Physical stability of emulsion encapsulated in alginate microgel particles by the impinging aerosol technique.

Emulsion filled alginate microgel particles can be applied as carrier systems for lipophilic actives in pharmaceutical and food formulations. In this study, the effects of oil concentration, emulsifier type and oil droplet size on the physical stability of emulsions encapsulated in calcium alginate microgel particles (20-80μm) produced by a continuous impinging aerosol technique were studied. Oil emulsions emulsified by using either sodium caseinate (SCN) or Tween 80 were encapsulated at different oil concentrations (32.

Myocardial hypoperfusion on conventional contrast computed tomography.

Non–electrocardiogram (ECG)–gated contrast computed tomography (CT) is commonly performed to exclude aortic dissection in chest pain patients. Besides evaluating the aorta for dissection flap, attention should be paid to the myocardium for areas of hypoenhancement that may suggest ischemia. Current models of multidetector CT enable assessment of myocardial perfusion with minimal motion artifact even without ECG gating.

A PK-PD model of ketamine-induced high-frequency oscillations.

Objective: Ketamine is a widely used drug with clinical and research applications, and also known to be used as a recreational drug. Ketamine produces conspicuous changes in the electrocorticographic (ECoG) signals observed both in humans and rodents. In rodents, the intracranial ECoG displays a high-frequency oscillation (HFO) which power is modulated nonlinearly by ketamine dose.

Effect of N-acetylcysteine supplementation on oxidative stress status and alveolar inflammation in people exposed to asbestos: a double-blind, randomized clinical trial.

Background And Objective: Many of the pathological consequences in the lung following inhalation of asbestos fibres arise as a consequence of persistent oxidative stress and inflammation. Inflammatory responses can be observed in asymptomatic asbestos-exposed individuals. There are currently no interventions to reduce inflammatory or oxidative responses to asbestos before disease develops.

Robust control of burst suppression for medical coma.

Objective: Medical coma is an anesthetic-induced state of brain inactivation, manifest in the electroencephalogram by burst suppression. Feedback control can be used to regulate burst suppression, however, previous designs have not been robust. Robust control design is critical under real-world operating conditions, subject to substantial pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameter uncertainty and unpredictable external disturbances.

Validation of the Framingham general cardiovascular risk score in a multiethnic Asian population: a retrospective cohort study.

Objective: This study aims to examine the validity of the Framingham general cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk chart in a primary care setting.

Design: This is a 10-year retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A primary care clinic in a teaching hospital in Malaysia.

Alginate gel particles-A review of production techniques and physical properties.

The application of hydrocolloid gel particles is potentially useful in food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Alginate gel particles are one of the more commonly used hydrocolloid gel particles due to them being biocompatible, nontoxic, biodegradable, cheap, and simple to produce. They are particularly valued for their application in encapsulation.

Chemotherapy of second stage human African trypanosomiasis: comparison between the parenteral diamidine DB829 and its oral prodrug DB868 in vervet monkeys.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT, sleeping sickness) ranks among the most neglected tropical diseases based on limited availability of drugs that are safe and efficacious, particularly against the second stage (central nervous system [CNS]) of infection. In response to this largely unmet need for new treatments, the Consortium for Parasitic Drug Development developed novel parenteral diamidines and corresponding oral prodrugs that have shown cure of a murine model of second stage HAT. As a rationale for selection of one of these compounds for further development, the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of intramuscular (IM) active diamidine 2,5-bis(5-amidino-2-pyridyl)furan (DB829; CPD-0802) and oral prodrug2,5-bis[5-(N-methoxyamidino)-2-pyridyl]furan (DB868) were compared in the vervet monkey model of second stage HAT.

The human burst suppression electroencephalogram of deep hypothermia.

Objective: Deep hypothermia induces 'burst suppression' (BS), an electroencephalogram pattern with low-voltage 'suppressions' alternating with high-voltage 'bursts'. Current understanding of BS comes mainly from anesthesia studies, while hypothermia-induced BS has received little study. We set out to investigate the electroencephalogram changes induced by cooling the human brain through increasing depths of BS through isoelectricity.

The use of a second biopsy from the gastric body for the detection of Helicobacter pylori using rapid urease test.

