The aim of the present study was to develop theophylline (TP) inhalable sustained delivery system by preparing solid lipid microparticles using glyceryl behenate (GB) and poloxamer 188 (PX) as a lipid carrier and a surfactant respectively. The method involves loading TP nanoparticles into the lipid using high shear homogenization – ultrasonication technique followed by lyophilization. The compositional variations and interactions were evaluated using response surface methodology, a Box – Behnken design of experiment (DOE). The DOE constructed using TP (X₁), GB (X₂) and PX (X₃) levels as independent factors. Responses measured were the entrapment efficiency (% EE) (Y₁), mass median

Bis-anthraquinones with a unique molecular backbone, (+)-2,2’-epicytoskyrin A (epi) and (+)-1,1′-bislunatin (bis), was produced by endophytic fungi Diaporthe sp GNBP-10 associated with Gambir plant (Uncaria gambier). Epi and bis possess robust antimicrobial activity toward various pathogens. This study focus on knowing the optimum condition of epi and bis production from Diaporthe sp GNBP-10. A series of culture media with various nutrient compositions was investigated in epi and bis production. The content of epi and bis was determined by measuring the area under the curve from TLC-densitometric (scanner) experiment. The linear regression analysis was then applied to obtain the results. The optimi

This paper presents a meta-heuristic swarm based optimization technique for solving robot path planning. The natural activities of actual ants inspire which named Ant Colony Optimization. (ACO) has been proposed in this work to find the shortest and safest path for a mobile robot in different static environments with different complexities. A nonzero size for the mobile robot has been considered in the project by taking a tolerance around the obstacle to account for the actual size of the mobile robot. A new concept was added to standard Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) for further modifications. Simulations results, which carried out using MATLAB 2015(a) environment, prove that the suggested algorithm outperforms the standard version of AC

Many objective optimizations (MaOO) algorithms that intends to solve problems with many objectives (MaOP) (i.e., the problem with more than three objectives) are widely used in various areas such as industrial manufacturing, transportation, sustainability, and even in the medical sector.  Various approaches of MaOO algorithms are available and employed to handle different MaOP cases. In contrast, the performance of the MaOO algorithms assesses based on the balance between the convergence and diversity of the non-dominated solutions measured using different evaluation criteria of the quality performance indicators. Although many evaluation criteria are available, yet most of the evaluation and benchmarking of the MaOO with state-of-art a

Molasse medium containing different concentrations of (NH4)2 SO4, (NH4)3 PO4, urea, KCI, and P2O5 were compared with the medium used for commercial production of C. utilis in a factory south of Iraq. An efficient medium, which produced 19. 16% dry wt. and 5. 78% protein, was developed. The effect of adding various concentrations of micronutrients (FeSO4, 7T20, MnSO4. 7H20, ZnSO4. 7E20) was also studied. Results showed that FeSo4. 7H20 caused a noticeable increase in both dry wt. and protein content of the yeast.

Purpose: To use the L25 Taguchi orthogonal array for optimizing the three main solvothermal parameters that affect the synthesis of metal-organic frameworks-5 (MOF-5). Methods: The L25 Taguchi methodology was used to study various parameters that affect the degree of crystallinity (DOC) of MOF-5. The parameters comprised temperature of synthesis, duration of synthesis, and ratio of the solvent, N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF) to reactants. For each parameter, the volume of DMF was varied while keeping the weight of reactants constant. The weights of 1,4-benzodicarboxylate (BDC) and Zn(NO3)2.6H2O used were 0.390 g and 2.166 g, respectively. For each parameter investigated, five different levels were used. The MOF-5 samples were synthesi

The extraction of Basil oil from Iraqi Ocimum basillicum leaves using n-hexane and petroleum ether as organic solvents were studied and compared. The concentration of oil has been determined in a variety of extraction temperatures and agitation speed. The solvent to solid ratio effect has been studied in order to evaluate the concentration of Ocimum basillicum oil. The optimum experimental conditions for the oil extraction were established as follows: n-hexane as organic solvent, 60 °C extraction temperature, 300 rpm agitation speed and 40:1mL:g amount of solvent to solid ratio.

This study investigates the treatment of used lubricating oils from AL-Mussaib Gas Power Station Company-Iraq, which was treated with different extractive solvents (heptane and 2-propanol). The performance activity of these solvents in the extraction process was examined and evaluated experimentally. Operating parameters were solvent to oil ratios of (1:2, 1:4, 1:6, and 1:8), mixing time (20, 35, 50, and 65 min), temperatures (30, 40, 50, and 60 ºC), and mixing speed (500 rpm). These parameters were studied and analyzed. The quality is determined by the measuring and assessment of important characteristics specially viscosity, viscosity index, specific gravity, pour point, flash point, and ash content. The results confirm that the