Drug Facts

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Remember Hard but Think Softly: Metaphorical Effects of Hardness/Softness on Cognitive Functions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiushu Xie

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have found that bodily stimulation, such as hardness, biases social judgment and evaluation via metaphorical association; however, it remains unclear whether bodily stimulation also affects cognitive functions, such as memory and creativity. The current study used metaphorical associations between hard and rigid and between soft and flexible in Chinese, to investigate whether the experience of hardness affected cognitive functions requiring either rigidity (memory or flexibility (creativity. In Experiment 1, we found that Chinese-speaking participants performed better at recalling previously memorized words while sitting on a hard-surface stool (the hard condition than a cushioned one (the soft condition. In Experiment 2, participants sitting on a cushioned stool outperformed those sitting on a hard-surface stool on a Chinese riddle task, which required creative/flexible thinking, but not on an analogical reasoning task, which required both rigid and flexible thinking. The results suggest the hardness experience affects cognitive functions that are metaphorically associated with rigidity and flexibility. They support the embodiment proposition that cognitive functions and representations could be grounded via metaphorical association in bodily states.

Why Are Drugs So Hard to Quit?

Science.gov (United States)

... views 2:01 The Swiss Cheese Model of Drug Addiction - Duration: 1:46. National Institute on Drug Abuse ( ... 14,227 views 3:39 Teen discussion on drug abuse and addiction with Dr. Volkow NIDA - Duration: 9:44. National ...

Why Are Drugs So Hard to Quit?

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State of the art in hard-on-hard bearings: how did we get here and what have we achieved?

Science.gov (United States)

Zywiel, Michael G; Sayeed, Siraj A; Johnson, Aaron J; Schmalzried, Thomas P; Mont, Michael A

2011-03-01

Total hip arthroplasty has shown excellent results in decreasing pain and improving function in patients with degenerative disease of the hip. Improvements in prosthetic materials, designs and implant fixation have now resulted in wear of the bearing surface being the limitation of this technology, and a number of hard-on-hard couples have been introduced to address this concern. The purpose of this article is to review the origins, development, survival rates and potential advantages and disadvantages of the following hard-on-hard bearings for total hip arthroplasty: metal-on-metal standard total hip arthroplasty; metal-on-metal hip resurfacing arthroplasty, ceramic-on-ceramic total hip arthroplasty; and ceramic-on-metal bearings. Improvements in the manufacturing of metal-on-metal bearings over the past 50 years have resulted in implants that provide low wear rates and allow for the use of large femoral heads. However, concerns remain regarding elevated serum metal ion levels, potential teratogenic effects and potentially devastating adverse local tissue reactions, whose incidence and pathogenesis remains unclear. Modern total hip resurfacing has shown excellent outcomes over 10 years in the hands of experienced surgeons. Current ceramic-on-ceramic bearings have demonstrated excellent survival with exceptionally low wear rates and virtually no local adverse effects. Concerns remain for insertional chipping, in vivo fracture and the variable incidence of squeaking. Contemporary ceramic-on-metal interfaces are in the early stages of clinical use, with little data reported to date. Hard-on-hard bearings for total hip arthroplasty have improved dramatically over the past 50 years. As bearing designs continue to improve with new and modified materials and improved manufacturing techniques, it is likely that the use of hard-on-hard bearings will continue to increase, especially in young and active patients.

7 CFR 201.57 - Hard seeds.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... REGULATIONS Germination Tests in the Administration of the Act § 201.57 Hard seeds. Seeds which remain hard at the end of the prescribed test because they have not absorbed water, due to an impermeable seed coat... percentage of germination. For flatpea, continue the swollen seed in test for 14 days when germinating at 15...

Remember Hard But Think Softly: Metaphorical Effects of Hardness/Softness on Cognitive Functions

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Jiushu; Lu, Zhi; Wang, Ruiming; Cai, Zhenguang G.

2016-01-01

Previous studies have found that bodily stimulation, such as hardness biases social judgment and evaluation via metaphorical association; however, it remains unclear whether bodily stimulation also affects cognitive functions, such as memory and creativity. The current study used metaphorical associations between “hard” and “rigid” and between “soft” and “flexible” in Chinese, to investigate whether the experience of hardness affects cognitive functions whose performance depends prospectively on rigidity (memory) and flexibility (creativity). In Experiment 1, we found that Chinese-speaking participants performed better at recalling previously memorized words while sitting on a hard-surface stool (the hard condition) than a cushioned one (the soft condition). In Experiment 2, participants sitting on a cushioned stool outperformed those sitting on a hard-surface stool on a Chinese riddle task, which required creative/flexible thinking, but not on an analogical reasoning task, which required both rigid and flexible thinking. The results suggest the hardness experience affects cognitive functions that are metaphorically associated with rigidity or flexibility. They support the embodiment proposition that cognitive functions and representations can be grounded in bodily states via metaphorical associations. PMID:27672373

Drug Facts

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Drug Facts

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Why Are Drugs So Hard to Quit?

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Why Are Drugs So Hard to Quit?

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[New drug development by innovative drug administration--"change" in pharmaceutical field].

Science.gov (United States)

Nagai, T

1997-11-01

New drug development can be made by providing products of higher "selectivity for the drug" for medical treatment. There are two ways for the approach to get higher "selectivity of drug": 1) discovery of new compounds with high selectivity of drug; 2) innovation of new drug administration, that is new formulation and/or method with high selectivity of drug by integration and harmonization of various hard/soft technologies. An extensive increase of biological information and advancement of surrounding science and technology may modify the situation as the latter overcomes the former in the 21 century. As the science and technology in the 21 century is said to be formed on "3H", that is, 1. hybrid; 2. hi-quality; 3. husbandry, the new drug development by innovative drug administration is exactly based on the science and technology of 3H. Its characteristic points are interdisciplinary/interfusion, international, of philosophy/ethics, and systems of hard/hard/heart. From these points of view, not only the advance of unit technology but also a revolution in thinking way should be "must" subjects. To organize this type of research well, a total research activity such as ROR (research on research) might take an important and efficient role. Here the key words are the "Optimization technology" and "Change in Pharmaceutical Fields." As some examples of new drug innovation, our trials on several topical mucosal adhesive dosage forms and parenteral administration of peptide drugs such as insulin and erythropoietin will be described.

Work Hard / Play Hard

OpenAIRE

Burrows, J.; Johnson, V.; Henckel, D.

2016-01-01

Work Hard / Play Hard was a participatory performance/workshop or CPD experience hosted by interdisciplinary arts atelier WeAreCodeX, in association with AntiUniversity.org. As a socially/economically engaged arts practice, Work Hard / Play Hard challenged employees/players to get playful, or go to work. 'The game changes you, you never change the game'. Employee PLAYER A 'The faster the better.' Employer PLAYER B

Elasticity and hardness of nano-polycrystalline boron nitrides: The apparent Hall-Petch effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagakubo, A.; Ogi, H.; Hirao, M.; Sumiya, H.

2014-01-01

Nano-polycrystalline boron nitride (BN) is expected to replace diamond as a superhard and superstiff material. Although its hardening was reported, its elasticity remains unclear and the as-measured hardness could be significantly different from the true value due to the elastic recovery. In this study, we measured the longitudinal-wave elastic constant of nano-polycrystalline BNs using picosecond ultrasound spectroscopy and confirmed the elastic softening for small-grain BNs. We also measured Vickers and Knoop hardness for the same specimens and clarified the relationship between hardness and stiffness. The Vickers hardness significantly increased as the grain size decreased, while the Knoop hardness remained nearly unchanged. We attribute the apparent increase in Vickers hardness to the elastic recovery and propose a model to support this insight.

Hard electronics; Hard electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

Hard material technologies were surveyed to establish the hard electronic technology which offers superior characteristics under hard operational or environmental conditions as compared with conventional Si devices. The following technologies were separately surveyed: (1) The device and integration technologies of wide gap hard semiconductors such as SiC, diamond and nitride, (2) The technology of hard semiconductor devices for vacuum micro- electronics technology, and (3) The technology of hard new material devices for oxides. The formation technology of oxide thin films made remarkable progress after discovery of oxide superconductor materials, resulting in development of an atomic layer growth method and mist deposition method. This leading research is expected to solve such issues difficult to be easily realized by current Si technology as high-power, high-frequency and low-loss devices in power electronics, high temperature-proof and radiation-proof devices in ultimate electronics, and high-speed and dense- integrated devices in information electronics. 432 refs., 136 figs., 15 tabs.

Car sequencing is NP-hard: a short proof

OpenAIRE

B Estellon; F Gardi

2013-01-01

In this note, a new proof is given that the car sequencing (CS) problem is NP-hard. Established from the Hamiltonian Path problem, the reduction is direct while closing some gaps remaining in the previous NP-hardness results. Since CS is studied in many operational research courses, this result and its proof are particularly interesting for teaching purposes.

Stability and drug dissolution evaluation of Qingkailing soft/hard ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

HPLC-DAD) method was developed ... stability and drug dissolution, which may affect the biopharmaceutics and the clinical effects of the drug. ... behavior may also affect the pharmacokinetic ..... of enzymes and intrinsic factors in stomach and.

Why Are Drugs So Hard to Quit?

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Development of Polyethylene Glycol and Hard Fat-Based Mucoadhesive Tablets Containing Various Types of Polyvinyl Alcohols as Mucoadhesive Polymers for Buccal Application.

Science.gov (United States)

Ikeuchi-Takahashi, Yuri; Kobayashi, Ayaka; Onishi, Hiraku

2017-06-01

Topical drug application has the advantage of avoiding systemic side effects. We attempted to develop a long-acting matrix-type tablet containing indomethacin (IM) with low physical stimulus and potent mucoadhesive force to treat pain caused by oral aphtha. A mixture of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and hard fat was used as the tablet base. Ethylcellulose was added to the base in an attempt to control drug release. Tablets with PEG as a base were also prepared for comparison. Polyvinyl alcohols (PVAs) with various degrees of saponification were added to increase the mucoadhesive force. From the optical microscopic observations, formulations using PEG and hard fat exhibit PEG/hard fat dispersions caused by the stabilizing effects of PVA. Although the tablets using PEG and hard fat showed sufficient adhesiveness and sustained drug release, those using PEG as the base did not. Drug release was controlled by the amount of hard fat and the saponification degree of PVA. The drug release rate was most increased in a tablet containing PVA with an intermediate degree of saponification, PEG and hard fat. From differential scanning calorimetry and powder X-ray diffraction, IM was considered to exist in the molecular phase. From the results of buccal administration of tablets to rats, highest tissue concentrations were observed in the tablet containing PVA with the intermediate degree of saponification using PEG and hard fat, and the plasma concentrations were sufficiently low in comparison.

Development of method for evaluating cell hardness and correlation between bacterial spore hardness and durability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nakanishi Koichi

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the availability of conventional devices for making single-cell manipulations, determining the hardness of a single cell remains difficult. Here, we consider the cell to be a linear elastic body and apply Young’s modulus (modulus of elasticity, which is defined as the ratio of the repulsive force (stress in response to the applied strain. In this new method, a scanning probe microscope (SPM is operated with a cantilever in the “contact-and-push” mode, and the cantilever is applied to the cell surface over a set distance (applied strain. Results We determined the hardness of the following bacterial cells: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and five Bacillus spp. In log phase, these strains had a similar Young’s modulus, but Bacillus spp. spores were significantly harder than the corresponding vegetative cells. There was a positive, linear correlation between the hardness of bacterial spores and heat or ultraviolet (UV resistance. Conclusions Using this technique, the hardness of a single vegetative bacterial cell or spore could be determined based on Young’s modulus. As an application of this technique, we demonstrated that the hardness of individual bacterial spores was directly proportional to heat and UV resistance, which are the conventional measures of physical durability. This technique allows the rapid and direct determination of spore durability and provides a valuable and innovative method for the evaluation of physical properties in the field of microbiology.

Maternal hair testing for the assessment of fetal exposure to drug of abuse during early pregnancy: Comparison with testing in placental and fetal remains.

Science.gov (United States)

Falcon, M; Pichini, S; Joya, J; Pujadas, M; Sanchez, A; Vall, O; García Algar, O; Luna, A; de la Torre, R; Rotolo, M C; Pellegrini, M

2012-05-10

Drug use by pregnant women in the first trimester of pregnancy and subsequent fetal exposure during early gestation can be assessed only by repetitive/systematic maternal blood/urine analysis or segmental hair analysis. No evidence of any relationship between maternal/fetal exposure during this specific period of gestation has been demonstrated to date in a human model. To clarify drugs toxicokinetics and transplacental passage during early pregnancy, the presence of the most widely used recreational drugs of abuse and metabolites was investigated in the proximal 4cm hair segments of women undergoing voluntary termination of pregnancy (n=280) during the 12th week of gestation and the results were compared to those from placenta and fetal tissue samples in order to verify whether maternal hair testing can reflect fetal exposure and, if so, to what extent. Hair, placenta and fetal remains were analyzed by validated gas chromatography mass spectrometry assays. Eighty one positive hair samples were identified: 60 were positive for cannabis (74.1%), 28 for cocaine (34.6%), 7 for opiates (8.6%), 3 for MDMA (3.7%) and 18.5% were positive for more than one drug. The positive hair test results were confirmed in placenta/fetal tissues in 10 cases out of 60 for cannabis (16. 7%); in 7 out of 28 for cocaine (25%); and none for the 6 opiates positive cases and 3 MDMA cases, respectively. Drugs/metabolites in hair of pregnant women can be used as biomarkers of past drug use (repetitive or sporadic), although the use is not always reflected in fetal/placental tissues. There are several possible hypotheses to explain the results: (1) the use occurred before the start of pregnancy, (2) past sporadic consumption which could be measured in hair but not in fetal and placental remains because of the narrow window of drug detection in placental/fetal tissues; (3) the sensitivity of the analytical methods was not high enough for the detection of the minute amount of drugs of abuse and

Hardness measurements of silicon rubber and polyurethane rubber cured by ionizing radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basfar, A.A.

1995-01-01

This work investigates the hardness of both silicon rubber and polyurethane rubber cured by ionizing radiation. Shore A Hardness is used to characterize the subject elastomers in relation to the crosslinking process. Various formulations of both materials have been investigated in order to achieve the optimum cure conditions desired. A small amount of the curing agent has been incorporated in some formulations in order to reduce the required dose to achieve full cure conditions. Silicon rubber has shown improvements in hardness as absorbed dose is increased, whereas hardness remained constant over a range of absorbed doses for polyurethane rubber

Revisiting the definition of local hardness and hardness kernel.

Science.gov (United States)

Polanco-Ramírez, Carlos A; Franco-Pérez, Marco; Carmona-Espíndola, Javier; Gázquez, José L; Ayers, Paul W

2017-05-17

An analysis of the hardness kernel and local hardness is performed to propose new definitions for these quantities that follow a similar pattern to the one that characterizes the quantities associated with softness, that is, we have derived new definitions for which the integral of the hardness kernel over the whole space of one of the variables leads to local hardness, and the integral of local hardness over the whole space leads to global hardness. A basic aspect of the present approach is that global hardness keeps its identity as the second derivative of energy with respect to the number of electrons. Local hardness thus obtained depends on the first and second derivatives of energy and electron density with respect to the number of electrons. When these derivatives are approximated by a smooth quadratic interpolation of energy, the expression for local hardness reduces to the one intuitively proposed by Meneses, Tiznado, Contreras and Fuentealba. However, when one combines the first directional derivatives with smooth second derivatives one finds additional terms that allow one to differentiate local hardness for electrophilic attack from the one for nucleophilic attack. Numerical results related to electrophilic attacks on substituted pyridines, substituted benzenes and substituted ethenes are presented to show the overall performance of the new definition.

Taking family planning services to hard-to-reach populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Donovan, P

1996-01-01

Interviews were conducted in 1995 among 100 US family planning program personnel who serve hard-to-reach populations, such as drug abusers, prisoners, the disabled, homeless persons, and non-English speaking minorities. Findings indicate that a range of services is available for hard-to-reach groups. Most family planning agencies focus on drug abusers because of the severity of HIV infections and the availability of funding. This article describes the activities of various agencies in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts that serve substance abuse centers with family planning services. One recommendation for a service provider is to present services in an environment where it is safe to talk about a person's needs. One other program offered personal greetings upon arrival and the continuity of having a familiar face to oversee all reproductive and health needs. Programs for prisoners ranged from basic sex education classes to comprehensive reproductive health care. Some prisons offered individual counseling. Some programs were presented in juvenile offender facilities. Outreach to the homeless involved services at homeless shelters, outreach workers who recruited women into traditional family planning clinics, and establishment of nontraditional sites for the homeless and other hard-to-reach persons. One provider's suggestion was to offer services where high-risk women already go for other services. Most services to the disabled target the developmentally disabled rather than the physically disabled. Experience has shown that many professionals working with the disabled do not recognize their clients' sexual needs. Other hard-to-reach groups include women in housing projects and shelters for battered women, welfare applicants, and sex workers. Key to service provision is creating trust, overcoming language and cultural differences, and subsidizing the cost of care.

Antecedents of Adolescent Initiation into Stages of Drug Use: A Developmental Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Kandel, Denise B.; And Others

1978-01-01

Predictors associated with adolescents' initiation into three cumulative stages of drug use--hard liquor, marihuana, and other illicit drugs--were investigated. The strongest predictors were prior involvement in deviant behavior (hard liquor); peer influence, and adolescent beliefs and values (marihuana); and relationship to parents, and…

Analysis of surface hardness of artificially aged resin composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denise Cremonezzi Tornavoi

2012-02-01

Full Text Available This study evaluated the effect of artificially accelerated aging (AAA on the surface hardness of eight composite resins: Filtek Z250, Filtek Supreme, 4 Seasons, Herculite, P60, Tetric Ceram, Charisma, and Filtek Z100. Sixteen specimens were made from the test piece of each material, using an 8.0 × 2.0 mm teflon matrix. After 24 hours, eight specimens from each material were submitted to three surface hardness readings using a Shimadzu Microhardness Tester for 5 seconds at a load of 50 gf. The other eight specimens remained in the artificially accelerated aging machine for 382 hours and were submitted to the same surface hardness analysis. The means of each test specimen were submitted to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (p > 0.05, ANOVA and Tukey test (p < 0.05. With regard to hardness (F = 86.74, p < 0.0001 the analysis showed significant differences among the resin composite brands. But aging did not influence the hardness of any of the resin composites (F = 0.39, p = 0.53. In this study, there was interaction between the resin composite brand and the aging factors (F = 4.51, p < 0.0002. It was concluded that notwithstanding the type of resin, AAA did not influence surface hardness. However, with regard to hardness there was a significant difference among the resin brands.

PknB remains an essential and a conserved target for drug development in susceptible and MDR strains of M. Tuberculosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Anamika; Pal, Sudhir K; Pandey, Divya; Fakir, Najneen A; Rathod, Sunita; Sinha, Dhiraj; SivaKumar, S; Sinha, Pallavi; Periera, Mycal; Balgam, Shilpa; Sekar, Gomathi; UmaDevi, K R; Anupurba, Shampa; Nema, Vijay

2017-08-18

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) protein kinase B (PknB) which is now proved to be essential for the growth and survival of M.tb, is a transmembrane protein with a potential to be a good drug target. However it is not known if this target remains conserved in otherwise resistant isolates from clinical origin. The present study describes the conservation analysis of sequences covering the inhibitor binding domain of PknB to assess if it remains conserved in susceptible and resistant clinical strains of mycobacteria picked from three different geographical areas of India. A total of 116 isolates from North, South and West India were used in the study with a variable profile of their susceptibilities towards streptomycin, isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and ofloxacin. Isolates were also spoligotyped in order to find if the conservation pattern of pknB gene remain consistent or differ with different spoligotypes. The impact of variation as found in the study was analyzed using Molecular dynamics simulations. The sequencing results with 115/116 isolates revealed the conserved nature of pknB sequences irrespective of their susceptibility status and spoligotypes. The only variation found was in one strains wherein pnkB sequence had G to A mutation at 664 position translating into a change of amino acid, Valine to Isoleucine. After analyzing the impact of this sequence variation using Molecular dynamics simulations, it was observed that the variation is causing no significant change in protein structure or the inhibitor binding. Hence, the study endorses that PknB is an ideal target for drug development and there is no pre-existing or induced resistance with respect to the sequences involved in inhibitor binding. Also if the mutation that we are reporting for the first time is found again in subsequent work, it should be checked with phenotypic profile before drawing the conclusion that it would affect the activity in any way. Bioinformatics analysis in our study

The influence of peer affiliation and student activities on adolescent drug involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, J E

1996-01-01

This study examined the importance of students' academic performance level and extracurricular activities as predictors of drug involvement relative to peer influence. Social development theory provided the theoretical rational for the study. Data were obtained from 2,229 randomly selected students in the eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades from seventeen school districts in northeastern Ohio. At all three grade levels, involvement in extracurricular activities and academic level were significantly correlated with students' gateway and hard drug use. Consistent with prior research, the strongest correlate of gateway and hard drug use across all grade levels was affiliation with drug-using friends. Having a job after school was marginally related to self-reported gateway drug use at grade level ten. Multiple regression analysis revealed that extracurricular involvement and academic performance level make small, but unique contributions to the prediction of adolescents' gateway drug use beyond affiliation with drug-using peers at all three grade levels. The findings of this study suggest that students' academic performance and extracurricular involvements are significantly related to adolescent gateway and hard drug use, but have less predictive significance relative to peer relationships.

Tuning hardness in calcite by incorporation of amino acids.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yi-Yeoun; Carloni, Joseph D; Demarchi, Beatrice; Sparks, David; Reid, David G; Kunitake, Miki E; Tang, Chiu C; Duer, Melinda J; Freeman, Colin L; Pokroy, Boaz; Penkman, Kirsty; Harding, John H; Estroff, Lara A; Baker, Shefford P; Meldrum, Fiona C

2016-08-01

Structural biominerals are inorganic/organic composites that exhibit remarkable mechanical properties. However, the structure-property relationships of even the simplest building unit-mineral single crystals containing embedded macromolecules-remain poorly understood. Here, by means of a model biomineral made from calcite single crystals containing glycine (0-7 mol%) or aspartic acid (0-4 mol%), we elucidate the origin of the superior hardness of biogenic calcite. We analysed lattice distortions in these model crystals by using X-ray diffraction and molecular dynamics simulations, and by means of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance show that the amino acids are incorporated as individual molecules. We also demonstrate that nanoindentation hardness increased with amino acid content, reaching values equivalent to their biogenic counterparts. A dislocation pinning model reveals that the enhanced hardness is determined by the force required to cut covalent bonds in the molecules.

Using hardness to model yield and tensile strength

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hawk, Jeffrey A.; Dogan, Omer N.; Schrems, Karol K.

2005-02-01

The current direction in hardness research is towards smaller and smaller loads as nano-scale materials are developed. There remains, however, a need to investigate the mechanical behavior of complex alloys for severe environment service. In many instances this entails casting large ingots and making numerous tensile samples as the bounds of the operating environment are explored. It is possible to gain an understanding of the tensile strength of these alloys using room and elevated temperature hardness in conjunction with selected tensile tests. The approach outlined here has its roots in the work done by Tabor for metals and low alloy and carbon steels. This research seeks to extend the work to elevated temperatures for multi-phase, complex alloys. A review of the approach will be given after which the experimental data will be examined. In particular, the yield stress and tensile strength will be compared to their corresponding hardness based values.

Effect of Contemporary Social Environment, Drug Abuse and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Effect of Contemporary Social Environment, Drug Abuse and Cultism on the Health of ... This health situation comes as results of substance abuse which these ... the patent medicine stores, from hard drugs like (marijuana, cannabis) or others ...

Energy drinks and escalation in drug use severity: An emergent hazard to adolescent health.

Science.gov (United States)

Leal, Wanda E; Jackson, Dylan B

2018-06-01

The aim of the current study is to determine whether energy drink consumption contributes to drug use and, more specifically, an escalation in the severity of drug use. We first examine the association between energy drink use and hard drug use, and subsequently investigate whether soft drug use mediates this relationship. Potential moderating influences are also investigated by testing whether the degree of mediation varies by age, gender, and race. The current study uses a nationally representative sample of 8th (ages 13-14), 10th (ages 15-16), and 12th (ages 17-18) grade adolescents from the 2015 Monitoring the Future survey. Negative binomial regression is employed to examine associations between energy drink consumption and soft and hard drug use. Mediation results indicate that energy drink consumption is significantly associated with increased soft drug use, which is, in turn, associated with significant increases in hard drug use. This cascading effect of energy drink consumption on drug use appears to be stronger among younger females and older males. Results for the moderating effect of race are mixed. Energy drinks appear to pose an important threat to adolescent health in the form of soft and hard drug use. The United States may want to consider adopting energy drink policies similar to European countries and Canada, which require warning labels on beverages with high caffeine content. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perceptions of educators of Deaf and hard-of-hearing adolescents of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

All the participants believed that Deaf and hard-of-hearing adolescents are at risk of contracting HIV due to vulnerability to sexual abuse and higher-risk sexual behaviour. The participants were aware of substance abuse patterns, such as excessive alcohol use or recreational drug use, among their learners. Adolescence is ...

Stability and drug dissolution evaluation of Qingkailing soft/hard ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: To carry out a post-marketing evaluation of the stability and drug dissolution of ... Stability data from long-term studies showed that within 6 months the ... However, fingerprint pattern statistical analysis showed that the soft capsule is ...

Magnetic hyperthermia with hard-magnetic nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kashevsky, Bronislav E., E-mail: bekas@itmo.by [A.V Luikov Heat and Mass Transfer Institute, Belarus Academy of Sciences, P. Brovka str. 15, Minsk 220072 (Belarus); Kashevsky, Sergey B.; Korenkov, Victor S. [A.V Luikov Heat and Mass Transfer Institute, Belarus Academy of Sciences, P. Brovka str. 15, Minsk 220072 (Belarus); Istomin, Yuri P. [N. N. Alexandrov National Cancer Center of Belarus, Lesnoy-2, Minsk 223040 (Belarus); Terpinskaya, Tatyana I.; Ulashchik, Vladimir S. [Institute of Physiology, Belarus Academy of Sciences, Akademicheskaya str. 28, Minsk 220072 (Belarus)

2015-04-15

Recent clinical trials of magnetic hyperthermia have proved, and even hardened, the Ankinson-Brezovich restriction as upon magnetic field conditions applicable to any site of human body. Subject to this restriction, which is harshly violated in numerous laboratory and small animal studies, magnetic hyperthermia can relay on rather moderate heat source, so that optimization of the whole hyperthermia system remains, after all, the basic problem predetermining its clinical perspectives. We present short account of our complex (theoretical, laboratory and small animal) studies to demonstrate that such perspectives should be related with the hyperthermia system based on hard-magnetic (Stoner–Wohlfarth type) nanoparticles and strong low-frequency fields rather than with superparamagnetic (Brownian or Neél) nanoparticles and weak high-frequency fields. This conclusion is backed by an analytical evaluation of the maximum absorption rates possible under the field restriction in the ideal hard-magnetic (Stoner–Wohlarth) and the ideal superparamagnetic (single relaxation time) systems, by theoretical and experimental studies of the dynamic magnetic hysteresis in suspensions of movable hard-magnetic particles, by producing nanoparticles with adjusted coercivity and suspensions of such particles capable of effective energy absorption and intratumoral penetration, and finally, by successful treatment of a mice model tumor under field conditions acceptable for whole human body. - Highlights: • Hard-magnetic nanoparticles are shown superior for hyperthetmia to superparamagnetic. • Optimal system parameters are found from magnetic reversal model in movable particle. • Penetrating suspension of HM particles with aggregation-independent SAR is developed. • For the first time, mice with tumors are healed in AC field acceptable for human body.

Drug repurposing based on drug-drug interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Bin; Wang, Rong; Wu, Ping; Kong, De-Xin

2015-02-01

Given the high risk and lengthy procedure of traditional drug development, drug repurposing is gaining more and more attention. Although many types of drug information have been used to repurpose drugs, drug-drug interaction data, which imply possible physiological effects or targets of drugs, remain unexploited. In this work, similarity of drug interaction was employed to infer similarity of the physiological effects or targets for the drugs. We collected 10,835 drug-drug interactions concerning 1074 drugs, and for 700 of them, drug similarity scores based on drug interaction profiles were computed and rendered using a drug association network with 589 nodes (drugs) and 2375 edges (drug similarity scores). The 589 drugs were clustered into 98 groups with Markov Clustering Algorithm, most of which were significantly correlated with certain drug functions. This indicates that the network can be used to infer the physiological effects of drugs. Furthermore, we evaluated the ability of this drug association network to predict drug targets. The results show that the method is effective for 317 of 561 drugs that have known targets. Comparison of this method with the structure-based approach shows that they are complementary. In summary, this study demonstrates the feasibility of drug repurposing based on drug-drug interaction data. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Drug abuse: A seminar organised at the government secondary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Drug Abuse: A seminar organised at the Government Secondary School, Aliero, Kebbi State, Nigeria as a community development service Summary: Drug abuse is the use against its action. It is worst when hard drugs are used and this is common among the youths and schoolchildren resulting in untoward effects and even ...

Prisoners' views about the drugs problem in prisons, and the new Prison Service drug strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gore, S M; Bird, A G; Cassidy, J

1999-09-01

Three hundred and seventy-five out of 575 prisoners (222/299 drug users and 153/267 non-users) who responded to a self-completion health care questionnaire at two prisons in 1997 commented on drugs in prisons. One hundred and forty-eight out of 176 responses expressed negative opinions about mandatory drugs testing (MDT), and 107 said that MDT promoted switching to or increased use of heroin/hard drugs'. Sixty-two prisoners suggested that more help/counselling was needed for drug users, 52 segregation of drug users/drug-free wings, and 50 more security on visits/in corridors after medication. The new Prison Service drug strategy has revised random MDT. It targets those who supply drugs, and supports those who want to stop using drugs, and accords with prisoners' views about the heroin problem in prisons.

The Dutch drug policy from a regulatory perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spapens, A.C.M.; Müller, T.; Van de Bunt, H.G.

2015-01-01

Starting in the 1970s, the Netherlands developed a regulatory regime for narcotic drugs by distinguishing between hashish and marihuana (“soft drugs”) and other drugs (“hard drugs”). The authorities decided to cease prosecuting the possession of consumer quantities of the former type and to allow

COPD: A stepwise or a hit hard approach?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.J. Ferreira

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Current guidelines differ slightly on the recommendations for treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD patients, and although there are some undisputed recommendations, there is still debate regarding the management of COPD. One of the hindrances to deciding which therapeutic approach to choose is late diagnosis or misdiagnosis of COPD. After a proper diagnosis is achieved and severity assessed, the choice between a stepwise or “hit hard” approach has to be made. For GOLD A patients the stepwise approach is recommended, whilst for B, C and D patients this remains debatable. Moreover, in patients for whom inhaled corticosteroids (ICS are recommended, a step-up or “hit hard” approach with triple therapy will depend on the patient's characteristics and, for patients who are being over-treated with ICS, ICS withdrawal should be performed, in order to optimize therapy and reduce excessive medications.This paper discusses and proposes stepwise, “hit hard”, step-up and ICS withdrawal therapeutic approaches for COPD patients based on their GOLD group. We conclude that all approaches have benefits, and only a careful patient selection will determine which approach is better, and which patients will benefit the most from each approach. Keywords: COPD, Stepwise, Hit hard, Step-up, ICS withdrawal, Bronchodilators, ICS

Bond-orientational analysis of hard-disk and hard-sphere structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Senthil Kumar, V; Kumaran, V

2006-05-28

We report the bond-orientational analysis results for the thermodynamic, random, and homogeneously sheared inelastic structures of hard-disks and hard-spheres. The thermodynamic structures show a sharp rise in the order across the freezing transition. The random structures show the absence of crystallization. The homogeneously sheared structures get ordered at a packing fraction higher than the thermodynamic freezing packing fraction, due to the suppression of crystal nucleation. On shear ordering, strings of close-packed hard-disks in two dimensions and close-packed layers of hard-spheres in three dimensions, oriented along the velocity direction, slide past each other. Such a flow creates a considerable amount of fourfold order in two dimensions and body-centered-tetragonal (bct) structure in three dimensions. These transitions are the flow analogs of the martensitic transformations occurring in metals due to the stresses induced by a rapid quench. In hard-disk structures, using the bond-orientational analysis we show the presence of fourfold order. In sheared inelastic hard-sphere structures, even though the global bond-orientational analysis shows that the system is highly ordered, a third-order rotational invariant analysis shows that only about 40% of the spheres have face-centered-cubic (fcc) order, even in the dense and near-elastic limits, clearly indicating the coexistence of multiple crystalline orders. When layers of close-packed spheres slide past each other, in addition to the bct structure, the hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) structure is formed due to the random stacking faults. Using the Honeycutt-Andersen pair analysis and an analysis based on the 14-faceted polyhedra having six quadrilateral and eight hexagonal faces, we show the presence of bct and hcp signatures in shear ordered inelastic hard-spheres. Thus, our analysis shows that the dense sheared inelastic hard-spheres have a mixture of fcc, bct, and hcp structures.

Statistical theory of correlations in random packings of hard particles.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Yuliang; Puckett, James G; Makse, Hernán A

2014-05-01

A random packing of hard particles represents a fundamental model for granular matter. Despite its importance, analytical modeling of random packings remains difficult due to the existence of strong correlations which preclude the development of a simple theory. Here, we take inspiration from liquid theories for the n-particle angular correlation function to develop a formalism of random packings of hard particles from the bottom up. A progressive expansion into a shell of particles converges in the large layer limit under a Kirkwood-like approximation of higher-order correlations. We apply the formalism to hard disks and predict the density of two-dimensional random close packing (RCP), ϕ(rcp) = 0.85 ± 0.01, and random loose packing (RLP), ϕ(rlp) = 0.67 ± 0.01. Our theory also predicts a phase diagram and angular correlation functions that are in good agreement with experimental and numerical data.

Urine drug screen

Science.gov (United States)

Drug screen - urine ... detect the presence of illegal and some prescription drugs in your urine. Their presence may indicate that you recently used these drugs. Some drugs may remain in your system for ...

Photon technology. Hard photon technology; Photon technology. Hard photon gijutsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-03-01

Research results of hard photon technology have been summarized as a part of novel technology development highly utilizing the quantum nature of photon. Hard photon technology refers to photon beam technologies which use photon in the 0.1 to 200 nm wavelength region. Hard photon has not been used in industry due to the lack of suitable photon sources and optical devices. However, hard photon in this wavelength region is expected to bring about innovations in such areas as ultrafine processing and material synthesis due to its atom selective reaction, inner shell excitation reaction, and spatially high resolution. Then, technological themes and possibility have been surveyed. Although there are principle proposes and their verification of individual technologies for the technologies of hard photon generation, regulation and utilization, they are still far from the practical applications. For the photon source technology, the laser diode pumped driver laser technology, laser plasma photon source technology, synchrotron radiation photon source technology, and vacuum ultraviolet photon source technology are presented. For the optical device technology, the multi-layer film technology for beam mirrors and the non-spherical lens processing technology are introduced. Also are described the reduction lithography technology, hard photon excitation process, and methods of analysis and measurement. 430 refs., 165 figs., 23 tabs.

Medicare covers the majority of FDA-approved devices and Part B drugs, but restrictions and discrepancies remain.

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, James D; May, Katherine E; Neumann, Peter J

2013-06-01

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Medicare use different standards to determine, first, whether a new drug or medical device can be marketed to the public and, second, if the federal health insurance program will pay for use of the drug or device. This discrepancy creates hurdles and uncertainty for drug and device manufacturers. We analyzed discrepancies between FDA approval and Medicare national coverage determinations for sixty-nine devices and Part B drugs approved during 1999-2011. We found that Medicare covered FDA-approved drugs or devices 80 percent of the time. However, Medicare often added conditions beyond FDA approval, particularly for devices and most often restricting coverage to patients with the most severe disease. In some instances, Medicare was less restrictive than the FDA. Our findings highlight the importance for drug and device makers of anticipating Medicare's needs when conducting clinical studies to support their products. Our findings also provide important insights for the FDA's and Medicare's pilot parallel review program.

A Method for Decreasing the Amount of the Drug Remaining on the Surfaces of the Mortar and Pestle after Grinding Small Amount of Tablets.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawakami, Miki; Kitada, Rika; Kurita, Takuro; Tokumura, Tadakazu

2017-01-01

The aim of the present study was to develop a method for grinding tablets with a mortar and pestle while reducing drug loss because grinding tablets is known to be associated with reductions in tablet weight and loss of the active drug. Seven kinds of tablets were subjected to grinding. The proportion (%) of the amount of the active drug in the powder remaining on the surfaces of the mortar and pestle relative to the total amount of the drug recovered (the recovery percent) was calculated. The recovery percent of the 7 kinds of tablets ranged from 17.2-35.9%, and the tablets' recovery percent decreased as the tablet weight increased. When the grinding was performed with 1 g of lactose monohydrate or 1 g of D-mannitol moistened with water, the recovery percent of the tablets decreased to 2.6-9.9% and 3.8-9.9%, respectively. The effects of the weight of lactose monohydrate on the recovery percent of Allegra ® 60 mg tablets were examined. It was found that at least 0.6 g of lactose monohydrate was required to have a sufficient effect on drug recovery. Therefore, additives that have stronger effects at lower amounts were sought. As a result, calcium monohydrogen phosphate was found to have the strongest effect on drug recovery. The addition of 0.4 g calcium monohydrogen phosphate resulted in the recovery percent of 5.1%, which was significantly lower than that of 15.0% observed after the addition of 0.4 g lactose monohydrate, and lower than the 6.8% of 1 g lactose monohydrate.

Mechanisms of drug resistance in cancer cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iqbal, M.P.

2003-01-01

Development of drug resist chemotherapy. For the past several years, investigators have been striving hard to unravel mechanisms of drug resistance in cancer cells. Using different experimental models of cancer, some of the major mechanisms of drug resistance identified in mammalian cells include: (a) Altered transport of the drug (decreased influx of the drug; increased efflux of the drug (role of P-glycoprotein; role of polyglutamation; role of multiple drug resistance associated protein)), (b) Increase in total amount of target enzyme/protein (gene amplification), (c) alteration in the target enzyme/protein (low affinity enzyme), (d) Elevation of cellular glutathione, (e) Inhibition of drug-induced apoptosis (mutation in p53 tumor suppressor gene; increased expression of bcl-xl gene). (author)

Comprehensive hard materials

CERN Document Server

2014-01-01

Comprehensive Hard Materials deals with the production, uses and properties of the carbides, nitrides and borides of these metals and those of titanium, as well as tools of ceramics, the superhard boron nitrides and diamond and related compounds. Articles include the technologies of powder production (including their precursor materials), milling, granulation, cold and hot compaction, sintering, hot isostatic pressing, hot-pressing, injection moulding, as well as on the coating technologies for refractory metals, hard metals and hard materials. The characterization, testing, quality assurance and applications are also covered. Comprehensive Hard Materials provides meaningful insights on materials at the leading edge of technology. It aids continued research and development of these materials and as such it is a critical information resource to academics and industry professionals facing the technological challenges of the future. Hard materials operate at the leading edge of technology, and continued res...

The Relationship Between Solar Radio and Hard X-Ray Emission

Science.gov (United States)

White, S. M.; Benz, A. O.; Christe, S.; Farnik, F.; Kundu, M. R.; Mann, G.; Ning, Z.; Raulin, J.-P.; Silva-Valio, A. V. R.; Saint-Hilaire, P.;

Analysis of Dextromethorphan and Dextrorphan in Skeletal Remains Following Differential Microclimate Exposure: Comparison of Acute vs. Repeated Drug Exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Lucas M; Unger, Kirk A; Watterson, James H

2017-07-01

Analysis of dextromethorphan (DXM) and its metabolite dextrorphan (DXT) in skeletal remains of rats following acute (ACU, 75 mg/kg, IP, n = 10) or three repeated (REP, 25 mg/kg, IP, n = 10, 40-min interval) doses of DXM is described. Following dosing and euthanasia, rats decomposed outdoors to skeleton in two different microclimate environments (n = 5 ACU and n = 5 REP at each site): Site A (shaded forest microenvironment) and Site B (rocky substrate exposed to direct sunlight, 600 m from Site A). Two drug-free rats at each site served as negative controls. Skeletal elements (vertebrae, ribs, pelvic girdles, femora, tibiae, skulls and scapulae) were recovered, pulverized and underwent methanolic microwave assisted extraction (MAE). Extracts were analyzed by GC-MS following clean-up by solid-phase extraction (SPE). Drug levels, expressed as mass-normalized response ratios and the ratios of DXT and DXM levels (RRDXT/RRDXM) were compared between drug exposures, microclimate sites, and across skeletal elements. DXM levels differed significantly (P < 0.05) between corresponding bone elements across exposure groups (5/7-site A; 4/7-site B), but no significant differences in DXT levels were observed between corresponding elements. RRDXT/RRDXM differed significantly (P < 0.05) between corresponding bone elements across exposure groups (6/7-site A; 5/7-site B). No significant differences were observed in levels of DXM, DXT or RRDXT/RRDXM between corresponding elements from either group between sites. When data from all bone elements was pooled, levels of DXM and RRDXT/RRDXM differed significantly between exposure groups at each site, while those of DXT did not. For both exposure groups, comparison of pooled data between sites showed no significant differences in levels of DXM, DXT or RRDXT/RRDXM. Different decomposition microclimates did not impede the discrimination of DXM exposure patterns from the analyses of DXM, DXT and RRDXT/RRDXM in bone samples. © The Author 2017

How magazines could remain competitive in the transition from print to digital media

OpenAIRE

Stange, Olof

2015-01-01

During the past decades, the world has seen a fast development in information technology. This has led to significant changes in many different industries including the media industry. The transformation is in progress and is unceasingly changing the game rules for media companies. Many magazines are struggling in the new competitive media landscape since existing business models in the print industry are hard to apply to the digital industry. In order for magazines to remain competitive they...

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN RETINAL HARD EXUDATES AND DYSLIPIDEMIA IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS IN RURAL KARNATAKA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arun Kumar B.

2015-10-01

with serum HDL (p=.0001. CONCLUSION: Dyslipidemia was significantly associated with retinal hard exudates formation in type 2 diabetic patients. This study suggests treating ophthalmologist should get a fasting lipid profile done if patient has significant hard exudates on fundus examination. Study also recommends need of lipid lowering drugs due to high incidence of dyslipidemia in these patients.

Assessing the role of syringe dispensing machines and mobile van outlets in reaching hard-to-reach and high-risk groups of injecting drug users (IDUs: a review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Islam Md Mofizul

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Reaching hard-to-reach and high-risk injecting drug users (IDUs is one of the most important challenges for contemporary needle syringe programs (NSPs. The aim of this review is to examine, based upon the available international experience, the effectiveness of syringe vending machines and mobile van/bus based NSPs in making services more accessible to these hard-to-reach and high-risk groups of IDUs. A literature search revealed 40 papers/reports, of which 18 were on dispensing machines (including vending and exchange machines and 22 on mobile vans. The findings demonstrate that syringe dispensing machines and mobile vans are promising modalities of NSPs, which can make services more accessible to the target group and in particular to the harder-to-reach and higher-risk groups of IDUs. Their anonymous and confidential approaches make services attractive, accessible and acceptable to these groups. These two outlets were found to be complementary to each other and to other modes of NSPs. Services through dispensing machines and mobile vans in strategically important sites are crucial elements in continuing efforts in reducing the spread of HIV and other blood borne viruses among IDUs.

Prevalence of alcohol and drug consumption and knowledge of drug/alcohol-related sexual assaults among Italian adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Villa

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Alcohol is the most widely used substance among adolescents, exceeding the use of tobacco and illicit drugs. The study aims at investigating the prevalence of alcohol and drug use and prevalence and knowledge of Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault (DFSA among Italian adolescents. Methods: The study population was a sample of 512 students of secondary education (high school from 3 public schools in Milan, Italy. Two hundred and fourty-nine boys and 263 girls aged 15 to 21 years old (M = 16.2, SD = 2.1 answered a specially structured anonymous questionnaire. Results: Recent problem drinking (‘every day’ or ‘once a week’ was reported from 9% (‘wine’ up to 28% (‘beer’ of students. Cannabis and rave drugs usage (ranged from ‘every day’ to ‘once only in a while’ were reported by up to 38% (‘cannabis’ and 2% (‘rave drugs’ of students. Beer was the most popular type of alcoholic beverage (81% with respect to wine (62% and hard liquor (66%. Only a small percentage of participants stated that they were informed about the possible addiction to alcohol (5% and its negative social consequences (3%. Nevertheless, almost all the students (92% declared that alcohol consumption was less dangerous than other psychoactive substances. Finally, most students stated to know DFSA phenomenon (77% and were victims or witness (13% of a DFSA event. Conclusion: Psychoactive substances consumption remains a serious problem among Italian adolescents. For a successful alcohol strategy there is a need to implement preventive measures and counseling approaches in school. Increasing the knowledge of the negative effects of alcohol/drugs use might also lead to a better prevention of the DFSA phenomenon.

The Elusive Soft Emission from Hard X-ray Symbiotic System RT Cru

Science.gov (United States)

Karovska, Margarita

2014-09-01

RT Cru is a fascinating member of a new class of hard X-ray emitting symbiotic binaries showing X-ray emission extending to over 50keV. While its hard X-ray emission has been studied in detail, the soft component of the spectrum, including flares, remains elusive, since previous observations have focused on the high-energy regime. We propose Chandra HRC-S/LETG observations to determine the spatial, spectral, and temporal characteristics of the source of the soft X-ray emission with a goal to establish the origin of the soft component, and determine whether and how it is tied to the hard component. Determining the origin of the soft emission is a crucial piece of the puzzle to understanding the geometry, energetics, and the environment of WD accretion in this class of symbiotic systems.

Hard coal; Steinkohle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loo, Kai van de; Sitte, Andreas-Peter [Gesamtverband Steinkohle e.V., Herne (Germany)

2013-04-01

The year 2012 benefited from a growth of the consumption of hard coal at the national level as well as at the international level. Worldwide, the hard coal still is the number one energy source for power generation. This leads to an increasing demand for power plant coal. In this year, the conversion of hard coal into electricity also increases in this year. In contrast to this, the demand for coking coal as well as for coke of the steel industry is still declining depending on the market conditions. The enhanced utilization of coal for the domestic power generation is due to the reduction of the nuclear power from a relatively bad year for wind power as well as reduced import prices and low CO{sub 2} prices. Both justify a significant price advantage for coal in comparison to the utilisation of natural gas in power plants. This was mainly due to the price erosion of the inexpensive US coal which partly was replaced by the expansion of shale gas on the domestic market. As a result of this, the inexpensive US coal looked for an outlet for sales in Europe. The domestic hard coal has continued the process of adaptation and phase-out as scheduled. Two further hard coal mines were decommissioned in the year 2012. RAG Aktiengesellschaft (Herne, Federal Republic of Germany) running the hard coal mining in this country begins with the preparations for the activities after the time of mining.

30 CFR 75.1720-1 - Distinctively colored hard hats, or hard caps; identification for newly employed, inexperienced...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Distinctively colored hard hats, or hard caps... STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Miscellaneous § 75.1720-1 Distinctively colored hard hats, or hard caps; identification for newly employed, inexperienced miners. Hard hats or hard caps distinctively different in color...

Drug Assessment Program; A Community Guide. The Drug Abuse Council Handbook Series, No. 2.

Science.gov (United States)

Blair, Louis H.; Sessler, John

Addiction to illicit hard drugs, and particularly opiates, has increased in the past few years. Yet, there are few comprehensive evaluations of the treatment systems, and there is little systematic planning for programs to meet current and anticipated changes in the community's need for treatment. This report has been written to assist community…

30 CFR 77.1710-1 - Distinctively colored hard hats or hard caps; identification for newly employed, inexperienced...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Distinctively colored hard hats or hard caps... Distinctively colored hard hats or hard caps; identification for newly employed, inexperienced miners. Hard hats or hard caps distinctively different in color from those worn by experienced miners shall be worn at...

Influence of multidrug resistance and drug transport proteins on chemotherapy drug metabolism.

Science.gov (United States)

Joyce, Helena; McCann, Andrew; Clynes, Martin; Larkin, Annemarie

2015-05-01

Chemotherapy involving the use of anticancer drugs remains an important strategy in the overall management of patients with metastatic cancer. Acquisition of multidrug resistance remains a major impediment to successful chemotherapy. Drug transporters in cell membranes and intracellular drug metabolizing enzymes contribute to the resistance phenotype and determine the pharmacokinetics of anticancer drugs in the body. ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters mediate the transport of endogenous metabolites and xenobiotics including cytotoxic drugs out of cells. Solute carrier (SLC) transporters mediate the influx of cytotoxic drugs into cells. This review focuses on the substrate interaction of these transporters, on their biology and what role they play together with drug metabolizing enzymes in eliminating therapeutic drugs from cells. The majority of anticancer drugs are substrates for the ABC transporter and SLC transporter families. Together, these proteins have the ability to control the influx and the efflux of structurally unrelated chemotherapeutic drugs, thereby modulating the intracellular drug concentration. These interactions have important clinical implications for chemotherapy because ultimately they determine therapeutic efficacy, disease progression/relapse and the success or failure of patient treatment.

