Are There Nuclear Structure Effects on the Isoscalar Giant Monopole Resonance and Nuclear Incompressibility near A~90?

"Background-free" spectra of inelastic $\alpha$-particle scattering have been measured at a beam energy of 385 MeV in $^{90, 92}$Zr and $^{92}$Mo at extremely forward angles, including 0$^{\circ}$. The ISGMR strength distributions for the three nuclei coincide with each other, establishing clearly that nuclear incompressibility is not influenced by nuclear shell structure near $A\sim$90 as was claimed in recent measurements.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.

Isoscalar Giant Monopole, Dipole, and Quadrupole Resonances in 90,92^{90,92}Zr and 92^{92}Mo

The isoscalar giant monopole, dipole, and quadrupole strength distributions have been deduced in $^{90, 92}$Zr, and $^{92}$Mo from "background-free" spectra of inelastic $\alpha$-particle scattering at a beam energy of 385 MeV at extremely forward angles, including 0$^{\circ}$. These strength distributions were extracted by a multipole-decomposition analysis based on the expected angular distributions of the respective multipoles. All these strength distributions for the three nuclei practically coincide with each other, affirming that giant resonances, being collective phenomena, are not influenced by nuclear shell structure near $A\sim$90, contrary to the claim in a recent measurement.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures; Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. C. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1607.0219

The European Union, borders and conflict transformation: the case of Cyprus

Much of the existing literature on the European Union (EU), conflict transformation and border dynamics has been premised on the assumption that the nature of the border determines EU intervention and the consequences that flow from this in terms of EU impact. The article aims to transcend this literature through assessing how domestic interpretations influence EU border transformation in conflict situations, taking Cyprus as a case study. Moreover, the objective is to fuse the literature on EU bordering impact and perceptions of the EU’s normative projection in conflict resolution. Pursuing this line of inquiry is an attempt to depart from the notion of borders being constructed solely by unidirectional EU logics of engagement or bordering practices to a conceptualization of the border as co-constituted space, where the interpretations of the EU’s normative projections by conflict parties, and the strategies that they pursue, can determine the relative openness of the EU border

Innovative topical formulations for treatment of dermatitis

PubMed ID: 22827752The treatment of dermatitis with conventional dosage forms (ointment, cream, lotion etc.) has many concerns due to side effects especially in long-term therapy. Recent studies focused on strategies to optimize the potency of formulation while minimizing side effects. Several attempts have been made to increase the safety of treatment, including special vehicles (nanoparticle, liposome, patch etc.), combined therapy and new synthesized agents. This review provides major innovations and advances of new approaches for dermatitis treatment based on the published articles and patent applications. © 2012 Bentham Science Publishers

Different approaches for improving kin accumulation of tropical corticosteroids

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the effect of vehicle, chemical enhancer and iontophoresis on the skin accumulation of clobetasol propionate (CP) and mometasone furoate (MF). In vitro permeation experiments were performed using pig ear skin as barrier and HPLC as quantification method. The formulations tested were chitosan gels, sodium-deoxycholate gels and commercial creams of CP and ME The results obtained indicate that Na-DOC gel had an enhancing effect on the skin accumulation of both active agents. This effect was more evident with CP especially in the stratum corneum and epidermis which are the target sites of topical steroidal treatment. Two terpene derivatives (D-limonene and nerolidol) and Transcutol (R) P were evaluated as chemical penetration enhancers. Nerolidol produced considerable increase in the amount of CP and MF accumulated without any permeation across the skin. The application of electric current (anodal iontophoresis) to the gels improved the accumulation of MF while it did not effect the accumulation of CP. Due to the best accumulation results of nerolidol, the enhancement effect in combination with iontophoresis was also investigated. It was shown that, the combination of anodal iontophoresis and chemical enhancer (nerolidol) produced no further enhancement for both active agents

