Importance of education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Importance of education - Research Paper Example According to Dewey, â€Å"all the differences between peoples and between classes and persons among the same people were said to be due to differences of training, of exercise, and practice (81).† This is the reason he stressed that the essential identity of mind â€Å"means the essential equality of all and the possibility of bringing them all to the same level (81)† While there are flaws to this reasoning because of the practical unlimited power and exclusivity ascribed to it as an equalizer, it underscores the point that education provides dignity to man because it empowers him in the areas of discernment, judgment, memory, and skill, among other intellectual activities. Education, here, provides the foundation and the resources for man to develop to his utmost potential. This is best illustrated by the analogy of Murray and Bentley (1827) when they said that the human soul is akin to a marble in a quarry without education: â€Å"Education, after the same manner, wh en it works upon a noble mind, draws out every latent virtue and perfection (40)† On a more pragmatic front, education is credited to allow people economic success. Although getting an education by itself does not guarantee financial rewards, the growing complexity of tasks in manufacturing and other industries may have become a more important element in determining the career and earnings paths of individuals† in the modern world (Levy and Michel 109). One can probably see this in the more contemporary experience wherein the more educated sector are less likely to feel the brunt and pressures of the lackluster economic performance in America and elsewhere. â€Å"It is the less educated young who will see the greatest declines in their economic status as a result of these [economic] trends (109)† Education provides the tools, resources and a little, too, of prestige that allows to be the preferred individuals to play the roles in the economic

A Winning Political Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A Winning Political Strategy - Essay Example A Winning Political Strategy The Progressive Socialists (PS) is the main party that will ultimately win the elections but it can only win the elections through a coalition with the Conservatives of Urbania (CU). The Progressive Socialists (PS) Party’s ideology is on reformed communism whereas the ideology for the Conservatives of Urbania (CU) is conservative. These two ideologies when brought together and blended well will automatically win the elections with a landslide. Information states that the votes swing to the left meaning that the Progressive Socialists Party is in a better position to form a coalition with the Conservatives of Urbania Party (Barbara and Robert 19). The Progressive Socialists have an exceptionally strong winning point on the ideal tax rate, which is to keep the tax rates as low as possible as compared to the other parties. This is a strong campaign point since the majority of the Urbanians will be able to enjoy extra savings after taxation. This is ideal for the economy since it will spur growth and individual investments will increase. Naturally, people are attracted to parties that will ensure that they will tax them minimal tax, which is an advantage to the Progressive Socialists Party. The ideological type of the Progressive Socialists Party also is particularly strong considering the concept that they have in regard to being reformed communist. (Palombara and Weiner 7). Currently in the world, there is a humungous concept that capitalism is not working. This is evident from the recent recession that happened just recently and currently what is happening in Europe. Europe is experiencing the Euro Crisis due to the capitalist ’s ideology and therefore the reformed communist ideology is decidedly much ideal. The Conservatives of Urbania (CU) Party ideology is on conservative. This means that a combination of both ideologies, which are, reformed communist and conservative will be a strong alliance when both parties merge for a coalition. The origin of political parties and the circumstances under which parties first arise is paramount. This means that in a developing political system, the party’s initial tone and configuration have a significant effect on the kind of parties that subsequently emerge (Palombara and Weiner 7). This coalition will be an externally created party meaning that the parties will merge outside the legislature and invariably involve some challenges to the ruling group and a demand for representation. The stakes are too high for both parties to have the majority votes, which in turn, will lead to majority representation. A ruling coalition requires a majority representa tion in order to ensure that the ruling governments’ agendas are pushed forward for effect legislation. This will also ensure that the opposition does not sabotage the ruling party’s operations (Palombara and Weiner 10). The purpose of the coalition between the Progressive Socialists (PS) Party and the Conservatives of Urbania (CU) Party would be to build grassroots organizations that would ensure a win. Since both parties ideologies can be harmonized together, both parties will have a common vision during the campaigns. This will ensure that the coalition parties exist with the organization and structure leading to a visionary direction and leadership. The key strategy here is to ensure that the partners have a feeling of them being partners rather than feeling part of the campaign (Palombara and We

