Identification and characterization of stress degradation products of ibrutinib by LC-UV/PDA and LC-Q/TOF-MS studies.

The anticancer drug ibrutinib was subjected to stress degradation studies under the ICH-prescribed hydrolytic, photolytic, oxidative and thermal stress conditions, and its degradation behavior was studied. A significant degradation was noted for the drug under acidic/alkaline hydrolytic, acid/alkaline photolytic, and oxidative conditions. The UPLC-UV/PDA studies revealed the generation of six degradation products (I-VI), and these were adequately resolved from the drug under the developed chromatographic conditions over a Kinetex® C18 (100 mm×4.6 mm; 2.6 µm) column employing isocratic elution method. Detection wavelength was selected as 289 nm. The UPLC-UV/PDA method conditions were extrapolated to UPLC-MS/TOF studies. All the six degradation products were found to be ionized in the total ion chromatogram, and the products could be identified and characterized from their mass spectral data. The possible degradation route of ibrutinib leading to generation of various products was also postulated.

The face behind the Covid-19 mask - A comprehensive review.

The threat of epidemic outbreaks like SARS-CoV-2 is growing owing to the exponential growth of the global population and the continual increase in human mobility. Personal protection against viral infections was enforced using ambient air filters, face masks, and other respiratory protective equipment. Available facemasks feature considerable variation in efficacy, materials usage and characteristic properties. Despite their widespread use and importance, face masks pose major potential threats due to the uncontrolled manufacture and disposal techniques. Improper solid waste management enables viral propagation and increases the volume of associated biomedical waste at an alarming rate. Polymers used in single-use face masks include a spectrum of chemical constituents: plasticisers and flame retardants leading to health-related issues over time. Despite ample research in this field, the efficacy of personal protective equipment and its impact post-disposal is yet to be explored satisfactorily. The following review assimilates information on the different forms of personal protective equipment currently in use. Proper waste management techniques pertaining to such special wastes have also been discussed. The study features a holistic overview of innovations made in face masks and their corresponding impact on human health and environment. Strategies with SDG3 and SDG12, outlining safe and proper disposal of solid waste, have also been discussed. Furthermore, employing the CFD paradigm, a 3D model of a face mask was created based on fluid flow during breathing techniques. Lastly, the review concludes with possible future advancements and promising research avenues in personal protective equipment.

Gender discrimination in health-care expenditure: An analysis across the age-groups with special focus on the elderly.

This study aims to understand how much of the gender gap in hospitalization expenditure is explained by different socio-economic, demographic and health-care related factors across the age-groups with a particular focus on the elderly. The unexplained part of the gap (the coefficient effect) is assumed to arise purely due to gender bias. Gender inequality in health-care expenses has been well-documented particularly in case of developing countries and also for India separately. The current study contributes to the existing knowledge by analyzing the gender gap across the age-groups and by bringing to notice how the severity of gender disparity and the importance of different determinants vary across the age-groups. Using the 71st Social Consumption: Health Survey of NSSO, conducted during January to June in 2014, the study finds that on overall the coefficient effect comprises around 50% of the total gender gap, indicating large gender bias in hospitalization expenses. Also a large part of the endowment effect (the explained part) is suggestive of an implicit form of gender discrimination as the differences in choices between men and women influencing hospitalization expenses like the choice between public and private health-care providers, whether to avail of services like x-ray, diagnostic tests or not, indicate that women health-care needs are often put on the lower end of the priority list of households. The gender gap and also both the implicit and explicit forms of gender discrimination are found to be highest among the elderly. Unlike few other age-groups, where the ailment pattern explains a lot of the gender gap, ailment patterns are similar for the elderly men and women. Apart from education level and the implicit form of gender discrimination accounting for a large part, the multivariate analysis suggests marital status to be a significant explaining factor for the gender gap among the elderly. Among the elderly, more women suffering from widowhood leads to economic deprivation being reflected in less hospitalization expenses as compared to men and explains the gender gap significantly.