PERSPECTIVES ON ADDING NEW LETTERS TO GENETIC ALPHABET

Objective: Today, DNA-based technologies are limited in the range, efficiency and accuracy of their application by the four bases in the structure of DNA. Development of DNA molecules with a higher number of bases could contribute to the resolution of the problem. Moreover, the addition of new letters to the genetic alphabet could be used for the treatment of disorders and development of DNA molecules with extended functionality. The aim of the research was to analyse the current abilities and future perspectives of expanded alphabet with respect to the mentioned problems. Methods: The research questions were addressed by the research of the articles present in NCBI and Google Scholar databases. With the application of developed key terms, such as expanded gene codeâ€, expanded genetic alphabet†and genetic alphabet and medicineâ€, and certain inclusion and exclusion criteria, six articles published between 2006 and 2016 were selected for analysis. Results: It was identified that most of the applications of DNA with six letters possible for today use are associated with the expansion in the functional abilities of the modern DNA-based methods. Some of the researchers show the higher binding ability and affinity of the artificial DNA aptamers and suggest their application for treatment and increased functions of DNA. However, still a great number of other applications are suggested for the future. They include the production of proteins and enzymes with new qualities, making DNA molecule a molecular probe for tumour detection and a number of other applications. Conclusion: Addition of new letters to the genetic alphabet can be a powerful tool for improvement of diagnostic technologies used today. However, more research in this field is still needed for wider application and development of new treatment approaches

Magnetic Resonance Lithography with Nanometer Resolution

We propose an approach for super-resolution optical lithography which is based on the inverse of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The technique uses atomic coherence in an ensemble of spin systems whose final state population can be optically detected. In principle, our method is capable of producing arbitrary one and two dimensional high-resolution patterns with high contrast

Evaluation of ZigBee Topology Effect on Throughput and End to End Delay Due to Different Transmission Bands for IoT Applications

ZigBee is widely used in wireless network in Internet of Things (IoT) applications to remotely sensing and automation due to its unique characteristics compared to other wireless networks. According to ZigBee classification of IEEE 802.15.4 standard, the network consists of four layers. The ZigBee topology is represented in second layer. Furthermore, the ZigBee topology consists of three topologies, star, tree and mesh. Also there are many transmission bands allowed in physical layer, such as 2.4 GHz, 915 MHz, 868 MHz. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effect of ZigBee topologies on End to End delay and throughput for different transmission bands. Riverbed Modeler is used to simulate multiple ZigBee proposed scenarios and collect the results. The results of the study recommend which topology should be used at each transmission band to provide lowest End to End delay or obtain maximum throughput, which is case sensitive in some IoT applications that required for example minimum delay time or sending high amount of data

A systematic review of counterfeit and substandard medicines in field quality surveys

This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. Permissions beyond the scope of the License are administered by Dove Medical Press Limited. Information on how to request permission may be found at: http://www.dovepress.com/permissions.phpCounterfeit and substandard medicines pose a great threat to public health and the economy worldwide. Reports suggest their prevalence is increasing and can no longer be ignored. A detailed account on the current nature of the problem and identification of knowledge limitations in terms of geographical location, medicine classes, and type of medicine analysis performed is not available. Our objective was to systematically review articles that have reported investigations of counterfeit and substandard medicinesPeer reviewe

Evaluation of Glibenclamide Quality and Stakeholders’ Perception of Medicine Quality in the Clinical Settings of the Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia

Aim: To explore medicine quality and perception among the stakeholders in the Ministry of Interior Medical Services (MOI-MSD) clinical settings in Saudi Arabia using glibenclamide as an indicator. Method: A mixed method approach was used in two phases. Phase one involved chemical analysis for identity and quantity of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), visual analysis and authentication of source of a popular diabetes medicine (glibenclamide) collected from MOI-MSD general warehouse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Phase two contained a focus group discussion, self-completed survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to explore the perceptions of various stakeholders including commissioners, physicians, pharmacists and patients in the MOI-MSD settings in Saudi Arabia about medicine quality and related problems. Data analysis: Phase one collected quantitative data of API quantity from the chemical analysis of glibenclamide samples using a high performance liquid chromatography apparatus (HPLC) based on United States Pharmacopoeia (USP 36) method. The visual inspection of glibenclamide samples was performed using tool kit developed by The World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) and The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). The authentication of glibenclamide source was performed by on-site comparison of available samples in the general MOI-MSD warehouse with the available official reception documents. Phase two collected quantitative and qualitative data regarding perceptions about medicine quality and related problems and subsequently analysed them using SPSS for descriptive statistics and NVivo version 10 for thematic analysis following data coding and the development of themes and sub-themes. Subsequently, stakeholders’ data were triangulated to establish common and specific themes and sub-themes among MOI-MSD stakeholders. Findings: Phase one of the study found that all glibenclamide samples were within acceptable USP limits in terms of identity and quantity between 90-110%. It was also found that all available glibenclamide batch numbers were present in the official reception documents and the visual analysis of samples revealed no visible errors on the medicine samples or its packaging. Phase two of the study found that most stakeholders, particularly commissioners and physicians, believed that medicine quality was good or excellent in Saudi Arabia. However, the commissioners, physicians and pharmacists believed that the quality of medicines in the MOI-MSD was less than what is available in Saudi Arabia but patients mostly disagreed with these views. Most patients believed that the quality of medicines was high in both the Saudi Arabian market and in the MOI-MSD settings. Limited knowledge about good quality medicines and counterfeit medicines was found among most stakeholders where the quality of medicines was commonly associated with the effect rather than technical attributes of medicines including content, appearance and source. The stakeholders in this study reported a wide range of behaviour when in doubt about medicine quality such as reporting these doubts to authorities, finding alternative medicines, stopping the medicine use and taking no further action regarding these doubts. Furthermore, all stakeholders have identified medicine procurement focusing on price rather than quality, difficulty in reporting medicine quality problems and medicine storage conditions as challenges to medicine quality in the MOI-MSD. Patients, particularly chronic patients from Jeddah city, have complained about medicine non-availability in their local MOI-MSD primary clinic and expensive medicine prices. Conclusions: Glibenclamide quality in the MOI-MSD settings was found to be acceptable in terms of API identity and quantity, source and visual appearance. The perception about medicine quality in these settings seems to be low particularly from commissioners and pharmacists but not the patients. There is an urgent need to implement quality assurance steps to increase the commissioners and pharmacists trust in the quality of their medicines at the medicine selection, procurement, storage and transportation stages in addition to improving the accessibility to report medicine quality problems to all stakeholders. Subsequently, future research is needed to measure and evaluate the impact of these quality assurance steps on the confidence of commissioners and pharmacists trust in the quality of the MOI-MSD medicines. Furthermore, patients’ issues about medicine non-availability need to be addressed rapidly as it could result in patients’ acquiring medicines from unknown sources and/or cause additional financial burdens