DESIGN, OPTIMIZATION AND IN VITRO EVALUATION OF ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF NANOSTRUCTURED LIPID CARRIERS OF TOLNAFTATE

Objective: The main purpose of this work was to prepare tolnaftate (TOL) loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs), Evaluate its characteristics and in vitro release study. Methods: Tolnaftate loaded Nanostructured lipid carriers were prepared by the high shear homogenization method using different liquid lipids types (DERMAROL DCO® and DERMAROL CCT®) and concentrations, different concentration ratios of tween80® to span20® and different homogenization speeds. All the formulated nanoparticles were subjected to particle size (PS), zeta potential (ZP), polydispersity index (PI), drug entrapment efficiency (EE), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Transmission Electron microscopy (TEM), release kinetics and in vitro release study was determined. Results: The results revealed that NLC dispersions had spherical shapes with an average size between 154.966±1.85 nm and 1078.4±103.02 nm. High entrapment efficiency was obtained with negatively charged zeta potential with PDI value ranging from 0.291±0.02 to 0.985±0.02. The release profiles of all formulations were characterized by a sustained release behavior over 24 h and the release rates increased as the amount of surfactant decreased. The release rate of TOL is expressed following the theoretical model by Higuchi. Conclusion: From this study, It can be concluded that NLCs are a good carrier for tolnaftate deliver

Design of a 85 GHz Rotary Traveling Wave Oscillator for Imaging Applications

This paper presents the design of a Rotary Traveling Wave Oscillator (RTWO) at 85GHz. The oscillator can be useful in imaging applications. It is implemented in 65nm commercial CMOS technology. The total area of the oscillator is 0.185x0.185 mm2. The total power consumption is 25 mA out of 1.5 V supply

Development and characterization of biodegradable biorenewable polymeric nanocomposites for food packaging applications

During the last 10 decades, plastic products have dominated humans’ lives with various applications in different fields, and particularly in food packaging industry. The fact that plastics do have numerous desirable characteristics does not conceal their detrimental effect on the environment and on human health. In order to overcome these problematic issues and to contribute to sustainable development in the future, other alternatives represented in employing biorenewable biodegradable polymers are implemented for plastics production. Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) is one of the most common employed biopolymer owing to its interesting characteristics. However, PLA exhibits poor mechanical and barrier properties. Natural plasticizers and nano-reinforcement are incorporated into PLA matrix in order to overcome its brittle nature and to improve its barrier properties, particularly for the purpose of food packaging applications. This research focused on two parts: (i) improving the toughness and flexibility of PLA by investigating the effect of addition of three different plasticizers, namely, polyethylene glycol (PEG), tri n-butyl citrate (TBC), and triacetin (TA) of different concentrations using cast solution method, and (ii) PLA/TA 10%, the best investigated combination among all in terms of mechanical properties, was then chosen as the base system to further investigate the effect of incorporating four different nano-reinforcements, namely, carbon nanotubes (CNT), COOH functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTCOOH), graphene platelets (GNP), and COOH functionalized graphene nanoplatelets (GNPCOOH) of different concentrations for fabrication of PLA nanocomposites. The physical, chemical, and barrier properties of all prepared samples were investigated through the stress-relaxation measurements, DSC, TGA, Mercury Porosimetry, biodegradability, water absorption, oxygen permeability, and water vapour transmission. GNPCOOH nanocomposites exhibited the best mechanical behaviour among all samples, while TGA analysis revealed that it had no effect on the thermal stability. Results obtained by Hg porosimetry have shown that the total porosity has tremendously decreased by incorporation of the investigated nanofillers. The biodegradation of PLA nanocomposites in natural compost was investigated and it was observed that the incorporation of nanofillers had no specific effect on biodegradation of PLA nanocomposites. Water absorption test revealed that the functionalized nanofillers showed relative increase in water absorption as compared to pristine nanofillers. Oxygen permeability test showed that lower concentrations of GNPCOOH had higher oxygen diffusion, while higher concentrations revealed a remarkable decrease in oxygen permeability. Water vapour transmission test showed that the incorporation of nanofillers has considerably decreased the rate of water vapour transmission

Measuring indian patients' satisfaction : a case of private hospitals

Exposure to global markets and competitors has placed increasing demands on all sectors of the Indian market. Introducing consumer choice was one of the key motivations underpinning the various healthcare utility privatization of the Indian Hospitals in 1980s, along with enhancing the quality of ser­vice provided to consumers. Customer satisfaction is becoming increasingly important for organizational survival, let alone prosperity. This paper aims to study the effect of service facilities provided to patients in private hospitals of India. Suitable satisfaction drivers are identified from the literature and talks with experts. A new customer satisfaction index is discussed. This index is based on American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI}. The concept is developed specially for the private hospitals operating in New Delhi and NCR market of India. A survey was carried out and 180 responses were collected. Application of factor analysis for satisfaction drivers shows that these variables are well represented by four dimensions, viz. information, process, service and expectation. From the point of view of the user, an advantage of the new customer satisfaction index, which can be named the Patients Satisfaction Index (PSI}, is that the values of the coefficients of the satisfaction drivers give clear hints on potential improvements for researchers and practitioner