Current status of chitosan on dermal/transdermal drug delivery systems

In case of targeting the drug to the desired part of the skin, vehicles play animportant role, beside the characteristics of the drug. Many natural and synthetic vehicleshave been used for various topical dermal/transdermal preparations. However, chitosanhas been standing out with its many advantages based mainly on its biological andphysicochemical properties. Chitosan is a unique hydrophilic biopolymer obtained bypartial deacetylation of chitin, which is one of the most abundant polysaccharide. It is anatural product widely found in crustacean shells, fungal cell walls, insect exosceletons,and mollusks. Chitosan is a linear glycosaminoglycan made up of N-acetyl-Dglucosamineunits.Characteristics of chitosan, such as the molecular weight, viscosity and the degree ofdeacetylation, greatly influence the properties of formulations. The by-products formedafter the biodegradation of the polymer does not cause immune responses making itbiocompatible. Due to the specific cationic glucosamine groups of chitosan, it can beinteracted with anionic proteins in the skin providing the bioadhesive characteristics.These properties result in improved efficacy, enhanced bioavailability and reducedtoxicity-generally recognized as safe (GRAS). Furthermore, the antimicrobial/antibacterial and skin hydrating effects of chitosan have been received considerableattention for dermal/transdermal applications. It plays an important role in the cell regulation, tissue regeneration and collagen production. Chitosan and some of itscomplexes were approved by FDA for use in wound dressing products.Chitosan also provides the controlled release of numerous active agents used for thetreatment of skin diseases such as corticosteroids, antifungal agents, nonsteroidal antiinflammatorydrugs, hormones, local anesthetics, antiviral and antiseptic agents, etc.Regarding to the good bioadhesive property of chitosan and its ability to sustain therelease of the active compounds, it has found many practices in the formulation of gels,dermal/transdermal patches, sponges, micro-and nanoparticulate systems as drugcarriers. Particularly, chitosan has been used in the preparation of mucoadhesiveformulations, for improving the dissolution rate of the poorly soluble drugs, drugtargeting and enhancement of peptide absorption.This paper is focused on the use of chitosan for dermal/ transdermal drug deliverysystems following a general overview of chitosan. This natural polymer is a promisingcarrier or excipient as a delivery system and remarkable advances have been made aboutits potential applications in skin delivery. © 2011 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved

A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON PROPERTIES OF DIFFERENT COLLOIDAL FORMULATIONS OF BETAMETHASONE VALERATE

4th BBBB-Bled International Conference on Pharmaceutical Sciences - New Trends in Drug Discovery, Delivery Systems and Laboratory Diagnostics -- SEP 29-OCT 01, 2011 -- Bled, SLOVENIAWOS: 00029554360013

Enhanced dermal delivery of diflucortolone valerate using lecithin/chitosan nanoparticles: In-vitro and in-vivo evaluations

PubMed ID: 23390364The objective of this study was to prepare a suitable formulation for dermal delivery of diflucortolone valerate (DFV) that would maintain the localization in skin layers without any penetration and to optimize efficiency of DFV. Drug-loaded lecithin/chitosan nanoparticles with high entrapment efficiency (86.8%), were successfully prepared by ionic interaction technique. Sustained release of DFV was achieved without any initial burst release. Nanoparticles were also incorporated into chitosan gel at different ratios for preparing a more suitable formulation for topical drug delivery with adequate viscosity. In ex-vivo permeation studies, nanoparticles increased the accumulation of DFV especially in the stratum corneum + epidermis of rat skin without any significant permeation. Retention of DFV from nanoparticle in chitosan gel formulation (0.01%) was twofold higher than commercial cream, although it contained ten times less DFV. Nanoparticles in gel formulations produced significantly higher edema inhibition in rats compared with commercial cream in in-vivo studies. Skin blanching assay using a chromameter showed vasoconstriction similar to that of the commercial product. There were no barrier function changes upon application of nanoparticles. In-vitro and in-vivo results demonstrated that lecithin/chitosan nanoparticles in chitosan gel may be a promising carrier for dermal delivery of DFV in various skin disorders. © 2013 Özcan et al, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd