Quantitative Concept Analysis

Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) begins from a context, given as a binary relation between some objects and some attributes, and derives a lattice of concepts, where each concept is given as a set of objects and a set of attributes, such that the first set consists of all objects that satisfy all attributes in the second, and vice versa. Many applications, though, provide contexts with quantitative information, telling not just whether an object satisfies an attribute, but also quantifying this satisfaction. Contexts in this form arise as rating matrices in recommender systems, as occurrence matrices in text analysis, as pixel intensity matrices in digital image processing, etc. Such applications have attracted a lot of attention, and several numeric extensions of FCA have been proposed. We propose the framework of proximity sets (proxets), which subsume partially ordered sets (posets) as well as metric spaces. One feature of this approach is that it extracts from quantified contexts quantified concepts, and thus allows full use of the available information. Another feature is that the categorical approach allows analyzing any universal properties that the classical FCA and the new versions may have, and thus provides structural guidance for aligning and combining the approaches.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, ICFCA 201

Evaluation of sesamum gum as an excipient in matrix tablets

In developing countries modern medicines are often beyond the affordability of the majority of the population. This is due to the reliance on expensive imported raw materials despite the abundance of natural resources which could provide an equivalent or even an improved function. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of sesamum gum (SG) extracted from the leaves of Sesamum radiatum (readily cultivated in sub-Saharan Africa) as a matrix former. Directly compressed matrix tablets were prepared from the extract and compared with similar matrices of HPMC (K4M) using theophylline as a model water soluble drug. The compaction, swelling, erosion and drug release from the matrices were studied in deionized water, 0.1 N HCl (pH 1.2) and phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) using USP apparatus II. The data from the swelling, erosion and drug release studies were also fitted into the respective mathematical models. Results showed that the matrices underwent a combination of swelling and erosion, with the swelling action being controlled by the rate of hydration in the medium. SG also controlled the release of theophylline similar to the HPMC and therefore may have use as an alternative excipient in regions where Sesamum radiatum can be easily cultivated

Supercritical solvent impregnation of ophthalmic drugs on chitosan derivatives

In this work, three chitosan derivatives (N-carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC), N-carboxybutyl chitosan (CBC) and N-succinyl chitosan (SCC)) were impregnated with flurbiprofen (an anti-inflammatory drug) and timolol maleate (an anti-glaucoma drug), using a supercritical solvent impregnation (SSI) technique (and employing high pressure CO2 and CO2 + EtOH mixtures) in order to develop hydrogel-type ophthalmic drug delivery applications. Impregnation experiments were carried out from 9.0 up to 14.0 MPa, and at 303.0, 313.0 and 323.0 K. The resulting polymeric drug delivery systems, as well as other polymeric samples processed in CO2, were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Drug release kinetics studies were performed for all prepared systems. The effects of impregnation pressure and temperature on the release kinetics results were studied and compared to the traditional soaking impregnation method. For the same operational conditions, results confirmed that the three different (chemically and physically) polymeric structures conditioned the impregnation and the drug release processes. Despite the final released drug mass is always the result of the employed operational impregnation conditions and of the very complex relative specific interactions that may occur between all species present in the system (drugs, polymers, CO2 and ethanol), results showed that, for N-carboxymethyl chitosan, the predominant effects in the impregnation process seemed to be the solubility of drugs in CO2 and in CO2 + EtOH mixtures, as well as the swelling and plasticizing effect of CO2 and ethanol on the polymer. Finally, the SSI method proved to be a more efficient and "tunable" impregnation process than the traditional impregnation of drugs by a soaking method. Therefore, and using this "tunable" SSI method, these N-chitosan derivatives-based ophthalmic drug delivery systems can be easily and efficiently prepared taking in consideration the desired drug levels according to patients needs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VMF-4PXM6CP-1/1/a112be9d86677ed00ff98cac80b9c39

Stratospheric ozone depletion: high arctic tundra plant growth on Svalbard is not affected by enhanced UV-B after 7 years of UV-B supplementation in the field.

The response of tundra plants to enhanced UV-B radiation simulating 15 and 30% ozone depletion was studied at two high arctic sites (Isdammen and Adventdalen, 78 degrees N, Svalbard).The set-up of the UV-B supplementation systems is described, consisting of large and small UV lamp arrays, installed in 1996 and 2002. After 7 years of exposure to enhanced UV-B radiation, plant cover, density, morphological (leaf fresh and dry weight, leaf thickness, leaf area, reproductive and ecophysiological parameters leaf UV-B absorbance, leaf phenolic content, leaf water content) were not affected by enhanced UV-B radiation. DNA damage in the leaves was not increased with enhanced UV-B in Salix polaris and Cassiope tetragona. DNA damage in Salix polaris leaves was higher than in leaves of C. tetragona. The length of male gametophyte moss plants of Polytrichum hyperboreum was reduced with elevated UV-B as well as the number of Pedicularis hirsuta plants per plot, but the inflorescence length of Bistorta vivipara was not significantly affected. We discuss the possible causes of tolerance of tundra plants to UV-B (absence of response to enhanced UV-B) in terms of methodology (supplementation versus exclusion), ecophysiological adaptations to UV-B and the biogeographical history of polar plants