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Development of a RP-HPLC method for evaluation of in vitro permeability of voriconazole in the presence of enhancers through rat skin
No full textAbstractAn isocratic RP-HPLC–UV method for the analysis of voriconazole in skin diffusate samples has been developed and validated. Experimental design was employed to optimize the method. The method was validated as per ICH guidelines. Linearity was observed over the concentration range of 2–100μgmL−1 (r2=0.999). Limits of detection and quantification were 0.6 and 2μgmL−1, respectively. Intra-day and inter-day precision (% RSD) was within the ICH limits (⩽2%). The method was successfully used to analyze skin diffusate samples, and the effectiveness of different permeation enhancers was compared with respect to flux and permeability coefficient
The effects of Ramadan fasting on patients with prosthetic heart valve taking warfarin for anticoagulation
No full textAbstractIntroductionOral anticoagulation with warfarin is indicated for patients with prosthetic heart valves. The effects of religious fasting during Ramadan month (in the Islamic calendar) on anticoagulation aren’t clear.ObjectivesTo study the impact of Ramadan fasting on international normalized ratio (INR), quality of anticoagulation, dose of warfarin used and blood osmolarity.Methods18 patients were followed-up prospectively for 3months (pre- Ramadan, Ramadan and post-Ramadan months). Patients presented for weekly visits in which blood samples were obtained.ResultsNo significant difference in INR and warfarin dose was found between Ramadan month, and months before and after it. The post-Ramadan INR was significantly larger than pre-Ramadan (p=0.004). Blood osmolarity was significantly lower during Ramadan compared to pre- and post-Ramadan months. A significantly better quality of anticoagulation was noticed during Ramadan (p<0.001). A significantly larger ratio of supratherapeutic INR values occurred in the post-Ramadan month (p<0.05). A significantly larger ratio of infra-therapeutic INR values was noticed in the pre-Ramadan month (p<0.05).ConclusionNo significant difference in mean INR or warfarin dose was found and a better quality of anticoagulation was achieved during Ramadan. A tendency toward supra-therapeutic anticoagulation occurred after Ramadan, thus a closer follow up during this period may be reasonable
Genome sequence of Prevotella intermedia SUNY aB G8-9K-3, a biofilm forming strain with drug-resistance
No full textAbstractPrevotella intermedia has long been known to be as the principal etiologic agent of periodontal diseases and associated with various systemic diseases. Previous studies showed that the intra-species difference exists in capacity of biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, and serological reaction among P. intermedia strains. Here we report the genome sequence of P. intermedia SUNY aB G8-9K-3 (designated ATCC49046) that displays a relatively high antimicrobial resistant and biofilm-forming capacity. Genome sequencing information provides important clues in understanding the genetic bases of phenotypic differences among P. intermedia strains
Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization and thermal studies of some divalent transition metal complexes of 8-hydroxyquinoline
No full textAbstractLooking to the pharmacological importance of 8-hydroxyquinolines, in the present study, a novel ligand 5-((1-methyl-1,2-dihydroquinolin-4-yloxy) methyl) quinolin-8-ol (MDMQ) was synthesized by the reaction of 1-methyl-1,2-dihydroquinolin-4-ol with 5-chloromethyl- 8-hydroxyquinoline hydrochloride. Its metal complexes were also prepared with Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) salts. All the above compounds were investigated by physicochemical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and spectroscopic techniques. In vitro antimicrobial activity of all synthesized compounds and standard drugs has been evaluated against four strains of bacteria which include two gram +ve bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus megaterium and two gram −ve bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris and one fungi Aspergillus niger
Perineural dexmedetomidine effects on sciatic nerve in rat
No full textAbstractThe present study was designed to test the hypothesis that high dose dexmedetomidine would increase the duration of antinociception to a thermal stimulus in a rat model of sciatic nerve blockade without causing nerve damage. The rats were anesthetized with isoflurane. After electromyography (EMG) recordings, right sciatic nerves were explored and perineural injections were delivered: Group D (n=7), 40μgμgkg−1 dexmedetomidine administration, Group II (n=6), (0.2mL) saline administration, Group III (n=2), only surgically exploration of the right sciatic nevre. Time to paw withdrawal latency (PAW) to a thermal stimulus for both paws and an assessment of motor function were measured every 30min after the nerve block until a return to baseline. The compound muscle action potential (CMAP) of right and left sciatic nerves were recorded 10 times per each nerve once more after perineural injections at 14 day. After EMG recordings, right and the part of left sciatic nerve were excised at a length of at minimum 15mm for histopathological examination. Comparison of right/left CMAP amplitude ratios before and 14 days after the procedure showed a statistically significant difference (p=0.000). There were no differences in perineural inflammation between the Group D, Group S, and Group E at 14 days
Ethiopian wheat yield and yield gap estimation: A spatially explicit small area integrated data approach
