Introduction: Methadone hydrochloride (MDN) is an effective pharmacological substitution treatment for opioids dependence, adopted in different countries as methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programmes. However, MDN can exacerbate the addiction problem if it is abused and injected intravenously, and the frequent visits to the MMT centres can reduce patient compliance. The overall aim of this study is to develop a novel extended-release capsule of MDN using the sol-gel silica (SGS) technique that has the potential to counteract medication-tampering techniques and associated health risks and reduce the frequent visits to MMT centres. Methods: For MDN recrystallisation, a closed container method (CCM) and hot-stage method (HSM) were conducted, and MDN crystals were characterised using the polarised light microscope (PLM). MDN crystal thickness was determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal microscopy (CM) to establish a relationship between MDN crystals thickness and their birefringence colours using the Michel-Levy Birefringence Colour Chart. The experimental series was continued to produce novel silica-based MDN formulations A and B capsules by adding MDN powder at the end and beginning of the SGS process, respectively. The silica-based MDN formulations were characterised by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), SEM, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), PLM and mean grey value (MGV) analyses. The in vitro release studies (n=3) for the silica-based MDN formulations and pure MDN capsules were conducted in a phosphate buffer solution (pH= 7.2) for 7 days. Stability studies were conducted for 1 month by keeping the silica-based MDN capsules under 25°C and 57% RH. Results: The optimal method to produce large numbers of MDN crystals was the CCM, and MDN crystals were characterised as diamond shaped with an intrinsic angle of 62o. The SEM surpassed the CM in measuring MDN crystal thickness, and Mann-Whitney U Test showed statistically significant differences between SEM and confocal thickness measurements (U= 1283, p < 0.05) as the SEM exhibited thinner diamond crystals (6.62 ± 2.9 µm) than the CM measurements (9.6 ± 4.6µm). According to the Michel-Levey birefringence colour chart (using the SEM mean thickness of MDN crystals and their retardation value of 428 nm), most of MDN crystals demonstrated a yellow colour. The FT-IR, SEM, DSC, MGV and PLM analyses of both silica-based MDN formulations revealed that MDN was successfully incorporated inside the silica network producing amorphous material (with no appearance of the melting peak of pure MDN at 233.4°C) with evidence of no physical or chemical interaction between sol-gel silica and MDN. However, the TGA analysis revealed a significantly greater amount of MDN was loaded inside the silica-based MDN formulation B compared to A (t = 2.80, p = 0.009, n=6), as 28.3 ± 0.6 mg of MDN was loaded in the former while 25.6 ± 0.7 mg in the latter. In addition, the silica-based MDN formulation B released 10% more MDN after 7 days than formulation A, and both formulations were stable when stored for 1 month under 57% RH and 25°C. Conclusion: The novel combined use of SEM and PLM techniques shows a potential for the identification of MDN in forensic science as it established a range of birefringence colours of MDN crystals. Moreover, the new silica-based MDN formulation B can help to deter MDN abuse and increase patient adherence to MMT due to its potential to sustain MDN release and reduce the frequent visits to MDN treatment centres.
Four different spectrophotometric methods are used in this study for the determination of Sulfamethoxazole and sulfanilamide drugs in pharmaceutical compounds, synthetic samples, and in their pure forms. The work comprises four chapters which are shown in the following: Chapter One: Includes a brief for Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-VIS) Absorption spectroscopy, antibacterial drugs and sulfonamides with some methods for their determination. The chapter lists two methods for optimization; univariate method and multivariate method. The later includes different types, two of these were mentioned; simplex method and design of experiment method. Chapter Two: Includes reaction of the two studied drugs with sodium nitrite and hydrochloric acid for diazo
... Show More
(16)
(30)
Graph is a tool that can be used to simplify and solve network problems. Domination is a typical network problem that graph theory is well suited for. A subset of nodes in any network is called dominating if every node is contained in this subset, or is connected to a node in it via an edge. Because of the importance of domination in different areas, variant types of domination have been introduced according to the purpose they are used for. In this paper, two domination parameters the first is the restrained and the second is secure domination have been chosn. The secure domination, and some types of restrained domination in one type of trees is called complete ary tree are determined.
(18)
(2)
(2)
(1)
Currently, with the huge increase in modern communication and network applications, the speed of transformation and storing data in compact forms are pressing issues. Daily an enormous amount of images are stored and shared among people every moment, especially in the social media realm, but unfortunately, even with these marvelous applications, the limited size of sent data is still the main restriction's, where essentially all these applications utilized the well-known Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) standard techniques, in the same way, the need for construction of universally accepted standard compression systems urgently required to play a key role in the immense revolution. This review is concerned with Different
... Show More
(1)
Many academics have concentrated on applying machine learning to retrieve information from databases to enable researchers to perform better. A difficult issue in prediction models is the selection of practical strategies that yield satisfactory forecast accuracy. Traditional software testing techniques have been extended to testing machine learning systems; however, they are insufficient for the latter because of the diversity of problems that machine learning systems create. Hence, the proposed methodologies were used to predict flight prices. A variety of artificial intelligence algorithms are used to attain the required, such as Bayesian modeling techniques such as Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD), Adaptive boosting (ADA), Deci
... Show More
(4)
Visible light communication (VLC) is an upcoming wireless technology for next-generation communication for high-speed data transmission. It has the potential for capacity enhancement due to its characteristic large bandwidth. Concerning signal processing and suitable transceiver design for the VLC application, an amplification-based optical transceiver is proposed in this article. The transmitter consists of a driver and laser diode as the light source, while the receiver contains a photodiode and signal amplifying circuit. The design model is proposed for its simplicity in replacing the trans-impedance and transconductance circuits of the conventional modules by a simple amplification circuit and interface converter. Th
... Show More
(3)
Purpose: The concept of complete street is one of the modern trends concerned with diversifying means of transportation and reducing the disadvantages of mechanical transportation modes. This paper discusses the role of complete streets can play in developing the urban environment in the Alyarmok District of Baghdad. Method/design/approach: The linear regression method used to analyze the opinions of 100 respondents surveyed in the study area in order to find the relationship between the urban environment and the complete street elements. Theoretical framework: The Modern trends in urban planning aim to find alternatives to the policies of traditional transportation planning that focus on vehicular mobi
... Show More
(1)
(1)