Design and optimization of selfnanoemulsifying drug delivery systems for enhanced dissolution of gemfibrozil

Self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems of gemfibrozil were developed under Quality by Design approach for improvement of dissolution and oral absorption. Preliminary screening was performed to select proper components combination. BoxBehnken experimental design was employed as statistical tool to optimize the formulation variables, X1 (Cremophor® EL), X2 (Capmul® MCM-C8), and X3 (lemon essential oil). Systems were assessed for visual characteristics (emulsification efficacy), turbidity, droplet size, polydispersity index and drug release. Different pH media were also assayed for optimization. Following optimization, the values of formulation components (X1, X2, and X3) were 32.43%, 29.73% and 21.62%, respectively (16.22% of gemfibrozil). Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated spherical droplet morphology. SNEEDS release study was compared to commercial tablets. Optimized SNEDDS formulation of gemfibrozil showed a significant increase in dissolution rate compared to conventional tablets. Both formulations followed Weibull mathematical model release with a significant difference in td parameter in favor of the SNEDDS. Equally amodelistic parameters were calculated being the dissolution efficiency significantly higher for SNEDDS, confirming that the developed SNEDDS formulation was superior to commercial formulation with respect to in vitro dissolution profile. This paper provides an overview of the SNEDDS of the gemfibrozil as a promising alternative to improve oral absorption.

Notas floristicas, I

Las suaves colinas graníticas que respaldan la población de La Roca del Valles, primeras ondulaciones de la sierra de Marina para el que viene de la llanura vallesana, albergan una vegetación bastante interesante.

Les normals: paradigma de l'educació femenina

El nombre reduït d'estudis sobre el naixement i el desenvolupament del magisteri femení, i l'anàlisi habitual que aborda l'educació de les dones des d'una perspectiva metodològica centrada en l'enfocament de l'educació deis homes com a model i referent, han configurat unes representacions carregades de connotacions negatives que afecten la interpretació de la historia de l'accés a la instrucció formal deis dos sexes. Malgrat que queda un llarg camí d'investigacions per recórrer, avui es poden qüestionar algunes d'aquestes generalitzacions i, sobretot, situar la historia de l'educació femenina allà on va estar, i no on ens hauria agradat que estigués.

Quantifying Social Asymmetric Structures

Many social phenomena involve a set of dyadic relations among agents whose actions may be dependent. Although individualistic approaches have frequently been applied to analyze social processes, these are not generally concerned with dyadic relations nor do they deal with dependency. This paper describes a mathematical procedure for analyzing dyadic interactions in a social system. The proposed method mainly consists of decomposing asymmetric data into their symmetrical and skew-symmetrical parts. A quantification of skew-symmetry for a social system can be obtained by dividing the norm of the skew-symmetrical matrix by the norm of the asymmetric matrix. This calculation makes available to researchers a quantity related to the amount of dyadic reciprocity. Regarding agents, the procedure enables researchers to identify those whose behavior is asymmetric with respect to all agents. It is also possible to derive symmetric measurements among agents and to use multivariate statistical techniques.

Measuring and making decisions for social reciprocity

Social reciprocity may explain certain emerging psychological processes, which are likely to be founded on dyadic relations. Although some indices and statistics have been proposed to measure and make statistical decisions regarding social reciprocity in groups, these were generally developed to identify association patterns rather than to quantify the discrepancies between what each individual addresses to his/her partners and what is received from them in return. Additionally, social researchers are not only interested in measuring groups at the global level, since dyadic and individual measurements are also necessary for a proper description of social interactions. This study is concerned with a new statistic for measuring social reciprocity at the global level and with decomposing it in order to identify those dyads and individuals which account for a significant part of asymmetry in social interactions. In addition to a set of indices some exact analytical results are derived and a way of making statistical decisions is proposed.

Genetic origin of the relationship between parental negativity and behavior problems from early childhood to adolescence: A longitudinal genetically sensitive study.

Little is known about how genetic and environmental factors contribute to the association between parental negativity and behavior problems from early childhood to adolescence. The current study fitted a cross-lagged model in a sample consisting of 4,075 twin pairs to explore (a) the role of genetic and environmental factors in the relationship between parental negativity and behavior problems from age 4 to age 12, (b) whether parent-driven and child-driven processes independently explain the association, and (c) whether there are sex differences in this relationship. Both phenotypes showed substantial genetic influence at both ages. The concurrent overlap between them was mainly accounted for by genetic factors. Causal pathways representing stability of the phenotypes and parent-driven and child-driven effects significantly and independently account for the association. Significant but slight differences were found between males and females for parent-driven effects. These results were highly similar when general cognitive ability was added as a covariate. In summary, the longitudinal association between parental negativity and behavior problems seems to be bidirectional and mainly accounted for by genetic factors. Furthermore, child-driven effects were mainly genetically mediated, and parent-driven effects were a function of both genetic and shared-environmental factors.

