Continuous monitoring of API content, API distribution and crushing strength after tableting via near-infrared chemical imaging.

Near-infrared chemical imaging (NIR-CI) with high-speed cameras based on the push-broom acquisition principle is a rapidly-evolving and can be used for a variety of purposes, from classification (and sorting) of products to mapping spatial distribution of materials. The present study examined if NIR-CI is suitable for tablet manufacturing. To that end, the tablets were introduced into the CI system via a flat belt conveyor. A formulation, which consisted of 4wt.%-6wt.% caffeine, 5wt.% crospovidone as a disintegrant, 88wt.%-90wt.% lactose as a filler and 1wt.% magnesium stearate as a lubricator, was tableted at compression forces ranging from 5kN to 30kN. The intra- and inter-tablet homogeneity of caffeine and the tablet's hardness were analyzed via NIR-CI. For the homogeneity evaluation, two methods were applied: standard deviation (SD) and distributional homogeneity index (DHI). The results showed that the SD of caffeine in a single tablet increased with an increase in the caffeine content. This was attributed to natural variations in a binary mixture of caffeine and excipients. Overall, the chosen NIR-CI setup has strong potential to be transferred to the production scale to monitor all tablets in a production stream.

Psychological management of pain.

PURPOSE: In this article an overview is given on the attempts of understanding and treating chronic pain from the psychodynamic view and the perspective of behavioural medicine. ISSUE: Pain cannot be reliably measured. Assessment of pain depends on verbal description, nonverbal expressions, specific tests and our empathy. From this perspective pain is a matter of subjective experience and communication. Several phenomena (e.g. phantom limb pain, stress analgesia, the pain-relieving effects of relaxation, hypnosis, placebo, etc., pain in spite of a non-existing injury) obviously show that psychological factors like distraction, relaxation, fear, depression, former pain experiences as well as family and cultural influences modulate the way pain is experienced. Different parts of the CNS are involved in the modulation of pain-experience. Referring to cognitive and emotional processes, the importance of the the neocortex and and the limbic system are to be underlined. CONCLUSION: Chronic pain (as a category of ICD-10) presupposes a continuous, torturing pain, which sometimes even cannot be explained sufficiently by an organic damage. Psychosocial problems such as emotional conflicts, misleading thoughts, etc. are recognizable and can be brought into connection with the pain the patient experiences.

Coping with amputation and phantom limb pain.

Phantom limb pain is a common, distressing phenomenon that can occur after the amputation or denervation of a part of the body. No conclusive etiological models or theories have emerged, although the problem was identified some time ago. This empirical-diagnostic study deals with correlations between coping with limb loss, body image, and the occurrence of phantom limb pain. It is based on Melzack's concept of a neuromatrix. Coping strategies were evaluated using semistructured interviews and analysis of patients' drawings of their body images. The results of the study, based on 43 amputees, show a significant association between coping strategies and pain. Patients who cope better with the loss suffer less from phantom limb pain. A difference can also be noted in subjective representation of the body image: patients suffering from phantom limb pain tend to have an image of their bodies as a complete and undamaged entity.