The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the USP dissolution apparatus. The test drug products used were two brands of chlorpromazine HC1 tablets which had been previously evaluated clinically. On the basis of the dissolution characteristics obtained with these and several other products, it was concluded that (a) simulated gastric fluid was the media of choice for tablets containing chlorpromazine HC1, (b) the geometry of the dissolution vessel had no significant effect on dissolution characteristics, (c) a ten mesh basket be substituted for the 40 mesh basket now specified by the USP, (d) the depth of the basket in the media should be 3 cm. rather than the 2 cm. now specified, (e) the pH effect of the media should be studied carefully before setting specifications for a drug product, (f) that the basket should be inserted into the media while rotating in order to prevent variations in dissolution characteristics, (g) the method is reproducible under standardized conditions, and (h) the method is as good or better than three other dissolution methods described in the literature. This abstract represents the true contents of the thesis submitted. / Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of / Graduate

In the past few years, a possible new population of sources emitting fast and bright transient radio bursts have been discovered. To explore this new transient phase space, the next generation of radio telescopes, typically interferometers, provide wide observing bandwidths in order to achieve high sensitivity for the detection of weak sources and multi-beaming capabilities to increase the field of view. In comparison to a traditional single beam radio dish, these telescopes collect vast volumes of data and still rely on the traditional observing techniques. Localising transient events during their discovery is essential as these events might not be repeatable by nature. I describe the development and construction of a prototype phased array, the Manchester University Student Telescope (MUST), capable of multi-beam operation. I present results of the Yagi antenna beam measurements and the optimum antenna separations; the investigation of the radio frequency interference spectrum around the preferred observing band and setting the subsequent bandpass filter specifications; simulations of the optimum configurations of the MUST tiles; and finally I describe implementation of the digital back-end. For the joint task of discovery and simultaneous localisation, the advantages of single dishes and interferometers are combined in a beam forming approach. I present an investigation into the wide-bandwidth time-domain signal processing techniques for time-domain beamforming that can be used in transient and pulsar observations. I discuss the efficient polyphase decomposition for interpolation digital filters and multiplication-free fractional delay filters that can be used to reduce the complexity of the beamformer implementation and avoid high sampling rates. This reduced complexity allows more simultaneous beams to be formed using time-domain techniques. This analysis was performed for the MUST array, but is applicable to a wide range of interferometers. I have developed and analysed a new proof-of-concept non-imaging method to localise transient sources observed with interferometers or phased array feeds. It utilises the additional spectral and comparative spatial information obtained from multiple overlapping tied array beams. This allows us to estimatea transient source location with up to arc second accuracy in almost real time and allows the required high time resolution to be preserved. We demonstrate that this method can work for a variety of interferometric configurations, including for LOFAR and MeerKAT, and that the estimated angular position may be sufficient to identify a host galaxy, or other related object, without reference to other simultaneous or follow-up observations.

No description available.

Despite significant preventative efforts, falls continue to be a major source of morbidity and mortality among the elderly. Additionally, the fear of falling can be a major obstacle to independent living for otherwise self-sufficient individuals. This fear is significantly heightened in individuals who have sustained a fall and often results in self-imposed restrictions on mobility and exercise, causing weakening in these individuals and further exacerbating the danger. Much time has been spent developing alert systems in an attempt to mitigate these problems. Unfortunately these systems typically involve dedicated monitoring centers and therefore often come with substantial upfront and recurring costs. This thesis proposes a solution to these problems by implementing fall detection and alert capabilities on a smartphone, devices that are quickly becoming ubiquitous in today’s society. This solution has the potential to quell the fears of many elderly people and their families, while allowing them to maintain their independence at little expense. Detailed herein is the process of designing, developing, and validating this fall detection application. The final application was written in Objective-C for iOS and tested on an iPhone.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis presents a novel technique and framework for decreasing instrumenta- tion overhead in software systems that utilize dynamic binary instrumentation. First, we introduce a lightweight networking framework combined with an easily extensible BSON implementation as a heavy analysis routine replacement. Secondly, we bind instrumentation and analysis threads to non-overlapping cpu cores--allowing analysis threads to execute faster. Lastly, we utilize a lock-free buffering system to bridge the gap between instrumentation and analysis threads, and minimize the overhead to the instrumentation threads. Using this combination, we managed to write a dynamic binary instrumentation tool (DBI) in Pin using Pin++ that is almost 1100 % faster than its counterpart DBI tool with no buffering, and less than 500% slower than a similar tool with no analysis routine.

I detta arbete gjorde jag studier om klassisk orkestrering och klangfärg för att bättre kunna skriva för orkester. Jag analyserade flera tonsättares orkestrering och komponerade tre stycken där jag imiterade deras orkestrering. Sist skrev jag ett eget verk kallat Dance of the Mischievous där jag använde mig av orkestreringstekniker jag lärt mig genom mina analyser och imitationer. Detta arbete har givit mig nya idéer om vad som är idiomatiskt för en orkester och ett nytt sätt att förstå klang i relation till instrumentation.

