Nanostructured Cubosomes in a Thermoresponsive Depot System: An Alternative Approach for the Controlled Delivery of Docetaxel

The aim of the present study was to develop and evaluate a thermoresponsive depot system comprising of docetaxel-loaded cubosomes. The cubosomes were dispersed within a thermoreversible gelling system for controlled drug delivery. The cubosome dispersion was prepared by dilution method, followed by homogenization using glyceryl monooleate, ethanol and Pluronic® F127 in distilled water. The cubosome dispersion was then incorporated into a gelling system prepared with Pluronic®F127 and Pluronic® F68 in various ratios to formulate a thermoresponsive depot system. The thermoresponsive depot formulations undergo a thermoreversible gelation process i.e., they exists as free flowing liquids at room temperature, and transforms into gels at higher temperatures e.g., body temperature, to form a stable depot in aqueous environment. The mean particle size of the cubosomes in the dispersion prepared with Pluronic® F127, with and without the drug was found to be 170 and 280 nm, respectively. The prepared thermoresponsive depot system was evaluated by assessing various parameters like time for gelation, injectability, gel erosion, and in-vitro drug release. The drug-release studies of the cubosome dispersion before incorporation into the gelling system revealed that a majority (∼97%) of the drug was released within 12 h. This formulation also showed a short lag time (∼3 min). However, when incorpo- rated into a thermoresponsive depot system, the formulation exhibited an initial burst release of∼21%, and released only∼ 39% drug over a period of 12 h, thus indicating its potential as a controlled drug delivery system

Comparison of normalization methods for CodeLink Bioarray data

BACKGROUND: The quality of microarray data can seriously affect the accuracy of downstream analyses. In order to reduce variability and enhance signal reproducibility in these data, many normalization methods have been proposed and evaluated, most of which are for data obtained from cDNA microarrays and Affymetrix GeneChips. CodeLink Bioarrays are a newly emerged, single-color oligonucleotide microarray platform. To date, there are no reported studies that evaluate normalization methods for CodeLink Bioarrays. RESULTS: We compared five existing normalization approaches, in terms of both noise reduction and signal retention: Median (suggested by the manufacturer), CyclicLoess, Quantile, Iset, and Qspline. These methods were applied to two real datasets (a time course dataset and a lung disease-related dataset) generated by CodeLink Bioarrays and were assessed using multiple statistical significance tests. Compared to Median, CyclicLoess and Qspline exhibit a significant and the most consistent improvement in reduction of variability and retention of signal. CyclicLoess appears to retain more signal than Qspline. Quantile reduces more variability than Median in both datasets, yet fails to consistently retain more signal in the time course dataset. Iset does not improve over Median in either noise reduction or signal enhancement in the time course dataset. CONCLUSION: Median is insufficient either to reduce variability or to retain signal effectively for CodeLink Bioarray data. CyclicLoess is a more suitable approach for normalizing these data. CyclicLoess also seems to be the most effective method among the five different normalization strategies examined

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients

Anthropometric Profiling of New Zealand Junior Elite Triathletes

Introduction: The triathlon involves a combination of three separate disciplines-swimming, cycling and running. To date, very few studies have been conducted on the anthropometric characteristics of the New Zealand junior elite triathletes. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between physical traits of calf girth or sum of eight skinfolds (anthropometry) and running or cycling performances in the triathlon event. Methods: Eleven junior elite triathletes (6 females, 5 males; (Av. age: 17) who were selected for the New Zealand national squad, were examined in this cross-sectional study. All athletes were measured for the complete anthropometric profile, as per the International Society for Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK) guidelines. It was then correlated with the cycling and running performances using interclass correlation (ICC) with 90% confidence interval (CI) limits. Results: A non-significant positive correlation observed between eight skinfolds tests on running performance (ICC: 0.10; 90% CI: -0.68–0.77; p>0.05) and biking performance (ICC: 0.15; 90% CI: -0.65–0.79; p>0.05), suggested athletes with greater body fat may render a better athletic performance. Conversely, a significant negative correlation was observed between calf girth and running performance (ICC:-0.66; 90% CI: -0.94 – - 0.12; p<0.05) and a non-significant negative correlation was observed between calf girth and cycling performance (ICC:-0.94; 90% CI: -0.97– 0.68; p>0.05). Conclusion: Anthropometric data can help in predicting an ideal body profile. This research indicates the similarities and differences of the New Zealand junior profile and the world junior profil