Production and photoactivity spectrum of Ni/TiO2 core shell nanoparticles

In this work, Ni nanoparticles were obtained by laser ablation of a Nickel target with femtosecond pulses from a Ti-Sapphire laser in an aqueous media. Subsequently, these nanoparticles were isolated and covered with TiO2.FCT, FEDER, COMPETE/QREN/EU for financial support to CFUM (Strategic Project PEst-C/FIS/UI0607/2011

Vitamin A supplementation in Tanzania: the impact of a change in programmatic delivery strategy on coverage.

BACKGROUND\ud \ud Efficient delivery strategies for health interventions are essential for high and sustainable coverage. We report impact of a change in programmatic delivery strategy from routine delivery through the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI+) approach to twice-yearly mass distribution campaigns on coverage of vitamin A supplementation in Tanzania\ud \ud METHODS\ud \ud We investigated disparities in age, sex, socio-economic status, nutritional status and maternal education within vitamin A coverage in children between 1 and 2 years of age from two independent household level child health surveys conducted (1) during a continuous universal targeting scheme based on routine EPI contacts for children aged 9, 15 and 21 months (1999); and (2) three years later after the introduction of twice-yearly vitamin A supplementation campaigns for children aged 6 months to 5 years, a 6-monthly universal targeting scheme (2002). A representative cluster sample of approximately 2,400 rural households was obtained from Rufiji, Morogoro Rural, Kilombero and Ulanga districts. A modular questionnaire about the health of all children under the age of five was administered to consenting heads of households and caretakers of children. Information on the use of child health interventions including vitamin A was asked.\ud \ud RESULTS\ud \ud Coverage of vitamin A supplementation among 1-2 year old children increased from 13% [95% CI 10-18%] in 1999 to 76% [95%CI 72-81%] in 2002. In 2002 knowledge of two or more child health danger signs was negatively associated with vitamin A supplementation coverage (80% versus 70%) (p = 0.04). Nevertheless, we did not find any disparities in coverage of vitamin A by district, gender, socio-economic status and DPT vaccinations.\ud \ud CONCLUSION\ud \ud Change in programmatic delivery of vitamin A supplementation was associated with a major improvement in coverage in Tanzania that was been sustained by repeated campaigns for at least three years. There is a need to monitor the effect of such campaigns on the routine health system and on equity of coverage. Documentation of vitamin A supplementation campaign contacts on routine maternal and child health cards would be a simple step to facilitate this monitoring

World Interest in Diverse Native Plant Stands

The objective of this paper was to provide a brief overview of native plant use and development including examples of native plant research being conducted in Canada. There is increasing interest in native plants in various countries. Currently, native plants are used in reclamation, biomass biofuel production, forage seeding, habitat restoration, and water and soil conservation efforts. Many countries have active programs for native plant preservation and new germplasm development, but seed cost, seed quality, and ease of establishment are still challenges for large-scale use. Many improved native plant germplasms have been released in recent years. In some countries, legislation and/or regulations were introduced to encourage use of native plants by industry such as in mine reclamation

Self-assembled dextrin nanogel as curcumin delivery system

Curcumin is a natural polyphenol with anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. Its therapeutic potential is substantially hindered by the rather low water solubility and bioavailability, hence the need for suitable carriers. In this study, we show that self-assembled nanogels obtained from hydrophobically modified dextrin are effec-tive curcumin nanocarriers. The stability and loading efficiency of curcumin-loaded nanogel depends on the nano-gel/curcumin ratio. Higher stability of the formulation is achieved in water than in PBS buffer, as evaluated by dynamic light scattering and fluorescence measurements. The in vitro release profile, using sink conditions, indicates that dextrin nanogel may perform as a suitable carrier for the controlled release of curcumin. Biological activity of curcumin-loaded nanogel in HeLa cell cultures was assessed using the MTS assay

Implementation of the 'Optimising the Health Extension Program' Intervention in Ethiopia: A Process Evaluation Using Mixed Methods

An intervention called 'Optimising the Health Extension Program', aiming to increase care-seeking for childhood illnesses in four regions of Ethiopia, was implemented between 2016 and 2018, and it included community engagement, capacity building, and district ownership and accountability. A pragmatic trial comparing 26 districts that received the intervention with 26 districts that did not found no evidence to suggest that the intervention increased utilisation of services. Here we used mixed methods to explore how the intervention was implemented. A fidelity analysis of each 31 intervention activities was performed, separately for the first phase and for the entire implementation period, to assess the extent to which what was planned was carried out. Qualitative interviews were undertaken with 39 implementers, to explore the successes and challenges of the implementation, and were analysed by using thematic analysis. Our findings show that the implementation was delayed, with only 19% (n = 6/31) activities having high fidelity in the first phase. Key challenges that presented barriers to timely implementation included the following: complexity both of the intervention itself and of administrative systems; inconsistent support from district health offices, partly due to competing priorities, such as the management of disease outbreaks; and infrequent supervision of health extension workers at the grassroots level. We conclude that, for sustainability, evidence-based interventions must be aligned with national health priorities and delivered within an existing health system. Strategies to overcome the resulting complexity include a realistic time frame and investment in district health teams, to support implementation at grassroots level

Monitoring cell productivity for the production of recombinant proteins by flow cytometry : An effective application using the cold capture assay

Due to the increasing economic and social relevance of biotherapeutics, their production processes are continually being reconsidered and reoptimized in an effort to secure higher product concentrations and qualities. Monitoring the productivity of cultured cells is therefore a critically important part of the cultivation process. Traditionally, this is achieved by determining the overall product titer by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and then calculating the specific cell productivity based on this titer and an associated viable cell density. Unfortunately, this process is typically time‐consuming and laborious. In this study, the productivity of Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells expressing a monoclonal antibody was analyzed over the course of the cultivation process. In addition to calculating the specific cell productivity based on the traditional product titer determined by HPLC analysis, culture productivity of single cells was also analyzed via flow cytometry using a cold capture assay. The cold capture assay is a cell surface labelling technique described by Brezinsky et al., which allows for the visualization of a product on the surface of the producing cell. The cell productivity results obtained via HPLC and the results of cold capture assay remained in great accordance over the whole cultivation process. Accordingly, our study demonstrates that the cold capture assay offers an interesting, comparatively time‐effective, and potentially cheaper alternative for monitoring the productivity of a cell culture

Exciton migration in self-assembled dendrite-type fractal superstructures of monodisperse Quantum Dots

We investigated dendrite shaped superstructures made of two different QDs, namely CdSe/ZnS and CdTe. Due to the dense packing of QDs, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) may compete with deexcitation, and the specific dendrite shaped structure suggests the possibility of funneling of excitation from the edges of the structure to the center.Financial support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and FEDER through Projects PTDC/FIS/113199/2009 and PEst-C/FIS/UI0607/2013 is gratefully acknowledged

Application of realistic effective interactions to the structure of the Zr isotopes

We calculate the low-lying spectra of the zirconium isotopes Z=40 with neutron numbers from N=52 to N=60 using the 1p1/20g9/2 proton and 2s1d0g7/20h11/2 neutron sub-shells to define the model space. Effective proton-proton, neutron--neutron and proton-neutron interactions have been derived using 88Sr as closed core and employing perturbative many-body techniques. The starting point is the nucleon-nucleon potential derived from modern meson exchange models. The comprehensive shell-model calculation performed in this work provides a qualitative reproduction of essential properties such as the sub-shell closures in 96Zr and 98Zr.Comment: To appear in Phys Rev C, june 2000, 8 figs, Revtex latex styl