Pancreatic Pseudocyst: Therapeutic Dilemma

Pancreatic pseudocyst develops in both acute and chronic pancreatitis. It is an entity likely to either remain asymptomatic or develop devastating complications. Despite being diagnosed easily, treatment exercise is still at crossroads whether in the form of internal or external drainage or endoscopic, laparoscopic, or open intervention with a good radiological guidance. The therapeutic dilemma whether to treat a patient with a pancreatic pseudocyst, as well as when and with what technique, is a difficult one. This paper is intended to get information about diagnostic and therapeutic exercises most appropriate for acute and chronic pancreatic pseudocyst

Investigations on chitosan-carboxymethyl guar gum complexes interpolymer complexes for colon delivery of fluticasone

The present study was designed to formulate colon release tablets of fluticasone by employing cross linked chitosan (CH) and carboxymethyl guar gum (CMG) interpolymer complexes (IPC). Matrix tablets were prepared by wet granulation method using IPC as binder and coating agent. The IPC were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The uncoated and coated tablets were tested for their suitability as colon specific drug delivery system by in vitro dissolution studies. The coated tablets were evaluated for their pharmacodynamic performance after oral administration to TNBS induced ulcerative colitic rats. FTIR studies demonstrated that the IPC was formed through an electrostatic interaction between –COO− groups of CMG and –NH3+ groups of CH. Tablets formulated with 50:50 CH:CMG as binder and coated with the respective ratio of IPC was capable of protecting the drug release in stomach and small intestine and delivering the drug in the colon. Histopathology of the rat colon after oral administration of these IPC film coated tablets revealed significantly greater (p<0.05) reduction in TNBS-induced ulcerative colitis The study confirmed that selective delivery of fluticasone to the colon can be achieved using cross-linked CH and CMG polysaccharides.Keywords: Chitosan; Colonic delivery; Carboxymethyl guar gum; Cross-linking; Guar gum; Fluticason

Bioadhezivne vaginalete s klotrimazolom: priprava i evaluacija

In this study, a bioadhesive dosage form of clotrimazole was designed using a combination of bioadhesive polymers Carbopol 934P, sodium carboxymethylcellulose and sodium alginate in different ratios. The bioadhesive strength was evaluated by measuring the force required to detach the tablets from porcine vaginal mucosal membrane. The strong interaction between polymer and mucus lining of the tissue helps in increasing the contact time and permits localization of activity. Carbopol 934P showed maximum bioadhesion and required maximum force for detachment; the force required for detachment was directly proportional to its content. The formulations were tested for their swelling behavior using agar gel plate method. The swelling index was a function of the concentration of the hydrophilic polymer and the formulations containing Carbopol 934 P and sodium carboxy methylcellulose were found to swell to a greater extent than those containing carbopol and sodium alginate. In vitro release studies showed that the batch consisting 2: 1 ratio of Carbopol 934P: sodium alginate (batch C3) released clotrimazole over 24 h. The similarity factor showed that the dissolution profiles of fresh and aged tablets was similar, suggesting good stability of vaginal tablets prepared using a combination of Carbopol 934P and sodium alginate.U radu je opisana priprava bioadhezivnih vaginaleta s klotrimazolom, kombinacijom nekoliko bioadhezivnih polimera u različitim omjerima (Carbopol 934P, natrijeva sol karboksimetilceluloze i natrijev alginat). Bioadhesivnost je određena mjerenjem sile koja je potrebna za odvajanje tablete s vaginalne mukozne membrane svinje. Zbog jake interakcije između polimera i mukoze produljilo se vrijeme kontakta pripravka s kožom i lokaliziralo djelovanje lijeka. Maksimum bioadhezije postignut je uz Carbopol 934P, a sila potrebna za odvajanje pripravka bila je proporcionalna njegovom udjelu. Pripravcima je ispitana sposobnost bubrenja koristeći metodu s agarnim pločama. Indeks bubrenja ovisio je o koncentraciji hidrofilnog polimera. Pripravci s karbopolom i karboksimetilcelulozom jače su bubrili od pripravaka s karbopolom i natrijevim alginatom. In vitro ispitivanja pokazala su da se iz pripravaka s omjerom karbopola i natrijevog alginata u omjeru 2 : 1 (pripravak C3) oslobađao klotrimazol tijekom 24 h. Profil oslobađanja bio je sličan iz svježe pripravljenih i starih vaginaleta, što ukazuje na njihovu stabilnost

