Advances and limitations of drug delivery systems formulated as eye drops.

Topical instillation of eye drops remains the most common and easiest route of ocular drug administration, representing the treatment of choice for many ocular diseases. Nevertheless, low ocular bioavailability of topically applied drug molecules can considerably limit their efficacy. Over the last several decades, numerous drug delivery systems (DDS) have been developed in order to improve drug bioavailability on the ocular surfaces. This review systematically covers the most recent advances of DDS applicable by topical instillation, that have shown better performance in in vivo models compared to standard eye drop formulations. These delivery systems are based on in situ forming gels, nanoparticles and combinations of both. Most of the DDS have been developed using natural or synthetic polymers. Polymers offer many advantageous properties for designing advanced DDS including biocompatibility, gelation properties and/or mucoadhesiveness. However, despite the high number of studies published over the last decade, there are several limitations for clinical translation of DDS. This review article focuses on the recent advances for the development of ocular drug delivery systems. In addtion, the potential challenges for commercialization of new DDS are presented

Profit Analysis of Green Products in New Product Development

The increasingly negative effects of product development and manufacture on the environment are pushing firms to move towards producing new generations of products, i.e. green products. However, the financial effect of green products in the future is a main concern for managers in charge of new product development (NPD) projects. This research focuses on profit analysis of a new product, which is designed based on recyclability, environmentally friendly disposal, and an energy and emission efficiency strategy, in order to equip decision makers with a proper forecast of profitability of such green new products. In this research, first, a primary mixed integer model is proposed to assess the trade-off analysis of green products based on the Cost Volume Profit model in a life-cycle framework. Then, the model is developed based on dynamic programming and a quantitative choice model is applied in the automotive industry. Finally, two numerical examples are used to evaluate the models. The results show the interaction between profitability and environment-friendly attributes of products based on recyclability, disassembly, and an environmentally friendly disposal strategy. It also provides a decision support methodology for management in order to decide about the future of the project during the business analysis stage of the new product development process

La manifestación del patriotismo y los temas sociales y políticos en los poemas orientales de Kashani

Khavari Kashani, nicknamed Fakhr al-Waizin and the language of Islam, which is one of the titles bestowed on him by Muzaffar al-Din Shah, is one of the poets of the constitutional period whose research on his poems has not been observed. In addition to being a poet, he is a journalist and with his poetry and prose tools, he has patriotic and political poems that show the poet's social commitment. He criticizes the Shah, the courtiers, and the foreign colonizers (Russia and Britain) in a strange way, and his poems on the homeland are among the best poems of the constitutional era. The reflection of many political and social events of this period can be seen in Oriental poetry. Patriotism, xenophobia, critique of moral, cultural and social vices, and freedom-seeking are among the themes found in his poems, which we will address in this article. In most of these cases, he has presented his message and critique by using allegory.Khavari Kashani, apodado Fakhr al-Waizin y el lenguaje del Islam, que es uno de los títulos que le otorgó Muzaffar al-Din Shah, es uno de los poetas del período constitucional cuya investigación sobre sus poemas no se ha observado. Además de ser poeta, es periodista y, con sus herramientas de poesía y prosa, tiene poemas patrióticos y políticos que muestran el compromiso social del poeta. Critica al Shah, a los cortesanos y a los colonizadores extranjeros (Rusia y Gran Bretaña) de una manera extraña, y sus poemas sobre la patria se encuentran entre los mejores poemas de la era constitucional. El reflejo de muchos eventos políticosy sociales de este período se puede ver en la poesía oriental. El patriotismo, la xenofobia, la crítica de los vicios morales, culturales y sociales, y la búsqueda de la libertad son algunos de los temas encontrados en sus poemas, que abordaremos en este artículo. En la mayoría de estos casos, ha presentado su mensaje y crítica utilizando alegorías

The manifestation of patriotism and social and political themes in Oriental poems Kashani's

Khavari Kashani, nicknamed Fakhr al-Waizin and the language of Islam, which is one of the titles bestowed on him by Muzaffar al-Din Shah, is one of the poets of the constitutional period whose research on his poems has not been observed. In addition to being a poet, he is a journalist and with his poetry and prose tools, he has patriotic and political poems that show the poet's social commitment. He criticizes the Shah, the courtiers, and the foreign colonizers (Russia and Britain) in a strange way, and his poems on the homeland are among the best poems of the constitutional era. The reflection of many political and social events of this period can be seen in Oriental poetry. Patriotism, xenophobia, critique of moral, cultural and social vices, and freedom-seeking are among the themes found in his poems, which we will address in this article. In most of these cases, he has presented his message and critique by using allegory

Growth and mortality parameters of Caspian kutum, Rutilus kutum, in southern Caspian Sea

The Caspian Kutum, Rutilus frisii, is one of the endemic and most important commercial cyprinid species in the southern Caspian Sea. A detailed study on growth and mortality parameters of this species was conducted based on 700 samples collected from commercial catches of beach seining in Guilan and Mazanderan provinces during fishing season 2017-2018. Females were dominated in both studied populations. Size frequency distributions showed significant variation among same sexes and between different sexes. The different WLRs were observed, positive allometric in Mazanderan, and negative allometric in Guilan. There were significant differences in growth parameters between sexes, females were of much greater asymptotic length than males, while the male fish had a higher growth rate and attained a smaller theoretical L∞ size than females. The theoretical maximum length (L∞) was larger than the maximum one recorded during sampling. Based on the Bhattacharya method, the Caspian kutum from Guilan fishing grounds was more diverse, and included nine cohorts, while the population from Mazanderan Province showed only six cohorts. The linearized catch curve based on age composition data showed that total mortality rates (Z) are 1.32 year-1 and 0.63 year-1 for males and females of Guilan, respectively, that of males in Mazanderan is 1.04 year-1 and of females 0.86 year-1. The natural mortality rates (M) were 0.48 year-1 for males and 0.26 year-1 females in Guilan, and was found to be as 0.26 year-1 and 0.45 year-1 for males and females of Caspian kutum caught in Mazanderan. The exploitation ratio (E) was found to be higher than 0.5 for both sexes from Guilan, and to be lower than the expected optimum level of exploitation in Caspian kutum males and females caught in Mazanderan

