DELOS Nanovesicles-Based Hydrogels: An Advanced Formulation for Topical Use

Topical delivery has received great attention due to its localized drug delivery, its patient compliance, and its low risk for side effects. Recent developments have focused on studying new drug delivery systems as a strategy for addressing the challenges of current topical treatments. Here we describe the advances on an innovative drug delivery platform called DELOS nanovesicles for topical drug delivery. Previously, the production of DELOS nanovesicles demonstrated potentiality for the topical treatment of complex wounds, achieving well-tolerated liquid dispersions by this route. Here, research efforts have been focused on designing these nanocarriers with the best skin tolerability to be applied even to damaged skin, and on exploring the feasibility of adapting the colloidal dispersions to a more suitable dosage form for topical application. Accordingly, these drug delivery systems have been efficiently evolved to a hydrogel using MethocelTM K4M, presenting proper stability and rheological properties. Further, the integrity of these nanocarriers when being gellified has been confirmed by cryo-transmission electron microscopy and by Förster resonance energy transfer analysis with fluorescent-labeled DELOS nanovesicles, which is a crucial characterization not widely reported in the literature. Additionally, in vitro experiments have shown that recombinant human Epidermal Growth Factor (rhEGF) protein integrated into gellified DELOS nanovesicles exhibits an enhanced bioactivity compared to the liquid form. Therefore, these studies suggest that such a drug delivery system is maintained unaltered when hydrogellified, becoming the DELOS nanovesicles-based hydrogels, an advanced formulation for topical use.

Beverages and Desserts With Therapeutic and Prophylactic Properties Based on Alginate-Containing Biogel From Laminaria -- ``Vitalgar Cardio''

In this research, recipes were developed for beverages and desserts based on ”Vitalgar Cardio”, abiogelthat contains alginate, has therapeutic and prophylactic properties, and was produced from laminaria at the SPC ”Vita-Li” LLC. ”Vitalgar Cardio”, in its liquid form, as well as desserts based on it, is a source of soluble dietary fiber (alginates) and chemical elements such as potassium, magnesium and iodine, and is an adsorbent of various toxins, including radionuclides and heavy metals. The developed products have traditional appeal, with a focus on healthy nutrition, which is currently being promoted among the population. Keywords: Lamibaria, Alginate, Fucoidan

NIRS and Aquaphotomics Trace Robusta-to-Arabica Ratio in Liquid Coffee Blends

Coffee is both a vastly consumed beverage and a chemically complex matrix. For a long time, an arduous chemical analysis was necessary to resolve coffee authentication issues. Despite their demonstrated efficacy, such techniques tend to rely on reference methods or resort to elaborate extraction steps. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and the aquaphotomics approach, on the other hand, reportedly offer a rapid, reliable, and holistic compositional overview of varying analytes but with little focus on low concentration mixtures of Robusta-to-Arabica coffee. Our study aimed for a comparative assessment of ground coffee adulteration using NIRS and liquid coffee adulteration using the aquaphotomics approach. The aim was to demonstrate the potential of monitoring ground and liquid coffee quality as they are commercially the most available coffee forms. Chemometrics spectra analysis proved capable of distinguishing between the studied samples and efficiently estimating the added Robusta concentrations. An accuracy of 100% was obtained for the varietal discrimination of pure Arabica and Robusta, both in ground and liquid form. Robusta-to-Arabica ratio was predicted with R2CV values of 0.99 and 0.9 in ground and liquid form respectively. Aquagrams results accentuated the peculiarities of the two coffee varieties and their respective blends by designating different water conformations depending on the coffee variety and assigning a particular water absorption spectral pattern (WASP) depending on the blending ratio. Marked spectral features attributed to high hydrogen bonded water characterized Arabica-rich coffee, while those with the higher Robusta content showed an abundance of free water structures. Collectively, the obtained results ascertain the adequacy of NIRS and aquaphotomics as promising alternative tools for the authentication of liquid coffee that can correlate the water-related fingerprint to the Robusta-to-Arabica ratio.

Training on Making Liquid Organic Fertilizer (POC) from Stale Rice in Silaberanti Village, Jakabaring District, Palembang City

Organic fertilizer is the final result of the decomposition of parts or remains of plants and or animals that have undergone engineering, in solid or liquid form. Household waste, one of which is stale rice, is usually thrown away directly into the environment, even though it can still be used, for example, made as liquid organic fertilizer. For this reason, it is necessary to remodel household waste, especially stale rice, into liquid organic fertilizer by utilizing existing local microorganisms. This Community Service aims to provide motivation and knowledge and skills to the community on how to make liquid organic fertilizer from stale rice by utilizing local microorganisms. The location of Community Service was held at RT.28 RW.007 Silaberanti Village, Jakabaring District, Palembang City, on January 30, 2021. The method used was counseling and training to participants on the manufacture of liquid organic fertilizer (POC) from stale rice. The implementation of the activity was attended by 12 participants, who were followed with enthusiasm and discussions and questions and answers during the training. The results of this Community Service show that the service method in the form of counseling, training and question and answer is very appropriate in motivating the community to be able to make liquid organic fertilizer from stale rice.

