Preparation and characterisation of free flowing solid lipid based drug delivery systems using a twin screw extruder

In this study, a continuous manufacturing process was developed for adsorbing liquid self-emulsifying drug delivery system (SEDDS) on mesoporous silica carriers in order to produce solid free flowing SEDDS powders. An optimized liquid SEDDS, consisting of Labrafil M 1944 CS, Labrasol and Capryol 90 (15, 80, 5 %w/w), was developed. The formulation spontaneously formed a homogenous emulsion with a droplet size of less than 200 nm (in water) and possessed pH robustness (pH 1.2, pH 6.8). Two grades of mesoporous silica were investigated as solid carriers, namely Syloid XDP 3050 and 3150. A twin screw extruder, setup in the granulation configuration, was employed to assess the mixing and adsorption of liquid SEDDS onto silica particles in a continuous process. Screw configuration, ratio of solid carrier to liquid SEDDS, powder and liquid feed rates and screw speed were identified as important parameters. These parameters were tested and optimized to achieve free flowing solid SEDDS. The maximum lipid loading of Syloid XDP 3050 and 3150 was 1:2 and 1:2 to less than 1:3 ratios, respectively. Although increasing liquid SEDDS loading increased the cohesive properties of the silica particles, the resulting powders afforded acceptable flow rate indexes as determined by powder rheometry. Similar self-emulsification behaviour was observed for solid and liquid SEDDS. With increasing lipid loading, the droplet size of emulsified solid SEDDS increased and changed from a unimodal to a bimodal size distributions. This effect was more pronounced for Syloid XDP3050. Syloid XDP 3150 was less sensitive to droplet size changes as its z-average diameters at 1:2-1:3 ratio were similar to the optimized liquid SEDDS. Targeting a lipid loading ratio of 2:1, process parameters were varied to maximise material throughput. The investigated continuous process of adsorbing liquid SEDDs onto solid carriers produced solid SEDDS with good flow properties. Syloid XDP 3150 seemed more robust to the process than Syloid XDP 3050

Information scraps: how and why information eludes our personal information management tools

In this paper we describe information scraps -- a class of personal information whose content is scribbled on Post-it notes, scrawled on corners of random sheets of paper, buried inside the bodies of e-mail messages sent to ourselves, or typed haphazardly into text files. Information scraps hold our great ideas, sketches, notes, reminders, driving directions, and even our poetry. We define information scraps to be the body of personal information that is held outside of its natural or We have much still to learn about these loose forms of information capture. Why are they so often held outside of our traditional PIM locations and instead on Post-its or in text files? Why must we sometimes go around our traditional PIM applications to hold on to our scraps, such as by e-mailing ourselves? What are information scraps' role in the larger space of personal information management, and what do they uniquely offer that we find so appealing? If these unorganized bits truly indicate the failure of our PIM tools, how might we begin to build better tools? We have pursued these questions by undertaking a study of 27 knowledge workers. In our findings we describe information scraps from several angles: their content, their location, and the factors that lead to their use, which we identify as ease of capture, flexibility of content and organization, and avilability at the time of need. We also consider the personal emotive responses around scrap management. We present a set of design considerations that we have derived from the analysis of our study results. We present our work on an application platform, jourknow, to test some of these design and usability findings

Bioelectrical phase angle values in a clinical sample of ambulatory rehabilitation patients

Background: Phase angle (PhA) is derived from the resistance and reactance measurements obtained from bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) and is considered indicative of cellular health and membrane integrity. This study measured PhA values of rehabilitation patients and compared them to reference values, measures of functional ability and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels to explore their utility as a clinical tool to monitor disease progression and treatment efficacy. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 215 ambulatory rehabilitation patients aged 20 – 94 years. All participants had been hospitalised for a stroke, orthopaedic or other condition resulting in a functional limitation. PhA was derived from BIA analysis and functional ability characterised using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), timed up and go (TUG) and maximal quadriceps strength (MQS). Serum levels of CRP were also collected. Results: Stroke patients had the highest PhA (5.3°) followed by elective orthopaedic surgery (5.0°) with the other group (4.3°) significantly lower than both previous categories (p < 0.001). Ambulatory rehabilitation patients' PhA values were dependent on age and sex (p < 0.001), lower than published age matched healthy reference values (p ≤ 0.05) and similar to other hospitalised or sick groups, but also higher than values reported in critically ill patients. Patients with CRP values less than 10 mg.L-1 had significantly (p = 0.005) higher mean PhA values. Furthermore, the highest functional status quartiles had significantly higher PhAs (p ≤ 0.04) for the FIM, MQS and TUG measures. Conclusion: The results suggest that the phase angles of rehabilitation patients are between those of healthy individuals and seriously ill patients, thereby supporting claims that PhA is indicative of general health status. Phase angles are a potentially useful indicator of functional status in patients commencing an ambulatory rehabilitation program with a normal hydration status.Simon M. Gunn, Julie A. Halbert, Lynne C. Giles, Jacqueline M. Stepien, Michelle D. Miller and Maria Crott

