Electrical and optical studies of ZnO:Ga thin films fabricated via the sol–gel technique

The effects of dopant (Ga) concentration, post-heat treatment temperatures, and different heat treatment environments on the morphology, electrical and optical properties of ZnO films were studied. ZnO films doped with Ga are derived from non-alkoxide zinc acetate via the alcoholic route by a sol–gel dip-coating technique. Introduction of Ga, as a dopant, can reduce crystallite size, which is attributed to the increased number of nucleation centers. Grain growth was also observed at high post-heat treatment temperature. It was discovered that different post-heat treatment environments (air or reduced atmosphere) did not change the structure orientation, microstructure shapes and size. It was found that the sheet resistance, R_s could be reduced by an order of magnitude, using post-heat treatment in reduced atmosphere (4%H₂–96%N₂).     

Molecular Characterization of α- and β-Thalassaemia among Malay Patients

Both α- and β-thalassaemia syndromes are public health problems in the multi-ethnic population of Malaysia. To molecularly characterise the α- and β-thalassaemia deletions and mutations among Malays from Penang, Gap-PCR and multiplexed amplification refractory mutation systems were used to study 13 α-thalassaemia determinants and 20 β-thalassaemia mutations in 28 and 40 unrelated Malays, respectively. Four α-thalassaemia deletions and mutations were demonstrated. −−^SEA deletion and α^CSα accounted for more than 70% of the α-thalassaemia alleles. Out of the 20 β-thalassaemia alleles studied, nine different β-thalassaemia mutations were identified of which β^E accounted for more than 40%. We concluded that the highest prevalence of (α- and β-thalassaemia alleles in the Malays from Penang are −−^SEA deletion and β^E mutation, respectively.     

The Effect of Bases and Formulation on the Release of Indomethacin from Suppositories

The in vitro release characteristics of indomethacin from different suppository formulations were investigated using a dialysis method. Suppositories containing 100 mg of indomethacin were prepared by the fusion method in a variety of Witepsol and Novata bases with different hydroxyl values. The rate of release of indomethacin was found to be unexpectedly higher from oily bases with low hydroxyl values.

Furthermore, the effect of surface active agents and some excipients commonly used in suppository formulations on the release properties of indomethacin was determined. Colloidal silicon dioxide, sodium lauryl sulphate and cetyl alcohol had a slight effect, on the release of indomethacin, whereas dioctyl sodium sulphosuccinate significantly increased the amount of indomethacin released. White beeswax and Tween-80, however, resulted in a marked decrease in the release of indomethacin.

The in vitro release of indomethacin from five commercially available preparations was also determined using the same method. Suppositories formulated in PEG bases gave better release properties than those in oily bases.     

Basic principles of LIFE--autofluorescence bronchoscopy. Results of 194 examinations in comparison with standard procedures for early detection of bronchial carcinoma--overview]

We report on our treatment experience in Germany with anagrelide, a novel platelet lowering agent, in 48 patients (27 females, 21 males) with essential thrombocythaemia. Their age was between 19 and 79 yr when anagrelide therapy was initiated. Sixteen patients were previously untreated, 15 pretreated with hydroxyurea and 17 had multiple pretreatments. Forty-one of the 48 patients had either microvascular, thromboembolic or bleeding complications. About 50% received low dose acetylsalicylic acid as an adjunct. Their platelet count prior to therapy ranged from 850,000/microl to 3,100,000/microl. Eighty-seven per cent of the patients treated with anagrelide were complete hematological responders, while 13% responded only partially or failed to respond. Twelve of our patients (25%) developed short-term (from a few days to a maximum of 4 wk) side effects including headache (most frequent), palpitations, tachycardia or nausea. Eight patients reported long-term (more than 1 month) adverse effects. However, in only 5 of all 48 patients (10%) were these side effects not acceptable so that treatment had to be discontinued. We have now treated patients for up to 7 yr (median maintenance dose 2.5 mg/d). Preliminary evidence suggests that anagrelide mediated platelet count reduction also prevents recurrence of thromboembolic complications. Hence, anagrelide has the potential to become the first-line platelet-lowering treatment in myeloproliferative disorders with high platelet counts.     

Metabolic Syndrome and Male Fertility: Beyond Heart Consequences of a Complex Cardiometabolic Endocrinopathy

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a highly prevalent condition among adult males, affecting up to 41% of men in Europe. It is characterized by the association of obesity, hypertension, and atherogenic dyslipidemia, which lead to premature morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Male infertility is another common condition which accounts for about 50% of cases of couple infertility worldwide. Interestingly, male infertility and MetS shares several risk factors (e.g., smoking, ageing, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol consumption), leading to reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and increased oxidative stress (OS), and resulting in endothelial dysfunction and altered semen quality. Thus, the present narrative review aims to discuss the pathophysiological mechanisms which link male infertility and MetS and to investigate the latest available evidence on the reproductive consequences of MetS.     

