Dutasteride nanoemulsion preparation to inhibit 5‐alpha‐hair follicle reductase enzymes in the hair follicle; an ex vivo study

Alopecia is a treatable disorder that usually occurs due to high levels of 5‐alpha dihydrotestosterone in hair follicles. To enhance the storage capacity of hair follicles and alleviate the inherent characteristics of dutasteride, 5‐alpha reductase inhibitor, a prolonged‐release nanocarrier was synthesised, and its influence on rat abdomen''s skin was investigated. Results showed the lower ratio of S/Co (higher ethanol concentration) increased the hydrodynamic nanocarriers'' particle size due to thermodynamic disturbance and Ostwald ripening. In contrast, an increase in surfactant through a decrease in interfacial tension resulted in smaller nanocarriers of 32.4 nm. Moreover, an increase in viscosity had an inverse correlation with the nanoemulsions'' particle size. Nanocarriers containing ethanol showed less entrapment efficacy, perhaps due to the rapid dissolution of dutasteride into ethanol during nanoemulsification, while, based on Stokes'' equation, the addition of ethanol resulted in smaller particle size and stability of the system. Skin permeation analysis using Franz diffusion cells showed nanocarriers could pass through the skin and release dutasteride for 6 days. In conclusion, the optimum concentration of ingredients is decisive in guaranteeing the ideal particle size, stability, and skin permeation of nanocarriers. The Present dutasteride nanocarrier would promise a prolonged and sustained‐release drug delivery system for Alopecia therapy.     

Interface-related attributes of the Maillard reaction-born glycoproteins

Interfacial behavior of proteins which is a chief parameter to their emulsifying and foaming properties can be tailored through the Maillard reaction. The reaction can increase protein solubility at isoelectric point and ought to be controlled for example by high pressure processing to suppress melanoidins formation. Branched and long saccharides bring considerable steric hindrance which is associated with their site of conjugation to proteins. Conjugation with high molecular weight polysaccharides (such as 440 kDa dextran) may indeed increase the thickness of globular proteins interfacial film up to approximately 25 nm. However, an overly long saccharide can shield protein charge and slow down the electrophoretic mobility of conjugate. Maillard conjugation may decrease the diffusion rate of proteins to interface, allowing further unfolding at interface. As well, it can increase desorption iteration of proteins from interface. In addition to tempering proteins adsorption to interface, Maillard conjugation influences the rheology of protein membranes. Oligosaccharides (especially at higher glycation degrees) decrease the elastic modulus and Huggins constant of protein film; whereas, monosaccharides yield a more elastic interface. Accordingly, glycation of random coil proteins has been exploited to stiffen the corresponding interfacial membrane. Partial hydrolysis of proteins accompanied with anti-solvent-triggered nanoparticulation either before or after conjugation is a feasible way to enhance their emulsifying activity.     

Spatial optimization of biomass power plant site using fuzzy analytic network process

Electricity has a significant role in the sustainable development of societies. Traditional methods of generating electricity face several challenges. The ever-increasing demand for electricity generation on the one hand, and the lack of adequate resources for fossil fuels on the other, has led to the use of renewable energy. Biomass is a renewable energy supply that can be used in electricity generation for a sustainable environment. This study aims to introduce a multi-criteria decision-making framework which integrates a geographical information system with a fuzzy analytic network process together with weighted linear combination to optimize the location of a biomass power plant in Guilan Province, Iran. For this purpose, the environmental and socioeconomic factors were identified, and the main contributing criteria were selected. The results showed that about 27.73 and 41.06% of the region has high or moderate suitability, respectively, for constructing a biomass power plant. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was performed to investigate the robustness of the outcomes of decision making by changing the weighting of the criteria. Results indicated that the ranking of alternative locations is independent of the weights chosen.     

Periodicity in the response of nonlinear plate, under moving mass

The dynamics of nonlinear thin plates under influence of relatively heavy moving masses is considered. By expansion of the solution as a series of mode functions, the governing equations of motion are reduced to an ordinary differential equation for time development of vibration amplitude, which is Duffing's oscillator with time varying coefficients. Through the application of Banach's fixed-point theorem, the periodic solutions are predicted. The method presented in this paper is general so that the response of plate to moving force systems can also be considered.     

