A Machine for Disintegrating Living Woody Shoots

The disintegrator was constructed from a standard circular,tempered-steel wire brush. This was ground accurately to sizeand shielded for safety and to reduce draught. Each twig onbeing held against it was reduced to a fine powder that couldbe collected in a solvent. In this way chemical change was arrested.     

"围城"的困惑--走进荷叶寨

上山、下山、城里、城外,在传统和现代的夹缝里,人很容易忘记自己最珍贵,真正需要的东西是什么,城里的人想出去,城外的人想进来。站在古老的荷叶寨里,忽然发现,这种“围城”的矛盾竟然在这里也是如此明显。     

第一个村寨老板

泽里王秀是九寨沟的“传奇人物”,他第一个冲进商海,开办家庭旅馆,是村寨里的第一个“老板”。1984年到1999年,九寨沟的百姓们从修建旅馆到后来的因为游客过多而停止经营,他们走过了这样一条路。     

The Village,a Transitional Film

The Village, probably the first observational film to have been completed, is a “transitional” film made in 1968 at UCLA. This was during a period of creative ferment there when the departments of Theater Arts and of Anthropology came together to explore the possibility of working out a new film language that would enable the production of films that might be more useful to anthropology. This article examines what this film offers that was new at the time, and considers to what extent it was also rooted in old forms.     

Microwave-Assisted Development of Orally Disintegrating Tablets by Direct Compression

Orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) are challenged by the need for simple technology to ensure good mechanical strength coupled with rapid disintegration. The objective of this work was to evaluate microwave-assisted development of ODTs based on simple direct compression tableting technology. Placebo ODTs comprising directly compressible mannitol and lactose as diluents, super disintegrants, and lubricants were prepared by direct compression followed by exposure to >97% relative humidity and then microwave irradiation for 5 min at 490 W. Placebo ODTs with hardness (>5 kg/cm²) and disintegration time (<60 s) were optimized. Palatable ODTs of Lamotrigine (LMG), which exhibited rapid dissolution of LMG, were then developed. The stability of LMG to microwave irradiation (MWI) was confirmed. Solubilization was achieved by complexation with beta-cyclodextrin (β-CD). LMG ODTs with optimal hardness and disintegration time (DT) were optimized by a 2³ factorial design using Design Expert software. Taste masking using sweeteners and flavors was confirmed using a potentiometric multisensor-based electronic tongue, coupled with principal component analysis. Placebo ODTs with crospovidone as a superdisintegrant revealed a significant increase in hardness from ～3 to ～5 kg/cm² and a decrease in disintegration time (<60 s) following microwave irradiation. LMG ODTs had hardness >5 kg/cm², DT?<?30s, and rapid dissolution of LMG, and good stability was optimized by DOE and the design space derived. While β-CD complexation enabled rapid dissolution and moderate taste masking, palatability, which was achieved including flavors, was confirmed using an electronic tongue. A simple step of humidification enabled MWI-facilitated development of ODTs by direct compression presenting a practical and scalable advancement in ODT technology.     

Disintegrating brain networks: from syndromes to molecular nexopathies

In this issue of Neuron, Raj et?al. (2012) and Zhou et?al. (2012) use graph theory to suggest that neurodegenerative diseases spread diffusively via intrinsic brain networks. These studies provide a powerful model for understanding and predicting disease-specific profiles of neurodegeneration.     

Development and Evaluation of Cetirizine HCl Taste-Masked Oral Disintegrating Tablets

The purpose of the current study was to mask the taste of cetirizine HCl and to incorporate the granules produced in oral disintegrating tablets (ODT). The bitter, active substance was coated by fluidized bed coating using Eudragit® RL30-D at levels between 15% and 40% w/w. The ODTs were developed by varying the ratio of superdisintegrants such as sodium croscarmellose, crospovidone grades and low substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose (L-HPC). A direct compression process was used to compress the ODTs under various compaction forces to optimize tablet robustness. The properties of the compressed tablets including porosity, hardness, friability and dissolution profiles were further investigated. The in vitro and in vivo evaluation of the tablet disintegration times showed almost identical rapid disintegration below 10 s at the optimal levels of each superdisintegrant. Finally, the taste and sensory evaluation in human volunteers demonstrated excellence in masking the bitter active and tablet palatability.     

