Preformulation Studies of Intranasal Solid Lipid Nanoparticles of Mometasone Furoate

The objective of the present work was to prepare intranasal solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) of mometasone furoate. Mometasone furoate is BCS class II drug having low aqueous solubility and highly sensitive to hepatic metabolism. Mometasone furoate loaded nanoparticles were prepared by high pressure homogenization technique. The preformulation studied was conducted by studying various selection criteria. Lipid was chosen on the basis of maximum solubility of the drug in lipid. Glyceryl monostearate was selected as the lipid phase which showed maximum drug solubility than other lipids. Selection of surfactant, homogenization pressure and no. of homogenization cycle was done on the basis of minimum particle size and maximum % entrapment efficiency. These results showed high entrapment efficiency and minimum particle size. Keywords: Intranasal solid lipid nanoparticles, High pressure homogenization, Glyceryl monostearate

Corrigendum to “Randomized phase 2 trial and open-label extension of domagrozumab in Duchenne muscular dystrophy” [Neuromuscular Disorders, Vol. 30 (6) 2020, 492-502] (Neuromuscular Disorders (2020) 30(6) (492–502), (S0960896620301188), (10.1016/j.nmd.2020.05.002))

This article reported on the results from a phase 2 trial of domagrozumab and its open-label extension in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Clinicaltrials.gov identifiers: NCT02310763 and NCT02907619). The manuscript also provided results on two secondary endpoints for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), muscle volume and muscle volume index. The authors regret that, following publication of the results and in preparation for a separate publication on MRI results from this trial, the MRI images were reviewed and segmentation errors were identified. As a result, the team worked to (1) Perform a rigorous quality inspection of all analysed data; (2) Identify cases where there were incorrect segmentations; (3) correct segmentation errors; (4) Re-analyse all data with correct segmentation. Using the updated MRI data, the MMRM analysis showed there was a change in the significance of secondary endpoints evaluating Thigh Muscle Volume and Muscle Volume Index. No significant differences between treatment groups in muscle volume measures were found in the original analysis. These results have not altered the overall interpretation of the study results but do necessitate revisions to the article. These data confirm that the trial design and execution adequately tested the hypothesis that myostatin inhibition would slow or delay the loss of function in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The increase in muscle volume observed by MRI in patients with DMD treated with domagrozumab is in accordance with mechanism of action for domagrozumab, which targets myostatin, a negative regulator of muscle growth. The increase in muscle volume did not lead to a clinical benefit in patients with DMD. The primary endpoint (4 stair climb) did not meet statistical significance, nor did the other functional tests. The study was terminated due to lack of efficacy. Full details of the needed revisions are as follows: 1. In the results section 3.6 (page 8, second paragraph), we reported no significant differences in mean percent change from baseline between domagrozumab and placebo for both muscle volume and muscle volume index. This paragraph was replaced with the following text: “There was a significant difference between domagrozumab and placebo in the mean percent change from baseline in thigh muscle volume at Week 17 (difference 2.945%, P=0.0087) and Week 49 (differences 4.087%, P=0.0298), and in muscle volume index at Week 33 (difference 2.612%, P=0.0376) and Week 49 (differences3.208%, P=0.0411).” 2. In the discussion (page 9), the following sentence, “Although neither muscle volume nor muscle volume index measures were statistically significant in this study, they are both consistent with a potential anabolic effect.” was replaced with, “The increase in muscle volume observed on MRI in patients with DMD treated with domagrozumab, is in accordance with mechanism of action for this compound which targets myostatin, a negative regulator of muscle growth. However, the increase in muscle volume did not lead to a clinical benefit (improved function) in patients with DMD.” 3. In view of the correction to the Results section, this is now reflected in the abstract which has changed to read: “There were no significant between-group differences in secondary clinical endpoints, except for the thigh muscle volume and muscle volume index measures (P\u3c0.05).” The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused

The dynamics of social capital in influencing use of soil management options in the Chinyanja triangle of Southern Africa

Social capital has become a critical issue in agricultural development as it plays an important role in collective action, such as, management of common resources and collective marketing. Whilst literature exists on the role of social capital in the use and adoption of improved agricultural technology, such literature is fraught with issues of the measurement of social capital beyond membership of farmers in groups. We hypothesized that different types of social capital influence the adoption of soil management options differently. This study looks at the measurement of social capital, differentiating between the main types of social capital and employed factor analysis to aggregate indicators of social capital into bonding, bridging, and linking social capital. Using logic analysis, the role of these types of capitals on influencing use of different soil management options was analyzed. The study found that bonding, bridging, and linking social capital all influence the adoption and use of different soil management options differently, a trend that might be similar for other agricultural technologies as well. The study recommends more research investments in understanding the differentiated outcomes of these forms of social capital on use and adoption of technologies to further guide agricultural interventions.This study is part of the Livelihoods Improvement Programme in the Chinyanja Triangle. We would like to acknowledge USAID for the financial support. We would like to thank the Citizen Network for Foreign Affairs (CNFA), Total Land Care (TLC) in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia and the Department of Agricultural Research, Zambia for their support with the data collection

Fibrolipoma: A rare entity - Case series

Lipomas are benign soft tissue neoplasms of mature adipose tissue usually seen in the head and neck region. Intraoral lipomas are rare lesions, which may be discovered during routine dental examinations since they present as a slow-growing, painless, and asymptomatic yellowish mass. Fibrolipoma is one of the rare variants of the lipoma, and very few cases have been reported in the oral cavity. These lesions infrequently cause pain, but may grow to large size causing difficulty in speech and mastication. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice, and the prognosis is generally good as recurrence rate is very less. Here, we present two cases of fibrolipoma and a brief review of literature

Human Identification Using Finger Vein Images

Finger vein is a unique physiological biometric which is used for identification of individuals based on the physical characteristics and parameters of the vein patterns in the human body. This technology is at present in use or development for a wide range of applications, which includes credit card authentication, security in automobile, employee time and tracking attendance, computer and network authentication, security at end points and automated teller machines. The basic principle, different feature extraction techniques and performance measuring are analyzed. Mostly the existing work is functionally described and compared in three parts (i.e. Finger vein acquired image, pre-processing and feature extraction)