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 conduc

.

An encryption system needs unpredictability and randomness property to maintain information security during transmission and storage. Although chaotic maps have this property, they have limitations such as low Lyapunov exponents, low sensitivity and limited chaotic regions. The paper presents a new improved skewed tent map to address these problems. The improved skew tent map (ISTM) increases the sensitivity to initial conditions and control parameters. It has uniform distribution of output sequences. The programs for ISTM chaotic behavior were implemented in MATLAB R2023b. The novel ISTM produces a binary sequence, with high degree of complexity and good randomness properties. The performance of the ISTM generator shows effective s

The purpose of this work was to study the effects of the Nd:YAG laser on exposed dentinal
tubules of human extracted teeth using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Eighty 2.5mm-thick
slices were cut at the cementoenamel junction from 20 extracted human teeth with an electric saw. A
diamond bur was used to remove the cementum layer to expose the dentinal tubules. Each slice was
sectioned into four equal quadrants and the specimens were randomly divided into four groups (A to D ).
Groups B to D were lased for 2 mins using an Nd:YAG laser at 6 pulses per second at energy outputs of
80 , 100 and 120 mJ. Group A served as control. Under SEM observation, nonlased specimens showed
numerous exposed dentinal tubules. SEM o

Background: Alterations in the microhardness and roughness are commonly used to analyze the possible negative effects of bleaching products on restorative materials. This in vitro study evaluated the effect of in-office bleaching (SDI pola office +) on the surface roughness and micro-hardness of four newly developed composite materials (Z350XT –nano-filled, Z250XT-nano-hybrid, Z250-mico-hybrid and Silorane-silorane based). Materials and methods: Eighty circular samples with A3 shading were prepared by using Teflon mold 2mm thickness and 10mm in diameter. 20 samples for each material, 10 samples for base line measurement (surface roughness by using portable profillometer, and micro-hardness by usingDigital Micro Vickers Hardness Test

Background: Heat-cured poly (methyl methacrylate) the principal material for the fabrication of denture base have a relatively poor mechanical properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of glass flakes used as reinforcement on the surface hardness and surface roughness of the heat-processed acrylic resin material. Material and method: Glass flakes (product code: GF002) pretreated with silane coupling agent were added to Triplex® denture base powder using different concentrations. A total of 100 specimens of similar dimensions (65 x 10 x 2.5) mm were prepared, subdivided into 2 main groups of 50 specimens for each of the study tests. Ten specimens for the control group and 40 specimens for each of the experimental gro

Background: Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) has relatively unsatisfactory mechanical properties such as low flexural strength and impact strength also dimensional instability. Material and method: Zirconium silicate nanoparticles were coated with a layer of trimethoxysilylpropylmethacrylate (TMSPM) before sonication in monomer (MMA) with the percentages 1% and 1.5% by weight then mixed with powder using conventional procedure, (150) samples were prepared and divided into three groups, each group consisted of (50) samples, the first group prepared from PMMA without addition (control), another group with the addition of 1% wt Zrsio4 nanoparticles (experimental) and the third one with 1.5% wt Zrsio4 nanoparticles (experimental). Each group

Abstract

Lack of safe available non-resistant treatment for visceral leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) keeps limiting the complete cure of this disease ,drugs that have  toxic side effects or lack of effectiveness  have led to disease relapse ,all these factors have lightened  the way to the search for imperative drugs from natural resources that have been shown to have antileishmanial activity through literature survey

. In the present study, the comparative in vitro anti-leishmania activity of various fractions of Osteospermum ecklonis aerial parts fractions have been evaluated. Extracts were prepared through maceration and Soxhlet apparatus using 85% meth

Background: Many studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of using a hot material in the root canal and its potential for causing damage to the tooth supporting structure. Materials and methods: thirty permanent premolars were obturated with thermoplasticized Gutta-Percha using three different obturation techniques: soft core, Thermafil, and obtura to evaluate the rise in temperature on the root surface using a multipurpose digital thermometer. Results: temperature increases was significantly greater for Obtura versus Soft core (p<0.003), not significant for Thermafil versus Soft core (p<0.087), and Thermafil versus Obtura (p<0.125). Conclusions: temperatures rise on the root surface were below the critical level and, therefore, s