Modulation of Biodistribution,Pharmacokinetics, and Photosensitivity with the Delivery Vehicle of a Bacteriochlorin Photosensitizer for Photodynamic Therapy

Intravenous (i.v.) formulations with various amounts of organic solvents [PEG₄₀₀, propylene glycol (PG), cremophor EL (CrEL)] were used to deliver a fluorinated sulfonamide bacteriochlorin to mice, rats, and minipigs. Biodistribution studies in mice showed that a low‐content CrEL formulation combines high bioavailability with high tumor‐to‐muscle and tumor‐to‐skin ratios. This formulation was also the most successful in the photodynamic therapy of mice with subcutaneously implanted CT26 murine colon adenocarcinoma tumors. Pharmacokinetic studies in mice and minipigs revealed that with the same low CrEL formulation, the half‐life of the photosensitizer in the central compartment was longer in minipigs. Differences in biodistribution with the various formulations, and in pharmacokinetics between the two animal species with the same formulation, are attributed to the interaction of the formulations with low‐density lipoproteins (LDLs). Skin photosensitivity studies in rats showed that 30 min exposure of the skin to a solar simulator 7 days after i.v. administration of the fluorinated sulfonamide bacteriochlorin at 1 mg kg^?1 did not elicit significant skin reactions.     

Minimum-value distribution of random electromagnetic fields for modeling deep fading in wireless communications

In this work, we presented a theoretical investigation of the minimum-value distribution inside complex electromagnetic environments. In particular, a statistical model for characterizing the minimum value of the complex-value field or power inside a dynamic mode-tuned or mode-stirred reverberation chamber is presented and discussed. Such an EM environment serves as an emulator of multipath radiowave propagation for indoor/outdoor wireless communication channels. It is found that, for both overmoded and undermoded regimes, the generalized extreme value distribution leads to the reverse Fréchet and Weibull types for complex-value (Cartesian and total) fields and for the total energy (or intensity). These distributions are stable and follow from the convergent behavior of the lower tail for their corresponding parent distribution of the Cartesian field magnitude, namely a χ ². On the other hand, received power exhibits a Pareto-type distribution because of the unbounded left tail of the negative exponential parent distribution.     

复合酶制剂对甜酒酿面包发酵烘焙特性的影响

选用中国特色传统甜酒曲制作的甜酒酿进行面包制作,通过面团流变学分析、生物化学分析、激光共聚焦 显微观察、感官评定等多种手段对甜酒酿面团及面包的品质进行综合评估,与普通小麦面包进行对比,并使用天然 酶制剂来提高含甜酒酿面包的发酵烘焙特性。结果表明：含甜酒酿面团游离巯基含量增加,蛋白酶活力较强,甜酒 酿对面包面团面筋网络结构的形成有破坏作用,会导致面包内聚性、弹性下降,降低口感评分。但甜酒酿能给面包 带来更加诱人的色泽,其特有的酒香使面包更加可口,通过酶制剂的作用,面团面筋网络结构得到强化,含酶甜酒 酿面包品质全面提升,比普通小麦面包更受欢迎。     

传统酸面团中植物乳杆菌发酵馒头抗氧化特性及挥发性风味物质特征

以普通小麦馒头（记为WS）和植物乳杆菌标准菌株发酵馒头（记为LPS）为对照,通过测定总酚含量和1,1-二苯基-2-三硝基苯肼（1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl,DPPH）自由基清除能力,同时采用固相微萃取-气相色谱-质谱联用技术,研究传统酸面团中植物乳杆菌植物亚种发酵馒头（记为ZLPS）的抗氧化特性及挥发性风味物质特征。结果表明：乳酸菌发酵,尤其是植物乳杆菌植物亚种的发酵可以明显改善蒸制带来的馒头抗氧化特性降低,与WS相比,ZLPS中总酚含量增加了108.70%,DPPH自由基清除能力为WS的13.65 倍;乳酸菌发酵酸面团使得馒头的挥发性风味物质含量增高,酸面团发酵馒头的挥发性风味物质总含量分别增加了53.11%（LPS）、56.92%（ZLPS）,且ZLPS还产生了一些独特的挥发性风味物质,如乙酸异戊酯、6-甲基-5-庚烯-2-酮、3-辛醇、2-乙基己醇、乙酸-2-苯乙基酯等;ZLPS各项指标评分均较高,更具有获得消费者青睐的潜力。     