Next-Generation Cryo-Electric Hydrogen-Powered Aviation

Hydrogen-powered airplanes have recently attracted a revitalized push in the aviation sector to combat CO2 emissions. However, to also reduce, or even eliminate, non-CO2 emissions and contrails, the combination of hydrogen with all-electric solutions is undoubtedly the best option to move toward the ambitious goal of climate-neutral aviation. Another important design choice is to store hydrogen cryogenically in its liquid form (LH2) to reduce space occupation compared to storage as compressed gas. However, the LH2 fuels cannot be utilized directly in fuel cells. It needs to be brought from liquid to a gas at about 350 K, where large amounts of heat must be added. Thus, a synergy can be made from this otherwise wasted cryogenic refrigeration power where superconducting machines (SCMs) and cold power electronics (CPE) are low-hanging fruits that could lead to radical space and weight reductions onboard the aircraft. These opportunities can be realized without having to pay the price, nor the volume occupation and mass needed for the cooling ability usually needed to achieve these extraordinary performances. In fact, this ground-breaking synergy makes cryogenic energy conversion relevant in a whole new way for aviation. The SCMs’ more than five times higher power densities than their conventional counterparts are exceptionally significant. This article introduces the recently proposed cryo-electric drivetrain initiatives and explores the opportunities of using direct hydrogen cooling as a potential heating solution to enhance the overall performance and scalability of zero-emission propulsion systems in future regional aircraft.

Next-Generation Cryo-Electric Hydrogen-Powered Aviation

Hydrogen-powered airplanes have recently attracted a revitalized push in the aviation sector to combat CO2 emissions. However, to also reduce, or even eliminate, non-CO2 emissions and contrails, the combination of hydrogen with all-electric solutions is undoubtedly the best option to move toward the ambitious goal of climate-neutral aviation. Another important design choice is to store hydrogen cryogenically in its liquid form (LH2) to reduce space occupation compared to storage as compressed gas. However, the LH2 fuels cannot be utilized directly in fuel cells. It needs to be brought from liquid to a gas at about 350 K, where large amounts of heat must be added. Thus, a synergy can be made from this otherwise wasted cryogenic refrigeration power where superconducting machines (SCMs) and cold power electronics (CPE) are low-hanging fruits that could lead to radical space and weight reductions onboard the aircraft. These opportunities can be realized without having to pay the price, nor the volume occupation and mass needed for the cooling ability usually needed to achieve these extraordinary performances. In fact, this ground-breaking synergy makes cryogenic energy conversion relevant in a whole new way for aviation. The SCMs’ more than five times higher power densities than their conventional counterparts are exceptionally significant. This article introduces the recently proposed cryo-electric drivetrain initiatives and explores the opportunities of using direct hydrogen cooling as a potential heating solution to enhance the overall performance and scalability of zero-emission propulsion systems in future regional aircraft.

Preparation and Evaluation of Diclofenac Sodium Effervescent Tablet

The oral dosage forms are the most popular way of taking medicine although having some disadvantages like deliberate absorption and thus onset of action is extend. This can be overcome by administrating the drug in a liquid form i.e. effervescent tablet. The research is a formulation of diclofenac sodium as a effervescent tablet by wet granulation method. The bitter taste of the drug are masked by added sweetening agent (lactose, glucose etc.) In the present work we are prepared effervescent tablet in that we are used active drug diclofenac sodium and other active ingredient acid like tartaric acid and base sodium bicarbonate in different concentrations. The formulation of tablet was done by using wet granulation, wet granulation is found to be acceptable method of effervescent tablet formulation. The various pre-formulation studies was performed hardness, weight variation, disintegration, dissolution etc.

Homeopathic dilutions of TNF-alfa in psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis

Aim: Clinical and biological studies in the past years underlined the proinflammatory action of the citokine Tumoral Necrosis Factor in the pathophysiolology of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis. Knowing that the high dilution of substances can have an inverted effect, our hypotesis was that dillution made of TNF-alfa can decrease the clinical manifestation of such diseases. Materials and method: We included as a pilot group 10 patients presented in Lotus Life Integrative Medicine Center or Profamilia Medical Center Iasi with psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis previously diagnosed by specialists, under speciality treatment with insufficient results and patients who deliberately expressed their preference for alternative treatment. We decided to exclude the patients which during the study could present aggravation of symptoms. The treatment protocol consisted in the administration under the tongue of the dilution of TNF-alfa 9CH in liquid form, 12 drops twice a day for at least 3 months. This was prepared diluting from Guna TNF-alfa 4CH in distiled water, completing with 30% of alcohol in the last solution. Patients under other medications continued to take their previous treatment unchanged. We called the patients for follow-up after 3 months. We took the written consent from the patients and the approval of the Ethical Committee of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Gr. T. Popa" of Iasi. Results: To analize the results we followed the subjective evolution of the patients, the total surface and thickness of eruptions in psoriasis patients and the pain intensity and stiffness in arthritis patients. Under this conditions, all the patients showed amelioration, with 2 out of 6 psoriasis patients showing complete clearance of eruptions. No patient reported adverse reactions during the treatment Conclusions: Even though the group of patients was small and not appropriate for statistical data the presence of a clinical response in all the patients and the absence of adverse reactions sustains the opportunity to extend the research on this subject.