The Death Penalty: Pancasila, with Efforts to Eradicated Drugs

OpenAIRE

R., Anggun Ariena; Ky, Ade Oktariatas

2015-01-01

The rise of drugs criminal in Indonesia at this time, making Indonesia would be drugs emergency. Drugs is an extraordinary crime and need special attention in the eradication effort. Therefore it takes great strength to use legal action heaviest where Indonesia has a death penalty sentence. The purpose of the death penalty is to give hard effect for drugs criminal and as warning for the others. The reality of the death penalty in Indonesia shows the operation of the judicial system is not go...

Photon technology. Hard photon technology; Photon technology. Hard photon gijutsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

For the application of photon to industrial technologies, in particular, a hard photon technology was surveyed which uses photon beams of 0.1-200nm in wavelength. Its features such as selective atom reaction, dense inner shell excitation and spacial high resolution by quantum energy are expected to provide innovative techniques for various field such as fine machining, material synthesis and advanced inspection technology. This wavelength region has been hardly utilized for industrial fields because of poor development of suitable photon sources and optical devices. The developmental meaning, usable time and issue of a hard photon reduction lithography were surveyed as lithography in ultra-fine region below 0.1{mu}m. On hard photon analysis/evaluation technology, the industrial use of analysis, measurement and evaluation technologies by micro-beam was viewed, and optimum photon sources and optical systems were surveyed. Prediction of surface and surface layer modification by inner shell excitation, the future trend of this process and development of a vacuum ultraviolet light source were also surveyed. 383 refs., 153 figs., 17 tabs.

Hard coatings by plasma CVD on polycarbonate for automotive and optical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmauder, T.; Nauenburg, K.-D.; Kruse, K.; Ickes, G.

2006-01-01

In many applications, plastic surfaces need coatings as a protection against abrasion or weathering. Leybold Optics is developing Plasma CVD processes and machinery for transparent hard coatings (THC) for polycarbonate parts. In this paper we present the current features and remaining challenges of this technique. The coatings generally show excellent adhesion. Abrasion resistance is superior to commonly used lacquers. Climate durability of the coating has been improved to pass the tests demanded by automotive specifications. Current activities are focused on improving the durability under exposure to UV radiation. Estimations show that our high-rate plasma CVD hard coating process is also economically competitive to lacquering

Development and evaluation of gastroretentive floating tablets of an antidepressant drug by thermoplastic granulation technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harshal Ashok Pawar

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The present study was undertaken with an aim to formulate, develop and evaluate gastroretentive floating tablets of an antidepressant drug, Venlafaxine HCl (hydrochloride, which release the drug in a sustained manner over a period of 24 h. Three different hydrophobic retardants namely hydrogenated cottonseed oil, carnauba wax, cetyl alcohol and a hydrophilic polymer Methocel® (hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC K15M were used in different combinations at different ratios for the preparation of tablets. The tablets were prepared by Hot Melt or Thermoplastic granulation method and evaluated for tablet thickness, hardness, weight variation, friability, floating lag time and in vitro drug release. Formulation F8 with hydrophilic polymer (Methocel® K15M and hydrophobic retardant (carnauba wax in the ratio 1:2.6 (approx. was considered as an optimized formulation. The optimized formulation showed satisfactory sustained drug release and remained buoyant on the surface of the medium for more than 24 h and its release profile was comparable with the marketed formulation (VENTAB-XL 37.5. It can also be concluded that floating drug delivery system of Venlafaxine HCl can be successfully formulated as an approach to increase gastric residence time and thereby improving its bioavailability.

Thermodynamic perturbation theory for fused hard-sphere and hard-disk chain fluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Y.; Hall, C.K.; Stell, G.

1995-01-01

We find that first-order thermodynamic perturbation theory (TPT1) which incorporates the reference monomer fluid used in the generalized Flory--AB (GF--AB) theory yields an equation of state for fused hard-sphere (FHS) chain fluids that has accuracy comparable to the GF--AB and GF--dimer--AC theories. The new TPT1 equation of state is significantly more accurate than other extensions of the TPT1 theory to FHS chain fluids. The TPT1 is also extended to two-dimensional fused hard-disk chain fluids. For the fused hard-disk dimer fluid, the extended TPT1 equation of state is found to be more accurate than the Boublik hard-disk dimer equation of state. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics

Putting the party down on paper: A novel method for mapping youth drug use in private places

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravn, Signe; Duff, Cameron

2015-01-01

This article proposes a novel method for generating context-rich knowledge about ‘hard-to-access’ places. We ground our discussion in a recent qualitative study of social settings of youth drug use in Denmark. The study confirmed that private house parties are common sites of youth drug use...... observations ‘from a distance’ in hard-to-access places. Further, we argue that the map-task has a number of analytical and logistical advantages for scholars interested in the health and social aspects of ‘hidden’ phenomena, such as youth drug use....

Hard X-ray Optics Technology Development for Astronomy at the Marshall Space Flight Center

Science.gov (United States)

Gubarev, Mikhail; Ramsey, Brian; Kilaru, Kiranmayee

2009-01-01

Grazing-incidence telescopes based on Wolter 1 geometry have delivered impressive advances in astrophysics at soft-x-ray wavelengths, while the hard xray region remains relatively unexplored at fine angular resolution and high sensitivities. The ability to perform ground-breaking science in the hard-x-ray energy range had been the motivation for technology developments aimed at fabricating low-cost, light-weight, high-quality x-ray mirrors. Grazing-incidence x-ray optics for high-energy astrophysical applications is being developed at MSFC using the electroform-nickel replication process.

Hard-on-hard lubrication in the artificial hip under dynamic loading conditions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Sonntag

Full Text Available The tribological performance of an artificial hip joint has a particularly strong influence on its success. The principle causes for failure are adverse short- and long-term reactions to wear debris and high frictional torque in the case of poor lubrication that may cause loosening of the implant. Therefore, using experimental and theoretical approaches models have been developed to evaluate lubrication under standardized conditions. A steady-state numerical model has been extended with dynamic experimental data for hard-on-hard bearings used in total hip replacements to verify the tribological relevance of the ISO 14242-1 gait cycle in comparison to experimental data from the Orthoload database and instrumented gait analysis for three additional loading conditions: normal walking, climbing stairs and descending stairs. Ceramic-on-ceramic bearing partners show superior lubrication potential compared to hard-on-hard bearings that work with at least one articulating metal component. Lubrication regimes during the investigated activities are shown to strongly depend on the kinematics and loading conditions. The outcome from the ISO gait is not fully confirmed by the normal walking data and more challenging conditions show evidence of inferior lubrication. These findings may help to explain the differences between the in vitro predictions using the ISO gait cycle and the clinical outcome of some hard-on-hard bearings, e.g., using metal-on-metal.

The 105-Month Swift-BAT All-Sky Hard X-Ray Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Kyuseok; Koss, Michael; Markwardt, Craig B.; Schawinski, Kevin; Baumgartner, Wayne H.; Barthelmy, Scott D.; Cenko, S. Bradley; Gehrels, Neil; Mushotzky, Richard; Petulante, Abigail;

The afterglow of GRB 050709 and the nature of the short-hard gamma-ray bursts.

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, D B; Frail, D A; Price, P A; Kulkarni, S R; Berger, E; Piran, T; Soderberg, A M; Cenko, S B; Cameron, P B; Gal-Yam, A; Kasliwal, M M; Moon, D-S; Harrison, F A; Nakar, E; Schmidt, B P; Penprase, B; Chevalier, R A; Kumar, P; Roth, K; Watson, D; Lee, B L; Shectman, S; Phillips, M M; Roth, M; McCarthy, P J; Rauch, M; Cowie, L; Peterson, B A; Rich, J; Kawai, N; Aoki, K; Kosugi, G; Totani, T; Park, H-S; MacFadyen, A; Hurley, K C

2005-10-06

The final chapter in the long-standing mystery of the gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) centres on the origin of the short-hard class of bursts, which are suspected on theoretical grounds to result from the coalescence of neutron-star or black-hole binary systems. Numerous searches for the afterglows of short-hard bursts have been made, galvanized by the revolution in our understanding of long-duration GRBs that followed the discovery in 1997 of their broadband (X-ray, optical and radio) afterglow emission. Here we present the discovery of the X-ray afterglow of a short-hard burst, GRB 050709, whose accurate position allows us to associate it unambiguously with a star-forming galaxy at redshift z = 0.160, and whose optical lightcurve definitively excludes a supernova association. Together with results from three other recent short-hard bursts, this suggests that short-hard bursts release much less energy than the long-duration GRBs. Models requiring young stellar populations, such as magnetars and collapsars, are ruled out, while coalescing degenerate binaries remain the most promising progenitor candidates.

Microbiological quality of soft, semi-hard and hard cheeses during the shelf-life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josip Vrdoljak

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Cheeses as ready-to-eat food should be considered as a potential source of foodborne pathogens, primarily Listeria monocytogenes. The aim of present study was to determine the microbiological quality of soft, semi-hard and hard cheeses during the shelf-life, with particular reference to L. monocytogenes. Five types of cheeses were sampled at different timepoints during the cold storage and analyzed for presence of Salmonella and L. monocytogenes, as well as lactic acid bacteria, Escherichia coli, coagulase-positive staphylococci, yeasts, molds, sulfite-reducing clostridia and L. monocytogenes counts. Water activity, pH and NaCl content were monitored in order to evaluate the possibility of L. monocytogenes growth. Challenge test for L. monocytogenes was performed in soft whey cheese, to determine the growth potential of pathogen during the shelf-life of product. All analyzed cheeses were compliant with microbiological criteria during the shelf-life. In soft cheeses, lactic acid bacteria increased in the course of the shelf-life period (1.2-2.6 log increase, while in semi-hard and hard cheeses it decreased (1.6 and 5.2 log decrease, respectively. Soft cheeses support the growth of L. monocytogenes according to determined pH values (5.8-6.5, water activity (0.99-0.94, and NaCl content (0.3-1.2%. Challenge test showed that L. monocytogenes growth potential in selected soft cheese was 0.43 log10 cfu/g during 8 days at 4°C. Water activity in semi-hard and hard cheeses was a limiting factor for Listeria growth during the shelf-life. Soft, semi-hard and hard cheeses were microbiologically stable during their defined shelf-life. Good manufacturing and hygienic practices must be strictly followed in the production of soft cheeses as Listeria-supporting food and be focused on preventing (recontamination.

Analytical Modeling of Hard-Coating Cantilever Composite Plate considering the Material Nonlinearity of Hard Coating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Sun

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Due to the material nonlinearity of hard coating, the coated structure produces the nonlinear dynamical behaviors of variable stiffness and damping, which make the modeling of hard-coating composite structure become a challenging task. In this study, the polynomial was adopted to characterize this material nonlinearity and an analytical modeling method was developed for the hard-coating composite plate. Firstly, to relate the hard-coating material parameters obtained by test and the analytical model, the expression of equivalent strain of composite plate was derived. Then, the analytical model of hard-coating composite plate was created by energy method considering the material nonlinearity of hard coating. Next, using the Newton-Raphson method to solve the vibration response and resonant frequencies of composite plate and a specific calculation procedure was also proposed. Finally, a cantilever plate coated with MgO + Al2O3 hard coating was chosen as study case; the vibration response and resonant frequencies of composite plate were calculated using the proposed method. The calculation results were compared with the experiment and general linear calculation, and the correctness of the created model was verified. The study shows the proposed method can still maintain an acceptable precision when the material nonlinearity of hard coating is stronger.

Hidden Wholesale: The drug diffusing capacity of online drug cryptomarkets

OpenAIRE

Aldridge, Judith A; Décary-Hétu, David

2016-01-01

Background: In spite of globalizing processes ‘offline’ retail drug markets remain localized and – in recent decades – typically ‘closed’, in which dealers sell primarily to known customers. We characterize drug cryptomarkets as ‘anonymous open’ marketplaces that allow the diffusion of drugs across locales. Where cryptomarket customers make stock-sourcing purchases for offline distribution, the cryptomarket may indirectly serve drug users who are not themselves cryptomarket customers, thereby...

Chemical hardness and density functional theory

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Unknown

RALPH G PEARSON. Chemistry Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. Abstract. The concept of chemical hardness is reviewed from a personal point of view. Keywords. Hardness; softness; hard & soft acids bases (HSAB); principle of maximum hardness. (PMH) density functional theory (DFT) ...

Hardness variability in commercial technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaneyfelt, M.R.; Winokur, P.S.; Meisenheimer, T.L.; Sexton, F.W.; Roeske, S.B.; Knoll, M.G.

1994-01-01

The radiation hardness of commercial Floating Gate 256K E 2 PROMs from a single diffusion lot was observed to vary between 5 to 25 krad(Si) when irradiated at a low dose rate of 64 mrad(Si)/s. Additional variations in E 2 PROM hardness were found to depend on bias condition and failure mode (i.e., inability to read or write the memory), as well as the foundry at which the part was manufactured. This variability is related to system requirements, and it is shown that hardness level and variability affect the allowable mode of operation for E 2 PROMs in space applications. The radiation hardness of commercial 1-Mbit CMOS SRAMs from Micron, Hitachi, and Sony irradiated at 147 rad(Si)/s was approximately 12, 13, and 19 krad(Si), respectively. These failure levels appear to be related to increases in leakage current during irradiation. Hardness of SRAMs from each manufacturer varied by less than 20%, but differences between manufacturers are significant. The Qualified Manufacturer's List approach to radiation hardness assurance is suggested as a way to reduce variability and to improve the hardness level of commercial technologies

The Prevalence of Tobacco, Hubble-Bubble, Alcoholic Drinks, Drugs, and Stimulants among High-School Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roghayeh Alaee

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of tobacco, hubble-bubble, alcoholic drinks, and other drugs among Karaj high-school students in 2011. Methods: The research method was a descriptive-sectional study. Participants of this study were 447 girl and boy high-school students of Karaj that were selected by clustering random sampling. For data gathering, drug abuse questionnaire, and risk and protective factors inventory were administered among selected sample. Results: According to the results, 57% of students in this study said that they have had experiences with a kind of drug including tobacco, hubble-bubble, alcoholic drinks, and other drugs at least once in their lives. The study showed the prevalence for soft drugs: hubble-bubble, tobacco, and alcoholic drinks, and for hard drugs ecstasy, opium, hashish, meth, crack, and heroin respectively. Conclusion: Soft drugs including hubble-bubble, tobacco, and alcoholic drinks, are the most common among Karaj high-school students. The prevalence of hard drugs among them is rather low.

Hard processes in photon-photon interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duchovni, E.

1985-03-01

In this thesis, the existence of hard component in two-photon collisions is investigated. Due to the relative simplicity of the photon, such processes can be exactly calculated in QCD. Untagged (low Q 2 ) two-photon events are used. This leads to relatively high statistics, but to severe background problem due mainly to e + e - annihilation. The background contamination is reduced to a tolerable level using a special set of cuts. Moreover, the remaining contamination is shown to be calculable with a small systematic error. A large number of events of the hard ''γγ'' type is found. An attempt to explain these events using the simplest QCD diagram (the Born term) is done. This process is found to be capable of explaining only a 1/4 of the data. Other options like the constituent intercharge model, integer charged quarks, and higher order diagrams are therefore also discussed. The large cross-section for the production of ρ 0 ρ 0 pairs in ''γγ'' collisions has not been understood yet. Inorder to look at closely related processes, a search for φρ 0 and φφ was initiated. The cross-section for θπ + π - was found to be sizeable. Only upper limits for the production of φρ 0 and φφ are obtained

Evolution of drug resistance in HIV infected patients remaining on a virologically failing cART regimen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cozzi-Lepri, A; Phillips, AN; Ruiz, L

2007-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the extent of drug resistance accumulation in patients kept on a virologically failing regimen and its determinants in the clinical setting. DESIGN: The study focused on 110 patients of EuroSIDA on an unchanged regimen who had two genotypic tests performed at two time points...... (t0 and t1) when viral load was > 400 copies/ml. METHODS: Accumulation of resistance between t0 and t1 was measured using genotypic susceptibility scores (GSS) obtained by counting the total number of active drugs (according to the Rega system v6.4.1) among all licensed antiretrovirals as of 1...... January 2006. Patients were grouped according to the number of active drugs in the failing regimen at t0 (GSS_f-t0). RESULTS: At t0, patients had been on the failing combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) for a median of 11 months (range, 6-50 months). Even patients with extensive resistance...

[New drugs: money-back guarantee?].

Science.gov (United States)

Steenhoek, Adri; Koopmanschap, Marc A; Franken, Margreet G; Rutten, Frans F H

2011-01-01

When a new medical technology, for example a new drug, is introduced onto the market there should be a discussion of the balance between "uncertainty versus value to society and demand". The new technology is sometimes given the benefit of the doubt due to a lack of information. Follow-up investigation is actually essential but is seldom mandatory and hardly ever spontaneously initiated. Specific measures, based on stimulation or penalization, could reduce the degree of uncertainty concerning the efficacy, safety and efficiency of a new technology. A serious option when a new drug produces disappointing results is to pay the manufacturer less.

Generic versus brand-name drugs used in cardiovascular diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Manzoli, Lamberto; Flacco, Maria Elena; Boccia, Stefania; D'Andrea, Elvira; Panic, Nikola; Marzuillo, Carolina; Siliquini, Roberta; Ricciardi, Walter; Villari, Paolo; Ioannidis, John P A

2016-04-01

This meta-analysis aimed to compare the efficacy and adverse events, either serious or mild/moderate, of all generic versus brand-name cardiovascular medicines. We searched randomized trials in MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane Controlled Clinical Trial Register, and ClinicalTrials.gov (last update December 1, 2014). Attempts were made to contact the investigators of all potentially eligible trials. Two investigators independently extracted and analyzed soft (including systolic blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, and others) and hard efficacy outcomes (including major cardiovascular adverse events and death), minor/moderate and serious adverse events. We included 74 randomized trials; 53 reported ≥1 efficacy outcome (overall sample 3051), 32 measured mild/moderate adverse events (n = 2407), and 51 evaluated serious adverse events (n = 2892). We included trials assessing ACE inhibitors (n = 12), anticoagulants (n = 5), antiplatelet agents (n = 17), beta-blockers (n = 11), calcium channel blockers (n = 7); diuretics (n = 13); statins (n = 6); and others (n = 3). For both soft and hard efficacy outcomes, 100 % of the trials showed non-significant differences between generic and brand-name drugs. The aggregate effect size was 0.01 (95 % CI -0.05; 0.08) for soft outcomes; -0.06 (-0.71; 0.59) for hard outcomes. All but two trials showed non-significant differences in mild/moderate adverse events, and aggregate effect size was 0.07 (-0.06; 0.20). Comparable results were observed for each drug class and in each stratified meta-analysis. Overall, 8 serious possibly drug-related adverse events were reported: 5/2074 subjects on generics; 3/2076 subjects on brand-name drugs (OR 1.69; 95 % CI 0.40-7.20). This meta-analysis strengthens the evidence for clinical equivalence between brand-name and generic cardiovascular drugs. Physicians could be reassured about prescribing generic cardiovascular drugs, and health care organization about endorsing their wider

Drug user organizations in the Nordic countries--local, national, and international dimensions.

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, Vibeke Asmussen; Anker, Jørgen; Tammi, Tuukka

2012-04-01

The article focuses on drug user organizations that represent and advocate for active "hard drug" users in the Nordic countries. It discusses the opportunities and challenges that these organizations face in their search for legitimacy and political influence. The comparative perspective points at similarities and differences in national contexts that both support and challenges the existence of drug user organizations, including drug policy, social welfare policy, trends in drug use, and organizational conditions. The article also discusses the importance of international network and transnational organizations that support drug user organizations.

Is Project Towards No Drug Abuse (Project TND) an evidence-based drug and violence prevention program? A review and reappraisal of the evaluation studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorman, Dennis M

2014-08-01

This paper critically reviews the published evidence pertaining to Project Towards No Drug Abuse (Project TND). Publications from seven evaluation studies of Project TND are reviewed, and the results from these are discussed as related to the following outcomes: main effects on the use of cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana; main effects on the use of "hard drugs," defined in the evaluations as cocaine, hallucinogens, stimulants, inhalants, ecstasy and other drugs (e.g., depressants, PCP, steroids and heroin); subgroup and interaction analyses of drug use; and violence-related behaviors. Very few main effects have been found for cigarette, alcohol and marijuana use in the Project TND evaluations. While studies do report main effects for hard drug use, these findings are subject to numerous threats to validity and may be attributable to the data analyses employed. Similarly, while isolated subgroup and interaction effects were found for alcohol use among baseline nonusers and some violence-related behaviors in the early Project TND evaluations, these findings have not been replicated in more recent studies and may result from multiple comparisons between study conditions. In conclusion, there is little evidence to support the assertion that Project TND is an effective drug or violence prevention program. The broader implications of these findings for prevention science are discussed and suggestions are made as to how the quality of research in the field might be improved.

Translations on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Number 297

Science.gov (United States)

1977-05-03

investigate the non- medical use of drugs, spent several hours with a mem- ber of the Beatles, his wife and a Toronto music concert promoter and smoked...obsessive feeling of guilt? The drug therapist, like the cancer 69 specialist, customarily fails; for them this is hard because people do not forgive...products throughout the national territory: opium (1.856 kg), morphine (1.266 kg, 34 ampoules), heroin (103.481 kg), cocaine (2.16 kg), cannabis

Studying Hardness Meter Spring Strength to Understand Hardness Distribution on Body Surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Arima, Yoshitaka

2017-10-01

For developing a hardness multipoint measurement system for understanding hardness distribution on biological body surfaces, we investigated the spring strength of the contact portion main axis of a biological tissue hardness meter (product name: PEK). We measured the hardness of three-layered sheets of six types of gel sheets (90 mm × 60 mm × 6 mm) constituting the acupuncture practice pads, with PEK measurements of 1.96 N, 2.94 N, 3.92 N, 4.90 N, 5.88 N, 6.86 N, 7.84 N, 8.82 N, and 9.81 N of the main axis spring strength. We obtained measurements 10 times for the gel sheets and simultaneously measured the load using a digital scale. We measured the hardness distribution of induration embedded and breast cancer palpation models, with a main axis with 1.96 N, 4.90 N, and 9.81 N spring strengths, to create a two-dimensional Contour Fill Chart. Using 4.90 N spring strength, we could obtain measurement loads of ≤3.0 N, and the mean hardness was 5.14 mm. This was close to the median of the total measurement range 0.0-10.0 mm, making the measurement range the largest for this spring strength. We could image the induration of the induration-embedded model regardless of the spring strength. Overall, 4.90 N spring strength was best suited for imaging cancer in the breast cancer palpation model. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Profit-driven drug testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Collen, Mark

2012-01-01

Random drug testing of people being treated for chronic pain has become more common. Physicians may drug test patients on opioid therapy as a result of concerns over prosecution, drug misuse, addiction, and overdose. However, profit motive has remained unexplored. This article suggests profits also drive physician drug-testing behavior and evidence is offered, including an exploration of Medicare reimbursement incentives and kickbacks for drug testing.

Trend of extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and the remaining therapeutic options: a multicenter study in Tehran, Iran over a 3-year period.

Science.gov (United States)

Jasemi, S; Douraghi, M; Adibhesami, H; Zeraati, H; Rahbar, M; Boroumand, M A; Aliramezani, A; Ghourchian, S; Mohammadzadeh, M

2016-12-01

Comprehensive data on drug-resistant patterns of Acinetobacter baumannii isolates in developing countries is limited. We conducted a multihospital study to assess the rate and trend of drug-resistant phenotypes in Ac. baumannii using standardized definitions and to determine the remaining therapeutic options against resistant phenotypes. The 401 nonduplicate isolates were collected from six hospitals which are geographically distributed across Tehran, Iran over a 3-year period. Following PCR of bla OXA -51-like gene, susceptibility testing was performed against nine antimicrobial agent categories. Three hundred and ninety (97%) isolates were resistant to least two carbapenems; carbapenem-resistant Ac. baumannii. The majority of isolates (366, 91·3%) were extensively drug resistant (XDR) and the rest of the isolates were classified as multidrug resistant (26, 6·8%) and susceptible (9, 2·2%). The rate of XDR-AB slightly decreased from 93·8% in 2011 to 89·8% in 2013. A considerable decrease in resistance to doxycycline, minocycline and tigecycline was demonstrated. The XDR-AB isolates showed susceptibility to gentamicin (10·4%), tobramycin (23%), ampicilin-sulbactam (30·1%), minocycline (32·8%), tigecycline (10·7%), doxycycline (21·6%), colistin (100%) and polymixin B (100%). We demonstrated the rising trend of resistance to all antibiotic categories except tetracyclines and folate pathway inhibitors. We found that the treatment options against XDR-AB are extremely limited and each treatment alternative including even old, but safe, antibiotics might be considered. The high frequency of drug-resistant phenotypes including carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, multidrug-resistant, and extensively resistant has been demonstrated in Ac. baumannii isolates tested here. As the antibiotic resistance pattern of isolates varies in different geographical regions, this study can provide comprehensive information about the antibiotic resistance profile of Ac

Alternative Manufacturing Concepts for Solid Oral Dosage Forms From Drug Nanosuspensions Using Fluid Dispensing and Forced Drying Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonhoeffer, Bastian; Kwade, Arno; Juhnke, Michael

2018-03-01

Flexible manufacturing technologies for solid oral dosage forms with a continuous adjustability of the manufactured dose strength are of interest for applications in personalized medicine. This study explored the feasibility of using microvalve technology for the manufacturing of different solid oral dosage form concepts. Hard gelatin capsules filled with excipients, placebo tablets, and polymer films, placed in hard gelatin capsules after drying, were considered as substrates. For each concept, a basic understanding of relevant formulation parameters and their impact on dissolution behavior has been established. Suitable matrix formers, present either on the substrate or directly in the drug nanosuspension, proved to be essential to prevent nanoparticle agglomeration of the drug nanoparticles and to ensure a fast dissolution behavior. Furthermore, convection and radiation drying methods were investigated for the fast drying of drug nanosuspensions dispensed onto polymer films, which were then placed in hard gelatin capsules. Changes in morphology and in drug and matrix former distribution were observed for increasing drying intensity. However, even fast drying times below 1 min could be realized, while maintaining the nanoparticulate drug structure and a good dissolution behavior. Copyright © 2018 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Projecting future drug expenditures--2009.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, James M; Shah, Nilay D; Vermeulen, Lee C; Doloresco, Fred; Martin, Patrick K; Blake, Sharon; Matusiak, Linda; Hunkler, Robert J; Schumock, Glen T

2009-02-01

Drug expenditure trends in 2007 and 2008, projected drug expenditures for 2009, and factors likely to influence drug expenditures are discussed. Various factors are likely to influence drug expenditures in 2009, including drugs in development, the diffusion of new drugs, drug safety concerns, generic drugs, Medicare Part D, and changes in the drug supply chain. The increasing availability of important generic drugs and drug safety concerns continue to moderate growth in drug expenditures. The drug supply chain remains dynamic and may influence drug expenditures, particularly in specialized therapeutic areas. Initial data suggest that the Medicare Part D benefit has influenced drug expenditures, but the ultimate impact of the benefit on drug expenditures remains unclear. From 2006 to 2007, total U.S. drug expenditures increased by 4.0%, with total spending rising from $276 billion to $287 billion. Drug expenditures in clinics continue to grow more rapidly than in other settings, with a 9.9% increase from 2006 to 2007. Hospital drug expenditures increased at a moderate rate of only 1.6% from 2006 to 2007; through the first nine months of 2008, hospital drug expenditures increased by only 2.8% compared with the same period in 2007. In 2009, we project a 0-2% increase in drug expenditures in outpatient settings, a 1-3% increase in expenditures for clinic-administered drugs, and a 1-3% increase in hospital drug expenditures.

Induced spherococcoid hard wheat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanev, Sh.

1981-01-01

A mutant has been obtained - a spheroccocoid line -through irradiation of hard wheat seed with fast neutrons. It is distinguished by semispherical glumes and smaller grain; the plants have low stem with erect leaves but with shorter spikes and with lesser number of spikelets than those of the initial cultivar. Good productive tillering and resistance to lodging contributed to 23.5% higher yield. The line was superior to the standard and the initial cultivars by 14.2% as regards protein content, and by up to 22.8% - as to flour gluten. It has been successfully used in hybridization producing high-yielding hard wheat lines resistant to lodging, with good technological and other indicators. The possibility stated is of obtaining a spherococcoid mutant in tetraploid (hard) wheat out of the D-genome as well as its being suited to hard wheat breeding to enhance protein content, resistance to lodging, etc. (author)

Development of clinical dosage forms for a poorly water-soluble drug II: formulation and characterization of a novel solid microemulsion preconcentrate system for oral delivery of a poorly water-soluble drug.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ping; Hynes, Sara R; Haefele, Thomas F; Pudipeddi, Madhu; Royce, Alan E; Serajuddin, Abu T M

2009-05-01

The solution of a poorly water-soluble drug in a liquid lipid-surfactant mixture, which served as a microemulsion preconcentrate, was converted into a solid form by incorporating it in a solid polyethylene glycol (PEG) matrix. The solid microemulsion preconcentrates thus formed consisted of Capmul PG8 (propylene glycol monocaprylate) as oil, Cremophor EL (polyoxyl 35 castor oil) as surfactant, and hydrophilic polymer PEG 3350 as solid matrix. The drug (aqueous solubility: 0.17 microg/mL at pH 1-8 and 25 degrees C) was dissolved in a melt of the mixture at 65-70 degrees C and then the hot solution was filled into hard gelatin capsules; the liquid gradually solidified upon cooling below 55 degrees C. The solid system was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal Raman microscopy (CRM), and the dispersion testing in water. It was confirmed that a solid microemulsion preconcentrate is a two-phase system, where clusters of crystalline PEG 3350 formed the solid structure (m.p. 55-60 degrees C) and the liquid microemulsion preconcentrate dispersed in between PEG 3350 crystals as a separate phase. The drug remained dissolved in the liquid phase. In vitro release testing showed that the preconcentrate dispersed readily in water forming a microemulsion with the drug dissolved in the oil particles (PEG 3350 did not interfere with the process of self-microemulsification.

2TB hard disk drive

CERN Multimedia

This particular object was used up until 2012 in the Data Centre. It slots into one of the Disk Server trays. Hard disks were invented in the 1950s. They started as large disks up to 20 inches in diameter holding just a few megabytes (link is external). They were originally called "fixed disks" or "Winchesters" (a code name used for a popular IBM product). They later became known as "hard disks" to distinguish them from "floppy disks (link is external)." Hard disks have a hard platter that holds the magnetic medium, as opposed to the flexible plastic film found in tapes and floppies.

Janka hardness using nonstandard specimens

Science.gov (United States)

David W. Green; Marshall Begel; William Nelson

2006-01-01

Janka hardness determined on 1.5- by 3.5-in. specimens (2×4s) was found to be equivalent to that determined using the 2- by 2-in. specimen specified in ASTM D 143. Data are presented on the relationship between Janka hardness and the strength of clear wood. Analysis of historical data determined using standard specimens indicated no difference between side hardness...

Development of radiation hard scintillators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markley, F.; Woods, D.; Pla-Dalmau, A.; Foster, G.; Blackburn, R.

1992-05-01

Substantial improvements have been made in the radiation hardness of plastic scintillators. Cylinders of scintillating materials 2.2 cm in diameter and 1 cm thick have been exposed to 10 Mrads of gamma rays at a dose rate of 1 Mrad/h in a nitrogen atmosphere. One of the formulations tested showed an immediate decrease in pulse height of only 4% and has remained stable for 12 days while annealing in air. By comparison a commercial PVT scintillator showed an immediate decrease of 58% and after 43 days of annealing in air it improved to a 14% loss. The formulated sample consisted of 70 parts by weight of Dow polystyrene, 30 pbw of pentaphenyltrimethyltrisiloxane (Dow Corning DC 705 oil), 2 pbw of p-terphenyl, 0.2 pbw of tetraphenylbutadiene, and 0.5 pbw of UVASIL299LM from Ferro

Maturing Out: An empirical study of personal histories and processes in hard-drug addiction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

E.H. Prins

1995-01-01

textabstractEver since the fiftieth, the sixtieth and the seventieth, the time I worked and studied in the United States, I developed an interest in the fate of the many drug addicts I met there. What struck me particularly was the fact that these drug addicts were almost always quite young. In

Differences in sociodemographic, drug use and health characteristics between never, former and current injecting, problematic hard-drug users in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Havinga, Petra; van der Velden, Claudia; de Gee, Anouk; van der Poel, Agnes; Yin, Huifang

2014-01-01

Background: Injecting drug users are at increased risk for harmful effects compared to non-injecting drug users. Some studies have focused on differences in characteristics between these two groups (e. g., housing, overall health). However, no study has investigated the specific Dutch situation

Drug induced rhabdomyolysis

Science.gov (United States)

Hohenegger, Martin

2012-01-01

Rhabdomyolysis is a clinical condition of potential life threatening destruction of skeletal muscle caused by diverse mechanisms including drugs and toxins. Given the fact that structurally not related compounds cause an identical phenotype pinpoints to common targets or pathways, responsible for executing rhabdomyolysis. A drop in myoplasmic ATP paralleled with sustained elevations in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration represents a common signature of rhabdomyolysis. Interestingly, cardiac tissue is hardly affected or only secondary, as a consequence of imbalance in electrolytes or acid–base equilibrium. This dogma is now impaired by compounds, which show up with combined toxicity in heart and skeletal muscle. In this review, cases of rhabdomyolysis with novel recently approved drugs will be explored for new target mechanisms in the light of previously described pathomechanisms. PMID:22560920

Determining the Effect of Material Hardness During the Hard Turning of AISI4340 Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Kambagowni, Venkatasubbaiah; Chitla, Raju; Challa, Suresh

2018-05-01

In the present manufacturing industries hardened steels are most widely used in the applications like tool design and mould design. It enhances the application range of hard turning of hardened steels in manufacturing industries. This study discusses the impact of workpiece hardness, feed and depth of cut on Arithmetic mean roughness (Ra), root mean square roughness (Rq), mean depth of roughness (Rz) and total roughness (Rt) during the hard turning. Experiments have been planned according to the Box-Behnken design and conducted on hardened AISI4340 steel at 45, 50 and 55 HRC with wiper ceramic cutting inserts. Cutting speed is kept constant during this study. The analysis of variance was used to determine the effects of the machining parameters. 3-D response surface plots drawn based on RSM were utilized to set up the input-output relationships. The results indicated that the feed rate has the most significant parameter for Ra, Rq and Rz and hardness has the most critical parameter for the Rt. Further, hardness shows its influence over all the surface roughness characteristics.

Coffee Shops and Compromise: Separated Illicit Drug Markets in the Netherlands

OpenAIRE

Grund, Jean-Paul; Breeksema, Joost

2013-01-01

textabstractBuilding on a long history and culture of tolerance, the Dutch responded to illicit drugs with decades of pragmatic measures free of judgment. A central element of modern Dutch drug policy was a crucial decision to establish a legal and practical separation of cannabis— judged to pose “acceptable” risks to consumers and society—from hard drugs associated with unacceptable risk. This policy effectively decriminalized possession and use of cannabis and opened the door for tolerated ...

Experimental investigation on hard turning of AISI 4340 steel using cemented coated carbide insert

Science.gov (United States)

Pradeep Kumar, J.; Kishore, K. P.; Ranjith Kumar, M.; Saran Karthick, K. R.; Vishnu Gowtham, S.

2018-02-01

Hard turning is a developing technology that offers many potential advantages compared to grinding, which remains the standard finishing process for critical hardened surfaces. In this work, an attempt has been made to experimentally investigate hard turning of AISI 4340 steel under wet and dry condition using cemented coated carbide insert. Hardness of the workpiece material is tested using Brinell and Rockwell hardness testers. CNC LATHE and cemented coated carbide inserts of designation CNMG 120408 are used for conducting experimental trials. Significant cutting parameters like cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut are considered as controllable input parameters and surface roughness (Ra), tool wear are considered as output response parameters. Design of experiments is carried out with the help of Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array. Results of response parameters like surface roughness and tool wear under wet and dry condition are analysed. It is found that surface roughness and tool wear are higher under dry machining condition when compared to wet machining condition. Feed rate significantly influences the surface roughness followed by cutting speed. Depth of cut significantly influences the tool wear followed by cutting speed.

Drug lag for cardiovascular drug approvals in India compared with the US and EU approvals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhaven C. Kataria

2013-01-01

Conclusion: This study confirms that there is a substantial drug lag in approval of new cardiovascular drugs in India compared with the United States and European Union. The impact of drug lag on health outcomes remains to be established.

Evolution of drug resistance in HIV-infected patients remaining on a virologically failing combination antiretroviral therapy regimen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cozzi-Lepri, Alessandro; Phillips, Andrew N; Ruiz, Lidia

2007-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the extent of drug resistance accumulation in patients kept on a virologically failing regimen and its determinants in the clinical setting. DESIGN: The study focused on 110 patients of EuroSIDA on an unchanged regimen who had two genotypic tests performed at two time points...... (t0 and t1) when viral load was > 400 copies/ml. METHODS: Accumulation of resistance between t0 and t1 was measured using genotypic susceptibility scores (GSS) obtained by counting the total number of active drugs (according to the Rega system v6.4.1) among all licensed antiretrovirals as of 1...... January 2006. Patients were grouped according to the number of active drugs in the failing regimen at t0 (GSS_f-t0). RESULTS: At t0, patients had been on the failing combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) for a median of 11 months (range, 6-50 months). Even patients with extensive resistance...

The structural origin of the hard-sphere glass transition in granular packing.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Chengjie; Li, Jindong; Cao, Yixin; Kou, Binquan; Xiao, Xianghui; Fezzaa, Kamel; Xiao, Tiqiao; Wang, Yujie

2015-09-28

Glass transition is accompanied by a rapid growth of the structural relaxation time and a concomitant decrease of configurational entropy. It remains unclear whether the transition has a thermodynamic origin, and whether the dynamic arrest is associated with the growth of a certain static order. Using granular packing as a model hard-sphere glass, we show the glass transition as a thermodynamic phase transition with a 'hidden' polytetrahedral order. This polytetrahedral order is spatially correlated with the slow dynamics. It is geometrically frustrated and has a peculiar fractal dimension. Additionally, as the packing fraction increases, its growth follows an entropy-driven nucleation process, similar to that of the random first-order transition theory. Our study essentially identifies a long-sought-after structural glass order in hard-sphere glasses.

Using Respondent-Driven Sampling to Recruit Illegal Drug Purchasers to Evaluate a Drug Market Intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Ober, Allison J; Sussell, Jesse; Kilmer, Beau; Saunders, Jessica; Heckathorn, Douglas D

2016-04-01

Violent drug markets are not as prominent as they once were in the United States, but they still exist and are associated with significant crime and lower quality of life. The drug market intervention (DMI) is an innovative strategy that uses focused deterrence, community engagement, and incapacitation to reduce crime and disorder associated with these markets. Although studies show that DMI can reduce crime and overt drug activity, one perspective is prominently missing from these evaluations: those who purchase drugs. This study explores the use of respondent-driven sampling (RDS)-a statistical sampling method-to approximate a representative sample of drug users who purchased drugs in a targeted DMI market to gain insight into the effect of a DMI on market dynamics. Using RDS, we recruited individuals who reported hard drug use (crack or powder cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, or illicit use of prescriptions opioids) in the last month to participate in a survey. The main survey asked about drug use, drug purchasing, and drug market activity before and after DMI; a secondary survey asked about network characteristics and recruitment. Our sample of 212 respondents met key RDS assumptions, suggesting that the characteristics of our weighted sample approximate the characteristics of the drug user network. The weighted estimates for market purchasers are generally valid for inferences about the aggregate population of customers, but a larger sample size is needed to make stronger inferences about the effects of a DMI on drug market activity. © The Author(s) 2016.

Ventilator associated pneumonia caused by extensive-drug resistant Acinetobacter species: Colistin is the remaining choice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Hasanin

2016-07-01

Conclusions: XDR AB-VAP is endemic in our ICU without a definite factor associated with increased risk of infection. Given that almost half of the strains are also resistant to tigecycline, colistin appears to be an appropriate first-line antimicrobial drug in critically ill patients developing VAP based on invitro results.

On scale dependence of hardness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shorshorov, M.Kh.; Alekhin, V.P.; Bulychev, S.I.

1977-01-01

The concept of hardness as a structure-sensitive characteristic of a material is considered. It is shown that in conditions of a decreasing stress field under the inventor the hardness function is determined by the average distance, Lsub(a), between the stops (fixed and sessile dislocations, segregation particles, etc.). In the general case, Lsub(a) depends on the size of the impression and explains the great diversity of hardness functions. The concept of average true deformation rate on depression is introduced

Micro-hardness of non-irradiated uranium dioxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sung-Sik; Takagi, Osamu; Obata, Naomi; Kirihara, Tomoo.

1983-01-01

In order to obtain the optimum conditions for micro-hardness measurements of sintered UO 2 , two kinds of hardness tests (Vickers and Knoop) were examined with non-irradiated UO 2 of 2.5 and 5 μm in grain size. The hardness values were obtained as a function of the applied load in the load range of 25 -- 1,000 g. In the Vickers test, cracks were generated around the periphery of an indentation even at lower load of 50 g, which means the Vickers hardness is not suitable for UO 2 specimens. In the Knoop test, three stages of load dependence were observed for sintered pellet as well as for a single crystal by Bates. Load dependence of Knoop hardness and crack formation were discussed. In the range of applied load around 70 -- 100 g there were plateau region where hardness values were nearly unchanged and did not contain any cracks in the indentation. The plateau region represents a hardness of a specimen. From a comparison between the hardness values of 2.5 μm and those of 5 μm UO 2 , it was approved that the degree of sintering controls the hardness in the plateau region. (author)

Hard-hat day

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

CERN will be organizing a special information day on Friday, 27th June, designed to promote the wearing of hard hats and ensure that they are worn correctly. A new prevention campaign will also be launched.The event will take place in the hall of the Main Building from 11.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m., when you will be able to come and try on various models of hard hat, including some of the very latest innovative designs, ask questions and pass on any comments and suggestions.

Drug development in neuropsychopharmacology.

Science.gov (United States)

Fritze, Jürgen

2008-03-01

Personalized medicine is still in its infancy concerning drug development in neuropsychopharmacology. Adequate biomarkers with clinical relevance to drug response and/or tolerability and safety largely remain to be identified. Possibly, this kind of personalized medicine will first gain clinical relevance in the dementias. The clinical relevance of the genotyping of drug-metabolizing enzymes as suggested by drug licensing authorities for the pharmacokinetic evaluation of medicinal products needs to be proven in sound clinical trials.

Inkjet Printing of Drug-Loaded Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles—A Platform for Drug Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henrika Wickström

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs have shown great potential in improving drug delivery of poorly water soluble (BCS class II, IV and poorly permeable (BCS class III, IV drugs, as well as facilitating successful delivery of unstable compounds. The nanoparticle technology would allow improved treatment by reducing adverse reactions of currently approved drugs and possibly reintroducing previously discarded compounds from the drug development pipeline. This study aims to highlight important aspects in mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN ink formulation development for digital inkjet printing technology and to advice on choosing a method (2D/3D for nanoparticle print deposit characterization. The results show that both unfunctionalized and polyethyeleneimine (PEI surface functionalized MSNs, as well as drug-free and drug-loaded MSN–PEI suspensions, can be successfully inkjet-printed. Furthermore, the model BCS class IV drug remained incorporated in the MSNs and the suspension remained physically stable during the processing time and steps. This proof-of-concept study suggests that inkjet printing technology would be a flexible deposition method of pharmaceutical MSN suspensions to generate patterns according to predefined designs. The concept could be utilized as a versatile drug screening platform in the future due to the possibility of accurately depositing controlled volumes of MSN suspensions on various materials.

Inkjet Printing of Drug-Loaded Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles-A Platform for Drug Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Wickström, Henrika; Hilgert, Ellen; Nyman, Johan O; Desai, Diti; Şen Karaman, Didem; de Beer, Thomas; Sandler, Niklas; Rosenholm, Jessica M

2017-11-21

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have shown great potential in improving drug delivery of poorly water soluble (BCS class II, IV) and poorly permeable (BCS class III, IV) drugs, as well as facilitating successful delivery of unstable compounds. The nanoparticle technology would allow improved treatment by reducing adverse reactions of currently approved drugs and possibly reintroducing previously discarded compounds from the drug development pipeline. This study aims to highlight important aspects in mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) ink formulation development for digital inkjet printing technology and to advice on choosing a method (2D/3D) for nanoparticle print deposit characterization. The results show that both unfunctionalized and polyethyeleneimine (PEI) surface functionalized MSNs, as well as drug-free and drug-loaded MSN-PEI suspensions, can be successfully inkjet-printed. Furthermore, the model BCS class IV drug remained incorporated in the MSNs and the suspension remained physically stable during the processing time and steps. This proof-of-concept study suggests that inkjet printing technology would be a flexible deposition method of pharmaceutical MSN suspensions to generate patterns according to predefined designs. The concept could be utilized as a versatile drug screening platform in the future due to the possibility of accurately depositing controlled volumes of MSN suspensions on various materials.

Microstructure and Hardness of Mg - 9Li - 6Al Alloy After Different Variants of Solid Solution Treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Haipeng; Fei, Pengfei; Wu, Ruizhi; Hou, Legan; Zhang, Milin

2018-03-01

The microstructure and the hardness of cast magnesium alloy Mg - 9% Li - 6% Al are studied after a treatment for solid solution at 300, 350, and 450°C for 0.5 - 5 h. The phase composition of the alloy is represented by α-Mg, β-Li, thin-plate and faceted particles of an AlLi phase, and particles of a MgLi2Al θ-phase. The θ-phase dissolves in the matrix in the initial stage of the solution treatment, which causes growth in the hardness of the alloy. At a temperature above 350°C the AlLi phase dissolves giving way to short rod-like precipitates of a θ-phase, which remain steady in the process of solution treatment. The hardness of the alloy deceases in this stage for this reason.

Development of Bilayer Tablets with Modified Release of Selected Incompatible Drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhiman, Neha; Awasthi, Rajendra; Jindal, Shammy; Khatri, Smriti; Dua, Kamal

2016-01-01

The oral route is considered to be the most convenient and commonly-employed route for drug delivery. When two incompatible drugs need to be administered at the same time and in a single formulation, bilayer tablets are the most appropriate dosage form to administer such incompatible drugs in a single dose. The aim of the present investigation was to develop bilayered tablets of two incompatible drugs; telmisartan and simvastatin. The bilayer tablets were prepared containing telmisartan in a conventional release layer using croscarmellose sodium as a super disintegrant and simvastatin in a slow-release layer using HPMC K15M, Carbopol 934P and PVP K 30 as matrix forming polymers. The tablets were evaluated for various physical properties, drug-excipient interactions using FTIR spectroscopy and in vitro drug release using 0.1M HCl (pH 1.2) for the first hour and phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) for the remaining period of time. The release kinetics of simvastatin from the slow release layer were evaluated using the zero order, first order, Higuchi equation and Peppas equation. All the physical parameters (such as hardness, thickness, disintegration, friability and layer separation tests) were found to be satisfactory. The FTIR studies indicated the absence of interactions between the components within the individual layers, suggesting drug-excipient compatibility in all the formulations. No drug release from the slow-release layer was observed during the first hour of the dissolution study in 0.1M HCl. The release-controlling polymers had a significant effect on the release of simvastatin from the slow-release layer. Thus, the formulated bilayer tablets avoided incompatibility issues and proved the conventional release of telmisartan (85% in 45 min) and slow release of simvastatin (80% in 8 h). Stable and compatible bilayer tablets containing telmisartan and simvastatin were developed with better patient compliance as an alternative to existing conventional dosage forms.

Nanocavity formation and hardness increase by dual ion beam irradiation of oxide dispersion strengthened FeCrAl alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koegler, R., E-mail: r.koegler@hzdr.de [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Bautzner Landstrasse 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Anwand, W. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Bautzner Landstrasse 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Richter, A. [Department of Engineering, Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau, Bahnhofstrasse 1, 15745 Wildau (Germany); Butterling, M.; Ou, Xin; Wagner, A. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Bautzner Landstrasse 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Chen, C.-L. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 840, Taiwan (China)

2012-08-15

Open volume defects generated by ion implantation into oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloy and the related hardness were investigated by positron annihilation spectroscopy and nanoindentation measurements, respectively. Synchronized dual beam implantation of Fe and He ions was performed at room temperature and at moderately enhanced temperature of 300 Degree-Sign C. For room temperature implantation a significant hardness increase after irradiation is observed which is more distinctive in heat treated than in as-received ODS alloy. There is also a difference between the simultaneous and sequential implantation mode as the hardening effect for the simultaneously implanted ODS alloy is stronger than for sequential implantation. The comparison of hardness profiles and of the corresponding open volume profiles shows a qualitative agreement between the open volume defects generated on the nanoscopic scale and the macroscopic hardness characteristics. Open volume defects are drastically reduced for performing the simultaneous dual beam irradiation at 300 Degree-Sign C which is a more realistic temperature under application aspects. Few remaining defects are clusters of 3-4 vacancies in connection with Y oxide nanoparticles. These defects completely disappear in a shallow layer at the surface. The results are in agreement with hardness measurements showing little hardness increase after irradiation at 300 Degree-Sign C. Suitable characteristics of ODS alloy for nuclear applications and the close correlation between He-related open volume defects and the hardness characteristics are verified.

