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.
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Background: Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that mostly involves the spine and sacroiliac joints. It is associated with a decreased quality of life. Biological medicines such as infliximab and its biosimilar are the mainstay treatments for active ankylosing spondylitis.
Objective: The study objective was to conduct a pharmacoeconomic study comparing the cost-effectiveness of the reference infliximab with its biosimilar in ankylosing spondylitis patients visiting public hospitals.
Subjects and Method: This is a two-center pharmacoeconomic study performed at two large teaching governmental hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq, which s
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Is hardly day expire without hearing the news either Abuse Managementthe accounting standards or the existence of serious misstatements by someauditors.Which caused the demanding of many companies in the recent republication of the financial statements and the re-announcement of its financialresults. Such acts raise questioning about the role that should be played by theauditors, prompting agencies responsible for setting auditing standards to takeTo throw increasingly responsibility on the auditors in order to interest risksfraud The Risks of Fraud in their review of the financial statements.also The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in the U.S.called about the need of owning the Certified Public Accountants those whoaudits for
... Show MoreTwo dwarf snakes were discovered, Eirenis thospitis Schmidtler & Lanza from Sereen mountain, north east of Arbil and E. rothii Jan from Saffin mountain North of Arbil city North of Iraqi Kurdistan. Supported by description and important notes on variation. In addition summarized list for 9 species of the genus Eirenis Jan in Iraq is also presented.
This piece of research work aims to study one of the most difficult reaction and determination due to continuous and rapid variation of reaction products and the reactants. As molybdenum (VI) aid in the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in alkaline medium of ammomia, thus means a continuous liberation of oxygen which cuases and in a continuous manner a distraction in the measurement process. On this basis pyrogallol was used to absorbe all liberated oxygen and the result is an a clean undisturbed signals. Molybdenum (VI) was determined in the range of 4-100 ?g.ml-1 with percentage linearity of 99.8% or (4-300 ?g.ml-1 with 94.4%) while L.O.D. was 3.5 ?g.ml-1. Interferring ions (cations and anions) were studied and their main effect was red
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This research aims toknow the learning styles according to the model of Felder and Silverman and its relationship to effectively self- perceived mathematicalamong students of the Faculty of Education Pure Sciences - Ibn al-Haytham. By answering the following questions: 1. What are the preferred methods of learning among students in the mathematics department according to the model Felder and Silverman? 2. What is the mathematicalself-perceived levelof the students at the Department of Mathematics effectiveness level? 3. What is the relationship between learning styles according to the Felder model and Silverman and the effectiveness of mathematical self-perceived of the students of the Department of Mathematics? The research sample consiste
... Show Morebstract This study was performed to isolate and identify the Burkholderia cepacia from rhizosphers of different plants and study their ability to produce Siderophore, the study was also aimed to assess the antifungal activity of the bacterial filtrate and extracts of the isolates against some pathogenic fungi. The isolate which showed higher inhibitory effects was selected for extraction of some active metabolites produced by it, and evaluate the activity in vitro, via inhibition of the growth of the fungi using different concentrations of extract (50, 100, 200 )µL/ml , The results showed that out of (250) samples of soil , (8) isolates (3.2%) gave positive
... Show MoreThe present study aimed to identify the extent to which the content of social and national studies courses was included in interactive thinking maps in the educational stages in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to achieve the goal of the study, the researcher used the descriptive and analytical approach, and the study tool used consisted of a content analysis card; Where it included a list of the types of thinking maps, where the study sample consisted of all social and national studies courses at the elementary and intermediate levels, and it is (12) books for the student in its first and second parts, and after verifying the validity and reliability of the tool, it was applied to the study sample, and the study reached conclusions, inc
... Show MoreBreastfeeding (BF) serves as a complete nutritional source for the first six months of infant’s life. Breast milk contains all essential nutrients that necessary for the physiological growth and development of infants. The aim of this study was to compare the physiological growth of infants including weight, height and head circumference who were exclusively breastfed for 6 months and those who were given bottle-fed or mixed fed and to find a percentage of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers who contributed in this study in Sulaimani city. This study was carried out in Sulaimani city/ Kurdistan region of Iraq and the cases were enrolled between the first of October 2018 and first of October 2019. The infants’ weight, height and hea
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