The DataRes Project

Paper for the 2012 International iConference. This presentation discusses data management and the DataRes Project

Research Data Management in Policy and Practice: The DataRes Project

Abstract I n this paper, we report findings of the DataRes Project, a two-year project funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). We examine the perceptions of library professionals faced with supporting federal funding agency mandates for research data management plans, describe the state of data management requirements at major federal funding agencies, discuss our findings about the policy landscape at the top National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) awardee institutions in the United States, and describe examples of robust responses to the needs of researchers for data management plan support

The Library Publishing Coalition Project

Presentation for the 2012 CNI Fall Meeting. This presentation discusses the Library Publishing Coalition Project

The Birmingham Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) project : developments towards selective internal particle therapy

This paper will review progress on two aspects of the Birmingham BNCT project. Firstly on evaluation of the effects of high and low LET radiations when delivered simultaneously, and secondly on attempts to optimise delivery of the boron carrier compound BPA through pharmacokinetic studies. Simultaneous or non-simultaneous irradiations of V79 cells with alpha-particle and X-ray irradiations were performed. Alpha doses of 2 and 2.5 Gy were chosen and the impact on survival when delivered separately or simultaneously with variable doses of X-rays was evaluated. The pharmacokinetics of the delivery of a new formulation of BPA (BPA-mannitol) are being investigated in brain tumour patients through a study with 2 × 2 design featuring intravenous and intracarotid artery infusion of BPA, with or without a mannitol bolus. On the combined effect of low and high LET radiations, a synergistic effect was observed when alpha and X-ray doses are delivered simultaneously. The effect is only present at the 2.5 Gy alpha dose and is a very substantial effect on both the shape of the survival curve and the level of cell killing. This indicates that the alpha component may have the effect of inhibiting the repair of damage from the low LET radiation dose delivered simultaneously. On the pharmacokinetics of BPA, data on the first three cohorts indicate that bioavailability of BPA in brain ECF is increased substantially through the addition of a mannitol bolus, as well as by the use of intracarotid artery route of infusion. In both cases, for some patients the levels after infusion approach those seen in blood, whereas the ECF levels for intravenous infusion without mannitol are typically less than 10% of the blood values

Delays Associated with Elementary Processes in Nuclear Reaction Simulations

Scatterings, particularly those involving resonances, and other elementary processes do not happen instantaneously. In the context of semiclassical nuclear reaction simulations, we consider delays associated with an interaction for incident quantum wave-packets. As a consequence, we express delays associated with elementary processes in terms of elements of the scattering matrix and phase shifts for elastic scattering. We show that, to within the second order in density, the simulation must account for delays in scattering consistently with the mean field in order to properly model thermodynamic properties such as pressure and free-energy density. The delays associated with nucleon-nucleon and pion-nucleon scattering in free space are analysed with their nontrivial energy dependence. Finally, an example of s-channel scattering of massless partons is studied, and scattering schemes in nuclear reaction simulations are investigated in the context of scattering delays.Comment: 45 pages, 5 uuencoded Postscript figure

Elastic scattering and breakup of 17^F at 10 MeV/nucleon

Angular distributions of fluorine and oxygen produced from 170 MeV 17^F incident on 208^Pb were measured. The elastic scattering data are in good agreement with optical model calculations using a double-folding potential and parameters similar to those obtained from 16^O+208^Pb. A large yield of oxygen was observed near \theta_lab=36 deg. It is reproduced fairly well by a calculation of the (17^F,16^O) breakup, which is dominated by one-proton stripping reactions. The discrepancy between our previous coincidence measurement and theoretical predictions was resolved by including core absorption in the present calculation.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure