Jejunal wall delivery of insulin via an ingestible capsule in anesthetized swine-A pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study

Biotherapeutic agents must be administered parenterally to obtain therapeutic blood concentrations, lowering patient compliance and complicating care. An oral delivery platform (ODP) was developed to deliver drugs into the small intestinal wall. This proof-of-concept study was performed in 17 anesthetized, laparotomized swine. In 8 swine weighing 17.4 ± 1.2 kg (mean ± SEM), 20 IU of recombinant human insulin (RHI) were auto-injected into the jejunal wall by placing the ODP inside the jejunum via an enterotomy. In 9 control swine weighing 17.0 ± 0.4 kg, 20 IU of RHI were injected subcutaneously. In both groups, under a 60-80 mg/dL euglycemic glucose clamp, blood glucose was measured with a handheld glucometer and serum insulin was measured using ELISA, at 10-minute intervals between -20 and +420 minutes after RHI delivery. The peak serum concentration of RHI was 517 ± 109 pmol/L in the ODP and 342 ± 50 pmol/L in the subcutaneous group (ns). The areas under the insulin concentration curves (83 ± 18 and 81 ± 10 nmol/L·min) were also similar in both groups. The mean time to peak serum concentration of insulin was 139 ± 42 minutes in the ODP and 227 ± 24 minutes in the subcutaneous group (ns). In conclusion, (a) The bioactivity of RHI was preserved after its delivery into the jejunal wall, (b) the intrajejunal route delivered insulin as rapidly and physiologically as the subcutaneous route, and (c) these pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of RHI after intrajejunal delivery suggest that drugs currently administered parenterally, such as basal insulin, could be successfully delivered into the proximal intestinal wall via the ingestible capsule.

Genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair genes and their association with cervical cancer

Background and objective: Carcinoma of cervix is the second most common cancer among women worldwide. The DNA repair network plays an important role in the maintenance of genetic stability, protection against DNA damage and carcinogenesis. Alterations in repair genes XRCC1, XRCC2 and XRCC3 and been reported in certain cancers. We hypothesised an association between XRCC1+399A/G, XRCC2+31467G/A and XRCC3+18067C/T polymorphisms and the risk of cervical cancer. Subjects and methods: This study included 525 subjects (265 controls and 260 cervical cancer cases). Genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results: Women with GA and AA genotypes of XRCC1+399A/G showed 2.4-3.8 fold higher risk of cervical cancer (P = 0.001). The +399A* allele was significantly linked with cervical cancer (P = 0.002). However, XRCC2+31479G/A and XRCC3+18067C/T polymorphisms did not show any statistically significant associations. Conclusion: The XRCC1+399A/G SNP is linked with cervical cancer. We suggest that this variant can be utilized as a prognostic marker for determination of cervical cancer susceptibility.

SAT-171 Effective Intrajejunal Wall Delivery of Recombinant Human Insulin via a Self-Deployed Ingestible Capsule in Anesthetized Swines: A Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Study

BACKGROUND: Biotherapeutic agents must be administered parenterally to reach and maintain therapeutic blood concentrations, lowering patient compliance and complicating long-term care. We have developed an ingestible robotic pill capable of delivering a variety of drugs directly into the wall of the proximal small intestine. METHODS: This observational, pilot study was performed in 17 juvenile anesthetized pigs under a 60-80 mg/dl euglycemic glucose clamp. All animals underwent midline, abdominal laparotomies. In a TEST group of 8 pigs (mean weight = 17.4±1.2 kg), 20 IU of recombinant human insulin (RHI) were auto-injected into the jejunal wall by inserting the pill into the proximal jejunum via a 1-cm enterotomy. A CONTROL group of 9 pigs (17.0±0.4 kg) received 20 IU of RHI injected subcutaneously. In both study groups, blood samples were collected at 10-min intervals, between -20 and +420 min after RHI administration for measurements of blood concentrations of glucose, using a handheld glucometer, and serum insulin, using the ELISA method. RESULTS: The peak serum concentrations (C_max) of RHI were 517±109 and 342±50 pM for the jejunal wall and the subcutaneous groups, respectively (ns). The area under the insulin concentration curves (83±18 and 81±10 nmol/l.min) were likewise similar in both groups. The mean time to peak serum concentration of insulin (T_max) was 139±42 min in the jejunal wall group, shorter than in the subcutaneous group (227±24 min). CONCLUSIONS: 1) The bioactivity of RHI was preserved after its delivery into the jejunal wall, 2) the jejunal wall route provided a more rapid and physiologic uptake of insulin compared with the subcutaneous route, though the difference (p=0.097) was not statistically significant, and 3) the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of RHI after its jejunal wall delivery suggests that drugs such as basal insulin, currently administered parenterally, could be successfully delivered into the proximal intestinal wall via the ingestible robotic capsule.

