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.
The research aims to reach a set of objectives concerning creation a clear vision about conceptual, philosophical and practical dimension of relations, and effects between knowledge management, costumer orientation and competitiveness to construct a framework of a pragmatic model as a solution to research problem and its questions which the main one is about the role of knowledge management and costumer orientation in competitiveness of business organizations. To achieving this goal, it was necessary to make, in priory, a review and discussion to the theoretical dimension of research variables to have a clear vision about constructing hypostatical research model implying a set of hypotheses which, by proving them in companies studied, repr
... Show MoreThis study aims to find out the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral counseling program in enhancing self-management in reducing the academic procrastination of tenth-grade male students. The sample consisted of (26) male students divided into an experimental group of (13) students and a control group of (13) students. Two scales of self-management and academic procrastination were used, prepared by the researcher. The counseling program was prepared by the researcher. The results showed the program's effectiveness in enhancing self-management and reducing academic procrastination in the posttest, as it showed the continuation of this enhancement in self-management and the increase in the reduction of procrastination in the follow-up
... Show MoreBackground: Modifications of life style are often critically important to adequately control excising hypertension.
Objective: :to determine the source of information regarding hypertension and lifestyle modification practices in the management of hypertension in a sample of Iraqi hypertensive patients.
Type of the study: Across-sectional study.:
Methods: The study was conducted over a period of two months during November and December 2015 at Primary Health Care center of Baghdad Al-GidedaAwaland Bab Al Mudhum primary health care centers. The sample included 219 hypertensive patients (102 females and 117males). They were subjected to a
... Show MoreThe present study addressed "Performance Appraisal of Human Resource Management and Its Effect on Achieving the Organizational Success", for the topics of performance appraisal of human resource management and the organizational success gained an increasing interest being relatively important and modern topics which had a great effect on the future of organizations.
The study aimed at revealing the pattern of appraising the performance of human resource management for the study sample, and whether it was qualified to lead the ministry towards the organizational success, for this purpose two main hypotheses were formulated: 1) there is a positive significant correlation between both variables: performanc
... Show MoreThe research aims to determine the role of green human resource management dimensions of (employment Green, training and development, green, performance evaluation Green, compensation and green bonuses) in the performance leadership of the organization dimensions of (advance planning, efficiency, effectiveness, index pioneering, renovation and modernization), Search of paramount importance because it addresses an important and modern issue in performance leadership, namely green management of human resources, aware of the importance of the subject and expected results of the company under study, an analysis of the data obtained through field visits in
... Show MoreThis research has investigated the effect of the customer knowledge management CKM in sustainable promotion SP. The research conducted a quantitative method on a sample of employees in the Al-Furat State Company for Chemical Industries affiliated / the Ministry of Industry and Minerals in Iraq. The research’s problem presented a set of questions, one of the most important was (is there a relation and impact between the dimensions of customer knowledge management and sustainable promotion). The aim of the research is to identify the extent to which customer knowledge management activities are applied in understudy organization. This research adopted the questionnaire as a main instrument to collect information from (140) participants in
... Show MoreAbstract
The research aims to shed light on the extent to which the practices of performance management in achieving organizational excellence in one of the formations and the Ministry of Finance (GCT). The importance of the selection of these organizations is that they occupies a large and exceptional importance in the national economy through income redistribution add it to cover a large part of the state budget revenues, these organizations possess functionally diverse cadre of them pregnant initial certification and other senior and he fairly stable To meet this target, and on the basis of the data search exploratory researcher built model hypothesis for the search included variable impressionist and
... Show MoreThe current research aims to test the relationship of the entrepreneurial leadership and its factors (strategic factors, communication factors, personal factors, motivational factors) in managing the organizational crisis and its stages (detection of warning signs, readiness and prevention, containment of damages, restoration of activity, learning) among a sample of companies of the Ministry Water resources (Al-Fao State Company for the implementation of irrigation projects, Al-Rafidain Company for the implementation of dams, Iraq Company for the implementation of irrigation projects), as well as standing at the level of interest of the research companies in the search variables and their factors and stages, there is no doubt tha
... Show MoreThe research aims to measure the impact of knowledge management processes individually and in total in the innovative marketing.
We depart search of a problem expressed in a number of intellectual and practical questions, the application of this research in the General Company for Vegetable Oil Industry, represented composed a sample of (63) (Director General and Deputy Director General and Director of the Department and the Division) in the company researched, it has been designed measuring instrument to collect the necessary data either statistical means they are the percentage and the arithmetic mean and standard deviation and coefficient of variation and the coefficient of simple correlation and model
... Show MoreThe problem of the study is concerned with the work of The Iraqi Airways Company in political, economic, and social environment that suffers instability for many years. This has its negative outcomes regarding its decisions of providing services to its markets and customers as a result of the orientations, behavior, and marketing values the company management adopted. The aim of this study is to investigate the marketing philosophy adopted by the management and to identify the extent it suits the materialistic and the human capacities of the company and its current environmental circumstances within the marketing culture common to the thoughts and behaviors of the management and their employees. And in order to achiev
... Show More