Creep, fatigue and creep-fatigue damage evaluation and estimation of remaining life of SUS 304 austenitic stainless steel at high temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishino, Seiichi; Sakane, Masao; Ohnami, Masateru

1986-01-01

Experimental study was made on the damage evaluation and estimation of remaining life of SUS 304 stainless steel in creep, low-cycle fatigue and creep-fatigue at 873 K in air. Creep, fatigue and creep-fatigue damage curves were drawn by the method proposed by D.A. Woodford and the relations between these damages and non-destructive parameters, i.e., microvickers hardness and quantities obtained from X-ray diffraction, were discussed. From these tests, the following conclusions were obtained. (1) Constant damage lines in the diagram of remaining lives in creep and fatigue could be drawn by changing load levels during the tests. Constant damage lines in creep-fatigue were also made by a linear damage rule using both static creep and fatigue damage curves, which agree well with the experimental data in creep-fatigue. (2) Microvickers hardness and half-value breadth in X-ray diffraction are appropriate parameters to evaluate creep damage but are not proper to evaluate fatigue damage. Particle size and microstrain obtained by X-ray profile analysis are good parameters to evaluate both creep and fatigue damages. (author)

Test systems in drug discovery for hazard identification and risk assessment of human drug-induced liver injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Weaver, Richard J; Betts, Catherine; Blomme, Eric A G; Gerets, Helga H J; Gjervig Jensen, Klaus; Hewitt, Philip G; Juhila, Satu; Labbe, Gilles; Liguori, Michael J; Mesens, Natalie; Ogese, Monday O; Persson, Mikael; Snoeys, Jan; Stevens, James L; Walker, Tracy; Park, B Kevin

2017-07-01

The liver is an important target for drug-induced toxicities. Early detection of hepatotoxic drugs requires use of well-characterized test systems, yet current knowledge, gaps and limitations of tests employed remains an important issue for drug development. Areas Covered: The current state of the science, understanding and application of test systems in use for the detection of drug-induced cytotoxicity, mitochondrial toxicity, cholestasis and inflammation is summarized. The test systems highlighted herein cover mostly in vitro and some in vivo models and endpoint measurements used in the assessment of small molecule toxic liabilities. Opportunities for research efforts in areas necessitating the development of specific tests and improved mechanistic understanding are highlighted. Expert Opinion: Use of in vitro test systems for safety optimization will remain a core activity in drug discovery. Substantial inroads have been made with a number of assays established for human Drug-induced Liver Injury. There nevertheless remain significant gaps with a need for improved in vitro tools and novel tests to address specific mechanisms of human Drug-Induced Liver Injury. Progress in these areas will necessitate not only models fit for application, but also mechanistic understanding of how chemical insult on the liver occurs in order to identify translational and quantifiable readouts for decision-making.

Standard test methods for rockwell hardness of metallic materials

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2008-01-01

1.1 These test methods cover the determination of the Rockwell hardness and the Rockwell superficial hardness of metallic materials by the Rockwell indentation hardness principle. This standard provides the requirements for Rockwell hardness machines and the procedures for performing Rockwell hardness tests. 1.2 This standard includes additional requirements in annexes: Verification of Rockwell Hardness Testing Machines Annex A1 Rockwell Hardness Standardizing Machines Annex A2 Standardization of Rockwell Indenters Annex A3 Standardization of Rockwell Hardness Test Blocks Annex A4 Guidelines for Determining the Minimum Thickness of a Test Piece Annex A5 Hardness Value Corrections When Testing on Convex Cylindrical Surfaces Annex A6 1.3 This standard includes nonmandatory information in appendixes which relates to the Rockwell hardness test. List of ASTM Standards Giving Hardness Values Corresponding to Tensile Strength Appendix X1 Examples of Procedures for Determining Rockwell Hardness Uncertainty Appendix X...

Standard test methods for rockwell hardness of metallic materials

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2011-01-01

1.1 These test methods cover the determination of the Rockwell hardness and the Rockwell superficial hardness of metallic materials by the Rockwell indentation hardness principle. This standard provides the requirements for Rockwell hardness machines and the procedures for performing Rockwell hardness tests. 1.2 This standard includes additional requirements in annexes: Verification of Rockwell Hardness Testing Machines Annex A1 Rockwell Hardness Standardizing Machines Annex A2 Standardization of Rockwell Indenters Annex A3 Standardization of Rockwell Hardness Test Blocks Annex A4 Guidelines for Determining the Minimum Thickness of a Test Piece Annex A5 Hardness Value Corrections When Testing on Convex Cylindrical Surfaces Annex A6 1.3 This standard includes nonmandatory information in appendixes which relates to the Rockwell hardness test. List of ASTM Standards Giving Hardness Values Corresponding to Tensile Strength Appendix X1 Examples of Procedures for Determining Rockwell Hardness Uncertainty Appendix X...

Oral manifestations of drug abuse disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nursyamsi Nursyamsi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Narcotics is a highly addictive drug that acts as a stimulant or depresant for the central nervous system. The prevalence of various diseases found to be higher in the group of drug users then those who not use drugs such as endocarditis, hepatitis and HIV. Further evidence that the drug effects the oral health which includes the effect of the hard tissues by increased incidence of caries and periodontitis and the effect of the soft tissues in the form of leukoplakia and oral mucosal fibrosis, reduced production, especially the parotid salivary glands in amphetamine and cannabis users. In addition to the drug is a predisposing of oral infections such as candidiasis and gingivitis. Reduced volume of saliva on abusers may result in reduced immune function of saliva in maintaining oral health. Consequently the drug abusers increased number of bacteria and fungi in the oral cavity, including anaerobic bacteria and Candida albicans, especially in cases of abuse of cannabis. Gingival plaque formation and the growing colonies of anaerobic bacteria may increase the occurrence of gingivitis in the drug abusers. Lack of awareness of drug abusers in oral hygiene causing the gingivitis develops into periodontitis followed by alveolar bone loss.

Thermal spray coatings replace hard chrome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroeder, M.; Unger, R.

1997-01-01

Hard chrome plating provides good wear and erosion resistance, as well as good corrosion protection and fine surface finishes. Until a few years ago, it could also be applied at a reasonable cost. However, because of the many environmental and financial sanctions that have been imposed on the process over the past several years, cost has been on a consistent upward trend, and is projected to continue to escalate. Therefore, it is very important to find a coating or a process that offers the same characteristics as hard chrome plating, but without the consequent risks. This article lists the benefits and limitations of hard chrome plating, and describes the performance of two thermal spray coatings (tungsten carbide and chromium carbide) that compared favorably with hard chrome plating in a series of tests. It also lists three criteria to determine whether plasma spray or hard chrome plating should be selected

Drug-drug interactions involving lysosomes: mechanisms and potential clinical implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, Randall; Funk, Ryan S; Axcell, Erick; Krise, Jeffrey P

2012-08-01

Many commercially available, weakly basic drugs have been shown to be lysosomotropic, meaning they are subject to extensive sequestration in lysosomes through an ion trapping-type mechanism. The extent of lysosomal trapping of a drug is an important therapeutic consideration because it can influence both activity and pharmacokinetic disposition. The administration of certain drugs can alter lysosomes such that their accumulation capacity for co-administered and/or secondarily administered drugs is altered. In this review the authors explore what is known regarding the mechanistic basis for drug-drug interactions involving lysosomes. Specifically, the authors address the influence of drugs on lysosomal pH, volume and lipid processing. Many drugs are known to extensively accumulate in lysosomes and significantly alter their structure and function; however, the therapeutic and toxicological implications of this remain controversial. The authors propose that drug-drug interactions involving lysosomes represent an important potential source of variability in drug activity and pharmacokinetics. Most evaluations of drug-drug interactions involving lysosomes have been performed in cultured cells and isolated tissues. More comprehensive in vivo evaluations are needed to fully explore the impact of this drug-drug interaction pathway on therapeutic outcomes.

Structure, production and properties of high-melting compounds and systems (hard materials and hard metals)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holleck, H.; Thuemmler, F.

1979-07-01

The report contains contributions by various authors to the research project on the production, structure, and physical properties of high-melting compounds and systems (hard metals and hard materials), in particular WC-, TaC-, and MoC-base materials. (GSCH) [de

Effects of gender discrimination and reported stress on drug use among racially/ethnically diverse women in Northern California.

Science.gov (United States)

Ro, Annie; Choi, Kyung-Hee

2010-01-01

Gender discrimination has been associated with worse health outcomes for U.S. women. Using the stress and coping process framework, we examined whether lifetime gender discrimination was associated with maladaptive coping behaviors, namely, lifetime and recent hard drug use. We also considered whether reported stress from gender discrimination mediated this relationship and whether this process differed across racial/ethnic groups. We used data from a racially/ethnically diverse convenience sample of 754 women attending family planning clinics in Northern California (11% African American, 17% Latina, 10% Asian, and 62% Caucasian). To test our hypotheses, we conducted logistic regression models, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Gender discrimination was positively associated with both lifetime and recent hard drug use. We did not find support for the mediation hypothesis, because stress was not associated with either lifetime or recent hard drug use. There was evidence of some race moderation for the Latina sample. Among these respondents, gender discrimination was associated with higher odds of lifetime drug use, whereas stress was associated with lower odds. These results suggest that experiences of gender discrimination may still activate negative coping strategies involving drug use, regardless of the stress they cause. For Latina respondents, more research is needed to better understand the stress and coping process related to gender discrimination. Copyright 2010 Jacobs Institute of Women

Quantitative 3D imaging of yeast by hard X-ray tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Ting; Li, Wenjie; Guan, Yong; Song, Xiangxia; Xiong, Ying; Liu, Gang; Tian, Yangchao

2012-05-01

Full-field hard X-ray tomography could be used to obtain three-dimensional (3D) nanoscale structures of biological samples. The image of the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, was clearly visualized based on Zernike phase contrast imaging technique and heavy metal staining method at a spatial resolution better than 50 nm at the energy of 8 keV. The distributions and shapes of the organelles during the cell cycle were clearly visualized and two types of organelle were distinguished. The results for cells during various phases were compared and the ratios of organelle volume to cell volume can be analyzed quantitatively. It showed that the ratios remained constant between growth and division phase and increased strongly in stationary phase, following the shape and size of two types of organelles changes. Our results demonstrated that hard X-ray microscopy was a complementary method for imaging and revealing structural information for biological samples. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Review of Educational Practices for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Students with Comorbid Autism

Science.gov (United States)

Borders, Christina M.; Jones Bock, Stacey; Probst, Kristi M.

2016-01-01

The population of students who are deaf/hard of hearing (D/HH) that have additional disabilities remains at over 40 per cent. One population of particular concern is the group of D/HH students with a comorbid diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The prevalence of ASD in the D/HH population is 1 in 59 (Szymanski et al., 2012. "Deaf…

Analysis of banned veterinary drugs and herbicide residues in shellfish by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Geng-Ruei; Chen, Hui-Shan; Lin, Feng-Yi

2016-01-01

Seafood safety is a crucial public health concern for consumers. In this study, we applied a validated method to analyze the residue of banned veterinary drugs in shellfish, namely chloramphenicol, malachite green, leucomalachite green, and nitrofuran metabolites; additionally, the QuEChERS method was employed to detect 76 herbicides by LC/MS/MS and GC/MS/MS. In total, 42 shellfish samples, which included hard clams, freshwater clams, and oysters, were collected from aquafarms and production areas in Taiwan during 2012. Our results revealed 3.8 ng/g of chloramphenicol in one hard clam, 19.9–32.1 ng/g of ametryn in two hard clams, 16.1–60.1 ng/g of pendimethalin in four hard clams, and 17.0 ng/g of mefenacet in one oyster, indicating that 19.1% of the samples contained residues from banned veterinary drugs and pesticides. These data can be used to monitor the residue of veterinary drugs and pesticides in aquatic organisms and as a reference for food safety. - Highlights: • A certified method was employed for analyzing residues of banned veterinary drugs and herbicides in shellfish samples. • The trace levels of chloramphenicol, ametryn, pendimethalin were detected in hard clam samples. • For ensuring food safety, continual monitoring of aquatic products is necessary.

Necrotizing Sialometaplasia of the Hard Palate in a Patient Treated with Topical Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug

OpenAIRE

Alessandro Gatti; Emanuele Broccardo; Giuseppe Poglio; Arnaldo Benech

2016-01-01

Necrotizing sialometaplasia is a rare, benign, self-limiting, necrotizing process involving the minor salivary glands, mainly the mucoserous glands of the hard palate. It is thought to be the result of an ischemic event of the vasculature supplying the salivary gland lobules. Some predisposing factors such as smoking, use of alcohol, denture wearing, recent surgery, traumatic injuries, respiratory infections, systemic diseases bulimia, and anorexia have been described. Herein we present a cas...

Hard-hard coupling assisted anomalous magnetoresistance effect in amine-ended single-molecule magnetic junction

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Y.-H.; Lin, C.-J.; Chiang, K.-R.

2017-06-01

We proposed a single-molecule magnetic junction (SMMJ), composed of a dissociated amine-ended benzene sandwiched between two Co tip-like nanowires. To better simulate the break junction technique for real SMMJs, the first-principles calculation associated with the hard-hard coupling between a amine-linker and Co tip-atom is carried out for SMMJs with mechanical strain and under an external bias. We predict an anomalous magnetoresistance (MR) effect, including strain-induced sign reversal and bias-induced enhancement of the MR value, which is in sharp contrast to the normal MR effect in conventional magnetic tunnel junctions. The underlying mechanism is the interplay between four spin-polarized currents in parallel and anti-parallel magnetic configurations, originated from the pronounced spin-up transmission feature in the parallel case and spiky transmission peaks in other three spin-polarized channels. These intriguing findings may open a new arena in which magnetotransport and hard-hard coupling are closely coupled in SMMJs and can be dually controlled either via mechanical strain or by an external bias.

Melting of polydisperse hard disks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pronk, S.; Frenkel, D.

2004-01-01

The melting of a polydisperse hard-disk system is investigated by Monte Carlo simulations in the semigrand canonical ensemble. This is done in the context of possible continuous melting by a dislocation-unbinding mechanism, as an extension of the two-dimensional hard-disk melting problem. We find

Drug resistance in leishmaniasis: current drug-delivery systems and future perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Yasinzai, Masoom; Khan, Momin; Nadhman, Akhtar; Shahnaz, Gul

2013-10-01

Leishmaniasis is a complex of diseases with numerous clinical manifestations for instance harshness from skin lesions to severe disfigurement and chronic systemic infection in the liver and spleen. So far, the most classical leishmaniasis therapy, despite its documented toxicities, remains pentavalent antimonial compounds. The arvailable therapeutic modalities for leishmaniasis are overwhelmed with resistance to leishmaniasis therapy. Mechanisms of classical drug resistance are often related with the lower drug uptake, increased efflux, the faster drug metabolism, drug target modifications and over-expression of drug transporters. The high prevalence of leishmaniasis and the appearance of resistance to classical drugs reveal the demand to develop and explore novel, less toxic, low cost and more promising therapeutic modalities. The review describes the mechanisms of classical drug resistance and potential drug targets in Leishmania infection. Moreover, current drug-delivery systems and future perspectives towards Leishmaniasis treatment are also covered.

In-situ structural investigations of ferroelasticity in soft and hard rhombohedral and tetragonal PZT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morozov, Maxim I., E-mail: maximm@alumni.ntnu.no; Einarsrud, Mari-Ann; Tolchard, Julian R.; Grande, Tor [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim (Norway); Geiger, Philipp T.; Webber, Kyle G. [Department of Materials Science, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91058 Erlangen (Germany); Damjanovic, Dragan [Ceramics Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne-EPFL, 1015 Lausanne (Switzerland)

2015-10-28

Despite the technological importance of hard and soft PZT, Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3}, ceramics, the mechanisms of ferroelectric hardening and softening remain widely discussed in the literature. The hardening and softening phenomena have traditionally been investigated in relation with dielectric manifestations such as aging of the dielectric susceptibility and constriction of the polarization-electric field hysteresis loop. Here, we present a systematic investigation of the ferroelectric and ferroelastic properties of soft and hard PZT in both the tetragonal and rhombohedral phases. A particular focus has been devoted to ferroelastic domain switching by characterizing the macroscopic mechanical constitutive behavior and in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction during compression. It is demonstrated that variation of the ordering state of point defects in PZT ceramics affects the switching behavior of both ferroelectric and ferroelastic domains under mechanical or electrical fields. Softening of the mechanical and electrical properties of originally hard PZT ceramics was conferred by quenching the materials from above the Curie temperature. The present findings are discussed with respect to the current understanding of hardening-softening transitions in ferroelectric materials.

Mechanism and kinetics of the loss of poorly soluble drugs from liposomal carriers studied by a novel flow field-flow fractionation-based drug release-/transfer-assay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hinna, Askell Hvid; Hupfeld, Stefan; Kuntsche, Judith

2016-01-01

Liposomes represent a versatile drug formulation approach e.g. for improving the water-solubility of poorly soluble drugs but also to achieve drug targeting and controlled release. For the latter applications it is essential that the drug remains associated with the liposomal carrier during transit...... in the vascular bed. A range of in vitro test methods has been suggested over the years for prediction of the release of drug from liposomal carriers. The majority of these fail to give a realistic prediction for poorly water-soluble drugs due to the intrinsic tendency of such compounds to remain associated...... the amount of drug remaining associated with the liposomal drug carrier as well as that transferred to the acceptor liposomes at distinct times of incubation, boththe kinetics of drug transfer and release to the water phase could be established for the model drug p-THPP (5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-hydroxyphenyl...

Advances in hard nucleus cataract surgery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Cui

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Security and perfect vision and fewer complications are our goals in cataract surgery, and hard-nucleus cataract surgery is always a difficulty one. Many new studies indicate that micro-incision phacoemulsification in treating hard nucleus cataract is obviously effective. This article reviews the evolution process of hard nuclear cataract surgery, the new progress in the research of artificial intraocular lens for microincision, and analyse advantages and disadvantages of various surgical methods.

Evolution of drug resistance in HIV infected patients remaining on a virologically failing cART regimen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cozzi-Lepri, A; Phillips, AN; Ruiz, L

2007-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the extent of drug resistance accumulation in patients kept on a virologically failing regimen and its determinants in the clinical setting. DESIGN: The study focused on 110 patients of EuroSIDA on an unchanged regimen who had two genotypic tests performed at two time points...

In Situ Loading of Drugs into Mesoporous Silica SBA-15.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Mi Mi; Li, Yan Yan; Yang, Tian; Zhang, Tao; Sun, Xiao Dan; Zhu, Jian Hua

2016-04-25

In a new strategy for loading drugs into mesoporous silica, a hydrophilic (heparin) or hydrophobic drug (ibuprofen) is encapsulated directly in a one-pot synthesis by evaporation-induced self-assembly. In situ drug loading significantly cuts down the preparation time and dramatically increases the loaded amount and released fraction of the drug, and appropriate drug additives favor a mesoporous structure of the vessels. Drug loading was verified by FTIR spectroscopy and release tests, which revealed much longer release with a larger amount of heparin or ibuprofen compared to postloaded SBA-15. Besides, the in vitro anticoagulation properties of the released heparin and the biocompatibility of the vessels were carefully assessed, including activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, hemolysis, platelet adhesion experiments, and the morphologies of red blood cells. A concept of new drug-release agents with soft core and hard shell is proposed and offers guidance for the design of novel drug-delivery systems. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Motivations for Prescription Drug Misuse among Young Adults: Considering Social and Developmental Contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

LeClair, Amy; Kelly, Brian C; Pawson, Mark; Wells, Brooke E; Parsons, Jeffrey T

As part of a larger study on prescription drug misuse among young adults active in urban nightlife scenes, we examined participants' motivations for misuse. Prescription painkillers, stimulants and sedatives were the primary substances of interest. Participants were recruited from nightlife venues in New York using time-space sampling. Subjects completed a mixed-methods assessment at project research offices. The data presented here are from a subsample of 70 qualitative interviews conducted during the baseline assessment. We identified experimentation and a "work hard, play hard" ethos as key motivations for misusing prescription drugs and argue that these motivations are specific, though not necessarily unique, to the participants' social location as young adults. These findings highlight the role of life stage and social context in the misuse of prescription drugs. Future studies of prescription drug misuse should pay attention to the larger social contexts in which users are embedded and, therefore, make decisions about how and why to misuse. Moving beyond the very broad concepts of "recreation" and "self-medication" presently established in the research, policies targeting young adults may want to tailor intervention efforts based on motivations.

Predictive typing of drug-induced neurological sufferings from studies of the distribution of labelled drugs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takasu, T.

1980-01-01

A drug given to an animal becomes widely distributed throughout the body, acting on the living mechanisms or structures, and is gradually excreted. Some drugs can remain in some parts of the body for a long period. For example, 14 C-chloramphenical was found to remain preferentially in the salivary gland, liver and bone marrow of mice 24 hours after its oral administration. If such a drug is given repeatedly, it could possibly accumulate gradually in these organs. Thus, when its accumulation in a particular part of the body exceeds a certain level, the living mechanism or structure may possibly be injured. The harmful effects of a drug in repeated administration are called its chronic toxicity. The author discusses whether it is possible to predict the toxicity of a drug by studying its distribution in relation to time, and, if possible, the points in time. This problem is studied especially in relation to the nervous system. (Auth.)

Effects of delayed finishing/polishing on surface roughness, hardness and gloss of tooth-coloured restorative materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Yazici, A Ruya; Tuncer, Duygu; Antonson, Sibel; Onen, Alev; Kilinc, Evren

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of delayed finishing/polishing on the surface roughness, hardness and gloss of tooth-coloured restorative materials. Four different tooth-coloured restoratives: a flowable resin composite- Tetric Flow, a hybrid resin composite- Venus, a nanohybrid resin composite- Grandio, and a polyacid modified resin composite- Dyract Extra were used. 30 specimens were made for each material and randomly assigned into three groups. The first group was finished/polished immediately and the second group was finished/polished after 24 hours. The remaining 10 specimens served as control. The surface roughness of each sample was recorded using a laser profilometer. Gloss measurements were performed using a small-area glossmeter. Vickers microhardness measurements were performed from three locations on each specimen surface under 100g load and 10s dwell time. Data for surface roughness and hardness were analyzed by Kruskal Wallis test and data for gloss were subjected to one-way ANOVA and Tukey test (P gloss values were recorded under Mylar strip for all materials. While delayed finishing/polishing resulted in a significantly higher gloss compared to immediate finishing/polishing in Venus samples (P .05). The lowest hardness values were found under Mylar strip. Delayed finishing/polishing significantly increased the hardness of all materials. The effect of delayed finishing/polishing on surface roughness, gloss and hardness appears to be material dependent.

SMART drug delivery systems: Back to the future vs. clinical reality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lammers, Twan Gerardus Gertudis Maria

2013-01-01

Recent advances in nanotechnology and material science have re-ignited interest in drug delivery research. Arguably, however, hardly any of the systems developed and strategies proposed are really relevant for shaping the future (clinical) face of the nanomedicine field. Consequently, as outlined in

Is there an association between seeing incidents of alcohol or drug use in films and young Scottish adults' own alcohol or drug use? A cross sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, Kate; Sweeting, Helen; Sargent, James; Lewars, Heather; Young, Robert; West, Patrick

2011-04-23

As the promotion of alcohol and tobacco to young people through direct advertising has become increasingly restricted, there has been greater interest in whether images of certain behaviours in films are associated with uptake of those behaviours in young people. Associations have been reported between exposure to smoking images in films and smoking initiation, and between exposure to film alcohol images and initiation of alcohol consumption, in younger adolescents in the USA and Germany. To date no studies have reported on film images of recreational drug use and young people's own drug use. Cross sectional multivariable logistic regression analysis of data collected at age 19 (2002-4) from a cohort of young people (502 boys, 500 girls) previously surveyed at ages 11 (in 1994-5), 13 and 15 in schools in the West of Scotland. Outcome measures at age 19 were: exceeding the 'sensible drinking' guidelines ('heavy drinkers') and binge drinking (based on alcohol consumption reported in last week), and ever use of cannabis and of 'hard' drugs. The principle predictor variables were an estimate of exposure to images of alcohol, and of drug use, in films, controlling for factors related to the uptake of substance use in young people. A third of these young adults (33%) were classed as 'heavy drinkers' and half (47%) as 'binge drinkers' on the basis of their previous week's consumption. Over half (56%) reported ever use of cannabis and 13% ever use of one or more of the 'hard' drugs listed. There were linear trends in the percentage of heavy drinkers (p = .018) and binge drinkers (p = 0.012) by film alcohol exposure quartiles, and for ever use of cannabis by film drug exposure (p = .000), and for ever use of 'hard' drugs (p = .033). The odds ratios for heavy drinking (1.56, 95% CI 1.06-2.29 comparing highest with lowest quartile of film alcohol exposure) and binge drinking (1.59, 95% CI 1.10-2.30) were attenuated by adjustment for gender, social class, family background

Role of drug transporters and drug accumulation in the temporal acquisition of drug resistance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hembruff, Stacey L; Laberge, Monique L; Villeneuve, David J; Guo, Baoqing; Veitch, Zachary; Cecchetto, Melanie; Parissenti, Amadeo M

2008-01-01

Anthracyclines and taxanes are commonly used in the treatment of breast cancer. However, tumor resistance to these drugs often develops, possibly due to overexpression of drug transporters. It remains unclear whether drug resistance in vitro occurs at clinically relevant doses of chemotherapy drugs and whether both the onset and magnitude of drug resistance can be temporally and causally correlated with the enhanced expression and activity of specific drug transporters. To address these issues, MCF-7 cells were selected for survival in increasing concentrations of doxorubicin (MCF-7 DOX-2 ), epirubicin (MCF-7 EPI ), paclitaxel (MCF-7 TAX-2 ), or docetaxel (MCF-7 TXT ). During selection cells were assessed for drug sensitivity, drug uptake, and the expression of various drug transporters. In all cases, resistance was only achieved when selection reached a specific threshold dose, which was well within the clinical range. A reduction in drug uptake was temporally correlated with the acquisition of drug resistance for all cell lines, but further increases in drug resistance at doses above threshold were unrelated to changes in cellular drug uptake. Elevated expression of one or more drug transporters was seen at or above the threshold dose, but the identity, number, and temporal pattern of drug transporter induction varied with the drug used as selection agent. The pan drug transporter inhibitor cyclosporin A was able to partially or completely restore drug accumulation in the drug-resistant cell lines, but had only partial to no effect on drug sensitivity. The inability of cyclosporin A to restore drug sensitivity suggests the presence of additional mechanisms of drug resistance. This study indicates that drug resistance is achieved in breast tumour cells only upon exposure to concentrations of drug at or above a specific selection dose. While changes in drug accumulation and the expression of drug transporters does occur at the threshold dose, the magnitude of

Initiative hard coal; Initiative Steinkohle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leonhardt, J.

2007-08-02

In order to decrease the import dependence of hard coal in the European Union, the author has submitted suggestions to the director of conventional sources of energy (directorate general for energy and transport) of the European community, which found a positive resonance. These suggestions are summarized in an elaboration 'Initiative Hard Coal'. After clarifying the starting situation and defining the target the presupposition for a better use of hard coal deposits as raw material in the European Union are pointed out. On that basis concrete suggestions for measures are made. Apart from the conditions of the deposits it concerns thereby also new mining techniques and mining-economical developments, connected with tasks for the mining-machine industry. (orig.)

Hard diffraction and rapidity gaps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandt, A.

1995-09-01

The field of hard diffraction, which studies events with a rapidity gap and a hard scattering, has expanded dramatically recently. A review of new results from CDF, D OE, H1 and ZEUS will be given. These results include diffractive jet production, deep-inelastic scattering in large rapidity gap events, rapidity gaps between high transverse energy jets, and a search for diffractive W-boson production. The combination of these results gives new insight into the exchanged object, believed to be the pomeron. The results axe consistent with factorization and with a hard pomeron that contains both quarks and gluons. There is also evidence for the exchange of a strongly interacting color singlet in high momentum transfer (36 2 ) events

Genetic analysis of kernel texture (grain hardness) in a hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) bi-parental population

Science.gov (United States)

Grain hardness is a very important trait in determining wheat market class and also influences milling and baking traits. At the grain Hardness (Ha) locus on chromosome 5DS, there are two primary mutations responsible for conveying a harder kernel texture among U.S. hard red spring wheats: (1) the P...

Models of Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment for Consideration When Working with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Guthmann, Debra

This paper discusses several models for treating chemical dependency in individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. It begins by describing the 12-step model, a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to the treatment of addiction which is abstinence oriented and based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous. This model includes group…

Phase stability, physical properties of rhenium diboride under high pressure and the effect of metallic bonding on its hardness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhong, Ming-Min; Kuang, Xiao-Yu; Wang, Zhen-Hua; Shao, Peng; Ding, Li-Ping; Huang, Xiao-Fen

2013-01-01

Highlights: •The transition pressure P t between the ReB 2 –ReB 2 and MoB 2 –ReB 2 phases is firstly determinate. •The single-bonded B–B feather remains in ReB 2 compounds. •A semiempirical method to evaluate the hardness of crystals with partial metallic bond is presented. •The large hardness (39.1 GPa) of ReB 2 –ReB 2 indicate that it is a superhard material. •The zigzag interconnected B–Re and B–B covalent bonds underlie the ultraincompressibilities. -- Abstract: Using first-principles calculations, the elastic constants, thermodynamic property and structural phase transition of rhenium diboride under pressure are investigated by means of the pseudopotential plane-waves method, as well as the effect of metallic bond on its hardness. Eight candidate structures of known transition-metal compounds are chosen to probe for rhenium diboride ReB 2 . The calculated lattice parameters are consistent with the experimental and theoretical values. Based on the third order Birch–Murnaghan equation of states, the transition pressure P t between the ReB 2 –ReB 2 and MoB 2 –ReB 2 phases is firstly determinate. Elastic constants, shear modulus, Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio and Debye temperature are derived. The single-bonded B–B feather remains in ReB 2 compounds. Furthermore, according to Mulliken overlap population analysis, a semiempirical method to evaluate the hardness of multicomponent crystals with partial metallic bond is presented. Both strong covalency and a zigzag topology of interconnected bonds underlie the ultraincompressibilities. In addition, the superior performance and large hardness (39.1 GPa) of ReB 2 –ReB 2 indicate that it is a superhard material

Impact of aging on radiation hardness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaneyfelt, M.R.; Winokur, P.S.; Fleetwood, D.M.

1997-01-01

Burn-in effects are used to demonstrate the potential impact of thermally activated aging effects on functional and parametric radiation hardness. These results have implications on hardness assurance testing. Techniques for characterizing aging effects are proposed

Isotropic-nematic transition in a mixture of hard spheres and hard spherocylinders: scaled particle theory description

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.F. Holovko

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The scaled particle theory is developed for the description of thermodynamical properties of a mixture of hard spheres and hard spherocylinders. Analytical expressions for free energy, pressure and chemical potentials are derived. From the minimization of free energy, a nonlinear integral equation for the orientational singlet distribution function is formulated. An isotropic-nematic phase transition in this mixture is investigated from the bifurcation analysis of this equation. It is shown that with an increase of concentration of hard spheres, the total packing fraction of a mixture on phase boundaries slightly increases. The obtained results are compared with computer simulations data.

Happiness reigns in the drug marketplace.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuller, K

1997-01-01

Drug companies have changed their tactics of marketing anti-HIV agents; they are advertising in magazines designed for the lay public, such as GQ, Esquire, and Details. Such campaigns give the impression of AIDS as a manageable disease with treatments that can be lived with. This information is very useful, but some may be hard for many people to evaluate. Increased awareness of the products is good, however, excessive brand name recognition may be a disadvantage--the choice of drugs should be made by active dialogue between the physician and the patient. On a slightly different note, The Health Connection has been warned against overplaying data on the French company Arkopharma's product SPV-30, an extract of the European boxwood tree. When the labeling for SPV-30 made claims that it changes CD4 and viral load values, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that the activity changed SPV-30's status from a dietary supplement to a drug. The results from a French trial of SPV-30 are expected this summer.

Hard and soft acids and bases: atoms and atomic ions.

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, James L

2008-07-07

The structural origin of hard-soft behavior in atomic acids and bases has been explored using a simple orbital model. The Pearson principle of hard and soft acids and bases has been taken to be the defining statement about hard-soft behavior and as a definition of chemical hardness. There are a number of conditions that are imposed on any candidate structure and associated property by the Pearson principle, which have been exploited. The Pearson principle itself has been used to generate a thermodynamically based scale of relative hardness and softness for acids and bases (operational chemical hardness), and a modified Slater model has been used to discern the electronic origin of hard-soft behavior. Whereas chemical hardness is a chemical property of an acid or base and the operational chemical hardness is an experimental measure of it, the absolute hardness is a physical property of an atom or molecule. A critical examination of chemical hardness, which has been based on a more rigorous application of the Pearson principle and the availability of quantitative measures of chemical hardness, suggests that the origin of hard-soft behavior for both acids and bases resides in the relaxation of the electrons not undergoing transfer during the acid-base interaction. Furthermore, the results suggest that the absolute hardness should not be taken as synonymous with chemical hardness but that the relationship is somewhat more complex. Finally, this work provides additional groundwork for a better understanding of chemical hardness that will inform the understanding of hardness in molecules.

Hard Copy Market Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Testan, Peter R.

1987-04-01

A number of Color Hard Copy (CHC) market drivers are currently indicating strong growth in the use of CHC technologies for the business graphics marketplace. These market drivers relate to product, software, color monitors and color copiers. The use of color in business graphics allows more information to be relayed than is normally the case in a monochrome format. The communicative powers of full-color computer generated output in the business graphics application area will continue to induce end users to desire and require color in their future applications. A number of color hard copy technologies will be utilized in the presentation graphics arena. Thermal transfer, ink jet, photographic and electrophotographic technologies are all expected to be utilized in the business graphics presentation application area in the future. Since the end of 1984, the availability of color application software packages has grown significantly. Sales revenue generated by business graphics software is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of just over 40 percent to 1990. Increased availability of packages to allow the integration of text and graphics is expected. Currently, the latest versions of page description languages such as Postscript, Interpress and DDL all support color output. The use of color monitors will also drive the demand for color hard copy in the business graphics market place. The availability of higher resolution screens is allowing color monitors to be easily used for both text and graphics applications in the office environment. During 1987, the sales of color monitors are expected to surpass the sales of monochrome monitors. Another major color hard copy market driver will be the color copier. In order to take advantage of the communications power of computer generated color output, multiple copies are required for distribution. Product introductions of a new generation of color copiers is now underway with additional introductions expected

Hard coatings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dan, J.P.; Boving, H.J.; Hintermann, H.E.

1993-01-01

Hard, wear resistant and low friction coatings are presently produced on a world-wide basis, by different processes such as electrochemical or electroless methods, spray technologies, thermochemical, CVD and PVD. Some of the most advanced processes, especially those dedicated to thin film depositions, basically belong to CVD or PVD technologies, and will be looked at in more detail. The hard coatings mainly consist of oxides, nitrides, carbides, borides or carbon. Over the years, many processes have been developed which are variations and/or combinations of the basic CVD and PVD methods. The main difference between these two families of deposition techniques is that the CVD is an elevated temperature process (≥ 700 C), while the PVD on the contrary, is rather a low temperature process (≤ 500 C); this of course influences the choice of substrates and properties of the coating/substrate systems. Fundamental aspects of the vapor phase deposition techniques and some of their influences on coating properties will be discussed, as well as the very important interactions between deposit and substrate: diffusions, internal stress, etc. Advantages and limitations of CVD and PVD respectively will briefly be reviewed and examples of applications of the layers will be given. Parallel to the development and permanent updating of surface modification technologies, an effort was made to create novel characterisation methods. A close look will be given to the coating adherence control by means of the scratch test, at the coating hardness measurement by means of nanoindentation, at the coating wear resistance by means of a pin-on-disc tribometer, and at the surface quality evaluation by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Finally, main important trends will be highlighted. (orig.)

The 2009 Analysis of Information Remaining on Disks Offered for Sale on the Second Hand Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andy Jones

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The ever increasing use and reliance upon computers in both the public and private sector has led to enormous numbers of computers being disposed of at the end of their useful life within an organisation. As the cost of computers has dropped, their use in the home has also continued to increase. In most organisations, computers have a relatively short life and are replaced on a regular basis with the result that, if not properly cleansed of data, they are released into the public domain containing data that can be relatively up to date. This problem is exacerbated by the increasing popularity and use of smart phones, which also contain significant storage capacity. From the results of the research it remains clear that the majority of organisations and private individuals that are using these computers still remain ignorant or misinformed of the potential volume and type of information that is stored on the hard disks contained within these systems. The evidence of the research is that neither organisations nor individuals have considered, or are aware of, the potential impact of the information that is contained in the disks from these systems becoming available to an unintended third party.This is the fifth study in an ongoing research programme being conducted into the levels and types of information that remain on computer hard disks that have been offered for sale on the second hand market. This ongoing research series has been undertaken to gain an understanding of the level and types of information that remains on these disks, to determine the damage that could potentially be caused if the information was misused, and to determine whether there are any developing trends. The disks used have been purchased in a number of countries.The rationale for this was to determine whether there are any national or regional differences in the way that computer disks are disposed of and to compare the results for any regional or temporal trends. The

Of Remedies and Poisons: Recreational Use of Antiretroviral Drugs ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In itself, this is seen to be a barrier to adherence for many of their patients whose medication is traded to, or stolen by, drug dealers. Independent anecdotal evidence is emerging about this trade, though there has been little hard data verifying the existence of a recreational market for ARVs. While there are rumours that ...

Hard and soft acids and bases: structure and process.

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, James L

2012-07-05

Under investigation is the structure and process that gives rise to hard-soft behavior in simple anionic atomic bases. That for simple atomic bases the chemical hardness is expected to be the only extrinsic component of acid-base strength, has been substantiated in the current study. A thermochemically based operational scale of chemical hardness was used to identify the structure within anionic atomic bases that is responsible for chemical hardness. The base's responding electrons have been identified as the structure, and the relaxation that occurs during charge transfer has been identified as the process giving rise to hard-soft behavior. This is in contrast the commonly accepted explanations that attribute hard-soft behavior to varying degrees of electrostatic and covalent contributions to the acid-base interaction. The ability of the atomic ion's responding electrons to cause hard-soft behavior has been assessed by examining the correlation of the estimated relaxation energies of the responding electrons with the operational chemical hardness. It has been demonstrated that the responding electrons are able to give rise to hard-soft behavior in simple anionic bases.

Correlating particle hardness with powder compaction performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Xiaoping; Morganti, Mikayla; Hancock, Bruno C; Masterson, Victoria M

2010-10-01

Assessing particle mechanical properties of pharmaceutical materials quickly and with little material can be very important to early stages of pharmaceutical research. In this study, a wide range of pharmaceutical materials were studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation. A significant amount of particle hardness and elastic modulus data were provided. Moreover, powder compact mechanical properties of these materials were investigated in order to build correlation between the particle hardness and powder compaction performance. It was found that the materials with very low or high particle hardness most likely exhibit poor compaction performance while the materials with medium particle hardness usually have good compaction behavior. Additionally, the results from this study enriched Hiestand's special case concept on particle hardness and powder compaction performance. This study suggests that the use of AFM nanoindentation can help to screen mechanical properties of pharmaceutical materials at early development stages of pharmaceutical research.

The viscoelastic properties of the protein-rich materials from the fermented hard wheat, soft wheat and barley flours

Science.gov (United States)

The linear and non-linear rheological properties of the suspensions for the hard red spring wheat (HRS) flour, soft wheat (Pastry) flour, barley flour, as well as the remain residues of HRS flour, Pastry flour, and barley flour after fermentation were investigated. The linear and non-linear rheologi...

Methane in German hard coal mining

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martens, P.N.; Den Drijver, J.

1995-01-01

Worldwide, hard coal mining is being carried out at ever increasing depth, and has, therefore, to cope with correspondingly increasing methane emissions are caused by coal mining. Beside carbon dioxide, chloro-fluoro-carbons (CFCs) and nitrogen oxides, methane is one of the most significant 'greenhouse' gases. It is mainly through the release of such trace gases that the greenhouse effect is brought about. Reducing methane emissions is therefore an important problem to be solved by the coal mining industry. This paper begins by highlighting some of the fundamental principles of methane in hard coal mining. The methane problem in German hard coal mining and the industry's efforts to reduce methane emissions are presented. The future development in German hard coal mining is illustrated by an example which shows how large methane volumes can be managed, while still maintaining high outputs at increasing depth. (author). 7 tabs., 10 figs., 20 refs

Double hard scattering without double counting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diehl, Markus [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Gaunt, Jonathan R. [VU Univ. Amsterdam (Netherlands). NIKHEF Theory Group; Schoenwald, Kay [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany)

2017-02-15

Double parton scattering in proton-proton collisions includes kinematic regions in which two partons inside a proton originate from the perturbative splitting of a single parton. This leads to a double counting problem between single and double hard scattering. We present a solution to this problem, which allows for the definition of double parton distributions as operator matrix elements in a proton, and which can be used at higher orders in perturbation theory. We show how the evaluation of double hard scattering in this framework can provide a rough estimate for the size of the higher-order contributions to single hard scattering that are affected by double counting. In a numeric study, we identify situations in which these higher-order contributions must be explicitly calculated and included if one wants to attain an accuracy at which double hard scattering becomes relevant, and other situations where such contributions may be neglected.

Double hard scattering without double counting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diehl, Markus; Gaunt, Jonathan R.

2017-02-01

Double parton scattering in proton-proton collisions includes kinematic regions in which two partons inside a proton originate from the perturbative splitting of a single parton. This leads to a double counting problem between single and double hard scattering. We present a solution to this problem, which allows for the definition of double parton distributions as operator matrix elements in a proton, and which can be used at higher orders in perturbation theory. We show how the evaluation of double hard scattering in this framework can provide a rough estimate for the size of the higher-order contributions to single hard scattering that are affected by double counting. In a numeric study, we identify situations in which these higher-order contributions must be explicitly calculated and included if one wants to attain an accuracy at which double hard scattering becomes relevant, and other situations where such contributions may be neglected.

Altered drug metabolism during pregnancy: hormonal regulation of drug-metabolizing enzymes.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Hyunyoung

2010-06-01

Medication use during pregnancy is prevalent, but pharmacokinetic information of most drugs used during pregnancy is lacking in spite of known effects of pregnancy on drug disposition. Accurate pharmacokinetic information is essential for optimal drug therapy in mother and fetus. Thus, understanding how pregnancy influences drug disposition is important for better prediction of pharmacokinetic changes of drugs in pregnant women. Pregnancy is known to affect hepatic drug metabolism, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Physiological changes accompanying pregnancy are probably responsible for the reported alteration in drug metabolism during pregnancy. These include elevated concentrations of various hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, placental growth hormones and prolactin. This review covers how these hormones influence expression of drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs), thus potentially responsible for altered drug metabolism during pregnancy. The reader will gain a greater understanding of the altered drug metabolism in pregnant women and the regulatory effects of pregnancy hormones on expression of DMEs. In-depth studies in hormonal regulatory mechanisms as well as confirmatory studies in pregnant women are warranted for systematic understanding and prediction of the changes in hepatic drug metabolism during pregnancy.

Carbon 1s photoelectron spectroscopy of halomethanes. Effects of electronegativity, hardness, charge distribution, and relaxation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saethre, L.J.; Borve, K.J.; Thomas, T.D.; Bozek, J.D.; Huttula, M.; Kukk, E.

2004-01-01

Full text: The concept of electronegativity - the ability of an atom (or functional group) to attract electrons to itself - plays an important role in chemistry. A related concept is the hardness, which has been defined to be half the derivative of electronegativity with respect to charge. It is inversely related to polarizibility. A number of quantitative definitions of electronegativity have been given and a number of tables of electronegativity and hardness have been presented. In spite of this extensive activity the quantitative nature of both of these remains elusive. Inner-shell ionization energies reflect both the charge distribution in a molecule (and, hence, the electronegativity of its component atoms) and the polarizibility of the molecule (and, hence, the hardness of the component atoms). It is not surprising, therefore, that the core-ionization energies of a central atom correlate with the electronegativities of the substituents attached to the atom. It has been our goal to use these correlations to obtain a better insight into the nature of electronegativity and to develop a method for assigning group electronegativities on the basis of core-ionization energies. Carbon 1s ionization energies have been measured for 12 halomethanes. These together with earlier measurements provide 27 compounds for investigating the relationship between core-ionization energies and the electronegativity and hardness of the halogens. The ionization energies correlate nearly linearly with the sum of the electronegativities of the halogens attached to the central carbon. Both electronegativity and hardness play important roles in determining the ionization energy, and it is found that the linear relationship between ionization energy and electronegativity arises from an interplay of the electronegativity and hardness of the halogens and the length and ionicity of the carbon-halogen bond

First hard X-ray detection of the non-thermal emission around the Arches cluster: morphology and spectral studies with NuSTAR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krivonos, Roman A.; Tomsick, John A.; Bauer, Franz E.

2014-01-01

The Arches cluster is a young, densely packed massive star cluster in our Galaxy that shows a high level of star formation activity. The nature of the extended non-thermal X-ray emission around the cluster remains unclear. The observed bright Fe Ku line emission at 6.4 keV from material that is n......The Arches cluster is a young, densely packed massive star cluster in our Galaxy that shows a high level of star formation activity. The nature of the extended non-thermal X-ray emission around the cluster remains unclear. The observed bright Fe Ku line emission at 6.4 keV from material...... and spectrum. The spatial distribution of the hard X-ray emission is found to be consistent with the broad region around the cluster where the 6.4 keV line is observed. The interpretation of the hard X-ray emission within the context of the X-ray reflection model puts a strong constraint on the luminosity...... of the possible illuminating hard X-ray source. The properties of the observed emission are also in broad agreement with the low-energy cosmic-ray proton excitation scenario....

Hard x-ray measurements of the hot-electron rings in EBT-S

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hillis, D.L.

1982-06-01

A thorough understanding of the hot electron rings in ELMO Bumpy Torus-Scale (EBT-S) is essential to the bumpy torus concept of plasma production, since the rings provide bulk plasma stability. The hot electrons are produced via electron cyclotron resonant heating using a 28-GHz cw gyrotron, which has operated up to power levels of 200 kW. The parameters of the energetic electron rings are studied via hard x-ray measurement techniques and with diamagnetic pickup coils. The hard x-ray measurements have used collimated NaI(Tl) detectors to determine the electron temperature T/sub e/ and electron density n/sub e/ for the hot electron annulus. Typical values of T/sub e/ are 400 to 500 keV and of n/sub e/ 2 to 5 x 10 11 cm -3 . The total stored energy of a single energetic electron ring as measured by diamagnetic pickup loops approaches approx. 40 J and is in good agreement with that deduced from hard x-ray measurements. By combining the experimental measurements from hard x-rays and the diamagnetic loops, an estimate can be obtained for the volume of a single hot electron ring. The ring volume is determined to be approx. 2.2 litres, and this volume remains approximately constant over the T-mode operating regime. Finally, the power in the electrons scattered out of the ring is measured indirectly by measuring the x-ray radiation produced when those electrons strike the chamber walls. The variation of this radiation with increasing microwave power levels is found to be consistent with classical scattering estimates

THE 22 MONTH SWIFT-BAT ALL-SKY HARD X-RAY SURVEY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tueller, J.; Baumgartner, W. H.; Markwardt, C. B.; Skinner, G. K.; Mushotzky, R. F.; Barthelmy, S.; Cummings, J.; Gehrels, N.; Holland, S.; Ajello, M.; Beardmore, A.; Evans, P.; Godet, O.; Brandt, W. N.; Burrows, D.; Grupe, D.; Chincarini, G.; Campana, S.; Cusumano, G.; Fenimore, E.