Transcriptome analysis revealed the interaction among strigolactones, auxin, and cytokinin in controlling the shoot branching of rice

Strigolactones inhibit bud growth by negatively regulating the auxin transport without changing the auxin biosynthesis and suppressing the expression of A-ARR in buds. Strigolactones (SLs) are important phytohormones associated with regulation of shoot branching in rice. Rice shoot branching is persuasively mediated by plant hormones like auxin, cytokinins (CKs) and SLs. The interactions among these hormones were diversely investigated by many researchers but remained a subject of debate. In the present study, the removal of panicle and application of subsequent synthetic SLs were used to regulate rice bud growth on node 2 (the second node from panicle) at full heading stage. The bud growth was significantly induced after panicle removal but GR24 (synthetic SLs) application inhibited it, along with variations in endogenous hormone contents in bud. RNA samples from buds were subjected to RNA sequencing through Illumina HiSeq 2000 (RNA-seq). Comparison of transcript expression levels among three treatments, viz. (1) intact (Co), (2) removed panicle (RP) and (3) RP combined with synthetic SL GR24 (GR) revealed the involvement of numerous genes associated with hormone signal transduction. GR24 supply minimized the RP-induced enhancement of auxin early response genes, independent of ARF. CK signal transduction was also induced by RP, but type-A ARR were the only genes responding to GR without any other CK signal associated genes. Additionally, RP and GR can also modulate auxin transport and CK degradation by regulating the genes' expression involved in the biosynthesis of flavonoid, phenylpropanoid and benzoxazinoid. Contemplating the results obtained so far, it is possible to open new vistas of research to reveal the interactions among SLs, auxin and CK in controlling the shoot branching of rice.

In-situ regeneration of activated carbon with electric potential swing desorption (EPSD) for the H2S removal from biogas

In-situ regeneration of a granular activated carbon was conducted for the first time using electric potential swing desorption (EPSD) with potentials up to 30 V. The EPSD system was compared against a standard non-potential system using a fixed-bed reactor with a bed of 10 g of activated carbon treating a gas mixture with 10,000 ppm H₂S. Breakthrough times, adsorption desorption volume, capacities, effect of regeneration and desorption kinetics were investigated. The analysis showed that desorption of H₂S using the new EPSD system was 3 times quicker compared with the no potential system. Hence, physical adsorption using EPSD over activated carbon is efficient, safe and environmental friendly and could be used for the in-situ regeneration of granular activated carbon without using a PSA and/or TSA system. Additionally, adsorption and desorption cycles can be obtained with a classical two column system, which could lead towards a more efficient and economic biogas to biomethane process.

High-performance solution-based CdS-conjugated hybrid polymer solar cells

In this study, hybrid BHJ – bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells were fabricated by incorporating CdS quantum dots (QDs) in a blend of P3HT (donor) and PCBM (acceptor) using dichlorobenzene and chlorobenzene as solvents. CdS QDs at various ratios were mixed in a fixed amount of the P3HT and PCBM blend. The prepared samples have been characterized by a variety of techniques such as I–V and EQE measurements, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy. The mixing of QDs in the polymer blends improved the PCE – power conversion efficiency of the solar cells under standard light conditions. The improved PCE from 2.95 to 4.41% is mostly due to the increase in the fill factor (FF) and short-circuit current (J_sc) of the devices with an optimum amount of CdS in the P3HT:PCBM blend. The increase in J_sc possibly originated from the formation of a percolation network of CdS. The conjugation of QDs has increased the absorption of the active layers in the visible region. These results well matched as reported, conjugation of CdS in the perovskite active layer increased the absorption and PCE of the devices relative to those of the perovskite films. This increment in parameters is attributed to the decrease in charge recombinations that improved the performance of the doped device.

