A validated capillary electrophoresis method for simultaneous determination of ezetimibe and atorvastatin in pharmaceutical formulations

AbstractA simple, precise, and sensitive capillary electrophoresis technique coupled with a diode array detector has been developed for the separation and simultaneous determination of ezetimibe and atorvastatin in pharmaceutical formulations. Separation of both ezetimibe and atorvastatin was achieved utilizing fused silica capillary (58cm×75μm ID) and background electrolyte solution that consisted of phosphate buffer (2.5mM, pH 6.7): methanol (70:30 v/v). The proposed method was validated by testing its specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, recovery, and detection limit/quantitation limit values. The method was linear over the range 2.5–50μg/ml for ezetimibe (r=0.9992) and 1–100μg/ml for atorvastatin (r=0.9999). Within-day and between-day RSD for ezetimibe and atorvastatin were ⩽5.6% and ⩽2.9%, respectively. The detection limit was 0.07μg/ml for ezetimibe and 0.06μg/ml for atorvastatin. The validated method was successfully employed for the determination of ezetimibe and atorvastatin in tablets with no interfering peaks from common pharmaceutical excipients. The percentage recoveries of the two drugs from their tablets were 99.80±1.76 and 100.19±1.83, respectively

Genetic network programming with reinforcement learning and optimal search component : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Sciences at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

This thesis presents ways of improving the genetic composition, structure and learning strategies for a graph-based evolutionary algorithm, called Genetic Networking Programming with Reinforcement Learning (GNP-RL), particularly when working with multi-agent and dynamic environments. GNP-RL is an improvement over Genetic Programming, allowing for the concise representation of solutions in terms of a networked graph structure and uses RL to further refine the graph solutions. This work has improved GNP-RL by combining three new techniques: Firstly, it has added a reward and punishment scheme as part of its learning strategy that supports constraint conformance, allowing for a more adaptive training of the agent, so that it can learn how to avoid unwanted situations more effectively. Secondly, an optimal search algorithm has been combined in the GNP-RL core to get an accurate analysis of the exploratory environment. Thirdly, a task prioritization technique has been added to the agent’s learning by giving promotional rewards, so they are trained on how to take priority into account when performing tasks. In this thesis, we applied the improved algorithm to the Tile World benchmarking testbed, which is considered as one of the standard complex problems in this domain, having only a sparse training set. Our experiment results show that the proposed algorithm is superior than the best existing variant of the GNP-RL algorithm [1]. We have achieved 86.66% test accuracy on the standard benchmarking dataset [2]. In addition, we have created another benchmarking dataset, similar in complexity to the one proposed in [1], to test the proposed algorithms further, where it achieved a test accuracy of 96.66%; that is 33.66% more accurate

The need for national medical licensing examination in Saudi Arabia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Medical education in Saudi Arabia is facing multiple challenges, including the rapid increase in the number of medical schools over a short period of time, the influx of foreign medical graduates to work in Saudi Arabia, the award of scholarships to hundreds of students to study medicine in various countries, and the absence of published national guidelines for minimal acceptable competencies of a medical graduate.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>We are arguing for the need for a Saudi national medical licensing examination that consists of two parts: Part I (Written) which tests the basic science and clinical knowledge and Part II (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) which tests the clinical skills and attitudes. We propose this examination to be mandated as a licensure requirement for practicing medicine in Saudi Arabia.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The driving and hindering forces as well as the strengths and weaknesses of implementing the licensing examination are discussed in details in this debate.</p

Repressive effect of curcumin against 2-amino-3-methylimidazo [4, 5-f] quinoline induced hepato- and immunotoxicity in mice

