Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance: A Technique to Control Hydration Processes in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Pharmaceuticals can exist in many solid forms, which can have different physical and chemical properties. These solid forms include polymorphs, solvates, amorphous, and hydrates. Particularly, hydration process can be quite common since pharmaceutical solids can be in contact with water during manufacturing process and can also be exposed to water during storage. In the present work, it is proved that NQR technique is capable of detecting different hydrated forms not only in the pure raw material but also in the final product (tablets), being in this way a useful technique for quality control. This technique was also used to study the dehydration process from pentahydrate to trihydrate.

Stakeholders Theory and Theory of the Firm: a study on the hierarchy of objective-functions in Brazilian companies

Discussion opposing the Theory of the Firm to the Theory of Stakeholders are contemporaneous and polemical. One focal point of such debates refers to which objective-function companies, should choose, whether that of the shareholders or that of the stakeholders, and whether it is possible to opt for both simultaneously. Several empirical studies. have attempted-to test a possible correlation between both functions, and there has not been any consensus-so far. The objective of the present research is to examine a gap in such discussions: is there (or not) a subordination of the stakeholders` objective-function to that of the shareholders? The research is empirical,and analytical and employs quantitative methods. Hypotheses were tested and data analyzed by using non-parametrical (chi-square test) and parametrical procedures (frequency. correlation `coefficient). Secondary data was collected from he Economitica database and from the Brazilian Institute of Social and-Economic Analyses (IBASE) website, relative to public companies that have published their Social Balance Statements following the IBASE model from 1999 to 2006, whose sample amounted to 65 companies; In order to assess the objective-function of shareholders a proxy was created based on the following three indices: ROE (return on equity), EnterpriseValue and Tobin`s Q. In order to assess the objective-function of stakeholders a proxy was created by employing the following IBASE social balance indices: internal ones (ISI), external ones (ISE), and environmental ones (IAM). The results have shown no evidence of subordination of stakeholders` objective-function to that of the shareholders in analyzed companies, negating initial expectations and calling for deeper investigation of results. Its main conclusion, which states that the attempted subordination does not take place, is limited to the sample herein investigated and calls for ongoing research aiming at improvements which may lead to sample enlargement and, as a consequence, may make feasible the application of other statistical techniques which may yield a more thorough, analysis of the studied phenomehon.

On S-asymptotically omega-periodic functions on Banach spaces and applications

This paper is devoted to the study of the class of continuous and bounded functions f : [0, infinity] -> X for which exists omega > 0 such that lim(t ->infinity) (f (t + omega) - f (t)) = 0 (in the sequel called S-asymptotically omega-periodic functions). We discuss qualitative properties and establish some relationships between this type of functions and the class of asymptotically omega-periodic functions. We also study the existence of S-asymptotically omega-periodic mild solutions of the first-order abstract Cauchy problem in Banach spaces. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identification of a juvenile hormone esterase-like gene in the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. - Expression analysis and functional assays

Tight control over circulating juvenile hormone (JH) levels is of prime importance in an insect`s life cycle. Consequently, enzymes involved in JH metabolism, especially juvenile hormone esterases (JHEs), play major roles during metamorphosis and reproduction. In the highly eusocial Hymenoptera, JH has been co-opted into additional functions, primarily in the development of the queen and worker castes and in age-related behavioral development of workers. Within a set of 21 carboxylesterases predicted in the honey bee genome we identified one gene (Amjhe-like) that contained the main functional motifs of insect JHEs. Its transcript levels during larval development showed a maximum at the switch from feeding to spinning behavior, coinciding with a JH titer minimum. In adult workers, the highest levels were observed in nurse bees, where a low JH titer is required to prevent the switch to foraging. Functional assays showed that Amjhe-like expression is induced by JH-III and suppressed by 20-hydroxyecdysone. RNAi-mediated silencing of Amjhe-like gene function resulted in a six-fold increase in the JH titer in adult worker bees. The temporal profile of Amjhe-like expression in larval and adult workers, the pattern of hormonal regulation and the knockdown phenotype are consistent with the function of this gene as an authentic JHE. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A note on S-asymptotically periodic functions

In [Haiyin Gao, Ke Wang, Fengying Wei, Xiaohua Ding, Massera-type theorem and asymptotically periodic Logistic equations, Nonlinear Analysis: Real World Applications 7 (2006) 1268-1283, Lemma 2.1] it is established that a scalar S-asymptotically to-periodic function (that is, a continuous and bounded function f : [0, infinity) -> R such that lim(t ->infinity)(f (t + omega) - f (t)) = 0) is asymptotically omega-periodic. In this note we give two examples to show that this assertion is false. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. Ail rights reserved.

