Perceptions of Safety Within the Bridgewater State University Community

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to examine administration, faculty, staff, and student’s perceptions of safety within a large university community in the American Northeast. Previous research has been done at other educational institutions primarily in the American South and West, but research such as this has been limited in the Northeastern area of the United States. An online survey was sent using a combination of convenient and snowball sampling. Participants in this survey include administration, faculty, staff, and students from the campus community. Results suggest that individuals who took this survey felt moderately safe while on campus. Possible applications that may increase a feeling of safety may include increased environmental elements (i.e. concrete barriers), additional mechanisms (i.e. badging systems), and campus-wide training (i.e. evacuation drills

A comparative study of the in vitro permeation of ibuprofen in mammalian skin, the PAMPA model and silicone membrane

Human skin remains the membrane of choice when conducting in vitro studies to determine dermal penetration of active pharmaceutical ingredients or xenobiotics. However there are ethical and safety issues associated with obtaining human tissue. For these reasons synthetic membranes, cell culture models or in silico predictive algorithms have been researched intensively as alternative approaches to predict dermal exposure in man. Porcine skin has also been recommended as an acceptable surrogate for topical or transdermal delivery research. Here we examine the in vitro permeation of a model active, ibuprofen, using human or porcine skin, as well as the Parallel Artificial Membrane Permeation Assay (PAMPA) model and silicone membrane. Finite dose studies were conducted in all models using commercial ibuprofen formulations and simple volatile ibuprofen solutions. The dose applied in the PAMPA model was also varied in order to determine the amount of applied formulation which best simulates typical amounts of topical products applied by patients or consumers. Permeation studies were conducted up to 6 h for PAMPA and silicone and up to 48 h for human and porcine skin. Cumulative amounts permeated at 6 h were comparable for PAMPA and silicone, ranging from 91–136 g/cm2 across the range of formulations studied. At 48 h, maximum ibuprofen permeation in human skin ranged from 11–38 g/cm2 and corresponding values in porcine skin were 59–81 g/cm2. A dose of 1 l/cm2 was confirmed as appropriate for finite dose studies in the PAMPA model. The formulation which delivered the greatest amount of ibuprofen in human skin was also significantly more efficient than other formulations when evaluated in the PAMPA model. The PAMPA model also discriminated between different formulation types (i.e. gel versus solution) compared with other models. Overall, the results confirm the more permeable nature of the PAMPA, silicone membrane and porcine tissue models to ibuprofen compared with human skin. Further finite dose studies to elucidate the effects of individual excipients on the barrier properties of the PAMPA model are needed to expand the applications of this model. The range of actives that are suitable for study using the model also needs to be delineated

Entorno educativo digital como herramienta de cambios complejos de la actividad pedagógica del profesor

The authors of the article identified four basic functions of the use of information technology in the course of training future representatives of a profession: information and training, forming, evaluation and correction, research.  It is noted that these functions do not operate separately, but as elements of a single system, depending on the conditions determined by the features of the information EE. The analysis allows the authors of the article to assert that at this stage of the educational process evolution the main task is to create a methodology related to the use of information management technologies in the development of electronic materials of educational nature and their implementation in the context of pedagogical activity.Los autores del artículo identificaron cuatro funciones básicas del uso de la tecnología de la información en el curso de la capacitación de futuros representantes de una profesión: información y capacitación, formación, evaluación y corrección, investigación. Cabe señalar que estas funciones no funcionan por separado, sino como elementos de un solo sistema, dependiendo de las condiciones determinadas por las características de la información EE. El análisis permite a los autores del artículo afirmar que en esta etapa de la evolución del proceso educativo, la tarea principal es crear una metodología relacionada con el uso de tecnologías de gestión de la información en el desarrollo de materiales electrónicos de naturaleza educativa y su implementación en el contexto de actividad pedagógica

Plasticizer-induced changes in the mechanical rate of response of film coatings: an approach to quantitating plasticizer effectiveness

