A New Application of Lipid Nanoemulsions as Coating Agent, Providing Zero-Order Hydrophilic Drug Release from Tablets

The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate potential of nanoemulsions as a coating material for the tablets. The nanoemulsion of size less than 100 nm was prepared using a simple and low-energy spontaneous emulsification method. Conventional tablets containing theophylline as a model hydrophilic drug were prepared. The theophylline tablets were coated with the nanoemulsion using a fluid bed coater. The effect of different levels of the nanoemulsion coating on the theophylline release was evaluated. The theophylline tablets containing different levels of the nanoemulsion coating could be successfully prepared. Interestingly, the coating of tablet with the nanoemulsion resulted in zero-order release of theophylline from the tablets. The noncoated theophylline tablets release the entire drug in less than 2 minutes, whereas nanoemulsion coating delayed the release of theophylline from tablets. This investigation establishes the proof of concept for the potential of nanoemulsions as a coating material for tablets

Morphology and dynamics of headland connected sandbanks from high resolution bathymetric surveys: Helwick and Nash Sands, Bristol Channel, U.K.

Morphology and movements of sand dunes are studied using repeated high-resolution bathymetric data in areas where banner banks approach the shore. Two sites in the Bristol Channel were selected for their contrasting environments. The Helwick Sands is characterised by deeper water-depths, stronger wave climates and weaker tidal currents than the Nash Sands. At the Helwick, migrations of the dunes were measured ranging between 21 and 109 hlv"1. Dunes crossing its crest and connecting despite opposite direction of migration on either flank were observed. This geometry is interpreted to be the result of the strong wave climate coupled with a nearly rectilinear tidal flow, which are leading to dune crests extension. A morphometric study of the sand dunes has revealed the tendency for the dunes to flatten in shallow water, which can also be attributed to the effect of the waves. At the Nash, strong currents and breaking waves have created a strong crestal escarpment. Dune migration rates along the flanks were measured to range from 34 to 180 m.y"1 {Text not available}, based on a comparison of surveys 263 days apart. However, in the Nash Passage (between East Nash and the coast) short term (19 days) sand dunes migration measurements revealed very fast moving (up to 715 m.y_1) small short-living sand dunes. Celerity and morphology of the dunes were used to compute sand transport specific fluxes. Such fluxes are broadly compatible with fluxes computed from tidal current data using bedload transport formulae. For both banks, the geometry of the flux vector field suggests a clockwise sand transport pattern around the banks. Although different intensities of the fluxes were expected at the two sites, the fluxes of corresponding morphological areas are similar. Differences in the tidal current asymmetry and reduced effective threshold of sand transport due to the wave energy are invoked to explain theses similarities. Pattern of erosion and deposition were evaluated from the divergence of sand fluxes. This partem has revealed the occurrence of transients in the sand transport, which are the result of complex interactions between the flow, the headland and the bed morphology

Soft sensor design for power measurement and diagnosis in electrical furnace: A parametric estimation approach

International audienceIn this paper, we propose as a first step a software solution to measure the electrical power consumed in an industrial furnace intended essentially for heat treatments. The soft sensor is constructed from the power physical measurement taken as the output of the set (dimmer + resistances), and the control signal measurement provided by a controller with an unknown structure. The second step consists in a detection of faults like a resistance disconnection, for instance. This phase requires the knowledge of the controller model and the furnace system. An overparametrization method was chosen for the controller estimation. An indirect closed-loop Input-Output (IO) identification approach was used for the furnace model estimation through a Tailor-Made and a decomposition of the closed-loop algorithms. A validation with two other experimental tests concludes the paper

Modes of transmission and genetic diversity of foamy viruses in a Macaca tonkeana colony

