Sample records for ndpp
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Nie, Kaixuan; Dong, Bo; Shi, Huanhuan; Liu, Zhengchun; Liang, Bo
2017-03-07
A technique for encapsulating fluorescent organic probes in a micelle system offers an important alternative method to manufacture water-soluble organic nanoparticles (ONPs) for use in sensing Hg 2+ . This article reports on a study of a surfactant-free micelle-like ONPs based on a 3,6-di(2-thienyl)-2,5-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione (TDPP) amphiphile, (2-(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl)-3,6-di(2-thiophyl)-2,5-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione (NDPP) fabricated to monitor Hg 2+ in water. NDPP was synthesized through a simple one-step modification of a commercially available dye TDPP with a flexible and hydrophilic alkoxy. This study reports, for the first time, that TDPP dyes can respond reversibly, sensitively, and selectively to Hg 2+ through TDPP-Hg-TDPP complexation, similar to the well-known thymine(T)-Hg-thymine(T) model and the accompanying molecular aggregation. Interestingly, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) confirmed that, in water, NDPP forms loose micelle-like fluorescent ONPs with a hydrohobic TDPP portion encapsulated inside. These micelle-like nanoparticles offer an ideal location for TDPP-Hg complexation with a modest molecular aggregation, thereby providing both clear visual and spectroscopic signals for Hg 2+ sensing. An estimated detection limit of 11 nM for Hg 2+ sensing with this NDPP nanoparticle was obtained. In addition, NDPP ONPs show good water solubility and high selectivity to Hg 2+ in neutral or alkalescent water. It was superior to most micelle-based nanosensors, which require a complicated process in the selection or synthesis of suitable surfactants. The determinations in real samples (river water) were made and satisfactory results were achieved. This study provides a low-cost strategy for fabricating small molecule-based fluorescent nanomaterials for use in sensing Hg 2+ . Moreover, the NDPP nanoparticles show potential ability in Hg 2+ ion adsorption and recognization of cysteine using NDPP-Hg composite particle.
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National doping prevention guidelines: Intent, efficacy and lessons learned - A 4-year evaluation.
Wippert, Pia-Maria; Fließer, Michael
2016-10-10
Doping presents a potential health risk for young athletes. Prevention programs are intended to prevent doping by educating athletes about banned substances. However, such programs have their limitations in practice. This led Germany to introduce the National Doping Prevention Plan (NDPP), in hopes of ameliorating the situation among young elite athletes. Two studies examined 1) the degree to which the NDPP led to improved prevention efforts in elite sport schools, and 2) the extent to which newly developed prevention activities of the national anti-doping agency (NADA) based on the NDPP have improved knowledge among young athletes within elite sports schools. The first objective was investigated in a longitudinal study (Study I: t0 = baseline, t1 = follow-up 4 years after NDPP introduction) with N = 22 teachers engaged in doping prevention in elite sports schools. The second objective was evaluated in a cross-sectional comparison study (Study II) in N = 213 elite sports school students (54.5 % male, 45.5 % female, age M = 16.7 ± 1.3 years (all students had received the improved NDDP measure in school; one student group had received additionally NADA anti-doping activities and a control group did not). Descriptive statistics were calculated, followed by McNemar tests, Wilcoxon tests and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Results indicate that 4 years after the introduction of the NDPP there have been limited structural changes with regard to the frequency, type, and scope of doping prevention in elite sport schools. On the other hand, in study II, elite sport school students who received further NADA anti-doping activities performed better on an anti-doping knowledge test than students who did not take part (F(1, 207) = 33.99, p <0.001), although this difference was small. The integration of doping-prevention in elite sport schools as part of the NDPP was only partially successful. The results of the evaluation indicate that the introduction of the NDPP has contributed more to a change in the content of doping prevention activities than to a structural transformation in anti-doping education in elite sport schools. Moreover, while students who did receive additional education in the form of the NDPP"booster sessions" had significantly more knowledge about doping than students who did not receive such education, this difference was only small and may not translate to actual behavior.