2010-01-01

We present the catalog of sources detected in the first 22 months of data from the hard X-ray survey (14-195 keV) conducted with the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) coded mask imager on the Swift satellite. The catalog contains 461 sources detected above the 4.8σ level with BAT. High angular resolution X-ray data for every source from Swift-XRT or archival data have allowed associations to be made with known counterparts in other wavelength bands for over 97% of the detections, including the discovery of ∼30 galaxies previously unknown as active galactic nuclei and several new Galactic sources. A total of 266 of the sources are associated with Seyfert galaxies (median redshift z ∼ 0.03) or blazars, with the majority of the remaining sources associated with X-ray binaries in our Galaxy. This ongoing survey is the first uniform all-sky hard X-ray survey since HEAO-1 in 1977. Since the publication of the nine-month BAT survey we have increased the number of energy channels from four to eight and have substantially increased the number of sources with accurate average spectra. The BAT 22 month catalog is the product of the most sensitive all-sky survey in the hard X-ray band, with a detection sensitivity (4.8σ) of 2.2 x 10 -11 erg cm -2 s -1 (1 mCrab) over most of the sky in the 14-195 keV band.

Tactile Perception of Roughness and Hardness to Discriminate Materials by Friction-Induced Vibration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shuyang Ding

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The human fingertip is an exquisitely powerful bio-tactile sensor in perceiving different materials based on various highly-sensitive mechanoreceptors distributed all over the skin. The tactile perception of surface roughness and material hardness can be estimated by skin vibrations generated during a fingertip stroking of a surface instead of being maintained in a static position. Moreover, reciprocating sliding with increasing velocities and pressures are two common behaviors in humans to discriminate different materials, but the question remains as to what the correlation of the sliding velocity and normal load on the tactile perceptions of surface roughness and hardness is for material discrimination. In order to investigate this correlation, a finger-inspired crossed-I beam structure tactile tester has been designed to mimic the anthropic tactile discrimination behaviors. A novel method of characterizing the fast Fourier transform integral (FFT slope of the vibration acceleration signal generated from fingertip rubbing on surfaces at increasing sliding velocity and normal load, respectively, are defined as kv and kw, and is proposed to discriminate the surface roughness and hardness of different materials. Over eight types of materials were tested, and they proved the capability and advantages of this high tactile-discriminating method. Our study may find applications in investigating humanoid robot perceptual abilities.

Drug resistance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gorter, J.A.; Potschka, H.; Noebels, J.L.; Avoli, M.; Rogawski, M.A.; Olsen, R.W.; Delgado-Escueta, A.V.

2012-01-01

Drug resistance remains to be one of the major challenges in epilepsy therapy. Identification of factors that contribute to therapeutic failure is crucial for future development of novel therapeutic strategies for difficult-to-treat epilepsies. Several clinical studies have shown that high seizure

The 2007 Analysis of Information Remaining on Disks Offered for Sale on the Second Hand Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andy Jones

2008-03-01

Full Text Available All organisations, whether in the public or private sector, increasingly use computers and other devices that contain computer hard disks for the storage and processing of information relating to their business, their employees or their customers. Individual home users also increasingly use computers and other devices containing computer hard disks for the storage and processing of information relating to their private, personal affairs. It continues to be clear that the majority of organisations and individual home users still remain ignorant or misinformed of the volume and type of information that is stored on the hard disks that these devices contain and have not considered, or are unaware of, the potential impact of this information becoming available to their competitors or to people with criminal intent.This is the third study in an ongoing research effort that is being conducted into the volume and type of information that remains on computer hard disks offered for sale on the second hand market.  The purpose of the research has been to gain an understanding of the information that remains on the disk and to determine the level of damage that could, potentially be caused, if the information fell into the wrong hands.  The study examines disks that have been obtained in a number of countries to determine whether there is any detectable national or regional variance in the way that the disposal of computer disks is addressed and to compare the results for any other detectable regional or temporal trends.The first study was carried out in 2005 and was repeated in 2006 with the scope extended to include additional countries. The studies were carried out by British Telecommunications, the University of Glamorgan in the UK and Edith Cowan University in Australia. The basis of the research was to acquire a number of second hand computer disks from various sources and then determine whether they still contained information relating to a

Analysis of Hard Thin Film Coating

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Dashen

1998-01-01

MSFC is interested in developing hard thin film coating for bearings. The wearing of the bearing is an important problem for space flight engine. Hard thin film coating can drastically improve the surface of the bearing and improve the wear-endurance of the bearing. However, many fundamental problems in surface physics, plasma deposition, etc, need further research. The approach is using electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECRCVD) to deposit hard thin film an stainless steel bearing. The thin films in consideration include SiC, SiN and other materials. An ECRCVD deposition system is being assembled at MSFC.

A Bayesian evidence synthesis approach to estimate disease prevalence in hard-to-reach populations: hepatitis C in New York City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Tan

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Existing methods to estimate the prevalence of chronic hepatitis C (HCV in New York City (NYC are limited in scope and fail to assess hard-to-reach subpopulations with highest risk such as injecting drug users (IDUs. To address these limitations, we employ a Bayesian multi-parameter evidence synthesis model to systematically combine multiple sources of data, account for bias in certain data sources, and provide unbiased HCV prevalence estimates with associated uncertainty. Our approach improves on previous estimates by explicitly accounting for injecting drug use and including data from high-risk subpopulations such as the incarcerated, and is more inclusive, utilizing ten NYC data sources. In addition, we derive two new equations to allow age at first injecting drug use data for former and current IDUs to be incorporated into the Bayesian evidence synthesis, a first for this type of model. Our estimated overall HCV prevalence as of 2012 among NYC adults aged 20–59 years is 2.78% (95% CI 2.61–2.94%, which represents between 124,900 and 140,000 chronic HCV cases. These estimates suggest that HCV prevalence in NYC is higher than previously indicated from household surveys (2.2% and the surveillance system (2.37%, and that HCV transmission is increasing among young injecting adults in NYC. An ancillary benefit from our results is an estimate of current IDUs aged 20–59 in NYC: 0.58% or 27,600 individuals. Keywords: Bayesian evidence synthesis, Disease prevalence estimation, Hard-to-reach populations, Injecting drug use, hepatitis C in New York City

Subgroup report on hard x-ray microprobes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ice, G.E.; Barbee, T.; Bionta, R.; Howells, M.; Thompson, A.C.; Yun, W.

1994-01-01

The increasing availability of synchrotron x-ray sources has stimulated the development of advanced hard x-ray (E≥5 keV) microprobes. New x-ray optics have been demonstrated which show promise for achieving intense submicron hard x-ray probes. These probes will be used for extraordinary elemental detection by x-ray fluorescence/absorption and for microdiffraction to identify phase and strain. The inherent elemental and crystallographic sensitivity of an x-ray microprobe and its inherently nondestructive and penetrating nature makes the development of an advanced hard x-ray microprobe an important national goal. In this workshop state-of-the-art hard x-ray microprobe optics were described and future directions were discussed. Gene Ice, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), presented an overview of the current status of hard x-ray microprobe optics and described the use of crystal spectrometers to improve minimum detectable limits in fluorescent microprobe experiments. Al Thompson, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL), described work at the Center for X-ray Optics to develop a hard x-ray microprobe based on Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) optics. Al Thompson also showed the results of some experimental measurements with their KB optics. Malcolm Howells presented a method for bending elliptical mirrors and Troy Barbee commented on the use of graded d spacings to achieve highest efficiency in KB multilayer microfocusing. Richard Bionta, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), described the development of the first hard x-ray zone plates and future promise of so called open-quotes jelly rollclose quotes or sputter slice zone plates. Wenbing Yun, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), described characterization of jelly roll and lithographically produced zone plates and described the application of zone plates to focus extremely narrow bandwidths by nuclear resonance. This report summarizes the presentations of the workshop subgroup on hard x-ray microprobes

Analysis of the development and performance of hard disks

OpenAIRE

Novak, Davorin

2010-01-01

With the emergence of new technologies in the field of hard drives we can witness a significant increase of surface density and transfer rate of interfaces which, as a result, enables greater performance and reliability of hard disks. The reason for this are increasing needs for higher capacities and data transfer rate to or from the hard disk. This thesis presents the structure of hard drives, features, performance and reliability of hard drives and alternative data storage technologies. Par...

The paradigm shift to an “open” model in drug development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regina Au

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The rising cost of healthcare, the rising cost for drug development, the patent cliff for Big pharma, shorter patent protection, decrease reimbursement, and the recession have made it more difficult for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry to develop drugs. Due to the unsustainable amount of time and money in developing a drug that will have a significant return on investment (ROI it has become hard to sustain a robust pipeline. The industry is transforming its business model to meet these challenges. In essence a paradigm shift is occurring; the old “closed” model is giving way to a new “open” business model.

Radiation-Hard Quartz Cerenkov Calorimeters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akgun, U.; Onel, Y.

2006-01-01

New generation hadron colliders are going to reach unprecedented energies and radiation levels. Quartz has been identified as a radiation-hard material that can be used for Cerenkov calorimeters of the future experiments. We report from the radiation hardness tests performed on quartz fibers, as well as the characteristics of the quartz fiber and plate Cerenkov calorimeters that have been built, designed, and proposed for the CMS experiment

Is there an association between seeing incidents of alcohol or drug use in films and young Scottish adults' own alcohol or drug use? A cross sectional study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lewars Heather

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background As the promotion of alcohol and tobacco to young people through direct advertising has become increasingly restricted, there has been greater interest in whether images of certain behaviours in films are associated with uptake of those behaviours in young people. Associations have been reported between exposure to smoking images in films and smoking initiation, and between exposure to film alcohol images and initiation of alcohol consumption, in younger adolescents in the USA and Germany. To date no studies have reported on film images of recreational drug use and young people's own drug use. Methods Cross sectional multivariable logistic regression analysis of data collected at age 19 (2002-4 from a cohort of young people (502 boys, 500 girls previously surveyed at ages 11 (in 1994-5, 13 and 15 in schools in the West of Scotland. Outcome measures at age 19 were: exceeding the 'sensible drinking' guidelines ('heavy drinkers' and binge drinking (based on alcohol consumption reported in last week, and ever use of cannabis and of 'hard' drugs. The principle predictor variables were an estimate of exposure to images of alcohol, and of drug use, in films, controlling for factors related to the uptake of substance use in young people. Results A third of these young adults (33% were classed as 'heavy drinkers' and half (47% as 'binge drinkers' on the basis of their previous week's consumption. Over half (56% reported ever use of cannabis and 13% ever use of one or more of the 'hard' drugs listed. There were linear trends in the percentage of heavy drinkers (p = .018 and binge drinkers (p = 0.012 by film alcohol exposure quartiles, and for ever use of cannabis by film drug exposure (p = .000, and for ever use of 'hard' drugs (p = .033. The odds ratios for heavy drinking (1.56, 95% CI 1.06-2.29 comparing highest with lowest quartile of film alcohol exposure and binge drinking (1.59, 95% CI 1.10-2.30 were attenuated by adjustment for

STUDY OF MICROSTRUCTURE, HARDNESS AND WEAR PROPERTIES OF SAND CAST Cu-4Ni-6Sn BRONZE ALLOY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. ILANGOVAN

2015-04-01

Full Text Available An alloy of Cu-4Ni-6Sn was cast in the sand moulds. The cast rods were homogenized, solution heat treated and aged for different periods of time. The specimens were prepared from the rods to study the microstructure, microhardness and wear properties. It was found that the aging process increases the hardness of the alloy significantly. It was due to the change in the microstructure of the alloy. Further, spinodal decomposition and the ordering reaction take place during the aging treatment. Specific wear rate was found to decrease with the hardness of the alloy. Coefficient of friction remains constant and is not affected by the aging process.

Hard processes in hadronic interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satz, H.; Wang, X.N.

1995-01-01

Quantum chromodynamics is today accepted as the fundamental theory of strong interactions, even though most hadronic collisions lead to final states for which quantitative QCD predictions are still lacking. It therefore seems worthwhile to take stock of where we stand today and to what extent the presently available data on hard processes in hadronic collisions can be accounted for in terms of QCD. This is one reason for this work. The second reason - and in fact its original trigger - is the search for the quark-gluon plasma in high energy nuclear collisions. The hard processes to be considered here are the production of prompt photons, Drell-Yan dileptons, open charm, quarkonium states, and hard jets. For each of these, we discuss the present theoretical understanding, compare the resulting predictions to available data, and then show what behaviour it leads to at RHIC and LHC energies. All of these processes have the structure mentioned above: they contain a hard partonic interaction, calculable perturbatively, but also the non-perturbative parton distribution within a hadron. These parton distributions, however, can be studied theoretically in terms of counting rule arguments, and they can be checked independently by measurements of the parton structure functions in deep inelastic lepton-hadron scattering. The present volume is the work of Hard Probe Collaboration, a group of theorists who are interested in the problem and were willing to dedicate a considerable amount of their time and work on it. The necessary preparation, planning and coordination of the project were carried out in two workshops of two weeks' duration each, in February 1994 at CERn in Geneva andin July 1994 at LBL in Berkeley

Theory of hard diffraction and rapidity gaps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Del Duca, V.

1995-06-01

In this talk we review the models describing the hard diffractive production of jets or more generally high-mass states in presence of rapidity gaps in hadron-hadron and lepton-hadron collisions. By rapidity gaps we mean regions on the lego plot in (pseudo)-rapidity and azimuthal angle where no hadrons are produced, between the jet(s) and an elastically scattered hadron (single hard diffraction) or between two jets (double hard diffraction). (orig.)

Seismic signals hard clipping overcoming

Science.gov (United States)

Olszowa, Paula; Sokolowski, Jakub

2018-01-01

In signal processing the clipping is understand as the phenomenon of limiting the signal beyond certain threshold. It is often related to overloading of a sensor. Two particular types of clipping are being recognized: soft and hard. Beyond the limiting value soft clipping reduces the signal real gain while the hard clipping stiffly sets the signal values at the limit. In both cases certain amount of signal information is lost. Obviously if one possess the model which describes the considered signal and the threshold value (which might be slightly more difficult to obtain in the soft clipping case), the attempt of restoring the signal can be made. Commonly it is assumed that the seismic signals take form of an impulse response of some specific system. This may lead to belief that the sine wave may be the most appropriate to fit in the clipping period. However, this should be tested. In this paper the possibility of overcoming the hard clipping in seismic signals originating from a geoseismic station belonging to an underground mine is considered. A set of raw signals will be hard-clipped manually and then couple different functions will be fitted and compared in terms of least squares. The results will be then analysed.

A critical assessment of antipsychotic drug monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Waraska, J; Nagle, J D

1987-06-01

Analytic problems associated with monitoring antipsychotic drug levels have largely been resolved. Despite the establishment of target values for some drugs, the clinical utility of such levels remains to be determined.

Rotation of hard particles in a soft matrix

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Weizhu; Liu, Qingchang; Yue, Zhufeng; Li, Xiaodong; Xu, Baoxing

Soft-hard materials integration is ubiquitous in biological materials and structures in nature and has also attracted growing attention in the bio-inspired design of advanced functional materials, structures and devices. Due to the distinct difference in their mechanical properties, the rotation of hard phases in soft matrixes upon deformation has been acknowledged, yet is lack of theory in mechanics. In this work, we propose a theoretical mechanics framework that can describe the rotation of hard particles in a soft matrix. The rotation of multiple arbitrarily shaped, located and oriented particles with perfectly bonded interfaces in an elastic soft matrix subjected to a far-field tensile loading is established and analytical solutions are derived by using complex potentials and conformal mapping methods. Strong couplings and competitions of the rotation of hard particles among each other are discussed by investigating numbers, relative locations and orientations of particles in the matrix at different loading directions. Extensive finite element analyses are performed to validate theoretical solutions and good agreement of both rotation and stress field between them are achieved. Possible extensions of the present theory to non-rigid particles, viscoelastic matrix and imperfect bonding are also discussed. Finally, by taking advantage of the rotation of hard particles, we exemplify an application in a conceptual design of soft-hard material integrated phononic crystal and demonstrate that phononic band gaps can be successfully tuned with a high accuracy through the mechanical tension-induced rotation of hard particles. The present theory established herein is expected to be of immediate interests to the design of soft-hard materials integration based functional materials, structures and devices with tunable performance via mechanical rotation of hard phases.

Legislating thresholds for drug trafficking: a policy development case study from New South Wales, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Caitlin Elizabeth; Ritter, Alison; Cowdery, Nicholas

2014-09-01

Legal thresholds are used in many parts of the world to define the quantity of illicit drugs over which possession is deemed "trafficking" as opposed to "possession for personal use". There is limited knowledge about why or how such laws were developed. In this study we analyse the policy processes underpinning the introduction and expansion of the drug trafficking legal threshold system in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. A critical legal and historical analysis was undertaken sourcing data from legislation, Parliamentary Hansard debates, government inquiries, police reports and research. A timeline of policy developments was constructed from 1970 until 2013 outlining key steps including threshold introduction (1970), expansion (1985), and wholesale revision (1988). We then critically analysed the drivers of each step and the roles played by formal policy actors, public opinion, research/data and the drug trafficking problem. We find evidence that while justified as a necessary tool for effective law enforcement of drug trafficking, their introduction largely preceded overt police calls for reform or actual increases in drug trafficking. Moreover, while the expansion from one to four thresholds had the intent of differentiating small from large scale traffickers, the quantities employed were based on government assumptions which led to "manifest problems" and the revision in 1988 of over 100 different quantities. Despite the revisions, there has remained no further formal review and new quantities for "legal highs" continue to be added based on assumption and an uncertain evidence-base. The development of legal thresholds for drug trafficking in NSW has been arbitrary and messy. That the arbitrariness persists from 1970 until the present day makes it hard to conclude the thresholds have been well designed. Our narrative provides a platform for future policy reform. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Theory of hard diffraction and rapidity gaps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Del Duca, V.

1996-01-01

In this talk we review the models describing the hard diffractive production of jets or more generally high-mass states in presence of rapidity gaps in hadron-hadron and lepton-hadron collisions. By rapidity gaps we mean regions on the lego plot in (pseudo)-rapidity and azimuthal angle where no hadrons are produced, between the jet(s) and an elastically scattered hadron (single hard diffraction) or between two jets (double hard diffraction). copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

Hard X-ray studies on the Castor tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mlynar, J.

1990-04-01

The electron runaway processes in tokamaks are discussed with regard to hard X radiation measurements. The origin and confinement of runaway electrons, their bremsstrahlung spectra and the influence of lower hybrid current drive on the distribution of high-energy electrons are analyzed for the case of the Castor tokamak. The hard X-ray spectrometer designed for the Castor tokamak is also described and preliminary qualitative results of hard X-ray measurements are presented. The first series of integral measurements made it possible to map the azimuthal dependence of the hard X radiation

Emerging role of HPV self-sampling in cervical cancer screening for hard-to-reach women: Focused literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Madzima, Tina R; Vahabi, Mandana; Lofters, Aisha

2017-08-01

To provide a focused critical review of the literature on the acceptability, feasibility, and uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling among hard-to-reach women. A focused search to obtain relevant literature published in English between 1997 and 2015 was done using PubMed and EMBASE using search terms including HPV self-test or HPV self-sample or HPV kit in combination with acceptability or feasibility . Only studies that focused on never-screened or underscreened populations were included in this review. Human papillomavirus self-sampling was found to be highly acceptable and feasible among these hard-to-reach women across most studies. Mailing of self-sampling kits has been shown to increase participation among hard-to reach women. Some concerns remain regarding adherence to further follow-up among high-risk women with positive test results for HPV after screening. There is a strong body of evidence to support the usefulness of HPV self-sampling in increasing participation of hard-to-reach women in screening programs (level I evidence). Convenience, privacy, ease of use, and, likely, cost-effectiveness of HPV self-sampling are driving forces in its emerging role in cervical cancer screening among hard-to-reach women. Key barriers to participation could be addressed by overcoming disparities in HPV-related knowledge and perceptions about cervical cancer screening. Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

Drug delivery and formulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Breitkreutz, Jörg; Boos, Joachim

2011-01-01

Paediatric drug delivery is a major challenge in drug development. Because of the heterogeneous nature of the patient group, ranging from newborns to adolescents, there is a need to use appropriate excipients, drug dosage forms and delivery devices for different age groups. So far, there is a lack of suitable and safe drug formulations for children, especially for the very young and seriously ill patients. The new EU legislation will enforce paediatric clinical trials and drug development. Current advances in paediatric drug delivery include interesting new concepts such as fast-dissolving drug formulations, including orodispersible tablets and oral thin strips (buccal wafers), and multiparticulate dosage forms based on mini-tabletting or pelletization technologies. Parenteral administration is likely to remain the first choice for children in the neonatal period and for emergency cases. Alternative routes of administration include transdermal, pulmonary and nasal drug delivery systems. A few products are already available on the market, but others still need further investigations and clinical proof of concept.

Rad-hard electronics study for SSC detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekenberg, T.; Dawson, J.; Stevens, A.; Haberichter, W.

1991-01-01

The radiation environment in a SSC detector operating at a luminosity of 10 33 cm -2 s -1 will put stringent requirements on radiation hardness of the electronics. Over the expected 10 year life-time of a large detector, ionizing radiation doses of up to 20 MRad and neutron fluences of 10 16 neutrons/cm 2 are projected. At a luminosity of 10 34 cm -2 s -1 even higher total doses are expected. the effect of this environment have been simulated by exposing CMOS/bulk and CMOS/SOS devices from monolithic processes to neutrons and ionizing radiation. leakage currents, noise variations, and DC characteristics have been measured before and after exposure in order to evaluate the effects of the irradiations. As expected the device characteristics remained virtually unchanged by neutron irradiation, while ionizing radiation caused moderate degradation of performance. 5 refs., 6 figs

The synthesis and application involving regulation of the insoluble drug release from mesoporous silica nanotubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Jia; Wang, Yan; Zheng, Xin; Zhang, Ying; Sun, Changshan; Gao, Yikun; Jiang, Tongying; Wang, Siling

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Mesoporous silica nanotubes (SNT) were synthesized by using CNT as hard template, and the formation of the SNT shows that CTAB played a significant effect on the coating process. • The tube mesoporous silica materials which were seldom reported were applied in the drug delivery system to improve the loading amount and the drug dissolution. • The release rate could be controlled by the gelatin layer on the silica surface and the mechanism was illustrated. - Abstract: Mesoporous silica nanotubes (SNT) were synthesized using hard template carbon nanotubes (CNT) with the aid of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) in a method, which was simple and inexpensive. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and specific surface area analysis were employed to characterize the morphology and structure of SNT, and the formation mechanism of SNT was also examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. There are few published reports of the mesoporous SNT with large specific surface area applied in the drug delivery systems to improve the amount of drug loading. In addition, the structure of SNT allows investigators to control the drug particle size in the pore channels and significantly increase the drug dissolution rate. The insoluble drug, cilostazol, was chosen as a model drug to be loaded into SNT and we developed a simple and efficient method for regulating the drug release by using a gelatin coating with different thicknesses around the SNT. The release rate was adjusted by the amount of gelatin surrounding the SNT, with an increased barrier leading to a reduction in the release rate. A model developed on the basis of the Weibull modulus was established to fit the release results

Hard exclusive QCD processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kugler, W.

2007-01-15

Hard exclusive processes in high energy electron proton scattering offer the opportunity to get access to a new generation of parton distributions, the so-called generalized parton distributions (GPDs). This functions provide more detailed informations about the structure of the nucleon than the usual PDFs obtained from DIS. In this work we present a detailed analysis of exclusive processes, especially of hard exclusive meson production. We investigated the influence of exclusive produced mesons on the semi-inclusive production of mesons at fixed target experiments like HERMES. Further we give a detailed analysis of higher order corrections (NLO) for the exclusive production of mesons in a very broad range of kinematics. (orig.)

Soft and hard pomerons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maor, Uri; Tel Aviv Univ.

1995-09-01

The role of s-channel unitarity screening corrections, calculated in the eikonal approximation, is investigated for soft Pomeron exchange responsible for elastic and diffractive hadron scattering in the high energy limit. We examine the differences between our results and those obtained from the supercritical Pomeron-Regge model with no such corrections. It is shown that screening saturation is attained at different scales for different channels. We then proceed to discuss the new HERA data on hard (PQCD) Pomeron diffractive channels and discuss the relationship between the soft and hard Pomerons and the relevance of our analysis to this problem. (author). 18 refs, 9 figs, 1 tab

Soft And Hard Skills of Social Worker

OpenAIRE

HANTOVÁ, Libuše

2011-01-01

The work deals with soft and hard skills relevant to the profession of social worker. The theoretical part at first evaluates and analyzes important soft and hard skills necessary for people working in the field of social work. Then these skills are compared. The practical part illustrates the use of soft and hard skills in practice by means of model scenes and deals with the preferences in three groups of people ? students of social work, social workers and people outside the sphere, namely ...

Mind the gap : predicting cardiovascular risk during drug development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chain, Anne S. Y.

2012-01-01

Cardiovascular safety issues, specifically drug-induced QT/QTc-interval prolongation, remain a major cause of drug attrition during clinical development and is one of the main causes for post-market drug withdrawals accounting for 15-34% of all drug discontinuation. Given the potentially fatal

Determination of Formula for Vickers Hardness Measurements Uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purba, Asli

2007-01-01

The purpose of formula determination is to obtain the formula of Vickers hardness measurements uncertainty. The approach to determine the formula: influenced parameters identification, creating a cause and effect diagram, determination of sensitivity, determination of standard uncertainty and determination of formula for Vickers hardness measurements uncertainty. The results is a formula for determination of Vickers hardness measurements uncertainty. (author)

Final Technical Report Radiation Hard Tight Pitch GaInP SPAD Arrays for High Energy Physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harmon, Eric

2018-01-26

The specialized photodetectors used in high energy physics experiments often need to remain extremely sensitive for years despite radiation induced damage caused by the constant bombardment of high energy particles. To solve this problem, LightSpin Technologies, Inc. in collaboration with Prof. Bradley Cox and the University of Virginia is developing radiation-hard GaInP photodetectors which are projected to be extraordinarily radiation hard, theoretically capable of withstanding a 100,000-fold higher radiation dose than silicon. In this Phase I SBIR project, LightSpin investigated the performance and radiation hardness of fifth generation GaInP SPAD arrays. These fifth generation devices used a new planar processing approach that enables very tight pitch arrays to be produced. High performance devices with SPAD pitches of 11, 15, and 25 μm were successfully demonstrated, which greatly increased the dynamic range and maximum count rate of the devices. High maximum count rates are critical when considering radiation hardness, since radiation damage causes a proportional increase in the dark count rate, causing SPAD arrays with low maximum count rates (large SPAD pitches) to fail. These GaInP SPAD array Photomultiplier Chips™ were irradiated with protons, electrons, and neutrons. Initial irradiation results were disappointing, with the post-irradiation devices exhibiting excessively high dark currents. The degradation was traced to surface leakage currents that were largely eliminated through the use of trenches etched around the exterior of the Photomultiplier Chip™ (not between SPAD elements). A second round of irradiations on Photomultiplier Chips™ with trenches proved substantially more successful, with post-irradiation dark currents remaining relatively low, though dark count rates were observed to increase at the highest doses. Preliminary analysis of the post-irradiation devices is promising … many of the irradiated Photomultiplier Chips™ still

Hard scattering and a diffractive trigger

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berger, E.L.; Collins, J.C.; Soper, D.E.; Sterman, G.

1986-02-01

Conclusions concerning the properties of hard scattering in diffractively produced systems are summarized. One motivation for studying diffractive hard scattering is to investigate the interface between Regge theory and perturbative QCD. Another is to see whether diffractive triggering can result in an improvement in the signal-to-background ratio of measurements of production of very heavy quarks. 5 refs

Complex technique for materials hardness measurement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krashchenko, V P; Oksametnaya, O B

1984-01-01

A review of existing methods of measurement of material hardness in national and foreign practice has been made. A necessity of improving the technique of material hardness measurement in a wide temperature range and insuring load change with indenting, continuity of imprint application, smooth changing of temperatures along a sample length, and deformation rate control has been noted.

Seismic loads in modularized and unmodularized large pools located on hard or intermediate hard sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dong, R G [California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.

1977-12-01

To augment the present capacity of pools for storing spent nuclear fuel elements, pools larger than those in current use are being planned. These pools may or may not be modularized into cells. Because of the large size of the pools, seismic loads are of significant interest. In particular, the effects of modularization and site hardness are of concern. The study presented in this paper reveals that modularization is generally unfavourable, because it creates the option of leaving one or more cells empty which in turn results in higher structural loads. The wall which separates a filled cell from an empty cell, or the wall which bears against earth on one side and faces an empty cell on the other, becomes very highly stressed. For the particular pool geometries examined, a hard site is generally preferred over an intermediate hard site in terms of structural loads.

Micro-computer cards for hard industrial environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Breton, J M

1984-03-15

Approximately 60% of present or future distributed systems have, or will have, operational units installed in hard environments. In these applications, which include canalization and industrial motor control, robotics and process control, systems must be easily applied in environments not made for electronic use. The development of card systems in this hard industrial environment, which is found in petrochemical industry and mines is described. National semiconductor CIM card system CMOS technology allows the real time micro computer application to be efficient and functional in hard industrial environments.

Radiation hardness of β-Ga2O3 metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors against gamma-ray irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Man Hoi; Takeyama, Akinori; Makino, Takahiro; Ohshima, Takeshi; Sasaki, Kohei; Kuramata, Akito; Yamakoshi, Shigenobu; Higashiwaki, Masataka

2018-01-01

The effects of ionizing radiation on β-Ga2O3 metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) were investigated. A gamma-ray tolerance as high as 1.6 MGy(SiO2) was demonstrated for the bulk Ga2O3 channel by virtue of weak radiation effects on the MOSFETs' output current and threshold voltage. The MOSFETs remained functional with insignificant hysteresis in their transfer characteristics after exposure to the maximum cumulative dose. Despite the intrinsic radiation hardness of Ga2O3, radiation-induced gate leakage and drain current dispersion ascribed respectively to dielectric damage and interface charge trapping were found to limit the overall radiation hardness of these devices.

Transport coefficients and mechanical response in hard-disk colloidal suspensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Bo-Kai; Ma Yu-Qiang; Li Jian; Chen Kang; Tian Wen-De

2016-01-01

We investigate the transport properties and mechanical response of glassy hard disks using nonlinear Langevin equation theory. We derive expressions for the elastic shear modulus and viscosity in two dimensions on the basis of thermal-activated barrier-hopping dynamics and mechanically accelerated motion. Dense hard disks exhibit phenomena such as softening elasticity, shear-thinning of viscosity, and yielding upon deformation, which are qualitatively similar to dense hard-sphere colloidal suspensions in three dimensions. These phenomena can be ascribed to stress-induced “landscape tilting”. Quantitative comparisons of these phenomena between hard disks and hard spheres are presented. Interestingly, we find that the density dependence of yield stress in hard disks is much more significant than in hard spheres. Our work provides a foundation for further generalizing the nonlinear Langevin equation theory to address slow dynamics and rheological behavior in binary or polydisperse mixtures of hard or soft disks. (rapid communication)

CMOS optimization for radiation hardness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Derbenwick, G.F.; Fossum, J.G.

1975-01-01

Several approaches to the attainment of radiation-hardened MOS circuits have been investigated in the last few years. These have included implanting the SiO 2 gate insulator with aluminum, using chrome-aluminum layered gate metallization, using Al 2 O 3 as the gate insulator, and optimizing the MOS fabrication process. Earlier process optimization studies were restricted primarily to p-channel devices operating with negative gate biases. Since knowledge of the hardness dependence upon processing and design parameters is essential in producing hardened integrated circuits, a comprehensive investigation of the effects of both process and design optimization on radiation-hardened CMOS integrated circuits was undertaken. The goals are to define and establish a radiation-hardened processing sequence for CMOS integrated circuits and to formulate quantitative relationships between process and design parameters and the radiation hardness. Using these equations, the basic CMOS design can then be optimized for radiation hardness and some understanding of the basic physics responsible for the radiation damage can be gained. Results are presented

Novel hard compositions and methods of preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Sheinberg, H.

1983-08-23

Novel very hard compositions of matter are prepared by using in all embodiments only a minor amount of a particular carbide (or materials which can form the carbide in situ when subjected to heat and pressure); and no strategic cobalt is needed. Under a particular range of conditions, densified compositions of matter of the invention are prepared having hardnesses on the Rockwell A test substantially equal to the hardness of pure tungsten carbide and to two of the hardest commercial cobalt-bonded tungsten carbides. Alternately, other compositions of the invention which have slightly lower hardnesses than those described above in one embodiment also possess the advantage of requiring no tungsten and in another embodiment possess the advantage of having a good fracture toughness value. Photomicrographs show that the shapes of the grains of the alloy mixture with which the minor amount of carbide (or carbide-formers) is mixed are radically altered from large, rounded to small, very angular by the addition of the carbide. Superiority of one of these hard compositions of matter over cobalt-bonded tungsten carbide for ultra-high pressure anvil applications was demonstrated. 3 figs.

Study of Cu-Al-Zn alloys hardness temperature dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurmanova, D.T.; Skakov, M.K.; Melikhov, V.D.

2001-01-01

In the paper the results of studies for the Cu-Al-Zn ternary alloys hardness temperature dependence are presented. The method of 'hot hardness' has been used during study of the solid state phase transformations and under determination of the hot stability boundaries. Due to the samples brittleness a hardness temperature dependence definition is possible only from 350-400 deg. C. Sensitivity of the 'hot hardness' method is decreasing within high plasticity range, so the measurements have been carried out only up to 700-800 deg. C. It is shown, that the alloys hardness dependence character from temperature is close to exponential one within the certain structure modification existence domain

Synthesis, Structure, and Properties of Refractory Hard-Metal Borides

Science.gov (United States)

Lech, Andrew Thomas

As the limits of what can be achieved with conventional hard compounds, such as tungsten carbide, are nearing reach, super-hard materials are an area of increasing industrial interest. The refractory hard metal borides, such as ReB2 and WB4, offer an increasingly attractive alternative to diamond and cubic boron nitride as a next-generation tool material. In this Thesis, a thorough discussion is made of the progress achieved by our laboratory towards understanding the synthesis, structure, and properties of these extremely hard compounds. Particular emphasis is placed on structural manipulation, solid solution formation, and the unique crystallographic manifestations of what might also be called "super-hard metals".

Visual inspection technology in the hard disc drive industry

CERN Document Server

Muneesawang, Paisarn

2015-01-01

A presentation of the use of computer vision systems to control manufacturing processes and product quality in the hard disk drive industry. Visual Inspection Technology in the Hard Disk Drive Industry is an application-oriented book borne out of collaborative research with the world's leading hard disk drive companies. It covers the latest developments and important topics in computer vision technology in hard disk drive manufacturing, as well as offering a glimpse of future technologies.

Hardness of basaltic glass-ceramics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Martin; Smedskjær, Morten Mattrup; Estrup, Maja

2009-01-01

The dependence of the hardness of basaltic glass-ceramics on their degree of crystallisation has been explored by means of differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and Vickers indentation. Different degrees of crystallisation in the basaltic glasses were achieved...... by varying the temperature of heat treatment. The predominant crystalline phase in the glass was identified as augite. It was found that the hardness of the glass phase decreased slightly with an increase in the degree of crystallisation, while that of the augite phase drastically decreased....

Hard template synthesis of metal nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Kawamura, Go; Muto, Hiroyuki; Matsuda, Atsunori

2014-11-01

Metal nanowires (NWs) have attracted much attention because of their high electron conductivity, optical transmittance and tunable magnetic properties. Metal NWs have been synthesized using soft templates such as surface stabilizing molecules and polymers, and hard templates such as anodic aluminum oxide, mesoporous oxide, carbon nanotubes. NWs prepared from hard templates are composites of metals and the oxide/carbon matrix. Thus, selecting appropriate elements can simplify the production of composite devices. The resulting NWs are immobilized and spatially arranged, as dictated by the ordered porous structure of the template. This avoids the NWs from aggregating, which is common for NWs prepared with soft templates in solution. Herein, the hard template synthesis of metal NWs is reviewed, and the resulting structures, properties and potential applications are discussed.

Migration and illicit drug use among two types of male migrants in Shanghai, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Frank Y; He, N; Huang, Z J; Young, D; O'Conor, C; Ding, Y Y; Fu, C; Arayasirikul, S

2010-03-01

Large-scale internal migrations within China have led to speculation of increased drug use, but with little empirical evidence. This cross-sectional study examines the association between migration characteristics and illicit drug use in 100 general male migrants and 239 "money boys" (i.e., male migrants engaging in same-sex transactional sex) in Shanghai, China. Only three general male migrants reported any drug use. Among money boys, lifetime illicit drug use was 12%; Ecstasy and methamphetamine appeared to be the most popular drugs. In addition, depression prevalence was very high among both types of male migrants. Depression was associated with lifetime soft- and hard-drug use, while earning a higher income was associated with lifetime soft-drug use. These findings provide the first set of quantitative evidence of illicit drug use among Chinese male migrants. Although illicit drug use among male migrants is low compared to Western countries, its resurgence after 30 years of drug control gives cause for concern.

High-Throughput Cytochrome P450 Cocktail Inhibition Assay for Assessing Drug-Drug and Drug-Botanical Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Guannan; Huang, Ke; Nikolic, Dejan; van Breemen, Richard B

2015-11-01

Detection of drug-drug interactions is essential during the early stages of drug discovery and development, and the understanding of drug-botanical interactions is important for the safe use of botanical dietary supplements. Among the different forms of drug interactions that are known, inhibition of cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes is the most common cause of drug-drug or drug-botanical interactions. Therefore, a rapid and comprehensive mass spectrometry-based in vitro high-throughput P450 cocktail inhibition assay was developed that uses 10 substrates simultaneously against nine CYP isoforms. Including probe substrates for CYP1A2, CYP2A6, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, and two probes targeting different binding sites of CYP3A4/5, this cocktail simultaneously assesses at least as many P450 enzymes as previous assays while remaining among the fastest due to short incubation times and rapid analysis using ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The method was validated using known inhibitors of each P450 enzyme and then shown to be useful not only for single-compound testing but also for the evaluation of potential drug-botanical interactions using the botanical dietary supplement licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) as an example. Copyright © 2015 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Hard diffraction and small-x

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1995-01-01

In the United States, phrases such as ''small-x evolution'', ''the BFKL Pomeron'', ''deep-inelastic rapiditygap events'' and ''hard-diffraction'' do not generate the same intensity of discussion amongst high-energy physicists that they do in Europe. However, for three days in the fall such discussion filled the air at Fermilab. The ''2nd Workshop on Small-x and Diffractive Physics at the Tevatron'' was a review of the rapid theoretical and experimental progress taking place in this field. Although Quantum Chromo-dynamics (QCD) has been established as the theory of strong interactions for twenty years, as yet neither perturbative high-energy calculations nor low-energy non-perturbative techniques have been successfully extended to the mixture of high energy and low transverse momenta which characterize traditional ''soft'' diffractive processes. The simplest soft diffractive process is elastic scattering. In this case it is easiest to accept that there is an exchanged ''pomeron'', which can be pictured as a virtual entity with no electric charge or strong charge (colour), perhaps like an excitation of the vacuum. The same pomeron is expected to appear in all diffractive processes. Understanding the pomeron in QCD is a fundamental theoretical and experimental challenge. In the last two or three years the ''frontier'' in this challenging area of QCD has been pushed back significantly in both theory and experiment. Progress has been achieved by studying the evolution of hard collisions to relatively smaller constituent momenta (small x) and by studying ''hard'' diffractive collisions containing simultaneous signatures of diffraction and hard perturbative processes. The hard processes have included high transverse momentum jet production, deep inelastic lepton scattering, and (most recently) W

"Work smart, wear your hard hat"

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

Falling objects and collisions are frequent occurrences in work sites and hazardous areas. Hard hats can help prevent many types of accident and can even save lives. Just imagine an 800 g spanner falling from a 13 m high scaffold onto the head of someone standing below - a nightmare scenario! The impact to the head is equivalent to that of a 5 kg weight falling from 2 metres. That is just what happened to Gerd Fetchenhauer when he was working on the UA1 experiment. Fortunately, he was wearing a hard hat at the time. "That hat saved my life," he explains. "It punched a hole right through the hat and I was a bit dazed for a couple of hours but otherwise I was OK." Since that day, Gerd Fetchenhauer, now working on CMS, is never seen on a work site without his hard hat on. Work sites have proliferated at CERN with the construction of the LHC and its detectors, and the wearing of hard hats is compulsory (not to mention life-saving). In the underground caverns and experiment halls, where gantry cranes and other h...

Cobalt allergy in hard metal workers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fischer, T; Rystedt, I

1983-03-01

Hard metal contains about 10% cobalt. 853 hard metal workers were examined and patch tested with substances from their environment. Initial patch tests with 1% cobalt chloride showed 62 positive reactions. By means of secondary serial dilution tests, allergic reactions to cobalt were reproduced in 9 men and 30 women. Weak reactions could not normally be reproduced. A history of hand eczema was found in 36 of the 39 individuals with reproducible positive test reactions to cobalt, while 21 of 23 with a positive initial patch test but negative serial dilution test had never had any skin problems. Hand etching and hand grinding, mainly female activities and traumatic to the hands, were found to involve the greatest risk of cobalt sensitization. 24 individuals had an isolated cobalt allergy. They had probably been sensitized by hard metal work, while the individuals, all women, who had simultaneous nickel allergy had probably been sensitized to nickel before their employment and then became sensitized to cobalt by hard metal work. A traumatic occupation, which causes irritant contact dermatitis and/or a previous contact allergy or atopy is probably a prerequisite for the development of cobalt allergy.

Hard gap in epitaxial semiconductor-superconductor nanowires

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chang, W.; Albrecht, S. M.; Jespersen, T. S.

2015-01-01

a continuum of subgap states---a situation that nullifies topological protection. Here, we report a hard superconducting gap induced by proximity effect in a semiconductor, using epitaxial Al-InAs superconductor-semiconductor nanowires. The hard gap, along with favorable material properties and gate...

Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory Annual Report 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-04-01

The Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory is being constructed as part of the preparations for the deep geological repository of spent nuclear fuel in Sweden. The annual report 1994 contains an overview of the work conducted. Present work is focused on verification of pre-investigation methods and development of detailed investigation methodology which is applied during tunnel construction. Construction of the facility and detailed characterization of the bedrock are performed in parallel. Excavation of the main access tunnel was completed during 1994 and at the end of the year only minor excavation work remained. The last 400 m of the main tunnel, which has a total length of 3600 m, was excavated by a 5 m diameter boring machine. The tunnel reaches a depth of 450 m below ground. Preparations for the operating phase have started and detailed plans have been prepared for several experiments. Nine organizations, including SKB, from eight countries are now participating in the work at the laboratory. 50 refs, 28 figs

Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory Annual Report 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-04-01

The Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory is being constructed as part of the preparations for the deep geological repository of spent nuclear fuel in Sweden. The annual report 1994 contains an overview of the work conducted. Present work is focused on verification of pre-investigation methods and development of detailed investigation methodology which is applied during tunnel construction. Construction of the facility and detailed characterization of the bedrock are performed in parallel. Excavation of the main access tunnel was completed during 1994 and at the end of the year only minor excavation work remained. The last 400 m of the main tunnel, which has a total length of 3600 m, was excavated by a 5 m diameter boring machine. The tunnel reaches a depth of 450 m below ground. Preparations for the operating phase have started and detailed plans have been prepared for several experiments. Nine organizations, including SKB, from eight countries are now participating in the work at the laboratory. 50 refs, 28 figs.

Drug-induced pancreatitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nitsche, Claudia; Maertin, Sandrina; Scheiber, Jonas; Ritter, Christoph A; Lerch, Markus M; Mayerle, Julia

2012-04-01

Drugs are thought to be a rare cause for acute pancreatitis; however 525 different drugs are listed in the World Health Organization (WHO) database suspected to cause acute pancreatitis as a side effect. Many of them are widely used to treat highly prevalent diseases. The true incidence is not entirely clear since only few systematic population based studies exist. The majority of the available data are derived from case reports or case control studies. Furthermore, the causality for many of these drugs remains elusive and for only 31 of these 525 dugs a definite causality was established. Definite proof for causality is defined by the WHO classification if symptoms reoccur upon rechallenge.In the actual algorithm the diagnosis is confirmed if no other cause of acute pancreatitis can be detected, and the patient is taking one of the suspected drugs.

Hard Distraction and Deep Inelastic Scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BJORKEN, J.D.

1994-01-01

Since the advent of hard-collision physics, the study of diffractive processes- 'shadow physics' - has been less prominent than before. However, there is now a renewed interest in the subject, especially in that aspect which synthesizes the short-distance, hard-collision phenomena with the classical physics of large rapidity-gaps. This is especially stimulated by the recent data on deep-inelastic scattering from HERA, as well as the theoretical work which relates to it. The word 'diffraction' is sometimes used by high-energy physicists in a loose way. So I here begin by defining what I mean by the term: A diffractive process occurs if and only if there is a large rapidity gap in the produced-particle phase space which is not exponentially suppressed. Here a rapidity gap means essentially no hadrons produced into the rapidity gap (which operates in the 'lego' phase-space of pseudo-rapidity and azimuthal angle). And non-exponential suppression implies that the cross-section for creating a gap with width Δη does not have a power-law decrease with increasing sub energy Δη, but behaves at most like some power of pseudorapidity Δη∼ logs. The term 'hard diffraction' shall simply refer to those diffractive processes which have jets in the final-state phase-space. We may also distinguish, if desired, two subclasses, as suggested by Ingelman i) Diffractive hard processes have jets on only one side of the rapidity gap. ii) Hard diffractive processes have jets on both sides of the rapidity gap

Wave packet autocorrelation functions for quantum hard-disk and hard-sphere billiards in the high-energy, diffraction regime.

Science.gov (United States)

Goussev, Arseni; Dorfman, J R

2006-07-01

We consider the time evolution of a wave packet representing a quantum particle moving in a geometrically open billiard that consists of a number of fixed hard-disk or hard-sphere scatterers. Using the technique of multiple collision expansions we provide a first-principle analytical calculation of the time-dependent autocorrelation function for the wave packet in the high-energy diffraction regime, in which the particle's de Broglie wavelength, while being small compared to the size of the scatterers, is large enough to prevent the formation of geometric shadow over distances of the order of the particle's free flight path. The hard-disk or hard-sphere scattering system must be sufficiently dilute in order for this high-energy diffraction regime to be achievable. Apart from the overall exponential decay, the autocorrelation function exhibits a generally complicated sequence of relatively strong peaks corresponding to partial revivals of the wave packet. Both the exponential decay (or escape) rate and the revival peak structure are predominantly determined by the underlying classical dynamics. A relation between the escape rate, and the Lyapunov exponents and Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy of the counterpart classical system, previously known for hard-disk billiards, is strengthened by generalization to three spatial dimensions. The results of the quantum mechanical calculation of the time-dependent autocorrelation function agree with predictions of the semiclassical periodic orbit theory.

Teasing apart the contributions of hard dietary items on 3D dental microtextures in primates.

Science.gov (United States)

Calandra, Ivan; Schulz, Ellen; Pinnow, Mona; Krohn, Susanne; Kaiser, Thomas M

2012-07-01

3D dental microtexture analysis is a powerful tool for reconstructing the diets of extinct primates. This method is based on the comparison of fossils with extant species of known diet. The diets of primates are highly diversified and include fruits, seeds, grass, tree leaves, bark, roots, tubers, and animal resources. Fruits remain the main component in the diets of most primates. We tested whether the proportion of fruit consumed is correlated with dental microtexture. Two methods of microtexture analysis, the scale-sensitive fractal analysis (SSFA) and the Dental Areal Surface Texture Analysis (DASTA; after ISO/FDIS 25178-2), were applied to specimens of eight primate species (Alouatta seniculus, Gorilla gorilla, Lophocebus albigena, Macaca fascicularis, Pan troglodytes, Papio cynocephalus, Pongo abelii, Theropithecus gelada). These species largely differ in the mean annual proportion of fruit (from 0 to 90%) in their diet, as well as in their consumption of other hard items (seeds, bark, and insect cuticles) and of abrasive plants. We find the complexity and heterogeneity of textures (SSFA) to correlate with the proportion of fruits consumed. Textural fill volume (SSFA) indicates the proportion of both fruits and other hard items processed. Furthermore, anisotropy (SSFA) relates to the consumption of abrasive plants like grass and other monocots. ISO parameters valley height, root mean square height, material volume, density of peaks, and closed hill and dale areas (DASTA) describe the functional interaction between food items and enamel facets during mastication. The shallow, plastic deformation of enamel surfaces induced by small hard particles, such as phytoliths or dust, results in flat microtexture relief, whereas the brittle, deep fracture caused by large hard items such as hard seeds creates larger relief. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Water Hardness Level and ItAND#8217;s Health Effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Necmettin Kocak

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Water hardness is a term used to define the number of ions contained in the water, especially quantity sulphate, carbonate salts of calcium and magnesium. This characteristis of water is a important quality in it’s use as drinking water, industrial water and service water. The temporary hardness level of water cames from bicarbonate salts of calcium and magnesium whereas chloride, sulphate, nitrate, phosphate, silicate salts of calcium and magnesium. In order to indicate the hardness level of water samples French Hardness Level is used in our country. There is a larger amounth of calcium and magnesium salts in hard water samples. These minerals have very important functions in the human body. In this study, the importance of hard water in terms of human health has been assessed under light of current information. The studies about the preventive role of hard water in cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, stroke and many types of cancer areviewed. These studies Express that higher levels of calcium and magnesium hard water provide a higher reduction in these disease. Water, which must be consumed as 2 liters per dayis very important for human life. Hard water contains a lot of the minerals that must be taker daily, especially calcium and magnesium. It’s advised that water for consumption to have medium hardness. The hardness level of water is an aesthetic quality. Thus, in populations having a taste for soft water, the effort of individuals to softer the network water provided by municipalities using different equipments, in addition to their preference of soft water in plastic or glass bottles for consumption could imply lack of benefit of hard water for population health and also bring out some risks in terms of water hygiene. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2011; 10(2.000: 187-192

Optimization of Drug Delivery by Drug-Eluting Stents.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franz Bozsak

Full Text Available Drug-eluting stents (DES, which release anti-proliferative drugs into the arterial wall in a controlled manner, have drastically reduced the rate of in-stent restenosis and revolutionized the treatment of atherosclerosis. However, late stent thrombosis remains a safety concern in DES, mainly due to delayed healing of the endothelial wound inflicted during DES implantation. We present a framework to optimize DES design such that restenosis is inhibited without affecting the endothelial healing process. To this end, we have developed a computational model of fluid flow and drug transport in stented arteries and have used this model to establish a metric for quantifying DES performance. The model takes into account the multi-layered structure of the arterial wall and incorporates a reversible binding model to describe drug interaction with the cells of the arterial wall. The model is coupled to a novel optimization algorithm that allows identification of optimal DES designs. We show that optimizing the period of drug release from DES and the initial drug concentration within the coating has a drastic effect on DES performance. Paclitaxel-eluting stents perform optimally by releasing their drug either very rapidly (within a few hours or very slowly (over periods of several months up to one year at concentrations considerably lower than current DES. In contrast, sirolimus-eluting stents perform optimally only when drug release is slow. The results offer explanations for recent trends in the development of DES and demonstrate the potential for large improvements in DES design relative to the current state of commercial devices.