Operations Management Case Analysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operations Management Case Analysis - Term Paper Example The revised approach as devised by Master Tag is beneficial, since it will entail supplying the labels directly to the plant growers. The labels will be supplied in two batches, with one batch supplied earlier, and the second batch supplied later, depending on the amount of produce that the plant growers will have obtained during any particular season (Foster, 697). This being the case, the revised plan will ensure that Master Tag does not produce labels beyond the requirements of the plants growers at any particular season, since the production will be based on the quantity of produce that the plants growers have produced in that season. The plan is also beneficial because, the production of the labels will be occurring in two batches, ensuring that the plant growers will not experience any shortages of the labels, since they will already be having the first batch, as they wait for the second batch to be delivered (Foster, 697). This improves the system of communication between the company and the users of the labels, ensuring that the company produces the exact amount of labels, which the plant growers will need to use. This way, the revised plan will have guarded against over or under production of the labels, ensuring that the customers are fully satisfied. 2. Mster Tag has not yet decided to implement this plan. List the pros and cons you think should be considered. The pros that should be considered while introducing the plan include: Direct produce to consumer interaction This is the first benefit that this revised plan will introduce, since it will pave way for the producer, in this case Master Tag, to interact directly with the consumers, who in this case are the plant growers. The improved producer to consumer relationship is a vital concept of business, since it establishes an avenue through which the producer and the consumer will address all the issue involving their business, thus improve their understanding, while also fostering loyalty and goodw ill (Sharp, 43). Direct producer to consumer relationships also fosters the process of innovation, since the producer will understand better the needs of the consumers, and therefore tailor made their products towards directly satisfying the unique needs of the consumers (Sharp, 45). This is contrary to the earlier plan, where the labels were first supplied to the seed companies, who in turn supplied them to the consumers. This is because, the producer would only depend on the information from the seed companies, thus may fail to meet the unique needs of each and every of the consumers, owing to the fact that the seed companies would order universal labels, while different plant growers would want the labels specifically made for them. Reduced price possibilities Secondly, the revised plan is advantageous to the company and to the plant growers, since it would enable a reduction in the price of the labels, now that they are delivered directly from the producer to the consumer, witho ut being added the costs of the intermediary, in this case, the seed companies (Foster, 698). This plan is a double gain, since it allows the producer to sell directly to the consumer without the inconveniencies of

A Winning Political Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A Winning Political Strategy - Essay Example A Winning Political Strategy The Progressive Socialists (PS) is the main party that will ultimately win the elections but it can only win the elections through a coalition with the Conservatives of Urbania (CU). The Progressive Socialists (PS) Party’s ideology is on reformed communism whereas the ideology for the Conservatives of Urbania (CU) is conservative. These two ideologies when brought together and blended well will automatically win the elections with a landslide. Information states that the votes swing to the left meaning that the Progressive Socialists Party is in a better position to form a coalition with the Conservatives of Urbania Party (Barbara and Robert 19). The Progressive Socialists have an exceptionally strong winning point on the ideal tax rate, which is to keep the tax rates as low as possible as compared to the other parties. This is a strong campaign point since the majority of the Urbanians will be able to enjoy extra savings after taxation. This is ideal for the economy since it will spur growth and individual investments will increase. Naturally, people are attracted to parties that will ensure that they will tax them minimal tax, which is an advantage to the Progressive Socialists Party. The ideological type of the Progressive Socialists Party also is particularly strong considering the concept that they have in regard to being reformed communist. (Palombara and Weiner 7). Currently in the world, there is a humungous