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    In vitro evaluation of a system for pH-controlled peroral delivery of metformin

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    Oral absorption of the antihyperglycaemic agent metformin (MF·HCl) is confined to the upper part of the intestine, therefore controlled-release oral formulations of this drug should ensure a complete release during transit from stomach to jejunum. Compressed matrix tablets based on pH-sensitive poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-Eudragit L100 (EUD L) compounds have shown in vitro a compliance with the above requirement. The polymer compounds were prepared by a coevaporation process. The release pattern of MF·HCl from matrices depended on the PEO-EUD L ratio in the coevaporate. The 1:1 (w/w) ratio was unable to control MF·HCl release in simulated gastric fluid (SGF, pH 1.2), because the matrix material was excessively hydrophilic. Nevertheless, the release rate in SGF could be modulated by increasing the EUD L fraction in the coevaporate. With a PEO (Mw, 400 kDa)-EUD L (1:2, w/w) ratio the percent dose released in 2 h to SGF, where the coevaporate was insoluble, was around 23 or 50% with 10 or 20% loading dose. The release was then completed within the successive 2 h of elution with simulated jejunal fluid (SJF, pH 6.8) where EUD L and the coevaporate gradually dissolved. Release in SGF was controlled by matrix swelling and/or drug diffusion in matrix, whereas matrix dissolution controlled release in SJF. The unique release-controlling properties of the polymer compounds were due to PEO-EUD L macromolecular interactions. Matrices show promise of a gradual and complete release of MF·HCl from stomach to jejunum, unaffected by gastric pH fluctuations. This mode of administration might allow the use of lower therapeutic doses compared to existing immediate- or sustained-release products, thus minimising side effects

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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