Niobium to alcohol mol ratio control of the concurring esterification and etherification reactions promoted by NbCl5 and Al2O3 catalysts under microwave irradiation

Alcohols and acids can be switched to produce ethers or esters by varying the alcohol to catalyst mol ratio, in a new etherification and esterification method using NbCl5/Al2O3 catalyst under ""solvent free"" conditions and promoted by MW (microwave) irradiation. A ""two sites"" mechanism for the reaction is proposed, in an attempt to clarify the tendency of the catalyst to be dependent on the alcohol alone during the esterification process. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Red, green, and blue lanthanum phosphate phosphors obtained via surfactant-control led hydrothermal synthesis

A new solution route for the obtainment of highly pure luminescent rare-earth orthophosphates in hydrothermal conditions was developed. By starting from soluble precursors (lanthanide tripolyphosphato complexes. i.e. with P(3)O(10)(5) as a complexing agent and as in orthophosphate source) and by applying surfactants in a water/toluene medium, the precipitations are confined to reverse micelle structures, thus yielding nanosized and homogeneous orthophosphates The method was employed to obtain lanthanide-activated lanthanum phosphates, which can be applied as red (LaPO(4):Eu(3+)), green (LaPO(4):Ce(3+), Tb(3+)) and blue (LaPO(4):Tm(3+)) phosphors The produced materials were analyzed by powder X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and luminescence spectroscopy (emission, excitation, lifetimes and chromaticity coordinates) (C) 2009 Elsevier B V All rights reserved

Time flies with music whatever its emotional valence

The present study used a temporal bisection task to investigate whether music affects time estimation differently from a matched auditory neutral stimulus, and whether the emotional valence of the musical stimuli (i.e., sad vs. happy music) modulates this effect. The results showed that, compared to sine wave control music, music presented in a major (happy) or a minor (sad) key shifted the bisection function toward the right, thus increasing the bisection point value (point of subjective equality). This indicates that the duration of a melody is judged shorter than that of a non-melodic control stimulus, thus confirming that ""time flies"" when we listen to music. Nevertheless, sensitivity to time was similar for all the auditory stimuli. Furthermore, the temporal bisection functions did not differ as a function of musical mode. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Activity of the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala underlies one-trial tolerance of rats in the elevated plus-maze

The anxiolytic effects of benzodiazepines are reduced after a single exposure of rats to elevated plus-maze test (EPM). Midazolam showed an anxioselective profile in animals submitted to one session (T1) but did not change the usual exploratory behavior of rats exposed twice (T2) to the EPM. In this study we examined further the one-trial tolerance by performing a factor analysis of the exploratory behavior of rats injected with saline before both trials as well as an immunohistochemistry study for quantification of Fos expression in encephalic structures after these sessions. Factor analysis of all behavioral categories revealed that factor I consisted of anxiety-related categories in T1 whereas these same behavioral categories loaded on factor 2 in T2. Risk assessment was also dissociated as it loaded stronger on T2 (factor 3) than on T1 (factor 4). Locomotor activity in T1 loaded on factor 5. Immunohistochemistry analyses showed that Fos expression predominated in limbic structures in T1 group. The medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala were the main areas activated in T2 group. These data suggest that anxiety and risk assessment behaviors change their valence across the EPM sessions. T2 is characterized by the emergence of a fear factor, more powerful risk assessment and medial prefrontal cortex activation. The amygdala functions as a switch between the anxiety-like patterns of T1 to the cognitive control of fear prevalent in T2. The EPM retest session is proposed as a tool for assessing the cognitive activity of rodents in the control of fear. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A New Family of Distance Functions for Perceptual Similarity Retrieval of Medical Images

A long-standing challenge of content-based image retrieval (CBIR) systems is the definition of a suitable distance function to measure the similarity between images in an application context which complies with the human perception of similarity. In this paper, we present a new family of distance functions, called attribute concurrence influence distances (AID), which serve to retrieve images by similarity. These distances address an important aspect of the psychophysical notion of similarity in comparisons of images: the effect of concurrent variations in the values of different image attributes. The AID functions allow for comparisons of feature vectors by choosing one of two parameterized expressions: one targeting weak attribute concurrence influence and the other for strong concurrence influence. This paper presents the mathematical definition and implementation of the AID family for a two-dimensional feature space and its extension to any dimension. The composition of the AID family with L (p) distance family is considered to propose a procedure to determine the best distance for a specific application. Experimental results involving several sets of medical images demonstrate that, taking as reference the perception of the specialist in the field (radiologist), the AID functions perform better than the general distance functions commonly used in CBIR.

