Development of a Tabletop Soft Gel Encapsulation Machine

Currently, to test new formulations of gel capsules at Pfizer, they must use the large-scale machine that requires a minimum of 25 kg of gel melt and produce hundreds of capsules per run. Production at a smaller scale to enable rapid changeover for research and development is desired. The team’s goal was to achieve continuous production of sealed capsules with 80% fill capacity. Capsule sealing was the prime consideration. Preliminary trials using the existing system and heat transfer analysis indicated localized heating was necessary to promote capsule sealing. To provide localized heating, a brass wedge was designed based on the pilot scale machine. The machined wedge was integrated with a PID control system. Using pre-made gelatin ribbons, the appropriate process parameters to achieve sealed capsules were determined. The critical, coupled parameters were die roll temperature, wedge temperature, wedge height, and die roll speed. Capsule sealing efficiency was highest at a speed of 4 capsules/min. For air-filled capsules, a sealing efficiency of 100% was achieved. For PEG-400-filled capsules, a sealing efficiency of 50% was achieved. Future work will include integration with the gelatin feed system and addition of a vacuum during capsule formation to increase fill capacity.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1151/thumbnail.jp

Der Studiengang der integrierten Sonderpädagogik an der Universität Bielefeld

Die Autorinnen präsentieren die Konzeption des Studiengangs der Integrierten Sonderpädagogik an der Universität Bielefeld und beleuchten diese aus der Perspektive professioneller Kooperationserfordernisse und -möglichkeiten. (DIPF/Orig.

Temporal Variation in Predation Risk May Explain Daily Rhythms of Foraging Behavior in an Orb-Weaving Spider

Daily rhythms occur in numerous physiological and behavioral processes across an immense diversity of taxa, but there remain few cases in which mechanistic links between rhythms of trait expression and organismal fitness have been established. We construct a dynamic optimization model to determine whether risk allocation provides an adaptive explanation for the daily foraging rhythm observed in many species using the orb-weaving spider Cyclosa turbinata as a case study. Our model predicts that female C. turbinata should generally start foraging at lower levels of energy reserves (i.e., should be less bold) during midday when predators are most abundant. We also find that individuals’ foraging efficacy determines whether daily rates of encounters with predators or prey more strongly influences boldness under high risk. The qualitative model predictions are robust to variation in our parameter estimates and likely apply to a wide range of taxa. The predictions are also consistent with observed patterns of foraging behavior under both laboratory and field conditions. We discuss the implications of our study for understanding the evolution of daily rhythms and the importance of model predictions for interpreting empirical studies and generating additional hypotheses regarding behavioral evolution

Berufsspezifische Reflexionsprozesse durch Einzelfallarbeit im Projekt „Schule für alle": Analyse von zwei Praxisberichten mittels der Dokumentarischen Methode

In dem Beitrag wird ausgehend von der Notwendigkeit einer inklusionspädagogischen Professionalisierung im Lehramtsstudium ein erziehungswissenschaftliches Projekt dargestellt, das es den teilnehmenden Bachelor-Studierenden in besonderer Weise ermöglicht, berufsspezifische Reflexionsprozesse zu durchlaufen. In dem Projekt übernehmen Studierende die einjährige pädagogische Förderung von Grundschulkindern mit bildungsrelevanten Benachteiligungsfaktoren, die häufig von Selektionspraktiken und -maßnahmen bedroht sind. Die Bearbeitung von vorliegenden Common-Sense-Theorien im inklusiven Kontext gilt dabei als ein relevantes Professionalisierungsziel in der Lehramtsausbildung. Konkret werden Ausschnitte aus Praktikumsberichten von zwei Studierenden mittels der dokumentarischen Methode ausgewertet und einander gegenübergestellt, um daran herauszuarbeiten, inwiefern sich die Reflexionen unterscheiden. Es zeigt sich anhand der Analysen, dass im Rahmen der Praxisphase eine Reflection-on-Action und auch die vertiefte Reflexion eigener Common-Sense-Theorien grundsätzlich möglich, jedoch nicht voraussetzungslos ist. Insbesondere kann auch anhand der gewählten Einzelfälle verdeutlicht werden, wie individuell inklusionsbezogene Professionalisierungsprozesse im Rahmen der vorliegenden Praxisphase verlaufen können. Die Analyse offenbart multiple Professionalisierungschancen in Abhängigkeit von den Rahmenbedingungen des Projekts, den individuellen Schwerpunkten der pädagogischen Arbeit oder den individuellen Reflexionen der Studierenden. Abstract Based on the necessity of an inclusive pedagogical professionalisation in the teacher training program, this article presents an educational science project that enables the participating Bachelor students in a unique manner to go through profession-specific reflection processes. In the project, students take on the one-year pedagogical support of primary school children with educational disadvantage factors, who are often threatened by selection practices and measures. In this context, working through present common-sense theories in an inclusive context is considered a relevant professionalization goal in teacher education. Specifically, excerpts from internship reports of two students are analysed by means of the documentary method and compared to each other in order to work out the extent to which the reflections differ. The analyses show that reflection-on-action and in-depth reflection on one's own common-sense theories are generally possible during the practical phase, but not without preconditions. In particular, the selected individual cases can be used to illustrate how individual inclusion-related professionalisation processes can take place within the framework of the present practical phase. The analysis reveals multiple opportunities for professionalisation depending on the general framework of the project, the individual focal points of the pedagogical work or the individual reflections of the students

