Thermally Activated Reversible Threshold Shifts in Yba\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3eCu\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3eO\u3csub\u3e7-δ\u3c/sub\u3e/Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia/Si Capacitors

Yba2Cu3O7-δ/yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ)/silicon superconductor–insulator–semiconductor capacitors are characterized with capacitance‐voltage (C‐V) measurements at different gate‐voltage sweep rates and under bias‐temperature cycling. It is shown that ionic conduction in YSZ causes both hysteresis and stretch‐out in room‐temperature C‐V curves. A thermally activated process with an activation energy of about 39 meV in YSZ and/or at YSZ/Si interface is attributed to trapping/detrapping mechanisms in the SiOx interfacial layer between YSZ and Si. The negative mobile ions in YSZ can be moved by an applied electric field at room temperature and then ‘‘frozen’’ with decreasing temperature, giving rise to adjustable threshold voltages at low temperatures

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia in Kenya: an immunophenotypic and clinicopathologic study

Objective: To define cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) by immunophenotypic criteria and describe the associated clinical features in patients diagnosed at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Background: Rising to the growing cancer challenge will require improved diagnostic services. CLL is common in elderly patients. The current international standard in diagnosis incorporates findings of immunophenotyping. Facilities for immunophenotyping have generally been unavailable in Kenya. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between August 2011 and April 2012. Potential cases were identified based on morphologic criteria. Consecutive samples were obtained and subjected to 3 colour immunophenotyping on a Cytomics FC 500 cytometer. CLL was defined using the Royal Marsden Hospital scoring system. Baseline clinical and diagnostic data were also obtained. Results: Forty nine cases met the eligibility criteria. Thirty one were known CLL cases, and 18 were newly diagnosed. Median age at diagnosis was 62 years. Male:female ratio was 1.3:1. Black patients (42/49) were more likely to present with high risk disease (Rai stages III–IV) and with higher lymphocyte counts than non-blacks at diagnosis. Twenty six point five percent of patients in this study were diagnosed in Rai stage 0. The prevalence of CD5/ CD23 co-expression was found to be 95.9%. CD5 was universally expressed, whereas CD23 was present in all but 2 cases. Both were associated with atypical morphology. Complete absence of light chain expression using a monoclonal antibody was found in 12.2% of cases. Five patients had their diagnosis revised. Of 31 patients on follow-up for CLL, only 5 had had any form of immunophenotyping done

EFFECT OF CAFFEINE IN EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS IN RATS

Objective: Primary objective of this study was to evaluate anti-inflammatory effect of caffeine in complete Freund's adjuvant model of rheumatoid arthritis. Secondary objective was to compare the topical anti-inflammatory action with systemic action of caffeine and to minimize many psychotropic effect of caffeine in normal individual or arthritic patient due to systemic administration and more emphasis on topical use of caffeine as an anti-inflammatory (TNF-α blockers).Methods: Arthritis was induced by a single sub-plantar injection (0.1 ml) of CFA into the left hind paw. Rats were treated with dexamethasone (0.05 mg/kg, p. o.), caffeine (20 and 50 mg/kg, p. o.) and caffeine gel (3% and 7% topical) from day 0 to day 12. Efficacy was evaluated by change in paw volume, serum C-reactive protein (CRP), estimation of serum rheumatoid factor (RF), arthritis index, and body weight and by histopathology of synovial joint. Results: CFA showed significantly (p < 0.001) higher paw volume, CRP, RF and arthritic index as compared to caffeine 20 mg/kg, caffeine 50 mg/kg, caffeine gel 3% and caffeine gel 7% treated animals. It was observed that topical caffeine gel (3% and 7%) suppressed paw volume, CRP, RF and arthritic index in a more statistically significant manner compared to oral caffeine solutions (20 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg).Conclusion: Topical caffeine gel (3% and7%) shows more significant anti-inflammatory effect as compared to oral caffeine solution (20 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg). Â

UNDERSTANDING MARKET REACTION TO COVID-19 MONETARY AND FISCAL STIMULUS IN MAJOR ASEAN COUNTRIES

In this paper, we examine the effect of fiscal and monetary policy stimulus actions during the COVID-19 pandemic on the stock markets of four ASEAN countries, namely, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Using time-series regression models, we show the relative importance of monetary and fiscal policies. Our findings suggest that 7-days after the policy announcement, fiscal policies helped cushion financial market losses in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. We do not find any robust evidence of policy effectiveness for Malaysia. While our investigation is preliminary it opens an additional avenue for understanding the effectiveness of policy stimulus.In this paper, we examine the effect of fiscal and monetary policy stimulus actions during the COVID-19 pandemic on the stock markets of four ASEAN countries, namely, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Using time-series regression models, we show the relative importance of monetary and fiscal policies. Our findings suggest that 7-days after the policy announcement, fiscal policies helped cushion financial market losses in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. We do not find any robust evidence of policy effectiveness for Malaysia. While our investigation is preliminary it opens an additional avenue for understanding the effectiveness of policy stimulus