<p>  </p> <p>Persons with a spinal cord injury (SCI) above the sixth thoracic vertebrae commonly experience autonomic dysreflexia (AD), 90 percent of individuals with this level of injury are susceptible to AD which is associated with an increase in sympathetic nerve activity. Left untreated AD causes a paroxysmal rise in blood pressure that may result in seizures, heart attack, or even death. This project investigates how AD affects QT interval, RR interval, P wave height, heart rate, and QRS width both during an event and long term to help identify potential cardiac risks for individuals with SCI who experience chronic AD. Sympathetic tone has been shown to influence QT interval changes that can be indicative of an increased risk of arrhythmia, which can be exacerbated by recurring episodes of AD.</p> <p>A rat spinal cord injury model at the T3 level undergoing colorectal distention (CRD) was used to induce AD. Electrophysiological recordings from an implanted ECG sensor and noninvasive skin nerve activity (SKNA) sensor array during normal baseline and three trials of CRD were collected on days 5, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 19, and 21 post-SCI. Custom MATLAB algorithms were used to identify the QRS complex and T-peaks from the implant ECG signal. QT interval measurements were taken for 2 minutes of baseline and for 2 minutes after the initiation of each CRD trial. Corrected QT interval (QTc) was calculated using normalized Bazett’s formula to account for the impact of heart rate on QT interval. </p> <p>It was found that the rats’ susceptibility and reaction to AD events varied between subacute (5-14 days) and chronic phases of SCI. During the chronic phase the incidence of AD events increased during regular occurrences of CRD as indicated by above-threshold (≥15 mmHg) blood pressure spikes. AD events also resulted in increased QT interval short term variability marking an increased risk of arrythmias. Baseline P-wave height and QTc interval were also increased while QRS complex width decreased resulting in potentially detrimental cardiac effects. This rat model showed that humans who experience recurrent AD during the chronic phase of SCI may be at increased risk for arrythmia. </p>

Chronic dehydration is an endemic problem for many population groups. Current methods of monitoring hydration status are invasive, time consuming, cannot be performed while exercising, and require lab resources. A proposed solution is a wearable, continuous, and non-invasive device that uses harm-free ultrasonic pulses to detect changes in tissue hydration status over time. Customer and engineering requirements were defined and used to guide the design process. Literature reviews were performed to identify essential information on dehydration, assess current methods, discover state of the art devices, and describe ultrasonic theory. Market research was performed to identify athletes as the target population group. An adjustable elastic nylon bicep band prototype was manufactured and the integration of more advanced components was proposed. The theoretical signal processing method used to detect hydration status was validated through initial tests with a prototype electrical system composed of a Teensy 3.1 board, two 18 kHz piezoceramic disc elements, and an Arduino/LabVIEW interface. Tests with aluminum, rubber, and sponge materials were performed to compare the signal response to propagation through materials with different acoustic properties and water contents. Finally, tests performed with dehydrated bovine muscle tissue revealed a statistically significant difference between hydrated and dehydrated tissue, a promising indication for future device refinement.

Recent advances in the complexity of in vitro biological systems have enabled new possibilities for "Organ-on-a-Chip" systems with greater physiological relevancy. Microphysiological Systems (MPS) represent one such advance which incorporates a sophisticated biological construct with a custom designed biological sensor. As the world grapples with grand challenges such as the Opioid Crisis, novel neural MPS offer a means to address both the safety and efficacy of alternative therapeutics, while potentially accelerating the bench-to-market timeframe for lifesaving addiction treatments. Investigations into custom microfabrication processes for such in vitro combinatorial biosensors are thus warranted. This Dissertation addresses the development of a 3D microelectrode array (MEA) biosensor, designed for integration with a custom peripheral-central nervous system, nociceptive circuit. For such Biological MicroElectroMechanical Systems (BioMEMS) sensors, the dielectric layer is crucial as an insulator and part of the cellular microenvironment. Nanoporous silicon dioxide (SiO2) represents an excellent material for this application, however, can be difficult to incorporate on polymer-based BioMEMS platforms. After development of the baseline 3D MEA platform that can integrate several sensing modalities on a single chip, the work presented in this Dissertation further establishes a novel polydopamine (PDA) mediated chemistry for nanoporous SiO2 / Polyethylene Glycol / Matrigel microenvironment definition. Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG)/nociceptor and Dorsal Horn (DH) neural spheroids were then matured atop this 3D MEA platform, and spontaneous / evoked compound action potentials (CAPs) were successfully recorded during and at the 6-month timepoints. Lastly, inhibitory drug trials enabled confirmation of multi-part biological activity, indicative of the neural coculture that enables a novel 3D MEA-integrated neural 3D MPS, demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge, for long-term electrophysiological applications.

No description available.