Airflow and Thermal Behavior within Peaches Packaging Box Using Computational Fluid Dynamics - A Preliminary Study

Post-harvest cold storage of peaches is an essential element to maintain the quality of the fruits without any loss. This work aims to present a CFD model, to predict airflow patterns and temperature profiles in ventilated packaging systems, during the forced-air cooling of Peaches stored in a cold chamber. Transient CFD simulations are performed for the chamber containing four ventilated boxes and the evaluation of the results show that the temperature removal near the vent holes and the hand holes is relatively high when compared to other regions of the packaging box. This preliminary study reveals the airflow behavior develop an uneven temperature distribution within the box. To overcome the flaws, future work is focused on modifying the vent hole design to improve the airflow phenomenon to maintain the temperature homogeneity throughout the box. Keywords: Peach, Computational fluid dynamics, Airflow, Heat transfer, Packagin

PREPERATION AND IN VITRO EVALUATION OF SOLID DISPERSIONS OF NIMODIPINE USING PEG 4000 AND PVP K3

Solid dispersions in water-soluble carriers have attracted considerable interest as a means of improving the dissolution rate, and hence possibly bioavailability, of a range of hydrophobic drugs. The aim of the present study was to improve the solubility and dissolution rate of a poorly water-soluble drug, nimodipine, by a solid dispersion technique. Solid dispersions were prepared by using polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG- 4000) and polyvinylpyrrolidone K30 (PVPK30) in different drug-to-carrier ratios. The solid dispersions were prepared by melting method. Morphology of solid dispersions was characterised by scanning electron microscope. The pure drug, physical mixtures and solid dispersions were characterized by in vitro dissolution study. Dissolution characteristics were determined by using pH 4.5 acetate buffer containing 0.3% SDS. The very slow dissolution rate was observed for pure nimodipine and the dispersion of the drug in the polymers considerably enhanced the dissolution rate. This can be attributed to improved wettability and dispersibility, as well as decrease of the crystalline and increase of the amorphous fraction of the drug. Solid dispersions prepared with PEG-4000 and PVPK30 showed the highest improvement in wettability and dissolution rate of nimodipine. Even physical mixtures of nimodipine prepared with both polymers also showed better dissolution profile than that of pure nimodipine. In conclusion, dissolution of nimodipine can be enhanced by the use of hydrophilic carriers PEG-4000 and PVPK30

Formulation of Sodium Alginate Nanospheres Containing Amphotericin B for the Treatment of Systemic Candidiasis

Purpose: The aim of this work was to formulate sodium alginate nanospheres of amphotericin B by controlled gellification method and to evaluate the role of the nanospheres as a “passive carrier” in targeted antifungal therapy. Methods: Sodium alginate nanospheres of amphotericin B were prepared by controlled gellification method, and the particle size analysis was carried out by scanning electron microscopy. The carrier capacity of sodium alginate was evaluated in terms of drug to polymer ratio. In vitro release study was carried out on all drug loaded nanospheres by the dialysis method. Release kinetics of drug from different drug loaded nanospheres was also determined. The in vivo antifungal efficacy of nanospheres bound drug vis-à-vis the free drug was evaluated in candidiasis- induced mice models. Results: Preparation of nanospheres through controlled gellification method yielded particles with a size range of 419.6 ± 0.28 nm. Studies on drug to polymer ratio showed a linear relationship between concentration of drug and drug loading capacity. In vitro release kinetic study revealed that the release of drug from the nanospheres followed Fickian diffusion. In vivo studies showed that the nanosphere-bound drug produced a higher antifungal efficacy than the free drug. Conclusion: The formulated sodium alginate nanospheres containing amphotericin B was found to have better antifungal activity when compared to the free drug and also yielded sustained in vitro release. Keywords: Nanospheres, sodium alginate, amphotericin B, controlled gellification method, in vitro & in vivo release > Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research Vol. 6 (1) 2007: pp. 653-65