concept that capitalism is not working. This is evident from the recent recession that happened just recently and currently what is happening in Europe. Europe is experiencing the Euro Crisis due to the capitalist ’s ideology and therefore the reformed communist ideology is decidedly much ideal. The Conservatives of Urbania (CU) Party ideology is on conservative. This means that a combination of both ideologies, which are, reformed communist and conservative will be a strong alliance when both parties merge for a coalition. The origin of political parties and the circumstances under which parties first arise is paramount. This means that in a developing political system, the party’s initial tone and configuration have a significant effect on the kind of parties that subsequently emerge (Palombara and Weiner 7). This coalition will be an externally created party meaning that the parties will merge outside the legislature and invariably involve some challenges to the ruling group and a demand for representation. The stakes are too high for both parties to have the majority votes, which in turn, will lead to majority representation. A ruling coalition requires a majority representa tion in order to ensure that the ruling governments’ agendas are pushed forward for effect legislation. This will also ensure that the opposition does not sabotage the ruling party’s operations (Palombara and Weiner 10). The purpose of the coalition between the Progressive Socialists (PS) Party and the Conservatives of Urbania (CU) Party would be to build grassroots organizations that would ensure a win. Since both parties ideologies can be harmonized together, both parties will have a common vision during the campaigns. This will ensure that the coalition parties exist with the organization and structure leading to a visionary direction and leadership. The key strategy here is to ensure that the partners have a feeling of them being partners rather than feeling part of the campaign (Palombara and We

Explain how the Cold War influenced the American government's decision Essay

Explain how the Cold War influenced the American government's decision to fight in Vietnam - Essay Example However, this time in which the U.S. operates as the only superpower and therefore the world’s dominant force, known as the ‘unipolar moment’ was first, superficial to begin with and second, fleeting. The Soviet Union’s collapse left the U.S. as the lone superpower and it quickly showed a willingness to operate unilaterally when pursuing its interests. â€Å"Those in Washington who believed that superpower status was equal to a unipolar international system justified making decisions without the cumbersome involvement of allies.† (Hogan, 2004 p.2) This unipolar moment was, of course, a myth because a gap has always existed between the U.S.’s military capacity and its capability to control world events to its liking. The U.S. certainly enjoyed and took full political advantage of the widely accepted perception of its unipolar status following the Cold War’s end. It is this perception, this myth that should be examined when attempting to understand the concept of a world superpower and its limitations in an era of globalization. A unipolar world never existed, it was a term made up by observers that only saw the surface effects of the Cold War’s end. The U.S. was also referred to as the first hyperpower by the French but both of these terms are misleading at best and if believed, especially by the U.S., dangerous, as has been shown by the arrogance displayed in the invasion of Iraq. There are other descriptions of the supposed power wielded by the U.S. including ‘leader of the free world’ and ‘indispensable power’ that should be re-thought when defining America’s political position in the world community today. A vast disparity exists between America ’s perceived capacity to wage war and its actual capability to twist events in accordance with its ambitions. The potential military power and technological edge the U.S. has over all other nations

Penn Foster Principles of Management Final Exam Essay Example for Free

Penn Foster Principles of Management Final Exam Essay 1. In order to implement an organizations commitment to social responsibility it is necessary to identify what social problem the organization intends to address, develop policies on what the organization plans to do to successfully fulfill its obligation and ensure stakeholder buy-in. The main obstacles an organization faces when implementing socially responsible policies is pressure from stockholders and business analysis who want steady increase in earnings. Without steady increase in profits, it becomes difficult to reinvest money in these areas. The following actions can be taken toward increased social responsibility: 1. Examine expectations and past responses 2. Set objectives and prioritize 3. Plan and implement strategies 4. Set budgets for resources needed for social action 5. Monitor progress 2. Departmentalization is the practice in which grouping or combining jobs that are related to form a specialized area that is distinct from other areas in an organization. Work or functional departmentalization is a method of separating the activities performed within an organization