Effects of electrostatic charge on particle adhesion, powder cohesiveness and its alternative influences on powder flow properties.

Characterising powder flowability for handling process is important but can be particularly challenging if only a small quantity of samples is available. A novel method developed at the Wolfson Centre uses only a few milligrams of samples to predict powder flow properties by Bond number - a representation of powder cohesiveness at the median size of particles by measuring particle adhesion. A good agreement between this method and the results using conventional shear cell testers has been found across various powders and formulations.

Impact of Fortified Malt-Based Food on Immunity Outcomes in School Children in India: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Nutritional inadequacy and consequent diminished immunity among school-age children is a public health problem in India. Nutrition interventional studies using a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) design can avoid ethical issues inherent in double-blind individual RCTs in children involving daily administration of an empty-calorie placebo.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that daily administration of a fortified malt-based food (FMBF), a multinutrient supplement, would improve immunity outcomes against common infectious diseases, nutritional status, and gut health in Indian school-age children by using a cluster RCT design.

Data-Driven Modeling and Design of Sustainable High Tg Polymers.

This paper develops a machine learning methodology for the rapid and robust prediction of the glass transition temperature (Tg) for polymers for the targeted application of sustainable high-temperature polymers. The machine learning framework combines multiple techniques to develop a feature set encompassing all relative aspects of polymer chemistry, to extract and explain correlations between features and Tg, and to develop and apply a high-throughput predictive model. In this work, we identify aspects of the chemistry that most impact Tg, including a parameter related to rotational degrees of freedom and a backbone index based on a steric hindrance parameter.

Selective laser sintering for printing bilayer tablets.

In this study Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) was used to produce bilayer tablets containing rosuvastatin and acetylsalicylic acid. Initially, monolithic tablets of each drug were manufactured using different laser intensities in order to identify their impact on the tablet's dissolution, friability and hardness. After the optimization, the final bilayer tablet was fabricated using a new method, that allowed the printing using different powder blends.

Host defense peptides at the crossroad of endothelial cell physiology: Insight into mechanistic and pharmacological implications.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), particularly host defense peptides (HDPs), have gained recognition for their role in host defense mechanisms, but they have also shown potential as a promising anticancer, antiviral, antiparasitic, antifungal and immunomodulatory agent. Research studies in recent years have shown HDPs play a crucial role in endothelial cell function and biology. The function of endothelial cells is impacted by HDPs' complex interplay between cytoprotective and cytotoxic actions as they are known to modulate barrier integrity, inflammatory response and angiogenesis.

Fully Atom-Efficient Solvent-Mediated Biopolymer Manufacturing: A Base Case Illustrated with Macromolecular Surfactants Tailored to Stable Polymer-Water Interfaces.

This work introduces a novel 1-pot, 0-waste, 0-VOC methodology for synthesizing polymeric surfactants using acrylated epoxidized soybean oil and acrylated glycerol as primary monomers. These macromolecular surfactants are synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, allowing for tunable hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) and ionic properties. We characterize the copolymers' chemical composition and surface-active properties, and evaluate their effectiveness in forming and stabilizing emulsions of semiepoxidized soybean oil and poly(acrylated epoxidized high oleic soybean oil).

Unraveling the Regulatory Role of HuR/microRNA Axis in Colorectal Cancer Tumorigenesis.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a significant global health burden with high incidence and mortality. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-protein coding transcripts, conserved throughout evolution, with an important role in CRC tumorigenesis, and are either upregulated or downregulated in various cancers. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are known as essential regulators of miRNA activity.

Senior-Focused Primary Care Organizations Increase Access For Medicare Advantage Members, Especially Underserved Groups.

Population-based payment in Medicare Advantage (MA) can foster innovation in care delivery by giving risk-bearing providers flexibility and strong incentives to enhance care and engage patients. This may particularly benefit historically underserved groups for whom payments often exceed costs. In this study, using data from Humana MA plans, we examined "senior-focused" primary care organizations that are supported predominantly by population-based payments in contracts with MA plans.

Utilizing Next-Generation Sequencing: Advancements in the Diagnosis of Fungal Infections.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has emerged as a promising tool for diagnosing fungal infections. It enables the identification of a wide range of fungal species and provides more accurate and rapid results than traditional diagnostic methods. NGS-based approaches involve the sequencing of DNA or RNA from clinical samples, which can be used to detect and identify fungal pathogens in complex clinical samples.

An Advanced Twin-Screw Granulation Technology: The use of Non-Volatile Solvents with High Solubilizing Capacity.

Purpose: Twin-screw wet granulation (TSWG) is a manufacturing process that offers several advantages for the processing of water-insoluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and has been used for increasing the solubility and dissolution rates. Here we introduce a novel TSWG approach with reduced downstream processing steps by using non-volatile solvents as granulating binders.

Methods: Herein, TSWG was carried out using Transcutol a non-volatile protic solvent as a granulating binder and dissolution enhancer of ibuprofen (IBU) blends with cellulose polymer grades (Pharmacoat 603, Affinisol™, and AQOAT).

A DFT study of the adsorption behavior and sensing properties of CO gas on monolayer MoSe in CO-rich environment.

Context: Carbon monoxide, also known as the "silent killer," is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and non-irritable gas that, when inhaled, enters the bloodstream and lungs, binds with the hemoglobin, and blocks oxygen from reaching tissues and cells. In this work, the monolayer MoSe-based CO gas sensors were designed using density functional theory calculation with several dopants including Al, Au, Pd, Ni, Cu, and P. Here, Cu and P were found to be the best dopants, with adsorption energies of -0.

