Multimonth controlled small molecule release from biodegradable thin films

Long-term, localized delivery of small molecules from a biodegradable thin film is challenging owing to their low molecular weight and poor charge density. Accomplishing highly extended controlled release can facilitate high therapeutic levels in specific regions of the body while significantly reducing the toxicity to vital organs typically caused by systemic administration and decreasing the need for medical intervention because of its long-lasting release. Also important is the ability to achieve high drug loadings in thin film coatings to allow incorporation of significant drug amounts on implant surfaces. Here we report a sustained release formulation for small molecules based on a soluble charged polymer–drug conjugate that is immobilized into nanoscale, conformal, layer-by-layer assembled films applicable to a variety of substrate surfaces. We measured a highly predictable sustained drug release from a polymer thin film coating of 0.5–2.7 μm that continued for more than 14 mo with physiologically relevant drug concentrations, providing an important drug delivery advance. We demonstrated this effect with a potent small molecule nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, diclofenac, because this drug can be used to address chronic pain, osteoarthritis, and a range of other critical medical issues.United States. Army Research Office (Contract W911NF-13-D-0001)United States. Air Force (Contract W911NF-07-D-0004

Preferensi Pemangku Kepentingan dalam Pengelolaan Hutan Produksi: Studi Kasus di Kesatuan Pemangkuan Hutan Bogor

Pola pengelolaan hutan produksi yang dirumuskan oleh pengelola hutan di Jawa tidak sesuai digunakan sebagai landasan pengelolaan hutan produksi yang lestari. Penelitian ini berupaya merumuskan pola pengelolaan hutan produksi berdasarkan preferensi 9 (sembilan) kelompok pemangku kepentingan. Tujuan penelitian adalah (1) mengetahui preferensi pemangku kepentingan dalam pengelolaan hutan produksi dan (2) merumuskan pola pengelolaan hutan produksi yang sesuai dengan preferensi pemangku kepentingan. Hasil penelitian adalah sebagai berikut. , Pertama preferensi pemangku kepentingan adalah: (1) masyarakat pedesaan berpartisipasi dalam pengelolaan hutan produksi. Hal ini dapat diwujudkan dengan memasukkan pemberdayaan sebagai bagian dari kegiatan pengelolaan hutan; (2) masyarakat pedesaan memperoleh pekerjaan secara berkelanjutan dalam pengelolaan hutan produksi. Hal ini dapat diwujudkan dengan mengelola hutan produksi secara multikultur yang hasilnya dapat dipanen setiap tahun; dan (3) Masyarakat pedesaan berpartisipasi dalam kegiatan yang terkait dengan pengelolaan hutan produksi. Hal ini dapat diwujudkan dengan menempatkan mereka sebagai mitra kerja dan mitra USAha Perusahaan dalam pengelolaan hutan rakyat, USAha penyediaan input produksi dan industri hasil hutan. , Kedua pola pengelolaan hutan produksi yang sesuai dengan preferensi pemangku kepentingan adalah pola pengelolaan hutan produksi multikultur/agroforestri berbasis pemberdayaan masyarakat yang menempatkan masyarakat pedesaan sebagai mitra kerja dan mitra USAha Perusahaan dalam kegiatan pengelolaan hutan, penyedia input produksi dan industri hasil hutan

Pemangku Kepentingan yang Perlu Diberdayakan dalam Pengelolaan Hutan Produksi: Studi Kasus di Kesatuan Pemangkuan Hutan Bogor

Di Jawa, gangguan hutan produksi marak terjadi yang menunjukkan bahwa kegiatan pengelolaan hutan tidak didukung oleh sebagian pemangku kepentingan. Mereka mungkin tidak bermaksud merusak hutan tetapi tetap melakukannya karena tidak memperoleh kesempatan berpartisipasi dalam kegiatan pengelolaan hutan. Tujuan penelitian adalah mengidentifikasi kelompok pemangku kepentingan yang perlu diberdayakan dalam pengelolaan hutan produksi. Kemampuan dan mobilitas sumberdaya serta kebergantungan langsung pada hutan digunakan sebagai parameter untuk mengidentifikasi mereka. Hasil Penelitian adalah sebagai berikut. Pertama, pekerja USAha penyedia input, pekerja hutan, masyarakat umum pedesaan dan pekerja industri hasil hutan adalah 4 (empat) kelompok pemangku kepentingan yang perlu diberdayakan dalam pengelolaan hutan produksi. Mereka mempunyai pendapatan dan pendidikan rendah, kebergantungan langsung pada hutan tinggi dan kurang mampu memperjuangkan kepentingannya. Kedua, pemberdayaan yang sesuai untuk mereka adalah (a) meningkatkan kemampuan mereka bekerja dan berusaha pada kegiatan pengelolaan hutan produksi dan (b) meningkatkan kesempatan kerja di dalam kawasan hutan produksi dengan mengelola hutan secara multikultur atau dengan sistem agroforestri. Kementerian Kehutanan dapat mendukung pemberdayaan tersebut dengan merumuskan kebijakan pengelolaan hutan tanaman multikultur yang mudah diimplementasikan

Development of Vitrification Process and Glass Formulation for Nuclear Waste Conditioning