into groups by the nature or function of the work they perform. For example, functional departmentalization would tend to group together staff members that perform a specialized function in an organization, like accounting. Product departmentalization is the grouping of business activities that are necessary to produce a particular product and/or market a product or service line under the direction of one manager. An example of product departmentalization would be a large multiproduct organization like an automotive distributor. Geographic departmentalization is when organizations are physically isolated to geographical regions. An example of geographical departmentalization is a manufacturing company that has locations in Northern and Southern locations that deal with consumers within their region. Customer departmentalization is when an organization is divided into units that handle specific customer needs. Examples of customer departmentalization in a manufacturing plant are: Assembly, shipping, billing, etc. 3. The acronym SWOT stands for an organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A SWOT analysis is strategic planning method that evaluates the internal and external performance of an organization to see if it’s favorable or unfavorable to achieve whatever objective you are set out to accomplish. Strengths and weaknesses usually arise from the internal aspect of an organization, whereas opportunities and threats evolve from external components. By performing a SWOT analysis it provides information to managers to help formulate a successful strategy to achieve goals. PART B 1. Six Sigma is a management philosophy that sets objectives, collects data and analyzes results as a way to remove wasted expenses from its processes and help reduce the number of defective products produced. Six Sigma uses quality measures to strive for near perfection by eliminating errors and variables. 2. The balance of trade is the point where the difference between exports and imports is favorable for the country. When the country imports more than it exports, it results in a trade deficit and when the country exports more than it imports, the country runs into a trade surplus. The balance of trade for a countries economy is a very fine balance. The economic condition can change and a deficit or surplus may be an ideal situation. 3. In the context of communication, perception is based on the individual that is on the receiving end of the information. Perception is a process in which stimulation of the senses, whether written, verbal or non-verbal, is translated into a meaningf ul experience. Each person perceives the same information differently and they tend to only listens to part of the message before perception distorts the intended message. 4. The term organizational decentralization refers to the increased amount of authority given to lower level management by upper level management. By allowing lower level management to be involved in decision making, it enables actions to happen in a timelier manner and promotes higher employee morale, as well as relieves upper management from time consuming projects. 5. Simon’s theory, principle of bounded rationality as it applies to satisficing can be summarized as a decision making strategy that selects the best alternative rather than continuing to search for the optimal solution to any given situation. 6. In relations to leadership, consideration and initiating structure both contribute positively to staff motivation and satisfaction, as well as, effectiveness. 7. Positive reinforcement is to add a positive outcome as a result of a desired behavior. Negative reinforcement is to give the person the opportunity to avoid a negative consequence by increasing the likelihood that the desired behavior will reoccur. Both are used to increase the frequency of the desired behavior. 8. Planning – The manager sets objectives and decided what needs to be done to meet those goals. Organizing – The manager divides work into manageable activities and selects people to accomplish the task that need to be done. Staffing – The manager determines how many and what kind of staff is needed to meet the organizations goals and then recruits and trains the appropriate people. Leading – The manager motivates and communicates with staff and also directs them towards meeting the organizational goals. Controlling – The manager measures and analyzes the organizations performance, and makes changes if financial standards are not being m et. 9. A manager would use the critical-incident appraisal method for assessing employees’ written record of both satisfactory and unsatisfactory work performances. Performance is documented as it occurs and can aid in preparing performance evaluations to identify strengths and areas that need improvement. 10. Group norm is an informal set of rules a group takes on to regulate group behavior, whereas group cohesiveness is the overall attraction each member has for the group. Group norm example: Employees that work on assembly line #1 at the local factory always sit at the same lunch table and don’t interact with others. Group cohesiveness example: Employees on assembly line #2 have beaten the monthly production record for the 10th month in a row.

