Solubilization of Glibenclamide with β-Cyclodextrin & its Derivatives

Gilbenclamide, a widely used potent hypoglycaemic agent was solubllized using β -Cyclodextrin and β -Cyclodextrin derivatives. Complexes were prepared by kneading method in a molar ratio of 1:1 of the drug and the cyclodextrlns respectively. The Glibenclamide β -Cyelocextrin complex was characterized and evaluated by I.R. studies, Differential Scanning Calorimotry 6 X-ray diffractometry. The in-vitro dissolution rates of drug from inclusion complexes of β Cyclodextrins and its derivatives were compared. A significant Improvement In dissolution lor, rates of Gllbenclamide was observed with Inclusion complexes of all the Cyclodextrins. However, the solubilizing effect was more in case of β-Cyclodextrin derivatives.     

Technology combats disabilities

The author focusses on advances in equipment that offset physically functional limitations. He discusses how disabled and elderly people are using aids that enhance mobility (walking a certain distance, lifting a weight, or climbing stairs) as well as sensory faculties (seeing print, hearing conversation, and speaking intelligibly)     

On the time-domain scattering by a passive classical frequency dependent wedge-shaped region in a lossy dispersive medium

The time-scattering of an electromagnetic wave by a wedge-shaped region in a lossy medium, both with frequency dependent electric characteristics, is analyzed for plane wave and line source illuminations. New exact analytical expressions, satisfying explicitely the causality and allowing useful physical decompositions of the field, are obtained in these cases, using the particularities of the harmonic response in Sommerfeld-Maliuzhinets integral, especially original properties of the spectral function attached to it.     

Fractal error for detecting man-made features in aerial images

A technique is proposed for aiding photointerpreters in detecting man-made features in aerial reconnaissance images. The technique, which uses a metric called fractal error, is based on the observed propensity of natural image features to fit a fractional Brownian motion model. Man-made features usually do not fit this model well, and consequently the fractal error metric may be used as a discriminant function for detecting man-made scene features     

10 Gbit/s optical soliton transmission over 7200 km by using amonolithically integrated MQW-DFB-LD/MQW-EA modulator light source

The authors demonstrate 10 Gbit/s optical soliton transmission in a recirculating loop through the use of a monolithically integrated MQW-DFB-LD/MQW-EA modulator light source. The timing jitter due to the Gordon-Haus effect is successfully reduced by the optical bandpass filters conventionally used in the cascaded EDFAs to avoid the accumulation of amplified spontaneous emission. The transmission distance of 7200 km is achieved at a bit error rate of 10^-9     

a-Si alloy three-stacked solar cells with high stabilized-efficiency

a-Si alloy three-stacked solar cells have been studied to improve the stabilized efficiency of a-Si: H based solar cells. Based on the analysis by the individual characterization method of the component cells in stacked type cells, the a-Si :H middle cell was replaced with an a-SiGe :H cell. Furthermore, the optical confinement technology was improved to obtain a high-output current with thin i-layer thickness in the a-SiGe :H bottom cell. By this device design, the initial conversion efficiency was improved up to 12.4% and more than a 10% stabilized efficiency was obtained in a-SiC :H/a-SiGe :H/a-SiGe :H three-stacked cells. These cell characteristics were confirmed by measurements at the JQA Organization (the former JMI Institute).     

Area- and time-specific marginal capacity costs of electricity distribution

Marginal costs of electricity vary by time and location. In the past, researchers attributed the variations to factors related to electricity generation and transmission. These authors, however, have not analyzed possible variations in marginal distribution capacity costs (MDCC). The objectives of this paper are:

1. (i) to show that large MDCC variations are due to the dispersion in distribution capital expenditures by time and space,

2. (ii) to propose a method for quantifying the area- and time-specific MDCC in the presence of lumpy investments, and

3. (iii) to compare our MDCC estimates to those commonly used in the electric utility industry.

Our proposed method and its results were adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in 1992 for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), the largest privately owned electric utility in the U.S.     

Biochemical identification of transmembrane segments of the Ca(2+)-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum

The transmembrane segments of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase were determined by trypsinization of cytoplasmic side-out intact sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles. The membrane portion of tryptic digest comprising the transmembrane fragments, joined by the intravesicular segments, was separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis after labeling with fluorescein 5-maleimide in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. In this way, seven fluorescent bands of tryptic fragments below 11 kDa were observed which were derived from 4 pairs of membrane spanning segments and one hydrophobic sequence at the C-terminal end. Two peptides of 10.8 and 10.6 kDa had the identical N-terminal sequence beginning at Glu826, representing the transmembrane segments M7 and M8 and their connecting loop. A band at 8.1 kDa contained one peptide beginning at Tyr36 (M1/loop/M2). A 7.7-kDa peptide starting at Leu253 (M3/loop/M4) and a 7.3-kDa peptide beginning at Ala752 (M5/loop/M6) were also observed. A band at 6.7 kDa contained two peptides, one beginning at Ser48 (M1/loop/M2) and another beginning at Tyr763 (M5/loop/M6). In addition, a 4-kDa peptide beginning at Met925 was observed. The size of this peptide did not allow for a complete pair of transmembrane segments, but this peptide could have been derived from trypsinolysis between the last pair of membrane spanning segments. These data therefore provide biochemical evidence for at least 8 transmembrane segments and perhaps two more at the C-terminal end of the enzyme.     

Duration of spinal anaesthesia is determined by the partition coefficient of local anaesthetic

We have compared the duration of motor block produced by four local anaesthetics administered into a chronically implanted subarachnoid catheter in rabbits. Each group (n = 6) received four different doses of amethocaine, bupivacaine, lignocaine or procaine, and the duration of the resulting motor block was assessed. Dose-response curves were plotted for each drug. As a measure of activity of the anaesthetics, we used the dose of each drug required to produce block of 60-min duration (D60 min) and the correlation between D60 min and different drug properties was examined. An inverse linear correlation (r = 0.995; P < 0.01) was observed between log D60 min and the log of the partition coefficient of the local anaesthetics. No correlation was found between the effect and degree of protein binding, pKa or molecular weight. These results suggest that, in spinal anaesthesia, the partition coefficient could be used as a predictor of the duration of anaesthetic action.