Drug Release from Lipogels According to Gelling Conditions and Mechanical Treatment

The release rate of a drug dissolved in the liquid phase of lipogels may be greatly affected by the type and concentration of gelling agent and by processing conditions and mechanical treatment of the ointment. These differences in release rate are reduced after application of mechanical stress comparable with the strain exerted on the ointment during application to the skin. Therefore, changes in the concentration of gelling agents used to achieve suitable consistency and manufacturing and packing processes that meet industrial and marketing requirements do not appear to exert a practical influence on drug availability after application to the skin.     

Nanofriction behavior of cluster-assembled carbon films

We have characterized the frictional properties of nanostructured carbon films grown by supersonic cluster beam deposition via an atomic force-friction force microscope (AFM-FFM). The experimental data are discussed on the basis of a modified Amonton's law for friction, stating a linear dependence of friction on load plus an adhesive offset accounting for a finite friction force in the limit of null total applied load. Molecular dynamics simulations of the interaction of the AFM tip with the nanostructured carbon confirm the validity of the friction model used for this system. Experimental results show that the friction coefficient is not influenced by the nanostructure of the films nor by the relative humidity. On the other hand the adhesion coefficient depends on these parameters.     

Effect of gelling conditions and mechanical treatment on drug availability from a lipogel

This study has been conducted to determine whether the rheological differences depending on gelling and treatment conditions could have an influence on drug availability. Lipogels with constant composition were obtained by gelling olive oil with monodiglycerides at rest, under stirring, and milled after gelling. The considerable differences in rheological characteristics produced significant differences on in vitro drug release tests, whereas a lesser influence was observed on in vitro simulated absorption test. The rheological differences appeared not to influence in vivo drug availability. Also, rheological differences owing to the concentration of the gelling agent showed no significant influence on in vivo availability.     

Evaluation of advanced glycation end products and carbonyl compounds in patients with different conditions of oxidative stress

Advanced glycation end products (AGE) and dicarbonyl compounds accumulate in serum and tissues of patients with diabetes and chronic renal failure. Pentosidine, free pentosidine, glyoxal and methylglyoxal have been evaluated in plasma of diabetic patients with poor metabolic control at baseline and after the improvement of glycemic levels, and in plasma and peritoneal dialysate of patients with renal failure before and after 12 h of peritoneal dialysis. In diabetic patients, acceptable metabolic control was unable to normalize levels of pentosidine (after 2 and 10 months), glyoxal and methylglyoxal (after 2 months). In patients with end-stage renal disease, mean values of pentosidine, free pentosidine, glyoxal and methylglyoxal decreased in plasma after dialysis. No pentosidine or free pentosidine were present in the peritoneal dialysate at time 0, but were found after 12 h of peritoneal dialysis; glyoxal and methylglyoxal decreased after 12 h of dialysis. So, glyoxal and methylglyoxal, already present in the dialysis fluid, can react with the peritoneal matrix protein, giving a reason for the gradual loss of peritoneal membrane function often observed in patients undergoing long-term peritoneal dialysis.     

Atherosclerosis-related remodeling of aortic relaxation to purines in the Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbit

The mechanism of the unimpaired relaxant effect of ATP in the Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbit aorta was investigated to elucidate the involvement of P2y purinoceptor at the endothelial level during atherosclerosis. Experiments were carried out on isolated thoracic aorta from such rabbits that were 12 months of age. The potent P2y purinoceptor agonist, 2-methylthio-ATP, did not induce any endothelium- or smooth muscle-dependent relaxation, thus excluding any involvement by the P2y purinoceptor. ADP, but not AMP, produced relaxation of the aorta by acting at both endothelial and smooth muscle levels. Adenosine relaxed the vessel by acting only in smooth muscle. The maintained endothelial relaxant effect of ATP and ADP is therefore not due to activation of P1 or P2y purinoceptors but may involve activation of a remodeled purinergic receptor site that emerges with the progression of atherosclerosis. This site is antagonized by methylene blue. The disorganization of the endothelial monolayer observed in the morphological analysis may be related to functional remodeling of the endothelial purinergic activity in atherosclerosis.     

