Assessment of formulation parameters needed for successful vitamin C entrapped polycaprolactone nanoparticles

Vitamin C (Vit.C)-entrapped polycaprolactone (PCL) nanoparticles (Vit.C–PCNs) were prepared by encapsulation of Vit.C into PCL-based nanoparticles (PCNs) which were prepared using double emulsion method with two steps. First, the inner aqueous phase (W₁) was added to dichloromethane solution containing PCL with homogenization to form primary emulsion (W₁/O) which was emulsified with the outer aqueous phase (W₂) containing polyvinyl alcohol as stabilizer to attain the double emulsion (W₁/O/W₂). Versatile parameters were investigated to reach to the most successful formulation for Vit.C–PCNs, such as time, effect of speed of homogenization on drug encapsulation efficiency, etc.     

A new QoS aware and energy efficient opportunistic routing protocol for wireless sensor networks

Energy efficiency and Quality of Service (QoS) providing are known to be critical design concerns in routing protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Recent studies, demonstrate that Opportunistic Routing (OR) can greatly improve the performance of WSNs by exploiting the broadcast nature of the wireless medium. In this paper, we propose a new QoS aware and Energy efficient Opportunistic Routing protocol (QEOR) to efficiently routing data under QoS and energy constraints for WSNs. QEOR uses a new multi-metric QoS based candidate selection method in order to accurately select and prioritise the candidate forwarders. The selection is focused on a QoS function that takes into consideration the reliabilty of buffers and links, while the prioritisation is established according to transmission delays. To achieve an obvious improvement on the energy consumption, QEOR uses an energy efficient coordination method and an implicit ACKnowledgement scheme for collision and redundancy avoidance. Simulation results show that QEOR provides best performances as compared to other OR protocols.     

3D radial invariant of dual Hahn moments

In this work, we propose new sets of 2D and 3D rotation invariants based on orthogonal radial dual Hahn moments, which are orthogonal on a non-uniform lattice. We also present theoretical mathematics to derive them. Thus, this paper presents in the first case new 2D radial dual Hahn moments based on polar representation of an image by one-dimensional orthogonal discrete dual Hahn polynomials and a circular function. The dual Hahn polynomials are general case of Tchebichef and Krawtchouk polynomials. In the second case, we introduce new 3D radial dual Hahn moments employing a spherical representation of volumetric image by one-dimensional orthogonal discrete dual Hahn polynomials and a spherical function, which are orthogonal on a non-uniform lattice. The 2D and 3D rotational invariants are extracts from the proposed 2D and 3D radial dual Hahn moments respectively. In order to test the proposed approach, three problems namely image reconstruction, rotational invariance and pattern recognition are attempted using the proposed moments. The result of experiments shows that the radial dual Hahn moments have performed better than the radial Tchebichef and Krawtchouk moments, with and without noise. Simultaneously, the mentioned reconstruction converges quickly to the original image using 2D and 3D radial dual Hahn moments, and the test images are clearly recognized from a set of images that are available in COIL-20 database for 2D image and PSB database for 3D image.

     

Formulation and corneal permeation of ketorolac tromethamine-loaded chitosan nanoparticles

Abstract

The aim of this work was to formulate chitosan (CS)-based nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with ketorolac tromethamine (KT) intended for topical ocular delivery. NPs were prepared using ionic gelation method incorporating tri-polyphosphate (TPP) as cross-linker. Following the preparation, the composition of the system was optimized in terms of their particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency (EE) and morphology, as well as performing structural characterization studies using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The data suggested that the size of the NPs was affected by CS/TPP ratio where the diameter of the NPs ranged from 108.0?±?2.4?nm to 257.2?±?18.6?nm. A correlation between drug EE and the corresponding drug concentration added to the formulation was observed, where the EE of the NPs increased with increasing drug concentration, for up to 10?mg/mL. FT-IR and DSC revealed that KT was dispersed within the NPs where the phosphate groups of TPP were associated with the ammonium groups of CS. The in vitro release profile of KT from CS NPs showed significant differences (p?<?0.05) compared to KT solution. Furthermore, mucoadhesion studies revealed adhesive properties of the formulated NPs. The KT-loaded NPs were found to be stable when stored at different storage conditions for a period of 3 months. The ex vivo corneal permeation studies performed on excised porcine eye balls confirmed the ability of NPs in retaining the drug on the eye surface for a relatively longer time. These results demonstrate the potential of CS-based NPs for the ocular delivery of KT.     

