Light-Scattering, Intrinsic Viscosity, and Gold Number Relationships for Some Dextran Fractions

Author Institution: Departments of Bacteriology and Chemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohi

Stellar parameters of Be stars observed with X-shooter

Aims. The X-shooter archive of several thousand telluric star spectra was skimmed for Be and Be-shell stars to derive the stellar fundamental parameters and statistical properties, in particular for the less investigated late type Be stars, and the extension of the Be phenomenon into early A stars. Methods. An adapted version of the BCD method is used, utilizing the Balmer discontinuity parameters to determine effective temperature and surface gravity. This method is optimally suited for late B stars. The projected rotational velocity was obtained by profile fitting to the Mg ii lines of the targets, and the spectra were inspected visually for the presence of peculiar features such as the infrared Ca ii triplet or the presence of a double Balmer discontinuity. The Balmer line equivalent widths were measured, but due to uncertainties in determining the photospheric contribution are useful only in a subsample of Be stars for determining the pure emission contribution. Results. A total of 78 Be stars, mostly late type ones, were identified in the X-shooter telluric standard star archive, out of which 48 had not been reported before. The general trend of late type Be stars having more tenuous disks and being less variable than early type ones is confirmed. The relatively large number (48) of relatively bright (V > 8.5) additional Be stars casts some doubt on the statistics of late type Be stars; they are more common than currently thought: The Be/B star fraction may not strongly depend on spectral subtype.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Factors Affecting Production and Clarification of Dextran

Author Institution: Departments of Bacteriology and Chemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus 10

Factors Affecting the Degradation Processes for Dextran

Author Institution: Departments of Bacteriology and Chemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus 1

MaaSim: A Liveability Simulation for Improving the Quality of Life in Cities

Urbanism is no longer planned on paper thanks to powerful models and 3D simulation platforms. However, current work is not open to the public and lacks an optimisation agent that could help in decision making. This paper describes the creation of an open-source simulation based on an existing Dutch liveability score with a built-in AI module. Features are selected using feature engineering and Random Forests. Then, a modified scoring function is built based on the former liveability classes. The score is predicted using Random Forest for regression and achieved a recall of 0.83 with 10-fold cross-validation. Afterwards, Exploratory Factor Analysis is applied to select the actions present in the model. The resulting indicators are divided into 5 groups, and 12 actions are generated. The performance of four optimisation algorithms is compared, namely NSGA-II, PAES, SPEA2 and eps-MOEA, on three established criteria of quality: cardinality, the spread of the solutions, spacing, and the resulting score and number of turns. Although all four algorithms show different strengths, eps-MOEA is selected to be the most suitable for this problem. Ultimately, the simulation incorporates the model and the selected AI module in a GUI written in the Kivy framework for Python. Tests performed on users show positive responses and encourage further initiatives towards joining technology and public applications.Comment: 16 page

FABRICATION OF BIOADHESIVE OCUSERT WITH DIFFERENT POLYMERS: ONCE A DAY DOSE

Objective: The objective of this current study is to fabricate ocuserts to control the drug release from chosen bioadhesive polymeric matrixes to enhance patient compliance. Ciprofloxacin HCl (CFX HCl) was selected as a model drug.Methods: Different bioadhesive polymers with different film forming capabilities namely Hydroxy Propyl Methyl Cellulose (HPMC K4M), Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA), Sodium Carboxy Methyl Cellulose (Na CMC), Hydroxy Propyl Cellulose (HPC), Sodium Alginate (Na Alg.), pullulan and Xanthan Gum (XG) in different ratios were used in fabricating ocuserts using solvent-casting technique. Propylene Glycol (PG) was used as a plasticizer to facilitate the fabrication process. Characterization tests of the developed ocuserts were performed as well as bioadhesive tests and in vitro release studies of the incorporated drug. The obtained results were analysed using different release kinetic models. Stability of the selected ocuserts was investigated at 40±0.5 °C and 75±5% Relative Humidity (RH) for three months' storage period. In vivo ocular irritation test was performed to investigate the safety of the formula in rabbits' eyes as well as to test the release profile and thus to estimate In vitro In vivo correlation.Results: All the prepared ocuserts showed the uniformity of film characterization and bioadhesion strength ranged from 240±66 and 158±52dyne/cm2. Selected formula from the in vitro release study tested for in vivo study showed the slow release of ciprofloxacin drug up to 24 h with no signs of eye irritancy. Results for In vitro In vivo correlation showed an excellent correlation with R2 value of 0.9982.Conclusion: PVA based ocuserts proven to be a promising once-daily, effective and safe ocular delivery system of the drug

Evolution of second trimester low implanted placenta to previa at term: a prospective cohort study

Background: The objective of this study is to identify the percentage of low implanted placenta (LIP) at second trimester of pregnancy and identify the risk factors of its persistence to placenta previa (PP) at term.Methods: Through a registered prospective cohort study conducted at tertiary hospital in Upper Egypt, authors screened all pregnant ladies comes to present facility for antenatal second trimester USG between 18-24 weeks gestation. All participants interviewed for detailed risk factors of placenta previa. Those diagnosed to have a LIP (≤1.5 cm from the internal os) had had TVS to confirm the exact distance between the lower edge of the placenta and the internal os. Serial USG had been done every 4 weeks up to delivery to measure the same distance. The primary outcome was the percentage of LIP at 18-24 weeks. Logistic regression analysis was performed to predict the risk factors for PP at term.Results: Through screening of 1000 pregnant lady, LIP had been identified in (52 cases) 5.2% of pregnant women between 18-24 weeks. This percentage dropped gradually to reach 1.3% at 36 weeks of gestation and at time of delivery. The logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the distance between the internal os and the lower edge of the placenta between 18-24 weeks was the single significant variable associated with PP at term (p<0.001, odds ratio 0.319, 95% CI 0.20-0.50). However, excluding the distance from the regression model demonstrated other risk factors as previous miscarriage, previous cesarean section (CS), and history of multiple pregnancies and history of previous PP.Conclusions: About 5.0% of pregnant women have LIP at the second trimester of pregnancy (18-24 weeks) and only 25.0 % of them remain placenta previa at term. A cut-off value of 10 mm between the internal os and the lower edge of the placenta is the most important predictor of development of PP