Electrostatic solvation free energies of charged hard spheres using molecular dynamics with density functional theory interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Duignan, Timothy T.; Baer, Marcel D.; Schenter, Gregory K.; Mundy, Chistopher J.

2017-10-01

Determining the solvation free energies of single ions in water is one of the most fundamental problems in physical chemistry and yet many unresolved questions remain. In particular, the ability to decompose the solvation free energy into simple and intuitive contributions will have important implications for models of electrolyte solution. Here, we provide definitions of the various types of single ion solvation free energies based on different simulation protocols. We calculate solvation free energies of charged hard spheres using density functional theory interaction potentials with molecular dynamics simulation and isolate the effects of charge and cavitation, comparing to the Born (linear response) model. We show that using uncorrected Ewald summation leads to unphysical values for the single ion solvation free energy and that charging free energies for cations are approximately linear as a function of charge but that there is a small non-linearity for small anions. The charge hydration asymmetry for hard spheres, determined with quantum mechanics, is much larger than for the analogous real ions. This suggests that real ions, particularly anions, are significantly more complex than simple charged hard spheres, a commonly employed representation.

Transport coefficients and mechanical response in hard-disk colloidal suspensions

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bo-Kai; Li, Jian; Chen, Kang; Tian, Wen-De; Ma, Yu-Qiang

2016-11-01

We investigate the transport properties and mechanical response of glassy hard disks using nonlinear Langevin equation theory. We derive expressions for the elastic shear modulus and viscosity in two dimensions on the basis of thermal-activated barrier-hopping dynamics and mechanically accelerated motion. Dense hard disks exhibit phenomena such as softening elasticity, shear-thinning of viscosity, and yielding upon deformation, which are qualitatively similar to dense hard-sphere colloidal suspensions in three dimensions. These phenomena can be ascribed to stress-induced “landscape tilting”. Quantitative comparisons of these phenomena between hard disks and hard spheres are presented. Interestingly, we find that the density dependence of yield stress in hard disks is much more significant than in hard spheres. Our work provides a foundation for further generalizing the nonlinear Langevin equation theory to address slow dynamics and rheological behavior in binary or polydisperse mixtures of hard or soft disks. Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2012CB821500) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 21374073 and, 21574096).

Driven self-assembly of hard nanoplates on soft elastic shells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yao-Yang; Hua Yun-Feng; Deng Zhen-Yu

2015-01-01

The driven self-assembly behaviors of hard nanoplates on soft elastic shells are investigated by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method, and the driven self-assembly structures of adsorbed hard nanoplates depend on the shape of hard nanoplates and the bending energy of soft elastic shells. Three main structures for adsorbed hard nanoplates, including the ordered aggregation structures of hard nanoplates for elastic shells with a moderate bending energy, the collapsed structures for elastic shells with a low bending energy, and the disordered aggregation structures for hard shells, are observed. The self-assembly process of adsorbed hard nanoplates is driven by the surface tension of the elastic shell, and the shape of driven self-assembly structures is determined on the basis of the minimization of the second moment of mass distribution. Meanwhile, the deformations of elastic shells can be controlled by the number of adsorbed rods as well as the length of adsorbed rods. This investigation can help us understand the complexity of the driven self-assembly of hard nanoplates on elastic shells. (paper)

Hard template synthesis of metal nanowires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Go eKawamura

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Metal nanowires (NWs have attracted much attention because of their high electron conductivity, optical transmittance and tunable magnetic properties. Metal NWs have been synthesized using soft templates such as surface stabilizing molecules and polymers, and hard templates such as anodic aluminum oxide, mesoporous oxide, carbon nanotubes. NWs prepared from hard templates are composites of metals and the oxide/carbon matrix. Thus, selecting appropriate elements can simplify the production of composite devices. The resulting NWs are immobilized and spatially arranged, as dictated by the ordered porous structure of the template. This avoids the NWs from aggregating, which is common for NWs prepared with soft templates in solution. Herein, the hard template synthesis of metal NWs is reviewed, and the resulting structures, properties and potential applications are discussed.

Broad-band hard X-ray reflectors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Joensen, K.D.; Gorenstein, P.; Hoghoj, P.

1997-01-01

Interest in optics for hard X-ray broad-band application is growing. In this paper, we compare the hard X-ray (20-100 keV) reflectivity obtained with an energy-dispersive reflectometer, of a standard commercial gold thin-film with that of a 600 bilayer W/Si X-ray supermirror. The reflectivity...... of the multilayer is found to agree extraordinarily well with theory (assuming an interface roughness of 4.5 Angstrom), while the agreement for the gold film is less, The overall performance of the supermirror is superior to that of gold, extending the band of reflection at least a factor of 2.8 beyond...... that of the gold, Various other design options are discussed, and we conclude that continued interest in the X-ray supermirror for broad-band hard X-ray applications is warranted....

Hard and soft nanoparticles for image-guided surgery in nanomedicine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Locatelli, Erica; Monaco, Ilaria; Comes Franchini, Mauro, E-mail: mauro.comesfranchini@unibo.it [University of Bologn, Department of Industrial Chemistry, “Toso Montanari” (Italy)

2015-08-15

The use of hard and/or soft nanoparticles for therapy, collectively called nanomedicine, has great potential in the battle against cancer. Major research efforts are underway in this area leading to development of new drug delivery approaches and imaging techniques. Despite this progress, the vast majority of patients who are affected by cancer today sadly still need surgical intervention, especially in the case of solid tumors. An important perspective for researchers is therefore to provide even more powerful tools to the surgeon for pre- and post-operative approaches. In this context, image-guided surgery, in combination with nanotechnology, opens a new strategy to win this battle. In this perspective, we will analyze and discuss the recent progress with nanoparticles of both metallic and biomaterial composition, and their use to develop powerful systems to be applied in image-guided surgery.

Rock-hard coatings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Muller, M.

2007-01-01

Aircraft jet engines have to be able to withstand infernal conditions. Extreme heat and bitter cold tax coatings to the limit. Materials expert Dr Ir. Wim Sloof fits atoms together to develop rock-hard coatings. The latest invention in this field is known as ceramic matrix composites. Sloof has

Intracellular co-delivery of Sr ion and phenamil drug through mesoporous bioglass nanocarriers synergizes BMP signaling and tissue mineralization.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jung-Hwan; Mandakhbayar, Nandin; El-Fiqi, Ahmed; Kim, Hae-Won

2017-09-15

Inducing differentiation and maturation of resident multipotent stem cells (MSCs) is an important strategy to regenerate hard tissues in mal-calcification conditions. Here we explore a co-delivery approach of therapeutic molecules comprised of ion and drug through a mesoporous bioglass nanoparticle (MBN) for this purpose. Recently, MBN has offered unique potential as a nanocarrier for hard tissues, in terms of high mesoporosity, bone bioactivity (and possibly degradability), tunable delivery of biomolecules, and ionic modification. Herein Sr ion is structurally doped to MBN while drug Phenamil is externally loaded as a small molecule activator of BMP signaling, for the stimulation of osteo/odontogenesis and mineralization of human MSCs derived from dental pulp. The Sr-doped MBN (85Si:10Ca:5Sr) sol-gel processed presents a high mesoporosity with a pore size of ∼6nm. In particular, Sr ion is released slowly at a daily rate of ∼3ppm per mg nanoparticles for up to 7days, a level therapeutically effective for cellular stimulation. The Sr-MBN is internalized to most MSCs via an ATP dependent macropinocytosis within hours, increasing the intracellular levels of Sr, Ca and Si ions. Phenamil is loaded maximally ∼30% into Sr-MBN and then released slowly for up to 7days. The co-delivered molecules (Sr ion and Phenamil drug) have profound effects on the differentiation and maturation of cells, i.e., significantly enhancing expression of osteo/odontogenic genes, alkaline phosphatase activity, and mineralization of cells. Of note, the stimulation is a result of a synergism of Sr and Phenamil, through a Trb3-dependent BMP signaling pathway. This biological synergism is further evidenced in vivo in a mal-calcification condition involving an extracted tooth implantation in dorsal subcutaneous tissues of rats. Six weeks post operation evidences the osseous-dentinal hard tissue formation, which is significantly stimulated by the Sr/Phenamil delivery, based on histomorphometric

Factorization and non-factorization in diffractive hard scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berera, Arjun

1997-01-01

Factorization, in the sense defined for inclusive hard scattering, is discussed for diffractive hard scattering. A factorization theorem similar to its inclusive counterpart is presented for diffractive DIS. For hadron-hadron diffractive hard scattering, in contrast to its inclusive counterpart, the expected breakdown of factorization is discussed. Cross section estimates are given from a simple field theory model for non-factorizing double-pomeron-exchange (DPE) dijet production with and without account for Sudakov suppression

Energy drink consumption and the perceived risk and disapproval of drugs: Monitoring the Future, 2010-2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Dylan B; Leal, Wanda E

2018-07-01

Energy drinks have become quite popular in recent years among adolescents, prompting a wealth of recent research examining the potential deleterious consequences of energy drink consumption among youth. The present study adds to this body of work by exploring perceptions of risk and disapproval of soft and hard drugs among adolescents and whether such attitudes are predicted by patterns of energy drink/shot consumption. Data were derived from the seven most recent cohorts (2010-2016) of the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, a nationally representative survey of U.S. youth. The significance of associations between energy drink/shot consumption and drug perceptions/attitudes was tested using logistic regression techniques employing adjustments for covariates and cohort-specific fixed effects. Energy drink/shot consumption was largely associated with significant increases in the odds of failing to perceive any risk of drug use and failing to disapprove of drug use among youths, regardless of whether attitudes concerning soft or hard drugs were examined. These associations were particularly robust in the case of habitual energy drink/shot consumers (relative to occasional consumers or abstainers). Additional efforts should be made to heighten awareness and education concerning the potential dangers of energy drink consumption among youth, particularly as it pertains to drug attitudes and diminished perceptions of substance use risk. Policies that minimize energy drink consumption among youth as well as programs that educate parents and teachers about the drug attitudes of youths who regularly consume energy drinks and promote active monitoring of these adolescents may be worthwhile. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hard template synthesis of metal nanowires

OpenAIRE

Kawamura, Go; Muto, Hiroyuki; Matsuda, Atsunori

2014-01-01

Metal nanowires (NWs) have attracted much attention because of their high electron conductivity, optical transmittance, and tunable magnetic properties. Metal NWs have been synthesized using soft templates such as surface stabilizing molecules and polymers, and hard templates such as anodic aluminum oxide, mesoporous oxide, carbon nanotubes. NWs prepared from hard templates are composites of metals and the oxide/carbon matrix. Thus, selecting appropriate elements can simplify the production o...

Reducing the 2, 4 D+MCPA Antagonism from Hard Spray Waters by Ammonium Sulfate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Hossein Torabi

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Water is the main carrier of herbicides (HC that its quality plays an important role in herbicide performance hard water has a high concentration of Ca++ and Mg++ and reviews have shown that calcium, manganese and zinc are the main factors reducing the effectiveness of weak acid herbicides. Weak acid herbicides such as glyphosate, paraquat, clethodim and 2, 4 D are compounds that release the H+ ions once dissolved in water, but just slightly. Therefore, herbicides that are weak acids partially dissociate. Herbicides not dissociated (the compound remains whole are more readily absorbed by plant foliage than those that dissociate. Dissociated herbicide molecules have a negative charge. After being dissociated, herbicides might remain as negatively charged molecules, or they might bind with other positively charged cations. Binding to some cations improves herbicide uptake and absorption, binding to others such as Ca++ and Mg++ antagonizes herbicide activity by decreasing absorption or activity in the cell. To correct such carriers, the use of adjuvants, such as ammonium sulphate (AMS, is recommended, which can reduce the use of herbicides and cause economic savings. The aim of this study was to investigate the simple effects and interactions between different amounts of AMS and carrier hardness (CH levels on 2, 4 D + MCPA herbicide efficacy in controlling white clover (Trifolium repens L. in turf grass. Materials and Methods: The experiment was laid out in a RCBD with three replications for each treatment during spring-summer 2013 in 10 years old mixed cold season turf grass (Festuca rubra + Poa pratensis + Poa pratensis dominated by white clover in Mashhad (Iran. The treatments were the factorial combination of four carrier hardness (CH rates (Deionized, 45, 90 and 180 ppm of Ca++ +Mg++ and three Ammonium Sulfate (AMS rates (0, 2, 3 and 4 Kg per100 L of carrier water were studied. The turf was sprayed with 2, 4 D + MCPA (67.5% SL at

ERRATUM: Work smart, wear your hard hat

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

An error appeared in the article «Work smart, wear your hard hat» published in Weekly Bulletin 27/2003, page 5. The impact which pierced a hole in the hard hat worn by Gerd Fetchenhauer was the equivalent of a box weighing 5 kg and not 50 kg.

Flour quality and kernel hardness connection in winter wheat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Szabó B. P.

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Kernel hardness is controlled by friabilin protein and it depends on the relation between protein matrix and starch granules. Friabilin is present in high concentration in soft grain varieties and in low concentration in hard grain varieties. The high gluten, hard wheat our generally contains about 12.0–13.0% crude protein under Mid-European conditions. The relationship between wheat protein content and kernel texture is usually positive and kernel texture influences the power consumption during milling. Hard-textured wheat grains require more grinding energy than soft-textured grains.

Hardness of Clustering

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. Hardness of Clustering. Both k-means and k-medians intractable (when n and d are both inputs even for k =2). The best known deterministic algorithms. are based on Voronoi partitioning that. takes about time. Need for approximation – “close” to optimal.

Influence of different excipients on the properties of hard gelatin capsules with metamizole sodium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rogowska Magdalena

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Metamizole is an effective non-opioid analgesic drug used in the treatment of acute and chronic pain. Due to induced potentially life-threatening blood disorders, metamizole was withdrawn from market in many parts of the world, however, it is one of the most popular analgesics in Poland that is available as an over the counter drug. Patients tend to prefer capsules over tablets, as they are easier to swallow and taste better. The powder-filled capsules also have greater bioavailability and require less excipients, as compared to tablets. Polymic excipients are mainly used in capsule filling, and have influence upon the physico-chemical properties of the hard gelatin capsules and the powder formulation. The aim of the study was to determine whether various combinations of polymers impact the disintegration time and pharmaceutical availability of hard gelatin capsules with metamizole sodium. The results of our work demonstrated that the 80% of all active substance was released in all tested formulations within 15 minutes. Herein, the capsule containing lactose monohydrate had the longest release (4% after 2 min., while capsules containing mannitol had the fastest release (81.2% after 2 min.. Moreover, the addition of HPMC to capsules with lactose brought about a slight increase in the metamizole release rate, while the addition of PVP 30 to capsules with microcrystalline cellulose slightly accelerated release. This data suggests that the use of different polymers in capsules formulation brings about changes in the physical properties of powders and modifies the release profile of metamizole. In our study, the most preferred formulation was one containing microcrystalline cellulose (good powder properties and fairly fast release.

Evaluation of hard fossil fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zivkovic, S.; Nuic, J.

1999-01-01

Because of its inexhaustible supplies hard fossil fuel will represent the pillar of the power systems of the 21st century. Only high-calorie fossil fuels have the market value and participate in the world trade. Low-calorie fossil fuels ((brown coal and lignite) are fuels spent on the spot and their value is indirectly expressed through manufactured kWh. For the purpose of determining the real value of a tonne of low-calorie coal, the criteria that help in establishing the value of a tonne of hard coal have to be corrected and thus evaluated and assessed at the market. (author)

Calorimeter triggers for hard collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landshoff, P.V.; Polkinghorne, J.C.

1978-01-01

We discuss the use of a forward calorimeter to trigger on hard hadron-hadron collisions. We give a derivation in the covariant parton model of the Ochs-Stodolsky scaling law for single-hard-scattering processes, and investigate the conditions when instead a multiple- scattering mechanism might dominate. With a proton beam, this mechanism results in six transverse jets, with a total average multiplicity about twice that seen in ordinary events. We estimate that its cross section is likely to be experimentally accessible at avalues of the beam energy in the region of 100 GeV/c

Hardness of ion implanted ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliver, W.C.; McHargue, C.J.; Farlow, G.C.; White, C.W.

1985-01-01

It has been established that the wear behavior of ceramic materials can be modified through ion implantation. Studies have been done to characterize the effect of implantation on the structure and composition of ceramic surfaces. To understand how these changes affect the wear properties of the ceramic, other mechanical properties must be measured. To accomplish this, a commercially available ultra low load hardness tester has been used to characterize Al 2 O 3 with different implanted species and doses. The hardness of the base material is compared with the highly damaged crystalline state as well as the amorphous material

War on Drugs Policing and Police Brutality.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Hannah L F

2015-01-01

War on Drugs policing has failed to reduce domestic street-level drug activity: the cost of drugs remains low and drugs remain widely available. In light of growing attention to police brutality in the United States, this paper explores interconnections between specific War on Drugs policing strategies and police-related violence against Black adolescents and adults in the United States. This paper reviews literature about (1) historical connections between race/ethnicity and policing in the United States; (2) the ways that the War on Drugs eroded specific legal protections originally designed to curtail police powers; and (3) the implications of these erosions for police brutality targeting Black communities. Policing and racism have been mutually constitutive in the United States. Erosions to the 4th Amendment to the Constitution and to the Posse Comitatus Act set the foundations for two War on Drugs policing strategies: stop and frisk and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams. These strategies have created specific conditions conducive to police brutality targeting Black communities. Conclusions/Importance: War on Drugs policing strategies appear to increase police brutality targeting Black communities, even as they make little progress in reducing street-level drug activity. Several jurisdictions are retreating from the War on Drugs; this retreat should include restoring rights originally protected by the 4th Amendment and Posse Comitatus. While these legal changes occur, police chiefs should discontinue the use of SWAT teams to deal with low-level nonviolent drug offenses and should direct officers to cease engaging in stop and frisk.

Hardness of enamel exposed to Coca-Cola and artificial saliva.

Science.gov (United States)

Devlin, H; Bassiouny, M A; Boston, D

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of change in indentation hardness of enamel in permanent teeth exposed to Coca-Cola. In a further experiment, the ability of a commercially available artificial saliva to remineralize enamel treated with Coca-Cola was tested. Ten enamel specimens were randomly chosen to be treated with Coca-Cola (experimental groups) and seven with water (control group). The fluids were applied for 1, 2, 3 h and overnight (15 h), washed off with a few drops of water and the moist enamel indentation hardness tested after each interval. With Coca-Cola treatment, the mean enamel hardness was 92.6% (s.d. = 7.9) of the original baseline hardness after 1 h, 93.25% (s.d. = 10.15) after 2 h, 85.7% (s.d. = 12.03) after 3 h and 80.3% after 15 h. The mean indentation hardness of control specimens treated with water was 108.7% (s.d. = 16.09) of the original hardness after 1 h, 99.09% (s.d. = 18.98) after 2 h, 98.97% (s.d. =11.24) after 3 h and 98.42% (s.d. = 22.78) after 15 h. In a separate experiment, the hardness of 9 enamel specimens was tested, as previously described, before and after treatment with Coca-Cola overnight and again after application of artificial saliva for 3 min. Coca-Cola reduced the mean indentation hardness of enamel in the teeth, but the hardness was partially restored with artificial saliva (Salivart) and increased by 18% from the demineralized enamel hardness.

Income inequality, drug-related arrests, and the health of people who inject drugs: Reflections on seventeen years of research.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Samuel R; Tempalski, Barbara; Brady, Joanne E; West, Brooke S; Pouget, Enrique R; Williams, Leslie D; Des Jarlais, Don C; Cooper, Hannah L F

2016-06-01

This paper reviews and then discusses selected findings from a seventeen year study about the population prevalence of people who inject drugs (PWID) and of HIV prevalence and mortality among PWID in 96 large US metropolitan areas. Unlike most research, this study was conducted with the metropolitan area as the level of analysis. It found that metropolitan area measures of income inequality and of structural racism predicted all of these outcomes, and that rates of arrest for heroin and/or cocaine predicted HIV prevalence and mortality but did not predict changes in PWID population prevalence. Income inequality and measures of structural racism were associated with hard drug arrests or other properties of policing. These findings, whose limitations and implications for further research are discussed, suggest that efforts to respond to HIV and to drug injection should include supra-individual efforts to reduce both income inequality and racism. At a time when major social movements in many countries are trying to reduce inequality, racism and oppression (including reforming drug laws), these macro-social issues in public health should be both addressable and a priority in both research and action. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Which drug or drug delivery system can change clinical practice for brain tumor therapy?

OpenAIRE

Siegal, Tali

2013-01-01

The prognosis and treatment outcome for primary brain tumors have remained unchanged despite advances in anticancer drug discovery and development. In clinical trials, the majority of promising experimental agents for brain tumors have had limited impact on survival or time to recurrence. These disappointing results are partially explained by the inadequacy of effective drug delivery to the CNS. The impediments posed by the various specialized physiological barriers and active efflux mechanis...

Discrimination, drugs, and alcohol among Latina/os in Brooklyn, New York: differences by gender.

Science.gov (United States)

Otiniano Verissimo, Angie Denisse; Gee, Gilbert C; Iguchi, Martin Y; Ford, Chandra L; Friedman, Samuel R

2013-07-01

Based on a stress-coping framework, the present study investigates the relationship between discrimination and substance use, and the moderating effects of gender. This cross-sectional study analyzes data from Latina/o young adults aged 18-25 (N = 401) from Brooklyn, New York. Multinomial logistic regression was used to test the association between discrimination and substance use. Discrimination was significantly associated with increased odds of substance use adjusting for covariates (e.g. age, education). Gender was a moderator. Discrimination was associated with increased risk of alcohol/cannabis and hard drug use among young Latina women. However, discrimination was associated with decreased risk of alcohol/cannabis use and increased risk of hard drug use among young Latino men. These findings suggest that discrimination is generally associated with risk for substance use, but further that the outcomes vary by gender. Future research should explore gender-specific dimensions of discrimination and their associations with other outcomes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Housing Status, Stability and the Social Contexts of Housing on Drug and Sexual Risk Behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Dickson-Gomez, Julia; McAuliffe, Timothy; Quinn, Katherine

2017-07-01

Research on the relationship between housing instability and HIV risk has often focused on two different conceptions of stability. In one conceptualization, housing stability is defined according to physical location with homeless or unstably housed individuals defined as those who reside in places not meant for human habitation or in emergency shelters. The other conceptualization has defined housing stability as individuals' degree of transience, often operationalized as the number of moves or evictions a person has had within a specified amount of time. Less studied has been the social context of living situation, e.g. living with other drug users, conflict over living expenses, or having to have sex in order to stay. This paper uses data from 392 low-income residents in Hartford, CT to explore how people in different housing situations-including those who are housed and homeless-experience housing stability, feelings of security in their homes, and the social context of their housing. We then explore how these varied measures of housing context affect drug use frequency and sexual risk. Results show that participants who are homeless feel more overall housing instability in terms of number of moves and negative reasons for moving. Those who were doubled up with family or friends were more likely to experience conflict over household expenses and more likely to live with drug users. Among homeless and housed, hard drug use was associated with experiencing violence in the place where they lived, perceiving greater housing stability, having moved for a positive reason, doubling up, and longer periods of homelessness, while number of moves and longer prison sentence predicted sexual risk. Among the housed, living with other drug users was associated with more hard drug use, while contributing money toward household expenses was associated with less hard drug use. Two significant interactions were associated with sexual risk among the housed. Those with longer

Hot hardness studies on zircaloy 2 pressure tube along three orientations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kutty, T.R.G.; Ravi, K.; Jarvis, T.; Sengupta, A.K.; Majumdar, S.; Tewari, R.; Shrivastava, D.; Dey, G.K.

2002-01-01

Zirconium based alloys are the natural choice for both the fuel element cans and in-core structural components in water cooled nuclear reactors. In this paper, the hot hardness behaviour of zircaloy 2 pressure tubes has been examined from room temperature to 400 degC using a hot hardness tester. For the purpose of comparison, the hardness of the as cast and room temperature rolled specimens has also been carried out. For this, the samples were cut along three orientations and hardness was measured in each of these directions using Vickers diamond pyramid indenter. The variation in hardness of the pressure tube samples show that the hardness was highest along circumferential direction and least along the axial direction. The room temperature rolled samples showed highest hardness along the rolling planes. These variations in hardness could be explained in terms of development of texture during working on the material. (author)

Solar Coronal Events with Extended Hard X-ray and Gamma-ray Emission

Science.gov (United States)

Hudson, H. S.

2017-12-01

A characteristic pattern of solar hard X-ray emission, first identified in SOL1969-03-31 by Frost & Dennis (1971) now has been linked to prolonged high-energy gamma-ray emission detected by the Fermi/LAT experiment, for example in SOL2014-09-01. The distinctive features of these events include flat hard X-ray spectra extending well above 100 keV, a characteristic pattern of time development, low-frequency gyrosynchrotron peaks, CME association, and gamma-rays identifiable with pion decay originating in GeV ions. The identification of these events with otherwise known solar structures nevertheless remains elusive, in spite of the wealth of imagery available from AIA. The quandary is that these events have a clear association with CMEs in the high corona, and yet the gamma-ray production implicates the photosphere itself. The vanishingly small loss cone in the nominal acceleration region makes this extremely difficult. I propose direct inward advection of a part of the SEP particle population, as created on closed field structures, as a possible resolution of this puzzle, and note that this requires retracting magnetic structures on long time scales following the flare itself.

Continuous water quality monitoring for the hard clam industry in Florida, USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergquist, Derk C; Heuberger, David; Sturmer, Leslie N; Baker, Shirley M

2009-01-01

In 2000, Florida's fast-growing hard clam aquaculture industry became eligible for federal agricultural crop insurance through the US Department of Agriculture, but the responsibility for identifying the cause of mortality remained with the grower. Here we describe the continuous water quality monitoring system used to monitor hard clam aquaculture areas in Florida and show examples of the data collected with the system. Systems recording temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, water depth, turbidity and chlorophyll at 30 min intervals were installed at 10 aquaculture lease areas along Florida's Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Six of these systems sent data in real-time to a public website, and all 10 systems provided data for web-accessible archives. The systems documented environmental conditions that could negatively impact clam survival and productivity and identified biologically relevant water quality differences among clam aquaculture areas. Both the real-time and archived data were used widely by clam growers and nursery managers to make management decisions and in filing crop loss insurance claims. While the systems were labor and time intensive, we recommend adjustments that could reduce costs and staff time requirements.

Hard probes 2006 Asilomar

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

"The second international conference on hard and electromagnetic probes of high-energy nuclear collisions was held June 9 to 16, 2006 at the Asilomar Conference grounds in Pacific Grove, California" (photo and 1/2 page)

Evaluation of Laser-Assisted Trans-Nail Drug Delivery with Optical Coherence Tomography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meng-Tsan Tsai

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The nail provides a functional protection to the fingertips and surrounding tissue from external injuries. The nail plate consists of three layers including dorsal, intermediate, and ventral layers. The dorsal layer consists of compact, hard keratins, limiting topical drug delivery through the nail. In this study, we investigate the application of fractional CO2 laser that produces arrays of microthermal ablation zones (MAZs to facilitate drug delivery in the nails. We utilized optical coherence tomography (OCT for real-time monitoring of the laser–skin tissue interaction, sparing the patient from an invasive surgical sampling procedure. The time-dependent OCT intensity variance was used to observe drug diffusion through an induced MAZ array. Subsequently, nails were treated with cream and liquid topical drugs to investigate the feasibility and diffusion efficacy of laser-assisted drug delivery. Our results show that fractional CO2 laser improves the effectiveness of topical drug delivery in the nail plate and that OCT could potentially be used for in vivo monitoring of the depth of laser penetration as well as real-time observations of drug delivery.

Carrier-free, functionalized pure drug nanorods as a novel cancer-targeted drug delivery platform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Yanan; An Feifei; Zhang Xiaohong; Yang Yinlong; Liu Zhuang; Zhang Xiujuan

2013-01-01

A one-dimensional drug delivery system (1D DDS) is highly attractive since it has distinct advantages such as enhanced drug efficiency and better pharmacokinetics. However, drugs in 1D DDSs are all encapsulated in inert carriers, and problems such as low drug loading content and possible undesirable side effects caused by the carriers remain a serious challenge. In this paper, a novel, carrier-free, pure drug nanorod-based, tumor-targeted 1D DDS has been developed. Drugs are first prepared as nanorods and then surface functionalized to achieve excellent water dispersity and stability. The resulting drug nanorods show enhanced internalization rates mainly through energy-dependent endocytosis, with the shape-mediated nanorod (NR) diffusion process as a secondary pathway. The multiple endocytotic mechanisms lead to significantly improved drug efficiency of functionalized NRs with nearly ten times higher cytotoxicity than those of free molecules and unfunctionalized NRs. A targeted drug delivery system can be readily achieved through surface functionalization with targeting group linked amphipathic surfactant, which exhibits significantly enhanced drug efficacy and discriminates between cell lines with high selectivity. These results clearly show that this tumor-targeting DDS demonstrates high potential toward specific cancer cell lines. (paper)

Soft is hard and hard is easy: learning technologies and social media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jon Dron

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Questo articolo riguarda principalmente la natura delle tecnologie per apprendere, con una particolare attenzione ai social media. Muovendo dalla definizione fornita da W. Brian Arthur delle tecnologie come un insieme di fenomeni orchestrati per un qualche uso, l’articolo amplia la teoria di Arthur ridefinendo e allargando la distinzione comunemente accettata tra tecnologie soft e hard, laddove le tecnologie soft sono intese come quelle che richiedono l’orchestrazione di fenomeni da parte degli esseri umani, mentre le tecnologie hard sono quelle per le quali l’orchestrazione è predeterminata o incorporata. Le tecnologie per apprendere sono quelle in cui le pedagogie (anch’esse tecnologie sono parte dell’insieme. Le conseguenze di questa prospettiva vengono esplorate nel quadro di diversi modelli pedagogici e in relazione agli approcci basati sul social learning in una varietà di contesti, dai corsi per corrispondenza ai MOOC.

Dependence of Hardness of Silicate Glasses on Composition and Thermal History

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Martin; Smedskjær, Morten Mattrup; Yue, Yuanzheng

composition on hardness of silicate glasses. E-glasses of different compositions are subjected to various degrees of annealing to obtain various fictive temperatures in the glasses. It is found that hardness decreases with the fictive temperature. Addition of Na2O to a SiO2-Al2O3-Na2O glass system causes......The prediction of hardness is possible for crystalline materials, but so far not possible for glasses. In this work, several important factors that should be used for predicting the hardness of glasses are discussed. To do so, we have studied the influences of thermal history and chemical...... a decrease in hardness. However, hardness cannot solely be determined from the degree of polymerisation of the glass network. It is also determined by the effect of ionic radius on hardness. However, this effect has opposite trend for alkali and alkaline earth ions. The hardness increases with ionic radius...

Automatic extraction of drug indications from FDA drug labels.

Science.gov (United States)

Khare, Ritu; Wei, Chih-Hsuan; Lu, Zhiyong

2014-01-01

Extracting computable indications, i.e. drug-disease treatment relationships, from narrative drug resources is the key for building a gold standard drug indication repository. The two steps to the extraction problem are disease named-entity recognition (NER) to identify disease mentions from a free-text description and disease classification to distinguish indications from other disease mentions in the description. While there exist many tools for disease NER, disease classification is mostly achieved through human annotations. For example, we recently resorted to human annotations to prepare a corpus, LabeledIn, capturing structured indications from the drug labels submitted to FDA by pharmaceutical companies. In this study, we present an automatic end-to-end framework to extract structured and normalized indications from FDA drug labels. In addition to automatic disease NER, a key component of our framework is a machine learning method that is trained on the LabeledIn corpus to classify the NER-computed disease mentions as "indication vs. non-indication." Through experiments with 500 drug labels, our end-to-end system delivered 86.3% F1-measure in drug indication extraction, with 17% improvement over baseline. Further analysis shows that the indication classifier delivers a performance comparable to human experts and that the remaining errors are mostly due to disease NER (more than 50%). Given its performance, we conclude that our end-to-end approach has the potential to significantly reduce human annotation costs.

Hepatic transporter drug-drug interactions: an evaluation of approaches and methodologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, Beth; Riley, Robert J

2017-12-01

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) continue to account for 5% of hospital admissions and therefore remain a major regulatory concern. Effective, quantitative prediction of DDIs will reduce unexpected clinical findings and encourage projects to frontload DDI investigations rather than concentrating on risk management ('manage the baggage') later in drug development. A key challenge in DDI prediction is the discrepancies between reported models. Areas covered: The current synopsis focuses on four recent influential publications on hepatic drug transporter DDIs using static models that tackle interactions with individual transporters and in combination with other drug transporters and metabolising enzymes. These models vary in their assumptions (including input parameters), transparency, reproducibility and complexity. In this review, these facets are compared and contrasted with recommendations made as to their application. Expert opinion: Over the past decade, static models have evolved from simple [I]/k i models to incorporate victim and perpetrator disposition mechanisms including the absorption rate constant, the fraction of the drug metabolised/eliminated and/or clearance concepts. Nonetheless, models that comprise additional parameters and complexity do not necessarily out-perform simpler models with fewer inputs. Further, consideration of the property space to exploit some drug target classes has also highlighted the fine balance required between frontloading and back-loading studies to design out or 'manage the baggage'.

Playing Moderately Hard to Get

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen Reysen

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In two studies, we examined the effect of different degrees of attraction reciprocation on ratings of attraction toward a potential romantic partner. Undergraduate college student participants imagined a potential romantic partner who reciprocated a low (reciprocating attraction one day a week, moderate (reciprocating attraction three days a week, high (reciprocating attraction five days a week, or unspecified degree of attraction (no mention of reciprocation. Participants then rated their degree of attraction toward the potential partner. The results of Study 1 provided only partial support for Brehm’s emotion intensity theory. However, after revising the high reciprocation condition vignette in Study 2, supporting Brehm’s emotion intensity theory, results show that a potential partners’ display of reciprocation of attraction acted as a deterrent to participants’ intensity of experienced attraction to the potential partner. The results support the notion that playing moderately hard to get elicits more intense feelings of attraction from potential suitors than playing too easy or too hard to get. Discussion of previous research examining playing hard to get is also re-examined through an emotion intensity theory theoretical lens.

Obtention of high hardness multilayer systems by laser ablation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mejia T, I.S.

2007-01-01

In this thesis work the synthesis of thin films of titanium nitride (TiN), amorphous carbon nitride (CN x ) amorphous carbon (a-C) and Ti/TiN/CNx multilayers and Ti/TiN/a-C by means of the laser ablation technique, with the objective of obtaining films of high hardness is studied, as well as to produce multilayer coatings with superior properties to the individual layers. The effect that has the laser fluence used for ablationing the targets in the structure and mechanical properties of the films deposited of TiN was investigated. It was found that the hardness is increased in lineal way approximately with the fluence increment up to 19 J/cm 2 . Thin films of a-C with hardness of the order of 12 GPa. likewise CN x films with high hardness (18.4 GPa) were obtained. The hardness of the deposited films was analyzed and it was related with its microstructure and deposit conditions. It was concluded that the Ti/TiN/CNx and Ti/TiN/a-C systems presented bigger hardness that of its individual components. (Author)

The Impact of Residential and Nonresidential Drug Treatment on Recidivism among Drug-Involved Probationers: A Survival Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Krebs, Christopher P.; Strom, Kevin J.; Koetse, Willem H.; Lattimore, Pamela K.

2009-01-01

A variety of approaches for addressing drug use and drug-related crime among the nearly 5 million offenders on community supervision in the United States has been tried and evaluated, but questions remain about which policies or programs are most effective. The authors use a large data set to assess the impact of residential and nonresidential…

Nanonization strategies for poorly water-soluble drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Huabing; Khemtong, Chalermchai; Yang, Xiangliang; Chang, Xueling; Gao, Jinming

2011-04-01

Poor water solubility for many drugs and drug candidates remains a major obstacle to their development and clinical application. Conventional formulations to improve solubility suffer from low bioavailability and poor pharmacokinetics, with some carriers rendering systemic toxicities (e.g. Cremophor(®) EL). In this review, several major nanonization techniques that seek to overcome these limitations for drug solubilization are presented. Strategies including drug nanocrystals, nanoemulsions and polymeric micelles are reviewed. Finally, perspectives on existing challenges and future opportunities are highlighted. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Sampling from a polytope and hard-disk Monte Carlo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kapfer, Sebastian C; Krauth, Werner

2013-01-01

The hard-disk problem, the statics and the dynamics of equal two-dimensional hard spheres in a periodic box, has had a profound influence on statistical and computational physics. Markov-chain Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics were first discussed for this model. Here we reformulate hard-disk Monte Carlo algorithms in terms of another classic problem, namely the sampling from a polytope. Local Markov-chain Monte Carlo, as proposed by Metropolis et al. in 1953, appears as a sequence of random walks in high-dimensional polytopes, while the moves of the more powerful event-chain algorithm correspond to molecular dynamics evolution. We determine the convergence properties of Monte Carlo methods in a special invariant polytope associated with hard-disk configurations, and the implications for convergence of hard-disk sampling. Finally, we discuss parallelization strategies for event-chain Monte Carlo and present results for a multicore implementation

The over-the-limb hard X-ray events

Science.gov (United States)

Hudson, H. S.

Over-the-limb hard X-ray events offer a uniquely direct view of the hard X-ray emission from the solar corona during a major flare. Limb occultation at angles greater than about 10 deg (an arbitrary definition of this class of events) excludes any confusion with brighter chromospheric sources. Published observations of seven over-the-limb events, beginning with the prototype flare of March 30, 1969, are reviewed. The hard X-ray spectra appear to fall into two classes: hard events, with power-law index of about 2.0; and soft events, with power-law index about 5.4. This tendency towards bimodality is only significant at the 90-percent confidence level due to the smallness of the number of events observed to date. If borne out by future data, the bimodality would suggest the existence of two different acceleration mechanisms.

Constraint satisfaction problems with isolated solutions are hard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zdeborová, Lenka; Mézard, Marc

2008-01-01

We study the phase diagram and the algorithmic hardness of the random 'locked' constraint satisfaction problems, and compare them to the commonly studied 'non-locked' problems like satisfiability of Boolean formulae or graph coloring. The special property of the locked problems is that clusters of solutions are isolated points. This simplifies significantly the determination of the phase diagram, which makes the locked problems particularly appealing from the mathematical point of view. On the other hand, we show empirically that the clustered phase of these problems is extremely hard from the algorithmic point of view: the best known algorithms all fail to find solutions. Our results suggest that the easy/hard transition (for currently known algorithms) in the locked problems coincides with the clustering transition. These should thus be regarded as new benchmarks of really hard constraint satisfaction problems

Externally controlled triggered-release of drug from PLGA micro and nanoparticles.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Hua

Full Text Available Biofilm infections are extremely hard to eradicate and controlled, triggered and controlled drug release properties may prolong drug release time. In this study, the ability to externally control drug release from micro and nanoparticles was investigated. We prepared micro/nanoparticles containing ciprofloxacin (CIP and magnetic nanoparticles encapsulated in poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid PLGA. Both micro/nanoparticles were observed to have narrow size distributions. We investigated and compared their passive and externally triggered drug release properties based on their different encapsulation structures for the nano and micro systems. In passive release studies, CIP demonstrated a fast rate of release in first 2 days which then slowed and sustained release for approximately 4 weeks. Significantly, magnetic nanoparticles containing systems all showed ability to have triggered drug release when exposed to an external oscillating magnetic field (OMF. An experiment where the OMF was turned on and off also confirmed the ability to control the drug release in a pulsatile manner. The magnetically triggered release resulted in a 2-fold drug release increase compared with normal passive release. To confirm drug integrity following release, the antibacterial activity of released drug was evaluated in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms in vitro. CIP maintained its antimicrobial activity after encapsulation and triggered release.

Externally controlled triggered-release of drug from PLGA micro and nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Hua, Xin; Tan, Shengnan; Bandara, H M H N; Fu, Yujie; Liu, Siguo; Smyth, Hugh D C

2014-01-01

Biofilm infections are extremely hard to eradicate and controlled, triggered and controlled drug release properties may prolong drug release time. In this study, the ability to externally control drug release from micro and nanoparticles was investigated. We prepared micro/nanoparticles containing ciprofloxacin (CIP) and magnetic nanoparticles encapsulated in poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) PLGA. Both micro/nanoparticles were observed to have narrow size distributions. We investigated and compared their passive and externally triggered drug release properties based on their different encapsulation structures for the nano and micro systems. In passive release studies, CIP demonstrated a fast rate of release in first 2 days which then slowed and sustained release for approximately 4 weeks. Significantly, magnetic nanoparticles containing systems all showed ability to have triggered drug release when exposed to an external oscillating magnetic field (OMF). An experiment where the OMF was turned on and off also confirmed the ability to control the drug release in a pulsatile manner. The magnetically triggered release resulted in a 2-fold drug release increase compared with normal passive release. To confirm drug integrity following release, the antibacterial activity of released drug was evaluated in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms in vitro. CIP maintained its antimicrobial activity after encapsulation and triggered release.

Excavation Technology for Hard Rock - Problems and Prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gillani, S.T.A.; Butt, N.

2009-01-01

Civil engineering projects have greatly benefited from the mechanical excavation of hard rock technology. Mining industry, on the other hand, is still searching for major breakthroughs to mechanize and then automate the winning of ore and drivage of access tunnels in its metalliferous sector. The aim of this study is to extend the scope of drag bits for road headers in hard rock cutting. Various factors that can impose limitations on the potential applications of drag bits in hard rock mining are investigated and discussed along with alternative technology options. (author)

Performance ratio hardness characteristics polystyrene-metal composite materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klepikov, V.F.; Prokhorenko, E.M.; Lytvynenko, V.V.; Zakharchenko, A.A.; Hazhmuradov, M.A.

2015-01-01

The methods of measuring the hardness of layered polystyrene-metallic composite materials. It is proposed to use powder-like tungsten and powder-like steel as radiation-protective layer. A measurement of the hardness of composites of different composition, and given its dependence on the particle size and their form. The possibility of increasing the hardness of the composites reinforced with metallic additives. Radiation-protective characteristics were calculated for the studied species of composite materials. Influence of the quantitative composition of the metal components is studied on the change of the absorbed dose of gamma radiation

3D Bioprinting Technologies for Hard Tissue and Organ Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaohong; Ao, Qiang; Tian, Xiaohong; Fan, Jun; Wei, Yujun; Hou, Weijian; Tong, Hao; Bai, Shuling

2016-01-01

Hard tissues and organs, including the bones, teeth and cartilage, are the most extensively exploited and rapidly developed areas in regenerative medicine field. One prominent character of hard tissues and organs is that their extracellular matrices mineralize to withstand weight and pressure. Over the last two decades, a wide variety of 3D printing technologies have been adapted to hard tissue and organ engineering. These 3D printing technologies have been defined as 3D bioprinting. Especially for hard organ regeneration, a series of new theories, strategies and protocols have been proposed. Some of the technologies have been applied in medical therapies with some successes. Each of the technologies has pros and cons in hard tissue and organ engineering. In this review, we summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the historical available innovative 3D bioprinting technologies for used as special tools for hard tissue and organ engineering. PMID:28773924

3D Bioprinting Technologies for Hard Tissue and Organ Engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaohong Wang

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Hard tissues and organs, including the bones, teeth and cartilage, are the most extensively exploited and rapidly developed areas in regenerative medicine field. One prominent character of hard tissues and organs is that their extracellular matrices mineralize to withstand weight and pressure. Over the last two decades, a wide variety of 3D printing technologies have been adapted to hard tissue and organ engineering. These 3D printing technologies have been defined as 3D bioprinting. Especially for hard organ regeneration, a series of new theories, strategies and protocols have been proposed. Some of the technologies have been applied in medical therapies with some successes. Each of the technologies has pros and cons in hard tissue and organ engineering. In this review, we summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the historical available innovative 3D bioprinting technologies for used as special tools for hard tissue and organ engineering.

3D Bioprinting Technologies for Hard Tissue and Organ Engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaohong; Ao, Qiang; Tian, Xiaohong; Fan, Jun; Wei, Yujun; Hou, Weijian; Tong, Hao; Bai, Shuling

2016-09-27

Hard tissues and organs, including the bones, teeth and cartilage, are the most extensively exploited and rapidly developed areas in regenerative medicine field. One prominent character of hard tissues and organs is that their extracellular matrices mineralize to withstand weight and pressure. Over the last two decades, a wide variety of 3D printing technologies have been adapted to hard tissue and organ engineering. These 3D printing technologies have been defined as 3D bioprinting. Especially for hard organ regeneration, a series of new theories, strategies and protocols have been proposed. Some of the technologies have been applied in medical therapies with some successes. Each of the technologies has pros and cons in hard tissue and organ engineering. In this review, we summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the historical available innovative 3D bioprinting technologies for used as special tools for hard tissue and organ engineering.

Unified Research on Network-Based Hard/Soft Information Fusion

Science.gov (United States)

2016-02-02

3.2.1 Hard +Soft Data Association Data gathered during various Counterinsurgency (or COIN) operations is in different formats . For example, the...characteristic, observation time, and related data. Figure 45: Sample snapshot frame from hard sensor data TML formats were developed and...160 Figure 54: Penn State components of overall hard and soft fusion process Summary of Year 1 Accomplishments • Team formation • Initial

Drug use prevalence among students of universities of medical sciences in Tehran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farhad Taremian

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of drug use among students of universities of Medical Sciences in Tehran. Method: Four thousands of medical students (both sexes in academic year 1388-89 in different level of education, B.A., M.Sc. and Ph.D. were selected by random stratified sampling method. These students were selected from Iran, Tehran and Shahid Beheshti Universities of Medical Sciences considering their sex and level of education. We used drug use prevalence questionnaire. Findings: The most prevalent drug of abuse in life time period was qalyan (classical pipe, followed by cigarette, and alcohol. The least frequent drug of abuse was Shisheh, followed by heroine krack. As we expected, drugs morphine, ritalin and tramadol were placed in forth, fifth and sixth of prevalent drugs. Use of different substances was significantly more prevalent in male students. Conclusion: Using soft drugs (qalyan, cigarette and alcohol was more prevalent than hard drugs (hashish, taryak, heroine kerack among Universities Medical Sciences of Tehran. Similar to drug use pattern in society, use of all of drugs were more prevalent in male students. We should pay special attention to use of drugs such as tramadol, ritalin, petedin and morphine.

Hard scattering and gauge/string duality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polchinski, Joseph; Strassler, Matthew J.

2002-01-01

We consider high-energy fixed-angle scattering of glueballs in confining gauge theories that have supergravity duals. Although the effective description is in terms of the scattering of strings, we find that the amplitudes are hard (power law). This is a consequence of the warped geometry of the dual theory, which has the effect that in an inertial frame the string process is never in the soft regime. At small angle we find hard and Regge behaviors in different kinematic regions

Radiation hardness of undoped BGO crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahu, S.K.; Peng, K.C.; Huang, H.C.; Wang, C.H.; Chang, Y.H.; Hou, W.S.; Ueno, K.; Chou, F.I.; Wei, Y.Y.