Experimental Investigation of Passive Fault Tolerant Control for Induction Machine Using Sliding Mode Approach

This paper presents a passive fault tolerant control approach dedicated to stator inter‐turn short‐circuit fault of an induction machine. This control is based on sliding mode strategy and is implemented for validation on real‐time data acquisition and control platform. The proposed work highlights the integral sliding mode controller benefits during healthy and faulty operations. It can make the induction machine outputs to track their desired reference signals in finite‐time and allows to obtain a better dynamic response performances even in presence of fault. Moreover to avoid the use of a flux sensor, a second order sliding mode observer is used to estimate the rotor flux. Since the used observer converges in finite time, the closed‐loop stability of the proposed system (controller+observer) is proved using the Lyapunov stability theorem. Experimental results are conducted for squirrel cage induction machine to highlight the efficiency and applicability of the proposed fault tolerant control.     

Preparation and characterization of layered silicate magadiite intercalated by Cu<Superscript>2+</Superscript> and Zn<Superscript>2+</Superscript> for antibacterial behavior

The purpose of this work is the synthesis of two series of layered silicate materials with different ratios (10, 30, 50, 80 and 100) of Cu(NO₃)₂, or Zn(NO₃)₂ by ion-exchange method. Several analysis techniques have been used such as X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results revealed that ion-exchange method of copper and zinc with different ratios did not affect the structure of Na-magadiite. The gap between the theoretical and experimental ion-exchange are in agreement. Antibacterial activity test against Escherichia coli, Rhizobium sp. and Staphylococcus demonstrate that when ratio was (30, 50, 80 and 100) the antibacterial activity of the layered silicate materials showed high antibacterial activity.     

Intragenomic 16S rRNA gene heterogeneity in Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris

Partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris strains from our collection identified strains containing sequences diagnostic of both subspecies L. lactis subsp. lactis and L. lactis subsp. cremoris together in the same strain. The presence of a plasmid-encoded 16S rRNA pseudogene partly explained this result. Twenty-four out of 46 L. lactis subsp. cremoris strains tested by PCR contained this pseudogene. However, further analysis showed that five of these 24 strains also contained chromosomal 16S rRNA genes with sequences typical of L. lactis subsp. lactis. Genetic and phenotypic tests indicated these strains were otherwise normal L. lactis subsp. cremoris strains. Past recombination events between the 16S rRNA pseudogene and chromosomal 16S rRNA genes may explain this phenomenon. Genomic heterogeneity for both 16S rRNA and other gene sequences was observed for L. lactis subsp. cremoris SK11 from different laboratories, indicating caution is needed when integrating data from diverse sources for nominally the same strain.     

Determination of residues of trichlorfon and dimethoate on guava using HPLC

A supervised trial was conducted in guava orchards during 2001 and 2002 to study residue dissipation rates of two organophos insecticides, trichlorfon and dimethoate at Kohat, NWFP, Pakistan. The insecticides were sprayed at recommended doses of 80 and 120 g a.i./100 l water on the fruits of guava when the fruits were semi ripe. The treated guava fruits were randomly sampled in triplicates (2 kg per field replicate) at 0, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days intervals after insecticide application. The samples were extracted in ethyl acetate and were cleaned up through Florisil column with ethyl acetate as eluent. The cleaned up extracts were analyzed for residues by HPLC method. The residues were found to have half-lives of 2.8–3.3 days for dimethoate and 1.7–2.0 days for trichlorfon. Based on the dissipation pattern of the insecticide residues in relation to their respective prescribed maximum residue limits, withholding periods of 3 and 9 days are suggested for guava after treatment with dimethoate and trichlorfon.