Moving ego versus moving time : investigating the shared source of future-bias and near-bias

It has been hypothesized that our believing that, or its seeming to us as though, the world is in some way dynamical partially explains (and perhaps rationalizes) future-bias. Recent work has, in turn, found a correlation between future-bias and near-bias, suggesting that there is a common explanation for both. Call the claim that what partially explains our being both future- and near-biased is our believing/it seeming to us as though the world is dynamical, the dynamical explanation. We empirically test two versions of the dynamical explanation. The first is the moving ego explanation—according to which it is our belief that the ego moves, or our phenomenology as of the ego moving, that jointly (partially) explains future- and near-bias. The second is the moving time explanation—according to which it is our belief that time robustly passes, or our phenomenology as of robust passage, which jointly (partially) explain future- and near-bias. We found no evidence in favour of either explanation

NRG Oncology/RTOG 0921: A phase 2 study of postoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy with concurrent cisplatin and bevacizumab followed by carboplatin and paclitaxel for patients with endometrial cancer.

BACKGROUND: The current study was conducted to assess acute and late adverse events (AEs), overall survival (OS), pelvic failure, regional failure, distant failure, and disease-free survival in a prospective phase 2 clinical trial of bevacizumab and pelvic intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with chemotherapy in patients with high-risk endometrial cancer. METHODS: Patients underwent a hysterectomy and lymph node removal, and had ≥1 of the following high-risk factors: grade 3 carcinoma with \u3e50% myometrial invasion, grade 2 or 3 disease with any cervical stromal invasion, or known extrauterine extension confined to the pelvis. Treatment included pelvic IMRT and concurrent cisplatin on days 1 and 29 of radiation and bevacizumab (at a dose of 5 mg/kg on days 1, 15, and 29 of radiation) followed by adjuvant carboplatin and paclitaxel for 4 cycles. The primary endpoint was grade ≥3 AEs occurring within the first 90 days (toxicity was graded according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events [version 4.0]). RESULTS: A total of 34 patients were accrued from November 2009 through December 2011, 30 of whom were eligible and received study treatment. Seven of 30 patients (23.3%; 1-sided 95% confidence interval, 10.6%-36.0%) developed grade ≥3 treatment-related nonhematologic toxicities within 90 days; an additional 6 patients experienced grade ≥3 toxicities between 90 and 365 days after treatment. The 2-year OS rate was 96.7% and the disease-free survival rate was 79.1%. No patient developed a within-field pelvic failure and no patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage I to IIIA disease developed disease recurrence after a median follow-up of 26 months. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative bevacizumab added to chemotherapy and pelvic IMRT appears to be well tolerated and results in high OS rates at 2 years for patients with high-risk endometrial carcinoma

