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The most potent mycotoxin, aflatoxins are the secondary metabolite produced by fungi, especially Aspergillus, and have been found to be ubiquitous, contaminating cereals, crops, and even milk and causing major health and economic issues in some countries due to poor storage, substandard management, and lack of awareness. Different aspects of the toxin are reviewed here, including its structural biochemistry, occurrence, factors conducive to its contamination and intoxication and related clinical features, as well as suggested preventive and control strategies and detection methods.

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Cross-ply composite specimens of metal matrix (SCS-6/Ti-6-4 [90/0] s ) and polymer matrix (graphite/epoxy AS4/3502 [0/90] s ) were subjected to tensile fatigue tests to induce stiffness degradaton. Extensional plate wave velocities in the 0, 45, and 90 • directions, together with the quasi-shear wave velocity in the 90 • direction, were used to characterize the degradation of the stiffness constants of each specimen during fatigue. The laminate stiffness constants in the xand y-directions (E x , E y ) and the shear modulus (G xy ) were determined. The laminate stiffness, E x , was also monitored through direct measurement by using an extensometer during fatigue loading. The trend in the stiffness degradation of the titanium matrix composite was identical in both measurement techniques, but the stiffness values calculated from the extensional velocity measurements were higher than those obtained from the extensometer. This discrepancy was shown to be due to microcrack closure during wave velocity measurements when the tensile stress was removed from the specimen. The graphite/epoxy specimens appeared to suffer only a small reduction in their stiffness.

Drug delivery research extensively studies methods to transport proteins, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), genes, antibodies, and vaccines efficiently and safely to human bodies in recent years. This review comprehensively covers the developments in microneedle-based drug delivery, their configurations, design, fabrication, and operation. The factors surrounding the mechanical strength of microneedle-based transdermal patches (MNTP’s) have also been reviewed. MNTP’s can eliminate limitations of conventional drug delivery systems. Microneedle-based transdermal delivery approach will offer a self-management, patient-friendly, and efficient administration route for drug delivery.

Cyclooxygenase (COX) is a key enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway leading to the formation of prostaglandins, which are the mediators of inflammation. This enzyme exists mainly in two isoforms, COX1 and COX2. Prostaglandins responsible for the inflammatory process could be sufficiently controlled with the conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These drugs, however, had adverse gastrointestinal side-effects and, therefore, drugs that selectively inhibit COX2, such as the coxibs, were developed. Recent reports on the harmful cardiovascular and renal side-effects of the conventional NSAIDs as well as the COX2 selective inhibitors valdecoxib and rofecoxib have once again led to the quest for a novel class of COX2 selective inhibitors. Keeping this in mind, we have used the available X-ray crystal structures of the complexes of COX1 and COX2 with the known inhibitors to carry out a structure-based, rational, molecular modeling approach to design a small peptide inhibitor, which is both potent and selective for COX2. Docking studies using SYBYL 6.81 (Tripos, Inc.) and AutoDock 3.0, indicate that the designed peptides inhibit COX2 with potency in the nanomolar range. Furthermore, it is found to be a million-fold selective for COX2 as compared with COX1. Thus, the small peptide inhibitor is a suitable lead compound for the design of a new class of anti-inflammatory drugs.

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