Influence of a pore-forming agent on swelling, network parameters, and permeability of poly(ethylene glycol)-crosslinked poly(methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic acid) hydrogels:Application in transdermal delivery systems

We characterized hydrogels, prepared from aqueous blends of poly(methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic acid) (PMVE/MA) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG 10,000 Daltons) containing a pore-forming agent (sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO ). Increase in NaHCO content increased the equilibrium water content (EWC) and average molecular weight between crosslinks (M ) of hydrogels. For example, the %EWC was 731, 860, 1109, and 7536% and the M was 8.26, 31.64, 30.04, and 3010.00 × 10 g/mol for hydrogels prepared from aqueous blends containing 0, 1, 2, and 5% w/w of NaHCO , respectively. Increase in NaHCO content also resulted in increased permeation of insulin. After 24 h, percentage permeation was 0.94, 3.68, and 25.71% across hydrogel membranes prepared from aqueous blends containing 0, 2, and 5% w/w of NaHCO , respectively. Hydrogels containing the pore-forming agent were fabricated into microneedles (MNs) for transdermal drug delivery applications by integrating the MNs with insulin-loaded patches. It was observed that the mean amount of insulin permeating across neonatal porcine skin in vitro was 20.62% and 52.48% from hydrogel MNs prepared from aqueous blends containing 0 and 5% w/w of NaHCO . We believe that these pore-forming hydrogels are likely to prove extremely useful for applications in transdermal drug delivery of biomolecules. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

STO and GTO field-induced polarization functions for H to Kr

Field-induced polarization (FIP) functions were proposed over two decades ago to improve the accuracy of calculated response properties, and the FIP functions in GTO form for H and C to F were tested on small molecules, with encouraging results. The concept of FIP,is now extended to all atoms up to Kr. New simplifying approximations for the description of asymptotic highest occupied atomic orbitals. (HOAOs) are introduced in this study. They provide the basis for STO and GTO exponents of a complete set of FIP functions from H to Kr, which are both listed for the convenience of the users. Tests on the polarizabilities of a series of atoms and molecules demonstrate that addition of the FIP basis functions to a series' of standard basis sets drastically improves the performance of all these basis sets compared to converged results. Moreover, the byproduct of this study (approximate asymptotic HOAOs) provides information for the construction of accurate basis sets for long-range ground state properties. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Harmonic generation and wave mixing in nonlinear metamaterials and photonic crystals (Invited paper)

The basic concepts and phenomenology of wave mixing and harmonic generation are reviewed in context of the recent advances in the enhanced nonlinear activity in metamaterials and photonic crystals. The effects of dispersion, field confinement and phase synchronism are illustrated by the examples of the on-purpose designed artificial nonlinear structures. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 22:469482, 2012.

Switchable radar cross-section evanescent waveguide antenna affiliation

We present a simple method of forming a switchable radar cross-section (RCS) in evanescent waveguide.Here, the antenna can be selected to be matched to free space, or to act as an almost perfect reflector of incident energy via a single SPST switch located at the antenna aperture. With the aperture switch open, the antenna is matched over a measured bandwidth of 17.5%, from 2.35 to 2.8 GHz, for reflection coefficient <-10 dB, in 2.725 GHz cutoff waveguide. With the aperture switch closed, a minimum reflection coefficient of -2.5 dB across the bandwidth is observed, proving that the antenna has the capacity to be made RCS reconfigurable. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:1849–1851, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26981

Loading Artificial Magnetic Conductor and Artificial Magnetic Conductor Absorber with Negative Impedance Convertor Elements

The general properties of a frequency selective surface loaded with negative impedance converter (NIC)-based active loads are discussed from a theoretical perspective.The stability problem associated with NIC circuits embedded in artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) and AMC absorber applications is studied using pole-zero analysis. The requirements and constraints for achieving stable operation with enhanced bandwidth using negative capacitance as realized by a floating NIC network are derived. Furthermore, it is shown that it is nearly impossible to simultaneously implement a negative capacitor and a negative inductor to such structures. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:2111–2114, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.27019

You have free access to this content 5.8 GHz full duplex amplitude shift keying retrodirective interrogator array

This article describes a practical demonstration of a complete full-duplex “amplitude shift keying (ASK)” retrodirective radio frequency identification (RFID) transceiver array.The interrogator incorporates a “retrodirective array (RDA)” with a dual-conversion phase conjugating architecture in order to achieve better performance than is possible with conventional RFID solutions. Here mixers phase conjugate the incoming signal and a carrier recovery circuit recovers incoming angle of arrival phase information of an encoded amplitude shift keyed signal. The resulting interrogator provides a receiver sensitivity level of -109 dBm. A four element square patch RDA gives a 3 dB automatic beam steering angle of acceptance of ±45°. When compared to an RFID system operating by conventional (non-retrodirective) means retrodirective action leads to improved range extension of up to 16 times at ±45°. Operator pointing accuracy requirements are also reduced due to automatic retrodirective self-pointing. These features significantly enhance deployment opportunities requiring long range low equivalent isotropic radiation power (EIRP) and/or RFID tagging of moving platforms. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:160–164, 2013; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.27258

