Comparative bioequivalence studies of tramadol hydrochloride sustained-release 200 mg tablets

Suhas S Khandave1, Satish V Sawant1, Santosh S Joshi1, Yatish K Bansal2, Sonal S Kadam21Accutest Research Laboratories (I) Private Limited, Koparkhirne, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; 2Ipca Laboratories Limited, Kandivli Mumbai, Maharashtra, IndiaBackground: Tramadol hydrochloride is available as 50 mg immediate-release (IR) and 100 mg, 200 mg, and 300 mg sustained-release (SR) tablets. The recommended dose of tramadol is 50–100 mg IR tablets every 4–6 hours. The tramadol SR 200 mg tablet is a better therapeutic option, with a reduced frequency of dosing, and improved patient compliance and quality of life. The present study evaluated the bioequivalence of a generic tramadol SR 200 mg tablet.Methods: A comparative in vitro dissolution study was performed on the test and reference products, followed by two separate single-dose bioequivalence studies under fasting and fed conditions and one multiple-dose bioequivalence study under fasting conditions. These bioequivalence studies were conducted in healthy human subjects using an open-label, randomized, two-treatment, two-period, two-sequence, crossover design. The oral administration of the test and reference products was done on day 1 for both the single-dose studies and on days 1–5 for the multiple-dose study in each study period as per the randomization code. Serial blood samples were collected at predefined time points in all the studies. Analysis of plasma concentrations of tramadol and O-desmethyltramadol (the M1 metabolite) was done by a validated liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analytical method. The standard acceptance criterion of bioequivalence was applied on log-transformed pharmacokinetic parameters for tramadol and its M1 metabolite.Results: The ratios for geometric least-square means and 90% confidence intervals were within the acceptance range of 80%–125% for log-transformed primary pharmacokinetic parameters for tramadol and its M1 metabolite in all the three studies.Conclusion: The test product is bioequivalent to the reference product in terms of rate and extent of absorption, as evident from the single-dose and multiple-dose studies. Both the treatments were well tolerated.Keywords: tramadol, multiple-dose, steady state, bioequivalenc

Autonomous recovery from multi node failures in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are often deployed to serve mission-critical applications in inhospitable environments such as battlefield and territorial borders. Inter-node communication is essential for WSNs to effectively fulfill their tasks. In hostile setups, the WSN may be subject to damage that severs the network connectivity and disrupts the application. The network must be able to recover from the failure and restore connectivity so that the designated tasks can be carried out. Given the unattended operation of the network, the recovery should be performed autonomously. In this thesis we present AuR, an algorithm for Autonomous Repair of damaged WSN topologies. AuR operates in a distributed manner to restore connectivity in the event of multiple node failures. The design principle of AuR is based on modeling connectivity between neighboring nodes as a modified electrostatic interaction based on Coulomb's law between charges. The recovery process is initiated locally at nodes that have lost neighbors. These nodes spearhead the movement in the direction of loss so as to reconnect with other disjoint nodes. The performance of the algorithm is validated through simulatio

A G/NARRLI Effort: Measuring the Ionization Yield of Low-Energy Nuclear Recoils in Liquid Argon

Liquid argon has long been used for particle detection due to its attractive drift properties, ample abundance, and reasonable density. The response of liquid argon to low-energy (100-10,000 eV) interactions is, however, largely unexplored. Weakly interacting massive particles such as neutrinos and hypothetical dark-matter particles (WIMPs) are predicted to coherently scatter on atomic nuclei, leaving only an isolated low-energy nuclear recoil as evidence. The response of liquid argon to low-energy nuclear recoils must be studied to determine the sensitivity of liquid argon based detectors to these unobserved interactions. Detectors sensitive to coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering may be used to monitor nuclear reactors from a distance, to detect neutrinos from supernova, and to test the predicted behavior of neutrinos. Additionally, direct detection of hypothetical weakly interacting dark matter would be a large step toward understanding the substance that accounts for nearly 27% of the universe. In this dissertation I discuss a small dual-phase (liquid-gas) argon proportional scintillation counter built to study the low-energy regime and several novel calibration and characterization techniques developed to study the response of liquid argon to low-energy (100-10,000 eV) interactions

Does gamified interaction build a strong consumer-brand connection? A study of mobile applications

In recent times gamification has increasingly been used by brands through smartphones to interact effectively with their consumers. The core assumption for creating gamified environment is that it will develop engagement with the consumer and motivate them to use their product or services. However, beyond this assumption, there is dearth empirical evidence regarding how much effective these gamified features are in engaging consumers. Therefore, this research analyses the relationship between flow, brand engagement, self-brand connection and brand usage intent among consumers (N = 360)of two gamified mobile applications. The findings show that the multidimensional construct flow formed by five dimensions i.e. challenge, feedback, autonomy, immersion, and interaction positively associates with cognitive brand engagement and emotional brand engagement. Additionally, both these forms of brand engagement further strengthen consumers’ brand connection and motivate them for further use. These results imply that gamified environment can augment consumer engagement with brand and further increase usage intention. Therefore, gamification can be an effective technique in brand management and brand managers can use it to strengthen relationship with consumers and increasing possibility of using their brands

Kinetics of organic sulphur removal from coal by oxydesulphurization

This paper presents some experimental data for the kinetics of organic sulphur removal from Lower Freeport coal by oxidation in an aqueous medium. The experimental data were obtained in a semi-batch (gas flow, no flow of slurry) agitated reactor for the ranges of temperature 403-473 K, oxygen partial pressure 0.32-1.36 MPa, solids loading 3-26 wt%, average coal particle size 75-955 μm and time 0-5400 s. The experimental data were taken under acidic, neutral and alkaline conditions. The results indicate that under acidic conditions, no organic sulphur was removed at moderate and low pressures and temperatures. Whenever significant organic sulphur was removed, the removal rate followed first-order kinetics with respect to the organic sulphur. Under otherwise identical conditions, the organic sulphur removal increased with the pH of the aqueous medium