Effect of local stir and spatial averaging on measurement andtesting in mode-tuned and mode-stirred reverberation chambers

The effect of local averaging in mode-tuned and mode-stirred reverberation chambers is investigated, under the assumption of a wide-sense stationary statistical cavity field. The analysis is based on the characterization of the tuning or stirring process in the spectral spatial domain and in the spectral stir domain. The variance function, scale of fluctuation, optimum sampling rate, and normalized spectral bandwidths are computed for each case, based on the modeled power spectral-density function. This second-order analysis enables the effect of local averaging on the point-interval correlation, mean and standard deviation of the maximum test level, upward threshold crossing frequency, time to first passage and mean excursion length to be quantified. The theoretical results for quantifying EUT reliability are illustrated and compared with measured data. The results provide guidelines for the maximum tolerable sensor aperture and stirrer step sizes for mode tuning, and sampling rate and sampling width for mode stirring in chamber calibration and EMC emissions and susceptibility testing     

Statistical Characterization of Complex Random Media in Random Fields

The statistical macroscopic characterization of composite materials in simple and complex electromagnetic environments is addressed. Based on the central limit theorem applied to the random parameters that characterize the microscopic constituents, the probability density function, mean, uncertainty and confidence intervals of various macroscopic effective constitutive material and wave parameters are derived. The implications ofthe randomness of the external field on these parameters are also investigated.     

Pro‐oxidant and Antioxidant Effects in Photodynamic Therapy: Cells Recognise that Not All Exogenous ROS Are Alike

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses light, photosensitizer molecules and oxygen to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) that kill cancer cells. Redaporfin, a new photosensitizer in clinical trials, generates both singlet oxygen and superoxide ions. We report the potentiation of redaporfin–PDT in combination with ascorbate and with the inhibition of antioxidant enzymes in A549 (human lung adenocarcinoma) and CT26 (mouse colon adenocarcinoma) cells. The addition of ascorbate and the inhibition of superoxide dismutase (SOD) strongly increased the phototoxicity of redaporfin towards A549 cells but not towards CT26 cells. The inhibition of catalase and the depletion of the glutathione pool also potentiate redaporfin–PDT towards A549 cells. The lower SOD activity of A549 cells might explain this difference. SOD activity levels may be explored to increase the selectivity and efficacy of PDT with photosensitizers that generate radical species.     

Intravenous Single-Dose Toxicity of Redaporfin-Based Photodynamic Therapy in Rodents

We assessed the tolerability and safety in rodents of a single intravenous (i.v.) dose of redaporfin, a novel photosensitizer for Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) of cancer. Two approaches were used to evaluate acute toxicity: (i) a dose escalation study in BALB/c mice to evaluate the maximum tolerated dose of redaporfin; and (ii) a safety toxicology study in Wistar rats, of a single dose of redaporfin, with or without illumination, to evaluate possible signs of systemic toxicity. Redaporfin formulation was well tolerated by mice, with no signs of adverse reactions up to 75 mg/kg. In rats, there were no relevant changes, except for a significant, but transient, increase in the blood serum markers for hepatic function and muscle integrity, and also on neutrophil counts, observed after the application of light. The overall results showed that redaporfin-PDT is very well tolerated. No abnormalities were observed, including reactions at the injection site or skin phototoxicity, although the animals were maintained in normal indoor lighting. Redaporfin also showed a high efficacy in the treatment of male BALB/c mice with subcutaneously implanted colon (CT26) tumours. Vascular-PDT with 1.5 mg/kg redaporfin and a light dose of 74 J/cm² led to the complete tumour regression in 83% of the mice.     

DETERMINING TOPOLOGICAL CHANGES AND CRITICAL LOAD LEVELS OF A POWER SYSTEM BY MEANS OF ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS

ABSTRACT

In this paper, an investigation is done of the possibilities of implementing multi-layered artificial neural networks in analyzing the dynamic stability of an power system during load and topology changes. To solve this problem, a multi-layered neural network is used whose inputs are the state vector components, and whose outputs are encoded line outages and the real component of dominant eigenvalues of the system state matrix of the power system. The neural network is trained through the error back-propagation method. The proposed methodology is tested on an power system with ten nodes and four generators. The obtained results indicate the attractiveness of “on-line” application possibilities of multi-layered neural networks in order to efficiently evaluate the stability of an power system during conditions of load and topology change.