Injectable In Situ Forming Microparticles: A Novel Drug Delivery System

Pharmaceutical formulation research has recently been focusing on delivery systems which provide long therapeutic effects and reduced side effects, and involving simplified production stages and facilitated application process. In situ forming microparticle (ISM) systems, one of the latest approach in this field, offer a new encapsulation technique and meet the objectives stated above. Factors such as the carrier used to form the multiparticles, amount and type of drug and the vehicle type can be taken as the main performance criteria for these systems. Ongoing studies have shown that this new multiparticulate drug delivery system is suitable for achieving new implant delivery system with low risk of dose-dumping, capable of being modulated to exhibit varying release patterns, reproducible, easily applicable and welltolerated compared with classically surgical implants.Keywords: Injectable, In situ forming, Microparticle system, Controlled drug delivery

Morphology, histology and phylogeny of Henneguya sinova sp. nov. (Myxobolidae: Myxozoa) infecting gills of Parablennius tentacularis in the Black Sea, Turkey

Myxosporeans of the genus Henneguya have a global distribution and infect organs and tissues of both marine and freshwater fishes. Here we describe the morphological, histological and molecular characteristics of Henneguya sinova sp. nov. parasitizing the gill arches of tenta-cled blenny Parablennius tentacularis (Perciformes: Blenniidae) collected from the coast of Sinop on the Black Sea in Turkey. Several oval whitish plasmodia of different sizes in the gill arches of fish were found. The mature spores were rounded oval in frontal view, with a mean (range) total length 57.5 (51.5-68.0) µm; the spore body was 11.7 (11.3-12.0) µm in length by 7.6 (7.3-8.3) µm in width and 6.7 (6.6-6.8) µm in thickness. The caudal appendages, measuring 46.0 (40.0-55.0) µm in length, were very thin at the tapered end. The prevalence of infection by H. sinova sp. nov. was 35.5%. Phylogenetic analysis of nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) clearly suggested H. sinova as a new species which is clustered within the marine Henneguya lin­eage. Pairwise nucleotide similarities and DNA distance values of SSU rDNA between H. sinova sp. nov. and other related Henneguya species also supported this suggestion

Estimation of some stand parameters using digital aerial photographs for conservation and service oriented forests

Forest inventory, which is the first step of forest management planning, is the most difficult stage that requires much time and a lot of efforts. To reduce fieldworks that are considered time consuming and expensive methods of ground measurements, remote sensing data are widely used. Aerial photographs have been an integral part of forest inventory data in Turkey since 1963. Panchromatic and RGBI (Red, Green, Blue, Infrared) aerial photographs acquired by digital aerial cameras proved to be very important in forest inventory. They have maintained their importance for forest management planning process. The aim of this study is to construct a fast and practical inventory model that requires least fieldwork for forest management planning process. Pixel values and vegetation indices (NDVI, DVI, IPVI, RVI and PCA), obtained from remote sensing data, and stand parameters (stand volume, volume increment and number of trees) have been compared statistically. Black pine Pinus nigra J. F. Arnold plantations located in the south-east region of Turkey, Çelikhan Forest Planning Unit, was chosen as a research area. 0.5 meter spacing and 8 bit radiometric resolution Ultracam-X Digital Aerial Photos were used as remote sensing data. According to statistical analysis, IPVI and Green Band values provided the highest evaluation coefficient compared to the models developed for the estimation of stand parameters. Adjusted R square of stand volume, volume increment and the number of tree in the models were found to yield 0.74, 0.73 and 0.50 respectively. It was concluded that stand characteristics estimated by statistical models can be used for forest areas managed for conservation and service purposes

Alpha-induced reactions for the astrophysical p-process: the case of 151Eu

The cross sections of 151Eu(alpha,gamma)155Tb and 151Eu(alpha,n)154Tb reactions have been measured with the activation method. Some aspects of the measurement are presented here to illustrate the requirements of experimental techniques needed to obtain nuclear data for the astrophysical p-process nucleosynthesis. Preliminary cross section results are also presented and compared with the predictions of statistical model calculations.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Physics Conference Series, proceeding of the Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics IV. conferenc

Alpha-induced cross sections of 106Cd for the astrophysical p-process

The 106Cd(alpha,gamma)110Sn reaction cross section has been measured in the energy range of the Gamow window for the astrophysical p-process scenario. The cross sections for 106Cd(alpha,n)109Sn and for 106Cd(alpha,p)109In below the (alpha,n) threshold have also been determined. The results are compared with predictions of the statistical model code NON-SMOKER using different input parameters. The comparison shows that a discrepancy for 106Cd(alpha,gamma)110Sn when using the standard optical potentials can be removed with a different alpha+106Cd potential. Some astrophysical implications are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev

