The Prevalence of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among the Black Asian Ethnic Minority in New South Wales, Australia.

INTRODUCTION: Vaccination provides a cost-effective approach to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. The success of vaccination depends on global preparedness and acceptance of the new vaccines, and this is threatened by vaccine hesitancy worldwide. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, attitudes, and contributing factors in the Black Asian Ethnic Minority (BAME) of New South Wales (NSW), Australia.  Aim: This study aimed to measure the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and identify contributing factors leading to vaccine hesitancy in the Black Asian and Ethnic Minority (BAME) in NSW. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the BAME community in NSW; over 12 weeks, from January 3rd, 2022, to March 28th, 2022. The study used the pre-existing previously known 5Cs model (confidence, constraints, complacency, calculation, and collective responsibility) to assess reasons for hesitancy. The questionnaire was distributed in English using social media platforms: Facebook and WhatsApp. RESULTS: The study received 101 respondents over 18 years from all states in Australia from BAME communities, males and females, with different educational levels, employment sectors, marital statuses, co-existing chronic medical conditions, previous COVID-19 infection status, and COVID-19 vaccine received. Of these, 56 respondents were from NSW. Our findings revealed a high prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the BAME community in NSW, with 72.8% of respondents demonstrating hesitancy/reluctance due to various attitudes identified by the 5Cs model. Despite this high hesitancy, 98.2% of the participants had received at least one to three vaccine doses. CONCLUSION:  Even in populations with high vaccine uptake, it is still essential to address vaccine hesitancy and provide ongoing education about the importance of vaccination, particularly as new variants of COVID-19 continue to emerge and the need for booster shots may arise. This can help ensure continued protection against the virus and prevent future outbreaks.

Temperature Correction of Spectra to Improve Solute Concentration Monitoring by In Situ Ultraviolet and Mid-Infrared Spectrometries toward Isothermal Local Model Performance.

Changes in temperature can significantly affect spectroscopic-based methods for in situ monitoring of processes. As varying temperature is inherent to many processes, associated temperature effects on spectra are unavoidable, which can hinder solute concentration determination. Ultraviolet (UV) and mid-infrared (IR) data were acquired for l-ascorbic acid (LAA) in MeCN/H2O (80:20 w/w) at different concentrations and temperatures. For both techniques, global partial least squares (PLS) models for prediction of LAA concentration constructed without preprocessing of the spectra required a high number of latent variables to account for the effects of temperature on the spectra (root mean square error of cross validation (RMSECV) of 0.18 and 0.16 g/100 g solvent, for UV and IR datasets, respectively). The PLS models constructed on the first derivative spectra required fewer latent variables, yielding variable results in accuracy (RMSECV of 0.23 and 0.06 g/100 g solvent, respectively). Corresponding isothermal local models constructed indicated improved model performance that required fewer latent variables in the absence of temperature effects (RMSECV of 0.01 and 0.04 g/100 g solvent, respectively). Temperature correction of the spectral data via loading space standardization (LSS) enabled the construction of global models using the same number of latent variables as the corresponding local model, which exhibited comparable model performance (RMSECV of 0.06 and 0.04 g/100 g solvent, respectively). The additional chemometric effort required for LSS is justified if prediction of solute concentration is required for in situ monitoring and control of cooling crystallization with an accuracy and precision approaching that attainable using an isothermal local model. However, the model performance with minimal preprocessing may be sufficient, for example, in the early phase development of a cooling crystallization process, where high accuracy is not always required. UV and IR spectrometries were used to determine solubility diagrams for LAA in MeCN/H2O (80:20 w/w), which were found to be accurate compared to those obtained using the traditional techniques of transmittance and gravimetric measurement. For both UV and IR spectrometries, solubility values obtained from models with LSS temperature correction were in better agreement with those determined gravimetrically. In this first example of the application of LSS to UV spectra, significant improvement in the predicted solute concentration is achieved with the additional chemometric effort. There is no extra experimental burden associated with the use of LSS if a structured approach is employed to acquire calibration data that account for both temperature and concentration.

Heat Transfer and Residence Time Distribution in Plug Flow Continuous Oscillatory Baffled Crystallizers.