Analysis of Drug Delivery Systems

Analysis of Drug Delivery Systems INTRODUTION SECTION 1.1: ORAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM A drug delivery system is defined as a formulation or a device that can be introduce the therapeutic or pharmaceutical substance in to the body and improves the efficacy and safety of substance by controlling the time, rate and place of drug release in the body. Drug delivery system is an interface between the patient and the drug. It may be a formulation of drug to administer it for a therapeutic or medical reason or a device used drug delivery. Oral drug delivery system is most desirable, preferable and suitable route for the administration of therapeutic and pharmaceutical agents for administration. Historically the oral route of drug administration has been the one used most for both conventional as well as the novel drug delivery. The reasons for this preference are obvious because of ease of administration. Oral drug delivery is the most desirable, suitable and preferred method of administering therapeutic agents for their systemic effects. The oral medication is mostly conside red as the first investigation in the development and discovery of new drug molecules and pharmaceutical preparations, mainly because of acceptance by the patients, convenience, and cost effective manufacturing process. For many drug substances conventional immediate release formulations provide clinically and therapeutically effective therapy while maintaining the required level of pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profiles with acceptable level of safety to the patient. Multiple unit dosage forms such as microspheres or micro beads have gained in popularity as oral drug delivery systems because of high uniformity of the drug distribution in the gastrointestinal tract, better drug absorption, minimized local irritation and elimination of unwanted intestinal retention of polymers and other excipients, when compared to non-disintegrating single unit dosage form.2 SECTION 1.2: CONTROLLED DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM A wide variety of newer oral drug delivery systems like sustained/controlled release dosage forms are designed and evaluated in order to overcome the limitations of conventional therapy. These products are able to maintain steady drug plasma levels for extended periods of time as a result the variations of the drug levels in the blood are prevented and minimized drug related side effects.3 The controlled release drug delivery systems are aimed at controlling the rate of drug delivery, sustaining the time period of therapeutic activity and targeting the drug delivery to a tissue. Drug release from these systems should be at a desired rate, predictable and reproducible. Among the various approaches for controlled systems, microencapsulation process and microcapsules have gained good acceptance as a process to achieve controlled release and drug targeting.4 The goal in designing sustained or controlled delivery system is to reduce the frequency of dosing or to increase the effectiveness of the drug by localization at the site action, reducing the dose required, or providing uniform drug delivery.5 Of growing interest generally in the world of oral drug delivery is colon-targeted delivery for treatment of both local and systemic conditions. It is recognised that this region of the Gastrointestinal tract offers advantages over the stomach and small intestine, e.g. milder pH, lower enzymatic activity, lower bile salt concentrations, longer residence time and slower turnover of the mucus layer. For biopharmaceutical delivery, it also appears to offer the benefit of allowing greater functioning of absorption enhancers, thus allowing reasonable bioavailability of drugs such as peptides which would normally be poorly absorbed from the GI tract.6 Controlled release systems are used in the improvement of the effectiveness of drug therapy. These systems modify several parameters of the drug: the release profile and capacity to cross biological carriers (depending on the size of the particle), biodistribution, clearance, and stability (metabolism), among others. In other words, the pharmacokinetics and the pharmacodynamics of the drug are modified by these formulations. Controlled release offers numerous advantages over conventional dosage forms. This approach increases therapeutic activity and decreases side effects, thus reducing the number of drug dosages required during treatment. Controlled release methods offer an appropriate tool for site-specific and time-controlled drug delivery. There are two main situations in which the distribution and time-controlled delivery of a drug can be beneficial- When the natural distribution of the drug causes major side effects due to its interaction with other tissues. When the natural drug distribution does not allow it to reach its molecular site of action due to degradation. Many different kinds of drugs can benefit from distribution or time-controlled delivery, such as anti-inflammatory agents, antibiotics, chemotherapeutic drugs, immunosuppressants, anesthetics and vaccines.7 1.2.1: Advantages of oral controlled release formulations Oral controlled drug delivery