Biocompatible dendrimer for the solubility enhancement and sustained release of piroxicam

Piroxicam (PRM) a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication is an oxicam-class used orally to treat gout, arthritis, and other inflammatory diseases. However, its poor aqueous solubility and bioavailability has hampered further clinical applications in health industries. This work emphasize on development of four types of functionalised biocompatible dendrimer with generation 0 and 1and examine its solubility, drug release and antibacterial activity. The maximum solubility enhancement of PRM up to 48 folds has been achieved by PAMAM (G1)-CH3 at a concentration of 9.9×10-4 M. The in vitro release gets sustained up to 450 mins for releasing 90% of drug from PAMAM (G1)-COCH3 compared to its parent dendrimer which is 120 min. The anti-bacterial studies reflected that when dendrimers are used as drug carriers, the inherent property of drug is not disturbed, instead the activity has been increased. The activity interms of zone of inhibition results in 1.5-2.0 folds increase and it is more pronounced in the case of B. subtilis rather than E.coli. This observation indicates evidence that dendrimer and their derivatives are promising candidates for drug solubility enhancer and effective delivery of drugs with drastic reduction in side effect and improved efficiency

IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM BY INCORPORATING TRACKING SYSTEM AND MPPT: A REVIEW

The harvesting of solar energy is gaining increasing attention as it is pollution free and is available in abundance. Various researches and experiments are being carried out to improve the efficiency of power conversion by altering the material of the photovoltaic panels, by incorporating tracking systems and by making use of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms. The conventional rigidly fixed solar panels limit their area of exposure to the sun during the entire day. The use of tracker increases the area of panel exposed to direct beam of the sun, thus increasing the power generated. MPPT algorithm tracks the maximum power point attained at all loads and extracts the power from the panel at that voltage. Despite the variations in the external environment, the power obtained from the panel is always maximum. This paper reviews various tracking methods and MPPT techniques to increase the energy harvesting capacity of the panel and in turn improve its efficiency

Quadratic quantum speedup in evaluating bilinear risk functions

Computing nonlinear functions over multilinear forms is a general problem with applications in risk analysis. For instance in the domain of energy economics, accurate and timely risk management demands for efficient simulation of millions of scenarios, largely benefiting from computational speedups. We develop a novel hybrid quantum-classical algorithm based on polynomial approximation of nonlinear functions and compare different implementation variants. We prove a quadratic quantum speedup, up to polylogarithmic factors, when forms are bilinear and approximating polynomials have second degree, if efficient loading unitaries are available for the input data sets. We also enhance the bidirectional encoding, that allows tuning the balance between circuit depth and width, proposing an improved version that can be exploited for the calculation of inner products. Lastly, we exploit the dynamic circuit capabilities, recently introduced on IBM Quantum devices, to reduce the average depth of the Quantum Hadamard Product circuit. A proof of principle is implemented and validated on IBM Quantum systems

Multicentennial to millennial–scale changes in the East Asian summer monsoon during Greenland interstadial 25

A multidecadal-resolved stalagmite δ18O record from two nearby caves, Lianhua and Dragon, in Shanxi Province, northern China, characterizes the detailed East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) intensity changes at 114.6–108.3 ka during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 5d. Our record shows an intensification of the EASM at 114.6–109.5 ka, followed by a rapid weakening at 109.5–108.4 ka. The millennial-scale strong monsoonal event appears to be correlated with the warm Greenland interstadial 25 (GI 25), whereas the weak monsoonal event is related to the cold Greenland stadial 25 within dating errors. The GI 25 monsoonal event registered in our record is also documented in various published time series from different regions of China. The lines of evidence indicate that this event occurred over the entirety of monsoonal China and was also broadly antiphase, similar to the corresponding event on a millennial time scale in the South American monsoon territory. In our record, one 700 yr weak monsoon event at 110.7+0.6−0.5 to 110.0+0.8−0.4 ka divides the GI 25 into three substages. These multicentennial to millennial–scale monsoon events correspond to two warm periods and an intervening cold interval for the intra-interstadial climate oscillations within GI 25, thus supporting a persistent coupling of the high- and low-latitude climate systems over the last glacial period

