Cyclodextrins for oral liquid paediatric drug delivery: Application to corticosteroids

In the present research, the ability of cyclodextrins (CDs) to solubilise and taste mask poorly soluble bitter drugs was assessed by various analytical techniques, including a novel in vitro taste analyser, to propose CDs as excipients for oral liquid paediatric formulations. Corticosteroids were selected as model drugs because of their relevance in paediatrics, whilst model bitter drug quinine was also selected to provide comparative data. Aside from various inclusion complex characteristics, such as stability constants and complexation efficiencies, phase solubility studies determined that: the CDs formed soluble 1:1 inclusion complexes with the corticosteroids studied, the CD derivatives were capable of providing adequate paediatric dose volumes, simulated media in vivo and pH did not to have a major influence on inclusion complexation. The presence of preservatives, however, reduced CD solubility efficiency, whilst reducing the preservative efficiency. ITC studies determined that inclusion complexation with corticosteroids was a spontaneous process and various interactions involved with complexation were proposed. 1H NMR spectroscopy studies indicated that CDs formed inclusion complexes with the corticosteroids, whereby the drug molecules entered the CD cavities via the wider cavity opening. Human taste panel studies demonstrated that CDs were able to taste mask corticosteroids, often more efficiently than traditional taste masking agents, and with 10 times more drug being incorporated in the formulation. Excess CD was also observed to be more efficient at taste masking corticosteroids than molar equivalent concentrations. From these taste panel results, a mechanism of CD taste masking was proposed. Preliminary electronic tongue analysis was found to be able to select concentrations of various taste masking agents for subsequent taste masking assessment. Nevertheless, little correlation was found between the assessment of the electronic tongue and the human taste panel, thus limiting the legitimacy of the instrument for this application. This research has shown that CDs could be utilised in oral liquid paediatric formulations to provide dose uniformity, appropriate volume, and acceptable palatability for poorly soluble bitter drugs. Further work is required to examine the acceptability & bioavailability of these formulations in paediatric patients

Factors Influencing the Academic Achievement and Success of African American Male Principals in a Midsouth State

A consistent pattern of academic failure among African American (AA) males in our nation\u27s schools has generated a great deal of interest among educational researchers and practitioners. In fact, some studies show that AA males have been labeled as an endangered species. In an effort to reduce this dangerous negative trend, more research needs to be conducted to uncover those factors that contribute to AA males\u27 academic achievement. This study will investigate factors (motivation, parental involvement/family and peer influence, environmental, or social factors) that may have contributed to the academic achievement of AA male principals who have achieved success by obtaining academic credentials beyond the bachelor\u27s degree. To give educational stakeholders more insight into what factors contributed to their academic success, data will be collected to identify the factors that motivated AA male principals to become successful, with the hope that this information may also provide educational stakeholders with more insight on how to increase the academic achievement of AA males in the general population. This study will show how it contributes to the field of education by enlightening students, parents, teachers, educational advocates, legislators and policy makers at the federal, state and local levels on the success stories of six AA male principals. This study will further add to the field by highlighting programs designed to help meet the needs of AA male students

An Intelligent Reactive Controller for Ocean Science Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Most of the research activities performed during this grant period had to do with designing and implementing the Orca intelligent autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) controller. This entailed a requirements analysis early in the project, followed by the design and implementation of the program. The latter two activities were interleaved; Orca was designed and implemented in a phased manner, with each new version of the program having more functionality

