Study of physicochemical properties of flutamide-loaded Ocimum basilicum microspheres with ex vivo mucoadhesion and in vitro drug release

Drug which shows extensive first pass effect is difficult task that, needs to be solved by formulators in the pharmaceutical science. The low oral bioavailability (49%) of flutamide may be due to poor wettability, low aqueous solubility and extensive first pass effect. The aim of present investigation was to prepare flutamide loaded microspheres and incorporate it into suppositories for rectal delivery to avoid first pass effect and enhance residence time. Flutamide loaded mucoadhesive microspheres of Ocimum Basilicum mucilage (OBM) were prepared using spray drying and characterized by percent production yield, encapsulation efficiency, particle size, zeta potential, polydispersity index, DSC, SEM, XRPD, in vitro drug release and stability studies. Moreover, ex vivo mucoadhesion was investigated using falling liquid film technique to determine the adhesion of microspheres to sheep rectal mucosa. The microspheres had nearly spherical shape and size about 2.53?μm. The encapsulation efficiency and mucoadhesion of optimized formulation MBF10 were found to be 69.6?±?2.3% and 89.01?±?2.18%, respectively. Percent CDR of optimized flutamide loaded mucoadhesive microspheres was found to be 88.7?±?1.3 at 7?h. In conclusion, OBM microparticles based suppository could be used to deliver drug through rectal delivery.     

压水堆堆芯损伤评价系统研究与开发

堆芯损伤评价是反应堆事故后应急评价的重要组成部分。本文在国外文献基础上,结合国内的运行经验,对压水堆堆芯损伤评价进行研究,并开发了相应的软件程序。堆芯损伤评价包括基于堆芯裸露时间、在线监测仪表读数和取样分析数据三种方法。考虑应急实时要求、电厂实际情况与国际经验,本文采用了基于在线监测仪表读数的评价方法,该方法主要是基于堆芯热电偶读数与安全壳辐射监测仪表读数进行评价,其他监测仪表读数进行辅助合理性证实。     

Materials Design of Solar Cell Absorbers Beyond Perovskites and Conventional Semiconductors via Combining Tetrahedral and Octahedral Coordination

Tetrahedral coordination structures, e.g. crystalline Si, GaAs, CdTe, and octahedral coordination structures, e.g. perovskites, represent two classes of successful crystal structures hitherto for solar cell absorbers. Here, via first‐principles calculations and crystal symmetry analysis, the two classes of semiconductors are shown exhibiting complementary properties in terms of bond covalency/ionicity, optical property, defect tolerance, and stability, which are correlated with their respective coordination number. Therefore, a spinel structure is proposed, which combines tetrahedral and octahedral coordination into a single crystal structure, as an alternative to perovskite and conventional semiconductors for potential photovoltaic applications. The case studies of a class of 105 spinel AB₂X₄ systems identify five spinel compounds HgAl₂Se₄, HgIn₂S₄, CdIn₂Se₄, HgSc₂S₄, and HgY₂S₄ as promising solar cell absorbers. In particular, HgAl₂Se₄ has suitable bandgap (1.36 eV by GW0 calculation), small direct–indirect bandgap difference (24 meV), appropriate carrier effective mass (m_e = 0.08 m₀, and m_h = 0.69 m₀), strong optical absorption, and high dynamic stability. This study suggests that crystal systems with mixed tetrahedral and octahedral coordination may open a viable route for emerging solar cell absorbers.     

A Temperature‐Responsive Boronate Core Cross‐Linked Star (CCS) Polymer for Fast and Highly Efficient Enrichment of Glycoproteins

Fast and highly efficient enrichment and separation of glycoproteins is essential in many biological applications, but the lack of materials with high capture capacity, fast, and efficient enrichment/separation makes it a challenge. Here, a temperature‐responsive core cross‐linked star (CCS) polymer with boronate affinity is reported for fast and efficient enriching and separating of glycoproteins from biological samples. The temperature‐responsive CCS polymers containing boronic acid in its polymeric arms and poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide) in its cross‐linked core are prepared using reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer polymerization via an “arm‐first” methodology. The soluble boronate polymeric arms of the CCS polymers provide a homogeneous reaction system and facilitate interactions between boronic acid and glycoproteins, which leads to a fast binding/desorption speed and high capture capacity. Maximum binding capacity of the prepared CCS polymer for horseradish peroxidase is determined to be 210 mg g^?1, which can be achieved within 20 min. More interestingly, the temperature‐responsive CCS polymers exhibit rapid reversible thermal‐induced volume phase transition by increasing the temperature from 15 to 30 °C, resulting in a facile and convenient sample collection and recovery for the target glycoproteins. Finally, the temperature‐responsive CCS polymer is successfully applied to enrichment of low abundant glycoproteins.     

