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 paper presents a neural synchronization into intensive study in order to address challenges preventing from adopting it as an alternative key exchange algorithm. The results obtained from the implementation of neural synchronization with this proposed system address two challenges: namely the verification of establishing the synchronization between the two neural networks, and the public initiation of the input vector for each party. Solutions are presented and mathematical model is developed and presented, and as this proposed system focuses on stream cipher; a system of LFSRs (linear feedback shift registers) has been used with a balanced memory to generate the key. The initializations of these LFSRs are neural weights after achiev
... Show MoreGlobal virtual teams (GVTs) are a recent organizational adaptation created to meet the needs of globalizatized marketplace. GVTs are essentially teams that are distributed across national boundaries and concerned through advanced information and communication technology (ICT) such as email, instant messaging, and video conferencing. The research on GVTs is important in the information system (IS) field because GVTs are dependent on information communication technology and the use of other technologies; GVTs also consists of people from different cultures. This paper tried to answer two research questions. The first one is: what are the GVTs problems facing the project manager (PM). A literature review was conducted to answer the fir
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Solid waste is a major issue in today's world. Which can be a contributing factor to pollution and the spread of vector-borne diseases. Because of its complicated nonlinear processes, this problem is difficult to model and optimize using traditional methods. In this study, a mathematical model was developed to optimize the cost of solid waste recycling and management. In the optimization phase, the salp swarm algorithm (SSA) is utilized to determine the level of discarded solid waste and reclaimed solid waste. An optimization technique SSA is a new method of finding the ideal solution for a mathematical relationship based on leaders and followers. It takes a lot of random solutions, as well as their outward or inward fluctuations, t
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All domains in this world built based on set of theories. Those theories have been responsible for interpretation of some phenomena and interlocking relationships around us. Commonly, theories are categorized by which aspect is believed. Also,can find a group of theories produced regardingto the leadership domain. This paper will be presented some of these theories like (Great Man Theory, Trait Theory, Behavioral Theories, Contingency Theories, Situational Theory, Transactional Theories, and Transformational Theories). where these theories considered the most popular and common in the field of leader and will be discussed by this work
Abstract
The research aims at achieving a set of objectives, which is to study a vital variable in the organizations which is the talent management and its impact on encouraging and empowering employees to take part in making appropriate decisions with their heads in the Iraqi Cement State Company. The problem of this research is in finding solutions to the weaknesses that face the managers in attracting talented employees and keep them in the company, and this leads to a weak capacity of the company on authorizing talented employees and giving them the needed confidence to participate in decision making process. The research sample was included (45) managers in the researched company. Th
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The aim of the research is to know the level of time management application and its impact on the performance of the job, a survey search in the general company for communication and information technology and provide recommendations that help employees to optimize the use of time and improve performance, which is an important element in controlling the various functions of the company. In order to achieve the objectives of the research, the questionnaire was based on two main variables and distributed to a random sample of (44) employees in the company out of (308) employees, thus the proportion of the sample (14%). After collecting the samples from the sample, there are (6) incomplete forms that have been retri
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Objectives: The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational program on nurses’ knowledge towards nursing management for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), as well as to find out the relationship between nurses' knowledge and some of their demographic characteristics (age, gender, level of education, and years of experience in cardiac units).
Methodology: A Quasi-experimental as one group (pre and post test) study was conducted at the Heart Center in Al-Diwaniyah city for the period from December 7, 2019 to February 23, 2020. A sample of (40) nurses working in the heart center was chosen from different nursing addresses. The sample covered one gro
... Show MoreThe current research included (the evaluation of Information Security Management System on according to international standard (ISO / IEC 27001: 2013) in Iraqi Commission for Computers and Informatics), for the development of an administrative system for information security is considered a priority in the present day, and in the light of the organizations dependence on computers and information technology in work and communication with others. The international legitimacy (represented by the International Organization for standardization (ISO)) remains the basis for matching and commitment and the importance of the application of information Security Management System accordi
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The research aims to identify the availability of some basic competencies that are required to be available to workers in digital agricultural Extension from the point of view of senior management, middle management, and, employees with Post-graduate education degrees, represented by the following: Transition to digital agricultural Extension for sustainable and smart family farms, benefiting from international expertise and experiences in applying for Digital agricultural Extension, preparing and implementing Extension messages through platforms, factors affecting the effectiveness of digital agricultural Extension and its platforms, following up and evaluating the activities and programs of the digital Extension platform. The research pop
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