Implementation of ERP in an Automobile Manufacturing Shop Floor

The implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems has been known to be much more difficult than the development of a computer application supporting a single business function. This paper addresses the implementation of an ERP system in an automobile manufacture shop floor. This paper examines step by step procedure for implementing an ERP system within the shop floor and also looks improve business process and operations through good business communication system. The Development of a planning module by visual basic programming language were also discussed

CFD parametric study of thermal performance of different fruit packaging box designs

Air temperature and relative humidity values of cold storage conditions are the major factor affecting the perishability of fresh fruits. The sooner the field heat is extracted from the products and the proper temperature is maintained consistency throughout the cold chain, larger it will be shelf life of these products. Forced air cooling is the most commonly used technique to remove the field heat in post-harvest storage. Energy-efficient and quality-oriented cold storage mainly depends on the time to remove the heat. This time can be reduced by optimizing the configuration of the vent holes of the packaging box, namely it dimension (area), it shape, alignment and position. This paper shows the numerical predictions of air temperature and velocity by a CFD parametric study of eight different vent hole configurations. These configurations consider a packaging box with double wall. The vent holes of each wall have different dimension and shape. The vent holes of both walls can be also aligned or unaligned. The analysis of results aims to determine the best configurations that improve the cooling rate, the airflow and temperature uniformity. The numerical predictions of the air temperature show close values, but three configurations can be identified as predicting the lowest air temperature values with lowest standard deviation. These results may help on the development of new configuration for fruit boxes that promote the extension of the fruits shelflife.(undefined

CFD Modelling of the Thermal Performance of Fruit Packaging Boxes - Influence of Vent-Holes Design

The shelf life of perishable products depends mainly on the conservation of air temperature. Packaging boxes are usually used to accommodate food products during cold storage and transport and/or display. The design of the vent-holes of the packaging box must promote cold airflow and remove the field heat of the produce after harvest at a short time. This study describes the influence of the vent-holes design and its performance during cold storage. The cooling performance of the different packaging boxes is evaluated experimentally and numerically using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Three new packaging box configurations with the same size but different vent-holes design (size, shape and position) and a reference box are modelled. The transient three-dimensional CFD model predicts the airflow pattern and temperature distribution within the different packaging boxes. The best thermal performance packaging achieved a fruit model temperature 1.5 K to 5 K lower than the other configurations at the end of 8 h of cooling. These predictions allow the development of new packaging box designs that promote the shelf-life extension of perishable products.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Kristalne modifikacije i profil oslobađanja piroksikama

Piroxicam is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug with low aqueous solubility which exhibits polymorphism. The present study was carried out to develop polymorphs of piroxicam with enhanced solubility and dissolution rate by the crystal modification technique using different solvent mixtures prepared with PEG 4000 and PVP K30. Physicochemical characteristics of the modified crystal forms of piroxicam were investigated by X-ray powder diffractometry, FT-IR spectrophotometry and differential scanning calorimetry. Dissolution and solubility profiles of each modified crystal form were studied and compared with pure piroxicam. Solvent evaporation method (method I) produced bothneedle and cubic shaped crystals. Slow crystallization from ethanol with addition of PEG 4000 or PVP K30 at room temperature (method II) produced cubic crystal forms. Needle forms produced by method I improved dissolution but not solubility. Cubic crystals produced by method I had a dissolution profile similar to that of untreated piroxicam but showed better solubility than untreated piroxicam. Cubic shaped crystals produced by method II showed improved dissolution, without a significant change in solubility. Based on the XRPD results, modified piroxicam crystals obtained by method I from acetone/benzene were cube shaped, which correlates well with the FTIR spectrum; modified needle forms obtained from ethanol/methanol and ethanol/acetone showed a slight shift of FTIR peak that may be attributed to differences in the internal structure or conformation.Piroksikam je nesteroidni protuupalni lijek male topljivosti u vodi koji ima svojstvo polimorfije. Cilj rada bio je priprema polimorfa piroksikama povećane topljivosti i brzine oslobađanja koristeći smjese različitih otapala i PEG 4000, odnosno PVP K30. Fizikokemijska svojstva modificiranih kristalnih oblika piroksikama ispitivana su difrakcijom X-zraka na praškastom uzorku FT-IR spektrofotometrijom i diferencijalnom pretražnom kalorimetrijom. Profili oslobađanja i topljivosti modificiranih kristalnih oblika proučavani su i uspoređivani sa čistim piroksikamom. Metodom uparavanja otapala (metoda I) dobiveni su igličasti i kubični kristali. Polaganom kristalizacijom iz etanola uz dodatak PEG 4000 ili PVP K30 na sobnoj temperaturi (metoda II) dobiveni su kubični kristali. Igličasti kristali dobiveni metodom I poboljšali su oslobađanje, ali ne i topljivost. Kubični kristali dobiveni metodom I imali su poboljšanu topljivost, ali sličan profil oslobađanja kao i netretirani piroksikam. Kubični kristali dobiveni metodom II imali su poboljšani profil oslobađanja, bez značajne promjene u topljivosti. Na temelju XRPD rezultata, modificirani kristali piroksikama dobiveni metodom I iz smjese acetona i benzena bili su kubični, što dobro korelira s FTIR spektrom; modificirani igličasti kristali dobiveni iz smjese etanol/metanol i etanol/aceton imali su lagani pomak FTIR signala što bi se moglo pripisati razlikama u internoj strukturi ili konformacijama

