Transparency for Enhancing Distinct Dimensions with Social Media Mediation on Citizens Trust in Ghana

Transparency in government has led to much research and has aroused interest in quality and content improvement. Building on the attention already received, this study contributes to the continual debate about government transparency and proposes six parameters that government information should address to enhance trust among citizens. The study’s empirical analysis validated the proposed model for accuracy and examined the possible impact of government transparency enhancement in public accountability, service delivery, urban and rural development, and government effectiveness, as well as how social media use can mediate to promote rapid information access to citizens and interested stakeholders. Findings on the analysis indicated a significant impact of government information on enhancing the proposed dimensions and the use of social media for communication and improvement in all aspects proposed. The analysis shows that social media is an essential and appropriate strategy to communicate and seek ideas from citizens to enhance services that influence trust in the government. Keywords: Government transparency; Citizens trust; Social media use; Services delivery. DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/9-5-08 Publication date:May 31st 201

Effect of process conditions on particle size and shape in continuous antisolvent crystallisation of lovastatin

Lovastatin crystals often exhibit an undesirable needle-like morphology. Several studies have shown how a needle-like morphology can be modified in antisolvent crystallisation with the use of additives, but there is much less experimental work demonstrating crystal shape modification without the use of additives. In this study, a series of unseeded continuous antisolvent crystallisation experiments were conducted with the process conditions of supersaturation, total flow rate, and ultrasound level being varied to determine their effects on crystal size and shape. This experimental work involved identifying acetone/water as the most suitable solvent/antisolvent system, assessing lovastatin nucleation behaviour by means of induction time measurements, and then designing and implementing the continuous antisolvent crystallisation experiments. It was found that in order to produce the smallest and least needle-like particles, the maximum total flow rate and supersaturation had to be combined with the application of ultrasound. These results should aid development of pharmaceutical manufacturing processes where the ability to control particle size and shape would allow for optimisation of crystal isolation and more efficient downstream processing

Non-invasive monitoring of the growth of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) via Raman spectroscopy

The applicability of Raman spectroscopy for phase discrimination of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) has been demonstrated with F4_MIL-140A(Ce) and F4_UiO-66(Ce); analogues prepared from the same metal and ligand sources. Each analogue exhibits unique Raman peaks, with significant differences in the low frequency region, which is more sensitive to structural variations. Non-invasive Raman monitoring of F4_MIL-140A(Ce) synthesis indicated evolution of a unique MOF Raman peak with reaction progress; conversion of this Raman signal to extent of crystallisation was in good agreement with reported reaction kinetics determined via a synchrotron diffraction method. Additionally, Raman spectroscopy indicated initial rapid consumption of the nitric acid modulator present in the reaction coinciding with an expected high probability of nucleation. Raman spectroscopy is a promising technique for rapid screening of MOFs and can be used to study the mechanism of their formation in situ with kinetic insight into both the solution and solid phases of the reaction medium

A recent trend of drug-nanoparticles in suspension for the application in drug delivery

Persistent development in nanomedicine has enabled successful nanosizing of most drug samples which, in turn, imparts remarkable properties to the drugs such as enhanced solubility and bioavailability for the applications in drug delivery In this context several review articles are available in scientific domain covering inorganic nanoparticles such as Au Ag, SPIONs Qdots, carbon nanotubes and graphene; however, this review covers the development of drug nanoparticles together with their possibilities and limitation from ..

A structured approach to implementation of measurements : crystallisation in the mefenamic acid MicroFactory

The CMAC workflow approach Since the development of the seminal workflow for seeded continuous cooling crystallisations, a number of workflows have been developed within CMAC that cover various processes including early stage crystallisation development, impurity rejection, and isolation

Crystal structure of a copper-mefenamate complex solvated with diglyme and water

In the copper-mefenamate complex, the asymmetric unit comprises a Cu(II) cation coordinated to two mefenamate ligands solvated with a water molecule and diglyme molecule. The complex adopts a paddlewheel motif and is compared to structural analogues crystallised with dimethylformamide and dimethyl sulfoxide

Temperature correction of spectra to improve solute concentration monitoring by in situ ultraviolet and mid-infrared spectrometries towards isothermal local model performance

