The infrared stretching frequencies of linear-bonded carbon monoxide on face, edge and corner atoms have been identified with four platinum catalysts. The metal particles were supported on different absorbentia and each having a different average particle size, ranging from about 10 to 200 Å. The $$\tilde v_{CO}$$ values of the various absorption bands correlate linearly with the number of nearest neighbours of the different surface sites (n in C_n). Effects of an interaction between Pt clusters and support on the linear-CO stretching frequency have not been observed. This empirical correlation between $$\tilde v_{CO}$$ and C_n, and the advantages ofin situ Diffuse Reflectance Fourier transform Infrared Spectroscopy in combination with derivative spectrometry opens the possibility to monitor the dispersity of supported platinum in a simple and relatively quick way.

A convenient method is proposed for the synthesis of methyl 1,6-dideoxy-β-D-arabino-, 3,6-dideoxy-β-D-ribo-, and 4,6,dideoxy-β-D-xylo-hexopyranosides by the partial deoxygenation of methyl β-D-quinovopyranoside followed by liquid chromatography of the dideoxysugars.

Once-a-month injectable microspheres of leuprolide acetate prepared with copoly(DL-lactic/glycolic acid) using an in-water drying method were assessed for duration of the analogue release and pharmacological effects in rats after a single or repeated injection. The periodic challenge test revealed that a single injection of the microspheres caused a dramatic and persistent suppression of the ability of the pituitary–gonadal system to secrete gonadotropin and testosterone for over 5 weeks. The complete recovery of these functions was observed 10 weeks after the injection. The repeated injection of the microspheres at intervals of 2 or 4 weeks achieved persistent suppression of steroidogenesis after an initial transient flare-up and beneficially avoided the “acute-on-chronic response.” This depot formulation is expected to assure patient compliance and produce stronger therapeutic effects than the daily solution.

A century ago, an English psychiatrist, Henry Maudsley, wrote of the complexity of somatic and psychic connections in these terms: ‘The sorrow that has no vent in tears makes other organs weep’. Fritz Zorn, the author of a literary work, the novel Mars, published in 1977, shared this intuition: a young man from Swiss upper middle class society, Mars, develops a malignant tumour. This discovery throws his life into turmoil and he says, ‘The tumour represents hidden tears’. This brief chapter discusses four propositions: I — that psychic state is a clear component of immunological well-being; II — that stress, anxiety and depression modify cellular and humoral immunological defences; III — that neurotransmitters, neurohormones or cellular lymphokines play a major role in regulating immunological self; IV — that psychotropic drugs may modify some aspects of immunity. Scientific proof for defending these assertions differs considerably; few seem firmly verified, while many are under discussion. The expression of immunological ecology refers to biopsychosocial interactions and rules out any hypothesis of linear causality. Several thousand million cells, more than the cerebral nervous system contains, form the immunological network. Immunological cell specialization, competence and relations with other systems of the organism are numerous.

Summary

In spite of the vast amount of data generated during the new drug development process, much remains to be learned about the pharmacokinetics of a drug once it is released on the market. The ethical and logistical problems which arise during an experimental pharmacokinetic study frequently prevent the study of elderly, pediatric, or critically ill patients. The recognition of these limitations by scientists and regulators have prompted a desire to extract the maximum amount of information from data available during Phase III and Phase IV clinical trials and, in addition, to use information generated during the routine clinical care of patients. Mixed effect model analysis allows one to overcome the problems of analyzing observational data to obtain accurate and precise estimates of population pharmacokinetic parameters. Use of this approach expands the methodologies available to the data analyst and opens up a number of data sources which can now be considered for analysis.

Thin films of silica-alumina were prepared by argon ion beam sputter deposition on gold foil using different HY-zeolites as targets. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results on thin films (< 10 nm) revealed that the Si/Al ratio in the films initially decreases with deposition time, but later becomes very similar to that of the target zeolite. Similarly, the position of O 1s, Al 2p, Si 2p peaks converged to the binding energies for zeolite target used. Based on the line shape of the O KVV Auger transition, we find that there is no segregation of silica and alumina in the films. By scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and scanning Auger electron spectroscopy (SAE) the thin films appear homogeneous. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results on thicker films (∼ 1 μm) indicate that the silica-alumina layers are amorphous.

To test the catalytic activity cumene cracking was performed in a glass reactor. The sputter deposited thin silica-alumina films were active in cumene cracking at 573 K but at least a total of 20 cm² macroscopic surface area was needed to easily distinguish the activity of the film from the background activity. Similar thin films prepared from alumina or silica or the a mixture of the two were inactive. Thus, the sputtered thin film retains some chemical memory of the target.