Aportacion al conocimiento de la Flora Briologica de la vertiente septentrional de la Serra de Cadi

Como resultado de las campañas realizadas para iniciar el estudio de los briófitos de la vertiente septentrional de la Serra de Cadí, damos a conocer una serie de táxones que constituyen la primera aportación a la flora briológica de esta Sierra. Las recolecciones se realizaron básicamente en los torrentes de la zona y en los bosques de Pinus sylvestris y P. uncinata.

El consumo de probiótico Lactobacillus plantarum CECT 7315/7316 mejora el estado de salud general en personas de edad avanzada

Fundamentos: Con la edad avanzada se producen cambios en la microflora intestinal que pueden afectar al estado de salud general. En este trabajo analizamos el efecto de Lactobacillus plantarum CECT 7315/7316 sobre la regulación del tránsito intestinal y el estado nutricional. Métodos: Hemos realizado un estudio clínico dobleciego, controlado por placebo y aleatorizado. Hemos evaluado la evolución de la frecuencia de defecación semanal y los niveles en sangre de proteínas totales, albúmina,colesterol y proteína C-reactiva. Resultados: Lactobacillus plantarum CECT 7315/7316 ayuda a regular el tránsito intestinal y mejora el estado nutricional en personas mayores. Conclusiones: El consumo de productos funcionales que contengan L. plantarum CECT 7315/7316 mejora la calidad de vida de personas de la tercera edad.

Thermal increment due to ErCr: YSGG and CO2 laser irradiation of different implant surfaces. A pilot study

Objective: An evaluation and comparison is made of the thermal increment at different implant surfaces during irradiation with CO2 and ErCr:YSGG lasers. Study design: Five threaded and impacted implants with four types of surfaces were inserted in an adult pig rib: two implants with a hydroxyapatite surface (HA)(impacted and threaded, respectively), a machined titanium surface implant (TI mach), a titanium plasma spray surface implant (TPS), and a sandblasted, acid-etched surface implant (SBAE). A 0.5-mm diameter bone defect was made in the implant apical zone, and a type-K thermocouple (Termopar)® was placed in contact with the implant. The implants were irradiated in the coronal zone of each implant with a CO2 (4 W continuous mode) and an ErCr:YSGG laser (1.5 W, pulsed mode) first without and then with refrigeration. The temperature variations at the implant apical surface were recorded. Results: An apical temperature increase was recorded in all cases during CO2 and ErCr:YSGG laser irradiation without refrigeration. However, when the ErCr:YSGG was used with a water spray, a decrease in temperature was observed in all implants. The acid-etched and sandblasted surfaces were those most affected by the thermal changes. Conclusions: The ErCr:YSGG laser with a water spray applied to the sealing cap or coronal zone of the implants does not generate thermal increments in the apical surface capable of adversely affecting osseointegration and the integrity of the peri-implant bone tissue

The Measurement Invariance of Schizotypy in Europe

The short version of the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (sO-LIFE) is a widely used measure assessing schizotypy. There is limited information, however, on how sO-LIFE scores compare across different countries. The main goal of the present study is to test the measurement invariance of the sO-LIFE scores in a large sample of non-clinical adolescents and young adults from four European countries (UK, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain). The scores were obtained from validated versions of the sO-LIFE in their respective languages. The sample comprised 4190 participants (M = 20.87 years; SD = 3.71 years). The study of the internal structure, using confirmatory factor analysis, revealed that both three (i.e., positive schizotypy, cognitive disorganisation, and introvertive anhedonia) and four-factor (i.e., positive schizotypy, cognitive disorganisation, introvertive anhedonia, and impulsive nonconformity) models fitted the data moderately well. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed that the three-factor model had partial strong measurement invariance across countries. Eight items were non-invariant across samples. Significant statistical differences in the mean scores of the s-OLIFE were found by country. Reliability scores, estimated with Ordinal alpha ranged from 0.75 to 0.87. Using the Item Response Theory framework, the sO-LIFE provides more accuracy information at the medium and high end of the latent trait. The current results show further evidence in support of the psychometric proprieties of the sO-LIFE, provide new information about the cross-cultural equivalence of schizotypy and support the use of this measure to screen for psychotic-like features and liability to psychosis in general population samples from different European countries.