An inverted virtual faculty development program for remote teaching: pilot for replication

Background: Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, all the universities worldwide are experiencing a paradigm shift to online learning. Baby boomers and Generation X need to cope with the challenging transformation, so an emerging need for a faculty development program was needed towards achieving the goal of that transformation. Objectives: To describe and assess an inverted virtual faculty development program (VFDP) that was designed and implemented for the first time in the school to equip educators with the necessary technology competencies for remote online learning. Methods: An interventional prospective study held in a university setting post need analysis conduction to prioritize the required technological skills for faculty members. The program was designed to integrate five essential skills needed to by faculty members to teach remotely. The intervention comprised attending five virtual sessions after watching a pre-distributed material, then evaluated using the Kirkpatrick model.Results: Almost 81% of faculty members completed the program and 80 % of participants were satisfied with the content of the program. There was a statistically significant difference between the perceived ability of the participants to share and record video lectures before and after the VFDP (p value <0.001). The percentage of the departments that applied the program components showed that 96% of them were able to record lectures. In addition, 80% of them were able to develop online quizzes. Conclusion: The inverted virtual faculty development program (VFDP) has supported the participating faculty in developing their needed technological competencies required to bridge the gap of remote teaching/learning

INFLUENCE OF FORMULATION FACTORS ON THE SIZE OF NANOSTRUCTURED LIPID CARRIERS AND NANOEMULSIONS PREPARED BY HIGH SHEAR HOMOGENIZATION

Objective: The main purpose of this work was to elucidate the effect of certain formulation factors on the size of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) and nanoemulsions (NEs) by using high shear homogenization method.Methods: NLCs and NEs were prepared by high shear homogenization method using different liquid lipids types such as (Dermarol DCO® and Dermarol CCT®) at different concentrations. The effect of different concentration ratios of Tween 80 to Span 20 (2.5/1, 5/1, 10/1, 15/1) w/w % and different homogenization speeds (12 000, 18 000 rpm) on the resulted particle size were also studied.Results: The results revealed that the optimum NLCs and NEs resulted when we use Dermarol CCT® with a concentration of 90 % as liquid lipid and decreasing surfactant ratio to (2.5/1) w/w % with increasing the homogenization speed to 18 000 rpm. Conclusion: NLCs and NEs were successfully prepared, and from this study, it can be concluded that NLCs have the optimum particle size than Nanoemulsions

Effects of Dietary Inclusion of Non-protein Nitrogenous Compounds on Performance and Serum Biochemistry of Broiler Chickens

This study aimed to evaluate partial substitution of soybean meal (SBM) with certain non-protein nitrogenous compounds (especially ammonium sulphate (Amm. sulphate) and ammonium chloride (Amm. chloride) in diets of broilers. A total of 201 one-day old broiler chicks were fed starter (0-3 weeks) and finisher (4-7 weeks) diets. Amm. chloride was added at levels of 1.50% in the starter diet and then 1.50, 2.80 and 4.0% in the finisher diet, whereas, Amm. sulphate was added at levels of 1.80% in the starter diet, and then 1.80, 3.50 and 5.0% in the finisher diet. Performance data were monitored and blood samples were collected at the third and seventh weeks. All performance data (feed intake, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio) were negatively altered in experimental treatments, when compared to control, except for 1.50% Amm chloride (during the finisher period only) and 1.80% Amm. sulphate (throughout the experiment) groups. Serum analyses of glucose, liver and kidney function indices, and lipid profile were unaffected by the dietary treatments except ALT, total protein and albumin, which were influenced by high levels of ammonium sulphate at the finisher period. Therefore, Amm. sulphate can be used at a level of 1.80% in broiler diets substituting a portion of SBM, but Amm. chloride (1.50%) could be used only in the finisher period

Modern and Lightweight Component-based Symmetric Cipher Algorithms: A Review

Information security, being one of the corner stones of network and communication technology, has been evolving tremendously to cope with the parallel evolution of network security threats. Hence, cipher algorithms in the core of the information security process have more crucial role to play here, with continuous need for new and unorthodox designs to meet the increasing complexity of the applications environment that keep offering challenges to the current existing cipher algorithms. The aim of this review is to present symmetric cipher main components, the modern and lightweight symmetric cipher algorithms design based on the components that utilized in cipher design, highlighting the effect of each component and the essential component among them, how the modern cipher has modified to lightweight cipher by reducing the number and size of these components, clarify how these components give the strength for symmetric cipher versus asymmetric of cipher. Moreover, a new classification of cryptography algorithms to four categories based on four factors is presented. Finally, some modern and lightweight symmetric cipher algorithms are selected, presented with a comparison between them according to their components by taking into considerations the components impact on security, performance, and resource requirements