Approximate controllability of second-order distributed implicit functional systems

In this paper we study the approximate controllability of control systems with states and controls in Hilbert spaces, and described by a second-order semilinear abstract functional differential equation with infinite delay. Initially we establish a characterization for the approximate controllability of a second-order abstract linear system and, in the last section, we compare the approximate controllability of a semilinear abstract functional system with the approximate controllability of the associated linear system. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Soil morphological control on saline and freshwater lake hydrogeochemistry in the Pantanal of Nhecolandia, Brazil

Joint pedological, geochemical, hydrological and geophysical investigations were performed to study the coexistence or saline and freshwater lakes in close proximity and similar climatic conditions in the Nhecolandia region, Pantanal wetlands in Brazil. The saline lakes are concentrically surrounded by green sandy loam horizons, which cause differential hydrological regimes. Mg-calcite, K-silicates, and amorphous silica precipitate in the soil cover, whereas Mg-silicates and more soluble Na-carbonates are concentrated in the topsoil along the shore of the saline lake. In saline solutions, some minor elements (As, Se) reach values above the water quality recommendations, whereas others are controlled and incorporated in solid phases (Ba, Sr). Locally, the destruction of the sandy loam horizons generates very acidic soil solution (pH similar to 3.5) through a process not yet understood. The soil distributions indicate that some freshwater lakes are former saline lakes. They are invaded by freshwater after destruction of the sandy loam green horizons, then the freshwater becomes enriched in K(+), SO(4)(2-), Fe, Al, and a stream of minor and trace elements. The formation of these green sandy loam horizons in the saline environment and their destruction in the non-saline one emphasizes the dynamic nature of this environment (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Icelandic Control Really Is A-Movement: Reply to Bobaljik and Landau

This article discusses the challenges that Bobaljik and Landau (2009) pose to Boeckx and Hornstein`s (2006) movement-based analysis of control in Icelandic. We show in detail that contrary to what Bobaljik and Landau claim, the movement theory of control (with a modification to accommodate quirky Case, a specialty of Icelandic) makes the right empirical cuts regarding the issues they raise, namely, (a) the differences in Case agreement between control and raising constructions, (b) the different patterns of Case transmission (un)available, and (c) the fact that allegedly Case-marked PROs are phonetically null. We argue that rather than being problematic, the data bearing on these issues actually provide independent support to the movement theory of control.

What Brazilian Portuguese Says about Control: Remarks on Boeckx & Hornstein

In an article in this journal, Boeckx & Hornstein (2006a) present data from Brazilian Portuguese (BP) as an argument in favor of the Movement Theory of Control (MTC). In this reply, I show that the data presented by those authors do not necessarily argue for a movement analysis of BP finite subjects nor of nonfinite control. I also show that BP provides arguments against the MTC when inflected infinitives are considered. Inflected infinitives may be used in BP in partial control structures, which makes it explicit that a singular matrix argument may control a syntactically plural null subject and shows that these two positions cannot be related by movement. Additionally, I show that the MTC makes the wrong predictions when a language with inflected infinitives is considered.

Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Dental Plaque Control Program in Autistic Patients

The aim of this study was to verify the efficacy of a programme for dental plaque control in autistics. Patients were evaluated on five occasions over a period of 180 days using the following instruments: OHI-S, DMF-T, the Fonnes brushing technique and diet questionnaire. Participants were divided into two groups according to level of co-operation on the programme: Group A (co-operative) and Group B (non-cooperative). A statistically significant improvement (p < 0.001) in Oral Hygiene was attained, with 84.2% showing regular or satisfactory hygiene at study end-point. Conclusion: Groups A and B both showed improvement in hygiene (p < 0.001 and p = 0.004), but improvement was significantly higher among co-operative patients (p < 0.001 at 180 days), who also had a higher mean age (p = 0.02).