Serenoa repens and Urtica dioica Fixed Combination: In-Vitro Validation of a Therapy for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is an age-related chronic disorder, characterized by the hyperproliferation of prostatic epithelial and stromal cells, which drives prostate enlargement. Since BPH aetiology and progression have been associated with the persistence of an inflammatory stimulus, induced both by Nuclear Factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, the inhibition of these pathways could result in a good tool for its clinical treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of a combined formulation of Serenoa repens and Urtica dioica (SR/UD) in an in vitro human model of BPH. The results confirmed both the antioxidant and the anti-inflammatory effects of SR/UD. In fact, SR/UD simultaneously reduced ROS production, NF-κB translocation inside the nucleus, and, consequently, interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 8 (IL-8) production. Furthermore, the effect of SR/UD was also tested in a human androgen-independent prostate cell model, PC3. SR/UD did not show any significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect, but was able to reduce NF-κB translocation. Taken together, these results suggested a promising role of SR/UD in BPH and BPH-linked disorder prevention.     

Correction to: Assessment of wastewater reuse potential for irrigation in rural semi-arid areas: the case study of Punitaqui,Chile

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - In this mentioned article, the Author names are mistakenly have been replaced with the family name of the authors, and so the family names with the names.     

Endometriosis Susceptibility to Dapsone-Hydroxylamine-Induced Alterations Can Be Prevented by Licorice Intake: In Vivo and In Vitro Study

Endometriosis, an estrogen-dependent chronic gynecological disease, is characterized by a systemic inflammation that affects circulating red blood cells (RBC), by reducing anti-oxidant defenses. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential beneficial effects of licorice intake to protect RBCs from dapsone hydroxylamine (DDS-NHOH), a harmful metabolite of dapsone, commonly used in the treatment of many diseases. A control group (CG, n = 12) and a patient group (PG, n = 18) were treated with licorice extract (25 mg/day), for a week. Blood samples before (T₀) and after (T₁) treatment were analyzed for: i) band 3 tyrosine phosphorylation and high molecular weight aggregates; and ii) glutathionylation and carbonic anhydrase activity, in the presence or absence of adjunctive oxidative stress induced by DDS-NHOH. Results were correlated with plasma glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) concentrations, measured by HPLC–MS. Results showed that licorice intake decreased the level of DDS-NHOH-related oxidative alterations in RBCs, and the reduction was directly correlated with plasma GA concentration. In conclusion, in PG, the inability to counteract oxidative stress is a serious concern in the evaluation of therapeutic approaches. GA, by protecting RBC from oxidative assault, as in dapsone therapy, might be considered as a new potential tool for preventing further switching into severe endometriosis.     

Status of the High density Projection Chamber

The High density Projection Chamber (HPC) for the Delphi detector is a lead gas sampling electromagnetic calorimeter constructed using the lead wire technique which is well adapted for mass production. The HPC offers good energy resolution and superb space resolution and may consequently serve as a tracking device.     

WIND-FLEX: developing a novel testbed for exploring flexible radio concepts in an indoor environment

We describe the essential features of a novel testbed, code-named WIND-FLEX and developed under the auspices of the EU IST research program, whose primary goal has been to define and explore concepts related to radio flexibility, with application to an OFDM-based short-range indoor radio transceiver design. The emphasis has been on the profitable use of software and DSP tools for the purpose of demonstrating adaptivity and reconfigurability features, primarily for the lower layers (i.e., PHY and DLC/MAC layers). The topics covered briefly herein include the meaning of the terms in the present context, their instantiation in the design, their contribution to an optimized low-transmit-power scheme, the novel elements required in order to achieve it, the contribution to a guaranteed QoS philosophy, and the relationship of the testbed to broader software-defined-radio concepts.