Fitness problem in shift workers while adjusting in ever changing working schedule

The present study was aimed to assess the diurnal variations in few physiological processes in rotational shift workers suffering irregular life styles due tohaving regular and/or irregular workload during night shift. The diurnal variations in rest-activity was monitored, using wrist actigraphy, in cohorts of 14 shift workers (SWs) employed in the Sponge Iron Manufacturing Industry (SIMI) and 20 shift workers (SWs) of the Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board (CSEB). The former organization adopts regular rotational shift system and the latter an irregular rotational shift pattern. SWs of both organizations worked in a counterclockwise 3-shift system. All SWs were provided an actiwatch around the clock covering all three shifts to monitor their sleep-wake activity pattern. One-minute epoch length was chosen for collection of wrist actigraphy data. Data were analyzed using computations of dichotomy index (I<O) and autocorrelation coefficient (r24). The irregular rotational SWs from CSEB took rest/ nap/ sleep in the night shift while on duty. Therefore, the activity pattern of these subjects was somewhat similar to that of the day workers. Results of the present study showed that autocorrelation coefficient was significantly (p < 0.05) lower in irregular rotational shift workers as compared to regular rotational shift workers only during the morning shift. There are no statistically significant differences between the means of r24 obtained for the morning, afternoon, and night shifts, when values were compared separately for each organization. Further, the regular rotational SWs exhibited significantly lower dichotomy index during night shift as compared to morning shift

Arformoterol Tartrate: A Review of Pharmacology, Analysis and Clinical Studies

This article is a review of the therapeutic significance of arformoterol tartrate, a new generation 2 adrenergic agonist bronchodilator available in a nebulized form. Arformoterol is well absorbed through the lungs when administered via a standard jet nebulizer and is useful in long-term maintenance therapy of bronchoconstriction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Much clinical evidence suggest the potentially enhanced efficacy of this drug in the treatment of COPD including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Various hyphenated analytical methodologies have also been employed for the determination and quantification of arformoterol. This review provides an updated account on the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, clinical studies, analytical techniques, drug-drug interactions, contraindications, and therapeutic applications of arformoterol tartrate.Keywords: Arformoterol tartrate, Adrenergic agonist, Bronchodilator, COPDTropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research December 2010; 9 (6): 595-60

Novel dual peptisers and curing agents derived from PET waste as N-alkyl benzene dicarboxamides for EDPM waste

Ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) is widely used in the manufacturing of various components in rubber industries and hence recycling of scrap rubber is a major problem. In the present study, EPDM rubber waste powder has been recycled successfully by using N-alkyl benzene dicarboxamides, derived from PET wasteand other additives. Three aminolysed end products namely 1,4-benzene dicarboxamide, 1,4-benzene dicarbohydrazide and N,N′‐diaminoethyl 1,4‐benzene dicarboxamidewere used as peptisers and curing agents in the EPDM waste formulations. EPDM rubber waste sheets have been prepared at comparatively low temperature using two roll mill and compression moulding machine. Tensile strength, % elongation and hardness have been found in the range 12.23-20.19 kg/cm2, 107-145 % and 46-61, respectively. It has been expected that the developed reclaimed process described in this paper will promisingly support the protection of environment and conservation of resources with favors to rubber waste generated throughout the world

Determination of the bioavailability and biodistribution of a single dose of oral cholecalciferol/Calcirol® soft gelatin capsule by pharmacoscintigraphy- CalSci study

Background: It is required to study the bioavailability and biodistribution of specific cholecalciferol formulation before prescribing. Pharmacoscintigraphy is an established radiological-imaging technique that is used to map various drug formulations as they traverses the human body (biodistribution) in real-time. We evaluated the bioavailability and biodistribution pattern, transit time, and gastrointestinal clearance of a single dose of Calcirol® soft gelatin capsule 60,000 IU [an oral cholecalciferol (vitamin D) formulation] using pharmacoscintigraphy. Methods: Six male healthy adult volunteers were administered a single oral dose of Calcirol® soft gelatin capsule labelled with technetium-99m. Post-dosing, serial venous blood samples were collected till day 27 for the estimation of the plasma levels of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol levels. Different pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated. Sequential static gamma imaging was performed to evaluate the biodistribution of Calcirol® soft gelatin capsule. Descriptive statistics was used. Various pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated from the concentration-time curves. Statistical analysis was carried out using Student’s t-test. Suitable multivariate analysis was performed based on the distribution of data. All statistical analyses were performed using SAS® Software (v 9.4). Results: The overall absorption of Calcirol® soft gelatin capsule was 93.23%, which was fully from the small intestine. It led to achieving a sufficient level of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (>60 ng/ml) within 6 hours of oral intake. The levels of plasma 25-hydroxycholecalciferol and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol increased (maximum around 6 and 18 days, respectively). The small intestinal residence time was around 16 hours. No adverse event was noted. Conclusions: This was the first pharmacoscintigraphy study in the world which demonstrated the favourable bio-distribution of the Calcirol softgels supporting its role in vitamin D supplementation

