Studies on the in vitro Release of Ibuprofen from Polyethylene Glycol-Polyvinyl Acetate Mixtures Liquid Filled into Hard Gelatin Capsules

The release of ibuprofen from mixtures of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) has been studied in vitro and complemented by x-ray diffraction measurements, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and melting point determinations via hot-stage microscopy (HSM). Results indicate that ibuprofen release can be affected markedly by alteration of the PVAc concentration. The molecular weight of the PEG and the pH of the dissolution medium are also shown to affect the release profile. Visual observation during the drug release process revealed a complex behavior which included emission of liquidlike droplets, formation of a crust around the releasing mass, and/or production of flakes of solid material. This behavior appeared to have a disadvantageous effect on the reproducibility of drug release. Construction of a phase diagram from results of thermal analysis using DSC and HSM indicated the formation of an eutectic mixture with a composition of 35% ibuprofen and 65% PEG 1500 and a melting point of 36°C. The complex behavior of the drug-releasing mass is discussed in terms of this phase diagram. Only the release data for systems containing 4% w/w or more of PVAc could be linearized by plotting against the square root of time whereas data for all of the systems studied could be linearized by first-order plots.     

Adhesion of streptococci to saliva-coated and uncoated composite-based resins

This study was designed to evaluate the bacterial adhesion to five types of experimental composite-based resins and a commercial composite resin used as a control. Physicochemical surface characteristics of composite resins with and without an artificial saliva coating were measured. The relationship between the numbers of adhering cells (Streptococcus sanguis, S. mutans and S. sobrinus) and surface characteristics was analysed. The values of contact angles and the number of adhering cells were small with saliva coating. S. sanguis ATCC 10557 showed a positive correlation (r=0.835, p<0.05) with the contact angles of uncoated resins, whereas no relationship was observed for saliva-coated resins. With S. mutans Ingbritt the cell numbers adhering to resins correlated strongly (p<0.01) with the values of zeta potential of resins for either saliva coated or uncoated. Electrical repulsion forces had a strong contribution to adherence of cells such as S. mutans and S. sobrinus which show a high absolute zeta potential.     

Highly reliable testing of ULSI memories with on-chip voltage-downconverters

Two testing techniques for ultra-large-scale integrated (ULSI) memories containing on-chip voltage downconverters (VDCs) are described. The first in an on-chip VDC tuning technique that adjusts internal V_CC to compensate for the monitored characteristics of the process parameters during repair analysis testing. The second is an operating-voltage margin test, performed at various internal V_CC levels during the water sort test (WT) and the final shipping test (FT)     

A novel proof of the Souriau-Frame-Faddeev algorithm

A simple and elegant proof is given for a recurrence relation that computes the coefficients of the characteristic polynomial of a linear system used in the Souriau-Frame-Faddeev algorithm     

Computational medicine: bioelectric field problems

Applications of large-scale computer modeling and simulation to a class of bioelectric field problems in a variety of biomedical research areas, from single cells to full human structures, are described. The authors focus on a specific subset of bioelectric field problems that have applications in electrocardiography and electroencephalography. The physics and physiology of bioelectric volume conductors are introduced. A specific computational example and the authors' view on the future direction of computational medicine are presented     

The effect of na and Sr modification on surface tension and volumetric shrinkage of A356 alloy and their influence on porosity formation

Modification of the eutectic Si in Al-Si foundry alloys by adding strontium or sodium is, unfortunately, accompanied by an increase of porosity in the casting. In an attempt to understand the nature of this problem, this study used a sessile-drop method to investigate the effect of Sr and Na on surface tension and volumetric shrinkage, two probable causes of porosity occur-rence. The addition of 0.01 wt pct Sr and 0.005 wt pct Na to A356 alloy decreases the surface tension of the liquid by about 19 and 10 pct, respectively, and may increase the volume shrink-age by about 12 pct. These changes to surface tension and volumetric shrinkage promote the early formation of the pores during solidification and give the availability of a longer period of growth prior to complete solidification, resulting in a larger pore size. The effect of surface tension on the pores is more significant than volumetric shrinkage. Although the predicted pore diameter increases with lower surface tension or higher volumetric shrinkage, these two effects alone do not seem able to completely account for the observed increase in porosity that is associated with modification.     

Gas-phase modification of rare-earth intermetallic compounds

Recent work concerning the interstitial modification of permanent magnet alloys based on rare-earth iron intermetallic compounds is reviewed. The crystal structure of the new materials is discussed, then the thermodynamic and statistical aspects of the low-temperature interstitial modification process are considered. Finally, reaction kinetics and thermal stability of the new compounds are discussed and future prospects assessed.     

Influence of doping on the electronic structure of (La,Sr)2CuO4

High-statistics (>4 × 10⁸ counts), room-temperature measurements of the electron-positron momentum density of La_2?x Sr _x CuO₄ have been performed for samples with Sr concentrations of x=0.0, 0.1, 0.13, and 0.2. These spectra have been analyzed in conjunction with theoretical calculations of the electron-positron momentum density. The metallic samples show features consistent with the presence of a Fermi surface, but its evolution with increasing Sr concentration does not follow the predictions of band theory. These results may indicate the effects of electron-electron correlation on the electron momentum distribution in the Cu-O plane.     

Ceramic Composites Fabricated by Selective Laser Sintering

Selective laser sintering (SLS) uses a computer controlled laser beam to create objects directly from the CAD data without part-specific tooling. In this paper, the effect of material and processing parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of an alumina/aluminum phosphate composite fabricated by SLS is described. The precursor material is a blend of alumina and ammonium phosphate powder. This paper deals primarily with the effect of alumina particle size and material composition on the strength of the composite. A constitutive equation is also proposed to relate the mechanical properties of the composite to its microstructural characteristics.