365-371The mutagenic heterocyclic amine, 2-amino-3-methylimidazo [4,5-f] quinoline (IQ), produced during cooking of protein rich foods is known to affect liver. Curcumin, a component of turmeric Curcuma longa L., is a safe agent characterized with powerful therapeutic potential. In this study, we explored the possible protective role of curcumin against IQ induced liver damages on immunological, serological, inflammatory and apoptotic levels. Mice were administered IQ alone or IQ and curcumin together for 1, 15 and 30 days. Our results revealed that IQ exerts time dependent down regulation of p53 and upregulation of bcl2 in mice liver, no significant changes were observed in bax and cleaved caspase 3 levels. Curcumin co-administration increased the levels of p53, Bax and cleaved caspase 3 and reduced the level of Bcl2 compared with their levels in IQ treated mice. In addition, it was found that curcumin co-administration protects against IQ-induced modulations of some selected serum proteins, leucocytes percentage and cytokines level. Also, the curcumin protected liver cells from IQ-induced inflammation as detected by mRNA level of the inflammatory marker Ccl5. We conclude that the dietary curcumin is a powerful repressive natural agent against IQ-induced liver injury

AraXLM: New XLM-RoBERTa based method for plagiarism detection in Arabic text

Significant advancements have been made over the previous decade in the development of plagiarism detection tools and software. This has expanded application beyond identification of plagiarized articles and research papers in academia, safeguarding authors' literary rights across various domains, including digital marketing and libraries. However, the emergence of cross-language plagiarism poses both a significant challenge and a crucial area for further development. This primarily stems from the complexity of different languages, as well as the accuracy and interpretation of automatically translated words and sentences, which can prove more complex than the identification of plagiarism in a monolingual corpus. This position paper addresses the obstacles encountered in cross-language detection of plagiarism relating to Arabic-English and English-Arabic works. It outlines the impact of vowel marks on the semantic meaning of Arabic sentences. The paper also introduces a novel approach utilizing XLM-RoBERTa (XLMR) for enhancing the detection of plagiarism in Arabic text based on semantic similarity, referred to as AraXLM. This approach considers the influence of Arabic diacritical marks during text processing, as these can play a crucial role in improving translation accuracy and the interpretation of sentences. The proposed framework incorporates a cross-language approach utilizing features such as Facebook AI Similarity Search (FAISS), as well as semantic similarity and diacritization, to detect plagiarism in Arabic text at the sentence level of SemEval dataset. This research is ongoing, with the following stage being to evaluate the proposed framework by testing metrics such as Precision, Recall, and F-Measure. We anticipate that the employment of AraXLM for the detection of plagiarism in Arabic will address the challenges associated with, and enhance the effectiveness of, Natural Language Processing (NLP).</p

Therapeutic approaches in hypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis: A literature review of available therapies and case series

Hypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis (HGAP) is the third most common etiology of acute pancreatitis. HGAP can be attributed to genetic disturbances in triglyceride metabolism or multiple secondary causes. Here, we presented three cases for HGAP and explored different therapeutic approaches for treating HGAP. A case series of three patients who presented with HGAP and underwent different therapeutic approaches was conducted. The first patient was a 37-year-old male who presented with nonsevere HGAP; he was treated with conservative therapy with insulin and heparin infusion, which resulted in clinical and laboratory improvement. The second patient was a 64-year-old male with human immunodeficiency virus on multiple highly active antiretroviral therapy. He presented with severe HGAP and multiorgan failure. After initiation of therapeutic plasma exchange, his HGAP resolved. The third patient was a 28-year-old male who presented with recurrent episodes of HGAP; his conservative therapy failed and was eventually escalated to therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). HGAP can be attributed to genetic disturbances of lipid or secondary etiologies. A nonsevere form of HGAP can be managed with conventional therapy including insulin and heparin; however, severe HGAP may require TPE

Analytical Study for the Charge-Transfer Complexes of Rosuvastatin Calcium with π-Acceptors

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Prevalence and factors associated with low back pain among health care workers in southwestern Saudi Arabia