Heat transfer coefficients in a continuous oscillatory baffled crystallizer (COBC) with a nominal internal diameter of 15 mm have been determined as a function of flow and oscillatory conditions typically used under processing conditions. Residence time distribution measurements show a near-plug flow with high Peclet numbers on the order of 100-1000 s, although there was significant oscillation damping in longer COBC setups. Very rapid heat transfer was found under typical conditions, with overall heat transfer coefficients on the order of 100 s W m-2 K-1. Furthermore, poor mixing in the COBC cooling jacket was observed when lower jacket flow rates were implemented in an attempt to decrease the rate of heat transfer in order to achieve more gradual temperature profile along the crystallizer length. Utilizing the experimentally determined overall heat transfer coefficients, a theoretical case study is presented to investigate the effects of the heat transfer rate on temperature and supersaturation profiles and to highlight potential fouling issues during a continuous plug flow cooling crystallization.

Advanced Continuous Flow Platform for On-Demand Pharmaceutical Manufacturing.

As a demonstration of an alternative to the challenges faced with batch pharmaceutical manufacturing including the large production footprint and lengthy time-scale, we previously reported a refrigerator-sized continuous flow system for the on-demand production of essential medicines. Building on this technology, herein we report a second-generation, reconfigurable and 25 % smaller (by volume) continuous flow pharmaceutical manufacturing platform featuring advances in reaction and purification equipment. Consisting of two compact [0.7 (L)×0.5 (D)×1.3 m (H)] stand-alone units for synthesis and purification/formulation processes, the capabilities of this automated system are demonstrated with the synthesis of nicardipine hydrochloride and the production of concentrated liquid doses of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride, neostigmine methylsulfate and rufinamide that meet US Pharmacopeia standards.

Spray Drying as a Reliable Route to Produce Metastable Carbamazepine Form IV.

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is an active pharmaceutical ingredient used in the treatment of epilepsy that can form at least 5 polymorphic forms. Metastable form IV was originally discovered from crystallization with polymer additives; however, it has not been observed from subsequent solvent-only crystallization efforts. This work reports the reproducible formation of phase pure crystalline form IV by spray drying of methanolic CBZ solution. Characterization of the material was carried out using diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. In situ Raman spectroscopy was used to monitor the spray-dried product during the spray drying process. This work demonstrates that spray drying provides a robust method for the production of form IV CBZ, and the combination of high supersaturation and rapid solid isolation from solution overcomes the apparent limitation of more traditional solution crystallization approaches to produce metastable crystalline forms.

Combining aspects of the platinum anticancer drugs picoplatin and BBR3464 to synthesize a new family of sterically hindered dinuclear complexes; their synthesis, binding kinetics and cytotoxicity.

Picoplatin is a sterically hindered mononuclear platinum drug undergoing clinical trials. The 2-methylpyridine ring provides steric hindrance to the drug, preventing attack from biological nucleophiles. BBR3464 is a trinuclear platinum drug which was recently in Phase II clinical trials, and is highly cytotoxic both in vitro and in vivo; it derives this activity through the flexible adducts it forms with DNA. In this work we sought to combine the properties of both drugs to synthesise a family of sterically hindered, dinuclear platinum complexes as potential anticancer agents. The bis-pyridyl-based ligands were synthesised through a peptide coupling reaction using diaminoalkanes of differing lengths (n = 2, 4 or 8) and 4-carboxypyridine or 2-methyl-4-carboxypyridine. The resultant dinuclear platinum complexes were synthesised by reacting two equivalents of transplatin or mono-aquated transplatin to each ligand, followed by purification by precipitation with acetone. The unprotected complexes react faster with 5'-guanosine monophosphate (drug to nucleotide ratio 1:2; t(1/2) = 2 h), glutathione (1:10, t(1/2) = 55 min) and human serum albumin (HSA) (1:1, t(1/2) = 24 h) compared to their hindered, protected equivalents (5'-guanosine monophosphate, t(1/2) = 3.5 h; glutathione = 1.7 h; HSA, t(1/2) = 110 h). The complexes were tested for in vitro cytotoxicity in the A2780 and A2780/cp70 ovarian cancer cell line. The unprotected platinum complexes were more cytotoxic than their protected derivatives, but none of the complexes were able to overcome resistance. The results provide important proof-of-concept for the development of a larger family of sterically hindered multinuclear-based platinum complexes.

42 salt forms of tyramine: structural comparison and the occurrence of hydrate formation.

The single-crystal diffraction structures of 38 salt forms of the base tyramine (4-hydroxyphenethylamine) are reported for the first time. Together with literature examples, these structures are discussed with respect to cation conformation, cation packing, hydrogen bonding and hydrate formation. It is found that isostructural cation packing can occur even with structurally different anions, with different hydration states and with different hydrogen bonding. Hydrate formation is found to be more likely both (i) when there is an increase in the total number of potential hydrogen bond acceptor and donor atoms; and (ii) when the ratio of potential hydrogen bond donor to acceptor atoms is low.