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.
In this paper thermo-hydrodynamic characteristics were investigated experimentally for a new type shell-helical coiled tube heat exchanger used as a storage tank of closed loop solar water heater system. Triple concentric helical coils were made of copper tubes of (12.5mm OD and 10mm ID) with coils diameter of (207, 152.2, 97mm) for outer, middle and inner coils respectively. The experiments were carried out during a clear sky days of (March and April 2012). The parameters studied in this work are: history of average temperature of shell side of the storage tank, collector heat gain, heat rejected from coils to shell side of the storage tank, collector efficiency, thermal effectiveness of the heat exchanger (storage tank), and pressure d
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Evil pervades the narrative scene in Tolkien. Hence; his major themes in The Lord of the Rings are shown to be the Evil Nature of Power, the Tyranny of Technology and War as a Destructive Agent. Evil is not as powerful as good. The Boethian conception of evil comes through evil beings such as Melkor Morgoth in The Silmarillion or Sauron ,who cannot do good things but only pervert or mock things; In The Lord of the Rings; Tolkien seems to suggest that there is no absolute evil. The other conception of evil is the Manichaen, a conception which receives more emphasis in Tolkien's trilogy and which sees the world as a battle-ground for warring forces of good and evil. Tolkien frequently personifies the Ring as if it were acting with a will of i
... Show MoreIn situ gel can be defined as a polymer solution administered as a liquid and when exposed to some physiologic condition such as thepH, ionic, temperature modulation or solvent and UV induced gelation undergo to phase transition to a semisolid gel. Ketotifenfumarate belongs to the histamine H1 receptor antagonists, and Ketotifen fumarate is used in the treatment of allergic conditions likeconjunctivitis and rhinitis. This work aims to study the natural polymer effects (xanthan gum,gellan gum) on the properties of pH-trigger in situ ocular gel, then compared the drug-releasing rate of optimized formula with the market ketotifen eye drop. Eightformulations (F1-F8) were prepared using different concentrations of xanthan gum, gellan gum with ca
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The results show the inability to apply the Taylor rule within inflation and GDP Gaps because the monetary behave is elated from the Iraqi economy.
When applying the Taylor rule to exchange rate with the inflation and the output gap, the results do not match the nominal price announced by the central thing, which proves the lack of commitment by the Central Bank by using the Taylor rule, whether short-run interest rate or exchange rate (Nominal Anchor), so it did not stay to the Iraqi Central Bank only using the principle of Taylor with the expected inflation rate below the level of output (Macro activity) for the separation of monetary behavior from the real one o
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The task of an educational institution such as kindergartens need to run by managers possess the knowledge to manage the administration of the importance in the development of kindergarten has been the goal of research to identify knowledge management at Riyadh managers, and achieve the objectives of Search selected sample of directors of kindergartens in the city of Baghdad was (160) director was Akhtarhn simple random way, been building measure for knowledge management and presented to the group of experts and extracted stability in a way re-testing and Alvakronbach and reach search to a discrepancy between managers Riyadh in knowledge management and put the researcher set of recommendations including the establishment of seminars and
... Show MoreIndustrial development has recently increased, including that of plastic industries. Since plastic has a very long analytical life, it will cause environmental pollution, so studies have resorted to reusing recycled waste plastic (sustainable plastic) to produce environmentally friendly concrete (green concrete). In this research, producing environmentally friendly load-bearing concrete masonry units (blocks) was considered where five concrete mixtures were compressed at the blocks producing machine. The cement content reduced from 400 kg/m3 (B-400) to 300 kg/m3 (B-300) then to 200 kg/m3 (B-200). While (B-380) was produced using 380 kg/m3 cement and 20 kg/m3 nano-sil
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Three mesoporous silica with different functional group were prepared by one-step synthesis based on the simultaneous hydrolysis and condensation of sodium silicate with organo - silane in the presence of template surfactant polydimethylsiloxane - polyethyleneoxide (PDMS - PEO). The prepared materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption experiments. The results indicate that the preparation of methyl and phenyl functionalized silica were successful and the mass of methyl and phenyl groups bonded to the silica structure are 15, 38 mmol per gram silica. The average diameter of the silica particles are 103.51,
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The cement slurry is a mixture of cement, water and additives which is established at the surface for injecting inside hole. The compressive strength is considered the most important properties of slurry for testing the slurry reliability and is the ability of slurry to resist deformation and formation fluids. Compressive strength is governed by the sort of raw materials that include additives, cement structure, and exposure circumstances. In this work, we use micro silica like pozzolanic materials. Silica fume is very fine noncrystalline substantial. Silica fume can be utilized like material for supplemental cementations for increasing the compressive strength and durability of cement. Silica fume has very fine particles size less
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The research aims to measure the impact of envy on job stress because the topic of envy represents a negative emotion that exists at all organizational levels, which may cause stress in the work environment.
The Research problem is represented by the lack of perception of most of the faculty staff on the negative effects of envy on their well-being in the Technical College of Management - Baghdad, and what is the impact level of envy on their job stress.
To achieve this, the scale of envy was based on two dimensions (being envied, Envying others), While the job stress scale was based on seven dimensions (workload, conflict role, Family factors, work environment, work relationships
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