Abstract Background The purpose was to measure the prevalence and related risk factors of low back pain (LBP) among health care workers (HCWs) at different levels of health care in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted among HCWs providing primary, secondary and tertiary health care services in the Aseer region, southwestern Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire collected data regarding having LBP in the past 12 months, socio-demographics, work conditions and history of chronic diseases, regular physical exercise and overexertional back trauma. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. Results Out of 740 participants, the overall prevalence of LBP in the past 12 months amounted to73.9% (95% CI: 70.7–77.0). The prevalence of LBP with neurological symptoms reached 50.0%. The prevalence of LBP necessitating medications and or physiotherapy was 40.5%, while the prevalence of LBP requiring medical consultation was 20%. Using multivariable logistic regression, the following risk factors were identified: working in secondary and tertiary hospitals (aOR = 1.32, 95% CI:1.01–1.76), increased BMI (aOR = 1.10, 95% CI:1.01–3.65), and positive history of overexertional back trauma (aOR = 11.52, 95% CI:4.14–32.08). On the other hand, practising regular physical exercise was a significant protective factor (aOR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.42–0.89). Conclusions LBP is a common problem among HCWs. Many preventable risk factors have been identified, including exertional back trauma, increased BMI and lack of regular physical exercise. Occupational health and safety programmes to build ergonomically safe working conditions and encourage regular physical exercise are needed

Bronchodilator reversibility testing in morbidly obese non-smokers: fluticasone/salmeterol efficacy versus salbutamol bronchodilator

Abstract A positive response in reversibility testing is widely used to diagnose patients with airway limitations. However, despite its simple procedure, it doesn’t accurately reflect the exact airway irreversibility. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of a bronchodilation reversibility test using salbutamol and fluticasone/salmeterol combination in obese non-smoker subjects. The study included patients without a history of obstructive lung disease or bronchodilators. A sub-classification of patients based on body mass index (BMI) was carried out into normal ( 0.05). The magnitude of bronchodilation, as identified by spirometry, following fluticasone/salmeterol was higher in all participants, with a significant increase in obese subjects with a p-value of 0.013, 0.002, and 0.035 for FEV1, FEV1% predicted, and FEV1/FVC, respectively. Fluticasone/salmeterol combination increases FEV1, FEV1% of predicted, and FEV1/FVC ratio than the conventional test using salbutamol inhaler, and it can be a potential candidate for assessment of airway obstruction using reversibility test, especially among the obese population

The Impact of Curcumin on Growth Performance, Growth-Related Gene Expression, Oxidative Stress, and Immunological Biomarkers in Broiler Chickens at Different Stocking Densities

Curcumin’s antioxidant properties reduce free radicals and may improve broiler growth. Therefore, the influence of stocking density (SD) and administration of curcumin in the diet on broiler performance was explored to clarify the impact of HSD and curcumin on the performance of growth, behavioural patterns, haematological, oxidant/antioxidant parameters, immunity markers, and the growth-related genes expression in broiler chickens. A total of 200 broiler chickens (Cobb 500, 2-weeks old) were allotted into 4 groups; SD (moderate and high) and curcumin (100 and 200 mg/kg diet)-supplemented HSD, respectively. Behavioural observations were performed. After a 28-day experimental period, tissue and blood samples were collected for analysis. Expressions of mRNA for insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), growth hormone receptor (GHR), myostatin (MSTN), and leptin in liver tissues were examined. HSD birds exhibited lower growth performance measurements, haematological parameters, circulating 3,5,3-triiodothyronine and thyroxine levels, antioxidant activities (GSH-Px, catalase, superoxide dismutase), immunoglobulins (A, G, M), and hepatic GHR and IGF-1 expression values. However, HSD birds even had an increment of serum corticosterone, malondialdehyde, pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-a, IL-2, IL-6) levels, hepatic leptin and MSTN expression. Moreover, HSD decreased drinking, feeding, crouching, body care, and increased standing and walking behaviour. The addition of curcumin, particularly at a 200 mg/kg diet, alleviated the effect of HSD through amending growth-related gene expression in the chickens. In conclusion, curcumin can enhance birds’ growth performance, behavioural patterns, and immunity by reducing oxidative stress and up-regulating the growth-related gene expressions of broilers under stressful conditions due to a high stocking density