Bioanalytical method development and validation of bleomycin sulphate

Bleomycin is an anti-neoplastic drug that has recently been used for the treatment of vascular anomalies. An expedient method was developed for the determination of plasma bleomycin levels using ion-paired reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The concentration was found to be proportional to the area and the response of the detector was determined to be linear over the range of 1-6 µg/ml for both Bleomycin A1 and Bleomycin B2. Recovery was approximately 100%. This method provides a simple and rapid way of determining the levels of bleomycin A2 and B2 in human and rat plasm

Cross-Priming Dendritic Cells Exacerbate Immunopathology After Ischemic Tissue Damage in the Heart.

BACKGROUND: Ischemic heart disease is a leading cause of heart failure and despite advanced therapeutic options, morbidity and mortality rates remain high. Although acute inflammation in response to myocardial cell death has been extensively studied, subsequent adaptive immune activity and anti-heart autoimmunity may also contribute to the development of heart failure. After ischemic injury to the myocardium, dendritic cells (DC) respond to cardiomyocyte necrosis, present cardiac antigen to T cells, and potentially initiate a persistent autoimmune response against the heart. Cross-priming DC have the ability to activate both CD4 METHODS: We induced type 2 myocardial infarction-like ischemic injury in the heart by treatment with a single high dose of the β-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol. We characterized the DC population in the heart and mediastinal lymph nodes and analyzed long-term cardiac immunopathology and functional decline in wild type and RESULTS: A diverse DC population, including cross-priming DC, is present in the heart and activated after ischemic injury. CONCLUSION: Activation of cytotoxic CD

Integral points on symmetric affine cubic surfaces

We show that if $f(u)\in \mathbb{Z}[u]$ is a monic cubic polynomial, then for all but finitely many $n\in \mathbb{Z}$ the affine cubic surface $f(u_{1})+f(u_{2})+f(u_{3})=n \subset \mathbb{A}^{3}_{\mathbb{Z}}$ has no integral Brauer-Manin obstruction to the Hasse principle

Hvilke faktorer vil påvirke samfunnsansvarsrapportering med nytt EU-regelverk om bærekraftig finans

Formålet med denne oppgaven har vært å se på hvordan påvirkning det nye regelverket fra EU om bærekraftig finans vil påvirke samfunnsansvarsrapporteringen til større selskaper i Norge. Det nye regelverket fra EU har også ført til forslag om endring av regnskapsloven §3-3c og hvordan kvaliteten til denne rapporteringen skal bedres med de nye kravene. For å belyse problemstillingen har jeg brukt relevante teorier innenfor samfunnsansvar, regnskapsloven, kommunikasjon, ulike forordninger og rammeverk fra EU og internasjonale initiativer og anbefalinger. Hensikten med teoriene har vært å få en dypere innsikt i betydningen av samfunnsansvarsrapportering, hvordan dens rolle har vært og hvordan den er i dag. Analysen er delt opp i to forskningsspørsmål, da det 1) er hensiktsmessig å vise dagens krav og metode. Og 2) hvordan det nye regelverket vil påvirke rapporteringen til foretakene. Oppgaven vil også fremstille noen av de mest brukte rammeverkene og internasjonale initiativer, som blir brukt i dag for å rapportere ikke-finansielle informasjon. Et rammeverk som ikke er så mye brukt i Norge, kan kanskje få en større rolle og bruk hos norske foretak. Integrert Rapportering forenkler årsberetningen og gjør det lettere for leseren å se verdiskapningen i et foretak i dag. Samtidig gir denne type rapport muligheten til å presentere den langsiktige strategien, integrert med finansiell- og ikke-finansiell informasjon. Fra denne forskningen ser vi at klassifiseringsforordningen vil bli en stor og komplisert oppgave for de berørte foretak. Gjennomgang av foretakets inntekter, investeringer og operasjonelle kostnader vil bli krevende. Alle disse økonomiske aktivitetene må gjennom en prosess for vise om de er i henhold til nye tekniske spesifiserte klimakrav og kan bidra vesentlig til et eller flere definerte klimamål. I tillegg stilles det minimumsvilkår til sosiale rettigheter. Dette er da særlig viktig for de foretak som har internasjonal virksomhet

The prevalence of elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in normal pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in normal pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to compare the prevalence in both groups. Materials and Methods: We conducted a case–control study between April 2015 and April 2016. Statistical analysis was performed by the SPSS program version 17. Categorical variables were analyzed using either the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Pregnant women who underwent oral glucose tolerance test at 24–28 weeks of gestation were enrolled. We took 25 women with GDM as cases and 25 normal pregnant as control. These patients were analyzed for the level of hs-CRP. Results: The prevalence of elevated hs-CRP in controls was 28% whereas in cases was 76%, with a P = 0.002 which is significant in this study. When compared to elevated hs-CRP in GDM with body mass index and gravid state a P = 0.430, 0.378 was obtained respectively which was not significant whereas age had a P = 0.049 which was significantly associated with elevated hs-CRP (≥3 mg/L). Conclusion: Our result shows an increased level of hs-CRP in GDM as compared to normal pregnant subjects. In this study, we also observed an association of increasing age with elevated level of hs-CRP in GDM. Therefore, hs-CRP can be used as a screening tool for early detection and risk assessment of GDM