Multimorbidity and comorbidity of chronic diseases among the senior Australians: prevalence and patterns

Understanding patterns and identifying common clusters of chronic diseases may help policymakers, researchers, and clinicians to understand the needs of the care process better and potentially save both provider and patient time and cost. However, only limited research has been conducted in this area, and ambiguity remains as those limited previous studies used different approaches to identify common clusters and findings may vary with approaches. This study estimates the prevalence of common chronic diseases and examines co-occurrence of diseases using four approaches: (i) identification of the most occurring pairs and triplets of comorbid diseases; performing (ii) cluster analysis of diseases, (iii) principal component analysis, and (iv) latent class analysis. Data were collected using a questionnaire mailed to a cross-sectional sample of senior Australians, with 4574 responses. Eighty-two percent of respondents reported having at least one chronic disease and over 52% reported having at least two chronic diseases. Respondents suffering from any chronic diseases had an average of 2.4 comorbid diseases. Three defined groups of chronic diseases were identified: (i) asthma, bronchitis, arthritis, osteoporosis and depression; (ii) high blood pressure and diabetes; and (iii) cancer, with heart disease and stroke either making a separate group or "attaching" themselves to different groups in different analyses. The groups were largely consistent across the approaches. Stability and sensitivity analyses also supported the consistency of the groups. The consistency of the findings suggests there is co-occurrence of diseases beyond chance, and patterns of co-occurrence are important for clinicians, patients, policymakers and researchers. Further studies are needed to provide a strong evidence base to identify comorbid groups which would benefit from appropriate guidelines for the care and management of patients with particular disease clusters.This work was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council ID (402793, 2006). The Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing as part of its Primary Health Care Research Evaluation and Development (PHCRED) Strategy

Medicare Part D roulette: potential implications of random assignment and plan restrictions

Background: Dual-eligible (Medicare/Medicaid) beneficiaries are randomly assigned to a benchmark plan, which provides prescription drug coverage under the Part D benefit without consideration of their prescription drug profile. To date, the potential for beneficiary assignment to a plan with poor formulary coverage has been minimally studied and the resultant financial impact to beneficiaries unknown. Objective: We sought to determine cost variability and drug use restrictions under each available 2010 California benchmark plan. Methods: Dual-eligible beneficiaries were provided Part D plan assistance during the 2010 annual election period. The Medicare Web site was used to determine benchmark plan costs and prescription utilization restrictions for each of the six California benchmark plans available for random assignment in 2010. A standardized survey was used to record all de-identified beneficiary demographic and plan specific data. For each low-income subsidy-recipient (n = 113), cost, rank, number of non-formulary medications, and prescription utilization restrictions were recorded for each available 2010 California benchmark plan. Formulary matching rates (percent of beneficiary’s medications on plan formulary) were calculated for each benchmark plan. Results: Auto-assigned beneficiaries had only a 34% chance of being assigned to the lowest cost plan; the remainder faced potentially significant avoidable out-of-pocket costs. Wide variations between benchmark plans were observed for plan cost, formulary coverage, formulary matching rates, and prescription utilization restrictions. Conclusions: Beneficiaries had a 66% chance of being assigned to a sub-optimal plan; thereby, they faced significant avoidable out-of-pocket costs. Alternative methods of beneficiary assignment could decrease beneficiary and Medicare costs while also reducing medication non-compliance

Formulation and evaluation of insitu mucoadhesive nasal gels of metoclopramide hydrochloride

The prolonged residence of drug formulation in the nasal cavity is of utmost importance for intranasal drug delivery. The objective of the present investigation was to develop a mucoadhesive in situ gel with reduced nasal mucocilliary clearance in order to improve the bioavailability of the antiemetic drug, Metoclopramide Hydrochloride. The in situ gelation upon contact with nasal mucosa was conferred via the use of the thermogelling Methyl cellulose whereas mucoadhesion and drug release enhancement were modulated via the use of sodium alginate and polyethylene glycol polymers respectively. The results revealed that the mucoadhesive polymer increased the gel viscosity but reduced its sol gel transition temperatures and the drug release. The inclusion of polyethylene glycol polymer counteracted the effect of mucoadhesive polymer where by it decreased the gel consistency and increased the sol gel transition as well as in vitro drug diffusion. The in vitro tests performed for mucoadhesive strength and drug diffusion showed that nasal in situ gelling formulations prepared are having good mucoadhesive strength with nearly100% drug diffusion within four hours. So this study points to the potential of mucoadhesive in situ nasal gel in terms of ease of administration, accuracy of dosing, prolonged nasal residence and improved nasal bioavailability

The preparation of (Z)-2-lithio-ortho-styryllithium via an ortho-directed lithiation

Lithiation of (Z)-2-lithiostyrene with t-butyllithium/TMEDA pentane led directly to (Z)-2-lithio-ortho-styryllithium. Subsequent treatment of this dilithio compound with difunctional electrophiles allowed the preparation of a variety of benzo[b]heteroles.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30439/1/0000062.pd