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Candida albicans biofilms are responsible for oral candidiasis. Fluoxetine is a widely used antidepressant, with certain anti-Candida activities. The antifungal activity of fluoxetine combined with various antifungals against C. albicans biofilms and oral candidiasis was evaluated in this study. The morphological change in the inhibition of fluoxetine on C. albicans biofilms was observed using SEM. The interactions between fluoxetine and antifungals against C. albicans biofilms were evaluated using microdilution checkerboard methods, FICI and the ΔE model. The synergistic combination was tested in vivo on the mice model of oral candidiasis. SEM imaging showed fluoxetine inhibited hyphal growth and biofilm formation. Fluoxetine combined with caspofungin exhibited synergistic effects against C. albicans biofilms. Antagonistic effects occurred when fluoxetine was combined with amphotericin B or terbinafine. Further, the fluoxetine combined with caspofungin significantly reduced the lesion score and CFU of C. albicans on the murine tongue (p < 0.05), and relieved oral candidiasis of the infected mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the effects of target (scatterer) resonances on the decomposition of the time reversal operator (DORT) applied to ultrawideband (UWB) electromagnetic scattering. When UWB-DORT is applied to well-resolved point-like scatterers, the frequency responses of the scatterers remain mostly identical and the detected targets appear as a set of distinct eigenvalues over the entire frequency band of operation. However, this may not be the case for targets with strong resonances, since the strongest eigenvalue may not correspond to the same scatterer at different frequency points depending on the resonance characteristics of each target, rendering the eigenstructure inconsistent over the band. Such an effect limits the ability to characterize the targets and construct UWB signals for selective focusing. We examine this phenomenon via numerical experiment considering various target configurations. We also demonstrate a method to overcome this eigenstructure ‘mixing’ by simply correlating adjacent frequency points when applying UWB-DORT. A robust UWB-DORT process applicable to various types of targets would enhance the capability of DORT as a method of target characterization/identification in addition to selective focusing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:Clinically relevant critical quality attributes (CQA’s) were identified for the development of generic drug products containing fluconazole and potential design spaces relevant to the clinical application of the drug candidate was explored. Significance:A simplified scoring system for the biopharmaceutics risk assessment roadmap (BioRAM) is proposed to guide product development. Methods:Factorial design of experiments was employed to study the effect of formulation and process variables on CQA’s. Thein vivomodel was developed for predicting the fraction of drug absorbed and to identify the effect of formulation components on drug absorption. Results:BioRAM yielded low scores for fluconazole absorption with respect to severity (risks of sub and supra-bioavailable drug products), probability of incidence of bioinequivalent results and capacity of detection. The results demonstrated that dissolution was highly influenced by the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) polymorphism and the ratio of diluents. Process variables (mixing time, lubricant concentration, lubrication time and filling speed) did not impact the clinical outcome of the formulation with respect to dissolution and content uniformity. Conclusions:Understanding the clinical implications of the adopted formulation approach led to the construction of purposeful design space and control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A kind of core shell cathode material, (LMSAC) was prepared by coating AlF3 and carbon hybrid layer on the surface of lithium rich manganese based solid solution (LMSS) through a sol-gel process. It was characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Its electrochemical properties were evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectra and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements. Owing to the AlF3/C shell, the LMSAC could deliver the initial capacities of 278, 260, 246, 230 and 210 mAh g−1 at the rates of 0·1, 0·2, 0·5, 1 and 2C in the potential range of 2-4·8 V (versus Li+/Li) respectively, exhibiting an excellent rate capability. The corresponding coulombic efficiencies are 90, 89, 87, 88 and 85% in the first cycle. After cycled at the 0·1C and 1C rates for 50 times, the LMSAC remains 97 and 96% of the initial capacities respectively, displaying an enhanced cycling performance. The results suggest that surface coating of AlF3/C hybrid layer could be a promising method to improve the electrochemical properties of the LMSS