Two-Ray Modeling of Recombination Effects in the Presence of a Phase Conjugation Array

This article describes by means of a simple model how signal recombination effects behave under the influence of phase conjugating retrodirective array (RDA) technology. A two-ray ground reflection model is used to predict the operational advantages of RDA technology in multipath rich environments. The simulation results show that advantageous signal recombination occurs due to automatic self-phasing. As the number of elements in the RDA increases, the fading effect normally observed due to out of phase multipath signal is mitigated to the extent that the system approaches that of one operating in a free space environment. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:1987–1989, 2013

Swimming against the tide:Outward staffing flows from multinational subsidiaries

Studying the flows of parent country nationals in multinational enterprises (MNEs) to subsidiary operations has a relatively long tradition. Studying flows of subsidiary employees to other subsidiaries, as third country nationals, and to the corporate headquarters, as inpatriates, however, has empirically much less pedigree. Drawing on a large-scale empirical study of MNEs in Ireland, this paper provides a benchmark of outward flows of international assignees from the Irish subsidiaries of foreign-owned MNEs to both corporate headquarters and other worldwide operations. Building on insights from the resource-based view and neo-institutional theory, we develop and test a theoretical model to explain outward staffing flows. The results show that almost half of all MNEs use some form of outward staffing flows from their Irish operations. Although the impact of specific variables in explaining inter-organization variation differs between the utilization of inpatriate and third country national assignments, overall we find that a number of headquarters, subsidiary, structural, and human resource systems factors emerge as strong predictors of outward staffing flows. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Erythrocytosis in children and adolescents-classification, characterization, and consensus recommendations for the diagnostic approach

During recent years, the increasing knowledge of genetic and physiological changes in polycythemia vera (PV) and of different types of congenital erythrocytosis has led to fundamental changes in recommendations for the diagnostic approach to patients with erythrocytosis. Although widely accepted for adult patients this approach may not be appropriate with regard to children and adolescents affected by erythrocytosis. The "congenital erythrocytosis" working group established within the framework of the MPN&MPNr-EuroNet (COST action BM0902) addressed this question in a consensus finding process and developed a specific algorithm for the diagnosis of erythrocytosis in childhood and adolescence which is presented here. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2013;9999:XX-XX. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Prevalence of human papillomavirus in women attending cervical screening in the UK and Ireland:New data from northern Ireland and a systematic review and meta-analysis

There is substantial international variation in human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence; this study details the first report from Northern Ireland and additionally provides a systematic review and meta-analysis pooling the prevalence of high-risk (HR-HPV) subtypes among women with normal cytology in the UK and Ireland. Between February and December 2009, routine liquid based cytology (LBC) samples were collected for HPV detection (Roche Cobas® 4800 [PCR]) among unselected women attending for cervical cytology testing. Four electronic databases, including MEDLINE, were then searched from their inception till April 2011. A random effects meta-analysis was used to calculate a pooled HR-HPV prevalence and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI). 5,712 women, mean age 39 years (±SD 11.9 years; range 20-64 years), were included in the analysis, of which 5,068 (88.7%), 417 (7.3%) and 72 (1.3%) had normal, low, and high-grade cytological findings, respectively. Crude HR-HPV prevalence was 13.2% (95% CI, 12.7-13.7) among women with normal cytology and increased with cytological grade. In meta-analysis the pooled HR-HPV prevalence among those with normal cytology was 0.12 (95% CIs, 0.10-0.14; 21 studies) with the highest prevalence in younger women. HPV 16 and HPV 18 specific estimates were 0.03 (95% CI, 0.02-0.05) and 0.01 (95% CI, 0.01-0.02), respectively. The findings of this Northern Ireland study and meta-analysis verify the prevalent nature of HPV infection among younger women. Reporting of the type-specific prevalence of HPV infection is relevant for evaluating the impact of future HPV immunization initiatives, particularly against HR-HPV types other than HPV 16 and 18. J. Med. Virol. 85:295-308, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Liquid crystal based Rotman lens antenna with switchable monopulse patterns

An electronically reconfigurable Rotman lens is described which generates multiple beams that can be switched from monopulse sum to difference radiation patterns when used in conjunction with a six element Vivaldi antenna array. This is achieved by exploiting the voltage-dependent dielectric anisotropy property of nematic state liquid crystals to provide switched 0 degrees and 180 degrees phase shifts in the array feed lines. The viability of the concept is demonstrated by designing an antenna which exhibits dynamically reconfigurable monopulse radiation patterns over the frequency band 6-10 GHz. Measured and simulated results are shown to be in good agreement. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mechanism of gas permeation in processed HNBR/nanoclay composites

