Dried blood spot liquid chromatography assay for therapeutic drug monitoring of metformin

The use of blood spot collection cards is a simple way to obtain specimens for analysis of drugs for the purpose of therapeutic drug monitoring, assessing adherence to medications and preventing toxicity in routine clinical setting. We describe the development and validation of a microanalytical technique for the determination of metformin from dried blood spots. The method is based on reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Drug recovery in the developed method was found to be more than 84%. The limits of detection and quantification were calculated to be to be 90 and 150 ng/ml, respectively. The intraday and interday precision (measured by CV%) was always less than 9%. The accuracy (measured by relative error, %) was always less than 12%. Stability analysis showed that metformin is stable for at least 2 months when stored at -70 degrees C. The small volume of blood required (10 mu L), combined with the simplicity of the analytical technique makes this a useful procedure for monitoring metformin concentrations in routine clinical settings. The method is currently being applied to the analysis of blood spots taken from diabetic patients to assess adherence to medications and relationship between metformin level and metabolic control of diabetes. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Changing Attitudes of Community Through the Design Charrette Process

The traditional planning process in the UK and elsewhere takes too long to develop, are demanding on resources that are scarce and most times tend to be unrelated to the needs and demands of society. It segregates the plan making from the decision making process with the consultants planning, the politicians deciding and the community receiving without being integrated into the planning and decision making process. The Scottish Planning system is undergoing radical changes as evidenced by the publication of the Planning Advice Note, PAN by the Scottish Executive in July 2006 with the aim of enabling Community Engagement that allow for openness and accountability in the decision making process. The Public Engagement is a process that is driven by the physical, social and economic systems research aimed at improving the process at the level of community through problem solving and of the city region through strategic planning. There are several methods available to engage the community in large scale projects. The two well known ones are the Enquiry be Design and the Charrette approaches used in the UK and US respectively. This paper is an independent and rigorous analysis of the Charrette process as observed in the proposed Tornagrain Settlement in the Highlands area of Scotland. It attempts to gauge and analyse the attitudes, perceptions of the participants the Charrette as well as the mechanics and structure of the Charrette. The study analyzes the Charrette approach as a method future public engagement in and its effectiveness within the Scottish Planning System in view of PAN 2005. The analysis revealed that the Charrette as a method of engagement could be effective in changing attitudes of the community to the design process under certain conditions as discussed in the paper.

China's Enterprise Bankruptcy Law (EBL 2006): Cross-Border Perspectives

With China's new Enterprise Bankruptcy Law (‘EBL 2006’) having come into effect on 1 June 2007, a critical issue arises as to the extent to which Article 5, as a cross-border provision, will strengthen creditors' rights across jurisdictions. In this paper attention will be paid in particular to how the Chinese People's Court is likely to exercise its discretion to grant recognition to a foreign court ruling, and vice versa. The paper will start with a brief introduction to the circumstances under which Article 5 came into being. The evolution of China's cross-border insolvency practices will be examined through an analysis of an inbound case of B&T (2002) as well as an outbound one of GITIC (2005). In spite of the fact that China has not adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law, essential factors deemed necessary to be considered by China's court and its counterparts in US and UK are to be highlighted throughout the paper. Although the effect of Article 5 remains to be seen, it will be critically analysed focusing on some controversial issues.

Solubility of carbon dioxide, ethane, methane, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, argon, and carbon monoxide in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate between temperatures 283 K and 343 K and at pressures close to atmospheric

Experimental values for the solubility of carbon dioxide, ethane, methane, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, argon and carbon monoxide in 1-butyl-3- methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [bmim][BF4] - a room temperature ionic liquid - are reported as a function of temperature between 283 K and 343 K and at pressures close to atmospheric. Carbon dioxide is the most soluble gas with mole fraction solubilities of the order of 10-2. Ethane and methane are one order of magnitude more soluble than the other five gases that have mole fraction solubilities of the order of 10-4. Hydrogen is the less soluble of the gaseous solutes studied. From the variation of solubility, expressed as Henry's law constants, with temperature, the partial molar thermodynamic functions of solvation such as the standard Gibbs energy, the enthalpy, and the entropy are calculated. The precision of the experimental data, considered as the average absolute deviation of the Henry's law constants from appropriate smoothing equations is of 1%. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Augmentation mammoplasty: effect on diagnosis of breast cancer

