Effect of pharmaceuticals on thermoreversible gelation of PEO-PPO-PEO copolymers

Pluronic F127, a triblock copolymer of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO), has generated considerable interest as a drug delivery vehicle due to its ability to gel at physiological temperatures. This work examines the gelation behavior of Pluronic F127 in the presence of a series of hydrophobic pharmaceuticals, to determine whether there is any correlation between gelation and physicochemical parameters of drug solutes. The study includes the local anesthetics dibucaine, lidocaine, and tetracaine; the pharmaceutical additives methyl paraben, ethyl paraben, and propyl paraben; the anti-cancer agents paclitaxel and baccatin III; and the anti-inflammatory agent sulindac. The results indicate that the presence of local anesthetics and pharmaceutical additives allows F127 solutions to form gels at lower copolymer concentrations; local anesthetics and pharmaceutical additives also shift gelation down to a lower gelation temperature. This behavior is strongly dependent on drug solubility; poorly soluble drugs (paclitaxel, baccatin III, sulindac) do not change the lower gelation temperature or minimum F127 concentration for gelation. An equation relating the decrease in gelation temperature to drug solubility is presented, and the equation fits the data well. The results have significant positive implications on the toxicity and economic issues related to use of Pluronic F127 in drug delivery.     

Stability of Parametric Quasivariational Inequality of the Minty Type

In this paper, stability of a parametric quasivariational inequality of the Minty type is studied via various sufficient conditions characterizing upper and lower semicontinuity of the solution sets as well as the approximate solution sets. Sufficient conditions ensuring upper semicontinuity of the approximate solution sets of an optimization problem with quasivariational inequality constraints are also presented.     

Study of effects of dopants on structure of vitreous semiconductors (GeSe3.5)100-xMx (M = Bi,Sb) using high pressure techniques

An investigation of the problem of controlled doping of amorphous chalcogenide semiconductors utilizing a Bridgman anvil high pressure technique, has been undertaken. Bulk amorphous semiconducting materials (GeSe_3.5)_100-x doped with M = Bi (x = 2, 4, 10) and M = Sb (x = 10) respectively are studied up to a pressure of 100 kbar down to liquid nitrogen temperature, with a view to observe the impurity induced modifications. Measurement of the electrical conductivity of the doped samples under quasi-hydrostatic pressure reveals that the pressure induced effects in lightly doped (2 at % Bi) and heavily doped (x = 4, 10) semiconductors are markedly different. The pressure effects in Sb-doped semiconductors are quite different from those in Bi-doped material.     

Survival probability in one dimension for theA+B→B reaction with hard-core repulsion

We study the effect of hard-core repulsion (known as the bus effect) betweenB particles on the reaction-diffusion systemA+BB in the continuous-time random walk model in one dimension with theA particles stationary. We show rigorously that the survival probability of theA particles is asymptotically bounded asC ₁lim _t{[–logS(t)]/t ^0.5}C ₂, whereC ₁ andC ₂ are constants. We also do simulations to confirm our results.     

Higher order duality in multiobjective fractional programming with support functions

In this paper a new class of higher order (F,ρ,σ)-type I functions for a multiobjective programming problem is introduced, which subsumes several known studied classes. Higher order Mond-Weir and Schaible type dual programs are formulated for a nondifferentiable multiobjective fractional programming problem where the objective functions and the constraints contain support functions of compact convex sets in Rn. Weak and strong duality results are studied in both the cases assuming the involved functions to be higher order (F,ρ,σ)-type I. A number of previously studied problems appear as special cases.     

Higher-order cone-pseudoconvex, quasiconvex and other related functions in vector optimization

Recently Bhatia (Optim. Lett. doi:10.1007/s11590-010-0248-0, 2010) introduced higher-order cone-convex functions and used them to obtain higher-order sufficient optimality conditions and duality results for a vector optimization problem over cones. The concepts of higher-order (strongly) cone-pseudoconvex and cone-quasiconvex functions were also defined by Bhatia (Optim. Lett. doi:10.1007/s11590-010-0248-0, 2010). In this paper we introduce the notions of higher-order naturally cone-pseudoconvex, strictly cone-pseudoconvex and weakly cone-quasiconvex functions and study various interrelations between the above mentioned functions. Higher-order sufficient optimality conditions have been established by using these functions. Generalized Mond–Weir type higher-order dual is formulated and various duality results have been established under the conditions of higher-order strongly cone-pseudoconvexity and higher-order cone quasiconvexity.     

Thermally Conducting Partially Ionized Plasma in a Variable Magnetic Field

An infinitely extending homogenous partially ionized plasma endowed with several physical mechanisms and permeated by a variable magnetic field is considered. The combined effect of these parameters, namely, Hall currents, finite conductivity, ion viscosity, collision with neutrals and thermal conductivity on the gravitational instability of the plasma is studied. It is found that the several mechanisms play different physical roles in the perturbed problem. Jeans' Criterion is analyzed in the framework of Tsallis' statistics for possible modifications due to the presence of nonextensive effects. A simple generalization of the Jeans' criterion is obtained and the standard values are obtained in the limiting case q = 1, q being the nonextensive parameter. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Hydromagnetic Stability of a Self-Gravitating Composite Plasma in the Presence of Finite Larmor Radius

The hydromagnetic stability of a self-gravitating composite plasma has been studied to include the effects of ion viscosity and the finiteness of the ion Larmor radius. The whole medium is embedded in a uniform horizontal magnetic field. The F. L. R. effects have been included through the stress tensor. An explicit solution for a semi-infinite plasma of finite depth and with an exponential density variation along the vertical is obtained by means of a variational principle characterizing the problem. Numerical calculations show that the influence of the effects of ion viscosity and F. L. R. is to reduce the growth rate of unstable perturbations. On the other hand the effects of neutral gas collisions have been found to be both stabilizing as well as destabilizing.     

The third and fourth spectra of gallium: Ga III and Ga IV

The third and fourth spectra of gallium have been photographed in the region 6000–400 Å by using a 3-m normal-incidence, vacuum spectrograph and a 3.5-m Ebert spectrograph. A three-electrode vacuum spark and a spark in helium were used as sources. New measurements for the wavelengths have confirmed earlier work and provided material to extend the analysis of Ga III and Ga IV.     

Azimuthal anisotropy and correlations at large transverse momenta in p + p and Au + Au collisions at square root sNN=200 GeV

Results on high transverse momentum charged particle emission with respect to the reaction plane are presented for Au + Au collisions at square root s(NN)=200 GeV. Two- and four-particle correlations results are presented as well as a comparison of azimuthal correlations in Au + Au collisions to those in p + p at the same energy. The elliptic anisotropy v(2) is found to reach its maximum at p(t) approximately 3 GeV/c, then decrease slowly and remain significant up to p(t) approximately 7-10 GeV/c. Stronger suppression is found in the back-to-back high-p(t) particle correlations for particles emitted out of plane compared to those emitted in plane. The centrality dependence of v(2) at intermediate p(t) is compared to simple models based on jet quenching.