cathode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intravesical instillation using Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is recognised as one of the best way to prevent the recurrence of bladder cancer. However, BCG would be excreted with the urine after staying about one hour in the bladder, which have a serious impact on its efficacy. This research intends to design a new sustained release injectable BCG integrated composite materials based on freeze dried BCG. The ultimate aim is to make BCG stay longer than 48 h in the bladder. With the traction of the strong magnetic field strength in vitro, Fe3O4 in particles would attach the drug loaded particles to the bladder wall. Adherent drug is prevented from being excreted with the urine by magnetic constraints and the drug achieves sustained release in the bladder. The results of experiments show that the integrated materials is safe and reliable. Targeting adherence time exceeds 48 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to compare aortic (the common carotid to femoral artery) PWV, arm (the brachial to radial artery) PWV, and leg (the femoral to dorsalis pedis artery) PWV in people with or without component of the metabolic syndrome. We analyzed 3345 Korean subjects (1907 men, age 44.6 ± 8.5, 1438 women, age 43.3 ± 8.9). Unpaired t-test was used to compare mean values of various metabolic parameters between subjects with and without Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), and one-way analysis of variance was used to compare these variables among groups satisfying different numbers of the components of MetS. In addition, we compared of Pearson correlation coefficient between age and PWV (arotic PWV, arm PWV and leg PWV) levels of according to whether the subject had components of the metabolic syndrome or not. The present study shows that leg PWV level was found to be significantly associated with the features of the metabolic syndrome in Korean men and women. And, we confirmed that blood pressure is significantly associated with the PWV values at three locations. And, this study shows that Pearson correlation coefficient of arotic PWV and leg PWV were about 10% higher than without diabetes according to age. Further studies need to be performed to evaluate the optimal cut-off value of PWV for diabetes, hypertension, and MetS in Korean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nepal's national vitamin A programme, which began in 1993 and continues twice yearly, targets pre-school-aged children in all districts of the country in an effort to reduce morbidity, mortality and nutritional blindness. Objective: To characterize the coverage of the Nepal National Vitamin A Programme (NVAP) for pre-school-aged children in Nepal and to identify risk factors for failure to receive vitamin A supplementation. Methods: The relationship between receipt of a vitamin A capsule and demographic and health indicators was examined in a cross-sectional study of 4013 children aged 12-59 months and their families who participated in the 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), a nationally representative survey. Coverage of the vitamin A programme was compared with coverage estimates from surveys in 2001 and 2006. Results: Coverage estimates of the national vitamin A programme for children aged 12-59 months as assessed by the 2001, 2006 and 2011 NDHS were 84·3%, 96·6% and 92·1%, respectively. Children who missed a vitamin A capsule were more likely to be younger and anaemic, have less educated parents, live in rural areas, and have higher child and infant mortality in the family. Conclusions: The national vitamin A supplementation programme in Nepal has relatively high coverage of children aged 12-59 months but still misses children in families with high child mortality. Further measures might be needed to sustain a high level of programme coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anaemia is a significant global public health problem in developing countries with adverse health effects on young children. Household food insecurity, which reflects a household's access, availability and utilisation of food, has not been well characterised in relation to anaemia in children. Objective: To examine the relationship of household food insecurity with anaemia (Hb <11 g/dl) in children. Methods: In a cross-sectional study of 4940 rural households participating in the Indonesian Nutrition Surveillance System, household food insecurity was measured using a modified 9-item food security questionnaire and related to anaemia in children aged 6-59 months. Results: The proportion of households with an anaemic child was 56·6%. In households with and without anaemic children, the mean (SD) food insecurity score was 1·82 (1·72) vs 1·55 (1·54) (p<0·0001), respectively. In a multivariate logistic regression model, food insecurity score was related to anaemia in children (odds ratio 0·77, 95% confidence interval 0·63-0·95, p=0·01) when the highest