The plasticization of Eudragit S100, a polymeric-based enteric coating with polyethylene glycol 200 and dibutyl phthalate was investigated by analyzing changes in the time scale of mechanical response. Since all polymeric film coating solutions pass through the rubber-to-glass transition as solvent evaporates, this study focuses on the plasticization-induced changes in the rate of mechanical response in this region. Solvent cast films were mechanically analyzed using a low strain elongational creep compliance procedure and intrinsic mechanical response was analyzed via the application of a phenomenological approach of retardation spectrum analysis. Results indicate that at constant temperature, the addition of plasticizer changes the time scale of response by shifting the spectra negatively within the experimental time window. Using a free volume analysis a plasticizing effectiveness term, [beta], was calculated for the plasticizers in this study with . The higher value of [beta] indicates a greater propensity to in the rubber-to-glass transition. The application of this technique may yield more relevant mechanical information for film coating systems without relying solely on glass transition temperature changes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27717/1/0000105.pd

Characterization and topical delivery of phenylethyl resorcinol

Objective: Phenylethyl resorcinol (PR) has been used widely in the personal care industry as a novel skin lightening ingredient. Surprisingly, there is only limited information describing the physicochemical properties of this active. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to perform a comprehensive characterization of PR. A secondary objective was to investigate the delivery of this molecule to mammalian skin. Methods: Phenylethyl resorcinol was characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). A new high‐performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for analysis of PR was developed and validated. The log P (octanol water partition coefficient), value, solubility and short‐term stability of PR in a series of vehicles were also determined using HPLC. The evaporation of the selected vehicles was examined using dynamic vapour sorption (DVS). The permeation profiles of PR were investigated under finite dose conditions in porcine and human skin. Results: The melting point of PR was determined to be 79.13 °C and the measured log P (octanol water partition coefficient) at 21 °C was 3.35 ± 0.03. The linearity of the HPLC analytical method was confirmed with an r2 value of 0.99. Accuracy of the method was evaluated by average recovery rates at three tested concentrations, and the values ranged from 99 to 106%. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.19 and 0.57 μg mL−1, respectively. The solubility of PR in PG, DMI, glycerol was within the range of 367 to 877 mg mL−1. The stability of PR in tested solvents was also confirmed by the 72 h stability studies. From the DVS studies, 70–125% of applied formulations were recovered at 24 h. The permeation through porcine skin at 24 h ranged from 4 to 13 μg cm−2, while the corresponding amounts of PR delivered through human skin were 2 to 10 μg cm−2. Conclusion: The physicochemical properties of PR confirm it is suitable for dermal delivery. In this study, propylene glycol was the most promising vehicle for PR delivery to human skin. Future work will expand the range of vehicles studied and explore the percutaneous absorption from more complex formulations

A new polymorphic material? Structural degeneracy of ZrMn_2

Based on density functional calculations, we propose that ZrMn_2 is a polymorphic material. We predict that at low temperatures the cubic C15, and the hexagonal C14 and C36 structures of the Laves phase compound ZrMn_2 are nearly equally stable within 0.3 kJmol^{-1} or 30 K. This degeneracy occurs when the Mn atoms magnetize spontaneously in a ferromagnetic arrangement forming the states of lowest energy. From the temperature dependent free energies at T approx 160K we predict a transition from the most stable C15 to the C14 structure, which is the experimentally observed structure at elevated temperatures.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Robust antiferromagnetic coupling in hard-soft bi-magnetic core/shell nanoparticles

The growing miniaturization demand of magnetic devices is fuelling the recent interest in bi-magnetic nanoparticles as ultimate small components. One of the main goals has been to reproduce practical magnetic properties observed so far in layered systems. In this context, although useful effects such as exchange bias or spring magnets have been demonstrated in core/shell nanoparticles, other interesting key properties for devices remain elusive. Here we show a robust antiferromagnetic (AFM) coupling in core/shell nanoparticles which, in turn, leads to the foremost elucidation of positive exchange bias in bi-magnetic hard-soft systems and the remarkable regulation of the resonance field and amplitude. The AFM coupling in iron oxide manganese oxide based, soft/hard and hard/soft, core/shell nanoparticles is demonstrated by magnetometry, ferromagnetic resonance and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. Monte Carlo simulations prove the consistency of the AFM coupling. This unique coupling could give rise to more advanced applications of bi-magnetic core/shell nanoparticles