Compliance with Covid-19 Non-Medicinal Preventive Protocol and Intent to Accept Covid-19 Vaccine Among Adults in South Eastern Nigeria

Background A Non-pharmaceutical public health measures are being promoted for mitigating the risk and impact of epidemic and pandemic covid-19 influenza and the introduction of its vaccine necessitate the assessment of individual perception regarding the vaccine. This study assessed compliance with covid-19 non-medicinal preventive protocol and intent to accept covid-19 vaccine among adults in Owerri West, Imo state Nigeria. Method Descriptive cross sectional research design was employed in recruiting four hundred and thirty six (436) participants used for the study. Using SPSS version 23, data were subjected to descriptive and Chi-square analysis. Results Results showed that almost all of them 433(99%) have heard about covid-19 especially from radio 151(35%). A vast number of them know the cause of the disease 397(92%) and when and where it was first reported 423(98%). They were aware that the disease is transmitted through respiratory droplet 351(81%) and it can enter the body through the nose 400(92%), mouth 359(83%) and eyes 362(84%). Moreover, almost all of them know that the disease has no cure 398(92%). On their perception, majority of them strongly agreed that the disease is real and is a serious disease but not in Nigeria where most of the participants disagreed that people did not die from the disease 303(69%). Most of them strongly perceived that the disease can be prevented through regular washing of hands with soap 291(67%), maintaining social distance 223(51%), wearing of nose mask 204(47%), cleaning and disinfecting the environment 231(53%). However, most of them sometimes wear nose mask wash their hands with soap 298(68%) and maintain at least one meter distance when with others 283(65%). Equally, the participants sometimes wash cloth nose mask before reuse 288(66%) but never share nose mask with any other person 200(46%). Moreover, most of them sometimes touch face with fingers 231(53%), clean and disinfect door handles 258(59%), tables and chairs 252(58%). Most of them sometimes sneeze/cough into their elbow 244(56%) and dispose tissue paper used for sneezing/coughing into a closed bin 325(75%), travel in a crowded vehicle 244(56%), attend events with more than 50 persons in attendance 189(43%) and in general sometimes follow all the recommended preventive measures 259(59%) resulting in greater proportions of them 197(45%) observing low level of compliance. Major barrier for not observing the preventive measures as reported by majority of the respondents is that hand washing with soap for up to 20 minutes is lack of time 203(47%), feel uncomfortable with wearing of nose mask 180(41%), attend crowded events because it is very crucial 167(38%) and usually touch their face when cleaning sweat 178(41%). Only few of the participants 114(26%) were willing to accept vaccine especially if it given free of charge 151(35%) in liquid form 55(48%) and its safety trusted 352(81%). Prominent reason for not taking vaccine was because of hidden agenda behind it which is not to the advantage of humanity 87(27%) whereas prominent reason for accepting it was to prevent the recipient from getting the disease 88(77%). Conclusion With the exception of religion, all the demographic characteristics had significant influence (p<0.05) on the level of compliance to covid-19 preventive measures and respondents’ intent to accept covid-19 vaccine when provided. Therefore, to increase vaccine acceptability, baseless rumors and myths against the COVID-19 vaccines must be checked and they should be reached out with scientific facts describing the safety and efficacy of the vaccines.

Accurate THz Ellipsometry Using Calibration in Time Domain

We report on the realisation of a customized THz Time Domain Spectroscopic Ellipsometer (THz-TDSE) based on fiber-coupled photoconductive antennas, operating in a wide range of incident angles and allowing also standard transmission spectroscopy without any optical realignment. To ensure accurate parameter extraction for a broad range of materials, we developed a fast and effective algorithm-assisted method to calibrate the setup and compensate for the nonideality in the response of the THz system. The procedure allows to minimise errors induced by imperfect response of the antennas and polarizers, imprecise setting of the impinging and receiving angles in the goniometric mechanical arms, and unavoidable mismatches in the THz beam optics. Differently from other calibration methods applied in the literature, our approach compares in time domain the ellipsometric derived electric field s- and p-polarised components at a given angle of incidence with the reconstructed ones, attained by using the complex dielectric function of a known sample. The calibrated response is determined with high precision by setting the system in transmission mode. In order to validate the technique, ellipsometric measurements have been carried out at various angle of incidences on a number of materials both in solid and liquid form, and their data compared with what obtained by conventional THz spectroscopy. Results show that THz-TDSE accompanied with an accurate calibration procedure is an effective technique for material characterization, especially in case of samples with a high absorption rate that are not easily investigated through transmission measurements.