The present study is to formulate and evaluate Acyclovir (ACV) microspheres using natural polymers like chitosan and sodium alginate. ACV is a DNA polymerase inhibitor used in treating herpes simplex virus infection and zoster varicella infections. Acyclovir is a suitable candidate for sustained-release (SR) administration as a result of its dosage regimen twice or thrice a day and relatively short plasma half-life (approximately 2 to 4 hours). Microspheres of ACV were prepared by an ionic dilution method using chitosan and sodium alginate as polymers. The prepared ACV microspheres were then subjected to FTIR, SEM, particle size, % yield, entrapment efficiency, in vitro dissolution studies and release kinetics mechanism. The FTIR spectra’s revealed that, there was no interaction between polymer and ACV. ACV microspheres were spherical in nature, which was confirmed by SEM. The particle size of microspheres was in the range of 23.8µm to 39.4µm. 72.9% drug entrapment efficiency was obtained in the formulation F3 (1:3 ratio) with a high concentration of calcium chloride (4% w/v). The in vitro performance of ACV microspheres showed sustained release depending on the polymer concentration and concentration of calcium chloride. The release data was best fitted with zero order kinetics and Korsemeyer -Peppas release mechanism and diffusion exponent ‘n’ value of was found to be Non-Fickian.
In this research, the effect of reinforcing epoxy resin composites with a filler derived from chopped agriculture waste from oil palm (OP). Epoxy/OP composites were formed by dispersing (1, 3, 5, and 10 wt%) OP filler using a high-speed mechanical stirrer utilizing a hand lay-up method. The effect of adding zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles, with an average size of 10-30 nm, with different wt% (1,2,3, and 5wt%) to the epoxy/oil palm composite, on the behavior of an epoxy/oil palm composite was studied with different ratios (1,2,3, and 5wt%) and an average size of 10-30 nm. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and mechanical properties (tensile, impact, hardness, and wear rate) were used to examine the composites. The FTIR
... Show MoreKE Sharquie, R Hayani, J Al-Rawi, A Noaimi, SH Radhy, CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RHEUMATOLOGY, 2010
This paper presents an experimental study of cooling photovoltaic (PV) panels using evaporative cooling. Underground (geothermal energy) water used to extract heat from it during cooling and cleaning of PV panels. An experimental test rig was constructed and tested under hot and dusty climate conditions in Baghdad. An active cooling system was used with auxiliary an underground water tank to provide cold water as a coolant over both PV surfaces to reduce its temperature. The cellulose pad has been arranged on the back surface and sprays cooling on the front side. Two identical PV panels modules used: without cooling and evaporative water cooling. The experiments are comprised of four cases: Case (I): backside cooling, Ca
... Show MoreBackground: Hyperthyroidism refers to overactive of thyroid gland leading to excessive synthesis of thyroid hormones and accelerated metabolism in the peripheral tissue. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate a new member of the IL-1 super family of cytokines interleukin-33(IL-33) levels in serum .in order to evaluate its utility as clinical bio marker of autoimmune disease (i.e. hyperthyroidism) Methods: The present study was conducted on 30 patients from the Iraqi female patients with hyperthyroidism attending Baghdad teaching hospital, in addition to 30 healthy controls. All subjects were (35-65) years old. Parameters measured in the sera of patients and healthy groups, were interleukin -33 (IL-33), Thyroxin (T4), Thyroxin (T3)
... Show MoreUrinary tract infection is a bacterial infection that often affects the bladder and thus the urinary system. E. coli is one of the leading uropathogenic bacteria that cause urinary tract infections. Uropathogenic E. coli is highly effective and successful in causing urinary tract infections through biofilm formation and urothelial cell invasion mechanisms. Other organisms that cause urinary tract infections include members of the Enterobacteriaceae family, streptococci and staphylococci species and perch. In addition, K.penumoniae is another important gram-negative bacterium that causes urinary tract infections. With the PCR technique, unseen bacterial species can be detected using standard clinical microbiology methods. In this study, the
... Show MoreA hybrid Gas-Enhanced and Downhole Water Sink-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GDWS-AGD) process has been suggested to enhance oil recovery by placing vertical injectors for CO2 at the top of the reservoir with a series of horizontal oil-producing and water-drainage wells located above and below the oil-water contact, respectively. The injected gas builds a gas cap that drives the oil to the (upper) oil-producing wells while the bottom water-drainage wells control water cresting. The hybrid process of GDWS-AGD process has been first developed and tested in vertical wells to minimize water cut in reservoirs with bottom water drive and strong water coning tendencies. The wells were dual-compl
Background: Dental implants act as infrastructure for fixed restoration to look like as a natural tooth. Osseointegration is a biological events and considered as a base for success of dental implant. The aim of this study is to evaluate the bond strength between bone and Ti implant coated with mixture of nano hydroxyapatite-chitosan-collagen compared with Ti implants coated with nano hydroxyapatite implanted in rabbit tibia, after different period of implantation time (two and six weeks) by torque removal test. Material and methods: 36 screws of commercially pure titanium; 8mm in length and 3mm diameter , 18 screws coated with mixture of nano hydroxyapatite-chitosan-collagen and18 screws coated with nano hydroxyapatite by dip coating. St
... Show MoreBlastocystis is a ubiquitous human and animal protozoa that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. Metronidazole is considered the standard drug for the treatment of Blastocystis infection; however, there is growing evidence of treatment failure, hazardous side effects, and appearance of strains resistant to metronidazole. In the last era, many studies have been implicated in the quest for new treatments for Blastocystis infection, especially natural products. Attention has been focused on the effect of Amygdalin (B17) and pumpkin seed on eradicating parasitic infections. The current work was built up to explore the in vitro efficacy of two natural compounds, Amygdalin (B17) and pumpkin seeds against
... Show MoreAbstract
Business organizations are using the technological innovations like cloud computing (CC) as a developmental platform in order to improve the performance of their information systems. In that context, our paper discusses know-how in employing the public and private CC to serve as platforms to develop the evaluation system of annual employees' performance (ESAEP) at Iraqi universities. Therefore, we ask the paper question which is “Is it possible to adopt the innovative solutions of ICTs (Like: public and private CC) for finding the developmental vision about management information systems at business organizations?”. In addition, the paper aim
... Show MoreObjective: The descriptive study was used to evaluate nursing staff performance in cardiac care units at teaching
and non teaching hospitals in kirkuk city: A comparative study.
Methodology: A descriptive study was used to evaluate nursing staff performance in cardiac care units. The study
was conducted from December 29th
, 2013 up to the 27th of Apr. 2014. A non-probability (purposive) sample of
(44) nurses who work in cardiac care unit at Azady teaching Hospital and Kirkuk general Hospital was evaluated by
a questionnaire which consisted of two parts; the first part is concerned with the demographic characteristics of
the nurses and the second part concerned Observation check list for evaluation nursing staff Perfo