Strata method

Coal seam and surrounding strata Method of working Ventilation system and air flow rate Timbering... 

The homogenizing effect obtained with a trough type blending bed is generally better than that obtained with a blending stockpile built up by the strata method. Both systems are to be rated as very efficient, however... 

Good homogenizing or blending effects are also attained with the strata method and side-acting scraper reclaimers. 

Raith and Neubert [57] have developed a method for the profihng of human stratum comeum ceramides. The method enables the investigation of the role of ceramides in maintaining the barrier function of stratum comeum. TLC using automated multiple development was modified for semipreparative purposes. The fractionation of complex lipid extracts using this method ensured specific, sensitive, and... 

Given the overwhelming influence of the physical properties of skin in determining bioavailabilities via the dermal route, assessment of dermal penetration is one area in metabolism and toxicology where in vitro methods can be effectively used to predict in vivo results and to screen chemicals. Apparatus and equipment exist that one can use to maintain sections of skin (obtained from euthanized animals or from human cadavers or surgical discard) for such experiments (Holland et al., 1984). These apparatus are set up to maintain the metabolic integrity of the skin sample between two reservoirs the one on the stratum comeum side, called the application reservoir and the one on the subcutaneous side, called the receptor reservoir. One simply places radiolabeled test material in the application reservoir and collects samples from the receptor fluid at various time points. 

Skin tape stripping can be used to determine the concentration of chemical in the stratum comeum at the end of a short application period (30 min) and by linear extrapolation predict the percutaneous absorption of that chemical for longer application periods. The chemical is applied to skin of animals or humans, and after a 30-minute skin contact application time, the stratum comeum is blotted and then removed by successive tape applications. The tape strippings are assayed for chemical content. There is a linear relationship between this stratum comeum reservoir content and percutaneous absorption. The major advantages of this method are (1) the elimination of urinary and fecal excretion to determine absorption and (2) the applicability to nonradiolabeled determination of percutaneous absorption, because the skin strippings contain adequate chemical concentrations for nonlabeled assay methodology. 

Drug levels within the stratum corneum can be assessed by sampling single corneocyte layers with adhesive film. The drug is then extracted from the tape-strips and quantified by a suitable analytical method. Usually, scintillation counting (for radioactive compounds) or high performance liquid... 

In the following section, methods of assessing the thickness of stratum corneum removed per tape are summarized. 

A standard Lowry-based protein assay has been adjusted to the special conditions encountered with skin [126], Basically, proteins reduce an alkaline solution of Cu(II)-tartrate to Cu(I) in a concentration-dependent manner. Then, the formation of a blue complex between Folin-Ciocalteau reagent (a solution of complex polymeric ions formed from phosphomolybdic and phosphotungstic heteropoly acids) and Cu(I) can be measured spectrophotometrically at 750 nm. A calibration curve can be obtained by dissolving known amounts of stratum corneum in 1 M sodium hydroxide. A piece of tape that has not been in contact with skin is subjected to an identical procedure and serves as negative control. The method was recently adapted to a 96-well plate format, notably reducing analysis times [129],... 

F. Dreher, A. Arens, J. J. Hostynek, S. Mudumba, J. Ademola, and H. I. Maibach. Colorimetric method for quantifying human stratum corneum removed by adhcsivc-tapc-stripping. Ada Derm. Venereol. 78 186-189 (1998). 

Because of the possible effects of active and carrier-mediated processes and metabolic biotransformation, the issue of tissue viability is important for in vitro buccal mucosal experiments. The barrier nature of the buccal mucosa resides in the upper layers of the epithelium, where unlike in the stratum corneum, the cells contain a variety of functional organelles [119, 122, 125, 150], and so tissue viability may be an important component of the barrier function of the tissue. Various methods have been employed to assess the viability of excised buccal mucosa, including measurement of biochemical markers, microscopic methods, and linearity of transport data [42], While biochemical methods, including measurement of adenosine 5 -triphosphate (ATP) levels and utilization of glucose, provide information on the metabolic activity of the tissue, this does not necessarily relate to the barrier function of the tissue. In excised rabbit buccal mucosa, levels of ATP were measured and found to decline by 40% in 6 h, and this correlated well with transmission electron microscopic evaluation of the tissue (intact superficial cells) [32], In addition, the permeability of a model peptide was unaltered up to 6 h postmortem, but at 8 h, a significant change in permeability was observed [32], These investigators therefore claimed that excised rabbit buccal mucosa could be used for diffusion studies for 6 h. 

While Heisig et al. solved the diffusion equation numerically using a finite volume method and thus from a macroscopic point of view, Frasch took a mesoscopic approach the diffusion of single molecules was simulated using a random walk [69], A limited number of molecules were allowed moving in a two-dimensional biphasic representation of the stratum corneum. The positions of the molecules were changed with each time step by adding a random number to each of the molecule s coordinates. The displacement was related... 

Dynamic randomisation - minimisation When there are a large number of prognostic variables to account for, it may be practically difficult to implement a fully stratified randomisation scheme. The reason being that with a large number of factors there are even more individual stratum combinations and therefore there will be very few patients in many of the combinations. In such circumstances the method of dynamic allocation, or minimisation, has been recommended. 

The most important deposits of sulphur in the world arc those of Louisiana and Texas, U.S.A., where //. Franck s method of extraction is followed.2 This obviates the formation of sulphur dioxide and at the same time yields a product of such a degree of purity (in some wells as high as 99-9 per cent.) as to be suitable in most cases for direct use. A boring is made in the earth down to the sulphur stratum so that a continuous pipe can pass thence to the surface the pipe consists of throe concentric tubes (see lig. 1). Superheated water, c.g. at 150" is forced down the annular spaces A, A, between the outer tubes, in order to melt the sulphur in the neighbourhood of the cud of the boring. A blast of heated air down the inmost tube, II, then causes the molten sulphur to be carried up between the two inner tubes to the surface, where it is collected.3... 

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