Predictive modelling of the exposure to steviol glycosides in Irish patients aged 1-3 years with phenylketonuria and cow’s milk protein allergy

Children with Phenylketonuria (PKU) and severe cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA) consume prescribed, specially formulated, foods for special medical purposes (FSMPs) as well as restricted amounts of normal foods. These patients are exposed to artificial sweeteners from the consumption of a combination of free and prescribed foods. Young patients with PKU and CMPA have a higher risk of exceeding acceptable daily intakes (ADI) for additives than age-matched healthy children. A predictive modelling approach has been adapted successfully to assess the additive exposure of young patients with PKU and CMPA to artificial sweeteners. Steviol glycosides (E960) are at various stages of regulatory approval for the various food categories in the EU but are not as yet permitted for use in products intended for young children. The aim of this study was to predict potential steviol glycoside exposure in young children with PKU and CMPA considering the potential for future provisions for the use of this sweetener. The recent introduction of steviol glycosides means that no exposure data are available for children with CMPA and PKU. Food consumption data were derived from the food consumption survey data of healthy young children in Ireland from the National Preschool and Nutrition Survey (NPNS, 2010–11). Specially formulated amino acid-based FSMPs are used to replace whole or milk protein foods and were included in the exposure model to replace restricted foods. The recommendations to ensure adequate protein intake in these patients were used to determine FSMP intake. Exposure assessment results indicated that the maximum permitted level (MPL) for FSMPs would warrant careful consideration to avoid exposures above the ADI. These data can be used to inform recommendations for the medical nutrition industry.     

Modelling of erosion-corrosion in practical geometries

The limiting factor in certain instances of erosion-corrosion of steel is the presence of dissolved oxygen in the solution and the transfer of this oxygen to the reacting surface. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be used to calculate oxygen diffusion throughout the flow and its transfer to the reacting surface. This was used in a computational model to calculate wear and validated against experimental results, for the first time, of erosion-corrosion wear in a contracting-expanding geometry. It was found that in order to correctly predict erosion-corrosion wear, Sherwood number independent grids were required providing a new metric to evaluate turbulent erosion-corrosion modelling. The predicted wear profile matched very closely with experimental results and overall matching was very good. Downstream of the flow expansion, erosion-corrosion wear was under-predicted. The disparity is due to detached flow for most of this sector where under-predicted radial velocities decrease transfer of oxygen to the reacting surface. This under-prediction is apparent in the downstream section due to the larger relative magnitude of the radial velocity in this sector.     

Clay induced thermoplastic crystals in thermoset matrix: Thermal,Dynamic mechanical,and morphological analysis of clay/nylon‐6‐epoxy nanocomposites

A novel procedure to synthesize in situ clay/nylon‐6 composite suspension was explored via anionic solution polymerization. The suspension was efficiently blended with water‐based epoxy resin using mechanical stirrer at room temperature. Hence, a 3‐component coating system was obtained consisting of nano‐clay, nylon‐6 and epoxy resin. Large number of coatings and films were prepared with variation in clay and nylon‐6 loading. Concentration of clay was found to have profound effect on crystallinity of nylon‐6, thereby affecting the overall properties of clay/nylon/epoxy composite. All the films were characterized for thermal and dynamic mechanical behavior using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Lower amount of clay was found to increase the crystallinity of nylon‐6 which in turn increased the plasticization of epoxy resin indicated by reduction in T_g. A multiphase morphology with distinct amorphous and crystalline zones was observed under scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A remarkable symmetrical morphology with branched dendritic crystal structure was observed for few of the clay/nylon/epoxy system. POLYM. COMPOS., 37:2206–2217, 2016. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Theory of photothermal spectroscopy in an optically dense fluid

The theory of photothermal spectroscopy in an optically dense fluid is presented. The general case is considered in which the fluid may be flowing or stationary, and the excitation could be cw (modulated or unmodulated) or pulsed (arbitrary pulse length). All three detection schemes, deflection, phase shift, and lensing, are considered. This is the most complete theory of photothermal spectroscopy in fluids to date.     

Effect of gonadotrophin on cell and matrix retention and expression of metalloproteinases and their inhibitor in cultured human granulosa cells modelling corpus luteum function

A retrospective cohort study in 1794 male ceramic workers in the Netherlands was carried out to analyze the lung cancer risk in relation to crystalline silica exposure and silicosis. They had all been employed for two years or longer in ceramic industries between 1972 and 1982. During a health survey, 124 cases of simple pneumoconiosis were diagnosed; after 14 years of follow-up, 161 deaths had occurred. No increased overall and cause-specific mortality was found in the total group of ceramic workers, and a statistically significant cumulative dose-response relation for silica exposure and lung cancer did not emerge. An excess lung cancer mortality appeared among workers with simple pneumoconiosis. The authors conclude that the disease process resulting in silicosis in the ceramic industry carries an increased risk of lung cancer, which is supportive of a nongenotoxic pathway.     