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Realmuto, Lindsey; Kamler, Alexandra; Weiss, Linda; Gary-Webb, Tiffany L; Hodge, Michael E; Pagán, José A; Walker, Elizabeth A
2018-07-01
The National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) has been effectively translated to various community and clinical settings; however, regardless of setting, enrollment among men and lower-income populations is low. This study presents participant perspectives on Power Up for Health, a novel NDPP pilot adaption for men residing in low-income communities in New York City. We conducted nine interviews and one focus group with seven participants after the program ended. Interview and focus group participants had positive perceptions of the program and described the all-male aspect of the program and its reliance on male coaches as major strengths. Men felt the all-male adaptation allowed for more open, in-depth conversations on eating habits, weight loss, body image, and masculinity. Participants also reported increased knowledge and changes to their dietary and physical activity habits. Recommendations for improving the program included making the sessions more interactive by, for example, adding exercise or healthy cooking demonstrations. Overall, findings from the pilot suggest this NDPP adaptation was acceptable to men and facilitated behavior change and unique discussions that would likely not have occurred in a mixed-gender NDPP implementation.
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Velter, A; Saboni, L; Sommen, C; Bernillon, P; Bajos, N; Semaille, C
2015-04-09
To better understand the diversity of practices and behaviours to prevent HIV with casual partners, data from a large convenience sample of men who have sex with men (MSM) in France were categorised into different prevention profiles: no anal intercourse, consistent condom use during anal intercourse, risk-reduction practices (serosorting, seropositioning) and no discernible prevention practice (NDPP). Categories were applied to HIV-positive respondents with controlled (CI; n=672) and uncontrolled infection (UI; n=596), HIV-negative (n=4,734) and untested respondents (n=663). Consistent condom use was reported by 22% (n=148) of HIV-positive-CI respondents, 13% (n=79) of HIV-positives UI, 55% (2,603) of HIV-negatives, and 50% (n=329) of untested (p<0.001). Corresponding figures for NDPP were 45% (n=304), 55% (n=327), 21% (n=984) and 34% (n=227) (p<0.001). Logistic regressions showed that, regardless of respondents' serostatus, NDPP was associated with regularly frequenting dating websites, drug use, exposure to sperm during oral sex, and with HIV diagnosis after 2000 for HIV-positive respondents (CI and UI), with age <30 years for HIV-positive-CI, and with low education for HIV-negatives. Risk-taking remains high, despite implementation of risk-reduction practices. A global health approach should be central to prevention programmes for MSM, to include target behavioural intervention, promotion of condom use, and encouragement of regular HIV testing and early initiation of ART.
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Chen, Fang; Su, Wenqing; Becker, Shawn H; Payne, Mike; Castro Sweet, Cynthia M; Peters, Anne L; Dall, Timothy M
2016-01-01
Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease impose substantial clinical and economic burdens for seniors (age 65 and above) and the Medicare program. Intensive Behavioral Counseling (IBC) interventions like the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP), have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing excess body weight and lowering or delaying morbidity onset. This paper estimated the potential health implications and medical savings of a digital version of IBC modeled after the NDPP. Participants in this digital IBC intervention, the Omada program, include 1,121 overweight or obese seniors with additional risk factors for diabetes or heart disease. Weight changes were objectively measured via participant use of a networked weight scale. Participants averaged 6.8% reduction in body weight within 26 weeks, and 89% of participants completed 9 or more of the 16 core phase lessons. We used a Markov-based microsimulation model to simulate the impact of weight loss on future health states and medical expenditures over 10 years. Cumulative per capita medical expenditure savings over 3, 5 and 10 years ranged from $1,720 to 1,770 (3 years), $3,840 to $4,240 (5 years) and $11,550 to $14,200 (10 years). The range reflects assumptions of weight re-gain similar to that seen in the DPP clinical trial (lower bound) or minimal weight re-gain aligned with age-adjusted national averages (upper bound). The estimated net economic benefit after IBC costs is $10,250 to $12,840 cumulative over 10 years. Simulation outcomes suggest reduced incidence of diabetes by 27-41% for participants with prediabetes, and stroke by approximately 15% over 5 years. A digital, remotely-delivered IBC program can help seniors at risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease achieve significant weight loss, reduces risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and achieve meaningful medical cost savings. These findings affirm recommendations for IBC coverage by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