has been widely preferred in research because of its large number of benefits over conventional dosage forms, some of which are as follows: The frequency of dosing is less due to drug being released for a longer duration of time than conventional dosage form. This is highly valuable for the patients with chronic disease and illnesses which required to maintaining the plasma concentrations of a drug within the range of therapeutic effects to avoid breakthrough symptoms. The reduction or avoidance of side effects due to high plasma drug concentrations or ‘dose dumping’. Improvement of the patient compliance because of reduced dosing. Better control on the concentration of therapeutic drug in body. Cost effective manufacturing as the amount of dose required per patient would be reduced as compared to its conventional dosage form.8 SECTION 1.3: COATING OF FORMULATION Coating is defined as a process by which dosage form is covered with an essentially dry, outer layer of coating material by applying it on the surface of a formulation or dosage form for specific benefits that broadly ranges from improving product identification to modifying the release of the drug from the formulation. After making a good formulation, one must often coat it for many benefits. There are five reasons for putting such a coating on a pharmaceutical formulation: Protection of active pharmaceutical ingredients, from the acidic environment of the stomach (e.g. enzymes and certain antibiotics). To prevent gastric distress or nausea from a drug due to irritation (e.g. sodium salicylate ). For the delivery of drugs that are optimally absorbed in the small intestine to their primary absorption site in their most concentrated form. To provide a delayed/sustained release of drug substance for repeat action. Required for minimizing first pass metabolism of drugs.19 1.3.1: Coating material The coating material should be capable of forming a film that is cohesive with the materials required for coating, should be chemically compatible with the material and must be non reactive with the core material and provide the desired coating properties such as strength, impermeability, optical properties stability and flexibility. When coating is done by microencapsulation techniques the size of thickness of coating is in microscopic units. A number of different substances both non-biodegradable and biodegradable have been investigated for the formulation of microcapsules. These materials include the polymers of synthetic natural and origin and also modified natural substances. Some of the polymers used in the preparation of the microcapsules are classified and listed. 1.3.2: Ideal properties of an enteric coating material Resistance from the gastric fluids Permeable/Susceptible to the intestinal fluid Should be compatibility with the most components of coating solution and the substrates of the drug Formation of uniform and continuous film Cheap, nontoxic and easy to apply Provide ability in readily printed19 1.3.3: EUDRAGIT S100 Eudragit S100 is anionic copolymers based on methacrylic acid and methyl methacrylate. The IUPAC name of edragit S100 is Poly(methacrylic acid-co-methyl methacrylate). Eudragit S100 contains 30% of methacrylic units and dissolves at pH values higher than 7.0. Eudragit S100 is suitable coating agent for controlled and colon targeted drug delivery system.10 Eudragit S100 is an effective and stable enteric coating agent with fast dissolution in upper bowl. It is generally accepted that pH7 is not normally reached until at least the distal small bowel/ileocaecal region; thus drug release from formulations coated with Eudragit S100 is likely to commence at the junction between the small intestine and colon, continuing into the colon.6 SECTION 1.4: NON-STEROIDAL ANTIINFLAMATORY DRUGS Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are considered to be the first-line drugs in the symptomatic treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondilytis and osteoarthritis. Aceclofenac is one of the emerging NSAID molecules for the treatment of arthritis. Aceclofenac is a new derivative of diclofenac and has less gastrointestinal complications. All drugs grouped in this class have analgesic, antipyretic antiinflammatory action in different measures. They do not depress CNS, do not produce the physical dependence, are weaker analgesics and have no abuse liability. They are more commonly employed and many are over-the-counter drugs.21 1.4.1: ACECLOFENAC Aceclofenac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, widely used in the management of osteoarthritis, ankylosing, rheumatoid arthritis and spondylitis. Usual therapeutic dose is 100 mg twice daily and half life is 3-4 hrs; thus it is necessary to be administered frequently in order to maintain the desired concentration. 