No full textAbstractDespite the routine collection of annual agricultural surveys and significant advances in GIS and remote sensing products, little econometric research has integrated these data sources in estimating developing nations’ agricultural yields. In this paper, we explore the determinants of wheat output per hectare in Ethiopia during the 2011–2013 principal Meher crop seasons at the kebele administrative area. Using a panel data approach, combining national agricultural field surveys with relevant GIS and remote sensing products, the model explains nearly 40% of the total variation in wheat output per hectare across the country. Reflecting on the high interannual variability in output per hectare, we explore whether these changes can be explained by weather, shocks to, and management of rain-fed agricultural systems. The model identifies specific contributors to wheat yields that include farm management techniques (e.g. area planted, improved seed, fertilizer, and irrigation), weather (e.g. rainfall), water availability (e.g. vegetation and moisture deficit indexes) and policy intervention. Our findings suggest that woredas produce between 9.8 and 86.5% of their locally attainable wheat yields given their altitude, weather conditions, terrain, and plant health. In conclusion, we believe the combination of field surveys with spatial data can be used to identify management priorities for improving production at a variety of administrative levels
Antimicrobial and insect antifeedant activities of some Tröger’s bases
No full textAbstractA series of substituted Tröger’s bases (2,8-dimethyl-6H, 12H- 5,11-methanodibenzo[b, f][1,5] diazocines) have been synthesized and resolved. These bases are characterized by their physical constants, micro analyses, IR, NMR and mass spectral data. The antimicrobial and insect antifeedant activities of these Tröger’s bases have been screened
Measurement of fine-spatial-resolution 3D vegetation structure with airborne waveform lidar: Calibration and validation with voxelised terrestrial lidar
No full textAbstractVegetation structure controls habitat availability, ecosystem services, weather, climate and microclimate, but current landscape scale vegetation maps have lacked details of understorey vegetation and within-canopy structure at resolutions finer than a few tens of metres. In this paper, a novel signal processing method is used to correctly measure 3D voxelised vegetation cover from full-waveform ALS data at 1.5m horizontal and 50cm vertical resolution, including understorey vegetation and within-canopy structure. A new method for calibrating and validating the instrument specific ALS processing using high resolution TLS data is also presented and used to calibrate and validate the ALS derived data products over a wide range of land cover types within a heterogeneous urban area, including woodland, gardens and streets. This showed the method to accurately retrieve voxelised canopy cover maps with less than 0.4% of voxels containing false negatives, 10% of voxels containing false positives and a canopy cover accuracy within voxels of 24%. The method was applied across 100km2 and the resulting structure maps were compared to the more widely used discrete return ALS and Gaussian decomposed waveform ALS data products. These products were found to give little information on the within-canopy structure and so are only capable of deriving coarse resolution, plot-scale structure metrics. The detailed 3D canopy maps derived from the new method allow landscape scale ecosystem processes to be examined in more detail than has previously been possible, and the new method reveals details about the canopy understorey, creating opportunities for ecological investigations. The calibration method can be applied to any waveform ALS instrument and processing method. All code used in this paper is freely available online through bitbucket (https://bitbucket.org/StevenHancock/voxel_lidar)
Templates as a method for implementing data provenance in decision support systems
No full textAbstractDecision support systems are used as a method of promoting consistent guideline-based diagnosis supporting clinical reasoning at point of care. However, despite the availability of numerous commercial products, the wider acceptance of these systems has been hampered by concerns about diagnostic performance and a perceived lack of transparency in the process of generating clinical recommendations. This resonates with the Learning Health System paradigm that promotes data-driven medicine relying on routine data capture and transformation, which also stresses the need for trust in an evidence-based system. Data provenance is a way of automatically capturing the trace of a research task and its resulting data, thereby facilitating trust and the principles of reproducible research. While computational domains have started to embrace this technology through provenance-enabled execution middlewares, traditionally non-computational disciplines, such as medical research, that do not rely on a single software platform, are still struggling with its adoption. In order to address these issues, we introduce provenance templates – abstract provenance fragments representing meaningful domain actions. Templates can be used to generate a model-driven service interface for domain software tools to routinely capture the provenance of their data and tasks. This paper specifies the requirements for a Decision Support tool based on the Learning Health System, introduces the theoretical model for provenance templates and demonstrates the resulting architecture. Our methods were tested and validated on the provenance infrastructure for a Diagnostic Decision Support System that was developed as part of the EU FP7 TRANSFoRm project
Simplified reliability analysis of punching in reinforced concrete flat slab buildings under accidental actions
No full textAbstractFlat slab concrete buildings are widely found in infrastructure such as office and residential buildings or industrial facilities. The susceptibility of progressive collapse of such structures due to accidental loads is highly dependent on the structural performance of the slab-column connections. This paper presents a framework for a simplified reliability analysis and derivation of safety factors for computing the probability of punching of flat slab concrete buildings subjected to accidental loads such as column removal, slab falling from above or blast load. The main advantage of the proposed approach is that it considers in a simple manner, the uncertainty in the gravity load applied in the slab before the accidental event, which affects the inertial effects and demand/capacity ratio in the slab-column connections. Eurocode 2 and the Critical Shear Crack Theory for punching are used and extended to dynamic cases for the assessment of the demand/capacity ratio using computer-based time history finite element simulations. The proposed reliability method is applied to a case study of an existing building showing that the column removal situation is not always critical whereas the slab falling from above is much more detrimental