Solid phase extraction and LC-MS/MS quantification of ibandronate in human plasma

Purpose: To develop and validate a simple, highly sensitive and accurate method for the quantification of ibandronate (IBN) in human plasma.Methods: Electrospray ionization liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in positive ion mode was applied to obtain optimum signals. The parent ion was acquired under collisionactivated dissociation conditions, and the abundant fragments used to design multiple reaction monitoring experiments for monitoring two ibandronate transitions (m/z 376 to m/z 114, and m/z 376 to m/z 250). The IBN was isolated from plasma with weak anion exchange solid phase extraction columns with ‘on-cartridge’ derivatization using tri-methylsilyl-diazomethane (TMSDZ) reagent to convert IBN to tetra-methyl derivative.Results: The studied drug was successfully extracted from plasma samples without any interference at a retention time of 3.2 min. The matrix effect averaged 110 %, indicating that endogenous materials had little effect on ionization. The relationship between plasma analyte concentration and IBN signal area was satisfactorily linear, with correlation coefficient (r2) ranging from 0.9817 to 0.9942 in the concentration range of 0.5 – 200 ng/ml. The lower and upper limits of quantification (LLOQ and ULOQ) for IBN were 0.5 and 200 ng/ml, respectively. Relative recovery of IBN from plasma after extraction and derivatization at 3 distinct concentrations was 83.93 to 85.06 %, relative to standard solutions. The ranges of intra- and inter-day accuracies of quantification of quality controls were 89.39 - 106.40 %, and 90.50 - 107.96 %, respectively. Processed plasma IBN extracts were stable in autosampler at 4 0C (91.12 to 103.49%). Long-term stability in plasma after 30 days at -24 0C ranged from 89.52 to 113.18 %.Conclusion: This validated LC-MS/MS method can be successfully applied for determination of IBN in pharmacokinetic studies. It is a sensitive and specific assay for plasma IBN in bioequivalence studies. Keywords: Ibandronate, LC-MS/MS, Validation, Derivatization, Solid-phase extractio

Technetium-labeled danofloxacin complex as a model for infection imaging

AbstractDanofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone derivative antibiotic, was synthesized, successfully labeled with technetium-99m and formulated for the development of a potential diagnostic imaging agent of the bacterial infection and inflammation with higher efficiency than that of the commercially available 99mTc-ciprofloxacin. Factors affecting the labeling yield were optimized. The radiolabeled antibiotic was subjected to preclinical assessments such as purity, stability, and pharmacokinetic investigations in animals. The biodistribution studies indicated that the uptake of 99mTc-danofloxacin was high in the infectious lesion (T/NT=7.2±0.1) at 2h post injection. The abscess to normal ratio indicated that the danofloxacin tracer can be used for infection diagnosis. The radiolabeled compound was cleared quickly from most of the body organs. The results displayed that 99mTc-danofloxacin could not differentiate between infection and sterile inflammation

Le mouvement associatif islamique en Ile-de-France

Associative islamic movement in Ile-de-France - The growth of religious organisations has become a new issue as far as migrants' groupings are concerned in France. The former defined themselves as the bulk identity makers of the muslim migrant populations, and thus try and set the line, by using various types of policy, either in the cultural field or in the political, say, symbolic ones, when negociating with the authorities at every rung of the ladder. By acting in such a way, are they building barriers between the muslim migrant populations and the native population, or rather, are they are trying to find ways and means in order to make the muslims cope with the guest society ? The paper deals with different aspects of muslim organisations: history and reasons of creation of the organisations; structuring of belongings; ways of communicating culture, language, religion; discourse on islam and its perception: relationships at local and national level.L'émergence de regroupements investissant dans le champ du sacré constitue une nouvelle donne dans l'espace associatif immigré. Ceux-ci se définissent comme sites des ressources identitaires, et, dans leur transaction avec les instances de la société d'accueil, élaborent et mettent en chantier de nouveaux schèmes d'expression culturelle, politique, symbolique. Les dirigeants de ces associations, en s'arrogeant le rôle d'« entrepreneurs identitaires », amorcent-ils une politique de marginalisation voire de repli des populations musulmanes, ou favorisent-ils un modèle d'intégration sociale ? L'article, après avoir retracé la genèse et les raisons de création de ces associations, analyse la structuration des appartenances, s'interroge sur les stratégies amorcées en vue de la transmission de la culture, langue et religion, et, d'autre part, rend compte des différents types de discours et des rapports entretenus au niveau local et national

NONNEMAN (Gerd), NIBLOCK (Tim), SZAJKOWSKI (Bogdan), eds., Muslim Communities in the New Europe

Ouvrage collectif, produit d’une collaboration entre des chercheurs européens, associés au sein d’un projet de trois ans, sous le parrainage effectif du Conseil de l’Europe, du British Council, et de plusieurs universités de Grande-Bretagne et de Macédoine. L’ouvrage s’inscrit dans un cadre géographique, celui de « la nouvelle Europe », composée des pays de l’Europe occidentale (Grande-Bretagne, Pays-Bas, France, Allemagne, Suède, Dangmark, Espagne et Italie) et de l’Europe de l’Est-» Eastern..

NONNEMAN (Gerd), NIBLOCK (Tim), SZAJKOWSKI (Bogdan), eds., Muslim Communities in the New Europe

Ouvrage collectif, produit d’une collaboration entre des chercheurs européens, associés au sein d’un projet de trois ans, sous le parrainage effectif du Conseil de l’Europe, du British Council, et de plusieurs universités de Grande-Bretagne et de Macédoine. L’ouvrage s’inscrit dans un cadre géographique, celui de « la nouvelle Europe », composée des pays de l’Europe occidentale (Grande-Bretagne, Pays-Bas, France, Allemagne, Suède, Dangmark, Espagne et Italie) et de l’Europe de l’Est-» Eastern..

Optimizing Wireless Networks with Deep Unfolding: Comparative Study on Two Deep Unfolding Mechanisms

In this work, we conduct a comparative study on two deep unfolding mechanisms to efficiently perform power control in the next generation wireless networks. The power control problem is formulated as energy efficiency over multiple interference links. The problem is nonconvex. We employ fractional programming transformation to design two solutions for the problem. The first solution is a numerical solution while the second solution is a closed-form solution. Based on the first solution, we design a semi-unfolding deep learning model where we combine the domain knowledge of the wireless communications and the recent advances in the data-driven deep learning. Moreover, on the highlights of the closed-form solution, fully deep unfolded deep learning model is designed in which we fully leveraged the expressive closed-form power control solution and deep learning advances. In the simulation results, we compare the performance of the proposed deep learning models and the iterative solutions in terms of accuracy and inference speed to show their suitability for the real-time application in next generation networks.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figure

Asset creation versus sustaining services: institutionalizing VLOM to deliver SDG-6.1 target in Nigeria

Despite investments in water supply infrastructure, functionality remains low owing to a variety of factors including poor Operation & Maintenance regime and low community ownership. To overcome these challenges, a robust Village Level Operation and Maintenance (VLOM) approach was piloted. The approach is institutionalized within the State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agencies (RUWASSAs) by shifting agencies’ focus from mere asset creation towards sustained service delivery. The VLOM units established in the twelve RUWASSAs work with trained local area mechanics (LAMs), parts dealers and community caretakers towards ensuring 100% functionality of schemes. The LAMs charge communities for their services against agreed rates. This is linked to the Facility Tracking System resulting in 11% increase in functionality since inception of the pilot project. Once scaled up and sustained, this approach will optimize investments needed to achieve WASH SDG-6.1 target in Nigeria