Hookah smoking has become very popular in Iraq among women and men. Hookah tobacco contains natural radioactive elements, such as radon, radium, and uranium, as well as toxic elements, such as polonium, which are released during the combustion of tobacco and are inhaled by smoking. Most reviews focus on hookah tobacco, and only a few have investigated the blood of hookah smokers. In this study, a CR-39 detector was used to measure radon, radium, and polonium concentrations and conduct risk assessments in female hookah smokers of different ages. The results show that the concentrations of radon-222, polonium-218, and polonium-214 varied between 61.62 and 384.80, 5.45–33.64 on the wall of the can, and 2.43–15.00 Bq/m3 on the surface of the detector, respectively. The effective radium-226 concentration varied between 4.52 and 56.31 Bq/kg. The absorbed effective dose varied between 1.55 and 9.71 mSv/y, which is within the recommended limit (3–10 mSv/y) by International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The average case of lung cancer 107.91 cppp, which exceeds the European Union (EU) limit (96.9–104.8 cppp). The rates of radon activity and radon exhalation from the intake of a natural radionuclide due to hookah smoking in a female’s blood were calculated and discussed. This study aimed to establish preliminary results on the risks of radioactivity concentrations and assess the dose in the blood of women who smoke hookah and assess the possibility of developing cancer.
Felodipine is a calcium-channel blocker with low aqueous solubility and bioavailability. Lipid dosage forms are attractive delivery systems for such hydrophobic drug molecules. Nanoemulsion (NE) is one of the popular methods that has been used to solve the dispersibility problems of many drugs. Felodipine was formulated as a NE utilizing oleic acid as an oil phase, tween 80 and tween 60 as surfactants and ethanol as a co-surfactant. Eight formulas were prepared, and different tests were performed to ensure the stability of the NEs, such as particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, dilution test, drug content, viscosity and in-vitro drug release. Result
... Show MoreA comprehensive review focuses on 3D network-on-chip (NoC) simulators and plugins while paying attention to the 2D simulators as the baseline is presented. Discussions include the programming languages, installation configuration, platforms and operating systems for the respective simulators. In addition, the simulator’s properties and plugins for design metrics evaluations are addressed. This review is intended for the early career researchers starting in 3D NoC, offering selection guidelines on the right tools for the targeted NoC architecture, design, and requirements.
Due to their attractive properties, silver nanowires (Ag-NWs) are newly used as nanoelectrodes in continuous wave (CW) THz photomixer. However, since these nanowires have small contact area, the nanowires fill factor in the photomixer active region is low, which leads to reduce the nanowires conductivity. In this work, we proposed to add graphene nanoantenna array as nanoelectrodes to the silver nanowires-based photomixer to improve the conductivity. In addition, the graphene nanoantenna array and the silver nanowires form new hybrid nanoelectrodes for the CW-THz photomixer leading to improve the device conversion efficiency by the plasmonic effect. Two types of graphene nanoantenna array are proposed in two separate photomixer conf
... Show MoreNew substituted anthraquinones with amino derivations fragments were synthesized through the substitution of bromine atom by different amines using the Ullmann coupling reaction. Obtained compounds based on anthraquinone used for experimental antimicrobial studies. The structure of the synthesized compounds was confirmed by LC-MS and 1H, 13C NMR spectroscopy. Studies on planktonic microorganisms have shown that the first synthesized anthraquinone derivatives have an inhibitory effect against bacteria and fungi. The triazene 1-(3-(benzoic acid(triaz-1-en-1-ol(-4-(1H-imidazol-1-yl(-9,10-dioxo-9,10-dihydroanthracene -2-sulfonic acid, have wide spectrum of activity, growth retardation zones against gram-positive micro
... Show MoreThe objective of the study was to develop microneedle (MN) patch, with suitable properties to ensure the delivery of a therapeutic level of lornoxicam (LXM) in a period suitable to replace parenteral administration in patients, especially those who fear needles. The used polymers were cold water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) of low molecular weight with PEG 400 as plasticizer and Tween 80 (to enhance the release) using micro molding technique. Patches were studied for needle morphology, drug content, axial fracture force measurement and drug release while the optimized formulas were further subjected to pH measurement, folding endurance, ex vivo permeation study, histopathology study, stability study and
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