Breast augmentation for cosmetic purposes is an increasingly common procedure in the USA and UK. In the USA in 2003, a total of 254 140 breast augmentation procedures were carried out [American Society of Plastic Surgeons, http://www.plasticsurgery.org/newsroom/ Procedural-Statistics-Press-Kit-Index.cfm9-1-2005; 2006.(1)]. It has been previously estimated that between 1 and 1.5 million women in the USA have prosthetic breast implants [Cook RR, Delongchamp RR, Woodbury M, et at. The prevalence of women with breast implants in the United States, 1989. J Clin Epidemiol 1995;48:519-25.(2)]. The UK National Breast Implant Registry has recorded a rise in the numbers of women receiving breast implants, with over 13 000 procedures registered in 2001; an estimated 77% of these were for cosmetic purposes. No association has been found between the presence of breast implants in a breast and an increased risk of breast cancer, and this subject has been comprehensively reviewed elsewhere [Hoshaw SJ, Klein PJ, Clark BD, et al. Breast implants and cancer: causation, delayed detection, and survival. Plast Reconstr Surg 2001; 107:1393-407.(3)]. However, as the population of women with breast implants ages, an increasing number of them will develop breast cancer; a reflection of the fact that the incidence of the disease increases with increasing age. Debate continues on the effect of breast implants on the efficacy of mammography in diagnosing breast cancer, and the role of other imaging techniques for this purpose, as well as the limitations that the presence of implants place on percutaneous biopsy techniques. We review the Literature on the radiological and tissue diagnosis of breast cancer in women with a history of previous augmentation mammaplasty. (c) 2007 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

From Conflict to Peace?:The Rights Abuses of Women and Girls in Northern Ireland

This article is based on primary research conducted by the authors in Northern Ireland in Mourne House women’s unit at Maghaberry Prison in 2004 and in Ash House women’s prison unit in Hydebank Wood Young Offender Centre from 2005-2006. It explores the imprisonment of women in prison in the context of a society slowly and unevenly emerging from violent conflict and against a backdrop of the global rise of women’s imprisonment over the past two decades. The history of the gendered punishment of politically motivated prisoners is explored, followed by discussion of the findings of primary research in Mourne House women’s unit and, following its closure, in Ash House. The conclusion analyses how women’s prison experiences in the North contribute to an understanding of the contested terrain of agency and resistance. Finally, the article explores the potential for, and barriers, to change within women’s imprisonment in Northern Ireland.

Cabazitaxel for hormone-relapsed metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen (review of TA255)

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer amongst men in the England and currently affects ~40,000 people around 6,000 of whom suffer from metastatic disease. Overall patients with metastatic disease have a life expectancy of less than 24 months and a poor prognosis.

Docetaxel was the first agent to show survival benefit in metastatic Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer (mHRPC) and since approval by NICE in 2006 (TA101) has for many years been the mainstay of treatment.

To appraise the clinical and cost effectiveness of cabazitaxel within its marketing authorisation for treating hormone-relapsed metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen.

Evaluation of the antidiabetic activity of DPP IV resistant N-terminally modified versus mid-chain acylated analogues of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide

Glucose dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is a gastrointestinal hormone with therapeutic potential for type 2 diabetes due to its insulin-releasing and antihyperglycaemic actions. However, development of GIP-based therapies is limited by N-terminal degradation by DPP IV resulting in a very short circulating half-life. Numerous GIP analogues have now been generated exhibiting DPP IV resistance and extended bioactivity profiles. In this study, we report a direct comparison of the long-term antidiabetic actions of three such GIP molecules, N-AcGIP, GIP(LyS(37)PAL) and N-AcGIP(LyS(37)PAL) in obese diabetic (ob/ob) mice. An extended duration of action of each GIP analogue was demonstrated prior to examining the effects of once daily injections (25 nmol kg(-1) body weight) over a 14-day period. Administration of either N-AcGIP, GIP(LyS(37)PAL) or N-AcGIP(LyS37PAL) significantly decreased non-fasting plasma glucose and improved glucose tolerance compared to saline treated controls. All three analogues significantly enhanced glucose and nutrient-induced insulin release, and improved insulin sensitivity. The metabolic and insulin secretory responses to native GIP were also enhanced in 14-day analogue treated mice, revealing no evidence of GIP-receptor desensitization. These effects were accompanied by significantly enhanced pancreatic insulin following N-AcGIP(Lys(37)PAL) and increased islet number and islet size in all three groups. Body weight, food intake and circulating glucagon were unchanged. These data demonstrate the therapeutic potential of once daily injection of enzyme resistant GIP analogues and indicate that N-AcGIP is equally as effective as related palmitate derivatised analogues of GIP. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Approved Social Work Training in Northern Ireland: Using Research to Examine Competence-Based Learning and Influence Policy Change

This article reports on how research activity helped describe and analyse ASW (Approved Social Worker) learning experience as well as acting as a catalyst for change and development in policy and practice in Northern Ireland. The paper contextualizes the study by outlining the legislation, the main features of the ASW role and the approach to ASW training in Northern Ireland, and by reviewing the literature on the efficacy and value of competence-based learning. While the findings do not provide conclusive evidence that a competence-based approach is inherently more effective than previous courses, they do indicate that candidates who were trained in this way were moderately more satisfied than those who had participated in non-competence based programmes. The research also highlights the importance of the interrelationship between training, practice experience and support in developing and sustaining competence. The paper concludes with a review of the recommendations arising from the study and an analysis of the developments in training and regulations relating to practice experience and re-approval of ASWs since publication of the research. The study is of contemporary interest given the proposed changes to the role of ASWs/Mental Health Officers in the context of the reviews of UK mental health law.