening and closing of these transient pores. The opening and closing of lipidic pores also involve electrically invisible (silent) pre-pores

The role of currents in the dispersal of introduced seashore plants around Australia

The aim of this study was to assess the role of currents in the dispersal of seashore species with buoyant propagules. Four introduced species which have now attained a wide distribution in southern and eastern Australia were used as indicators: Cakile edentula, Cakile maritima (Brassicaceae), Euphorbia paralias (Euphorbiaceae) and Arctotheca populifolia (Asteraceae). None arrived in Australia unaided, as all early collection localities are near ports and early long-distance dispersal within Australia was often due to shipping. Buoyancy and viability of propagules were tested to assess dispersal and colonisation potential. Propagule spread was analysed using information from herbarium specimens and fieldwork. A progression of herbarium specimen collection dates could often be explained by regional current regimes, as revealed by stranding locations of drift bottles and drift cards. The eastward spread of Euphorbia paralias from King George Sound, Western Australia, correlated well with stranding patterns of drift bottles released south of the Sound. The colonisation by Arctotheca populifolia of the southern extremity of the Eyre Peninsula and the south-east of South Australia was achieved through fruits carried from Western Australia by the Leeuwin Current. These and other congruencies between patterns of spread and the results of drifter releases are analysed and discussed

Distribution, identification and biology of freshwater fishes in south-western Australia

A total of 410 sites in the major watersheds in the south-western corner of Australia, bounded by Bunbury in the north-west and just east of Albany in the south-east, were sampled for fish. Sampling of the different sites was carried out using one or more of the following methods, namely seine netting, scoop netting, trapping and electrofishing to catch juvenile and adult fish, and light trapping, scoop netting and haul netting to collect larval fish. The fish caught at each site were identified and the number of each species recorded. These data were then collated, both with those derived from the studies of Christensen (1982) and Jaensch (1992) and with the records of the Western Australian Museum (WAM), to elucidate the distributions of each of the fish species found in freshwater in south-western Australia. The eight species endemic to south-western Australia are Tandanus bostocki, Lepidogalaxias salamandroides, Galaxias occidentalis, Galaxiella nigrostriata, Galaxiella munda, Bostockia porosa, Edelia vittata and Nannatherina baIstoni. The other species found in this region include Galaxias truttaceus and Galaxias maculatus, which are also represented in south-eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania, the anadromous lamprey Geotria australis, and those teleosts which are commonly found in freshwater, but belong to predominantly marine families, i.e. Leptatherina wallacei, Pseudogobius olonum and Afurcagobius suppositus. Finally, there are those species that have been introduced into the region, i.e. Oncorhynchus mykiss, Salmo trutta, Gambusia holbrooki and Perca fluviatilis

Industry structures and systems governing the imposition and disbursement of marketing and research and development (R&D) levies in the agriculture sector

Levies and charges are taxes initiated by primary industries and imposed on the producers in that industry in order to pool resources and to find solutions to priority issues. This review examines the systems by which agricultural levies are monitored and enforced in order to most effectively use R&D funds to assist producers.  1.1 On 2 September 2014, the following matters were referred to the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee (committee) for inquiry and report by 24 November 2014: The industry structures and systems governing the imposition of and disbursement of marketing and research and development (R&D) levies in the agricultural sector, with particular reference to: a. an audit of reports, inquiries and reviews relevant to this inquiry; b. the basis on which levies are imposed, collected and used; c. competing pressures for finite R&D funds; d. the opportunities levy payers have to influence the investment of the levies; e. the opportunities levy payers have to approve and reapprove the imposition of levies; f. the transformation of R&D and marketing into increased returns at the farm gate, including the effectiveness of extension systems; g. collaboration on research to benefit multiple industry and research sectors; h. industry governance arrangements, consultation and reporting frameworks; and i. any other related matter. 1.2 On 2 October 2014, the Senate granted an extension of time to report. The committee was required to report by 30 June 2015. Membership of the committee Members Senator Glenn Sterle, Chair Western Australia, ALP Senator the Hon Bill Heffernan, Deputy Chair New South Wales, LP Senator Joe Bullock Western Australia, ALP Senator Sue Lines Western Australia, ALP Senator John Williams New South Wales, NATS Senator Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania, AG Substitute members for this inquiry Senator Chris Back Western Australia, LP to replace Senator the Hon Bill Heffernan on 20 February 2015 Other Senators participating in this inquiry Senator Chris Back Western Australia, LP Senator Sean Edwards South Australia, LP Senator Alex Gallacher South Australia, ALP Senator David Leyonhjelm New South Wales, LDP Senator the Hon Ian Macdonald Queensland, LP Senator Linda Reynolds Western Australia, LP Senator Anne Ruston South Australia, LP Senator Rachel Siewert Western Australia, A