BACKGROUND: Foamy viruses are exogenous complex retroviruses that are highly endemic in several animal species, including monkeys and apes, where they cause persistent infection. Simian foamy viral (SFV) infection has been reported in few persons occupationally exposed to non-human primates (NHP) in zoos, primate centers and laboratories, and recently in few hunters from central Africa. Most of the epidemiological works performed among NHP populations concern cross-sectional studies without long-term follow-up. Therefore, the exact timing and the modes of transmission of SFVs remain not well known, although sexual and oral transmissions have been suspected. We have conducted a longitudinal study in a free-breeding colony of Macaca tonkeana in order (1) to determine the prevalence of the infection by foamy viruses, (2) to characterize molecularly the viruses infecting such animals, (3) to study their genetic variability overtime by long-term follow-up of several DNA samples in a series of specific animals, and (4) to get new insights concerning the timing and the modes of SFVs primary infection in these monkeys by combining serology and molecular means, as well as studies of familial structures and long-term behavioral observations. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: We first demonstrated that this colony was highly endemic for SFVs, with a clear increase of seroprevalence with age. Only 4.7% of immatures, and 43,7% of sub-adults were found seropositive, while 89.5% of adults exhibited antibodies directed against SFV. We further showed that 6 different strains of foamy viruses (exhibiting a very low intra-strain and overtime genetic variability in the integrase gene) are circulating within this group. This suggests a possible infection by different strains within an animal. Lastly, we provide strong evidence that foamy viruses are mostly acquired through severe bites, mainly in sub-adults or young adults. Most cases of seroconversion occur after 7 years of age; from this age individuals competed for access to sexual partners, thus increasing the likelihood of being wounded. Furthermore, all the serological and molecular data, obtained in this free-breeding colony, argue against a significant transmission of SFVs from mother or father to infants as well as between siblings

Experimental evidence of Alfv\'en wave propagation in a Gallium alloy

Experiments with a liquid metal alloy, galinstan, are reported and show clear evidence of Alfv\'en wave propagation as well as resonance of Alfv\'en modes. Galinstan is liquid at room temperature, and although its electrical conductivity is not as large as that of liquid sodium or NaK, it has still been possible to study Alfv\'en waves, thanks to the use of intense magnetic fi elds, up to 13 teslas. The maximal values of Lundquist number, around 60, are similar to that of the reference experimental study by Jameson [1]. The generation mechanism for Alfv\'en waves and their refl ection is studied carefully. Numerical simulations have been performed and have been able to reproduce the experimental results despite the fact that the simulated magnetic Prandtl number was much larger than that of galinstan. An originality of the present study is that a poloidal disturbance (magnetic and velocity fields) is generated, allowing us to track its propagation from outside the conducting domain, hence without interfering.Comment: 19 pages; Physics of Fluids (2011)

Large Eddy Simulation of combustion instabilities in a lean partially premixed swirled flame

This paper investigates one issue related to Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of self- excited combustion instabilities in gas-fueled swirled burners: the effects of incom- plete mixing between the gas injection and the combustion chamber. For simplicity reasons, many LES assume perfect premixing of the gases entering the combustion chamber. In practice this is rarely the case and this study addresses the question by comparing LES assuming perfect premixing and LES where the fuel jets are resolved and fuel/air mixing is explicitely computed. This is done for the Preccin- sta swirled burner which has been carefully studied experimentally at DLR. All previous LES studies of Preccinsta have assumed perfect premixing and this work demonstrates that this assumption is reasonable for stable flows but is not accept- able to predict self-excited unstable cases. This is shown by comparing LES and experimental fields in terms of mean and RMS fields of temperature, species and velocities as well as mixture fraction pdfs and unsteady activity for two regimes: a stable one at equivalence ratio 0.83 and an unstable one at 0.7

Modulation of Metabolism and Switching to Biofilm Prevail over Exopolysaccharide Production in the Response of Rhizobium alamii to Cadmium

Heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd2+) affect microbial metabolic processes. Consequently, bacteria adapt by adjusting their cellular machinery. We have investigated the dose-dependent growth effects of Cd2+ on Rhizobium alamii, an exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing bacterium that forms a biofilm on plant roots. Adsorption isotherms show that the EPS of R. alamii binds cadmium in competition with calcium. A metabonomics approach based on ion cyclotron resonance Fourier transform mass spectrometry has showed that cadmium alters mainly the bacterial metabolism in pathways implying sugars, purine, phosphate, calcium signalling and cell respiration. We determined the influence of EPS on the bacterium response to cadmium, using a mutant of R. alamii impaired in EPS production (MSΔGT). Cadmium dose-dependent effects on the bacterial growth were not significantly different between the R. alamii wild type (wt) and MSΔGT strains. Although cadmium did not modify the quantity of EPS isolated from R. alamii, it triggered the formation of biofilm vs planktonic cells, both by R. alamii wt and by MSΔGT. Thus, it appears that cadmium toxicity could be managed by switching to a biofilm way of life, rather than producing EPS. We conclude that modulations of the bacterial metabolism and switching to biofilms prevails in the adaptation of R. alamii to cadmium. These results are original with regard to the conventional role attributed to EPS in a biofilm matrix, and the bacterial response to cadmium

NAP1L1-MLLT10 is a rare recurrent translocation that is associated with HOXA activation and poor treatment response in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

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