Stress degradation studies and development of stability-indicating TLC-densitometry method for determination of prednisolone acetate and chloramphenicol in their individual and combined pharmaceutical formulations

A rapid and reproducible stability indicating TLC method was developed for the determination of prednisolone acetate and chloramphenicol in presence of their degraded products. Uniform degradation conditions were maintained by refluxing sixteen reaction mixtures for two hours at 80°C using parallel synthesizer including acidic, alkaline and neutral hydrolysis, oxidation and wet heating degradation. Oxidation at room temperature, photochemical and dry heating degradation studies were also carried out. Separation was done on TLC glass plates, pre-coated with silica gel 60F-254 using chloroform: methanol (14:1 v/v). Spots at Rf 0.21 ± 0.02 and Rf 0.41 ± 0.03 were recognized as chloramphenicol and prednisolone acetate, respectively. Quantitative analysis was done through densitometric measurements at multiwavelength (243 nm, λmax of prednisolone acetate and 278 nm, λmax of chloramphenicol), simultaneously. The developed method was optimized and validated as per ICH guidelines. Method was found linear over the concentration range of 200-6000 ng/spot with the correlation coefficient (r2 ± S.D.) of 0.9976 ± 3.5 and 0.9920 ± 2.5 for prednisolone acetate and chloramphenicol, respectively. The developed TLC method can be applied for routine analysis of prednisolone acetate and chloramphenicol in presence of their degraded products in their individual and combined pharmaceutical formulations

Communication in healthcare: a narrative review of the literature and practical recommendations

aims: Effective and efficient communication is crucial in healthcare. Written communication remains the most prevalent form of communication between specialized and primary care. We aimed at reviewing the literature on the quality of written communication, the impact of communication inefficiencies and recommendations to improve written communication in healthcare. Design: Narrative literature review. Methods:A search was carried out on the databases PubMed, Web of Science and The Cochrane Library by means of the (MeSH)terms ‘communication’, ‘primary health care’, ‘correspondence’, ‘patient safety’, ‘patient handoff’ and ‘continuity of patient care’. Reviewers screened 4609 records and 462 full texts were checked according following inclusion criteria: (1) publication between January 1985 and March 2014, (2) availability as full text in English, (3) categorization as original research, reviews, meta-analyses or letters to the editor. Results:A total of 69 articles were included in this review. It was found that poor communication can lead to various negative outcomes: discontinuity of care, compromise of patient safety, patient dissatisfaction and inefficient use of valuable resources, both in unnecessary investigations and physician worktime as well as economic consequences. Conclusions: There is room for improvement of both content and timeliness of written communication. The delineation of ownership of the communication process should be clear. Peer review, process indicators and follow-up tools are required to measure the impact of quality improvement initiatives. Communication between caregivers should feature more prominently in graduate and postgraduate training, to become engraved as an essential skill and quality characteristic of each caregiver