Changes in temperature can significantly affect spectroscopic-based methods for in situ monitoring of processes. As varying temperature is inherent to many processes, associated temperature effects on spectra are unavoidable, which can hinder solute concentration determination. Ultraviolet (UV) and mid-infrared (IR) data were acquired for l-ascorbic acid (LAA) in MeCN/H2O (80:20 w/w) at different concentrations and temperatures. For both techniques, global partial least squares (PLS) models for prediction of LAA concentration constructed without preprocessing of the spectra required a high number of latent variables to account for the effects of temperature on the spectra (root mean square error of cross validation (RMSECV) of 0.18 and 0.16 g/100 g solvent, for UV and IR datasets, respectively). The PLS models constructed on the first derivative spectra required fewer latent variables, yielding variable results in accuracy (RMSECV of 0.23 and 0.06 g/100 g solvent, respectively). Corresponding isothermal local models constructed indicated improved model performance that required fewer latent variables in the absence of temperature effects (RMSECV of 0.01 and 0.04 g/100 g solvent, respectively). Temperature correction of the spectral data via loading space standardization (LSS) enabled the construction of global models using the same number of latent variables as the corresponding local model, which exhibited comparable model performance (RMSECV of 0.06 and 0.04 g/100 g solvent, respectively). The additional chemometric effort required for LSS is justified if prediction of solute concentration is required for in situ monitoring and control of cooling crystallization with an accuracy and precision approaching that attainable using an isothermal local model. However, the model performance with minimal preprocessing may be sufficient, for example, in the early phase development of a cooling crystallization process, where high accuracy is not always required. UV and IR spectrometries were used to determine solubility diagrams for LAA in MeCN/H2O (80:20 w/w), which were found to be accurate compared to those obtained using the traditional techniques of transmittance and gravimetric measurement. For both UV and IR spectrometries, solubility values obtained from models with LSS temperature correction were in better agreement with those determined gravimetrically. In this first example of the application of LSS to UV spectra, significant improvement in the predicted solute concentration is achieved with the additional chemometric effort. There is no extra experimental burden associated with the use of LSS if a structured approach is employed to acquire calibration data that account for both temperature and concentration

Surveillance of emerging drugs of abuse in Hong Kong: Validation of an analytical tool

© 2015, Hong Kong Academy of Medicine Press. All rights reserved. Objective: To validate a locally developed chromatography-based method to monitor emerging drugs of abuse whilst performing regular drug testing in abusers. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Eleven regional hospitals, seven social service units, and a tertiary level clinical toxicology laboratory in Hong Kong. Participants: A total of 972 drug abusers and high-risk individuals were recruited from acute, rehabilitation, and high-risk settings between 1 November 2011 and 31 July 2013. A subset of the participants was of South Asian ethnicity. In total, 2000 urine or hair specimens were collected. Main outcome measures: Proof of concept that surveillance of emerging drugs of abuse can be performed whilst conducting routine drug of abuse testing in patients. Results: The method was successfully applied to 2000 samples with three emerging drugs of abuse detected in five samples: PMMA (paramethoxymethamphetamine), TFMPP [1-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine], and methcathinone. The method also detected conventional drugs of abuse, with codeine, methadone, heroin, methamphetamine, and ketamine being the most frequently detected drugs. Other findings included the observation that South Asians had significantly higher rates of using opiates such as heroin, methadone, and codeine; and that ketamine and cocaine had significantly higher detection rates in acute subjects compared with the rehabilitation population. Conclusions: This locally developed analytical method is a valid tool for simultaneous surveillance of emerging drugs of abuse and routine drug monitoring of patients at minimal additional cost and effort. Continued, proactive surveillance and early identification of emerging drugs will facilitate prompt clinical, social, and legislative management.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Pharmacological Targeting of Native CatSper Channels Reveals a Required Role in Maintenance of Sperm Hyperactivation

The four sperm-specific CatSper ion channel proteins are required for hyperactivated motility and male fertility, and for Ca2+ entry evoked by alkaline depolarization. In the absence of external Ca2+, Na+ carries current through CatSper channels in voltage-clamped sperm. Here we show that CatSper channel activity can be monitored optically with the [Na+]i-reporting probe SBFI in populations of intact sperm. Removal of external Ca2+ increases SBFI signals in wild-type but not CatSper2-null sperm. The rate of the indicated rise of [Na+]i is greater for sperm alkalinized with NH4Cl than for sperm acidified with propionic acid, reflecting the alkaline-promoted signature property of CatSper currents. In contrast, the [Na+]i rise is slowed by candidate CatSper blocker HC-056456 (IC50 ∼3 µM). HC-056456 similarly slows the rise of [Ca2+]i that is evoked by alkaline depolarization and reported by fura-2. HC-056456 also selectively and reversibly decreased CatSper currents recorded from patch-clamped sperm. HC-056456 does not prevent activation of motility by HCO3− but does prevent the development of hyperactivated motility by capacitating incubations, thus producing a phenocopy of the CatSper-null sperm. When applied to hyperactivated sperm, HC-056456 causes a rapid, reversible loss of flagellar waveform asymmetry, similar to the loss that occurs when Ca2+ entry through the CatSper channel is terminated by removal of external Ca2+. Thus, open CatSper channels and entry of external Ca2+ through them sustains hyperactivated motility. These results indicate that pharmacological targeting of the CatSper channel may impose a selective late-stage block to fertility, and that high-throughput screening with an optical reporter of CatSper channel activity may identify additional selective blockers with potential for male-directed contraception