The vitrification of high-level waste is the internationally recognized standard to minimize the impact to the environment resulting from waste disposal as well as to minimize the volume of conditioned waste to be disposed of. COGEMA has been vitrifying high-level waste industrially for over 20 years and is currently operating three commercial vitrification facilities based on a hot metal crucible technology, with outstanding records of safety, reliability and product quality. To further increase the performance of vitrification facilities, CEA and COGEMA have been developing the cold crucible melter technology since the beginning of the 1980s. This type of melter is characterized by a virtually unlimited equipment service life and a great flexibility in dealing with various types of waste and allowing development of high temperature matrices. In complement of and in parallel with the vitrification process, a glass formulation methodology has been developed by the CEA in order to tailor matrices for the wastes to be conditioned while providing the best adaptation to the processing technology. The development of a glass formulation is a trade-off between material properties and qualities, technical feasibility, and disposal safety criteria. It involves non-radioactive and radioactive laboratories in order to achieve a comprehensive matrix qualification. Several glasses and glass ceramics have thus been studied by the CEA to be compliant with industrial needs and waste characteristics: glasses or other matrices for a large spectrum of fission products, or for high contents of specifics elements such as sodium, phosphate, iron, molybdenum, or actinides. New glasses or glass-ceramics designed to minimize the final wasteform volume for solutions produced during the reprocessing of high burnup fuels or to treat legacy wastes are now under development and take benefit from the latest CEA hot-laboratories and technology development. The paper presents the CEA state-of-the-art in developing matrices or glasses and provides several examples

Introducing a new method for classifying skull shape abnormalities related to craniosynostosis

We present a novel technique for classification of skull deformities due to most common craniosynostosis. We included 5 children of every group of the common craniosynostoses (scaphocephaly, brachycephaly, trigonocephaly, and right- and left-sided anterior plagiocephaly) and additionally 5 controls. Our outline-based classification method is described, using the software programs OsiriX, MeVisLab, and Matlab. These programs were used to identify chosen landmarks (porion and exocanthion), create a base plane and a plane at 4 cm, segment outlines, and plot resulting graphs. We measured repeatability and reproducibility, and mean curves of groups were analyzed. All raters achieved excellent intraclass correlation scores (0.994–1.000) and interclass correlation scores (0.989–1.000) for identifying the external landmarks. Controls, scaphocephaly, trigonocephaly, and brachycephaly all have the peak of the forehead in the middle of the curve (180°). In contrary, in anterior plagiocephaly, the peak is shifted (to the left of graph in right-sided and vice versa). Additionally, controls, scaphocephaly, and trigonocephaly have a high peak of the forehead; scaphocephaly has the lowest troughs; in brachycephaly, the width/frontal peak ratio has the highest valu

Impact of culture towards disaster risk reduction

Number of natural disasters has risen sharply worldwide making the risk of disasters a global concern. These disasters have created significant losses and damages to humans, economy and society. Despite the losses and damages created by disasters, some individuals and communities do not attached much significance to natural disasters. Risk perception towards a disaster not only depends on the danger it could create but also the behaviour of the communities and individuals that is governed by their culture. Within this context, this study examines the relationship between culture and disaster risk reduction (DRR). A comprehensive literature review is used for the study to evaluate culture, its components and to analyse a series of case studies related to disaster risk. It was evident from the study that in some situations, culture has become a factor for the survival of the communities from disasters where as in some situations culture has acted as a barrier for effective DRR activities. The study suggests community based DRR activities as a mechanism to integrate with culture to effectively manage disaster risk

Epigenetics in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease: influence of exercise and nutrition

Increasing evidence links changes in epigenetic systems, such as DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA expression, to the occurrence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). These epigenetic modifications can change genetic function under influence of exogenous stimuli and can be transferred to next generations, providing a potential mechanism for inheritance of behavioural intervention effects. The benefits of exercise and nutritional interventions in the primary and secondary prevention of CVD are well established, but the mechanisms are not completely understood. In this review, we describe the acute and chronic epigenetic effects of physical activity and dietary changes. We propose exercise and nutrition as potential triggers of epigenetic signals, promoting the reshaping of transcriptional programmes with effects on CVD phenotypes. Finally, we highlight recent developments in epigenetic therapeutics with implications for primary and secondary CVD prevention

Biodegradable nano-films for capture and non-invasive release of circulating tumor cells

Selective isolation and purification of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from whole blood is an important capability for both clinical medicine and biological research. Current techniques to perform this task place the isolated cells under excessive stresses that reduce cell viability, and potentially induce phenotype change, therefore losing valuable information about the isolated cells. We present a biodegradable nano-film coating on the surface of a microfluidic chip, which can be used to effectively capture as well as non-invasively release cancer cell lines such as PC-3, LNCaP, DU 145, H1650 and H1975. We have applied layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly to create a library of ultrathin coatings using a broad range of materials through complementary interactions. By developing an LbL nano-film coating with an affinity-based cell-capture surface that is capable of selectively isolating cancer cells from whole blood, and that can be rapidly degraded on command, we are able to gently isolate cancer cells and recover them without compromising cell viability or proliferative potential. Our approach has the capability to overcome practical hurdles and provide viable cancer cells for downstream analyses, such as live cell imaging, single cell genomics, and invitro cell culture of recovered cells. Furthermore, CTCs from cancer patients were also captured, identified, and successfully released using the LbL-modified microchips