Injectable in situ forming microparticles: A novel drug delivery system

Pharmaceutical formulation research has recently been focusing on delivery systems which provide long therapeutic effects and reduced side effects, and involving simplified production stages and facilitated application process. In situ forming microparticle (ISM) systems, one of the latest approach in this field, offer a new encapsulation technique and meet the objectives stated above. Factors such as the carrier used to form the multiparticles, amount and type of drug and the vehicle type can be taken as the main performance criteria for these systems. Ongoing studies have shown that this new multiparticulate drug delivery system is suitable for achieving new implant delivery system with low risk of dose-dumping, capable of being modulated to exhibit varying release patterns, reproducible, easily applicable and welltolerated compared with classically surgical implants. © Pharmacotherapy Group

The Investigation of Turkey’s Road Safety Decisions by Haddon Matrix and 7Es

Objective: Road traffic crashes are one of the crucial public health problems in Turkey and all over the world. Various human, vehicle, and environment factors have been associated with road traffic crashes and different policies, strategies, and interventions have been applied to decrease adverse outcomes such as deaths. Strategies adopted and applied by authorities play a crucial role in road safety.Methods: In the present study, the road safety decisions taken by the Road Traffic Safety Province Coordination Board of each of the 81 provinces of Turkey were analysed by using two frameworks,the Haddon Matrix and Es of road safety.Results: The classification procedure resulted in 8840 decisions in different cities and 652 unique decisions across Turkey. These decisions were classified based on the Haddon Matrix and Es of road safety. The majority of the decisions focused on the pre-crash phase and education, enforcement, engineering and evaluation activities.Conclusion: In line with the strategic decisions, practical implications were discussed, and suggestions have been introduced for the future of road safety. The study provides both methodological and practical implications for road safety research and agenda. It is believed that the use of the Haddon Matrix and 7Es of road safety for policy development will result in significant improvements in public health interventions

Measurements of proton induced reaction cross sections on 120Te for the astrophysical p-process

The total cross sections for the 120Te(p,gamma)121I and 120Te(p,n)120I reactions have been measured by the activation method in the effective center-of-mass energies between 2.47 MeV and 7.93 MeV. The targets were prepared by evaporation of 99.4 % isotopically enriched 120Te on Aluminum and Carbon backing foils, and bombarded with proton beams provided by the FN tandem accelerator at the University of Notre Dame. The cross sections and $S$ factors were deduced from the observed gamma ray activity, which was detected off-line by two Clover HPGe detectors mounted in close geometry. The results are presented and compared with the predictions of statistical model calculations using the codes NON-SMOKER and TALYS.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables, regular articl

Placement, porosity and randomness of cube and Cubipod armor layers

Although little attention is usually given to the armor porosity and armor randomness of randomly placed concrete armor units in mound breakwaters, significant model effects may occur if armor porosity and randomness are different for prototype and small-scale models. Armor randomness and porosity are easier to control in small-scale models because they are generally constructed by hand in dry and perfect viewing conditions; equipment and environmental constraints make control at prototype scale more difficult. Results from three-dimensional small-scale placement tests are analyzed when cube and Cubipod units are placed with a small-scale crawler crane and pressure clamps. Armor porosity was not workable below 37% for cubes and 35% for Cubipods; placement grids were obtained for feasible armor porosities, considering row settlements during construction as well. Amethodology to measure armor randomness using high-precision laser scanning, similar to terrestrial LIDAR, was tested with small-scale cube and Cubipod armor. Three armor randomness indexes (ARIs) measured the randomness of cube and Cubipod armor; the values for ARIs were higher for Cubipod armor than for cube armor. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil EngineersThe authors would like to acknowledge the financial support received from the CDTI (CUBIPOD and CLIOMAR Projects), SATO-OHL Group (CLIOMAR Project), and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Grant BIA2012-33967). The third author was financially supported through the FPU program (Formacion del Profesorado Universitario) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte). The authors thank Tomas J. Perez for assisting with the 3D placement tests and processing the laser-scanner data, and Debra Westall for revising the manuscript.Pardo De Gregorio, V.; Herrera Gamboa, MP.; Molines Llodra, J.; Medina Folgado, JR. (2014). Placement, porosity and randomness of cube and Cubipod armor layers. Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering. 140(5). doi:10.1061/(ASCE)WW.1943-5460.0000245S140