Microelectrode arrays and the use of PEG-functionalized diblock copolymer coatings

PEG-modified diblock copolymer surfaces have been examined for their compatibility with microelectrode array based analytical methods. The use of PEG-modified polymer surfaces on the arrays was initially problematic because the redox couples used in the experiments were adsorbed by the polymer. This led the current measured by cyclic voltammetry for the redox couple to be unstable and increase with time. However, two key findings allow the experiments to be successful. First, after multiple cyclic voltammograms the current associated with the redox couple does stabilize so that a good baseline current can be established. Second, the rate at which the current stabilizes is consistent every time a particular coated array is used. Hence, multiple analytical experiments can be conducted on an array coated with a PEG-modified diblock copolymer and the data obtained is comparable as long as the data for each experiment is collected at a consistent time point

Formulation and evaluation of transdermal delivery system of an anti-hypertensive drug

oai:ojs2.japtronline.com:article/1The present study was aims to formulate and evaluate transdermal drug delivery for sustained release of an anti-hypertensive drug Captopril, it is considered as drug of choice in anti hypertensive therapy and is reported for potential administration through transdermal route. The investigation was carried out to study the effect of different proportion of ethyl cellulose and PVP a hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymer respectively. Transdermal patches were prepared using different combination of the two polymers by solvent evaporation technique. Polyvinyl alcohol was used to prepare the backing membrane and dibutyl phthalate as a plasticizer. Several Physicochemical parameter like moisture content, moisture loss, thickness, film folding endurance, tensile strength, flatness were studied. For all the formulations, in vitro drug release was studied using modified diffusion cell. Formulations with highest proportion of polyvinyl pyrolidone shows faster release whereas increasing proportion of ethyl cellulose produces a prolonged regimen of sustained drug delivery through transdermal route for a period of 24 hrs

Nested turbo codes for the costa problem

Driven by applications in data-hiding, MIMO broadcast channel coding, precoding for interference cancellation, and transmitter cooperation in wireless networks, Costa coding has lately become a very active research area. In this paper, we first offer code design guidelines in terms of source- channel coding for algebraic binning. We then address practical code design based on nested lattice codes and propose nested turbo codes using turbo-like trellis-coded quantization (TCQ) for source coding and turbo trellis-coded modulation (TTCM) for channel coding. Compared to TCQ, turbo-like TCQ offers structural similarity between the source and channel coding components, leading to more efficient nesting with TTCM and better source coding performance. Due to the difference in effective dimensionality between turbo-like TCQ and TTCM, there is a performance tradeoff between these two components when they are nested together, meaning that the performance of turbo-like TCQ worsens as the TTCM code becomes stronger and vice versa. Optimization of this performance tradeoff leads to our code design that outperforms existing TCQ/TCM and TCQ/TTCM constructions and exhibits a gap of 0.94, 1.42 and 2.65 dB to the Costa capacity at 2.0, 1.0, and 0.5 bits/sample, respectively

Effect of supplementary pollination in grapes (Vitis vinifera)

In the variety Bharat Early, the weight of bunch and number of berries per bunch were markedly increased by supplementary pollinations with Pearl of Csaba and Pusa Seedless pollen as compared to control. However, berry weight was not altered. Shot berries were significantly reduced by all pollen including the self as compared to control. Least number of shot berries were obtained by using Pearl of Csaba and Pusa Seedless pollen.In the variety Pusa Seedless which is allied to Thompson Seedless the bunch weight was increased by Bharat Early, Beauty Seedless and Pearl of Csaba pollen. No significant increase in the number of berries per bunch resulted, but berry size was increased by these pollen

Community-engaged primary care medical education

BACKGROUND: Community-engaged medical education (CEME) requires medical schools to partner with local communities to help address community priorities, whilst enhancing the learning experiences of students. Current literature on CEME has focused on evaluating its effects on students; however, there remains a gap in exploring whether CEME initiatives can have a sustainable impact for communities. APPROACH: The Community Action Project (CAP) at Imperial College London, is an eight-week, community-engaged, quality improvement project for Year 3 medical students. Students initially consult with clinicians, patients and wider community stakeholders to understand local needs and assets, and identify a health priority to address. They then work with relevant stakeholders to design, implement and evaluate a project to help address their identified priority. EVALUATION: All CAPs (n = 264) completed in the 2019-2021 academic years were evaluated for evidence of several key areas, including community engagement and sustainability. 91% of projects evidenced a needs analysis, 71% demonstrated patient involvement in their development, and 64% demonstrated sustainable impacts from their projects. Analysis revealed the topics frequently addressed, and the formats used by students. Two CAPs are described in more detail to demonstrate their community impact. IMPLICATIONS: The CAP demonstrates how the principles of CEME (meaningful community engagement and social accountability) can lead to sustainable benefits for local communities through purposeful collaboration with patients and local communities. Strengths, limitations and future directions are highlighted