Understanding the evolution of catalytically active multi-metal sites in a bifunctional high-entropy alloy electrocatalyst for zinc–air battery application

Zinc–air batteries are known for high theoretical energy density and environmental friendliness. The successful commercial utilization of rechargeable zinc–air batteries is limited by unstable electrochemical interfaces and sluggish kinetics with poor round-trip efficiency. In this study, we report a nanocrystalline high entropy alloy (HEA) comprising Cu–Co–Mn–Ni–Fe (CCMNF) prepared by casting-cum-cryomilling method. This multi-component HEA embodies multiple catalytically active sites with diverse functionalities, thus enhancing the electrochemical redox reactions, e.g., oxygen reduction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The bifunctional electrocatalytic performance of this HEA is comparable to that of standard catalysts, RuO2 and Pt/C, as evidenced by low overpotential requirements towards OER and ORR. The HEA was tested for use in the air electrode catalyst in the zinc–air battery, where it performed stable oxygen electrocatalysis that was durable over 1045 charging–discharging cycles for ∼90 hours of continuous operation. The microstructural analysis of HEA at different time scales (0, 24, 87 h) during the zinc–air battery operation suggested a dynamic participation of multiple metal active sites on the catalyst surface. Detailed studies revealed that despite leaching in harsh alkaline operation conditions, the synergistic electronic interactions between the component metal sites sustained good electrocatalytic performance and promoted oxygen electrocatalysis through the modification of electronic and chemical properties

Scalable trajectory methods for on-demand analog macromodel extraction.

ABSTRACT Trajectory methods sample the state trajectory of a circuit as it simulates in the time domain, and build macromodels by reducing and interpolating among the linearizations created at a suitably spaced subset of the time points visited during training simulations. Unfortunately, moving from simple to industrial circuits requires more extensive training, which creates models too large to interpolate efficiently. To make trajectory methods practical, we describe a scalable interpolation architecture, and the first implementation of a complete trajectory "infrastructure" inside a full SPICE engine. The approach supports arbitrarily large training runs, automatically prunes redundant trajectory samples, supports limited hierarchy, enables incremental macromodel updates, and gives 3-10X speedups for larger circuits

High-Entropy Alloys as Catalysts for the CO2 and CO Reduction Reactions: Experimental Realization

Conversion of carbon dioxide into selective hydrocarbon using a stable catalyst remains a holy grail in the catalysis community. The high overpotential, stability, and selectivity in the use of a single-metal-based catalyst still remain a challenge. In current work, instead of using pure noble metals (Ag, Au, and Pt) as the catalyst, a nanocrystalline high-entropy alloy (HEA: AuAgPtPdCu) has been used for the conversion of CO2 into gaseous hydrocarbons. Utilizing an approach of multimetallic HEA, a faradic efficiency of about 100% toward gaseous products is obtained at a low applied potential (−0.3 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode). The reason behind the catalytic activity and selectivity of the high-entropy alloy (HEA) toward CO2 electroreduction was established through first-principles-based density functional theory (DFT) by comparing it with the pristine Cu(111) surface. This is attributed to the reversal in adsorption trends for two out of the total eight intermediates—*OCH3 and *O on Cu(111) and HEA surfaces

Interference effects in the photorecombination of argonlike Sc3+ ions: Storage-ring experiment and theory