Lactation history and breast cancer risk

Lifetime lactation in relation to breast cancer risk was examined in a case-control study in two counties in western New York. Cases were women age 40 years and over with incident, primary, histologically confirmed breast cancer. Controls were age- and county-frequency matched, selected from New York State driver's license records (for those less than age 65 years) and from Health Care Finance Administration Records (for those age 65 or more). Included were women with at least one livebirth (253 premenopausal and 367 postmenopausal cases and 266 premenopausal and 427 postmenopausal controls). Breast cancer risk was very weakly associated with long duration of lactation among premenopausal women; the odds ratio for at least 20 months lifetime lactation was 0.50 (95% confidence interval 0.21-1.12). Among postmenopausal women, the protective effect of lactation was restricted to women with first lactation before age 25 years (odds ratio = 0.67, 95% confidence interval 0.46-0.95). However, age at first birth was highly correlated with age at first lactation. Neither insufficient milk as a reason for not breastfeeding nor having received medication to stop milk flow was associated with increased risk. These findings are in accordance with accumulating evidence that lactation may have a weak protective effect on breast cancer risk.     

Hierarchically SrTiO3@TiO2@Fe2O3 nanorod heterostructures for enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting

In this particular work, the fabrication of SrTiO₃@TiO₂@ Fe₂O₃ nanorod heterostructure has been demonstrated via hydrothermal growth of SrTiO₃ cubic on the rutile TiO₂ nanorod as a template and later sensitized with Fe₂O₃ for photocatalytic solar hydrogen production in a tandem photoelectrochemical cell and dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) module. The photocatalytic solar hydrogen production of this heterostructure was optimized by controlling the amount of Sr and Fe on the surface of photocatalyst. The details of the influencing parameters on the physicochemical and photoelectrochemical properties are discussed. It was found that the morphology and quality of the fabricated materials were greatly manipulated by the concentration of Sr and Fe. The optimized 0.025 M SrTiO₃@TiO₂@ Fe₂O₃ heterostructure exhibited a higher photoconversion efficiency with a long electron lifetime, low charge transfer resistance and large donor density at the electrode and electrolyte interface. This composite has significantly improved the photocatalytic hydrogen production, yielding 716 μmol/cm² of maximum accumulative hydrogen. These results show that morphology rendering and manipulation of energy band alignment is crucial in creating efficient heterojunctions for excellent contributions in photocatalytic applications.     

Lifetime total and beverage specific - alcohol intake and prostate cancer risk: a case-control study

Background

We investigated lifetime alcohol consumption and prostate cancer risk in a case-control study conducted in Buffalo, NY (1998–2001).

Methods

The study included 88 men, aged 45 to 85 years with incident, histologically-confirmed prostate cancer and 272 controls. We conducted extensive in-person interviews regarding lifetime alcohol consumption and other epidemiologic data.

Results

Prostate cancer risk was not associated with lifetime intake of total and beverage specific ethanol. In addition we found no association with number of drinks per day (average drinks per day over the lifetime) or drinks per drinking day (average drinks per day on drinking days only over the lifetime). However, we observed an inverse association with the total number of drinking years. Men in the lowest tertile of total drinking years had a two-fold prostate cancer risk than men in the highest tertile (OR 2.16, 95% CI 0.98–4.78, p for trend <0.05).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that alcohol intake distribution across lifetime may play a more important role in prostate cancer etiology than total lifetime consumption.     

Degradation Kinetics of Diltiazem

The kinetics of degradation of diltiazem hydrochloride in aqueous buffered solutions (pH 1-7) were studied. Diltiazem was found to undergo hydrolysis to desacetyldiltiazem. The decomposition of diltiazem followed pseudo-first order kinetics under the experimental conditions. The drug was relatively stable over the pH range 3-6 with optimum stability at pH 5. The extrapolated shelf-life at this pH was 42.0 days compared to 15.8 day at pH 2.     

Evaluation of properties of starch-based adhesives and particleboard manufactured from them

The objective of this study was to evaluate some of the mechanical and physical properties of experimental particleboard panels manufactured from rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) bonded using oil palm starch, wheat starch, and urea formaldehyde (UF) at a density of 0.60 g/cm³. Bending characteristics, internal bond strength, thickness swelling, and water absorptions of the samples were determined based on Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS). Overall mechanical properties for natural binder oil palm starch resulted in higher values than those made from wheat starch. The highest internal-bonding strength (IB) value of 0.41 N/mm² was determined for the samples made from oil palm starch. Dimensional stability in the form of thickness swelling of the samples made from oil palm starch had higher values, ranging from 4.24 to 22.84% than those manufactured from wheat starch. Natural adhesive showed comparable strength with panels manufactured with UF. Overall results meet the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) requirements except for water absorption and thickness swelling of the samples.