Harnessing Geothermal Energy from Mature Onshore Oil Fields- the Wytch Farm Case Study

All mature oil fields co-produce significant volumes of water with oil, which is a consequence of waterflooding and/or aquifer influx. Water cut increases with the life of the field, sometimes reaching as high as 99 %, leading to decrease in oil revenues. Such volumes of co-produced water require costly treatment to remove the oil before it can be safely disposed of or re-injected back into the reservoir. Typically, these waste streams of water have temperatures in the range of 65 to 150 °C. This combination of moderate temperatures and large volumes is favourable for generating electricity or for use in district heating. Being able to harness geothermal energy from existing oil and gas fields could extend their lifespan by delaying their economic cut-off point. This would be achieved by generating new revenue streams, using in-field generated power to offset fuel costs and reduce operational expenditure, delaying decommissioning liabilities, and increasing ultimate oil recovery. The emissions of greenhouse gases could also be reduced by providing renewable, low carbon energy. The objective of this study is to assess the potential for geothermal exploitation of the co-produced water from mature onshore hydrocarbon fields in the UK. The Wytch Farm oil field, located in Dorset, Southern England, was chosen as the case study, with the necessary data provided by the field’s operator. The available geothermal energy could be harnessed in the form of electricity, via an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plant, or as thermal energy for direct use, via heat exchangers. An analytical model is developed to compute the power generated from co-produced water by ORC technology over a range of operating conditions and with different working fluids. Flexibility is built into the model to account for time-varying properties, such as increasing water cut and decreasing reservoir temperature over the life of the field. At 65°C, the co-produced water at Wytch Farm represents a low- to moderate-temperature geothermal resource, with associated low cycle thermal efficiencies. However, in comparison with gas turbines or diesel engines, the ORC’s thermal efficiency is not critical in power generation, as the fuel source is essentially free and abundant. The results of this study indicate that, for the power generation option, a maximum of 1.4 MW of electricity could be produced at site M at the Wytch Farm oil field, and 850 kW at site F. With the combined heat and power (CHP) scenario, a total of 2600 households could be served with district heating from Site M, with a total thermal energy of 37 GWh delivered annually. However, these results must be interpreted vis-à-vis overall economics and users’ availability

Harnessing Geothermal Energy from Mature Onshore Oil Fields- the Wytch Farm Case Study

All mature oil fields co-produce significant volumes of water with oil, which is a consequence of waterflooding and/or aquifer influx. Water cut increases with the life of the field, sometimes reaching as high as 99 %, leading to decrease in oil revenues. Such volumes of co-produced water require costly treatment to remove the oil before it can be safely disposed of or re-injected back into the reservoir. Typically, these waste streams of water have temperatures in the range of 65 to 150 °C. This combination of moderate temperatures and large volumes is favourable for generating electricity or for use in district heating. Being able to harness geothermal energy from existing oil and gas fields could extend their lifespan by delaying their economic cut-off point. This would be achieved by generating new revenue streams, using in-field generated power to offset fuel costs and reduce operational expenditure, delaying decommissioning liabilities, and increasing ultimate oil recovery. The emissions of greenhouse gases could also be reduced by providing renewable, low carbon energy. The objective of this study is to assess the potential for geothermal exploitation of the co-produced water from mature onshore hydrocarbon fields in the UK. The Wytch Farm oil field, located in Dorset, Southern England, was chosen as the case study, with the necessary data provided by the field’s operator. The available geothermal energy could be harnessed in the form of electricity, via an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plant, or as thermal energy for direct use, via heat exchangers. An analytical model is developed to compute the power generated from co-produced water by ORC technology over a range of operating conditions and with different working fluids. Flexibility is built into the model to account for time-varying properties, such as increasing water cut and decreasing reservoir temperature over the life of the field. At 65°C, the co-produced water at Wytch Farm represents a low- to moderate-temperature geothermal resource, with associated low cycle thermal efficiencies. However, in comparison with gas turbines or diesel engines, the ORC’s thermal efficiency is not critical in power generation, as the fuel source is essentially free and abundant. The results of this study indicate that, for the power generation option, a maximum of 1.4 MW of electricity could be produced at site M at the Wytch Farm oil field, and 850 kW at site F. With the combined heat and power (CHP) scenario, a total of 2600 households could be served with district heating from Site M, with a total thermal energy of 37 GWh delivered annually. However, these results must be interpreted vis-à-vis overall economics and users’ availability