quintile of food insecurity score was compared with the lowest quintile, adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusion: A higher household food insecurity score is associated with greater prevalence of anaemia in children in rural families in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. An imbalance between angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors in maternal blood has been observed in several obstetrical syndromes including preeclampsia, pregnancies with fetal growth restriction and fetal death. Vascular lesions have been identified in a subset of patients with spontaneous preterm labor (PTL). It is possible that PTL may be one of the manifestations of an anti-angiogenic state. The aim of this study was to determine if patients prior to the clinical diagnosis of PTL leading to preterm delivery had plasma concentrations of angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors different from normal pregnant women. Study Design. This longitudinal nested case–control study included normal pregnant women ( n = 208) and patients with PTL leading to preterm delivery ( n = 52). Maternal blood samples were collected at 6 gestational age intervals from 6 to36.9 weeks of gestation. The end point (time of diagnosis) of the study, ‘True PTL’, was defined as patients presenting with PTL and delivered within 1 day. Plasma concentrations of sVEGFR-1, sVEGFR-2, sEng and PlGF were determined by ELISA. Analysis was performed with both cross-sectional and longitudinal (mixed effects model) approaches. Results. (1) Plasma sEng concentration in patients destined to develop PTL was higher than that in normal pregnant women from 15–20 weeks of gestation. The difference became statistical significant at 28 weeks of gestation, or approximately 5–10 weeks prior to the diagnosis of ‘true PTL’. (2) Backward analysis suggests that plasma concentrations of PlGF and sVEGFR-2 were lower, and those of sVEGFR-1 were higher in patients with PTL than in normal pregnant women less than 5 weeks prior to the diagnosis of ‘true PTL’; and (3) Plasma concentrations of sEng and sVEGFR-1 were higher and those of PlGF and sVEGFR-2 were lower in patients diagnosed with PTL and delivery within 1 day than in normal pregnant women who delivered at term. Conclusion. The changes in sEng are demonstrable several weeks prior to the onset of preterm parturition. In contrast, the changes in the other angiogenic proteins are present close to the onset of PTL and delivery. This observation supports the view that an imbalance of angiogenic factors participates in the pathophysiology of spontaneous preterm parturition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to present our results on experimental investigations on Cartesian impedance control and nonlinearity compensation for our harmonic drive robot based on joint torque sensors. The imperfection of the cubic model for harmonic drive friction is detected according to friction identification experiments. In addition, five different Cartesian impedance control schemes are considered and four of them are tested by corresponding experiments with/without friction compensation. Experimental results tell us that the force-based impedance control strategy is more suitable than the position-based strategy for the harmonic drive robot based on joint torque feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper puts forward the concept of the Satellite On-Orbit Self-Servicing (SOOSS), which can correct the malfunctions of deployable appendages of satellites on-orbit by a on-board robot system. In order to verify this concept, a ground testbed has been presented; a robot system composed of a 4-d.o.f. manipulator and an end-effector mounted on the satellite are designed to accomplish the above operations. The main features of the robot system are mechatronics, multi-sensors and intelligent control. The structure of the modular joint is introduced in detail. The multi-finger dexterous HIT/DLR Hand is employed as the end-effector. In the SOOSS, the robot system is controlled through remote teleoperation. The virtual environment of the SOOSS has been built and experiments have been carried out to verify the feasibility of the SOOSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of wireless networks bears great practical importance in instantaneous transmission of ECG signals during movement. In this paper, three typical wavelet-based ECG compression algorithms, Rajoub (RA), Embedded Zerotree Wavelet (EZ), and Wavelet Transform Higher-Order Statistics Coding (WH), were evaluated to find an appropriate ECG compression algorithm for scalable and reliable wireless tele-cardiology applications, particularly over a CDMA network. The short-term and long-term performance characteristics of the three algorithms were analyzed using normal, abnormal, and measurement noise-contaminated ECG signals from the MIT-BIH database. In addition to the processing delay measurement, compression efficiency