The influence of the layered silicate clay platelets on the nitrogen permeation properties of hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR)/nanoclay nanocomposites has been investigated. Nanocomposites of HNBR modified with different percentages of the organoclay are processed through various routes. Commercially available organoclay (CLOISITE 15A) and various silane-coupling agents are used to improve the dispersion of the nanoclay in HNBR. A total of 10 different formulations of nanocomposites are manufactured. The addition of the organoclay has resulted in a significant enhancement of the nitrogen barrier properties of the manufactured nanocomposite. The mechanism of the reduction in the permeability is explained through the changes in the morphology and its bond to the filler. These changes are confirmed through examination of the morphology using x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. There has been a drastic reduction up to 55.7% in nitrogen permeability. The reduction in gas permeation in HNBR is attributed to uniformly exfoliated clay platelets. Finally, three different permeability models, namely, the Nielsen model, modified Nielsen model, and Cussler model, have also been considered to predict the permeability behavior of nanocomposites with different volume filler fractions. The experimental values of gas permeability have been compared with theoretical models. It is observed that the modified Nielsen model closely matches with the measured permeation behavior. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Optimized process for the inclusion of carbon nanotubes in elastomers with improved thermal and mechanical properties

The effects of addition of reinforcing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into hydrogenated nitrile-butadiene rubber (HNBR) matrix on the mechanical, dynamic viscoelastic, and permeability properties were studied in this investigation. Different techniques of incorporating nanotubes in HNBR were investigated in this research. The techniques considered were more suitable for industrial preparation of rubber composites. The nanotubes were modified with different surfactants and dispersion agents to improve the compatibility and adhesion of nanotubes on the HNBR matrix. The effects of the surface modification of the nanotubes on various properties were examined in detail. The amount of CNTs was varied from 2.5 to 10 phr in different formulations prepared to identify the optimum CNT levels. A detailed analysis was made to investigate the morphological structure and mechanical behavior at room temperature. The viscoelastic behavior of the nanotube filler elastomer was studied by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). Morphological analysis indicated a very good dispersion of the CNTs for a low nanotube loading of 3.5 phr. A significant improvement in the mechanical properties was observed with the addition of nanotubes. DMTA studies revealed an increase in the storage modulus and a reduction in the glass-transition temperature after the incorporation of the nanotubes. Further, the HNBR/CNT nanocomposites were subjected to permeability studies. The studies showed a significant reduction in the permeability of nitrogen gas. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

"No Artist has Ethical Sympathies": Oscar Wilde, Aesthetics, and Moral Evolution

“There is no mode of action, no form of emotion, that we do not share with the lower animals” (137). This evolutionary claim is not attributable to Darwin, but to Oscar Wilde, who allows Gilbert to voice this bold assertion in “The True Function of Criticism.” While critics have long wrestled with the ethical stance and coherence of Wilde's writings, they have overlooked a significant influence on his work: debates concerning the evolution of morality that animated the periodicals in which he was writing. Wilde was fascinated by the proposition that complex human behaviours, including moral and aesthetic responses, might be traced back to evolutionary impulses. Significantly, he also wrote for a readership already engaged with these controversies.

Quality of reporting of dental survival analyses

To explore the quality of reporting (writing and graphics) of articles that used time-to-event analyses to report dental treatment outcomes. A systematic search of the top 50 dental journals in 2008 produced the sample of articles for this analysis. Articles reporting treatment outcomes with (n = 95) and without (n = 91) time-to-event statistics were reviewed. Survival descriptive words used in the two groups were analysed (Pearson's chi-square). The quality of life tables, survival curves and time-to-event statistics were assessed (Kappa analysed agreement) and explored. Words describing dental outcomes 'over time' were more common in time-to-event compared with control articles (77%, 3%, P < 0.001). Non-specific use of 'rate' was common across both groups. Life tables and survival curves were used by 39% and 48% of the time-to-event articles, with at least one used by 82%. Construction quality was poor: 21% of life tables and 28% of survival curves achieved an acceptable standard. Time-to-event statistical reporting was poor: 3% achieved a high and 59% achieved an acceptable standard. The survival statistic, summary figure and standard error were reported in 76%, 95% and 20% of time-to-event articles. Individual statistical terms and graphic aids were common within and unique to time-to-event articles. Unfortunately, important details were regularly omitted from statistical descriptions and survival figures making the overall quality poor. It is likely this will mean such articles will be incorrectly indexed in databases, missed by searchers and unable to be understood completely if identified.