Introduction: The use of an additional biopsy from the gastric body may help improve the detection of Helicobacter pylori during endoscopy. This study aimed to determine whether such an additional biopsy is necessary in routine rapid urease test (RUT), and whether acid suppression and antibiotic therapy affect RUT results.

Methods: Patients recruited had two gastric mucosal biopsies taken - one from the gastric antrum and the other from the gastric body.

Comparison of two methods for the analysis of CSF Aβ and tau in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Biomarkers represent a promising adjunct to clinical techniques in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. At present, the potential of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers in diagnosing AD has been suggested but the degree of clinical utility is yet to be defined due to variability between studies. In this paper we compare the performance of two cerebrospinal fluid assay methods in predicting clinically diagnosed AD.

Maximizing relaxation time in oscillator networks with implications for neurostimulation.

High frequency deep brain stimulation (HF-DBS) is a pervasive clinical neurostimulation paradigm in which rapid (> 100Hz) pulses of electrical current are invasively delivered to the brain. Here, we use dynamical systems analysis to provide hypotheses regarding the frequency-specificity of the therapeutic effects of HF-DBS. Using phase oscillator-based models, we study the relaxation time of a synchronized network following impulsive stimulation.

Bounded-observation Kalman filtering of correlation in multivariate neural recordings.

A persistent question in multivariate neural signal processing is how best to characterize the statistical association between brain regions known as functional connectivity. Of the many metrics available for determining such association, the standard Pearson correlation coefficient (i.e.

A mean field model for neural-metabolic homeostatic coupling in burst suppression.

Burst suppression is an inactivated brain state in which the electroencephalogram is characterized by intermittent periods of isoelectric quiescence. Recent modeling studies have suggested an important role for brain metabolic processes in governing the very slow time scales that underlie the duration of bursts and suppressions. In these models, a reduction in metabolism leads to substrate depletion and consequent suppression of action potential firing.

Propofol and sevoflurane induce distinct burst suppression patterns in rats.

Burst suppression is an EEG pattern characterized by alternating periods of high-amplitude activity (bursts) and relatively low amplitude activity (suppressions). Burst suppression can arise from several different pathological conditions, as well as from general anesthesia. Here we review current algorithms that are used to quantify burst suppression, its various etiologies, and possible underlying mechanisms.

Juvenile recurrent respiratory papillomatosis: A rare masquerade of asthma.

Juvenile recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JRRP) is a rare condition. The varied presentation of this condition predisposes to misdiagnosis and potential life-threatening airway obstruction. In this paper, we have reported a case of JRRP presenting as severe respiratory distress and consequently mistreated as asthmatic attack culminating in a near fatal acute airway obstruction.

Synthesis of highly monodisperse porous manganese oxide spheres using a butyric acid microemulsion.

Porous manganese oxide spheres form readily from a reaction between KMnO4 and n-butanol in aqueous butyric acid under ambient conditions. Spheres have uniform size, tuneable diameters and high surface areas. The material is an active catalyst for the oxidation of isopropanol to acetone.

Validation of the pooled cohort risk score in an Asian population - a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The Pooled Cohort Risk Equation was introduced by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) 2013 in their Blood Cholesterol Guideline to estimate the 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk. However, absence of Asian ethnicity in the contemporary cohorts and limited studies to examine the use of the risk score limit the applicability of the equation in an Asian population. This study examines the validity of the pooled cohort risk score in a primary care setting and compares the cardiovascular risk using both the pooled cohort risk score and the Framingham General Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) risk score.

Does use of pooled cohort risk score overestimate the use of statin?: a retrospective cohort study in a primary care setting.

Background: Initiation of statin therapy as primary prevention particularly in those with mildly elevated cardiovascular disease risk factors is still being debated. The 2013 ACC/AHA blood cholesterol guideline recommends initiation of statin by estimating the 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk using the new pooled cohort risk score. This paper examines the use of the pooled cohort risk score and compares it to actual use of statins in daily clinical practice in a primary care setting.

Recurrence of granular corneal dystrophy type I deposits within host stroma after non-descemet baring anterior lamellar keratoplasty.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe a case of recurrent granular deposits after non-Descemet baring anterior lamellar keratoplasty (nDALK).

Methods: A 28-year-old male with granular corneal dystrophy type I, found to have deposits throughout the anterior and midstroma, underwent nDALK. Three years later, he had a recurrence of the deposits.