Genotoxicity evaluation of medical devices: A regulatory perspective

This review critically evaluates our current regulatory understanding of genotoxicity testing and risk assessment of medical devices. Genotoxicity risk assessment of these devices begins with the evaluation of materials of construction, manufacturing additives and all residual materials for potential to induce DNA damage. This is followed by extractable and/or leachable (E&L) studies to understand the worst case and/or clinical exposures, coupled with risk assessment of extractables or leachables. The TTC (Threshold of Toxicological Concern) approach is used to define acceptable levels of genotoxic chemicals, when identified. Where appropriate, in silico predictions may be used to evaluate the genotoxic potentials of identifiable chemicals with limited toxicological data and above the levels defined by TTC. Devices that could not be supported by E&L studies are evaluated by in vitro genotoxicity studies conducted in accordance with ISO10993-3 and 33. Certain endpoints such as ‘site of contact genotoxicity’ that are specific for certain classes of medical devices are currently not addressed in the current standards. The review also illustrates the potential uses of recent advances to achieve the goal of robust genotoxicity assessment of medical devices which are being increasingly used for health benefits. The review also highlights the gaps for genotoxicity risk assessment of medical devices and suggests possible approaches to address them taking into consideration the recent advances in genotoxicity testing including their potential uses in biocompatibility assessment

CATheter Infections in CHildren (CATCH): a randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation comparing impregnated and standard central venous catheters in children.

BACKGROUND: Impregnated central venous catheters (CVCs) are recommended for adults to reduce bloodstream infection (BSI) but not for children. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of impregnated compared with standard CVCs for reducing BSI in children admitted for intensive care. DESIGN: Multicentre randomised controlled trial, cost-effectiveness analysis from a NHS perspective and a generalisability analysis and cost impact analysis. SETTING: 14 English paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in England. PARTICIPANTS: Children aged  1.2 per 1000 CVC-days. CONCLUSIONS: The primary outcome did not differ between impregnated and standard CVCs. However, antibiotic-impregnated CVCs significantly reduced the risk of BSI compared with standard and heparin CVCs. Adoption of antibiotic-impregnated CVCs could be beneficial even for PICUs with low BSI rates, although uncertainty remains whether or not they represent value for money to the NHS. Limitations - inserting clinicians were not blinded to allocation and a lower than expected event rate meant that there was limited power for head-to-head comparisons of each type of impregnation. Future work - adoption of impregnated CVCs in PICUs should be considered and could be monitored through linkage of electronic health-care data and clinical data on CVC use with laboratory surveillance data on BSI. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01029717. FUNDING: This project was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 20, No. 18. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information

Generalisability and Cost-Impact of Antibiotic-Impregnated Central Venous Catheters for Reducing Risk of Bloodstream Infection in Paediatric Intensive Care Units in England

Background: We determined the generalisability and cost-impact of adopting antibiotic-impregnated CVCs in all paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in England, based on results from a large randomised controlled trial (the CATCH trial; ISRCTN34884569). Methods: BSI rates using standard CVCs were estimated through linkage of national PICU audit data (PICANet) with laboratory surveillance data. We estimated the number of BSI averted if PICUs switched from standard to antibiotic-impregnated CVCs by applying the CATCH trial rate-ratio (0.40; 95% CI 0.17,0.97) to the BSI rate using standard CVCs. The value of healthcare resources made available by averting one BSI as estimated from the trial economic analysis was £10,975; 95% CI -£2,801,£24,751. Results: The BSI rate using standard CVCs was 4.58 (95% CI 4.42,4.74) per 1000 CVC-days in 2012. Applying the rate-ratio gave 232 BSI averted using antibiotic CVCs. The additional cost of purchasing antibiotic-impregnated compared with standard CVCs was £36 for each child, corresponding to additional costs of £317,916 for an estimated 8831 CVCs required in PICUs in 2012. Based on 2012 BSI rates, management of BSI in PICUs cost £2.5 million annually (95% uncertainty interval: -£160,986, £5,603,005). The additional cost of antibiotic CVCs would be less than the value of resources associated with managing BSI in PICUs with standard BSI rates >1.2 per 1000 CVC-days. Conclusions: The cost of introducing antibiotic-impregnated CVCs is less than the cost associated with managing BSIs occurring with standard CVCs. The long-term benefits of preventing BSI could mean that antibiotic CVCs are cost-effective even in PICUs with extremely low BSI rates