Controlled Release of Substituted Benzole and Naphthoic Acids Using Carbopol ® Gels: Measurement of Drug Concentration Profiles and Correlation to Release Rate Kinetics

Purpose. The objective of this study is to correlate drug release mechanism with measured drug concentration profiles in gel layers of Carbopol^® matrices containing mesalamine or benzoic acid. Methods. Release rate experiments with Carbopol^® matrices were performed using a rotating disk apparatus. Matrices were frozen and the gel layer in the matrices was sliced using a microtome in a cryostat. Drug concentration profiles were determined by direct measurement of the concentration of the drug in the gel slices. The pH of the slices was measured using microelectrodes, and water content was measured by Karl Fisher titration. Results. The concentration gradient in mesalamine matrices decreased over time and correlated with square root of time release rate kinetics. The concentration profiles of benzoic acid were unchanged over time and correlated with zero order release rate kinetics. Carbopol gel layers were highly hydrated (93–95% water). Gel layers in matrices with mesalamine had a more alkaline microenvironmental pH. This higher pH resulted in increased growth of the thickness of the gel layer and a reduction drug diffusivity in comparison to benzoic acid matrices. Conclusions. The release rate kinetics of mesalamine and benzoic acid correlated to the measured concentration profiles. The shape of the concentration profiles is determined by the rate of growth of the Carbopol^® gel layer and drug diffusivity.     

已婚育龄妇女避孕措施变化趋势分析

目的:了解已婚育龄妇女避孕措施的变化趋势,为指导计划生育服务工作提供科学依据。方法:收集1983~2005年苏州市已婚育龄妇女避孕方法的资料,并用统计软件对其变化趋势进行了分析。结果:已婚育龄妇女节育率在88.38%~92.94%范围波动,长效避孕措施现用率从75.19%下降至71.27%,而短效避孕措施从12.86%上升至17.11%。宫内节育器的现用率从50.09%上升到66.50%;避孕套从1.94%上升到14.21%;其他避孕方法的现用率均呈下降趋势,其中女性绝育现用率从24.42%下降到4.50%。结论:节育率维持在较高水平;长效避孕措施现用率下降而短效避孕措施现用率上升;避孕方法使用趋于多样化,需要提供满足个性化需求的指导和服务。     

Heart rate variability and apnea during sleep in Down's syndrome

Autonomic system dysfunction has been reported to occur frequently in patients with Down's syndrome (DS) and is constituted mainly by an imbalance between the sympathetic and vagal systems. The analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) during sleep is a quantitative reliable method for studying such a mechanism, but it has not yet been extensively and adequately applied in DS. In this study, HRV during sleep was evaluated in seven DS patients and in six normal controls, by also controlling for the presence of sleep apnea or arousal. The main results were an increased sympathetic function (low-frequency component of HRV) and a decreased vagal activity (high-frequency component of HRV) in DS with respect to normal controls, during apnea-free periods. Moreover, the presence of apnea, in DS, induced a further significant increase in low-frequency and very low-frequency components of HRV during sleep Stage 2. This study provides additional evidence of a brainstem dysfunctioning in DS, responsible for the abnormal imbalance between the sympathetic and vagal systems and confirms the brainstem involvement already suggested in the literature in order to explain brainstem-auditory evoked potential abnormalities and central sleep apnea in these patients.     

胆囊病与冠心病的关系

为探讨胆囊病与冠心病的关系。本文对217例胆囊病和306例冠心病易患因素及发病情况进行对照分析。结果发现胆囊病合并冠心病的发病率为11.28%;胆囊病合并冠心病多见于女性;胆囊病合并冠心病者血清胆固醇和β脂蛋白水平、脂肪肝的发生率明显高于单纯胆囊病和单纯冠心病者。表明胆囊病与冠心病关系密切。     

The Cardiac Pacemaker Current if

Pacemaker Current if. Since the hyperpolarization-activated current, if, was originally associated with the diastolic depolarization phase of action potential in the sinoatrial (SA) node in 1979, its central role in the generation and control of pacemaker activity has become increasingly clear through a series of experimental findings, some of which have substantially modified the pre-existing theories of cardiac pacemaking and its modulation by the autonomic transmitters. Thus, the pacemaker current of Purkinje fibers, formerly described as a deactivating pure potassium (K) current, was found to be in fact, like the nodal if, inward and activating on hyperpolarization. Furthermore, in SA node cells, as well as mediating rhythm acceleration induced by catecholamines, if was found to underlie the slowing effect of low acetylcholine (ACh) concentrations, in contrast with the generally accepted hypothesis that activation of a K conductance is the main process responsible for cardiac slowing. A final, atypical property of if recently demonstrated concerns the activating action exerted on if by intracellular cAMP. Unlike that on other voltage-gated, cAMP-modulated cardiac channels, this action is independent of phosphorylation and involves a direct binding of cAMP to if channels. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 3, pp. 334–344, August 1992)     