Absolute total electron-ion recombination rate coefficients of argonlike Sc3+(3s2 3p6) ions have been measured for relative energies between electrons and ions ranging from 0 to 45 eV. This energy range comprises all dielectronic recombination resonances attached to 3p -> 3d and 3p -> 4s excitations. A broad resonance with an experimental width of 0.89 +- 0.07 eV due to the 3p5 3d2 2F intermediate state is found at 12.31 +- 0.03 eV with a small experimental evidence for an asymmetric line shape. From R-Matrix and perturbative calculations we infer that the asymmetric line shape may not only be due to quantum mechanical interference between direct and resonant recombination channels as predicted by Gorczyca et al. [Phys. Rev. A 56, 4742 (1997)], but may partly also be due to the interaction with an adjacent overlapping DR resonance of the same symmetry. The overall agreement between theory and experiment is poor. Differences between our experimental and our theoretical resonance positions are as large as 1.4 eV. This illustrates the difficulty to accurately describe the structure of an atomic system with an open 3d-shell with state-of-the-art theoretical methods. Furthermore, we find that a relativistic theoretical treatment of the system under study is mandatory since the existence of experimentally observed strong 3p5 3d2 2D and 3p5 3d 4s 2D resonances can only be explained when calculations beyond LS-coupling are carried out.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, Phys. Rev. A (in print), see also: http://www.strz.uni-giessen.de/~k

Targeting cholesterol-rich microdomains to circumvent tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer

Adjuvant treatment with tamoxifen substantially improves survival of women with estrogen-receptor positive (ER+) tumors. Tamoxifen resistance (TAMR) limits clinical benefit. RRR alpha tocopherol ether-linked acetic acid analogue (alpha-TEA) is a small bioactive lipid with potent anticancer activity. We evaluated the ability of alpha-TEA in the presence of tamoxifen to circumvent TAMR in human breast cancer cell lines. Methods: Two genotypically matched sets of TAM-sensitive (TAMS) and TAM-resistant (TAMR) human breast cancer cell lines were assessed for signal-transduction events with Western blotting, apoptosis induction with Annexin V-FITC/PI assays, and characterization of cholesterol-rich microdomains with fluorescence staining. Critical involvement of selected mediators was determined by using RNA interference and chemical inhibitors. Results: Growth-factor receptors (total and phosphorylated forms of HER-1 and HER-2), their downstream prosurvival mediators pAkt, pmTOR, and pERK1/2, phosphorylated form of estrogen receptor-alpha (pER-alpha at Ser-167 and Ser-118, and cholesterol-rich lipid microdomains were highly amplified in TAMR cell lines and enhanced by treatment with TAM. alpha-TEA disrupted cholesterol-rich microdomains, acted cooperatively with TAM to reduce prosurvival mediators, and induced DR5-mediated mitochondria-dependent apoptosis via an endoplasmic reticulum stress-triggered pro-death pJNK/CHOP/DR5 amplification loop. Furthermore, methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (M beta CD), a chemical disruptor of cholesterol rich microdomains, acted cooperatively with TAM to reduce prosurvival mediators and to induce apoptosis. Conclusions: Data for the first time document that targeting cholesterol-rich lipid microdomains is a potential strategy to circumvent TAMR, and the combination of alpha-TEA + TAM can circumvent TAMR by suppression of prosurvival signaling via disruption of cholesterol-rich lipid microdomains and activation of apoptotic pathways via induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress.Clayton Foundation for ResearchCenter for Molecular and Cellular Toxicology at the University of TexasNIEHS/NIH T32 ES07247Nutritional Science

Soils of India: historical perspective, classification and recent advances

Derived from a wide range of rocks and minerals, a large variety of soils occur in the Indian subcontinent. Soil-forming factors like climate, vegetation and topography acting for varying periods on a range of rock formations and parent materials, have given rise to different kinds of soil. The National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur has developed a database on soils with field and laboratory studies over the last 30 years. This has generated maps and soil information at different scales, showing area and distribution of various soil groups in different agroecological subregions. The 1 : 250,000 scale map shows a threshold soil variation index of 4–5 and 10–25 soil families per m ha for alluvial plains and black soil regions respectively. Progress in basic and fundamental research in Indian soils has been reviewed in terms of soils, their formation related to climate, relief, organisms, parent materials and time