The Ursinus Weekly, May 19, 1947

Bruins trip \u27Fords for sixth success; Ross notches win • WSGA installs officers at dinner for women • Class of \u2748 names A. Simons, D. Helms to fill top offices • Ruby show offers eye-filling co-eds in modeling roles • AVC aims delivered by Mr. William Batt • Y conducts weekend of fellowship, planning • Alpha Psi Omega welcomes six Curtain Club initiates • Annex man to head next year\u27s sophs • FBI agent addresses students • Varsity Club slates Wednesday banquet • Last FTA program features discussion of Horace Mann • Language clubs elect officers • Choral group picks officers at final business meeting • Fifty hear Messiah recordings • Penn softball team routed as Erma Keyes whiffs ten • Cheyney choir will present concert here on Wednesday • Cricket team to meet \u27Fords • Group hears Mr. J. M. Hohlfeld • Netmen bow to \u27Fords; succumb to Drexel, 8-1 • Drexel nine rallies to trip bruins, 7-4; locals err thrice • Garnet, Drexel top bears in tri-meet • Brodbeck, Curtis tied for softball loop lead • Golfers beaten, 9-0, by strong Blue Hens • Thin-clads score at Rutgers • Women golfers mace S-more; are whitewashed by Beaver, 5-0 • H. Anderson\u27s hitting features 11-1 softball win over B. Mawr • Girls\u27 tennis team wins, 4-1 • Educator speaks at club dinner • Prof. has two articles publishedhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1660/thumbnail.jp

S4E3 : What is AI and what roles does it play in our lives?

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, sounds like a futuristic concept from science fiction movies, but is very much with us in the present day. We interact with this emerging technology on a daily basis when we apply for jobs, order groceries, access our bank accounts, apply for a loan and scroll through social media. In Episode 3 of Season 4 of “The Maine Question,” we examine AI, how it improves our lives and how it can cause problems. Penny Rheingans, director of the University of Maine’s School of Computing and Information Science, and Roy Turner, a UMaine associate professor of computer science, help us unravel the fascinating and complicated story of AI

The Agent Institute: Develop an Infrastructure for Agent-Based Research and Development for the State of Maine

This award provides support to establish The Agent Institute (AI), an organization anticipated to become self-sustaining and generally enhance research and development for the State of Maine. The AI will promote interactions between industry and foster computer-technology research, specifically in software development and software-hardware relationships in the area of robotics. Industrial applications in extreme or hazardous environments will be emphasized because agent-based systems are designed to read/sense environmental information, make decisions, and take actions based on the information sensed and processed. The award provides an initial two years of salary support to hire an executive director and an administrative assistant. These individuals will be responsible for developing a series of workshops designed to bring researchers and developers with interests and expertise in agent-based systems together in collaborative projects. Education and outreach efforts will also be part of the AI\u27s mission to bring knowledge about this area to K-12 educators and schools with the goal of encouraging students toward careers in agent-based systems and high technology in general

Dmitri Shalin Interview with Roy Turner about Erving Goffman entitled What Struck Me First about Goffman Was That He Had an Amazing Elegance in His Delivery

This conversation with Dr. Roy Turner, Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia, was recorded over the phone on April 4, 2010. After Dmitri Shalin transcribed the interview, Dr. Turner edited the text and approved posting the present version in the Goffman Archives. Breaks in the conversation flow are indicated by ellipses. Supplementary information and additional materials inserted during the editing process appear in square brackets. Undecipherable words and unclear passages are identified in the text as “[?]”

\u27A Moment of Magic\u27: Coyote, Tricksterism, and the Role of the Shaman in Rudolfo Anaya\u27s Sonny Baca Novels

In Rudolfo Anayas Zia Summer, Rio Grande Fall, Shaman Winter, and Jemez Spring, the protagonist—Sonny Baca—undertakes a murder investigation that ultimately leads him to confront Raven, a mysterious figure whose acts of violence threaten the social fabric of Albuquerque, the American Southwest, and the entire world. In battling Raven, Sonny comes to realize that both he and his foe have the ability to access a spiritual power that takes root in the myths and belief systems of various cultures, including Sonny\u27s Chicano community, Native American peoples of the region, and ancient civilizations throughout the world, from which Sonny draws power as he becomes a shaman and healer. This dissertation explores how Anaya presents Sonny\u27s transformation as a model for self-empowerment in the face of colonial and neo-colonial violence. Tracing postcolonial theory, border studies, and contemporary discussions of trickster figures in Native cultures, this study argues that Anaya confronts both the genre expectations of the detective novel and the implicit racism and discrimination that continue to pervade cross-cultural interactions in the Southwest.\u2