1.4.2: MECHANISM OF ACTION Aceclofenac drug acts as non selective inhibitor of cyclooxygenase enzyme(COX). It inhibits both cyclooxygenase-1(COX-1) and cyclooxygense-2 (COX-2) isoenzymes. COX catalyses the formation of prostaglandin and thromboxane from archidonic acid. Prostaglandins act like messenger molecules in the process of pain and inflammation. Aceclofenac also have antipyretic activity and be used in treatment of pyrexiya. The reason of fever is the elevation in the levels of PGE2. Aceclofenac inhibits the biosynthesis of PGE2 within the hypothalamus to reduce the fever. Archidonic acid is precursor substrate for COX which helps to lead the production of prostaglandins F, D and E.22 SECTION 1.5: MICROENCAPSULATION Microencapsulation is a rapidly expanding technology for the preparation of formulatios in which drug is present as core material covered by polymer. As a process, it is a means applying relatively a thin coating to small solid particles or liquids droplets and dispersions. Microencapsulation is arbitrarily differentiated from macro-coating techniques in that the farmer involves the coating of particles is in the range between several tenths of a micron to 5000 microns in size.23 Microencapsulation is process by which thin coating can be applied reproducibly to small solids particles or liquid droplets or dispersions or even gases are encapsulated into micro sonic particles. Particle size range dimensionally from 1 Â µm to 1000 Â µm.9 Particulate drug delivery system are gaining more prominence in recent years because they uniformly distribute in the GIT there by improve the bioavailability of the drugs and also reduces the local irritation. Due to attractive properties and wider applications of microparticles, their application in controlled release formulation is appropriate. Microencapsulation is a rapidly expanding technology. Microencapsulation helps in converting the liquids into the solids, altering colloidal and surface properties of formulation, in providing environmental and external protection and in controlling the release behaviour or availability of coated materials. 1.5.1: Applications of microencapsulation In the development and the design of controlled and sustained release dosage form. Alteration in site of absorption. To mask the taste of bitter drugs. To provide the protection to the core material from atmospheric effects. To minimize gastric and other GIT irritation. In the preparation of free flowing powder formulations from drugs in liquid forms. Stabilization of drugs which are sensitive to moisture, light or oxygen. In the elimination of incompatibilities among drugs. Prevention of volatile drugs from vaporization. Reduction of toxicity. To reduce hygroscopicity. Alteration in site of absorption. 1.5.2: MICROENCAPSULATION BY IONOTROPIC GELATION METHOD Alginates have ability to form gels by reaction with calcium salts. Alginic acid is composed of D-mannuronic acid and L-gluronic acid residues at varying proportions of GG-, MM- and MG- blocks. When suspension of alginate is added drop by drop to the solution of calcium salt, crosslinking takes place between the carboxylate residue of GG- blocks and Ca+2 ions via egg-box model to give a tight gel network structure. This method is called ionotropic gelation method because in this process the anion of alginate and cation of calcium salt (mostly Ca+2ion) crosslinked to form a gel. These gels resemble a solid retaining their shape, resisting stress and consist of almost 100% water. It has been suggested that the cross-links are caused by simple ionic bridging of two carboxyl groups on adjacent polymer chain via calcium ions or by chelating of single calcium ions by hydroxyl and carboxyl groups on each a pair of polymer chains.24 In this method strong spherical beads with a narrow range particle size distribution and lower friability could be prepared. Beads formed by this method have high yield and drug content. The flow properties of micronized of needle like drug crystals can be improved by the help of agglomeration technique as compared to the non-agglomerated drug crystals. The ionic character of the polymers results from pH dependent disintegration of the beads. SECTION 1.6: GEL BEADS Gel beads are defined as spherical structure in which drug is present in the core of beads. Different types of gel beads can be prepared by using various techniques. Gel beads help in the slow dissolution of drug hence slowdown the release of drug, thus results in improvement of bioavailability of drug. 1.6.1: APPLICATIONS GEL BEADS Stomach specific drug delivery using floating alginate gel beads A multiple unit type oral floating dosage form of many drug have been developed in recent years. Drugs like riboflavin, ranitidine, diclofenac sodium were formulated to prolong the gastric residence time and increase bioavailability. Colon targeting Beads of various drugs have been formulated and further coated with enteric polymers for colon targeting. Protein drug delivery In recent years many formulations have been prepared for protein drug molecules for site specific release of protein in the intestine. Microbeads as inoculants and carriers for plant growth-promoting bacteria Beads of various bacteria are developed in recent years to promote the growth of plants. The release of bacteria from the microbeads depends on its type (wet or dry) and the time of incubation (the longer the incubation time, the smaller the extent of bacteria released with time). Enzyme immobilization Enzymes are immobilized by formation ofdehydrated gel beads for use in non-aqueous enzymatic reactions by having an average particle size of 5 to 150 microns.