1997-01-01

We measured the radiation hardness of undoped BGO crystals from two different manufacturers. Such crystals are proposed to be used in a small-angle calorimeter of the BELLE detector of the KEK B-factory. Transparency and scintillation light output of the crystals were monitored to see the effect of radiation damage. The crystals show considerable radiation hardness up to 10.2 Mrad equivalent dose, which is much higher than the maximum expected dosage of 500 krad per year of running at BELLE. (orig.)

Diffusion corrections to the hard pomeron

CERN Document Server

Ciafaloni, Marcello; Müller, A H; Ciafaloni, Marcello; Taiuti, Martina

2001-01-01

The high-energy behaviour of two-scale hard processes is investigated in the framework of small-x models with running coupling, having the Airy diffusion model as prototype. We show that, in some intermediate high-energy regime, the perturbative hard Pomeron exponent determines the energy dependence, and we prove that diffusion corrections have the form hinted at before in particular cases. We also discuss the breakdown of such regime at very large energies, and the onset of the non-perturbative Pomeron behaviour.

Emerging drugs and alternative possibilities in the treatment of tuberculosis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hofman, S.; Segers, M.M.; Ghimire, S.; Bolhuis, M.S.; Sturkenboom, M.G.; Soolingen, D. van; Alffenaar, J.W.

2016-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health problem. Drug resistance, treatment duration, complexity, and adverse drug reactions associated with anti-TB regimens are associated with treatment failure, prolonged infectiousness and relapse. With the current set of anti-TB drugs the goal to

Emerging drugs and alternative possibilities in the treatment of tuberculosis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hofman, S.; Segers, M. M.; Ghimire, S.; Bolhuis, M. S.; Sturkenboom, M. G. G.; Van Soolingen, D.; Alffenaar, J. W. C.

2016-01-01

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health problem. Drug resistance, treatment duration, complexity, and adverse drug reactions associated with anti-TB regimens are associated with treatment failure, prolonged infectiousness and relapse. With the current set of anti-TB drugs the goal to

Particle production at large transverse momentum and hard collision models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ranft, G.; Ranft, J.

1977-04-01

The majority of the presently available experimental data is consistent with hard scattering models. Therefore the hard scattering model seems to be well established. There is good evidence for jets in large transverse momentum reactions as predicted by these models. The overall picture is however not yet well enough understood. We mention only the empirical hard scattering cross section introduced in most of the models, the lack of a deep theoretical understanding of the interplay between quark confinement and jet production, and the fact that we are not yet able to discriminate conclusively between the many proposed hard scattering models. The status of different hard collision models discussed in this paper is summarized. (author)

Fabrication of drug eluting implants: study of drug release mechanism from titanium dioxide nanotubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamlekhan, Azhang; Shokuhfar, Tolou; Sinha-Ray, Suman; Yarin, Alexander L; Takoudis, Christos; Mathew, Mathew T; Sukotjo, Cortino

2015-01-01

Formation of titanium dioxide nanotubes (TNTs) on a titanium surface holds great potential for promoting desirable cellular response. However, prolongation of drug release from these nano-reservoirs remains to be a challenge. In our previous work TNTs were successfully loaded with a drug. In this study the effect of TNTs dimensions on prolongation of drug release is quantified aiming at the introduction of a simple novel technique which overcomes complications of previously introduced methods. Different groups of TNTs with different lengths and diameters are fabricated. Samples are loaded with a model drug and rate of drug release over time is monitored. The relation of the drug release rate to the TNT dimensions (diameter, length, aspect ratio and volume) is established. The results show that an increase in any of these parameters increases the duration of the release process. However, the strongest parameter affecting the drug release is the aspect ratio. In fact, TNTs with higher aspect ratios release drug slower. It is revealed that drug release from TNT is a diffusion-limited process. Assuming that diffusion of drug in (Phosphate-Buffered Saline) PBS follows one-dimensional Fick’s law, the theoretical predictions for drug release profile is compatible with our experimental data for release from a single TNT. (paper)

Lysosomes as mediators of drug resistance in cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhitomirsky, Benny; Assaraf, Yehuda G

2016-01-01

Drug resistance remains a leading cause of chemotherapeutic treatment failure and cancer-related mortality. While some mechanisms of anticancer drug resistance have been well characterized, multiple mechanisms remain elusive. In this respect, passive ion trapping-based lysosomal sequestration of multiple hydrophobic weak-base chemotherapeutic agents was found to reduce the accessibility of these drugs to their target sites, resulting in a markedly reduced cytotoxic effect and drug resistance. Recently we have demonstrated that lysosomal sequestration of hydrophobic weak base drugs triggers TFEB-mediated lysosomal biogenesis resulting in an enlarged lysosomal compartment, capable of enhanced drug sequestration. This study further showed that cancer cells with an increased number of drug-accumulating lysosomes are more resistant to lysosome-sequestered drugs, suggesting a model of drug-induced lysosome-mediated chemoresistance. In addition to passive drug sequestration of hydrophobic weak base chemotherapeutics, other mechanisms of lysosome-mediated drug resistance have also been reported; these include active lysosomal drug sequestration mediated by ATP-driven transporters from the ABC superfamily, and a role for lysosomal copper transporters in cancer resistance to platinum-based chemotherapeutics. Furthermore, lysosomal exocytosis was suggested as a mechanism to facilitate the clearance of chemotherapeutics which highly accumulated in lysosomes, thus providing an additional line of resistance, supplementing the organelle entrapment of chemotherapeutics away from their target sites. Along with these mechanisms of lysosome-mediated drug resistance, several approaches were recently developed for the overcoming of drug resistance or exploiting lysosomal drug sequestration, including lysosomal photodestruction and drug-induced lysosomal membrane permeabilization. In this review we explore the current literature addressing the role of lysosomes in mediating cancer drug

Hard-Boiled for Hard Times in Leonardo Padura Fuentes's Detective Fiction

Science.gov (United States)

Song, H. Rosi

2009-01-01

Focusing on Leonardo Padura Fuentes's hard-boiled fiction, this essay traces the origin and evolution of the genre in Cuba. Padura Fuentes has challenged the officially sanctioned socialist "literatura policial" that became popular in the 1970s and 1980s. creating a new model of criticism that is not afraid to confront the island's socio-economic…

ARE ALL SHORT-HARD GAMMA-RAY BURSTS PRODUCED FROM MERGERS OF COMPACT STELLAR OBJECTS?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Virgili, Francisco J.; Zhang Bing; O'Brien, Paul; Troja, Eleonora

2011-01-01

The origin and progenitors of short-hard gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remain a puzzle and a highly debated topic. Recent Swift observations suggest that these GRBs may be related to catastrophic explosions in degenerate compact stars, denoted as 'Type I' GRBs. The most popular models include the merger of two compact stellar objects (NS-NS or NS-BH). We utilize a Monte Carlo approach to determine whether a merger progenitor model can self-consistently account for all the observations of short-hard GRBs, including a sample with redshift measurements in the Swift era (z-known sample) and the CGRO/BATSE sample. We apply various merger time delay distributions invoked in compact star merger models to derive the redshift distributions of these Type I GRBs, and then constrain the unknown luminosity function of Type I GRBs using the observed luminosity-redshift (L-z) distributions of the z-known sample. The best luminosity function model, together with the adopted merger delay model, is then applied to confront the peak flux distribution (log N-log P distribution) of the BATSE and Swift samples. We find that for all the merger models invoking a range of merger delay timescales (including those invoking a large fraction of 'prompt mergers'), it is difficult to reconcile the models with all the data. The data are instead statistically consistent with the following two possible scenarios. First, that short/hard GRBs are a superposition of compact-star-merger-origin (Type I) GRBs and a population of GRBs that track the star formation history, which are probably related to the deaths of massive stars (Type II GRBs). Second, the entire short/hard GRB population is consistent with a typical delay of 2 Gyr with respect to the star formation history with modest scatter. This may point toward a different Type I progenitor than the traditional compact star merger models.

Extraordinarily soft, medium-hard and hard Indian wheat varieties: Composition, protein profile, dough and baking properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Katyal, Mehak; Singh, Narpinder; Virdi, Amardeep Singh; Kaur, Amritpal; Chopra, Nidhi; Ahlawat, Arvind Kumar; Singh, Anju Mahendru

2017-10-01

Hard wheat (HW), medium-hard wheat (MHW) and extraordinarily soft wheat (Ex-SW) varieties with grain hardness index (GHI) of 83 to 95, 72 to 80, 17 to 29 were evaluated for pasting, protein molecular weight (MW) distribution, dough rheology and baking properties. Flours from varieties with higher GHI had more protein content, ash content and paste viscosities. Ex-SW had more glutenins proportion as compared to HW and MHW. Flours from Ex-SW varieties showed lower NaSRC, WA and mixographic parameters as compared to HW and MHW. Dough from flours milled from Ex-SW had higher Intermolecular-β-sheets (IM-β-sheets) than those from MHW and HW. Muffins volume increased with decrease in GHI, Ex-SW varieties had more muffin volume and less air space. The accumulation of polypeptides (PPs) varied significantly in different varieties. Ex-SW variety (QBP12-10) showed accumulation of 98, 90, 81 and 79kDa PPs, which was unique and was different from other varieties. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rock-hard coatings

OpenAIRE

Muller, M.

2007-01-01

Aircraft jet engines have to be able to withstand infernal conditions. Extreme heat and bitter cold tax coatings to the limit. Materials expert Dr Ir. Wim Sloof fits atoms together to develop rock-hard coatings. The latest invention in this field is known as ceramic matrix composites. Sloof has signed an agreement with a number of parties to investigate this material further.

Hard Electromagnetic Processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richard, F.

1987-09-01

Among hard electromagnetic processes, I will use the most recent data and focus on quantitative test of QCD. More specifically, I will retain two items: - hadroproduction of direct photons, - Drell-Yan. In addition, I will briefly discuss a recent analysis of ISR data obtained with AFS (Axial Field Spectrometer) which sheds a new light on the e/π puzzle at low P T

Induction surface hardening of hard coated steels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pantleon, K.; Kessler, O.; Hoffann, F.; Mayr, P. [Stiftung Inst. fuer Werkstofftechnik, Bremen (Germany)

1999-11-01

The properties of hard coatings deposited using CVD processes are usually excellent. However, high deposition temperatures negatively influence the substrate properties, especially in the case of low alloyed steels. Therefore, a subsequent heat treatment is necessary to restore the properties of steel substrates. Here, induction surface hardening is used as a method of heat treatment after the deposition of TiN hard coatings on AISI 4140 (DIN42CrMo4) substrates. The influences of the heat treatment on both the coating and the substrate properties are discussed in relation to the parameters of induction heating. Thereby, the heating time, heating atmosphere and the power input into the coating-substrate compounds are varied. As a result of induction surface hardening, the properties of the substrates are improved without losing good coating properties. High hardness values in the substrate near the interface allow the AISI 4140 substrates to support TiN hard coatings very well. Consequently, higher critical loads are measured in scratch tests after the heat treatment. Also, compressive residual stresses in the substrate are generated. In addition, only a very low distortion appears. (orig.)

Indonesia in the South China Sea Dispute: Humble-Hard Power

OpenAIRE

Robertua, Verdinand; Sinaga, Obsatar

2018-01-01

This research discussed the opportunities for Indonesia to act as humble-hard power in South China Sea dispute. Permanent Court of Arbitration’s decision in July 2016 to give South China Sea based on UNCLOS’s regulation has provoked China’s objection. This research question is on how to understand the conception of humble-hard power and the possibility for Indonesia to be humble-hard power in the South China Sea dispute? This article borrowed the concept of humble-hard power from Adam Nieves ...

Co-electrodeposition of hard Ni-W/diamond nanocomposite coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xinyu; Qin, Jiaqian; Das, Malay Kumar; Hao, Ruru; Zhong, Hua; Thueploy, Adisak; Limpanart, Sarintorn; Boonyongmaneerat, Yuttanant; Ma, Mingzhen; Liu, Riping

2016-02-01

Electroplated hard chrome coating is widely used as a wear resistant coating to prolong the life of mechanical components. However, the electroplating process generates hexavalent chromium ion which is known carcinogen. Hence, there is a major effort throughout the electroplating industry to replace hard chrome coating. Composite coating has been identified as suitable materials for replacement of hard chrome coating, while deposition coating prepared using traditional co-deposition techniques have relatively low particles content, but the content of particles incorporated into a coating may fundamentally affect its properties. In the present work, Ni-W/diamond composite coatings were prepared by sediment co-electrodeposition from Ni-W plating bath, containing suspended diamond particles. This study indicates that higher diamond contents could be successfully co-deposited and uniformly distributed in the Ni-W alloy matrix. The maximum hardness of Ni-W/diamond composite coatings is found to be 2249 ± 23 Hv due to the highest diamond content of 64 wt.%. The hardness could be further enhanced up to 2647 ± 25 Hv with heat treatment at 873 K for 1 h in Ar gas, which is comparable to hard chrome coatings. Moreover, the addition of diamond particles could significantly enhance the wear resistance of the coatings.

Hard times; Schwere Zeiten

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grunwald, Markus

2012-10-02

The prices of silicon and solar wafers keep dropping. According to market research specialist IMS research, this is the result of weak traditional solar markets and global overcapacities. While many manufacturers are facing hard times, big producers of silicon are continuing to expand.

Combined antiretroviral and anti- tuberculosis drug resistance ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

these epidemics, many challenges remain.[3] Antiretroviral and anti-TB drug resistance pose considerable threats to the control of these epidemics.[4,5]. The breakdown in HIV/TB control within prisons is another emerging threat.[6,7] We describe one of the first reports of combined antiretroviral and anti-TB drug resistance ...

5. FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH IRRATIONAL DRUG USE AT A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

RICHY

prevalence of irrational drug use and factors associated with it were ... The selection process adapted a ... Cultural preferences and beliefs also influence. 5 ... drugs remain a major problem. .... accounting for 51.4% of the records surveyed.

Elasticity of Hard-Spheres-And-Tether Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farago, O.; Kantor, Y.

1999-01-01

Physical properties of a large class of systems ranging from noble gases to polymers and rubber are primarily determined by entropy, while the internal energy plays a minor role. Such systems can be conveniently modeled and numerically studied using ''hard' (i.e., ''infinity-or-zero'') potentials, such as hard sphere repulsive interactions, or inextensible (''tether'') bonds which limit the distance between the bonded monomers, but have zero energy at all permitted distances. The knowledge of elastic constants is very important for understanding the behavior of entropy-dominated systems. Computational methods for determination of the elastic constants in such systems are broadly classified into ''strain'' methods and (fluctuation methods. In the former, the elastic constants are extracted from stress-strain relations, while in the latter they are determined from measurements of stress fluctuations. The fluctuation technique usually enables more accurate and well-controlled determination of the elastic constants since in this method the elastic constants are computed directly from simulations of the un strained system with no need to deform the simulation cell and perform numerical differentiations. For central forces systems, the original ''fluctuation'' formalism can be applied provided the pair potential is twice differentiable. We have extended this formalism to apply to hard-spheres-and-tether models in which this requirement is not fulfilled. We found that for such models the components of the tensor of elastic constants can be related to (two-, three- and four-point) probability densities of contacts between hard spheres and stretched bonds. We have tested our formalism on simple (phantom networks and three-dimensional hard spheres systems

Characteristics of hard X-ray double sources in impulsive solar flares

Science.gov (United States)

Sakao, T.; Kosugi, T.; Masuda, S.; Yaji, K.; Inda-Koide, M.; Makishima, K.

1996-01-01

Imaging observations of solar flare hard X-ray sources with the Hard X-ray Telescope (HXT) aboard the Yohkoh satellite have revealed that hard X-ray emissions (greater than 30 ke V) originate most frequently from double sources. The double sources are located on both sides of the magnetic neutral line, suggesting that the bulk of hard X-rays is emitted from footpoints of flaring magnetic loops. We also found that hard X-rays from the double sources are emitted simultaneously within a fraction of second and that the weaker source tends to be located in the stronger magnetic field region, showing a softer spectrum. Physcial implications on the observed characteristics of the hard X-ray double sources are discussed.

Soft skills, hard skills, and individual innovativeness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hendarman, Achmad Fajar; Cantner, Uwe

2018-01-01

of Indonesian firms from different industries are used from an online survey on manager and worker perceptions related to individual innovation performance on the one hand and individual skills on the other hand. The results show that soft skills and hard skills are significantly and positively associated...... with individual level innovativeness. However, no complementarity (positive interaction effect) is found between soft skills and hard skills....

Evaluation and Comparison of the Effects of RRA, T73 and T6 Heat Treatments on Hardness, Tensile and Bending Strengths of 7075 Aluminum Alloy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Assadi

2016-09-01

20 min and in the third stage aging process was repeated like T6 treatment. Evaluation of the microstructures and fractured surfaces were performed with optical microscopes (OM and scanning electron microscopes (SEM. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS was used to study the chemical composition of precipitates. Hardness, tensile and bending strength were evaluated according to ASTM E384-11e1, ASTM B557-06 and DIN 50121 standards. RRA treatment increased tensile strength from 466 to 485 MPa and hardness from 110 to 165 Vickers. After T6 treatment, tensile strength increased from 466 to 505 MPa and hardness from 110 to 160 Vickers. In T73 process, the tensile strength remained almost constant (465 MPa but yield strength increased from 394 to 410 MPa and hardness decreased from 110 to 84 Vickers. The bending strength increased from 797 to 844, 920 and 1030 MPa in T73, RRA and T6 processes, respectively. By applying RRA process in optimized temperature and time, hardness, tensile and bending strengths of 7075 aluminum alloy were enhanced from 5 to 15% compared to that of T6 and T73 processes.

Hardness of carbides, nitrides, and borides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroeter, W.

1981-01-01

Intermetallic compounds of metals with non-metals such as C, N, and B show different hardness. Wagner's interaction parameter characterizes manner and extent of the interaction between the atoms of the substance dissolved and the additional elements in metallic mixed phases. An attempt has been made to correlate the hardness of carbides, nitrides, and borides (data taken from literature) with certain interaction parameters and associated thermodynamic quantities (ΔH, ΔG). For some metals of periods 4, 5, and 6 corresponding relations were found between microhardness, interaction parameters, heat of formation, and atomic number

High performance sinter-HIP for hard metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hongxia Chen; Deming Zhang; Yang Li; Jingping Chen

2001-01-01

The horizontal sinter-HIP equipment with great charge capacity and high performance, developed and manufactured by Central Iron and Steel Research Institute(CISRI), is mainly used for sintering and condensation of hard metals. This equipment is characterized by large hot zone, high heating speed, good temperature uniformity and fast cooling system. The equipment can provide uniform hot zone with temperature difference less than 6 o C at 1500-1600 o C and 6-10 MPa by controlling temperature, pressure and circulation of gas precisely. Using large scale horizontal sinter-HIP equipment to produce hard matals have many advantages such as stable quality, high efficiency of production, high rate of finished products and low production cost, so this equipment is a good choice for manufacturer of hard metals. (author)

Alcohol as a Gateway Drug: A Study of US 12th Graders

Science.gov (United States)

Kirby, Tristan; Barry, Adam E.

2012-01-01

Background: The Gateway Drug Theory suggests that licit drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol, serve as a "gateway" toward the use of other, illicit drugs. However, there remains some discrepancy regarding which drug--alcohol, tobacco, or even marijuana--serves as the initial "gateway" drug subsequently leading to the use of…

Ethnographic research in immigrant-specific drug abuse recovery houses.

Science.gov (United States)

Pagano, Anna; Lee, Juliet P; García, Victor; Recarte, Carlos

2018-01-01

Access to study populations is a major concern for drug use and treatment researchers. Spaces related to drug use and treatment have varying levels of researcher accessibility based on several issues, including legality, public versus private settings, and insider/outsider status. Ethnographic research methods are indispensable for gaining and maintaining access to hidden or "hard-to-reach" populations. Here, we discuss our long-term ethnographic research on drug abuse recovery houses created by and for Latino migrants and immigrants in Northern California. We take our field work experiences as a case study to examine the problem of researcher access and how ethnographic strategies can be successfully applied to address it, focusing especially on issues of entrée, building rapport, and navigating field-specific challenges related to legality, public/private settings, and insider/outsider status. We conclude that continued funding support for ethnography is essential for promoting health disparities research focused on diverse populations in recovery from substance use disorders.

A review of drug-drug interactions in older HIV-infected patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Chary, Aarthi; Nguyen, Nancy N; Maiton, Kimberly; Holodniy, Mark

2017-12-01

The number of older HIV-infected people is growing due to increasing life expectancies resulting from the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Both HIV and aging increase the risk of other comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and some malignancies, leading to greater challenges in managing HIV with other conditions. This results in complex medication regimens with the potential for significant drug-drug interactions and increased morbidity and mortality. Area covered: We review the metabolic pathways of ART and other medications used to treat medical co-morbidities, highlight potential areas of concern for drug-drug interactions, and where feasible, suggest alternative approaches for treating these conditions as suggested from national guidelines or articles published in the English language. Expert commentary: There is limited evidence-based data on ART drug interactions, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in the older HIV-infected population. Choosing and maintaining effective ART regimens for older adults requires consideration of side effect profile, individual comorbidities, interactions with concurrent prescriptions and non-prescription medications and supplements, dietary patterns with respect to dosing, pill burden and ease of dosing, cost and affordability, patient preferences, social situation, and ART resistance history. Practitioners must remain vigilant for potential drug interactions and intervene when there is a potential for harm.

Profiling online recreational/prescription drugs' customers and overview of drug vending virtual marketplaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Orsolini, Laura; Francesconi, Giulia; Papanti, Duccio; Giorgetti, Arianna; Schifano, Fabrizio

2015-07-01

Internet and social networking sites play a significant role in the marketing and distribution of recreational/prescription drugs without restrictions. We aimed here at reviewing data relating to the profile of the online drug customer and at describing drug vending websites. The PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases were searched here in order to elicit data on the socio-demographic characteristics of the recreational marketplaces/online pharmacies' customers and the determinants relating to online drug purchasing activities. Typical online recreational drugs' customers seem to be Caucasian, men, in their 20s, highly educated, and using the web to impact as minimally as possible on their existing work/professional status. Conversely, people without any health insurance seemed to look at the web as a source of more affordable prescription medicines. Drug vending websites are typically presented here with a "no prescription required" approach, together with aggressive marketing strategies. The online availability of recreational/prescriptions drugs remains a public health concern. A more precise understanding of online vending sites' customers may well facilitate the drafting and implementation of proper prevention campaigns aimed at counteracting the increasing levels of online drug acquisition and hence intake activities. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Microstructure and Hardness Distribution of Resistance Welded Advanced High Strength Steels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Kim Richardt; Harthøj, Anders; Friis, Kasper Leth

2008-01-01

In this work a low carbon steel and two high strength steels (DP600 and TRIP700) have been resistance lap welded and the hardness profiles were measured by micro hardness indentation of cross sections of the joint. The resulting microstructure of the weld zone of the DP-DP and TRIP-TRIP joints were...... found to consist of a martensitic structure with a significant increase in hardness. Joints of dissimilar materials mixed completely in the melted region forming a new alloy with a hardness profile lying in between the hardness measured in joints of the similar materials. Furthermore the joints were...

Nanosuspension Technology for Solubilizing Poorly Soluble Drugs

OpenAIRE

Deoli Mukesh

2012-01-01

Poor water solubility for many drugs and drug candidates remains a major obstacle to their development and clinical application. It is estimated that around 40% of drugs in the pipeline cannot be delivered through the preferred route or in some cases, at all owing to poor water solubility. Conventional formulations to improve solubility suffer from low bioavailability and poor pharmacokinetics, with some carriers rendering systemic toxicities (e.g. Cremophor1 EL). To date, nanoscale systems f...

Hard Times as Bodie: the allegorical functionality in E.L. Doctorow’s Welcome to Hard Times (1960

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. van der Merwe

2007-07-01

Full Text Available “Welcome to Hard Times” (1960, E.L. Doctorow’s first novel, differs from the rest of his oeuvre because it is not set in a metropolitan context like New York. References to historical events that contain an apparent “mixture” of “factual” and fictional elements that are typical of Doctorow’s oeuvre are less prominent than in his other fiction, though definitely not absent. An analysis of the pioneer setting, the town Hard Times, reveals that other settings (including metropolitan ones like New York are not merely representations of specific contexts, but portrayals with allegorical elements. Criticism of Doctorow’s fiction does not sufficiently point out the rationale of Doctorow’s fiction in relation to his first novel: it is not just the basic level that contains the true topicality but also the underlying causal and thematic relationships. This article sets out to explore “Welcome to Hard Times” as a case in point. The objective of this article is therefore also to show that an analysis of this novel provides a valuable basis for understanding the allegorical character of his fiction. Angus Fletcher’s theoretical analysis, “Allegory: the theory of a symbolic mode” (1964, serves as a useful starting point for the analysis of the allegorical value of space and the town Hard Times as a microcosmic or symbolic society, as well as the “daemonic agents” in the town and the role of causality.

[Investigation on noncarious hard tissue lesions of teeth in teachers of one university in Shanghai municipality].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yi-li; Zhang, Zhe-dan; Guo, Jian-qing; Zhu, Ya-ping; Wang, Qun; Gao, Ling-yu

2011-06-01

To investigate the condition of four kinds of noncarious hard tissue lesions of the teeth in teachers of one university in Shanghai municipality and provide guidance about oral health care. The table and the standard on oral health survey authorized by WHO were adopted, condition of four kinds of noncarious hard tissue lesions of teeth in 776 teachers of East China University of Science was investigated and analyzed using SPSS16.0 software package. The average wedge-shaped defect teeth was 5.54±3.87, the incidence was 30.41%, caries incidence of the first bicuspid was the highest(29.52%). The incidence of tetracycline pigmentation teeth was 3.09%, the incidence of enamel hypoplasia was 2.06%, and the incidence of dental fluorosis was 1.55%. The average wedge-shaped defect teeth is higher than the data over the country, the incidence of dental textural anomaly is lower. The behaviors of oral health care of university teachers in Shanghai municipality remains to be further strengthened.

Assessment of indicators for hospital drug formulary non-adherence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fijn, R; Lenderink, AW; Egberts, ACG; Brouwers, JRBJ; De Jong-Van DenBerg, LTW

Background: Translation of rational drug therapy into practice remains an international problem. Although pharmacotherapeutic treatment guidelines (PTGs) as managerial tools are favoured over hospital drug formularies (HDFs), the latter are still applied in most hospitals. HDF enforcement often

Candidate Targets for New Anti-Virulence Drugs: Selected Cases of Bacterial Adhesion and Biofilm Formation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klemm, Per; Hancock, Viktoria; Kvist, Malin

2007-01-01

is particularly problematic in medical contexts because biofilm-associated bacteria are particularly hard to eradicate. Several promising candidate drugs that target bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation are being developed. Some of these might be valuable weapons for fighting infectious diseases in the future...... formation are highly attractive targets for new drugs. Specific adhesion provides bacteria with target selection and prevents removal by hydrodynamic flow forces. Bacterial adhesion is of paramount importance for bacterial pathogenesis. Adhesion is also the first step in biofilm formation. Biofilm formation...

A controlled evaluation of family behavior therapy in concurrent child neglect and drug abuse.

Science.gov (United States)

Donohue, Brad; Azrin, Nathan H; Bradshaw, Kelsey; Van Hasselt, Vincent B; Cross, Chad L; Urgelles, Jessica; Romero, Valerie; Hill, Heather H; Allen, Daniel N

2014-08-01

Approximately 50% of child protective service (CPS) referrals abuse drugs; yet, existing treatment studies in this population have been limited to case examinations. Therefore, a family-based behavioral therapy was evaluated in mothers referred from CPS for child neglect and drug abuse utilizing a controlled experimental design. Seventy-two mothers evidencing drug abuse or dependence and child neglect were randomly assigned to family behavior therapy (FBT) or treatment as usual (TAU). Participants were assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 10 months postrandomization. As hypothesized, intent-to-treat repeated measures analyses revealed mothers referred for child neglect not due to their children being exposed to illicit drugs demonstrated better outcomes in child maltreatment potential from baseline to 6- and 10-month postrandomization assessments when assigned to FBT, as compared with TAU mothers and FBT mothers who were referred due to child drug exposure. Similar results occurred for hard drug use from baseline to 6 and 10 months postrandomization. However, TAU mothers referred due to child drug exposure were also found to decrease their hard drug use more than TAU mothers of non-drug-exposed children and FBT mothers of drug-exposed children at 6 and 10 months postrandomization. Although effect sizes for mothers assigned to FBT were slightly larger for marijuana use than TAU (medium vs. large), these differences were not statistically significant. Specific to secondary outcomes, mothers in FBT, relative to TAU, increased time employed from baseline to 6 and 10 months postrandomization. Mothers in FBT, compared to TAU, also decreased HIV risk from baseline to 6 months postrandomization. There were no differences in outcome between FBT and TAU for number of days children were in CPS custody and alcohol intoxication, although FBT mothers demonstrated marginal decreases (p = .058) in incarceration from baseline to 6 months postrandomization relative to TAU mothers

Potential Drug-Drug Interactions among Patients prescriptions collected from Medicine Out-patient Setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Farooqui, Riffat; Hoor, Talea; Karim, Nasim; Muneer, Mehtab

2018-01-01

To identify and evaluate the frequency, severity, mechanism and common pairs of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in prescriptions by consultants in medicine outpatient department. This cross sectional descriptive study was done by Pharmacology department of Bahria University Medical & Dental College (BUMDC) in medicine outpatient department (OPD) of a private hospital in Karachi from December 2015 to January 2016. A total of 220 prescriptions written by consultants were collected. Medications given with patient's diagnosis were recorded. Drugs were analyzed for interactions by utilizing Medscape drug interaction checker, drugs.com checker and stockley`s drug interactions index. Two hundred eleven prescriptions were selected while remaining were excluded from the study because of unavailability of the prescribed drugs in the drug interaction checkers. In 211 prescriptions, two common diagnoses were diabetes mellitus (28.43%) and hypertension (27.96%). A total of 978 medications were given. Mean number of medications per prescription was 4.6. A total of 369 drug-drug interactions were identified in 211 prescriptions (175%). They were serious 4.33%, significant 66.12% and minor 29.53%. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions were 37.94% and 51.21% respectively while 10.84% had unknown mechanism. Number wise common pairs of DDIs were Omeprazole-Losartan (S), Gabapentine- Acetaminophen (M), Losartan-Diclofenac (S). The frequency of DDIs is found to be too high in prescriptions of consultants from medicine OPD of a private hospital in Karachi. Significant drug-drug interactions were more and mostly caused by Pharmacodynamic mechanism. Number wise evaluation showed three common pairs of drugs involved in interactions.

Soft shoulders ahead: spurious signatures of soft and partial selective sweeps result from linked hard sweeps.

Science.gov (United States)

Schrider, Daniel R; Mendes, Fábio K; Hahn, Matthew W; Kern, Andrew D

2015-05-01

Characterizing the nature of the adaptive process at the genetic level is a central goal for population genetics. In particular, we know little about the sources of adaptive substitution or about the number of adaptive variants currently segregating in nature. Historically, population geneticists have focused attention on the hard-sweep model of adaptation in which a de novo beneficial mutation arises and rapidly fixes in a population. Recently more attention has been given to soft-sweep models, in which alleles that were previously neutral, or nearly so, drift until such a time as the environment shifts and their selection coefficient changes to become beneficial. It remains an active and difficult problem, however, to tease apart the telltale signatures of hard vs. soft sweeps in genomic polymorphism data. Through extensive simulations of hard- and soft-sweep models, here we show that indeed the two might not be separable through the use of simple summary statistics. In particular, it seems that recombination in regions linked to, but distant from, sites of hard sweeps can create patterns of polymorphism that closely mirror what is expected to be found near soft sweeps. We find that a very similar situation arises when using haplotype-based statistics that are aimed at detecting partial or ongoing selective sweeps, such that it is difficult to distinguish the shoulder of a hard sweep from the center of a partial sweep. While knowing the location of the selected site mitigates this problem slightly, we show that stochasticity in signatures of natural selection will frequently cause the signal to reach its zenith far from this site and that this effect is more severe for soft sweeps; thus inferences of the target as well as the mode of positive selection may be inaccurate. In addition, both the time since a sweep ends and biologically realistic levels of allelic gene conversion lead to errors in the classification and identification of selective sweeps. This

Transition from reversible to irreversible magnetic exchange-spring processes in antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled hard/soft/hard trilayer structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xiguang; Guo Guanghua; Zhang Guangfu

2011-01-01

The demagnetization processes of antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled hard/soft/hard trilayer structures have been studied based on the discrete one-dimensional atomic chain model and the linear partial domain-wall model. It is found that, when the magnetic anisotropy of soft layer is taken into account, the changes of the soft layer thickness and the interfacial exchange coupling strength may lead a transition of demagnetization process in soft layer from the reversible to the irreversible magnetic exchange-spring process. For the trilayer structures with very thin soft layer, the demagnetization process exhibits typical reversible exchange-spring behavior. However, as the thickness of soft layer is increased, there is a crossover point t c , after which the process becomes irreversible. Similarly, there is also a critical interfacial exchange coupling constant A sh c , above which the exchange-spring process is reversible. When A sh sh c , the irreversible exchange-spring process is achieved. The phase diagram of reversible and irreversible exchange-spring processes is mapped in the plane of the interfacial exchange coupling A sh and soft layer thickness N s . - Research highlights: → A differing magnetic exchange-spring process is found in antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled hard/soft/hard trilayers if the magnetic anisotropy of the soft layers is taken into account. → The change of the soft layer thickness may lead to a transition of demagnetization process in soft layer from the reversible to the irreversible exchange-spring process. → The change of the soft-hard interfacial exchange coupling strength may lead a transition of demagnetization process in soft layer from the reversible to the irreversible exchange-spring process. → The phase diagram of reversible and irreversible exchange-spring processes is mapped in the plane of the interfacial exchange coupling and soft layer thickness.

Mongoose: Creation of a Rad-Hard MIPS R3000

Science.gov (United States)

Lincoln, Dan; Smith, Brian

1993-01-01

This paper describes the development of a 32 Bit, full MIPS R3000 code-compatible Rad-Hard CPU, code named Mongoose. Mongoose progressed from contract award, through the design cycle, to operational silicon in 12 months to meet a space mission for NASA. The goal was the creation of a fully static device capable of operation to the maximum Mil-883 derated speed, worst-case post-rad exposure with full operational integrity. This included consideration of features for functional enhancements relating to mission compatibility and removal of commercial practices not supported by Rad-Hard technology. 'Mongoose' developed from an evolution of LSI Logic's MIPS-I embedded processor, LR33000, code named Cobra, to its Rad-Hard 'equivalent', Mongoose. The term 'equivalent' is used to infer that the core of the processor is functionally identical, allowing the same use and optimizations of the MIPS-I Instruction Set software tool suite for compilation, software program trace, etc. This activity was started in September of 1991 under a contract from NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)-Flight Data Systems. The approach affected a teaming of NASA-GSFC for program development, LSI Logic for system and ASIC design coupled with the Rad-Hard process technology, and Harris (GASD) for Rad-Hard microprocessor design expertise. The program culminated with the generation of Rad-Hard Mongoose prototypes one year later.

Interaction of Drugs in the Hyperbaric Environment, Bethesda, Maryland, 13-14 September 1979. The Undersea Medical Workshop (21st),

Science.gov (United States)

1980-10-01

activity. At the moment we would be hard- pressed to provide a definitive answer. 3. The use of "social" drugs such as alcohol or cannabis in con...innocuous drugs ASA, acetaminophen, caffeine , diphen- hydramine, dimenhydrinate, may cause significant decrements in perfor- mance at 3-7 ATA (10...pressure interactions, a few have indicated no changes in the hyperbaric envi- ronment. Animal evaluations of caffeine , theophylline, dimenhydrinate

Package selection for moisture protection for solid, oral drug products.

Science.gov (United States)

Waterman, Kenneth C; MacDonald, Bruce C

2010-11-01

This review describes how best to select the appropriate packaging options for solid, oral drug products based on both chemical and physical stability, with respect to moisture protection. This process combines an accounting for the initial moisture content of dosage form components, moisture transfer into (out of) packaging based on a moisture vapor transfer rate (MVTR), and equilibration between drug products and desiccants based on their moisture sorption isotherms to provide an estimate of the instantaneous relative humidity (RH) within the packaging. This time-based RH is calculationally combined with a moisture-sensitive Arrhenius equation (determined using the accelerated stability assessment program, ASAP) to predict the drug product's chemical stability over time as a function of storage conditions and packaging options. While physical stability of dosage forms with respect to moisture has been less well documented, a process is recommended based on the threshold RH at which changes (e.g., dosage form dissolution, tablet hardness, drug form) become problematic. The overall process described allows packaging to be determined for a drug product scientifically, with the effect of any changes to storage conditions or packaging to be explicitly accounted for. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association

How to estimate hardness of crystals on a pocket calculator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simunek, Antonin

2007-01-01

A generalization of the semiempirical microscopic model of hardness is presented and applied to currently studied borides, carbides, and nitrides of heavy transition metals. The hardness of OsB, OsC, OsN, PtN, RuC, RuB 2 , ReB 2 , OsB 2 , IrN 2 , PtN 2 , and OsN 2 crystals in various structural phases is predicted. It is found that none of the transition metal crystals is superhard, i.e., with hardness greater than 40 GPa. The presented method provides materials researchers with a practical tool in the search for new hard materials

Hard Break-Up of Two-Nucleons and QCD Dynamics of NN Interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sargsian, Misak

2008-01-01

We discus recent developments in theory of high energy two-body break-up of few-nucleon systems. The characteristics of these reactions are such that the hard two-body quasielastic subprocess can be clearly separated from the accompanying soft subprocesses. We discuss in details the hard rescattering model (HRM) in which hard photodisintegration develops in two stages. At first, photon knocks-out an energetic quark which rescatters subsequently with a quark of the other nucleon. The latter provides a mechanism of sharing the initial high momentum of the photon between two outgoing nucleons. This final state hard rescattering can be expressed through the hard NN scattering amplitude. Within HRM we discuss hard break-up reactions involving D and 3 He targets and demonstrate how these reactions are sensitive to the dynamics of hard pn and pp interaction. Another development of HRM is the prediction of new helicity selection mechanism for hard two-body reactions, which was apparently confirmed in the recent JLab experiment.

Application of hard coatings for blanking and piercing tools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Podgornik, B.; Zajec, B.; Bay, Niels

2011-01-01

The aim of the present investigation was to examine the possibility of reducing lubrication and replacing expensive tungsten carbide material in blanking/piercing through introduction of hard tool coatings. Results show that hard PVD coatings can be successfully used in blanking/piercing...... critical value under dry friction conditions and leads to tool failure. Therefore, at present oxidation and temperature resistant hard coatings can give improved wear resistance of stamping tools, but elimination of lubricants in blanking and piercing processes is still not feasible....

Erosion testing of hard materials and coatings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hawk, Jeffrey A.

2005-04-29

Erosion is the process by which unconstrained particles, usually hard, impact a surface, creating damage that leads to material removal and component failure. These particles are usually very small and entrained in fluid of some type, typically air. The damage that occurs as a result of erosion depends on the size of the particles, their physical characteristics, the velocity of the particle/fluid stream, and their angle of impact on the surface of interest. This talk will discuss the basics of jet erosion testing of hard materials, composites and coatings. The standard test methods will be discussed as well as alternative approaches to determining the erosion rate of materials. The damage that occurs will be characterized in genera1 terms, and examples will be presented for the erosion behavior of hard materials and coatings (both thick and thin).

PENGEMBANGAN MODEL PEMBELAJARAN SOFT SKILLS DAN HARD SKILLS UNTUK SISWA SMK

OpenAIRE

Widarto Noto Widodo, Pardjono

2013-01-01

Abstrak: Pengembangan Model Pembelajaran Soft Skills dan Hard Skills untuk Siswa SMK. Era global menuntut sumber daya manusia yang memiliki daya saing, adaptif dan antisipatif, mampu belajar, terampil, mudah beradaptasi dengan teknologi baru. Profil tenaga kerja yang dibutuhkan pasar adalah yang kuat pada aspek soft skills dan hard skills. Ada tiga alternatif model pendidikan yang memadukan hard skills dan soft skills, yaitu (1) aspek soft skills dan hard skills dilaksanakan di sekolah; (2) a...

Internal strains after recovery of hardness in tempered martensitic steels for fusion reactors

Science.gov (United States)

Brunelli, L.; Gondi, P.; Montanari, R.; Coppola, R.

1991-03-01

After tempering, with recovery of hardness, MANET steels present internal strains; these residual strains increase with quenching rate prior to tempering, and they remain after prolonged tempering times. On account of their persistence, after thermal treatments which lead to low dislocation and sub-boundary densities, the possibility has been considered that the high swelling resistance of MANET is connected with these centres of strain, probably connected with the formation, in ferrite, of Cr-enriched and contiguous Cr-depleted zones which may act as sinks for interstitials. Comparative observations on the internal strain behaviour of cold worked 316L stainless steel appear consistent with this possibility.

Hidden wholesale: The drug diffusing capacity of online drug cryptomarkets.

Science.gov (United States)

Aldridge, Judith; Décary-Hétu, David

2016-09-01

In spite of globalizing processes 'offline' retail drug markets remain localized and - in recent decades - typically 'closed', in which dealers sell primarily to known customers. We characterize drug cryptomarkets as 'anonymous open' marketplaces that allow the diffusion of drugs across locales. Where cryptomarket customers make stock-sourcing purchases for offline distribution, the cryptomarket may indirectly serve drug users who are not themselves cryptomarket customers, thereby increasing the drug diffusing capacity of these marketplaces. Our research aimed to identify wholesale activity on the first major cryptomarket, Silk Road 1. Data were collected 13-15 September 2013. A bespoke web crawler downloaded content from the first major drug cryptomarket, Silk Road 1. This generated data on 1031 vendors and 10,927 drug listings. We estimated monthly revenues to ascertain the relative importance of wholesale priced listings. Wholesale-level revenue generation (sales for listings priced over USD $1000.00) accounted for about a quarter of the revenue generation on SR1 overall. Ecstasy-type drugs dominated wholesale activity on this marketplace, but we also identified substantial wholesale transactions for benzodiazepines and prescription stimulants. Less important, but still generating wholesale revenue, were cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. Although vendors on the marketplace were located in 41 countries, wholesale activity was confined to only a quarter of these, with China, the Netherlands, Canada and Belgium prominent. The cryptomarket may function in part as a virtual broker, linking wholesalers with offline retail-level distributors. For drugs like ecstasy, these marketplaces may link vendors in producer countries directly with retail level suppliers. Wholesale activity on cryptomarkets may serve to increase the diffusion of new drugs - and wider range of drugs - in offline drug markets, thereby indirectly serving drug users who are not cryptomarket

Carnauba wax as a promising excipient in melt granulation targeting the preparation of mini-tablets for sustained release of highly soluble drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Nart, Viviane; Beringhs, André O'Reilly; França, Maria Terezinha; de Espíndola, Brenda; Pezzini, Bianca Ramos; Stulzer, Hellen Karine

2017-01-01

Mini-tablets are a new tendency in solid dosage form design for overcoming therapeutic obstacles such as impaired swallowing and polypharmacy therapy. Among their advantages, these systems offer therapeutic benefits such as dose flexibility and combined drug release patterns. The use of lipids in the formulation has also drawn considerable interest as means to modify the drug release from the dosage form. Therefore, this paper aimed at developing sustained release mini-tablets containing the highly soluble drugs captopril and metformin hydrochloride. Carnauba wax was used as a lipid component in melt granulation, targeting the improvement of the drugs poor flowability and tabletability, as well as to sustain the drug release profiles in association with other excipients. To assist sustaining the drug release, Ethocel™ (EC) and Kollicoat® SR 30D associated with Opadry® II were employed as matrix-forming and reservoir-forming materials, respectively. The neat drugs, granules and the bulk formulations were evaluated for their angle of repose, compressibility index, Hausner ratio and tabletability. Mini-tablets were evaluated for their weight variation, hardness, friability, drug content and in-vitro drug release. The results indicated that melt granulation with carnauba wax improved the flow and the tabletability of the drugs, allowing the preparation of mini-tablets with adequate tensile strength under reduced compaction pressures. All mini-tablet formulations showed acceptable hardness (within the range of 1.16 to 3.93Kp) and friability (carnauba wax proved to be a promising excipient in melt granulation targeting the preparation of mini-tablets for sustained release of soluble drugs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rad Hard Active Media For Calorimeters

CERN Document Server

Norbeck, E; Möller, A; Onel, Y

2006-01-01

Zero-degree calorimeters have limited space and extreme levels of radiation. A simple, low cost, radiation hard design uses tungstenmetal as the absorber and a suitable liquid as the ˇCerenkov radiator. In other applications a PPAC (Parallel Plate Avalanche Counter) operatingwith a suitable atmosphericpressure gas is an attractive active material for a calorimeter. It can be made radiation hard and has sufficient gain in the gas that no electronic components are needed near the detector. It works well even with the highest concentration of shower particles. For this pressure range, R134A (used in auto air conditioners) has many desirable features.

Effects of explosions in hard rocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heuze, F.E.; Walton, O.R.; Maddix, D.M.; Shaffer, R.J.; Butkovich, T.R.

1993-01-01

This work relates to explosions in hard rocks (ex: basalt, granite, limestone...). Hard rock masses typically have a blocky structure created by the existence of geologic discontinuities such as bedding contacts, faults, and joints. At very high pressure - hundreds of kilobars and above - these discontinuities do not act separately, and the rock appears to be an equivalent continuous medium. At stress of a few tens of kilobars and below, the geologic discontinuities control the kinematics of the rock masses. Hence, the simulation of rock dynamics, anywhere but in the very-near source region, should account for those kinematics

[Effects of the new comprehensive system for designating illegal drug components on the abuse of designer drugs and future problems based on an online questionnaire].

Science.gov (United States)

Morino, Taichi; Okazaki, Mitsuhiro; Toda, Takaki; Yokoyama, Takashi

2015-12-01

Recently, the abuse of designer drugs has become a social problem. Designer drugs are created by modifying part of the chemical structure of drugs that have already been categorized as illegal, thereby creating a different chemical compound in order to evade Pharmaceutical Affairs Law regulations. The new comprehensive system for designating illegal drug components has been in effect since March 2013, and many designer drugs can now be regulated. We conducted an online questionnaire survey of people with a history of designer drug use to elucidate the effects of the new system on the abuse of designer drugs and to identify potential future problems. Over half the subjects obtained designer drugs only before the new system was implemented. Awareness of the system was significantly lower among subjects who obtained designer drugs for the first time after its introduction than those who obtained the drugs only before its implementation. Due to the new system, all methods of acquiring designer drugs saw decreases in activity. However, the ratio of the acquisition of designer drugs via the Internet increased. Since over 50% of the subjects never obtained designer drugs after the new system was introduced, goals that aimed to make drug procurement more difficult were achieved. However, awareness of the new system among subjects who obtained designer drugs after the new system was introduced was significantly low. Therefore, fostering greater public awareness of the new system is necessary. The results of the questionnaire also suggested that acquiring designer drugs through the Internet has hardly been affected by the new system. We strongly hope that there will be a greater push to restrict the sale of designer drugs on the Internet in the near future.

Hard facings used in welded joints. Industrial applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delair, J.

1998-01-01

In this article, two industrial application cases of special hard facings used in offshore and nuclear fabrications are described into details. These hard facings concern more particularly 1)the heterogeneous joints of a martensitic steel on an ordinary carbon steel 2)the homogeneous joints of a high resistive low alloy carbon steel. (O.M.)

Development of radiation hard components for remote maintenance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, Kiyoshi; Obara, Kenjiro; Kakudate, Satoshi; Tominaga, Ryuichiro; Akada, Tamio; Morita, Hirosuke.

1997-01-01

In International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), in-vessel remote-handling is inevitably required to assemble and maintain activated in-vessel components due to D-T operation. The components of the in-vessel remote-handling system must have sufficient radiation hardness to allow for operation under an intense gamma-ray radiation of over 30 kGy/h for periods up to more than 1,000 hours. To this end, extensive irradiation tests and quality improvements including the optimization of material composition have been conducted through the ITER R and D program in order to develop radiation hard components which satisfy radiation doses from 10 MGy to 100 MGy at the dose rate of 10 kGy/h. This paper outlines the latest status of the radiation hard component development that has been conducted as the Japan Home Team's contribution to ITER. The remote-handling components tested are categorized into either robotics, viewing systems or common components. The irradiation tests include commercial base products for screening both modified and newly developed products to improve their radiation hardness. (author)

A new, bright and hard aluminum surface produced by anodization

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Fengyan; Hu, Bo; Tay, See Leng; Wang, Yuxin; Xiong, Chao; Gao, Wei

2017-07-01

Anodized aluminum (Al) and Al alloys have a wide range of applications. However, certain anodized finishings have relatively low hardness, dull appearance and/or poor corrosion resistance, which limited their applications. In this research, Al was first electropolished in a phosphoric acid-based solution, then anodized in a sulfuric acid-based solution under controlled processing parameters. The anodized specimen was then sealed by two-step sealing method. A systematic study including microstructure, surface morphology, hardness and corrosion resistance of these anodized films has been conducted. Results show that the hardness of this new anodized film was increased by a factor of 10 compared with the pure Al metal. Salt spray corrosion testing also demonstrated the greatly improved corrosion resistance. Unlike the traditional hard anodized Al which presents a dull-colored surface, this newly developed anodized Al alloy possesses a very bright and shiny surface with good hardness and corrosion resistance.