The inhibitory effect of angiotensin II on stimulus-induced release of cAMP is augmented in the genetically hypertensive rat kidney

In the present study, with isolated perfused kidneys, we evaluated whether angiotensin II (Ang II) inhibits stimulus-induced release of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) and whether this effect is augmented in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). The basal release of cAMP (in venous effluent) in the presence of captopril (1 mumol/l) and a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (10 mumol/l), was significantly (P < .05) higher in the SHR (n = 20) than in Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) kidneys (n = 18) although perfusion pressures were not significantly different in the two strains. Isoproterenol infusions (ISO; 0.3, 1 and 3 mumol/l) significantly and similarly increased cAMP release in both WKY (n = 5; P < .01) and SHR (n = 6; P < .01) kidneys. A time-related attenuation of the cAMP response to ISO in both strains was observed in these experiments. In control experiments, Ang II (3 and 10 ng/min), by itself, did not significantly alter basal cAMP release in either strain but raised perfusion pressure in both SHR and WKY kidneys. In a separate set of experiments, Ang II significantly (3 ng/min: P < .05; 10 ng/min: P < .01) inhibited ISO-induced increases in release of cAMP from SHR kidneys (n = 8), whereas cAMP release in response to ISO in WKY kidneys (n = 8) was not affected by Ang II (3 and 10 ng/min). In the same experiments, ISO produced small but significant decreases in perfusion pressure in WKY (P < .01) but not in SHR. These data clearly and directly demonstrate that ISO-induced increases in cAMP in the renal vasculature are similar in SHR and WKY rats; however, Ang II exerts a much greater negative influence on the ISO-induced increases in cAMP levels in the renal vasculature of SHR. The augmented inhibition of stimulus-induced cAMP release may be associated with an increased renovascular responsiveness to Ang II in SHR.     

Development and Evaluation of Transdermal Salbutamol Delivering Systems

ABSTRACT

The transdermal drug delivery systems based on polymeric pseudolatex and matrix diffusion controlled systems for salbutamol were prepared and compared for in vitro skin permeation profile and in vivo performances. Poly (isobutylene) was used as release controlling polymer in both the systems. In vitro skin permeation was studied using the human cadavar skin in franz diffusion cell. Permeation rate constants for matrix diffusion controlled system and pseudolatices were 10.625 and 13.750 mcg/hr/cm² respectively. The prepared transdermal systems were tested on human volunteers having chronic reversible airways obstruction and compared with oral treatments (Asthaline). The in vivo drug plasma profiles following transdermal and oral treatments reveal that although peak plasma level by oral administration was higher in comparison with the transdermal treatments, troughs and peaks were discernible at dosing times. In the case of transdermal treatments, constant drug plasma and FEV₁ levels were recorded indicating controlled and systemic delivery of drug spaced over 30 hours. Among the prepared transdermal drug delivery systems, pseudolatices demonstrated better drug plasma profile, maintained at relatively higher level and flatter in appearance. The relative performance of the systems was noted to reflect in AUC and FEV₁.     

Microwave measurements of dielectric constants of Snl2 and Snl4

The bulk dielectric parameters at microwave frequencies (8.95 GHz) for tin-di-iodide (Snl₂) and tin-tetra-iodide (Snl₄) have been determined using Looyenga's formula. It has also been investigated under different conditions such as particle size, packing fraction and temperature of the powders. It has been observed that the dielectric constant of Snl₂ is greater than that of Snl₄ materials. The temperature dependence of dielectric parameters in these materials indicated the presence of dissociation processes causing the fall in dielectric constants. An attempt has been made to understand these results and the implications are discussed.     

Memory and data-driven control of selective attention continuous tasks.

Two experiments with 46 undergraduates suggest that information about the physical characteristics of complex signals is stored, briefly, independently of information about mapping rules and information about symbol names. Two further experiments with 20 undergraduates confirm that information about the physical characteristics of displays can be available independently of higher-order information. They further suggest that these 2 kinds of information may have different temporal persistence in the human information processing system, and may independently suffer selective interference from different kinds of concurrent activity. Results lend support to a pathway activation model for immediate memory that is discussed in relation to the idea that temporal persistence of memory traces depends on the levels to which they are processed. (French summary) (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)