In vivo friction study of human skin: Influence of moisturizers on different anatomical sites

In order to understand the human haptic system, the mechanical characterization of skin contact is an important task. As the skin constitutes itself a surface, it is convenient to describe the problem using a contacting surface analysis, especially concerning the friction which occurs when the skin interacts with other surfaces. Several published works have shown that the analysis of the friction response of the skin can provide an indirect way to assess the skin condition.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V5B-4NT57HS-3W/1/d4ae2f1e00e46a09d2bc88be50b2a94

Comparison of dissolution profiles of Ibuprofen pellets

In this work we use both model dependent and independent techniques to assess the difference between dissolution profiles in which ibuprofen, in the form of uncoated pellets, is used as a model drug. The choice of a proper regression function, the relevance of the estimated parameters and the influence of the choice of dissolution points in the assessment of differences is discussed. The results obtained via mean dissolution times (MDT) and fit-factors (f1 and f2) are also discussed and a non-quantitative method based on profiles correlation with graphical representation (concentration vs. concentration and rate vs. rate) presented. The tested methods discriminate similarly between curves, although not in all cases, but those based on modeling, MDT and fit-factors have shown to be less informative than the correlation approach.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T3D-48CT09D-6/1/963a3879961981b265df020d3ac842f

Simulation of polyelectrolyte solutions. The density of bound ions

We discuss a simple approach to describe the ion density around a polyelectrolyte chain, quantifying bound and bulk counterions, and allowing for the renormalization of the charge in the polyion. This approach is both physically motivated and readily extensible to systems containing other types of highly charged ions. The method addresses the problem in simulation experiments and allows to correlate ion condensation and compaction.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TFN-4DGDCY6-9/1/14f30c4cf6f0da32c52c85dc2c18897