Osteopontin in cancer.

Osteopontin (OPN) is a heavily post-translationally modified protein with a molecular weight of 44-70 kDa, depending on the degree of glycosylation. OPN is involved in various biological processes, including bone remodeling, immune response, cell adhesion, migration, and survival. It is essential for controlling osteoclast and osteoblast activity for maintaining bone mass and bone strength.

Segregation of formulated powders in direct compression process and evaluations by small bench-scale testers.

Powder segregation can cause severe issues in processes of pharmaceutical drugs for control of content uniformity if the powder is likely to be free or easy flowing. Assessing segregation intensity of formulated powders in a process is challenging at the formulation stage because of the limited availability of samples. An advanced segregation evaluation using small bench-scale testers can be useful for formulation decisions and suggestions of operation conditions in the process, which has not been practically investigated before.

3D Printing of Personalised Carvedilol Tablets Using Selective Laser Sintering.

Selective laser sintering (SLS) has drawn attention for the fabrication of three-dimensional oral dosage forms due to the plurality of drug formulations that can be processed. The aim of this work was to employ SLS with a CO laser for the manufacturing of carvedilol personalised dosage forms of various strengths. Carvedilol (CVD) and vinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate copolymer (Kollidon VA64) blends of various ratios were sintered to produce CVD tablets of 3.

Patch-clamp technique to study mitochondrial membrane biophysics.

Mitochondria are double-membrane organelles crucial for oxidative phosphorylation, enabling efficient ATP synthesis by eukaryotic cells. Both of the membranes, the highly selective inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) and a relatively porous outer membrane (OMM), harbor a number of integral membrane proteins that help in the transport of biological molecules. These transporters are especially enriched in the IMM, where they help maintain transmembrane gradients for H+, K+, Ca2+, PO43-, and metabolites like ADP/ATP, citrate, etc.

Deficiency of mitochondrial calcium uniporter abrogates iron overload-induced cardiac dysfunction by reducing ferroptosis.

Iron overload associated cardiac dysfunction remains a significant clinical challenge whose underlying mechanism(s) have yet to be defined. We aim to evaluate the involvement of the mitochondrial Ca uniporter (MCU) in cardiac dysfunction and determine its role in the occurrence of ferroptosis. Iron overload was established in control (MCU) and conditional MCU knockout (MCU) mice.

Coding roles of long non-coding RNAs in breast cancer: Emerging molecular diagnostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets with special reference to chemotherapy resistance.

Dysregulation of epigenetic mechanisms have been depicted in several pathological consequence such as cancer. Different modes of epigenetic regulation (DNA methylation (hypomethylation or hypermethylation of promotor), histone modifications, abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs, and small nucleolar RNAs), are discovered. Particularly, lncRNAs are known to exert pivot roles in different types of cancer including breast cancer.

Ampelopsin targets in cellular processes of cancer: Recent trends and advances.

Cancer is being considered as a serious threat to human health globally due to limited availability and efficacy of therapeutics. In addition, existing chemotherapeutic drugs possess a diverse range of toxic side effects. Therefore, more research is welcomed to investigate the chemo-preventive action of plant-based metabolites.

Exposure to is not Associated with New-Onset Epilepsy.

Purpose: The association between exposure to Toxocara canis and epilepsy is at the best contentious. Most of previous studies were retrospective, community-based, and contradictory to one another. As the impact of a positive association on the magnitude of epilepsy will be huge especially in developing countries where toxocariasis is common owing to poor hygienic practices, this study was carried out to determine whether exposure to T.

Immunotherapeutics in lung cancers: from mechanistic insight to clinical implications and synergistic perspectives.

Background: Lung cancer is one of the highly lethal forms of cancer whose incidence has worldwide rapidly increased over the past few decades. About 80-85% of all lung cancer cases constitute non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and large cell carcinoma as the main subtypes. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have led to significant advances in the treatment of a variety of solid tumors, significantly improving cancer patient survival rates.

Licorice ( L.)-Derived Phytochemicals Target Multiple Signaling Pathways to Confer Oncopreventive and Oncotherapeutic Effects.

Cancer is a highly lethal disease, and its incidence has rapidly increased worldwide over the past few decades. Although chemotherapeutics and surgery are widely used in clinical settings, they are often insufficient to provide the cure for cancer patients. Hence, more effective treatment options are highly needed.

Natural flavonoids exhibit potent anticancer activity by targeting microRNAs in cancer: A signature step hinting towards clinical perfection.

Cancer prevalence and its rate of incidence are constantly rising since the past few decades. Owing to the toxicity of present-day antineoplastic drugs, it is imperative to explore safer and more effective molecules to combat and/or prevent this dreaded disease. Flavonoids, a class of polyphenols, have exhibited multifaceted implications against several diseases including cancer, without showing significant toxicity towards the normal cells.

Comparative studies of powder flow predictions using milligrams of powder for identifying powder flow issues.

Characterising powder flowability can be challenging when sample quantity is insufficient for a conventional shear cell test, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, where the cost of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) used is expensive at an early stage in the drug product development. A previous study demonstrated that powder flowability could be predicted based on powder physical properties and cohesiveness using a small quantity of powder samples (50 mg), but it remained an open question regarding the accuracy of the prediction compared to that measured using industry-standard shear cell testers and its potential to substitute the existing testers. In this study, 16 pharmaceutical powders were selected for a detailed comparative study of the predictive model.