El impacto del factor ambiental en el desarrollo económico de Kerman durante el Ilkanato

Natural phenomena are one of the influencing factors in the economic and social situation of human societies. However, it is clear that the mode and extent of this effect depends on the natural state of this or that area. On the other hand, Iran's historical events and circumstances appear to have been less studied geographically. The present study examines the probable impact of the natural phenomena of the Kerman province, their prominent and diverse natural and human characteristics on the sources of the Iakhanan period. For this purpose, it uses the historical and geographical reports of the 7th and 8th centuries. The above findings are important in this regard, demonstrating the history of economic developments in Kerman and other parts of Iran should not affect only in light of human events.Los fenómenos naturales son uno de los factores influyentes en la situación económica y social de las sociedades humanas. Sin embargo, está claro que el modo y el alcance de este efecto depende del estado natural de esta o aquella área. Por otro lado, los eventos y circunstancias históricas de Irán parecen haber sido menos estudiados desde una perspectiva geográfica. El presente estudio examina el probable impacto de los fenómenos naturales de la provincia de Kerman, sus características naturales y humanas prominentes y diversas en las fuentes del período Iakhanan. Para este propósito, se sirve de los informes históricos y geográficos de los siglos VII y VIII. Los hallazgos anteriores son importantes a este respecto, lo que demuestra que la historia de los desarrollos económicos de Kerman y otras partes de Irán no deben considerarse solo a la luz de los acontecimientos humanos

Analysis of von Willebrand factor A domain-related protein (WARP) polymorphism in temperate and tropical Plasmodium vivax field isolates

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The identification of key molecules is crucial for designing transmission-blocking vaccines (TBVs), among those ookinete micronemal proteins are candidate as a general class of malaria transmission-blocking targets. Here, the sequence analysis of an extra-cellular malaria protein expressed in ookinetes, named von Willebrand factor A domain-related protein (WARP), is reported in 91 <it>Plasmodium vivax </it>isolates circulating in different regions of Iran.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Clinical isolates were collected from north temperate and southern tropical regions in Iran. Primers have been designed based on <it>P. vivax </it>sequence (ctg_6991) which amplified a fragment of about 1044 bp with no size variation. Direct sequencing of PCR products was used to determine polymorphism and further bioinformatics analysis in <it>P. vivax </it>sexual stage antigen, <it>pvwarp</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Amplified <it>pvwarp </it>gene showed 886 bp in size, with no intron. BLAST analysis showed a similarity of 98–100% to <it>P. vivax </it>Sal-I strain; however, Iranian isolates had 2 bp mismatches in 247 and 531 positions that were non-synonymous substitution [T (ACT) to A (GCT) and R (AGA) to S (AGT)] in comparison with the Sal-I sequence.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study presents the first large-scale survey on <it>pvwarp </it>polymorphism in the world, which provides baseline data for developing WARP-based TBV against both temperate and tropical <it>P. vivax </it>isolates.</p

Global understanding of deformation behavior in CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy under high-strain torsion deformation at a wide range of elevated temperatures

A number of recent studies have investigated deformation behavior of CoCrFeMnNi (Cantor) alloy at elevated temperatures by using plastic deformation to relatively small strains such as tensile testing. Therefore, little has been known about the deformation behavior of this typical FCC high-entropy alloy (HEA) in case that the material is subjected to ultra-high strains at various temperatures. In the present study, the equi-atomic CoCrFeMnNi HEA was successfully deformed over a wide range of strains (von Mises equivalent strains (ε) of 1∼5.5) by torsion at various temperatures ranging from 25 °C to 1100 °C. Deformation twinning was extensively activated at moderate to high strains (ε ≥ 1) and even found in the deformation at elevated temperatures as high as 600 °C where deformation twinning is not normally expected in Cantor alloy. The HEA showed outstanding deformability and the highest strains to fracture reached 4.0∼5.5 at low temperatures below 400 °C. The excellent deformability was attributed to the extensive twin activities including the formation of twin bundles and thin nanotwins as well as microbands formation. However, localized shear deformation that was promoted by the high straining at low temperatures could negatively affect the deformability. The heavy deformation led to a significant reduction of the grain sizes down to 50 nm∼150 nm. A sudden shortage of ductility occurred at intermediate temperatures, where small strains to fracture (1.2∼1.3) were realized at 600 °C∼700 °C. The embrittlement was accompanied by the formation of micro-voids at grain boundaries and intergranular fracture. The susceptibility to the embrittlement was caused by the precipitation of Cr-rich σ-phases at grain boundaries. Dynamic recrystallization (DRX) of the FCC matrix led to an accelerated softening at high temperatures above 600 °C. Nucleation and growth of DRX grains in Cantor alloy were not fundamentally different from those in conventional FCC alloys. This study gives an insight into the microstructure evolution and mechanical response in Cantor alloy under shear deformation over a wide range of strains and temperatures