Modification of clinoptilolite nano-particles with hexadecylpyridynium bromide surfactant as an active component of Cr(VI) selective electrode

Clinoptilolite was pretreated by mechanical ball-milling method to obtain nano particles and it was modified by hexadecylpyridynium bromide (HDPBr) surfactant to prepare a surfactant modified zeolite (SMZ) as an effective anion exchanger. The obtained SMZ was used as the active ingredient of a PVC membrane electrode which showed the best Nernstian response toward dichromate in the used conditions. The proposed electrode showed linear response in the concentration range of 1.0 × 10^?5 to 5.0 × 10^?2 mol L^?1 dichromate with a detection limit of 5.0 × 10^?6 mol L^?1 at pH = 3–6 and a Nernstian slope of 29.9 ± 0.9 mV per decade of dichromate concentration.     

Electrosynthesis of Co,Ni and Zn ferrites nanoparticles in the presence of external magnetic field

Magnetic complex oxides of iron nanoparticles are among the most important materials that have been studied. They have been widely used in different areas such as electronic devices, information storage, biomedical areas, drug-delivery, catalyst, and wastewater treatment. In different applications of nanoparticles, the shape and size of particles are very important because the electrical, optical, and magnetic properties of the nanoparticles depend on their dimension. In this study, nanoparticles of cobalt, nickel, and zinc ferrites were synthesized in uniform size by an electrochemical technique. First, the anode was made electrochemically by depositing each metal of zinc, nickel, and cobalt on the iron sheet from the solutions of 0.1 M Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Zn²⁺ ions as the precursor. Then the electrosynthesis of ferrite nanoparticles was performed in a second electrochemical cell where the prepared electrode was anode and stainless steel (316L) was cathode in the electrolyte solution of CTAB 0.04 M. The optimized value of current density was applied to the electrochemical cell. After then the same synthesis was carried out in the magnetic field supplied by two magnets. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The magnetic properties were investigated by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The comparison of two samples prepared in the magnetic field and without it showed the average size of the samples synthesized in the magnetic field was in the narrower size distribution of 20–30 nm and the saturation magnetization of the nanoparticles increased in the magnetic field.     

Robust T2 control chart using median-based estimators

One of the most widely used multivariate control charts is the Hotelling T². In order to construct a Hotelling T² control chart, the mean vector (μ) and the variance–covariance matrix (Σ) must be first estimated. The classical estimators of μ and Σ are usually used to design Hotelling T² control chart. The classical estimators are sensitive to the presence of outliers. One way to deal with outliers is to use robust estimators. In this study, a robust T² control chart is proposed. The mean vector is obtained from the sample median. The median absolute deviation and the comedian are used as the estimates of the elements of the variance–covariance matrix. The proposed robust estimators of the mean vector and the variance–covariance matrix are compared with the sample mean vector and the sample variance–covariance matrix, and the M estimator of these parameters, through efficiency and robustness measures. The performances of the proposed robust T² control chart and the classical and the M estimators are also compared by means of average run length. Simulation results reveal that the proposed robust T² control chart has much better performance than the traditional Hotelling T² and similar performance to the M estimator in detecting shifts in process mean vector. Use of other robust estimators to estimate the process parameters is an area for further research.     

Pressureless sintering of B4C-TiB2 composites with Al additions

The effects of Al addition on pressureless-sintering of B₄C-TiB₂ composites were studied. Different amounts of Al from 0% to 5 wt.% were added to B₄C-TiB₂ mixtures (containing up to 30 wt.% TiB₂) and the samples were pressureless sintered at 2050 °C and 2150 °C under Ar atmosphere. Physical, microstructural and mechanical properties were analysed and correlated with TiB₂ and Al additions and sintering temperature. Addition of Al to B₄C-TiB₂ results in increased shrinkage upon sintering and final relative density and lower porosity, the effect is being more evident when both Al and TiB₂ are present. Fracture strength, elastic modulus and fracture toughness of 450 MPa, 500 GPa and 6.2 MPa.m^1/2, respectively were measured.