In this study, hybrid BHJ – bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells were fabricated by incorporating CdS quantum dots (QDs) in a blend of P3HT (donor) and PCBM (acceptor) using dichlorobenzene and chlorobenzene as solvents.

Highly dispersed ultra-small Pd nanoparticles on gadolinium hydroxide nanorods for efficient hydrogenation reactions

Heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation reactions are of great importance to the petrochemical industry and fine chemical synthesis. Herein, we present the first example of gadolinium hydroxide (Gd(OH)₃) nanorods as a support for loading ultra-small Pd nanoparticles for hydrogenation reactions. Gd(OH)₃ possesses a large number of hydroxyl groups on the surface, which act as an ideal support for good dispersion of Pd nanoparticles. Gd(OH)₃ nanorods are prepared by hydrothermal treatment, and Pd/Gd(OH)₃ catalyst with a low loading of 0.95 wt% Pd is obtained by photochemical deposition. The catalytic hydrogenation of p-nitrophenol (4-NP) to p-aminophenol (4-AP) and styrene to ethylbenzene is performed as a model reaction. The obtained Pd/Gd(OH)₃ catalyst displays excellent activity as compared to other reported heterogeneous catalysts. The rate constant of 4-NP reduction is measured to be 0.047 s^-1 and the Pd/Gd(OH)₃ nanocatalyst shows no marked loss of activity even after 10 consecutive cycles. Additionally, the hydrogenation of styrene to ethylbenzene over Pd/Gd(OH)₃ nanorods exhibits a turnover frequency (TOF) as high as 6159 h^-1 with 100% selectivity. Moreover, the catalyst can be recovered by centrifugation and recycled for up to 5 consecutive cycles without obvious loss of activity. Our results indicate that Gd(OH)₃ nanorods act as a promoter to enhance the catalytic activity by providing a synergistic effect from the strong metal support interaction and the large surface area for high dispersion of small sized Pd nanoparticles enriched with hydroxyl groups on the surface. The high performance of Pd/Gd(OH)₃ in heterogeneous catalysis offers a new, efficient and facile strategy to explore other metal hydroxides or oxides as supports for organic transformations.

Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Z-Scheme Hydrogen Production over Oxygen-Deficient WO3-x Nanorods supported Zn0.3Cd0.7S Heterostructure

The demand for clean renewable energy is increasing due to depleting fossil fuels and environmental concerns. Photocatalytic hydrogen production through water splitting is one such promising route to meet global energy demands with carbon free technology. Alternative photocatalysts avoiding noble metals are highly demanded. Herein, we fabricated heterostructure consist of oxygen-deficient WO_3–x nanorods with Zn_0.3Cd_0.7S nanoparticles for an efficient Z-Scheme photocatalytic system. Our as obtained heterostructure showed photocatalytic H₂ evolution rate of 352.1 μmol h⁻¹ with apparent quantum efficiency (AQY) of 7.3% at λ = 420 nm. The photocatalytic hydrogen production reaches up to 1746.8 μmol after 5 hours process in repeatable manner. The UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectra show strong absorption in the visible region which greatly favors the photocatalytic performance. Moreover, the efficient charge separation suggested by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and photocurrent response curves exhibit enhancement in H₂ evolution rate. The strong interface contact between WO_3–x nanorods and Zn_0.3Cd_0.7S nanoparticles ascertained from HRTEM images also play an important role for the emigration of electron. Our findings provide possibilities for the design and development of new Z-scheme photocatalysts for highly efficient hydrogen production.

Enhanced and durable electrocatalytic performance of thin layer PtRu bimetallic alloys on Pd-nanocubes for methanol oxidation reactions

Enhanced and durable electrocatalytic performance of thin layer PtRu bimetallic alloys on Pd-nanocubes for methanol oxidation reactions.

Hydrogenation/oxidation induced efficient reversible color switching between methylene blue and leuco-methylene blue

A novel reversible color switching system based on one-pot hydrogenation/oxygenation reactions, and with excellent cycling performance and high switching rates as an oxygen indicator.