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Application of liposomal technologies for delivery of platinum analogs in oncology
Liu, Demin; He, Chunbai; Wang, Andrew Z; Lin, Wenbin
2013-01-01
Platinum-based chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, oxaliplatin, and carboplatin, is one of the most widely utilized classes of cancer therapeutics. While highly effective, the clinical applications of platinum-based drugs are limited by their toxicity profiles as well as suboptimal pharmacokinetic properties. Therefore, one of the key research areas in oncology has been to develop novel platinum analog drugs and engineer new platinum drug formulations to improve the therapeutic ratio further. Such efforts have led to the development of platinum analogs including nedaplatin, heptaplatin, and lobaplatin. Moreover, reformulating platinum drugs using liposomes has resulted in the development of L-NDPP (Aroplatin™), SPI-77, Lipoplatin™, Lipoxal™, and LiPlaCis®. Liposomes possess several attractive biological activities, including biocompatibility, high drug loading, and improved pharmacokinetics, that are well suited for platinum drug delivery. In this review, we discuss the various platinum drugs and their delivery using liposome-based drug delivery vehicles. We compare and contrast the different liposome platforms as well as speculate on the future of platinum drug delivery research. PMID:24023517
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Subramanian, Kritika; Midha, Inuka; Chellapilla, Vijaya
2017-01-01
Theoretically, identifying prediabetics would reduce the diabetic burden on the American healthcare system. As we expect the prevalence rate of prediabetes to continue increasing, we wonder if there is a better way of managing prediabetics and reducing the economic cost on the healthcare system. To do so, understanding the demographics and behavioral factors of known prediabetics was important. For this purpose, responses of prediabetic/borderline diabetes patients from the most recent publicly available 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey were analyzed. The findings showed that there was a correlation between household income, geographic residence in the US, and risk for developing diabetes mellitus type 2, aside from the accepted risk factors such as high BMI. In conclusion, implementation of the National Diabetes Prevention Program is a rational way of reducing the burden of DM on the healthcare system both economically and by prevalence. However, difficulties arise in ensuring patient compliance to the program and providing access to all regions and communities of the United States. Technology incorporation in the NDPP program would maintain a low-cost implementation by the healthcare system, be affordable and accessible for all participants, and decrease economic burden attributed to diabetes mellitus.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Nelson, Adam
Multi-group scattering moment matrices are critical to the solution of the multi-group form of the neutron transport equation, as they are responsible for describing the change in direction and energy of neutrons. These matrices, however, are difficult to correctly calculate from the measured nuclear data with both deterministic and stochastic methods. Calculating these parameters when using deterministic methods requires a set of assumptions which do not hold true in all conditions. These quantities can be calculated accurately with stochastic methods, however doing so is computationally expensive due to the poor efficiency of tallying scattering moment matrices. This work presents an improved method of obtaining multi-group scattering moment matrices from a Monte Carlo neutron transport code. This improved method of tallying the scattering moment matrices is based on recognizing that all of the outgoing particle information is known a priori and can be taken advantage of to increase the tallying efficiency (therefore reducing the uncertainty) of the stochastically integrated tallies. In this scheme, the complete outgoing probability distribution is tallied, supplying every one of the scattering moment matrices elements with its share of data. In addition to reducing the uncertainty, this method allows for the use of a track-length estimation process potentially offering even further improvement to the tallying efficiency. Unfortunately, to produce the needed distributions, the probability functions themselves must undergo an integration over the outgoing energy and scattering angle dimensions. This integration is too costly to perform during the Monte Carlo simulation itself and therefore must be performed in advance by way of a pre-processing code. The new method increases the information obtained from tally events and therefore has a significantly higher efficiency than the currently used techniques. The improved method has been implemented in a code system containing a new pre-processor code, NDPP, and a Monte Carlo neutron transport code, OpenMC. This method is then tested in a pin cell problem and a larger problem designed to accentuate the importance of scattering moment matrices. These tests show that accuracy was retained while the figure-of-merit for generating scattering moment matrices and fission energy spectra was significantly improved.