A dosemetric and radiobiological impact of VMAT and 3DCRT on lumbosacral plexuses, an underestimated organ at risk in cervical cancer patients

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate dosimetric and radiobiological difference between volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) in organ at risk (OAR) lumbosacral plexus (LSP) in cervical cancer patients. Materials and methods: 30 patients of cervical cancer who were treated using 3DCRT or VMAT along with chemotherapy followed by brachytherapy were enrolled. LSP was delineated retrospectively. Dosimetric and radiobiological difference was evaluated. Patients were followed for radiation induced lumbosacral plexopathy (RILSP). Results: Median follow-up was 12 months (3–16 months). 53.3% of patients were treated by 3DCRT and 46.7% by VMAT. The mean (±SD) LSP volume: 119.03 ± 15 cm3. The mean volume percentages (%) of the LSP: V5, V10, V20, V30, V40, V50, V55, and V60 were 100%, 99.8%, 99.2%, 94.3%, 84.03%, 59.7%, 0%, 0%, respectively. All patients received doses to the LSP in excess of 50 Gy, one patient received 55 Gy. A statistically significant difference was observed in the median value of V20, V30, V40, V50, D50, P2, P4, P7, P8, P9, and P10 across two different techniques of radiotherapy — VMAT and 3DCRT. None of the patients presented with RILSP. NTCP value was less in VMAT plans compared to 3DCRT, which is also statistically significant. Conclusion: RILSP is a rare and often refractory complication of pelvic radiotherapy. Advance radiotherapy technique with proper OAR delineation and constraint can prevent the occurrence of RILSP. VMAT has potential benefits for the probability of dose reduction in LSP. Further studies are required focusing on dose distribution in LSP–OAR and radiotherapy modality

GW190412: Observation of a Binary-Black-Hole Coalescence with Asymmetric Masses

We report the observation of gravitational waves from a binary-black-hole coalescence during the first two weeks of LIGO’s and Virgo’s third observing run. The signal was recorded on April 12, 2019 at 05∶30∶44 UTC with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 19. The binary is different from observations during the first two observing runs most notably due to its asymmetric masses: a ∼30 M_⊙ black hole merged with a ∼8 M_⊙ black hole companion. The more massive black hole rotated with a dimensionless spin magnitude between 0.22 and 0.60 (90% probability). Asymmetric systems are predicted to emit gravitational waves with stronger contributions from higher multipoles, and indeed we find strong evidence for gravitational radiation beyond the leading quadrupolar order in the observed signal. A suite of tests performed on GW190412 indicates consistency with Einstein’s general theory of relativity. While the mass ratio of this system differs from all previous detections, we show that it is consistent with the population model of stellar binary black holes inferred from the first two observing runs

Properties and Astrophysical Implications of the 150 M_⊙ Binary Black Hole Merger GW190521

The gravitational-wave signal GW190521 is consistent with a binary black hole (BBH) merger source at redshift 0.8 with unusually high component masses, 85⁺²¹₋₁₄ M_⊙ and 66⁺¹⁷₋₁₈ M_⊙, compared to previously reported events, and shows mild evidence for spin-induced orbital precession. The primary falls in the mass gap predicted by (pulsational) pair-instability supernova theory, in the approximate range 65–120 M_⊙. The probability that at least one of the black holes in GW190521 is in that range is 99.0%. The final mass of the merger 142⁺²⁸₋₁₆ M_⊙) classifies it as an intermediate-mass black hole. Under the assumption of a quasi-circular BBH coalescence, we detail the physical properties of GW190521's source binary and its post-merger remnant, including component masses and spin vectors. Three different waveform models, as well as direct comparison to numerical solutions of general relativity, yield consistent estimates of these properties. Tests of strong-field general relativity targeting the merger-ringdown stages of the coalescence indicate consistency of the observed signal with theoretical predictions. We estimate the merger rate of similar systems to be 0.13_(-0.11)^(+0.30) Gpc⁻³ yr⁻¹. We discuss the astrophysical implications of GW190521 for stellar collapse and for the possible formation of black holes in the pair-instability mass gap through various channels: via (multiple) stellar coalescences, or via hierarchical mergers of lower-mass black holes in star clusters or in active galactic nuclei. We find it to be unlikely that GW190521 is a strongly lensed signal of a lower-mass black hole binary merger. We also discuss more exotic possible sources for GW190521, including a highly eccentric black hole binary, or a primordial black hole binary

Erratum: “Searches for Gravitational Waves from Known Pulsars at Two Harmonics in 2015–2017 LIGO Data” (2019, ApJ, 879, 10)

Due to an error at the publisher, in the published article the number of pulsars presented in the paper is incorrect in multiple places throughout the text. Specifically, "222" pulsars should be "221." Additionally, the number of pulsars for which we have EM observations that fully overlap with O1 and O2 changes from "168" to "167." Elsewhere, in the machine-readable table of Table 1 and in Table 2, the row corresponding to pulsar J0952-0607 should be excised as well. Finally, in the caption for Table 2 the number of pulsars changes from "188" to "187.