论AB类医疗设备使用率考核方法

对AB类医疗设备使用率的考核是了解设备使用情况和效益的有效方法。本文通过几年来对南京总医院AB类医疗设备使用率的年度考核，摸索总结出一套行之有效的考核方法，为今后新型医疗设备使用率考核提供了可循的依据。     

Three-dimensional recording of the human face with a 3D laser scanner.

Three-dimensional recording of the surface of the human body or of certain anatomical areas has gained an ever increasing importance in recent years. When recording living surfaces, such as the human face, not only has a varying degree of surface complexity to be accounted for, but also a variety of other factors, such as motion artefacts. It is of importance to establish standards for the recording procedure, which will optimise results and allow for better comparison and validation. In the study presented here, the faces of five male test persons were scanned in different experimental settings using non-contact 3D digitisers, type Minolta Vivid 910). Among others, the influence of the number of scanners used, the angle of recording, the head position of the test person, the impact of the examiner and of examination time on accuracy and precision of the virtual face models generated from the scanner data with specialised software were investigated. Computed data derived from the virtual models were compared to corresponding reference measurements carried out manually between defined landmarks on the test persons' faces. We describe experimental conditions that were of benefit in optimising the quality of scanner recording and the reliability of three-dimensional surface imaging. However, almost 50% of distances between landmarks derived from the virtual models deviated more than 2mm from the reference of manual measurements on the volunteers' faces.     

The estimation of the plasma free fraction of cyclosporine in rabbits and heart transplant patients: The application of a physiological model of renal clearance

We estimated the free fraction (f_u) of cyclosporine (CyA) in the plasma from concentrations of CyA in urine (C_u) and plasma (C_p), urine flow rate (UF), and glomerular filtration rate in rabbits and in heart transplant patients. Following intravenous administration of CyA (5–30 mg kg^?1) in ten NZW rabbits and oral administration of CyA (4.8–12.1 mg kg^?1) in nine heart transplant patients, CyA concentrations in urine and plasma were measured by HPLC. The ratios of C_u to C_p and UF data were fitted to a physiological model of renal clearance using NONMEM. The free fraction of cyclosporine in the rabbits and the heart transplant patients was 0.0122 and 0.14, respectively. Because of the relatively low permeability of CyA across the tubular epithelium, no apparent equilibrium between C_u and C_p at any urine flow rate was reached and, therefore, the C_u to C_p ratio will not be equal to f_u.     

非线性动态系统理论在林业系统中的应用——Ⅱ.用信息熵研究林业系统中生态和经济协调关系

用K.S熵(一种信息熵)判别林业系统中生态和经济的协调关系,并提出了控制和改进现有林业系统的有效途径。     

Comparison of [I]metaiodobenzylguanidine kinetics with heart rate variability and plasma norepinephrine level

Background. [¹²³I]Metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) imaging has been used to assess cardiac sympathetic nerve abnormalities. We evaluated the clinical significance of myocardial MIBG imaging as a measure of cardiac sympathetic nervous system function by comparing it to heart rate variability and plasma norepinephrine level.Methods and Results. In 211 subjects, we analyzed heart rate variability with 24-hour electrocardiography, performed scintigraphy with MIBG, and measured plasma norepinephrine levels. Time and frequency domain measures of heart rate variability were calculated with the Marquette heart rate variability program (Marquette Electronics, Milwaukee, Wis.). Early and late myocardial MIBG uptakes were measured at 15 and 150 minutes after injection, respectively. MIBG clearance rate from the heart and heart-to-lung and heart-to-mediastinum ratios of MIBG activities were calculated. On the whole, heart rate variability, including low-frequency power, correlated positively, but modestly so, with late MIBG uptake and negatively with MIBG clearance rate. The plasma norepinephrine level correlated negatively with late MIBG uptake and with heart rate variability, including low-frequency power, and positively with MIBG clearance rate. Similar correlations were also observed in patient subgroups with coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, and renal failure, but these correlations were weak (R² < 0.5).Conclusions. Increased cardiac sympathetic nervous system activity may be associated with increased myocardial MIBG clearance and decreased heart rate variability, including low-frequency power. Because these associations were not strong, however, the combination of heart rate variability with MIBG may allow an interactive assessment of the cardiac autonomic nervous system.