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.
Background: Phytotherapy is the usage of herbal species with medicinal properties for the management of various diseases. Gingivitis and periodontitis are diseases that involve the role of both the bacteria and the host immune response. Over the years, various researches have shown the importance of herbal products in the management of periodontal diseases. Aims of the study: To evaluate the efficacy of locally applied Salvia officinalis gel as adjunctive in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. Subjects and methods: Fourteen patients (10 males and 4 females) with chronic periodontitis were enrolled in the present study with total number of twenty-eight periodontal pockets utilizing a split mouth design, the pockets were divided i
... Show MoreThe aim of the present study is to provide the adequate knowledge about the role of time management in facilitate the work requirements for employees of the administrative department at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The research depend on studying four important dimensions which are (time planning, time organization, time direction and time observation). In addition to study other five dimensions which are (new procedures, clear procedures, short procedures, the available information and the simplicity of the methods
used).Questionnaire sheets consist of (38 questions) distributed to (170) employees and (146) sheets only were considered in the study. SPSS program was used
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A field study aimed at identifying the reality of the application of strategic management in the colleges of education/ University of Baghdad. The research adopted the descriptive analytical approach. The research community, consisting of 801 faculty teachers, has been identified. The research sample was selected in a simple random way and represented 15% of the research community, totalling 124 teaching members. A questionnaire was constructed that included (46) items divided between areas (strategic objectives, strategy planning and formulation, implementation of the strategy, and evaluation of the strategy). The honesty and consistency of the tool was verified. The researcher analyzed the research data using SPSS. The most important resu
... Show MoreThe identity of the cultural identity of the party (the ego and the other) during a series of questions subject to the transformations of history and the process of culture, the search of identity and its characteristics within the novel discourse calls to address the cultural impact communication discourse aims to reveal the functional and intellectual benefits that contributed to the formation of cultural identity, and stand at the most important manifestations And the secretions that mimic a world remains part of it present in the imagination of the producer of the text is moving in accordance with the holistic perception of the world embedded between the lines of the trial.The question of identity as an intellectual dimension in orde
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The continued acceleration in the business environment has led to the need for organizations great attention to quality applied in organizations to meet the needs of customers and stay in the market for as long as possible.
Search launched from the underlying problem is the presence of concentrations of defects and waste plaguing the company and to achieve the goal of the study detects the level of quality applied in the factory vessels and reservoirs of the General Company for Heavy Engineering Equipment, As well as calculate wastage rates occurring in the production process and find a relationship between the level of quality and ratios defective in each type of waste, it has been used quantitative meas
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Abstract
The research aims to examine the relationship between psychological flow, psychological well-being, and self-management among a sample of fine artists in the Makkah region and its governorates. The research also aims to examine the mean group differences in psychological flow, psychological well-being, and self-management due to demographic variables (sex and years of practicing arts). The sample consists of (110) male and female fine artists. The descriptive correlational approach was performed to collect the data by using the psychological flow scale developed by Payne et al (2011), which was translated by the researcher, the Oxford happiness questionnaire developed by Hills and Argyle (2002), it has t
... Show MoreThe research aims to apply a modified SERVQUAL model to evaluate the quality of the educational services via conducting exploratory research for students from the College of Administration and Economics- Department of Business Administration- Evening studies at the University of Baghdad. Questionnaire of two parts was distributed to a sample of (72) students out of (720) students of the 2nd.,3rd. and 4th. year in the beginning of the second semester of the year 2008-2009 to measure the expectations and perceptions to the quality of the educational services. Five major dimensions were analyzed to see the gaps for (22) variables. The study concluded that there were (13) variables confirmed that the
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Menorrhagia is common in patients with uterine fibroids, if operation needs to be delayed for a particular reason, goserelin can be used safely to reduce bleeding and the size of the tumor.The objective is to compare between goserelin acetate and norethisterone on patients with menorrhagia and uterine fibroid. A randomized controlled study conducted in Elwiya maternity teaching hospital, Baghdad from the first of November 2007 to the end of April 2009. 90 patients from the consultant outpatient clinic with menorrhagia and fibroid, and their operations were delayed for medical reason were allocated in two groups, the first group, was given 3.2 mg goserelin acetate subcutaneously monthly for 3 months and the second group was given 5 mg nor
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