Birth Weight, Working Memory and Epigenetic Signatures in IGF2 and Related Genes: A MZ Twin Study.

Neurodevelopmental disruptions caused by obstetric complications play a role in the etiology of several phenotypes associated with neuropsychiatric diseases and cognitive dysfunctions. Importantly, it has been noticed that epigenetic processes occurring early in life may mediate these associations. Here, DNA methylation signatures at IGF2 (insulin-like growth factor 2) and IGF2BP1-3 (IGF2-binding proteins 1-3) were examined in a sample consisting of 34 adult monozygotic (MZ) twins informative for obstetric complications and cognitive performance. Multivariate linear regression analysis of twin data was implemented to test for associations between methylation levels and both birth weight (BW) and adult working memory (WM) performance. Familial and unique environmental factors underlying these potential relationships were evaluated. A link was detected between DNA methylation levels of two CpG sites in the IGF2BP1 gene and both BW and adult WM performance. The BW-IGF2BP1 methylation association seemed due to non-shared environmental factors influencing BW, whereas the WM-IGF2BP1 methylation relationship seemed mediated by both genes and environment. Our data is in agreement with previous evidence indicating that DNA methylation status may be related to prenatal stress and later neurocognitive phenotypes. While former reports independently detected associations between DNA methylation and either BW or WM, current results suggest that these relationships are not confounded by each other.

Development of a population-based cost-effectiveness model of chronic graft versus host disease in Spain

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) is the leading cause of late nonrelapse mortality (transplant-related mortality) after hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Given that there are a wide range of treatment options for cGvHD, assessment of the associated costs and efficacy can help clinicians and health care providers allocate health care resources more efficiently. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) compared with rituximab (Rmb) and with imatinib (Imt) in patients with cGvHD at 5 years from the perspective of the Spanish National Health System. METHODS: The model assessed the incremental cost-effectiveness/utility ratio of ECP versus Rmb or Imt for 1000 hypothetical patients by using microsimulation cost-effectiveness techniques. Model probabilities were obtained from the literature. Treatment pathways and adverse events were evaluated taking clinical opinion and published reports into consideration. Local data on costs (2010 Euros) and health care resources utilization were validated by the clinical authors. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses were used to assess the robustness of the model. RESULTS: The greater efficacy of ECP resulted in a gain of 0.011 to 0.024 quality-adjusted life-year in the first year and 0.062 to 0.094 at year 5 compared with Rmb or Imt. The results showed that the higher acquisition cost of ECP versus Imt was compensated for at 9 months by greater efficacy; this higher cost was partially compensated for ( 517) by year 5 versus Rmb. After 9 months, ECP was dominant (cheaper and more effective) compared with Imt. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of ECP versus Rmb was 29,646 per life-year gained and 24,442 per quality-adjusted life-year gained at year 2.5. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis confirmed the results. The main study limitation was that to assess relative treatment effects, only small studies were available for indirect comparison. CONCLUSION: ECP as a third-line therapy for cGvHD is a more cost-effective strategy than Rmb or Imt.

Construção e otimização de um reator de baixo custo para a fotodegradação da matéria orgânica em águas naturais e sua aplicação no estudo da especiação do cobre por voltametria

This work describes the construction of a home-made low-cost reactor, using easily available materials, capable of destroying efficiently dissolved organic matter. Just 30 minutes of irradiation were sufficient to destroy more than 99% of the humic acids present in a solution of 4 mg C L-1. Copper speciation was evaluated in natural waters of different salinities to test the reactor's efficiency in destroying organically complexed metal species. The effect of the organic matter concentration, salinity, dissolved oxygen and temperature in the photo-oxidation process is discussed.

Tensoatividade de ácidos húmicos de procedências distintas

The surface activity of humic acids (HA) is a parameter which might be considered in the evaluation of all types of aggregation of these substances. In this work the surface tension of aquatic and terrestrial-HA aqueous solutions was observed under varied conditions of pH, concentration and ionic strength. Results showed that HA present surface activity for a extent range of concentration. The surface tension decreases with HA concentration increasing and, for all samples exist a concentration value above which a reduction in the rate of the solute migration to the solution surface is observed. This value is sensibly reduced and sharpened with the increasing of the ionic strength. Surface tension is also reduced with the acidity increasing, being a minimum reached between pH 3 and 5. Observed effects are explained in view of conformational arrangements of HA which tend to agglomerate in micelle-like domains in aqueous solutions.