气控环形防喷器密封胶芯大变形分析

针对气控环形防喷器胶芯在密封过程中的大变形以及与油管存在密封压力难以计算的问题,建立胶芯物理模型,结合厚壁筒理论与橡胶本构方程,同时考虑胶芯的材料非线性和几何非线性,探讨防喷器密封过程中胶芯变形与接触压力的变化。根据胶芯变形过程中无变形阶段、自由变形阶段和接触变形阶段的不同受力状况,利用迭代的方法对每个离散微段施加控制压力,得到不同控制压力下胶芯变形量与接触压力,并与仿真结果进行比较。结果表明:在自由变形阶段,随控制压力增加,胶芯变形量逐渐增大且由中间向两侧逐渐减小;在接触变形阶段,胶芯内径保持不变,且与油管间接触压力不断增加。采用胶芯变形理论方法计算的接触压力变化规律与仿真结果基本相同,验证了胶芯变形理论计算方法的正确性。     

Single-Crystalline TiO2(B) Nanobelts with Unusual Large Exposed {100} Facets and Enhanced Li-Storage Capacity

The {100} facet of single-crystalline TiO₂(B) is an ideal platform for inserting Li ions, but it is hard to be obtained due to its high surface energy. Here, the single-crystalline TiO₂(B) nanobelts from H₂Ti₃O₇ with nearly 70% {100} facets exposed are synthesized, which significantly enhances Li-storage capacity. The first-principle calculations demonstrate an ab in-plane 2D diffusion through the exposed {100} facets. As a consequence, the nanobelts can significantly accommodate Li ions in LiTiO₂ formula with specific capacity up to 335 mAh g⁻¹, which is in good agreement with the electrochemical characterizations. Coating with conductive and protective poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate), the cut-off discharge voltage is as low as 0.5 V, leading to a capacity of 160.7 mAh g⁻¹ after 1500 cycles with a retention rate of 66% at 1C. This work provides a practical strategy to increase the Li-ion capacity and cycle stability by tailoring the crystal orientation and nanostructures.     

Highly disordered ionic distribution in α-dicalcium silicate for structure relaxation

Dicalcium silicate, which is found in steelmaking slag for dephosphorization, exists as the hexagonal α phase at high temperatures. The α-dicalcium silicate forms a solid solution with tricalcium phosphate in the entire composition range, although the reason for high solubility of phosphorus remains unclear in view of the crystal structure. It has previously been reported that the crystal structure of α-dicalcium silicate consists of a symmetric arrangement of Ca²⁺ ions and SiO₄⁴⁻ tetrahedra, although other polymorphs exhibit asymmetric arrangements. However, because the occupation probability of each atomic site in the α polymorph is not limited to unity, it has not been qualified how these ions are exactly arranged. In this study, the ionic distribution in the α polymorph of dicalcium silicate was evaluated by first-principles calculation based on density functional theory (DFT), as well as by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation with a polarizable ion model optimized by DFT calculation. The results indicated that the completely symmetric ionic arrangement, as reported for the α phase, is the most unstable. Electronic-state calculation and MD simulation indicated that a highly disordered ionic arrangement spontaneously forms in the α-phase crystal for structure relaxation when held at high temperatures, or when phosphorus is incorporated.     

Integration of machine learning and first principles models

Model building and parameter estimation are traditional concepts widely used in chemical, biological, metallurgical, and manufacturing industries. Early modeling methodologies focused on mathematically capturing the process knowledge and domain expertise of the modeler. The models thus developed are termed first principles models (or white-box models). Over time, computational power became cheaper, and massive amounts of data became available for modeling. This led to the development of cutting edge machine learning models (black-box models) and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. Hybrid models (gray-box models) are a combination of first principles and machine learning models. The development of hybrid models has captured the attention of researchers as this combines the best of both modeling paradigms. Recent attention to this field stems from the interest in explainable AI (XAI), a critical requirement as AI systems become more pervasive. This work aims at identifying and categorizing various hybrid models available in the literature that integrate machine-learning models with different forms of domain knowledge. Benefits such as enhanced predictive power, extrapolation capabilities, and other advantages of combining the two approaches are summarized. The goal of this article is to consolidate the published corpus in the area of hybrid modeling and develop a comprehensive framework to understand the various techniques presented. This framework can further be used as the foundation to explore rational associations between several models.     

Flow field and acoustic characteristics of elliptical throat CD nozzle

The mixing characteristic of circular jet with elliptical throat is studied at different levels of expansion of the nozzle. Two kinds of configurations are studied in this paper, elliptical throat and circular throat jet. At all pressure ratios, the jet with non-circular throat experiences superior mixing than circular throat. The core length of elliptical throat jet is shorter than circular jet. Also, at all pressure ratios, the profile of both configurations looks identical in oscillation; however, the efficiency of the mixing promotion is high in non-circular throat. The promotion of mixing is most efficient at nozzle pressure ratio (NPR) level of 8. As the NPR increases, the core length of the jet reduces nearly 5–10% at each range of NPR. The centreline Pitot pressure profile of non-circular and circular throat shows that the decay of the jet from elliptical throat nozzle is faster than the jet from circular jet. At different levels of expansion, the shock structure shows notable changes with elliptical shape. The amplitude of screech frequency of the jet noise decreases with an increase in NPR. Introduction of elliptical throat to circular throat modifies the shock-cell structures, which significantly change the screech amplitude due to weakening of waves.