and reconstruction sensitivity to error were also evaluated via simulation models including the noise-free channel model, random noise channel model, and CDMA channel model, as well as over an actual CDMA network currently operating in Korea. This study found that the EZ algorithm achieves the best compression efficiency within a low-noise environment, and that the WH algorithm is competitive for use in high-error environments with degraded short-term performance with abnormal or contaminated ECG signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a method for measuring pressure profiles in nano- or micro-channels from topographic imaging of thin channel surfaces using atomic force microscopy. The pressure distribution is calculated from the measured conduit deformation by solving an inverse problem. The related computational model and inverse formalism are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new sulphur glycoside, named descurainoside (1), and the known compound sinapic acid (2) have been isolated from the seeds of Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb ex Prantl. The structure of 1 has been identified as (1R,6S,8R,9S,10S)-9,10-dihydroxy-4- [(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl) methylene]-8-(hydroxymethyl)-2,7-dioxa-5-thiabicyclo[4.4.0] decan-3-one by means of physico-chemical properties and spectroscopic methods (1D and 2D NMR, HRMS, ESI-MS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton irradiation at temperatures of 310 and 350° C has been explored as a method of studying radiation effects in Zircaloy 4 under power-reactor conditions. The dislocation-loop and hardness evolution are similar to those observed under neutron irradiation. Amorphization and Fe loss at Zr(Cr,Fe)2 precipitates are observed. Energy-filtered images indicate Fe accumulation in the matrix near the precipitate, a phenomenon not reported in neutron-irradiated alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article summarizes recent studies of electron irradiation damage in sodium borosilicate, iron phosphate and aluminophosphate glass waste forms using a modern analytical electron microscope. Three different borosilicate (wt%)(17.72%, B2O3-16.67%, Na2O-64.61% SiO2, 17.78% B2O3-15.83% Na2O61.39% SiO2-4.99% Fe2O,3 and 17.86% B2O3-15.90'% Na2O-61.63% SiO2-4.61% FeO) and iron phosphate (mol%) (45% Fe2O3-55% P2O5 20% Fe2O3 80%, P2O5, and 20%, Fe2O3 20% Na2O5) glasses, and an aluminophosphate (mol%) (44.5%, P2O5-31.5%-Al2O3-20.2% Na2O-3.8% K2O) glass were studied. Results indicate that all these glasses decomposed under the 200kV electron irradiation (at doses higher than 1.0 × 1026 cm²). Migration of alkali elements from the irradiated centres lo the peripheries under irradiation occurred in the alkali element-containing glasses, which results in the formation of alkali element-depleted and -enriched phases. Formation of bubbles was only observed in the alkali element-containing iron phosphate and aluminophosphate glasses, not in sodium borosilicate glasses when irradiated over a broad of dose rates (1.6 × 1022c m-2s to 8 × 1026 e m-2. Separation of boron-rich phase from silicon-rich phase, iron-rich/aluminium-rich phase from phosphorous-rich domains were observed in the three types or glasses, respectively. Further irradiation resulted in formation of small particles. In Fe-containing borosilicate glasses, the Fe is associated with the boron-rich phases after phase separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An inverse heat conduction problem for nanoscale structure is studied. The conduction phenomenon is modeled using the Boltzmann transport equation. Phonon-mediated heat conduction in one dimension is considered. One boundary is exposed to an unknown temperature and the other boundary, where temperature observation takes place, is subject to a known boundary condition. A sequential scheme with constant function specification is employed for inverse estimation of the unknown temperature. Sample results are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The understanding of ecosystem processes and the impacts of natural and anthropogenic induced change upon these processes requires techniques to monitor structure, composition, and function of ecosystems. Radar backscattering is a useful monitoring technique since it is sensitive to vegetation water content, its arrangement within the 3-D canopy structure as leaves, branches, trunks, and the underlying surface characteristics. In this research we used a 3-D radar backscatter model and lacunarity spatial data analysis to study the effects of forest patterns caused by natural processes or forest management practices on spatial properties of radar images. The simulated results were compared with AIRSAR data from an area of managed forests. The findings from this theoretical study will direct our further research on spatial characterization of forests using SAR imagery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]