Pädagogische Beobachtungen

Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt eine Seminareinheit zu pädagogischen Beobachtungen vor, die mehrfach mit Lehramtsstudierenden des vierten bis sechsten Bachelorsemesters in der Berufsfeldbezogenen Praxisstudie im Fach Bildungswissenschaften durchgeführt und erprobt wurde. Zunächst wird die theoretische Hinführung zur Seminareinheit skizziert, in der Definitionen und Funktionen, Gütekriterien sowie mögliche Beobachtungsfehler aufgegriffen werden (als Online-Supplement 1 in Form einer Präsentation zur Nachnutzung hinterlegt). Anschließend wird das methodische Vorgehen des Peer-Feedbacks erläutert, und es werden konkrete (analoge wie digitale) Einsatzmöglichkeiten beschrieben. Abschließend werden so gewonnene Beobachtungsprotokolle als Material für weitere Lehrkontexte angeboten und didaktische Ideen für anschließende Arbeiten formuliert. Insgesamt 25 exemplarische Beobachtungsprotokolle sind als Online-Supplement 2 hinterlegt, die entsprechend so aufbereitet wurden, dass sie gebündelt oder auch einzeln in Lehrveranstaltungen eingesetzt werden können. Die abweichenden Formate, unterschiedlichen Situationen, konträren Formulierungsstile sowie verschiedenen Qualitäten der Beobachtungsprotokolle bieten vielfältige Schwerpunktsetzungen in der konkreten Lehr- und Lernpraxis

A phase II study of acute toxicity for Celebrex(TM) (celecoxib) and chemoradiation in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer: Primary endpoint analysis of RTOG 0128

Purpose: To determine treatment-related acute toxicity rates in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer treated by oral celecoxib, i.v. cisplatin and 5-FU, and concurrent pelvic radiation therapy. Methods and Materials: Eligible patients on this RTOG Phase I-II study for advanced cervix cancer included FIGO Stage IIB-IVA or patients with FIGO Stage IB through IIA with biopsy proven pelvic node metastases ortumor size \u3e5 cm. Patients were treated with pelvic radiotherapy and brachytherapy. Celecoxib was prescribed at 400 mg twice daily beginning on day 1 for 1 year. Cisplatin (75 mg/m2) and 5-FU (1g/m2 for 4 days) were administered every 3 weeks times 3. The primary end point of the study was treatment related toxicity. Results: Between August 2001 and March 2004, 84 patients were accrued to the study and 77 patients were evaluable for toxicity. Regarding the primary end point, toxicities were observed in the following areas: blood/bone marrow (16), gastrointestinal (14), pain (7), renal/genitourinary (6), cardiovascular (3), hemorrhage (1), and neurologic (1). For the first 75 evaluable patients, a toxicity failure was identified in 36 patients for a rate of 48%. Conclusions: Celecoxib at 400 mg twice daily together with concurrent cisplatin and 5-FU and pelvic radiotherapy has a high incidence of acute toxicities. The most frequent toxicities were hematologic. Albeit, the toxicity was deemed excessive in this trial, the rate of toxicities was not too different compared to other recent experiences with concurrent chemoradiation for advanced cervix cancer

Time Course of Brain Network Reconfiguration Supporting Inhibitory Control

Hemodynamic research has recently clarified key nodes and links in brain networks implementing inhibitory control. Although fMRI methods are optimized for identifying the structure of brain networks, the relatively slow temporal course of fMRI limits the ability to characterize network operation. The latter is crucial for developing a mechanistic understanding of how brain networks shift dynamically to support inhibitory control. To address this critical gap, we applied spectrally resolved Granger causality (GC) and random forest machine learning tools to human EEG data in two large samples of adults (test sample n = 96, replication sample n = 237, total N = 333, both sexes) who performed a color–word Stroop task. Time–frequency analysis confirmed that recruitment of inhibitory control accompanied by slower behavioral responses was related to changes in theta and alpha/beta power. GC analyses revealed directionally asymmetric exchanges within frontal and between frontal and parietal brain areas: top-down influence of superior frontal gyrus (SFG) over both dorsal ACC (dACC) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), dACC control over middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and frontal–parietal exchanges (IFG, precuneus, MFG). Predictive analytics confirmed a combination of behavioral and brain-derived variables as the best set of predictors of inhibitory control demands, with SFG theta bearing higher classification importance than dACC theta and posterior beta tracking the onset of behavioral response. The present results provide mechanistic insight into the biological implementation of a psychological phenomenon: inhibitory control is implemented by dynamic routing processes during which the target response is upregulated via theta-mediated effective connectivity within key PFC nodes and via beta-mediated motor preparation