Influence of skin hardness on dehydration kinetics of wine grapes.

Science.gov (United States)

Rolle, Luca; Caudana, Alberto; Giacosa, Simone; Gerbi, Vincenzo; Río Segade, Susana

2011-02-01

Knowledge of the influence of initial mechanical properties on the evolution of the weight loss of berries through the drying process is scarce. Therefore, the main purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of skin hardness at two different physiological stages of off-vine drying kinetics of grapes. Skin hardness was evaluated as the berry skin-break force parameter, measured by the texture analysis test. The decrease of berry weight as a function of the drying time was linear, indicating that the drying rates were constant within each cultivar studied (Moscato bianco and Erbaluce), and for each ripening stage and berry skin hardness. The drying rates decreased as berry skin hardness increased for the ripest grapes in the cultivars studied. The study allowed the assessment of the correlation between the skin hardness of fresh berries and the weight loss determined for different drying days. 2010 Society of Chemical Industry.

Approaching the Hard-to-Reach in Organized Colorectal Cancer Screening: an Overview of Individual, Provider and System Level Coping Strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jason Liwen Huang

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Despite the proven effectiveness of colorectal cancer (CRC screening on reduction of CRC mortality, the uptake of CRC screening remains low. Participation rate is one of determinants for the success of organized population-based screening program. This review aims to identify those who are hard-to-reach, and summarize the strategies to increase their screening rate from individual, provider and system levels. Methods: A systematic search of electronic English databases was conducted on the factors and strategies of uptake in CRC screening for the hard-to-reach population up to May 2017. Discussion: The coverage rate and participation rate are two indexes to identify the hard-to-reach population in organized CRC screening program. However, the homeless, new immigrants, people with severe mental illness, the jail intimates, and people with characteristics including lower education levels and/or low socioeconomic status, living in rural/remote areas, without insurance, and racial minorities are usually recognized as hard-to-reach populations. For them, organized screening programs offer a better coverage, while novel invitation approaches for eligible individuals and multiple strategies from primary care physicians are still needed to enhance screening rates among subjects who are hard-to-reach. Suggestions implied the effectiveness of interventions at the system level, including linkages to general practice; use of decision making tools; enlisting supports from coalition; and the continuum from screening to diagnosis and treatment. Conclusion: Organized CRC screening offers a system access to approach the hard-to-reach populations. To increase their uptake, multiple and novel strategies from individual, provider and system levels should be applied. For policymakers, public healthcare providers and community stakeholders, it is a test to tailor their potential needs and increase their participation rates through continuous efforts to

Square pulse current wave’s effect on electroplated nickel hardness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bibian Alonso Hoyos

2006-09-01

Full Text Available The effects of frequency, average current density and duty cycle on the hardness of electroplated nickel were studied in Watts and sulphamate solutions by means of direct and square pulse current. The results in Watts’ solutions revealed greater hardness at low duty cycle, high average current density and high square pulse current frequency. There was little variation in hardness in nickel sulphamate solutions to changes in duty cycle and wave frequency. Hardness values obtained in the Watts’ bath with square pulse current were higher than those achieved with direct current at the same average current density; such difference was not significant in sulphamate bath treatment.

Signature Schemes Secure against Hard-to-Invert Leakage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Faust, Sebastian; Hazay, Carmit; Nielsen, Jesper Buus

2012-01-01

of the secret key. As a second contribution, we construct a signature scheme that achieves security for random messages assuming that the adversary is given a polynomial-time hard to invert function. Here, polynomial-hardness is required even when given the entire public-key – so called weak auxiliary input......-theoretically reveal the entire secret key. In this work, we propose the first constructions of digital signature schemes that are secure in the auxiliary input model. Our main contribution is a digital signature scheme that is secure against chosen message attacks when given an exponentially hard-to-invert function...... security. We show that such signature schemes readily give us auxiliary input secure identification schemes...

Hardness and Microstructure of Binary and Ternary Nitinol Compounds

Science.gov (United States)

Stanford, Malcolm K.

2016-01-01

The hardness and microstructure of twenty-six binary and ternary Nitinol (nickel titanium, nickel titanium hafnium, nickel titanium zirconium and nickel titanium tantalum) compounds were studied. A small (50g) ingot of each compound was produced by vacuum arc remelting. Each ingot was homogenized in vacuum for 48 hr followed by furnace cooling. Specimens from the ingots were then heat treated at 800, 900, 1000 or 1100 degree C for 2 hr followed by water quenching. The hardness and microstructure of each specimen was compared to the baseline material (55-Nitinol, 55 at.% nickel - 45 at.% titanium, after heat treatment at 900 degC). The results show that eleven of the studied compounds had higher hardness values than the baseline material. Moreover, twelve of the studied compounds had measured hardness values greater 600HV at heat treatments from 800 to 900 degree C.

Radiation hard memory cell and array thereof

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gunckel, T.L. II; Rovell, A.; Nielsen, R.L.

1978-01-01

A memory cell configuration that is implemented to be relatively hard to the adverse effects of a nuclear event is discussed. The presently disclosed memory cell can be interconnected with other like memory cells to form a high speed radiation hard register file. Information is selectively written into and read out of a memory cell comprising the register file, which memory cell preserves previously stored data without alteration in the event of exposure to high levels of nuclear radiation

Hard X-ray Photoelectric Polarimeter

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Our objective is to determine the gas mixtures and pressures that would enable a sensitive, hard X-ray polarimeter using existing flight components with the goal of...

Hard X-ray imaging with a slat collimated telescope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Zhuguo; Kotov, Yu.D.; Suslov, A.Yu.

1995-01-01

Imaging experiments with a slat collimated hard X-ray telescope are described in this paper demonstrating the feasibility of the direct demodulation imaging method used in hard X-ray scanning modulation experiments. On 25 September 1993 an X-ray raster scan observation of Cyg X-1 was performed in a balloon flight with the hard X-ray telescope HAPI-4. An experiment to image radioactive X-ray sources was performed in the laboratory before. In both experiments the expected X-ray images were obtained, confirming the imaging capability of this method. (orig.)

Novel platens to measure the hardness of a pentagonal shaped tablet.

Science.gov (United States)

Malladi, Jaya; Sidik, Kurex; Wu, Sutan; McCann, Ryan; Dougherty, Jeffrey; Parab, Prakash; Carragher, Thomas

2017-03-01

Tablet hardness, a measure of the breaking force of a tablet, is based on numerous factors. These include the shape of the tablet and the mode of the application of force. For instance, when a pentagonal-shaped tablet was tested with a traditional hardness tester with flat platens, there was a large variation in hardness measurements. This was due to the propensity of vertices of the tablet to crush, referred to as an "improper break". This article describes a novel approach to measure the hardness of pentagonal-shaped tablets using modified platens. The modified platens have more uniform loading than flat platens. This is because they reduce loading on the vertex of the pentagon and apply forces on tablet edges to generate reproducible tablet fracture. The robustness of modified platens was assessed using a series of studies, which included feasibility and Gauge Repeatability & Reproducibility (R&R) studies. A key finding was that improper breaks, generated frequently with a traditional hardness tester using flat platens, were eliminated. The Gauge R&R study revealed that the tablets tested with novel platens generated consistent values in hardness measurements, independent of batch, hardness level, and day of testing, operator and tablet dosage strength.

Needle-free and microneedle drug delivery in children: a case for disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Utpal U; Roberts, Matthew; Orlu Gul, Mine; Tuleu, Catherine; Beresford, Michael W

2011-09-15

Parenteral routes of drug administration have poor acceptability and tolerability in children. Advances in transdermal drug delivery provide a potential alternative for improving drug administration in this patient group. Issues with parenteral delivery in children are highlighted and thus illustrate the scope for the application of needle-free and microneedle technologies. This mini-review discusses the opportunities and challenges for providing disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) currently prescribed to paediatric rheumatology patients using such technologies. The aim is to raise further awareness of the need for age-appropriate formulations and drug delivery systems and stimulate exploration of these options for DMARDs, and in particular, rapidly emerging biologics on the market. The ability of needle-free and microneedle technologies to deliver monoclonal antibodies and fusion proteins still remains largely untested. Such an understanding is crucial for future drug design opportunities. The bioavailability, safety and tolerance of delivering biologics into the viable epidermis also need to be studied. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reconsidering Japan's underperformance in pharmaceuticals: evidence from Japan's anticancer drug sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Umemura, Maki

2010-01-01

Unlike its automobile or electronics industries, Japan's pharmaceutical industry did not become a global leader. Japan remains a net importer of pharmaceuticals and has introduced few global blockbuster drugs. Alfred Chandler argued that Japan's pharmaceutical firms remained relatively weak because Western firms enjoyed an insurmountable first first-mover advantage. However, this case study of the anticancer drug sector illustrates that Chandler's explanation is incomplete. Japanese medical culture, government policy, and research environment also played a substantial role in shaping the industry. In the 1970s and 1980s, these factors encouraged firms to develop little few effective drugs with low side effects, and profit from Japan's domestic market. But, these drugs were unsuitable to foreign markets with more demanding efficacy standards. As a result, Japan not only lost more than a decade in developing ineffective drugs, but also neglected to create the infrastructure necessary to develop innovative drugs and build a stronger pharmaceutical industry.

DNA origami as a carrier for circumvention of drug resistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Qiao; Song, Chen; Nangreave, Jeanette; Liu, Xiaowei; Lin, Lin; Qiu, Dengli; Wang, Zhen-Gang; Zou, Guozhang; Liang, Xingjie; Yan, Hao; Ding, Baoquan

2012-08-15

Although a multitude of promising anti-cancer drugs have been developed over the past 50 years, effective delivery of the drugs to diseased cells remains a challenge. Recently, nanoparticles have been used as drug delivery vehicles due to their high delivery efficiencies and the possibility to circumvent cellular drug resistance. However, the lack of biocompatibility and inability to engineer spatially addressable surfaces for multi-functional activity remains an obstacle to their widespread use. Here we present a novel drug carrier system based on self-assembled, spatially addressable DNA origami nanostructures that confronts these limitations. Doxorubicin, a well-known anti-cancer drug, was non-covalently attached to DNA origami nanostructures through intercalation. A high level of drug loading efficiency was achieved, and the complex exhibited prominent cytotoxicity not only to regular human breast adenocarcinoma cancer cells (MCF 7), but more importantly to doxorubicin-resistant cancer cells, inducing a remarkable reversal of phenotype resistance. With the DNA origami drug delivery vehicles, the cellular internalization of doxorubicin was increased, which contributed to the significant enhancement of cell-killing activity to doxorubicin-resistant MCF 7 cells. Presumably, the activity of doxorubicin-loaded DNA origami inhibits lysosomal acidification, resulting in cellular redistribution of the drug to action sites. Our results suggest that DNA origami has immense potential as an efficient, biocompatible drug carrier and delivery vehicle in the treatment of cancer.

Nanoindentation hardness of hot-pressed boron suboxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machaka, Ronald; Derry, Trevor E.; Sigalas, Iakovos

2011-01-01

Highlights: → The load-displacement indentation response of hot-pressed B 6 O is measured and analysed. → The nanoindentation hardness of hot-pressed boron suboxide is reported. → An approach is developed to simulate multi-cycling loading load-displacement curves. → A comprehensive model inter-comparison study of the ISE in hot-pressed B 6 O is also presented. → The fractal dimension is a better measure of ISE than the Meyer's index. - Abstract: The existence of the indentation size effect implies the absence of a single hardness value for the material under investigation especially at low applied loads. In this paper we present an investigation of the indentation size dependence behaviour of nanoindentation hardness in boron suboxide ceramic compacts prepared by uniaxial hot-pressing. Berkovich nanohardness indentations were conducted and analyzed accordingly. In addition to the ordinary Oliver and Pharr method of nanoindentation data analysis, a quantitative approach for the loading curve analysis is proposed. Using the proposed approach, the description and characterization of the observed indentation size effect through the application of the Meyer's law, and the classical and the modified proportional specimen resistance models as well as the multi-fractal scaling law was conducted and is reported. The load-independent hardness values deduced from our quantitative approach are comparable to the results calculated with conventional methods, especially with the multi-fractal scaling law.

Effect of gum hardness on chewing pattern.

Science.gov (United States)

Plesh, O; Bishop, B; McCall, W

1986-06-01

Chewing rhythms are set by a putative central pattern generator whose output is influenced by sensory feedback. In this study we assessed how an altered feedback imposed by changing the hardness of a gum bolus modifies the timing of chewing, the maximal gape, and the activity in the masseter muscle on the chewing side. Ten adult subjects with no orofacial dysfunction chewed a standard piece of soft or hard gum for at least 3 min in random order. Vertical jaw movements were recorded with a kinesiograph and activity of the masseter muscle was recorded and integrated from surface EMG electrodes. The subjects sat in a dental chair and viewed a video lecture to distract their attention from chewing; they were instructed to chew on the right molars. Cycle-by-cycle analysis showed that 9 of the 10 subjects chewed the hard gum more slowly than the soft with no significant change in gape. The increases in cycle duration were due to changes in the duration of the opening and occlusal phases. The duration of closing was not significantly changed even though the duration and level of masseter activity were both significantly increased. We conclude that gum hardness by altering proprioceptive feedback modifies the output of the masticatory central pattern generator in such a way that the temporal aspects of chewing and the output of the masseteric motor pool are affected.

Photopatternable Magnetic Hollowbots by Nd-Fe-B Nanocomposite for Potential Targeted Drug Delivery Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Li

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In contrast to traditional drug administration, targeted drug delivery can prolong, localize, target and have a protected drug interaction with the diseased tissue. Drug delivery carriers, such as polymeric micelles, liposomes, dendrimers, nanotubes, and so on, are hard to scale-up, costly, and have short shelf life. Here we show the novel fabrication and characterization of photopatternable magnetic hollow microrobots that can potentially be utilized in microfluidics and drug delivery applications. These magnetic hollowbots can be fabricated using standard ultraviolet (UV lithography with low cost and easily accessible equipment, which results in them being easy to scale up, and inexpensive to fabricate. Contact-free actuation of freestanding magnetic hollowbots were demonstrated by using an applied 900 G external magnetic field to achieve the movement control in an aqueous environment. According to the movement clip, the average speed of the magnetic hollowbots was estimated to be 1.9 mm/s.

Effect of radiation decontamination on drug-resistant bacteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Hitoshi

2006-01-01

More than 80% of food poisoning bacteria such as Salmonella are reported as antibiotic-resistant to at least one type antibiotic, and more than 50% as resistant to two or more. For the decontamination of food poisoning bacteria in foods, radiation resistibility on drug-resistant bacteria were investigated compared with drug-sensitive bacteria. Possibility on induction of drug-resistant mutation by radiation treatment was also investigated. For these studies, type strains of Escherichia coli S2, Salmonella enteritidis YK-2 and Staphylococcus aureus H12 were used to induce drug-resistant strains with penicillin G. From the study of radiation sensitivity on the drug-resistant strain induced from E. coli S2, D 10 value was obtained to be 0.20 kGy compared with 0.25 kGy at parent strain. On S. enteritidis YK-2, D 10 value was obtained to be 0.14 kGy at drug-resistant strain compared with 0.16 kGy at parent strain. D 10 value was also obtained to be 0.15 kGy at drug-resistant strain compared with 0.21 kGy at parent strain of St. aureus H12. Many isolates of E. coli 157:H7 or other type of E. coli from meats such as beef were resistant to penicillin G, and looked to be no relationship on radiation resistivities between drug-resistant strains and sensitive strains. On the study of radiation sensitivity on E. coli S2 at plate agars containing antibiotics, higher survival fractions were obtained at higher doses compared with normal plate agar. The reason of higher survival fractions at higher doses on plate agar containing antibiotics should be recovery of high rate of injured cells by the relay of cell division, and drug-resistant strains by mutation are hardly induced by irradiation. (author)

Novel Aspects of Hard Diffraction in QCD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brodsky, Stanley J.

2005-01-01

Initial- and final-state interactions from gluon-exchange, normally neglected in the parton model have a profound effect in QCD hard-scattering reactions, leading to leading-twist single-spin asymmetries, diffractive deep inelastic scattering, diffractive hard hadronic reactions, and nuclear shadowing and antishadowing--leading-twist physics not incorporated in the light-front wavefunctions of the target computed in isolation. I also discuss the use of diffraction to materialize the Fock states of a hadronic projectile and test QCD color transparency

Rock and drugs: multiliteracies and an aesthetics of violence for teenagers in school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vera Helena Gomes Wielewicki

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Current study discusses an approach of hard rock, in English, for high school students, from a multimodal perspective. The songs are analyzed in terms of their musicality and literariness and hard rock is considered a historically constituted complex cultural movement. The aesthetics of violence, present in the rock’n’roll scenario, specifically focused on the themes of drugs and alcohol abuse, is analyzed from the perspective of multiliteracies, for the development of teenagers’ critical education. The paper is theoretically based on theory by Lévy (2010, Kress (2000 and Kalantzis and Cope (2000 for multiliteracy concepts and on Walser (1993 for the criticism on the musical language. Songs by the USA rock bands Metallica and Guns N’Roses are discussed.

Study of the Dynamic Uptake of Free Drug and Nanostructures for Drug Delivery Based on Bioluminescence Measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhongjian Fang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The past two decades have witnessed the great growth of the development of novel drug carriers. However, the releasing dynamics of drug from drug carriers in vivo and the interactions between cells and drug carriers remain unclear. In this paper, liposomes were prepared to encapsulate D-luciferin, which was the substrate of luciferase and served as a model drug. Based on the theoretical calculation of active loading, methods of preparation for liposomes were optimized. Only when D-luciferin was released from liposomes or taken in by the cells could bioluminescence be produced under the catalysis of luciferase. Models of multicellular tumor spheroid (MCTS were built with 4T1-luc cells that expressed luciferase stably. The kinetic processes of uptake and distribution of free drugs and liposomal drugs were determined with models of cell suspension, monolayer cells, MCTS, and tumor-bearing nude mice. The technology platform has been demonstrated to be effective for the study of the distribution and kinetic profiles of various liposomes as drug delivery systems.

Semisolid matrix-filled hard gelatin capsules for rapid dissolution of amlodipine besilate: Development and assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vijay K Tyagi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of the study was to prepare semisolid capsules (SSCs of poorly water-soluble drug amlodipine besilate (AB using a combination of technologies involving solid dispersion (SD preparation and converting it into semisolid matrix filled in hard gelatin capsules (termed as SSCs with the aim of reducing lag time in drug release and to improve the dissolution rate. AB is used for its anti-arrhythmic, anti-anginal, and anti-hypertensive activity. These are the emergency activities which should be treated as fast as possible like in the case of angina attack (heart attack. Any lag time that is generated due to its poor dissolution can add on in this emergency and that can be avoided by developing a readily dissolvable formulation: SDs of AB. SD of AB was prepared by fusion method using varying combinations of Poloxamer 407 and Plasdone S630. A total of nine batches (SD1−SD9 were characterized for the in vitro dissolution behavior in phosphate buffer pH7.4. SD8 with 95.8% cumulative drug release in 60 min, t50% = 4.1 min and DE 30 Min = 84.2% were selected for the development of the semisolid matrix. Differential scanning calorimetry of SD8 revealed molecular dispersion of AB and Plasdone S630 in Poloxamer 407. SD8 was then formulated as SSCs using gelucire 44/14 and PEG 400 as semisolid components and PEG 6000 as a suspending agent to achieve the reduction in lag time for drug release. A total of seven SSC formulations were prepared and evaluated for drug release. Formulation of SSC4 showed maximum cumulative drug release (CDR of 98.9% within 20 min that was almost a threefold reduction in the time required to achieve similar CDR by SD of AB. Thus, SSCs present an excellent approach to enhance the dissolution as well as to reduce the lag time of dissolution for poor water-soluble drugs especially to those therapeutic classes that are intended for faster onset of action.

Comparative study of carp otolith hardness: lapillus and asteriscus.

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Dongni; Meyers, Marc André; Zhou, Bo; Feng, Qingling

2013-05-01

Otoliths are calcium carbonate biominerals in the inner ear of vertebrates; they play a role in balance, movement, and sound perception. Two types of otoliths in freshwater carp are investigated using nano- and micro-indentation: asteriscus and lapillus. The hardness, modulus, and creep of asteriscus (vaterite crystals) and lapillus (aragonite crystals) are compared. The hardness and modulus of lapillus are higher than those of asteriscus both in nano- and micro-testing, which is attributed to the different crystal polymorphs. Both materials exhibit a certain degree of creep, which indicates some time dependence of the mechanical behavior and is attributed to the organic components. The nano-indentation hardnesses are higher than micro-hardnesses for both otoliths, a direct result of the scale dependence of strength; fewer flaws are encountered by the nano than by the microindenter. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Therapeutic drug monitoring in pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsui, Doreen M

2012-10-01

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is commonly recommended to optimize drug dosing regimens of various medications. It has been proposed to guide therapy in pregnant women, in whom physiological changes may lead to altered pharmacokinetics resulting in difficulty in predicting the appropriate drug dosage. Ideally, TDM may play a role in enhancing the effectiveness of treatment while minimizing toxicity of both the mother and fetus. Monitoring of drug levels may also be helpful in assessing adherence to prescribed therapy in selected cases. Limitations exist as therapeutic ranges have only been defined for a limited number of drugs and are based on data obtained in nonpregnant patients. TDM has been suggested for anticonvulsants, antidepressants, and antiretroviral drugs, based on pharmacokinetic studies that have shown reduced drug concentrations. However, there is only relatively limited (and sometimes inconsistent) information regarding the clinical impact of these pharmacokinetic changes during pregnancy and the effect of subsequent dose adjustments. Further studies are required to determine whether implementation of TDM during pregnancy improves outcome and is associated with any benefit beyond that achieved by clinical judgment alone. The cost effectiveness of TDM programs during pregnancy also remains to be examined.

Hardness and excitation energy

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

It is shown that the first excitation energy can be given by the Kohn-Sham hardness (i.e. the energy difference of the ground-state lowest unoccupied and highest occupied levels) plus an extra term coming from the partial derivative of the ensemble exchange-correlation energy with respect to the weighting factor in the ...

Idiosyncratic Drug-Induced Liver Injury: Is Drug-Cytokine Interaction the Linchpin?

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, Robert A; Maiuri, Ashley R; Ganey, Patricia E

2017-02-01

Idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury continues to be a human health problem in part because drugs that cause these reactions are not identified in current preclinical testing and because progress in prevention is hampered by incomplete knowledge of mechanisms that underlie these adverse responses. Several hypotheses involving adaptive immune responses, inflammatory stress, inability to adapt to stress, and multiple, concurrent factors have been proposed. Yet much remains unknown about how drugs interact with the liver to effect death of hepatocytes. Evidence supporting hypotheses implicating adaptive or innate immune responses in afflicted patients has begun to emerge and is bolstered by results obtained in experimental animal models and in vitro systems. A commonality in adaptive and innate immunity is the production of cytokines, including interferon-γ (IFNγ). IFNγ initiates cell signaling pathways that culminate in cell death or inhibition of proliferative repair. Tumor necrosis factor-α, another cytokine prominent in immune responses, can also promote cell death. Furthermore, tumor necrosis factor-α interacts with IFNγ, leading to enhanced cellular responses to each cytokine. In this short review, we propose that the interaction of drugs with these cytokines contributes to idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury, and mechanisms by which this could occur are discussed. Copyright © 2017 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

On a possible test of the hard-Pomeron theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ioffe, B.L.

1992-01-01

In the last few years there have been discussions of the fact that the Pomeron-the Regge pole responsible for high-energy scattering-has in reality a double role: a soft Pomeron built of multiperipheral hadron exchange and a hard Pomeron described by gluon exchanges in QCD. Recently, Bjorken emphasized the need to distinguish these two forms of the Pomeron. The question arises of whether it is possible to distinguish the hard and soft Pomeron experimentally. According to the hard-Pomeron concept, the hadron-hadron total cross section is determined by the imaginary part of the forward scattering amplitude corresponding to two-gluon exchange with ladder corrections. This mechanism dominates in the case of scattering of particles built from heavy quarks (a good example is γγ scattering) and also in the case of virtual-particle scattering (for example, virtual photons, where quark pairs must also be included in the ladder). These processes are hard (γ virt γ virt scattering) or impossible (γγ scattering) to observe experimentally. Bjorken suggested another process whose cross section is determined by hard-Pomeron exchange - double diffractional hadron-hadron (e.g., pp) scattering at high energies with jet production in the projectile and target fragmentation regions. If the momentum transfer from the projectile to the target is in the intermediate region, |t|∼1 GeV, and events are selected with a rapidity gap in the rapidity distribution of produced particles between the two fragmentation regions, then, according to Bjorken, a process determined by the hard Pomeron will be observed. The author addresses this proposal

From Abstinence to Relapse: A Preliminary Qualitative Study of Drug Users in a Compulsory Drug Rehabilitation Center in Changsha, China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mei Yang

Full Text Available Relapse among abstinent drug users is normal. Several factors are related to relapse, but it remains unclear what individuals' actual life circumstances are during periods of abstinence, and how these circumstances facilitate or prevent relapse.To illuminate drug users' experiences during abstinence periods and explore the real-life catalysts and inhibitors contributing to drug use relapse.Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 drug users recruited from a compulsory isolated drug rehabilitation center in Changsha. The interviews were guided by open-ended questions on individuals' experiences in drug use initiation, getting addicted, treatment history, social environment, abstinence, and relapse. Participants were also encouraged to share their own stories. Interviews were digitally recorded and fully transcribed. The data of 18 participants who reported abstinence experiences before admission were included in the analyses. The data were analyzed using a thematic analysis with inductive hand coding to derive themes.Most drug users were able to successfully abstain from drugs. During abstinence, their lives were congested with challenges, such as adverse socioeconomic conditions, poor family/social support, interpersonal conflicts, and stigma and discrimination, all of which kept them excluded from mainstream society. Furthermore, the police's system of ID card registration, which identifies individuals as drug users, worsened already grave situations. Relapse triggers reported by the participants focused mainly on negative feelings, interpersonal conflicts, and stressful events. Craving was experienced but not perceived as a relapse trigger by most participants.This study of in-depth interview with drug users found evidence of situations and environments they live during abstinence appear rather disadvantaged, making it extremely difficult for them to remain abstinent. Comprehensive programs on relapse prevention that acknowledge

Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory. Annual Report 1993

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-06-01

The Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory is being constructed in preparation for the deep geological repository of spent fuel in Sweden. This Annual Report 1993 for the Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory contains an overview of the work conducted. Present work is focused on verification of pre-investigation methods and development of the detailed investigation methodology. Construction of the facility and investigation of the bedrock are carried out in parallel. As of December 1993, 2760 m of the tunnel had been excavated to a depth of 370 m below the surface. An important and integral part of the work is further refinement of conceptual and numerical models for groundwater flow and radionuclide migration. Detailed plans have been prepared for several experiments to be conducted after the end of the construction work. Eight organizations from seven countries are now participating in the work at the Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory and are contributing in different ways to the results being achieved

Antimalarial Drug: From its Development to Deface.

Science.gov (United States)

Barik, Tapan Kumar

2015-01-01

Wiping out malaria is now the global concern as about three billion people are at risk of malaria infection globally. Despite of extensive research in the field of vaccine development for malaria, till now, no effective vaccine is available for use and hence only antimalarial drugs remain our best hope for both treatment and prevention of malaria. However, emergence and spread of drug resistance has been a major obstacle for the success of malaria elimination globally. This review will summarize the information related to antimalarial drugs, drug development strategies, drug delivery through nanoparticles, few current issues like adverse side effects of most antimalarial drugs, non availability of drugs in the market and use of fake/poor quality drugs that are hurdles to malaria control. As we don't have any other option in the present scenario, we have to take care of the existing tools and make them available to almost all malaria affected area.

NOVEL APROACHES ON BUCCAL MUCOADHESIVE DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM

OpenAIRE

Dibyalochan Mohanty* , C. Gurulatha, Dr.Vasudha Bakshi, B. Mavya

2018-01-01

Among novel drug delivery system ,Buccal mucoadhesive systems have attracted great attention in recent years due to their ability to adhere and remain on the oral mucosa and to release their drug content gradually ,bioadhesion refers to any bond formed between two biological surface or a bond between a biological and a systemic surface. Buccal mucosa is preferred for both systemic and local drug action. The mucosa has a rich blood supply and it relatively permeable. Buccal mucoadhesive films ...

Patents and access to drugs in developing countries: an ethical analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sterckx, Sigrid

2004-05-01

More than a third of the world's population has no access to essential drugs. More than half of this group of people live in the poorest regions of Africa and Asia. Several factors determine the accessibility of drugs in developing countries. Hardly any medicines for tropical diseases are being developed, but even existing drugs are often not available to the patients who need them. One of the important determinants of access to drugs is the working of the patent system. This paper first maps out some facts about the global patent regime that has emerged as a consequence of the conclusion of the WTO-TRIPs Agreement in 1994. Attempts to construct a moral justification of the patent system have been based on three grounds: natural rights, distributive justice, and utilitarian arguments. This paper examines to what extent and on which grounds drug patents can be justified. The final section looks at the so-called 'Doha Declaration on the TRIPs Agreement and Public Health', which was adopted by the WTO Ministerial Conference two years ago, recognising the primacy of public health over the interests of patent proprietors.

Hard-tip, soft-spring lithography.

Science.gov (United States)

Shim, Wooyoung; Braunschweig, Adam B; Liao, Xing; Chai, Jinan; Lim, Jong Kuk; Zheng, Gengfeng; Mirkin, Chad A

2011-01-27

Nanofabrication strategies are becoming increasingly expensive and equipment-intensive, and consequently less accessible to researchers. As an alternative, scanning probe lithography has become a popular means of preparing nanoscale structures, in part owing to its relatively low cost and high resolution, and a registration accuracy that exceeds most existing technologies. However, increasing the throughput of cantilever-based scanning probe systems while maintaining their resolution and registration advantages has from the outset been a significant challenge. Even with impressive recent advances in cantilever array design, such arrays tend to be highly specialized for a given application, expensive, and often difficult to implement. It is therefore difficult to imagine commercially viable production methods based on scanning probe systems that rely on conventional cantilevers. Here we describe a low-cost and scalable cantilever-free tip-based nanopatterning method that uses an array of hard silicon tips mounted onto an elastomeric backing. This method-which we term hard-tip, soft-spring lithography-overcomes the throughput problems of cantilever-based scanning probe systems and the resolution limits imposed by the use of elastomeric stamps and tips: it is capable of delivering materials or energy to a surface to create arbitrary patterns of features with sub-50-nm resolution over centimetre-scale areas. We argue that hard-tip, soft-spring lithography is a versatile nanolithography strategy that should be widely adopted by academic and industrial researchers for rapid prototyping applications.

INFLUENCE OF ANNEALING ON HARDNESS OF Cr-Mn-Ni CAST IRONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. V. Netrebko

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The necessary level of material’s hardness is determined by the exploitation conditions and presence of technological operations during manufacturing of articles. Mechanical edge cutting machining of wear resistant materials is impeded because of their high hardness. It is recommended to apply annealing in order to decrease hardness and improve machinability. The purpose of the work consisted in obtaining of regression dependences of cast iron’s macrohardness on its chemical content after annealing at 730 °С. With the use of mathematical experimental design the regression dependences of cast iron’s macrohardness and structural components’ microhardness on С, Cr, Mn, Ni content have been established. The minimal hardness of 27,6 HRC after annealing at 730 °С is obtained in the cast iron containing: 3,9% С; 11,4% Cr; 0,6% Mn; 0,2% Ni. The maximal hardness of 70,4 HRC is obtained when the content is as follows: 1,1% С; 25,6% Cr; 5,4% Mn; 3,0% Ni. Annealing at 730 °С decreases the cast irons’ hardness containing the minimal amount of Cr, Mn and Ni. Annealing at 730 °С is recommended for cast irons alloyed by Mn and Ni for increasing of hardness.

From Hard Times to Better Times: College Majors, Unemployment, and Earnings

Science.gov (United States)

Carnevale, Anthony P.; Cheah, Ban

2015-01-01

This third installment of "Hard Times" updates the previous analyses of college majors, unemployment, and earnings over the Great Recession. While there is wide variation by college majors, hard times have become better times for most college graduates, but the recovery is far from complete. Hard times are becoming better times for most…

An overview on polynomial approximation of NP-hard problems

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Paschos Vangelis Th.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The fact that polynomial time algorithm is very unlikely to be devised for an optimal solving of the NP-hard problems strongly motivates both the researchers and the practitioners to try to solve such problems heuristically, by making a trade-off between computational time and solution's quality. In other words, heuristic computation consists of trying to find not the best solution but one solution which is 'close to' the optimal one in reasonable time. Among the classes of heuristic methods for NP-hard problems, the polynomial approximation algorithms aim at solving a given NP-hard problem in poly-nomial time by computing feasible solutions that are, under some predefined criterion, as near to the optimal ones as possible. The polynomial approximation theory deals with the study of such algorithms. This survey first presents and analyzes time approximation algorithms for some classical examples of NP-hard problems. Secondly, it shows how classical notions and tools of complexity theory, such as polynomial reductions, can be matched with polynomial approximation in order to devise structural results for NP-hard optimization problems. Finally, it presents a quick description of what is commonly called inapproximability results. Such results provide limits on the approximability of the problems tackled.

Computational search for rare-earth free hard-magnetic materials

Science.gov (United States)

Flores Livas, José A.; Sharma, Sangeeta; Dewhurst, John Kay; Gross, Eberhard; MagMat Team

2015-03-01

It is difficult to over state the importance of hard magnets for human life in modern times; they enter every walk of our life from medical equipments (NMR) to transport (trains, planes, cars, etc) to electronic appliances (for house hold use to computers). All the known hard magnets in use today contain rare-earth elements, extraction of which is expensive and environmentally harmful. Rare-earths are also instrumental in tipping the balance of world economy as most of them are mined in limited specific parts of the world. Hence it would be ideal to have similar characteristics as a hard magnet but without or at least with reduced amount of rare-earths. This is the main goal of our work: search for rare-earth-free magnets. To do so we employ a combination of density functional theory and crystal prediction methods. The quantities which define a hard magnet are magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) and saturation magnetization (Ms), which are the quantities we maximize in search for an ideal magnet. In my talk I will present details of the computation search algorithm together with some potential newly discovered rare-earth free hard magnet. J.A.F.L. acknowledge financial support from EU's 7th Framework Marie-Curie scholarship program within the ``ExMaMa'' Project (329386).

Multi-spacecraft observations of solar hard X-ray bursts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kane, S.R.

1981-01-01

The role of multi-spacecraft observations in solar flare research is examined from the point of view of solar hard X-ray bursts and their implications with respect to models of the impulsive phase. Multi-spacecraft measurements provide a stereoscopic view of the flare region, and hence represent the only direct method of measuring directivity of X-rays. In absence of hard X-ray imaging instruments with high spatial and temporal resolution, multi-spacecraft measurements provide the only means of determining the radial (vertical) structure of the hard X-ray source. This potential of the multi-spacecraft observations is illustrated with an analysis of the presently available observations of solar hard X-ray bursts made simultaneously by two or more of the following spacecraft: International Sun Earth Explorer-3 (ISEE-3), Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO), Helios-B and High Energy Astrophysical Observatory-A (HEAO-A). In particular, some conclusions have been drawn about the spatial structure and directivity of 50-100 keV X-rays from impulsive flares. Desirable features of future multi-spacecraft missions are briefly discussed followed by a short description of the hard X-ray experiment on the International Solar Polar Mission which has been planned specifically for multi-spacecraft observations of the Sun. (orig.)

Improved Tumor-Specific Drug Accumulation by Polymer Therapeutics with pH-Sensitive Drug Release Overcomes Chemotherapy Resistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Heinrich, Anne-Kathrin; Lucas, Henrike; Schindler, Lucie; Chytil, Petr; Etrych, Tomáš; Mäder, Karsten; Mueller, Thomas

2016-05-01

The success of chemotherapy is limited by poor selectivity of active drugs combined with occurrence of tumor resistance. New star-like structured N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymer-based drug delivery systems containing doxorubicin attached via a pH-sensitive hydrazone bond were designed and investigated for their ability to overcome chemotherapy resistance. These conjugates combine two strategies to achieve a high drug concentration selectively at the tumor site: (I) high accumulation by passive tumor targeting based on enhanced permeability and retention effect and (II) pH-sensitive site-specific drug release due to an acidic tumor microenvironment. Mice bearing doxorubicin-resistant xenograft tumors were treated with doxorubicin, PBS, poly HPMA (pHPMA) precursor or pHPMA-doxorubicin conjugate at different equivalent doses of 5 mg/kg bodyweight doxorubicin up to a 7-fold total dose using different treatment schedules. Intratumoral drug accumulation was analyzed by fluorescence imaging utilizing intrinsic fluorescence of doxorubicin. Free doxorubicin induced significant toxicity but hardly any tumor-inhibiting effects. Administering at least a 3-fold dose of pHPMA-doxorubicin conjugate was necessary to induce a transient response, whereas doses of about 5- to 6-fold induced strong regressions. Tumors completely disappeared in some cases. The onset of response was differential delayed depending on the tumor model, which could be ascribed to distinct characteristics of the microenvironment. Further fluorescence imaging-based analyses regarding underlying mechanisms of the delayed response revealed a related switch to a more supporting intratumoral microenvironment for effective drug release. In conclusion, the current study demonstrates that the concept of tumor site-restricted high-dose chemotherapy is able to overcome therapy resistance. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(5); 998-1007. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

Genomes2Drugs: identifies target proteins and lead drugs from proteome data.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Toomey, David

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: Genome sequencing and bioinformatics have provided the full hypothetical proteome of many pathogenic organisms. Advances in microarray and mass spectrometry have also yielded large output datasets of possible target proteins\\/genes. However, the challenge remains to identify new targets for drug discovery from this wealth of information. Further analysis includes bioinformatics and\\/or molecular biology tools to validate the findings. This is time consuming and expensive, and could fail to yield novel drugs if protein purification and crystallography is impossible. To pre-empt this, a researcher may want to rapidly filter the output datasets for proteins that show good homology to proteins that have already been structurally characterised or proteins that are already targets for known drugs. Critically, those researchers developing novel antibiotics need to select out the proteins that show close homology to any human proteins, as future inhibitors are likely to cross-react with the host protein, causing off-target toxicity effects later in clinical trials. METHODOLOGY\\/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To solve many of these issues, we have developed a free online resource called Genomes2Drugs which ranks sequences to identify proteins that are (i) homologous to previously crystallized proteins or (ii) targets of known drugs, but are (iii) not homologous to human proteins. When tested using the Plasmodium falciparum malarial genome the program correctly enriched the ranked list of proteins with known drug target proteins. CONCLUSIONS\\/SIGNIFICANCE: Genomes2Drugs rapidly identifies proteins that are likely to succeed in drug discovery pipelines. This free online resource helps in the identification of potential drug targets. Importantly, the program further highlights proteins that are likely to be inhibited by FDA-approved drugs. These drugs can then be rapidly moved into Phase IV clinical studies under \\'change-of-application\\' patents.

Genomes2Drugs: identifies target proteins and lead drugs from proteome data.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Toomey

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Genome sequencing and bioinformatics have provided the full hypothetical proteome of many pathogenic organisms. Advances in microarray and mass spectrometry have also yielded large output datasets of possible target proteins/genes. However, the challenge remains to identify new targets for drug discovery from this wealth of information. Further analysis includes bioinformatics and/or molecular biology tools to validate the findings. This is time consuming and expensive, and could fail to yield novel drugs if protein purification and crystallography is impossible. To pre-empt this, a researcher may want to rapidly filter the output datasets for proteins that show good homology to proteins that have already been structurally characterised or proteins that are already targets for known drugs. Critically, those researchers developing novel antibiotics need to select out the proteins that show close homology to any human proteins, as future inhibitors are likely to cross-react with the host protein, causing off-target toxicity effects later in clinical trials. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To solve many of these issues, we have developed a free online resource called Genomes2Drugs which ranks sequences to identify proteins that are (i homologous to previously crystallized proteins or (ii targets of known drugs, but are (iii not homologous to human proteins. When tested using the Plasmodium falciparum malarial genome the program correctly enriched the ranked list of proteins with known drug target proteins. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Genomes2Drugs rapidly identifies proteins that are likely to succeed in drug discovery pipelines. This free online resource helps in the identification of potential drug targets. Importantly, the program further highlights proteins that are likely to be inhibited by FDA-approved drugs. These drugs can then be rapidly moved into Phase IV clinical studies under 'change-of-application' patents.

Prospective associations of social self-control with drug use among youth from regular and alternative high schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sun Ping

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This study examined the one year prospective associations between adolescent social self-control and drug outcomes (cigarette use, alcohol use, marijuana use, hard drug use, and problem drug use among adolescents from regular and continuation high schools. In our previous cross-sectional study, poor social self-control was found to be associated with higher drug use, controlling for 12 personality disorder categories. In this study, we attempted to find out (a whether lack of social self-control predicted drug use one year later, and (b whether drug use at baseline predicted social self-control one year later. Methods We surveyed 2081 older adolescents from 9 regular (N = 1529 and 9 continuation (alternative (N = 552 high schools in the Los Angeles area. Data were collected at two time points in an interval of approximately 1 year. Results Past 30-day cigarette smoking, marijuana use, hard drug use, and problem drug use at baseline were found to predict lower social self-control at follow-up, controlling for baseline social self-control and demographic variables. The effect of problem drug use as a one-year predictor of social self-control was found to be moderated by school type (regular or continuation high school, such that the relationship was significant for continuation high school students only. Conversely, social self-control was found to predict past 30-day alcohol use, marijuana use, and problem drug use, controlling for baseline drug use and demographic variables. For alcohol use, marijuana use, and problem drug use outcomes, school type was not found to moderate the effects of social self-control, though an interaction effect was found regarding cigarette smoking. Social self-control was a significant predictor of cigarette use only at regular high school. Conclusion The results indicate that social self-control and drug use share a reciprocal relationship. Lack of social self-control in adolescents seems to

Effectiveness of interventions for diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in hard-to-reach populations in countries of low and medium tuberculosis incidence: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Heuvelings, Charlotte C; de Vries, Sophia G; Greve, Patrick F; Visser, Benjamin J; Bélard, Sabine; Janssen, Saskia; Cremers, Anne L; Spijker, René; Shaw, Beth; Hill, Ruaraidh A; Zumla, Alimuddin; Sandgren, Andreas; van der Werf, Marieke J; Grobusch, Martin P

2017-05-01

Tuberculosis is over-represented in hard-to-reach (underserved) populations in high-income countries of low tuberculosis incidence. The mainstay of tuberculosis care is early detection of active tuberculosis (case finding), contact tracing, and treatment completion. We did a systematic review with a scoping component of relevant studies published between 1990 and 2015 to update and extend previous National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) reviews on the effectiveness of interventions for identifying and managing tuberculosis in hard-to-reach populations. The analyses showed that tuberculosis screening by (mobile) chest radiography improved screening coverage and tuberculosis identification, reduced diagnostic delay, and was cost-effective among several hard-to-reach populations. Sputum culture for pre-migration screening and active referral to a tuberculosis clinic improved identification. Furthermore, monetary incentives improved tuberculosis identification and management among drug users and homeless people. Enhanced case management, good cooperation between services, and directly observed therapy improved treatment outcome and compliance. Strong conclusions cannot be drawn because of the heterogeneity of evidence with regard to study population, methodology, and quality. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mitochondrial abnormalities-A link to idiosyncratic drug hepatotoxicity?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boelsterli, Urs A.; Lim, Priscilla L.K.

2007-01-01

Idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a major clinical problem and poses a considerable challenge for drug development as an increasing number of successfully launched drugs or new potential drugs have been implicated in causing DILI in susceptible patient subsets. Although the incidence for a particular drug is very low (yet grossly underestimated), the outcome of DILI can be serious. Unfortunately, prediction has remained poor (both for patients at risk and for new chemical entities). The underlying mechanisms and the determinants of susceptibility have largely remained ill-defined. The aim of this review is to provide both clinical and experimental evidence for a major role of mitochondria both as a target of drugs causing idiosyncratic DILI and as mediators of delayed liver injury. We develop a unifying hypothesis that involves underlying genetic or acquired mitochondrial abnormalities as a major determinant of susceptibility for a number of drugs that target mitochondria and cause DILI. The mitochondrial hypothesis, implying gradually accumulating and initially silent mitochondrial injury in heteroplasmic cells which reaches a critical threshold and abruptly triggers liver injury, is consistent with the findings that typically idiosyncratic DILI is delayed (by weeks or months), that increasing age and female gender are risk factors and that these drugs are targeted to the liver and clearly exhibit a mitochondrial hazard in vitro and in vivo. New animal models (e.g., the Sod2 +/- mouse) provide supporting evidence for this concept. However, genetic analyses of DILI patient samples are needed to ultimately provide the proof-of-concept

The in vitro diagnosis of drug allergy: status and perspectives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ebo, D. G.; Leysen, J.; Mayorga, C.; Rozieres, A.; Knol, E. F.; Terreehorst, I.

2011-01-01

Adverse drug reactions (ADR) can result from immune-mediated (drug allergy) and nonimmune-mediated mechanisms. In both types of reaction, conclusive diagnosis and appropriate management remain major problems in daily clinical practice. This review summarizes the potentials and shortcomings of the

Vapour-liquid equilibria of the hard core Yukawa fluid

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smit, B.; Frenkel, D.

1991-01-01

Techniques which extend the range of applicability of the Gibbs ensemble technique for particles which interact with a hard core potential are described. The power of the new technique is demonstrated in a numerical study of the vapour-liquid coexistence curve of the hard core Yukawa fluid.

Thermodynamics and vibrational modes of hard sphere colloidal systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zargar, R.

2014-01-01

The central question that we address in this thesis is the thermodynamics of colloidal glasses. The thermodynamics of colloidal hard sphere glasses are directly related to the entropy of the system, since the phase behavior of hard sphere systems is dictated only by entropic contributions, and also

Influence of hardness on the bioavailability of silver to a freshwater snail after waterborne exposure to silver nitrate and silver nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Stoiber, Tasha L.; Croteau, Marie-Noele; Romer, Isabella; Tejamaya, Mila; Lead, Jamie R.; Luoma, Samuel N.

2015-01-01

The release of Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) into the aquatic environment is likely, but the influence of water chemistry on their impacts and fate remains unclear. Here, we characterize the bioavailability of Ag from AgNO3 and from AgNPs capped with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP AgNP) and thiolated polyethylene glycol (PEG AgNP) in the freshwater snail, Lymnaea stagnalis, after short waterborne exposures. Results showed that water hardness, AgNP capping agents, and metal speciation affected the uptake rate of Ag from AgNPs. Comparison of the results from organisms of similar weight showed that water hardness affected the uptake of Ag from AgNPs, but not that from AgNO3. Transformation (dissolution and aggregation) of the AgNPs was also influenced by water hardness and the capping agent. Bioavailability of Ag from AgNPs was, in turn, correlated to these physical changes. Water hardness increased the aggregation of AgNPs, especially for PEG AgNPs, reducing the bioavailability of Ag from PEG AgNPs to a greater degree than from PVP AgNPs. Higher dissolved Ag concentrations were measured for the PVP AgNPs (15%) compared to PEG AgNPs (3%) in moderately hard water, enhancing Ag bioavailability of the former. Multiple drivers of bioavailability yielded differences in Ag influx between very hard and deionized water where the uptake rate constants (kuw, l g-1 d-1 ± SE) varied from 3.1 ± 0.7 to 0.2 ± 0.01 for PEG AgNPs and from 2.3 ± 0.02 to 1.3 ± 0.01 for PVP AgNPs. Modeling bioavailability of Ag from NPs revealed that Ag influx into L. stagnalis comprised uptake from the NPs themselves and from newly dissolved Ag.