Hyperon Nonleptonic Weak Decays Revisited

We first review the current algebra - PCAC approach to nonleptonic octet baryon 14 weak decay B (\to) (B^{\prime})(\pi) amplitudes. The needed four parameters are independently determined by (\Omega \to \Xi \pi),(\Lambda K) and (\Xi ^{-}\to \Sigma ^{-}\gamma) weak decays in dispersion theory tree order. We also summarize the recent chiral perturbation theory (ChPT) version of the eight independent B (\to) (B^{\prime}\pi) weak (\Delta I) = 1/2 amplitudes containing considerably more than eight low-energy weak constants in one-loop order.Comment: 10 pages, RevTe

Growth of brown trout in the wild predicted by embryo stress reaction in the laboratory.

Laboratory studies on embryos of salmonids, such as the brown trout (Salmo trutta), have been extensively used to study environmental stress and how responses vary within and between natural populations. These studies are based on the implicit assumption that early life-history traits are relevant for stress tolerance in the wild. Here we test this assumption by combining two data sets from studies on the same 60 families. These families had been experimentally produced from wild breeders to determine, in separate samples, (1) stress tolerances of singly kept embryos in the laboratory and (2) growth of juveniles during 6 months in the wild. We found that growth in the wild was well predicted by the larval size of their full sibs in the laboratory, especially if these siblings had been experimentally exposed to a pathogen. Exposure to the pathogen had not caused elevated mortality among the embryos but induced early hatching. The strength of this stress-induced change of life history was a significant predictor of juvenile growth in the wild: the stronger the response in the laboratory, the slower the growth in the wild. We conclude that embryo performance in controlled environments can be a useful predictor of juvenile performance in the wild

Pattern Analysis of Microtubule-Polymerizing and -Depolymerizing Agent Combinations as Cancer Chemotherapies

Subcellular distribution of mass can be analyzed by a technique that involves culturing cells on interferometers and digitizing their interference contours. Contour sampling resulted in 102 variables per cell, which were predictors of oncogenic transformation. Cell phenotypes can be deconstructed by use of latent factors, which represent the covariance of the real variables. The reversal of the cancertype phenotype by a combination of microtubule- stabilizing and -depolymerizing agents was described previously. The implications of these results have been explored by clinicians who treated patients with the combination of docetaxel and vinorelbine (Navelbine®). The current study was performed to determine the effects of different combinations on phenotype and in phases of the cell cycle other than mitosis. Combinations of paclitaxel with either colchicine, podophyllotoxin, nocodazole, or vinblastine caused phenotype reversal. Paclitaxel analogue, 7-deoxytaxol, by itself caused reversal. Factors #4, (filopodia), #5 (displacement and/or deep invaginations in the periphery), #8, and #12 took on values typical of normal cells, whereas the values of #7 (p21-activated kinase), and #13 (rounding up) shifted toward the cancer-type. All combinations altered microtubule arrangement at the cell edge. Delivery schedules and drug ratios used in clinical studies were subjected to analysis. Clinical response rates were better when the combination was not interspersed with a single agent (P=0.004). The results support the idea that efficacy depends upon simultaneous exposure to both agents, and suggest a novel mechanism for combination therapies. These therapies appear to restore in transformed cells some of the features of a contact-inhibited cell, and to impede progress through the cell cycle even when provided at nanomolar concentrations

Nonfactorization in Hadronic Two-body Cabibbo-favored decays of D^0 and D^+

With the inclusion of nonfactorized amplitudes in a scheme with $N_c=3$, we have studied Cabibbo-favored decays of $D^0$ and $D^+$ into two-body hadronic states involving two isospins in the final state. We have shown that it is possible to understand the measured branching ratios and determined the sizes and signs of nonfactorized amplitudes required.Comment: 15 pages, Late