Geographic distribution of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalisations in Australia: 2007-08 to 2009-10

This report shows how asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) hospitalisations vary across Australia. It also examines the association between these hospitalisation rates and socioeconomic status (SES), remoteness and the proportion of Indigenous Australians in different locations across Australia. Maps presented in this report show higher hospitalisation rates for both asthma and COPD in inland Australia and rural areas. Asthma hospitalisation rates are also higher in certain coastal areas in Queensland, in south-east South Australia and in south Western Australia. In comparison, COPD hospitalisation rates are higher in much of the Northern Territory and north-west Western Australia. Further investigation found that SES, remoteness and the proportion of the population that identifies as Indigenous all had a significant association with the hospitalisation rates for asthma and COPD by area. There may be further reasons for the variation in hospitalisation rates for asthma and COPD, such as: location specific factors, such as air pollution and allergic triggersaccess to hospital and primary care servicesvariation in smoking rates. These issues could be explored in further studies

A late Devonian impact event and its association with a possible extinction event on Eastern Gondwana

Evidence from South China and Western Australia for a 365-Ma impact event in the Lower crepida conodont zone of the Famennian stage of the Late Devonian (about 1.5 Ma after the Frasnian/Famennian extinction event) includes microtektitelike glassy microspherules, geochemical anomalies (including a weak Ir), a probable impact crater (greater than 70 k) at Taihu in South China, and an Ir anomaly in Western Australia. A brachiopod faunal turnover in South China, and the 'strangelove ocean'-like c-delta 13 excursions in both Chinese and Australian sections indicate that at least a regional-scale extinction might have occurred at the time of the impact. A paleoreconstruction shows that South China was very close to and facing Western Australia in the Late Devonian. The carbon isotopic excursions, which occur at the same stratigraphic level in both South China and Western Australia cannot be explained as being coincidental. The c-delta 13 excursions and the brachiopod faunal turnover in South China indicate that there might have been at least a regional (possibly global) extinction in the Lower crepida zone. The impact-derived microspherules and geochemical anomalies (especially the Ir) indicate a Lower crepida zone impact event on eastern Gondwana. The location, type of target rocks, and possibly age of the Taihu Lake crater qualify as the probable site of this Late Devonian impact

The Lost History of Organic Farming in Australia

It has not been previously reported that the world’s first “organic” farming society was the Australian Organic Farming and Gardening Society (AOFGS) which was founded in Australia in October 1944. The association was based in Sydney, New South Wales, and the first issue of its journal, the Organic Farming Digest (OFD), was dated April 1946. This was Australia’s first, and the world’s second, “organic” farming journal. The eighteen month delay between the founding of the society and the first publication of the journal was because paper was unavailable in Australia for that purpose during WWII. The society published a total of 378 articles in 29 issues from 1946 to 1954. Articles from Australia, UK, USA, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany and Denmark were published. Topics included: farming and gardening; health; environment; politics and economics; and animal welfare. More than 190 authors were published. British authors published included Sir Albert Howard, Lady Louise Howard, Lady Eve Balfour, and Friend Sykes. American authors published included Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, Jerome Rodale, Gaylord Hauser, and Louis Bromfield. Australian authors from the states of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland were published. These included Sir Stanton Hicks, then Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology at Adelaide University, NSW grazier Colonel Harold White, and Tasmanian MLC Henry Shoobridge. More than 130 original articles were published, and other articles were reproduced from many sources including: Organic Gardening (USA); Bio-Dynamic (USA); Soil and Health (UK); Health and the Soil (UK); Mother Earth, (UK); Trees and the Earth (UK); Farmers Weekly (South Africa) and Compost Magazine (NZ). The Society was wound up in 1955, due to lack of financial support. The digests published by the AOFGS document a decade of the thoughts, aspirations, focus, theory and practice of Australia’s first practitioners and proponents of organic farming, from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s

A Global Survey of Community Reinvestment Laws: The Obligation of the Private Sector to Serve the Underserved in Several Countries

Summaries of the community reinvestment legislation in the United States, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Brazil, South Africa, India, Australia, and Canada