Drug-resistant spinal tuberculosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anil K Jain

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Drug-resistant spinal tuberculosis (TB is an emerging health problem in both developing and developed countries. In this review article, we aim to define management protocols for suspicion, diagnosis, and treatment of such patients. Spinal TB is a deep-seated paucibacillary lesion, and the demonstration of acid-fast bacilli on Ziehl-Neelsen staining is possible only in 10%–30% of cases. Drug resistance is suspected in patients showing the failure of clinicoradiological improvement or appearance of a fresh lesion of osteoarticular TB while on anti tubercular therapy (ATT for a minimum period of 5 months. The conventional culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains the gold standard for both bacteriological diagnosis and drug sensitivity testing (DST; however, the high turn around time of 2–6 weeks for detection with added 3 weeks for DST is a major limitation. To overcome this problem, rapid culture methods and molecular methods have been introduced. From a public health perspective, reducing the period between diagnosis and treatment initiation has direct benefits for both the patient and the community. For all patients of drug-resistant spinal TB, a complete Drug-O-Gram should be prepared which includes details of all drugs, their doses, and duration. Patients with confirmed multidrug-resistant TB strains should receive a regimen with at least five effective drugs, including pyrazinamide and one injectable. Patients with resistance to additional antitubercular drugs should receive individualized ATT as per their DST results.

Prepulse dependence in hard x-ray generation from microdroplets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anand, M.; Kahaly, S.; Kumar, G. Ravindra; Sandhu, A. S.; Gibbon, P.; Krishnamurthy, M.

2006-01-01

We report on experiments which show that liquid microdroplets are very efficient in hard x-ray generation. We make a comparative study of hard x-ray emission from 15 μm methanol microdroplets and a plain slab target of similar atomic composition at similar laser intensities. The hard X-ray yield from droplet plasmas is about 35 times more than that obtained from solid plasmas. A prepulse that is about 10ns and at least 2% in intensity of the main pulse is essential for hard x-ray generation from the droplets at about 1015 W cm-2. A hot electron temperature of 36 keV is measured from the droplets at 8 x 1014 W cm-2; three times higher intensity is needed to obtain similar hot electron temperature from solid plasmas that have similar atomic composition. We use 1D-PIC simulation to obtain qualitative correlation to the experimental observations

Development of radiation hardness components for ITER remote maintenance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Obara, Kenjiro; Kakudate, Satoshi; Oka, Kiyoshi; Ito, Akira [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Yagi, Toshiaki; Morita, Yousuke

1998-04-01

In the ITER, in-vessel remote handling is required to assemble and maintain in-vessel components in DT operations. Since in-vessel remote handling systems must operate under intense gamma ray radiation exceeding 30 kGy/h, their components must have sufficiently high radiation hardness to allow maintenance long enough in ITER in-vessel environments. Thus, extensive radiation tests and quality improvement, including optimization of material compositions, have been conducted through the ITER R and D program to develop radiation hardness components that meet radiation doses from 10 to 100 MGy at 10 kGy/h. This paper presents the latest on radiation hardness component development conducted by the Japan Home Team as a contribution to the ITER. The remote handling components tested are categorized for use in robotic or viewing systems, or as common components. Radiation tests have been conducted on commercially available products for screening, on modified products, and on new products to improve the radiation hardness. (author)

Development of radiation hardness components for ITER remote maintenance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obara, Kenjiro; Kakudate, Satoshi; Oka, Kiyoshi; Ito, Akira; Yagi, Toshiaki; Morita, Yousuke

1998-01-01

In the ITER, in-vessel remote handling is required to assemble and maintain in-vessel components in DT operations. Since in-vessel remote handling systems must operate under intense gamma ray radiation exceeding 30 kGy/h, their components must have sufficiently high radiation hardness to allow maintenance long enough in ITER in-vessel environments. Thus, extensive radiation tests and quality improvement, including optimization of material compositions, have been conducted through the ITER R and D program to develop radiation hardness components that meet radiation doses from 10 to 100 MGy at 10 kGy/h. This paper presents the latest on radiation hardness component development conducted by the Japan Home Team as a contribution to the ITER. The remote handling components tested are categorized for use in robotic or viewing systems, or as common components. Radiation tests have been conducted on commercially available products for screening, on modified products, and on new products to improve the radiation hardness. (author)

Comparison of time-dependent changes in the surface hardness of different composite resins

Science.gov (United States)

Ozcan, Suat; Yikilgan, Ihsan; Uctasli, Mine Betul; Bala, Oya; Kurklu, Zeliha Gonca Bek

2013-01-01

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in surface hardness of silorane-based composite resin (Filtek Silorane) in time and compare the results with the surface hardness of two methacrylate-based resins (Filtek Supreme and Majesty Posterior). Materials and Methods: From each composite material, 18 wheel-shaped samples (5-mm diameter and 2-mm depth) were prepared. Top and bottom surface hardness of these samples was measured using a Vicker's hardness tester. The samples were then stored at 37°C and 100% humidity. After 24 h and 7, 30 and 90 days, the top and bottom surface hardness of the samples was measured. In each measurement, the rate between the hardness of the top and bottom surfaces were recorded as the hardness rate. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way analysis of variance, multiple comparisons by Tukey's test and binary comparisons by t-test with a significance level of P = 0.05. Results: The highest hardness values were obtained from each two surfaces of Majesty Posterior and the lowest from Filtek Silorane. Both the top and bottom surface hardness of the methacrylate based composite resins was high and there was a statistically significant difference between the top and bottom hardness values of only the silorane-based composite, Filtek Silorane (P composite resin Filtek Silorane showed adequate hardness ratio, the use of incremental technic during application is more important than methacrylate based composites. PMID:24966724

Development of Composite Grinding Wheels for Hard and Soft Metals

OpenAIRE

Pruti, Faruk

2012-01-01

This research investigates the performance of grinding wheel in terms of its internal granular particles and their effect on the surface finish for both soft and hard metals subjected to both dry and wet conditions of use. The study considers the properties of materials of construction including hardness of the granular particles and their size and distributions that affects the grinding wheel efficiency in abrading of soft and hard metal surfaces. Furthermore, in order to improve grinding pe...

3D Bioprinting Technologies for Hard Tissue and Organ Engineering

OpenAIRE

Wang, Xiaohong; Ao, Qiang; Tian, Xiaohong; Fan, Jun; Wei, Yujun; Hou, Weijian; Tong, Hao; Bai, Shuling

2016-01-01

Hard tissues and organs, including the bones, teeth and cartilage, are the most extensively exploited and rapidly developed areas in regenerative medicine field. One prominent character of hard tissues and organs is that their extracellular matrices mineralize to withstand weight and pressure. Over the last two decades, a wide variety of 3D printing technologies have been adapted to hard tissue and organ engineering. These 3D printing technologies have been defined as 3D bioprinting. Especial...

Atazanavir intracellular concentrations remain stable during pregnancy in HIV-infected patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Focà, Emanuele; Calcagno, Andrea; Bonito, Andrea; Simiele, Marco; Domenighini, Elisabetta; D'Avolio, Antonio; Quiros Roldan, Eugenia; Trentini, Laura; Casari, Salvatore; Di Perri, Giovanni; Castelli, Francesco; Bonora, Stefano

2017-11-01

Atazanavir (300 mg) boosted by ritonavir (100 mg) is the preferred third drug in pregnancy. However, there is still discordance on atazanavir dose increase during the third trimester. To evaluate plasma and intracellular atazanavir and ritonavir concentrations in HIV-infected women during pregnancy and after delivery. This was an observational study. HIV-infected pregnant patients treated with atazanavir/ritonavir plus either tenofovir/emtricitabine or abacavir/lamivudine had been prospectively enrolled after having signed a written informed consent form. Plasma and intracellular atazanavir and ritonavir Ctrough (24 ± 3 h after drug intake) were measured at each visit during the first, second and third trimesters and post-partum using validated HPLC-MS and HPLC-photodiode array methods (with direct evaluation of cellular volume). Data are described as median (IQR) and compared through non-parametric tests. Twenty-five patients were enrolled; at baseline, the median age was 32 years (27-35). All patients had plasma HIV RNA  0.05). This is the first demonstration that intracellular atazanavir exposure remains unchanged during pregnancy supporting the standard 300/100 mg atazanavir/ritonavir dosing throughout pregnancy. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Nanomechanics of hard films on compliant substrates.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reedy, Earl David, Jr. (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM); Emerson, John Allen (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM); Bahr, David F. (Washington State University, Pullman, WA); Moody, Neville Reid; Zhou, Xiao Wang; Hales, Lucas (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN); Adams, David Price (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM); Yeager,John (Washington State University, Pullman, WA); Nyugen, Thao D. (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD); Corona, Edmundo (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM); Kennedy, Marian S. (Clemson University, Clemson, SC); Cordill, Megan J. (Erich Schmid Institute, Leoben, Austria)

2009-09-01

Development of flexible thin film systems for biomedical, homeland security and environmental sensing applications has increased dramatically in recent years [1,2,3,4]. These systems typically combine traditional semiconductor technology with new flexible substrates, allowing for both the high electron mobility of semiconductors and the flexibility of polymers. The devices have the ability to be easily integrated into components and show promise for advanced design concepts, ranging from innovative microelectronics to MEMS and NEMS devices. These devices often contain layers of thin polymer, ceramic and metallic films where differing properties can lead to large residual stresses [5]. As long as the films remain substrate-bonded, they may deform far beyond their freestanding counterpart. Once debonded, substrate constraint disappears leading to film failure where compressive stresses can lead to wrinkling, delamination, and buckling [6,7,8] while tensile stresses can lead to film fracture and decohesion [9,10,11]. In all cases, performance depends on film adhesion. Experimentally it is difficult to measure adhesion. It is often studied using tape [12], pull off [13,14,15], and peel tests [16,17]. More recent techniques for measuring adhesion include scratch testing [18,19,20,21], four point bending [22,23,24], indentation [25,26,27], spontaneous blisters [28,29] and stressed overlayers [7,26,30,31,32,33]. Nevertheless, sample design and test techniques must be tailored for each system. There is a large body of elastic thin film fracture and elastic contact mechanics solutions for elastic films on rigid substrates in the published literature [5,7,34,35,36]. More recent work has extended these solutions to films on compliant substrates and show that increasing compliance markedly changes fracture energies compared with rigid elastic solution results [37,38]. However, the introduction of inelastic substrate response significantly complicates the problem [10,39,40]. As

Estimating Janka hardness from specific gravity for tropical and temperate species

Science.gov (United States)

Michael C. Wiemann; David W. Green

2007-01-01

Using mean values for basic (green) specific gravity and Janka side hardness for individual species obtained from the world literature, regression equations were developed to predict side hardness from specific gravity. Statistical and graphical methods showed that the hardness–specific gravity relationship is the same for tropical and temperate hardwoods, but that the...

Nanoindentation hardness of hot-pressed boron suboxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Machaka, Ronald, E-mail: Ronald.Machaka@wits.ac.za [DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials, University of the Witwatersrand, P. Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg (South Africa); School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, P.O. Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050 (South Africa); Derry, Trevor E. [DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials, University of the Witwatersrand, P. Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg (South Africa); School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, P.O. Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050 (South Africa); Sigalas, Iakovos [DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials, University of the Witwatersrand, P. Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg (South Africa); School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, P.O. Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050 (South Africa)

2011-07-15

Highlights: {yields} The load-displacement indentation response of hot-pressed B{sub 6}O is measured and analysed. {yields} The nanoindentation hardness of hot-pressed boron suboxide is reported. {yields} An approach is developed to simulate multi-cycling loading load-displacement curves. {yields} A comprehensive model inter-comparison study of the ISE in hot-pressed B{sub 6}O is also presented. {yields} The fractal dimension is a better measure of ISE than the Meyer's index. - Abstract: The existence of the indentation size effect implies the absence of a single hardness value for the material under investigation especially at low applied loads. In this paper we present an investigation of the indentation size dependence behaviour of nanoindentation hardness in boron suboxide ceramic compacts prepared by uniaxial hot-pressing. Berkovich nanohardness indentations were conducted and analyzed accordingly. In addition to the ordinary Oliver and Pharr method of nanoindentation data analysis, a quantitative approach for the loading curve analysis is proposed. Using the proposed approach, the description and characterization of the observed indentation size effect through the application of the Meyer's law, and the classical and the modified proportional specimen resistance models as well as the multi-fractal scaling law was conducted and is reported. The load-independent hardness values deduced from our quantitative approach are comparable to the results calculated with conventional methods, especially with the multi-fractal scaling law.

NuSTAR Hard X-ray Survey of the Galactic Center Region. I. Hard X-ray Morphology and Spectroscopy of the Diffuse Emission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mori, Kaya; Hailey, Charles J.; Krivonos, Roman

2015-01-01

We present the first sub-arcminute images of the Galactic Center above 10 keV, obtained with NuSTAR. NuSTAR resolves the hard X-ray source IGR J17456-2901 into non-thermal X-ray filaments, molecular clouds, point sources, and a previously unknown central component of hard X-ray emission (CHXE). Nu...

Grain characterization and milling behaviour of near-isogenic lines differing by hardness.

Science.gov (United States)

Greffeuille, V; Abecassis, J; Rousset, M; Oury, F-X; Faye, A; L'Helgouac'h, C Bar; Lullien-Pellerin, V

2006-12-01

Wheat grain hardness is a major factor affecting the milling behaviour and end-product quality although its exact structural and biochemical basis is still not understood. This study describes the development of new near-isogenic lines selected on hardness. Hard and soft sister lines were characterised by near infrared reflectance (NIR) and particle size index (PSI) hardness index, grain protein content, thousand kernel weight and vitreousness. The milling behaviour of these wheat lines was evaluated on an instrumented micromill which also measures the grinding energy and flour particle size distribution was investigated by laser diffraction. Endosperm mechanical properties were measured using compression tests. Results pointed out the respective effect of hardness and vitreousness on those characteristics. Hardness was shown to influence both the mode of fracture and the mechanical properties of the whole grain and endosperm. Thus, this parameter also acts on milling behaviour. On the other hand, vitreousness was found to mainly play a role on the energy required to break the grain. This study allows us to distinguish between consequences of hardness and vitreousness. Hardness is suggested to influence the adhesion forces between starch granules and protein matrix whereas vitreousness would rather be related to the endosperm microstructure.

Characterization of Nanodiamond-based anti-HIV drug Delivery to the Brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Upal; Drozd, Vadym; Durygin, Andriy; Rodriguez, Jesse; Barber, Paul; Atluri, Venkata; Liu, Xiaohua; Voss, Thomas G; Saxena, Surendra; Nair, Madhavan

2018-01-25

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Present combination antiretroviral therapy has substantially improved HIV-1 related pathology. However, delivery of therapeutic agents to the HIV reservoir organ like Central nervous system (CNS) remains a major challenge primarily due to the ineffective transmigration of drugs through Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). The recent advent of nanomedicine-based drug delivery has stimulated the development of innovative systems for drug delivery. In this regard, particular focus has been given to nanodiamond due to its natural biocompatibility and non-toxic nature-making it a more efficient drug carrier than other carbon-based materials. Considering its potential and importance, we have characterized unmodified and surface-modified (-COOH and -NH 2 ) nanodiamond for its capacity to load the anti-HIV-1 drug efavirenz and cytotoxicity, in vitro. Overall, our study has established that unmodified nanodiamond conjugated drug formulation has significantly higher drug loading capacity than surface-modified nanodiamond with minimum toxicity. Further, this nanodrug formulation was characterized by its drug dissolution profile, transmigration through the BBB, and its therapeutic efficacy. The present biological characterizations provide a foundation for further study of in-vivo pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of nanodiamond-based anti-HIV drugs.

Fractional laser-assisted drug uptake

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Banzhaf, Christina A; Thaysen-Petersen, Daniel; Bay, Christiane

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Ablative fractional laser (AFXL) is acknowledged to increase uptake of topically applied agents in skin. AFXL channels gradually close over time, which may impair this capability. The time frame for applying a drug after AFXL exposure remains to be established. The aim...... in laser-exposed and non-laser-exposed skin at 24-48 hours. CONCLUSIONS: The time frame to maintain enhanced drug delivery sustained for several hours after AFXL exposure, corresponding to channel morphology and loss of skin integrity. Lasers Surg. Med. 49:348-354, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc....

Developing very hard nanostructured bainitic steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amel-Farzad, H., E-mail: hh_amel@yahoo.com [Department of Materials Engineering and Metallurgy, Faculty of Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Faridi, H.R., E-mail: faridihr@yahoo.com [Department of Materials Engineering and Metallurgy, Hamedan University of Technology, Hamedan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rajabpour, F.; Abolhasani, A.; Kazemi, Sh.; Khaledzadeh, Y. [Department of Materials Engineering and Metallurgy, Faculty of Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2013-01-01

Novel nanostructured high carbon high silicon, carbide-free bainitic steels with very high strength and good ductility have been developed in the recent decade. In this work, an alloy with a high carbon content and no manganese was designed and cast. The prepared samples were heat treated through an austempering process in the range 200-350 Degree-Sign C. Optical and scanning electron microscopes and XRD were used to analyze the microstructures precisely. Bainitic ferrite plates of just a few tens of nanometer thickness were obtained with the hardness of 697{+-}6 HV. It is reasonable to say that the unprecedented hardness values obtained in this work are mostly caused by the extraordinary carbon content of the alloy.

Induction surface hardening of hard coated steels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pantleon, Karen; Kessler, Olaf; Hoffmann, Franz

1999-01-01

The deposition of hard coatings with CVD-processes is commonly used to improve the wear resistance e.g. of tool steels in forming. The advantages of CVD are undisputed (high deposition rates with simple equipment, excellent coating properties). Nevertheless, the disadvantage of the CVD-process is......The deposition of hard coatings with CVD-processes is commonly used to improve the wear resistance e.g. of tool steels in forming. The advantages of CVD are undisputed (high deposition rates with simple equipment, excellent coating properties). Nevertheless, the disadvantage of the CVD...

Alcohol and drug screening of occupational drivers for preventing injury

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cashman, Clodagh M.; Ruotsalainen, Jani H.; Greiner, Birgit A.; Beirne, Paul V.; Verbeek, Jos H.

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: Workforce alcohol and drug testing is commonplace but its effect in reducing occupational injuries remains unclear. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of alcohol and drug screening of occupational drivers (operating a motorised vehicle) in preventing injury or work-related effects such as

Effect of sintering atmosphere on the hardness of ThO_2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baena, Angela; Cardinaels, Thomas; Van Eyken, Jelle; Puzzolante, Jean Louis; Binnemans, Koen; Verwerft, Marc

2016-01-01

The hardness and toughness of ThO_2 sintered under reducing and oxidizing conditions has been investigated and, quite unexpectedly, a significant difference in hardness was observed for the entire range of porosities studied. Reducing conditions systematically yielded higher hardness values than oxidizing conditions. Extrapolated to zero porosity, the hardness for ThO_2 is H_0 = 10.5 ± 0.3 GPa for oxidizing conditions and H_0 = 12.4 ± 0.7 GPa for reducing conditions. Toughness values have been derived from Vickers indentations; differences in toughness were insignificant and only a single value is proposed: K_I_C = 0.97 ± 0.12 MPa √m. The difference in hardness is attributed to the presence of point defects, also acting as color centers and causing grey coloration of ThO_2 sintered under reducing conditions. Furthermore, and of interest for nuclear fuel production, is the finding that ThO_2 sintered under reducing conditions is significantly easier to grind compared to material sintered under oxidizing conditions. - Highlights: • Reducing sintering conditions increase the hardness of polycrystalline ThO_2. • Systematic series of hardness versus porosity of ThO_2 were obtained. • Reducing sintering conditions improve grinding of ThO_2.

Hardness and microstructure analysis of damaged gear caused by adhesive wear

Science.gov (United States)

Mahendra, Rizky Budi; Nugroho, Sri; Ismail, Rifky

2018-03-01

This study was a result from research on repairing project of damaged elevator gear box. The objective of this research is to analyze the failure part on elevator gearbox at flourmill factory. The equipment was damaged after one year installed and running on factory. Severe wear was occurred on high speed helical gear. These helical gear was one of main part of elevator gearbox in flour mill manufacture. Visually, plastic deformation didn't occurred and not visible on the failure helical gear shaft. Some test would be performed to check the chemical composition, microstructure and hardness of failure helical gear. The material of failure helical gear shaft was a medium carbon steel alloy. The microstructure was showed a martensitic phase formed on the surface to the center area of gear shaft. Otherwise, the depth of hardness layer slight formed on surface and lack depth of hardness layer was a main trigger of severe wear. It was not enough to resist wear due to friction caused by rolling and sliding on surface between high speed gear and low speed gear. Enhancement of hardness layer on surface and depth of hardness layer will make the component has more long life time. Furthermore, to perform next research is needed to analyze the reliability of enhanced hardness on layer and depth of hardness layer on helical gear shaft.

Hard diffraction and deep inelastic scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bjorken, J.D.

1994-04-01

Since the advent of hard-collision physics, the study of diffractive processes - shadow physics - has been less prominent than before. However, there is now a renewed interest in the subject, especially in that aspect which synthesizes the short-distance, hard-collision phenomena with the classical physics of large rapidity-gaps. This is especially stimulated by the recent data on deep-inelastic scattering from HERA, as well as the theoretical work which relates to it. The word diffraction is sometimes used by high-energy physicists in a loose way. The author defines this term to mean: A diffractive process occurs if and only if there is a large rapidity gap in the produced-particle phase space which is not exponentially suppressed. Here a rapidity gap means essentially no hadrons produced into the rapidity gap (which operates in the open-quotes legoclose quotes phase-space of pseudo-rapidity and azimuthal angle). And non-exponential suppression implies that the cross-section for creating a gap with width Δη does not have a power-law decrease with increasing subenergy s=e Δη , but behaves at most like some power of pseudorapidity Δη∼log(s). The term hard diffraction shall simply refer to those diffractive process which have jets in the final-state phase-space

Changing effects of direct-to-consumer broadcast drug advertising information sources on prescription drug requests.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Annisa Lai

2009-06-01

This study tracks the changes of the effects of 4 information sources for direct-to-consumer drug advertising on patients' requests for prescription drugs from physicians since the inception of the "Guidance for Industry about Consumer-directed Broadcast Advertisements." The Guidance advises pharmaceuticals to use four information sources for consumers to seek further information to supplement broadcast drug advertisements: small-print information, the Internet, a toll-free number, and health-care providers (nurses, doctors, and pharmacists). Logistic models were created by using survey data collected by the Food and Drug Administration in 1999 and 2002. Results show that throughout the years, health-care providers remain the most used and strongest means associated with patients' direct requests for nonspecific and specific prescription drugs from doctors. The small-print information source gains power and changes from an indirect means associated with patients' discussing drugs with health-care providers to a direct means associated with patients' asking about nonspecific and specific drugs from their doctors. The Internet is not directly related to drug requests, but the effect of its association with patients seeking information from health-care providers grew 11-fold over the course of the study. The toll-free number lost its power altogether for both direct request for a prescription drug and further discussion with health-care providers. Patient demographics will be considered for specific policy implications.

SURFACES OF HARD-SPHERE SYSTEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dietrich Stoyan

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In various situations surfaces appear that are formed by systems of hard spheres. Examples are porous layers as surfaces of sand heaps and biofilms or fracture surfaces of concrete. The present paper considers models where a statistically homogeneous system of hard spheres with random radii is intersected by a plane and the surface is formed by the spheres with centers close to this plane. Formulae are derived for various characteristics of such surfaces: for the porosity profile, i.e. the local porosity in dependence on the distance from the section plane and for the geometry of the sphere caps that look above the section plane.It turns out that these characteristics only depend on the first-order characteristics of the sphere system, its sphere density and the sphere radius distribution.Comparison with empirically studied biofilms shows that the model is realistic.

Addressing brain tumors with targeted gold nanoparticles: a new gold standard for hydrophobic drug delivery?

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Yu; Meyers, Joseph D; Agnes, Richard S; Doane, Tennyson L; Kenney, Malcolm E; Broome, Ann-Marie; Burda, Clemens; Basilion, James P

2011-08-22

EGF-modified Au NP-Pc 4 conjugates showed 10-fold improved selectivity to the brain tumor compared to untargeted conjugates. The hydrophobic photodynamic therapy drug Pc 4 can be delivered efficiently into glioma brain tumors by EGF peptide-targeted Au NPs. Compared to the untargeted conjugates, EGF-Au NP-Pc 4 conjugates showed 10-fold improved selectivity to the brain tumor. This delivery system holds promise for future delivery of a wider range of hydrophobic therapeutic drugs for the treatment of hard-to-reach cancers. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

[Development of a system for static measurement of skin-muscle hardness and a fundamental study on its applications].

Science.gov (United States)

Honda, T

1990-10-01

th and the 5th digiti were increased with age. In females, a decrease in hardness in the region of the biceps brachii muscle with age was observed. 4) The indices of not only elasticity, but also of viscosity in females were higher than those in males. The results showed that for both elasticity and viscosity, the hardness of skin-muscles in males were higher than that in females. Furthermore, the index of plasticity was determined by examining the mark remaining after unloading, and good correlation of the index to age was observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Assessing degradation of composite resin cements during artificial aging by Martens hardness.

Science.gov (United States)

Bürgin, Stefan; Rohr, Nadja; Fischer, Jens

2017-05-19

Aim of the study was to verify the efficiency of Martens hardness measurements in detecting the degradation of composite resin cements during artificial aging. Four cements were used: Variolink II (VL2), RelyX Unicem 2 Automix (RUN), PermaFlo DC (PDC), and DuoCem (DCM). Specimens for Martens hardness measurements were light-cured and stored in water at 37 °C for 1 day to allow complete polymerization (baseline). Subsequently the specimens were artificially aged by water storage at 37 °C or thermal cycling (n = 6). Hardness was measured at baseline as well as after 1, 4, 9 and 16 days of aging. Specimens for indirect tensile strength measurements were produced in a similar manner. Indirect tensile strength was measured at baseline and after 16 days of aging (n = 10). The results were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA (α = 0.05). After water storage for 16 days hardness was significantly reduced for VL2, RUN and DCM while hardness of PDC as well as indirect tensile strength of all cements were not significantly affected. Thermal cycling significantly reduced both, hardness and indirect tensile strength for all cements. No general correlation was found between Martens hardness and indirect tensile strength. However, when each material was analyzed separately, relative change of hardness and of indirect tensile strength revealed a strong linear correlation. Martens hardness is a sensible test method to assess aging of resin composite cements during thermal cycling that is easy to perform.

Prevention of prescription errors by computerized, on-line, individual patient related surveillance of drug order entry.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliven, A; Zalman, D; Shilankov, Y; Yeshurun, D; Odeh, M

2002-01-01

Computerized prescription of drugs is expected to reduce the number of many preventable drug ordering errors. In the present study we evaluated the usefullness of a computerized drug order entry (CDOE) system in reducing prescription errors. A department of internal medicine using a comprehensive CDOE, which included also patient-related drug-laboratory, drug-disease and drug-allergy on-line surveillance was compared to a similar department in which drug orders were handwritten. CDOE reduced prescription errors to 25-35%. The causes of errors remained similar, and most errors, on both departments, were associated with abnormal renal function and electrolyte balance. Residual errors remaining on the CDOE-using department were due to handwriting on the typed order, failure to feed patients' diseases, and system failures. The use of CDOE was associated with a significant reduction in mean hospital stay and in the number of changes performed in the prescription. The findings of this study both quantity the impact of comprehensive CDOE on prescription errors and delineate the causes for remaining errors.

Hard X-ray spectral and timing properties of IGR J17454-2919 consistent with a black hole in the hard state

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tendulkar, Shriharsh P.; Bachetti, Matteo; Tomsick, J.

2014-01-01

frequencies. The Lorentzian has a width of 2 Hz and a fractional rms of 25+/-3%. The hard power-law index, the high energy of the cutoff, and the level of variability all are consistent with properties expected for an accreting black hole in the hard state. While we cannot completely rule out the possibility...... of a low magnetic field neutron star, a black hole is more likely....

Development of novel drug delivery systems using phage display technology for clinical application of protein drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagano, Kazuya; Tsutsumi, Yasuo

2016-01-01

Attempts are being made to develop therapeutic proteins for cancer, hepatitis, and autoimmune conditions, but their clinical applications are limited, except in the cases of drugs based on erythropoietin, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, interferon-alpha, and antibodies, owing to problems with fundamental technologies for protein drug discovery. It is difficult to identify proteins useful as therapeutic seeds or targets. Another problem in using bioactive proteins is pleiotropic actions through receptors, making it hard to elicit desired effects without side effects. Additionally, bioactive proteins have poor therapeutic effects owing to degradation by proteases and rapid excretion from the circulatory system. Therefore, it is essential to establish a series of novel drug delivery systems (DDS) to overcome these problems. Here, we review original technologies in DDS. First, we introduce antibody proteomics technology for effective selection of proteins useful as therapeutic seeds or targets and identification of various kinds of proteins, such as cancer-specific proteins, cancer metastasis-related proteins, and a cisplatin resistance-related protein. Especially Ephrin receptor A10 is expressed in breast tumor tissues but not in normal tissues and is a promising drug target potentially useful for breast cancer treatment. Moreover, we have developed a system for rapidly creating functional mutant proteins to optimize the seeds for therapeutic applications and used this system to generate various kinds of functional cytokine muteins. Among them, R1antTNF is a TNFR1-selective antagonistic mutant of TNF and is the first mutein converted from agonist to antagonist. We also review a novel polymer-conjugation system to improve the in vivo stability of bioactive proteins. Site-specific PEGylated R1antTNF is uniform at the molecular level, and its bioactivity is similar to that of unmodified R1antTNF. In the future, we hope that many innovative protein drugs will be

Hard Diffraction - from Blois 1985 to 2005

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gunnar, Ingelman [Uppsala Univ., High Energy Physics (Sweden)

2005-07-01

The idea of diffractive processes with a hard scale involved, to resolve the underlying parton dynamics, was presented at the first Blois conference in 1985 and experimentally verified a few years later. Today hard diffraction is an attractive research field with high-quality data and new theoretical models. The trend from Regge-based pomeron models to QCD-based parton level models has given insights on QCD dynamics involving perturbative gluon exchange mechanisms. In the new QCD-based models, the pomeron is not part of the proton wave function, but diffraction is an effect of the scattering process. Models based on interactions with a colour background field provide an interesting approach which avoids conceptual problems of pomeron-based models, such as the pomeron flux, and provide a basis for common theoretical framework for all final states, diffractive gap events as well as non-diffractive events. Finally, the new process of gaps between jets provides strong evidence for the BFKL dynamics as predicted since long by QCD, but so far hard to establish experimentally.

The remineralization potential of cocoa (Theobroma cacao bean extract to increase the enamel micro hardness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sulistianingsih Sulistianingsih

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Remineralization is the process of returning mineral ions into a hydroxyapatite structure characterized by mineral deposition on the enamel surface. The presence of mineral deposition would affect the micro hardness of tooth enamel. The use of fluorine as remineralization agent with side effects such as fluorosis. Cocoa bean extract contains theobromin that can be used as an alternative remineralization ingredients. The objectives was to determine micro hardness email after remineralization using cocoa bean extract as natural material and to compare with fluorine use as synthetic material. Methods: Thirty-six maxillary first premolar tooth crown was cut and planted in the epoxy resin. Teeth were then immersed in demineralization solution at pH 4 for 6 hours. The sample were divided into 2 groups, 18 for the fluorine group and the remaining group of cocoa extract. Vickers microhardness test was used before treatment, after demineralized and after remineralization. Results: Enamel microhardness value before treatment in the fluorine group average value was 376.17 VHN and the cocoa extract group was 357.33 VHN. After demineralization in fluorine group was 268,13 VHN and cocoa extract group was 235,93 VHN. After remineralization in fluorine group was 321,08 VHN and cocoa extract group was 293,86 VHN. The results of the analysis showed that the level of micro hardness email after remineralization was not significantly different in two groups (p > 0.05. Conclusions: Cocoa extract is able to increase the microhardness of enamel so it can act as a substitution for fluorine remineralization.

Drug-related problems and changes in drug utilization after medication reviews in nursing homes in Oslo, Norway.

Science.gov (United States)

Fog, Amura Francesca; Kvalvaag, Gunnar; Engedal, Knut; Straand, Jørund

2017-12-01

We describe the drug-related problems (DRPs) identified during medication reviews (MRs) and the changes in drug utilization after MRs at nursing homes in Oslo, Norway. We explored predictors for the observed changes. Observational before-after study. Forty-one nursing homes. MRs performed by multidisciplinary teams during November 2011 to February 2014. In all, 2465 long-term care patients. DRPs identified by explicit criteria (STOPP/START and NORGEP) and drug-drug interaction database; interventions to resolve DRPs; drug use changes after MR. A total of 6158 DRPs were identified, an average of 2.6 DRPs/patient, 2.0 for regular and 0.6 for pro re nata (prn) drugs. Of these patients, 17.3% had no DRPs. The remaining 82.7% of the patients had on average 3.0 DRPs/patient. Use of unnecessary drugs (43.5%), excess dosing (12.5%) and lack of monitoring of the drug use (11%) were the most frequent DRPs. Opioids and psychotropic drugs were involved in 34.4% of all DRPs. The mean number of drugs decreased after the MR from 6.8 to 6.3 for regular drugs and from 3.0 to 2.6 for prn drugs. Patients with DRPs experienced a decrease of 1.1 drugs after MR (0.5 for regular and 0.6 for prn drugs). The reduction was most pronounced for the regular use of antipsychotics, antidepressants, hypnotics/sedatives, diuretics, antithrombotic agents, antacid drugs; and for prn use of anxiolytics, opioids, hypnotics/sedatives, metoclopramide and NSAIDs. The medication review resulted in less drug use, especially opioids and psychotropic drugs.

The Hard X-ray Sky: Recent Observational Progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gehrels, Neil; Cannizzo, John K.

2009-01-01

The last fifty years have witnessed the birth, development, and maturation to full potential of hard X-ray astrophysics. The primary force driving the history of the field has been the development of space-based instrumentation optimized for getting the maximum science out of observations of high-energy photons from astrophysical sources. Hard X-ray telescopes are leading research in areas such as galactic diffuse emission, galactic transients, and active galactic nuclei.

A Forging Hardness Dispersion Effect on the Energy Consumption of Machining

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. D. Mal'kova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the work is to evaluate a hardness dispersion of forgings to be further machined, and analyse the impact of this dispersion on the resulting power consumption when cutting.The paper studies the hardness values of three kinds of parts for automotive manufacturing. Sample of each part was n = 100 pieces. Analysis of measurements showed that 46% - 93% of parts meet requirements for a range defined by the work-piece working drawing. It was found that hardness of one batch of forgings is under dispersion, which distribution is governed by the normal law.The work provides calculations for machining the external cylindrical surfaces of the considered parts. In the context of calculating are adopted parameters of the enterprise-processing rate. It is found that power consumption of machining because of the dispersion values of the work-piece hardness is a function of the random BH variable and it itself is a random variable. Two types of samples are considered, namely: the full sample and that of the values that meet requirements for hardness. The coefficient of variation for samples that meet the technical requirements for hardness is lower than for the full samples, so their average value is more reliable characteristic of a set. It was also found that to ensure a reliable prediction of power consumption in designing the manufacturing processes it is necessary to reduce a tolerance range of workpiece hardness to the limit.The work gives a comparative evaluation of electric power consumption per unit cylindrical surface of the parts under consideration. A relative change in the electric power consumed at the minimum and maximum levels of the hardness value was introduced as an evaluation criterion. It is found that with changing hardness of machined work-pieces within the tolerance, the change in power consumption in machining the unit surface reaches 16% while in the case its being out of the specified range it does 47%.

A study on hardness behavior of geopolymer paste in different condition

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Zainal, Farah Farhana; Hussin, Kamarudin; Rahmat, Azmi; Abdullah, Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri; Shamsudin, Shaiful Rizam

2016-07-01

This study has been conducted to understand the hardness behavior of geopolymer paste in different conditions; with and without being immersed in water. Geopolymer paste has been used nowadays as an alternative way to reduce global warming pollution by carbon dioxide (CO2) released to the air caused from the production of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). Geopolymer has many advantages such as high compressive strength, lower water absorption and lower porosity. Geopolymer paste in this study was made from a mixture of fly ash and alkaline activators. The alkaline activators that have been used were sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) solution. Then the mixture was allowed to harden for 24hrs at ambient temperature and then placed in the oven for 24hrs with 60°C for the curing process. The hardness testing was conducted after a few months when the samples already achieved the optimum design. The samples were divided to two conditions; without immersion which was placed at ambient temperature (S1) and immersed in water for one week (S2). The samples then are divided into two at the center and testing was conducted into 4 parts which are part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4. Various methods of non-destructively testing concrete and mortar have been in use for many years such as Vickers hardness test, Rockwell hardness test, Brinell hardness test and many more. The Rockwell hardness test method as defined in ASTM E-18 is the most commonly used hardness test method which is also used in this study. From the results, S1 has higher hardness value than S2 for all parts with the maximum value of S1 is 118.6 and the minimum value is 71.8. The maximum value of S2 is 114.4 and the minimum value is 0. The central part of the geopolymer paste also showed greater hardness values than the edge area of the samples.

Optimization of self-microemulsifying drug delivery systems (SMEDDS) using a D-optimal design and the desirability function

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, R.; Jensen, I.H.M.; Sonnergaard, Jørn

2006-01-01

with the hard gelatin capsule. Three formulation variables, PEG200, a surfactant mixture, and an oil mixture, were included in the experimental design. The results of the mathematical analysis of the data demonstrated significant interactions among the formulation variables, and the desirability function......D-optimal design and the desirability function were applied to optimize a self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS). The optimized key parameters were the following: 1) particle size of the dispersed emulsion, 2) solubility of the drug in the vehicle, and 3) the vehicle compatibility...

The socioeconomic impact of drug-related crimes in Chile.

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Fernández, Matías

2012-11-01

Illegal drug use and trafficking are closely connected to crime. This article estimates the socioeconomic impact of this connection in Chile. Goldstein's tripartite model was applied quantifying drug-crime connections and then using those estimates to measure the socioeconomic impact of drug-related crimes. This was estimated in terms of both the monetary cost of law enforcement, and lost productivity due to incarceration. This socioeconomic impact can be divided into: (a) the direct costs arising from infractions to Chile's Drug Law, and the indirect costs originated by crimes linked only partially to drug consumption and trafficking; (b) is measured in productivity losses, as well as in costs to the three branches of Chile's criminal justice system (police, judiciary, and prisons); and (c) is attributed to the three illicit drugs most prevalent in Chile: cannabis, cocaine hydrochloride (CH) and cocaine base paste (CBP). The socioeconomic impact of Chile's drug-crime relationship in 2006 is estimated to be USD 268 million. Out of this amount, 36% is spent on national Drug Law enforcement, and the remaining 64% comes from the connection of drug use and trafficking with non-Drug-Law-related crimes. The police bear the largest share of drug enforcement costs (32%), followed by penitentiaries (25%). Productivity losses due to incarceration for drug-related crimes represent 29% of the total impact. 53% of the costs are attributable to CBP, 29% to CH, and the remaining 18% to cannabis. The impact of CBP is greater when indirect costs are taken into account, although direct costs are primarily associated with CH. The majority of costs is attributed to the trafficking and consumption of CBP, a drug with a relatively low prevalence. Based on the results, this study suggests reviewing drug enforcement policies to differentiate them according to the social and individual harm caused by each drug. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The material co-construction of hard science fiction and physics

Science.gov (United States)

Hasse, Cathrine

2015-12-01

This article explores the relationship between hard science fiction and physics and a gendered culture of science. Empirical studies indicate that science fiction references might spur some students' interest in physics and help develop this interest throughout school, into a university education and even further later inspire the practice of doing science. There are many kinds of fiction within the science fiction genre. In the presented empirical exploration physics students seem particularly fond of what is called `hard science fiction': a particular type of science fiction dealing with technological developments (Hartwell and Cramer in The hard SF renaissance, Orb/TOR, New York, 2002). Especially hard science fiction as a motivating fantasy may, however, also come with a gender bias. The locally materialized techno-fantasies spurring dreams of the terraforming of planets like Mars and travels in time and space may not be shared by all physics students. Especially female students express a need for other concerns in science. The entanglement of physics with hard science fiction may thus help develop some students' interest in learning school physics and help create an interest for studying physics at university level. But research indicates that especially female students are not captured by the hard techno-fantasies to the same extent as some of their male colleagues. Other visions (e.g. inspired by soft science fiction) are not materialized as a resource in the local educational culture. It calls for an argument of how teaching science is also teaching cultural values, ethics and concerns, which may be gendered. Teaching materials, like the use of hard science fiction in education, may not just be (yet another) gender bias in science education but also carrier of particular visions for scientific endeavours.

Classification of soft and hard impacts-Application to aircraft crash

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koechlin, Pierre; Potapov, Serguei

2009-01-01

Before modeling an aircraft crash on a shield building of a nuclear power plant, it is very important to understand the physical phenomena and the structural behavior associated with this kind of impact. In the scientific literature, aircraft crash is classified as a soft impact, or as an impact of deformable missile. Nevertheless the existing classifications are not precise enough to be able to predict 'a priori' the structural response mode. The aim of this paper is to characterize very precisely what is a soft and a hard impact in the frame of aircraft crash on nuclear power plant. First the existing qualitative definition of soft and hard impact is quickly reviewed in order to introduce a new criterion to make a quantitative distinction between soft and hard impact. Then the experimental tests carried out during the last thirty years in the research field of aircraft crash are presented in the light of the new classification. The authors show that this characterization of soft and hard impacts has a real physical interest because it is linked to the failure mode for perforation: for soft impacts, perforation is the consequence of a shear plug breaking away and for hard impact it comes from local failure and projectile penetration. Moreover the boundary between soft and hard impact is the limit for the use of an impact force in an uncoupled computation of the impact

Lipid nanoparticles as drug/gene delivery systems to the retina.

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del Pozo-Rodríguez, Ana; Delgado, Diego; Gascón, Alicia R; Solinís, Maria Ángeles

2013-03-01

This review highlights the application of lipid nanoparticles (Solid Lipid Nanoparticles, Nanostructured Lipid Carriers, or Lipid Drug Conjugates) as effective drug/gene delivery systems for retinal diseases. Most drug products for ocular disease treatment are marketed as eye drop formulations but, due to ocular barriers, the drug concentration in the retina hardly ever turns out to be effective. Up to this date, several delivery systems have been designed to deliver drugs to the retina. Drug delivery strategies may be classified into 3 groups: noninvasive techniques, implants, and colloidal carriers. The best known systems for drug delivery to the posterior eye are intravitreal implants; in fact, some of them are being clinically used. However, their long-term accumulation might impact the patient's vision. On the contrary, colloidal drug delivery systems (microparticles, liposomes, or nanoparticles) can be easily administered in a liquid form. Nanoparticular systems diffuse rapidly and are better internalized in ocular tissues than microparticles. In comparison with liposomes, nanoparticles have a higher loading capacity and are more stable in biological fluids and during storage. In addition, their capacity to adhere to the ocular surface and interact with the endothelium makes these drug delivery systems interesting as new therapeutic tools in ophthalmology. Within the group of nanoparticles, those composed of lipids (Solid Lipid Nanoparticles, Nanostructred Lipid Carriers, and Lipid Drug Conjugates) are more biocompatible, easy to produce at large scale, and they may be autoclaved or sterilized. The present review summarizes scientific results that evidence the potential application of lipid nanoparticles as drug delivery systems for the retina and also as nonviral vectors in gene therapy of retina disorders, although much more effort is still needed before these lipidic systems could be available in the market.

2010 drug packaging review: identifying problems to prevent errors.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-01

Prescrire's analyses showed that the quality of drug packaging in 2010 still left much to be desired. Potentially dangerous packaging remains a significant problem: unclear labelling is source of medication errors; dosing devices for some psychotropic drugs create a risk of overdose; child-proof caps are often lacking; and too many patient information leaflets are misleading or difficult to understand. Everything that is needed for safe drug packaging is available; it is now up to regulatory agencies and drug companies to act responsibly. In the meantime, health professionals can help their patients by learning to identify the pitfalls of drug packaging and providing safe information to help prevent medication errors.

Dispersion representations for hard exclusive processes. Beyond the born approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diehl, M.; Ivanov, D.Yu.

2007-07-01

Several hard exclusive scattering processes admit a description in terms of generalized parton distributions and perturbative hard-scattering kernels. Both the physical amplitude and the hard-scattering kernels fulfill dispersion relations. We give a detailed investigation of their consistency at all orders in perturbation theory. The results shed light on the information about generalized parton distributions that can be extracted from the real and imaginary parts of exclusive amplitudes. They also provide a practical consistency check for models of these distributions in which Lorentz invariance is not exactly satisfied. (orig.)

A novel health indicator for on-line lithium-ion batteries remaining useful life prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yapeng; Huang, Miaohua; Chen, Yupu; Tao, Ye

2016-07-01

Prediction of lithium-ion batteries remaining useful life (RUL) plays an important role in an intelligent battery management system. The capacity and internal resistance are often used as the batteries health indicator (HI) for quantifying degradation and predicting RUL. However, on-line measurement of capacity and internal resistance are hardly realizable due to the not fully charged and discharged condition and the extremely expensive cost, respectively. Therefore, there is a great need to find an optional way to deal with this plight. In this work, a novel HI is extracted from the operating parameters of lithium-ion batteries for degradation modeling and RUL prediction. Moreover, Box-Cox transformation is employed to improve HI performance. Then Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses are utilized to evaluate the similarity between real capacity and the estimated capacity derived from the HI. Next, both simple statistical regression technique and optimized relevance vector machine are employed to predict the RUL based on the presented HI. The correlation analyses and prediction results show the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed HI for battery degradation modeling and RUL prediction.

The first millennium AD climate fluctuations in the Tavoliere Plain (Apulia, Italy): New preliminary data from the 14C AMS-dated plant remains from the archaeological site of Faragola

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fiorentino, G.; Caracuta, V.; Volpe, G.; Turchiano, M.; Quarta, G.; D'Elia, M.; Calcagnile, L.

2010-01-01

The identification of ancient climate fluctuations represents an hard challenge for studies intended to outline the human-environment interaction in fragile ecosystems. The aim of this work is to test the potentialities of carbon stable isotopic content of AMS-dated archaeological plant remains as tool to infer variations in rainfall/temperature regimes. The results obtained in the analysis of the carbon stable isotopic content of 10 plant remains selected among the archaeobotanical remains collected at the archaeological site in Faragola (Apulia, Italy) and radiocarbon-dated by AMS are presented. The variation of δ 13 C values was considered on a chronological scale covering a time range comprised between the II century BC and the VII century AD. The obtained patterns were also compared with local and global-scale palaeoclimatic records.

Effect of sintering atmosphere on the hardness of ThO2

Science.gov (United States)

Baena, Angela; Cardinaels, Thomas; Van Eyken, Jelle; Puzzolante, Jean Louis; Binnemans, Koen; Verwerft, Marc

2016-08-01

The hardness and toughness of ThO2 sintered under reducing and oxidizing conditions has been investigated and, quite unexpectedly, a significant difference in hardness was observed for the entire range of porosities studied. Reducing conditions systematically yielded higher hardness values than oxidizing conditions. Extrapolated to zero porosity, the hardness for ThO2 is H0 = 10.5 ± 0.3 GPa for oxidizing conditions and H0 = 12.4 ± 0.7 GPa for reducing conditions. Toughness values have been derived from Vickers indentations; differences in toughness were insignificant and only a single value is proposed: KIC = 0.97 ± 0.12 MPa √m. The difference in hardness is attributed to the presence of point defects, also acting as color centers and causing grey coloration of ThO2 sintered under reducing conditions. Furthermore, and of interest for nuclear fuel production, is the finding that ThO2 sintered under reducing conditions is significantly easier to grind compared to material sintered under oxidizing conditions.

Too hard to swallow: a secret secondary defence of an aposematic insect.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lu-Yi; Huang, Wen-San; Tang, Hsin-Chieh; Huang, Lung-Chun; Lin, Chung-Ping

2018-01-25

Anti-predator strategies are significant components of adaptation in prey species. Aposematic prey are expected to possess effective defences that have evolved simultaneously with their warning colours. This study tested the hypothesis of the defensive function and ecological significance of the hard body in aposematic Pachyrhynchus weevils pioneered by Alfred Russel Wallace nearly 150 years ago. We used predation trials with Japalura tree lizards to assess the survivorship of 'hard' (mature) versus 'soft' (teneral) and 'clawed' (intact) versus 'clawless' (surgically removed) weevils. The ecological significance of the weevil's hard body was evaluated by assessing the hardness of the weevils, the local prey insects, and the bite forces of the lizard populations. The existence of toxins or deterrents in the weevil was examined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). All 'hard' weevils were instantly spat out after being bitten once and survived attacks by the lizards. In contrast, the 'soft' weevils were chewed and subsequently swallowed. The results were the same regardless of the presence or absence of the weevil's tarsal claws. The hardness of 'hard' Pachyrhynchus weevils was significantly higher than the average hardness of other prey insects in the same habitat and the mean bite forces of the local lizards. The four candidate compounds of the weevil identified by GC-MS had no known toxic or repellent functions against vertebrates. These results reveal that the hardness of aposematic prey functions as an effective secondary defence, and they provide a framework for understanding the spatio-temporal interactions between vertebrate predators and aposematic insect prey. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.