Stability of Benzocaine Formulated in Commercial Oral Disintegrating Tablet Platforms

Pharmaceutical excipients contain reactive groups and impurities due to manufacturing processes that can cause decomposition of active drug compounds. The aim of this investigation was to determine if commercially available oral disintegrating tablet (ODT) platforms induce active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) degradation. Benzocaine was selected as the model API due to known degradation through ester and primary amino groups. Benzocaine was either compressed at a constant pressure, 20 kN, or at pressure necessary to produce a set hardness, i.e., where a series of tablets were produced at different compression forces until an average hardness of approximately 100 N was achieved. Tablets were then stored for 6 months under International Conference on Harmonization recommended conditions, 25°C and 60% relative humidity (RH), or under accelerated conditions, 40°C and 75% RH. Benzocaine degradation was monitored by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Regardless of the ODT platform, no degradation of benzocaine was observed in tablets that were kept for 6 months at 25°C and 60% RH. After storage for 30 days under accelerated conditions, benzocaine degradation was observed in a single platform. Qualitative differences in ODT platform behavior were observed in physical appearance of the tablets after storage under different temperature and humidity conditions.     

Characterization of Oral Disintegrating Film Containing Donepezil for Alzheimer Disease

The aim of this study was to develop a taste-masked oral disintegrating film (ODF) containing donepezil, with fast disintegration time and suitable mechanical strength, for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, corn starch, polyethylene glycol, lactose monohydrate and crosspovidone served as the hydrophilic polymeric bases of the ODF. The uniformity, in vitro disintegration time, drug release and the folding endurance of the ODF were examined. The in vitro results showed that 80% of donepezil hydrochloride was released within 5 minutes with mean disintegration time of 44 seconds. The result of the film flexibility test showed that the number of folding time to crack the film was 40 times, an indication of sufficient mechanical property for patient use. A single-dose, fasting, four-period, eight-treatment, double-blind study involving 16 healthy adult volunteers was performed to evaluate the in situ disintegration time and palatability of ODF. Five parameters, namely taste, aftertaste, mouthfeel, ease of handling and acceptance were evaluated. The mean in situ disintegration time of ODF was 49 seconds. ODF containing 7 mg of sucralose were more superior than saccharin and aspartame in terms of taste, aftertaste, mouthfeel and acceptance. Furthermore, the ODF was stable for at least 6 months when stored at 40°C and 75% relative humidity.     

Modified Polysaccharides as Fast Disintegrating Excipients for Orodispersible Tablets of Roxithromycin

The purpose of this study was to develop a dosage form that was easy to administer and provides rapid release of the drug roxithromycin, using modified polysaccharides as rapidly disintegrating excipients. Modified polysaccharides co grinded treated agar (C-TAG) and co grinded treated guar gum (C-TGG) were prepared by subjecting pure polysaccharides namely agar and guar gum respectively to sequential processes of wetting, drying and co grinding with mannitol (1:1). The modified polysaccharides were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy and evaluated for particle size distribution, derived properties, swelling index and biodegradability. Optimization studies based on 2² factorial designs, with friability and disintegration time as response parameters were used to formulate orodispersible tablets of roxithromycin and evaluated for wetting time, water absorption ratio and in vitro drug release at salivary pH 6.4 and physiological pH 7.4. Results indicated that lower levels of modified polysaccharides namely C-TAG in F₃ and C-TGG in F₇ and higher levels of microcrystalline cellulose, exhibited least disintegration times without friability concerns. In vitro release of optimized formulations F₃ and F_7, both at salivary pH and physiological pH was found to be more than 90% within 30 min as compared to 27.82% at the same time point of conventional formulation. Stability studies carried out as per ICH Q1A guidelines suggested the formulations to be stable for a period of 6 months. Thus the approach of using modified polysaccharides as fast disintegrating excipient can be used to formulate a stable orodispersible formulation.