The Effect of Balanites aegypticea Fruits extract on Blood Glucose and Lipid Profile of Diabetic and Healthy Wister rats

The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of Balanites aegypticea fruits extract mesocarp on diabetic and healthy wistar Albino rats. Plasma glucose, total cholesterol(TC),High Density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL –C), Low density lipoproteins (LDL-C) and triglycerides(mg/dl) were determined. Thirty rats were divided into 6 groups of five rats in each ( A ≡ normal untreated rats (control), B ≡ diabetic untreated rats (control), C ≡ diabetic group treated with 10 mg/kg glibenclamide, D ≡ diabetic treated with 400 mg/kg body weight(B.Wt) B. aegypticea fruit extract, E ≡ healthy treated with 200 mg/kg(B.Wt) B. aegypticea fruit extract and F ≡ healthy group treated with 400 mg/kg(B.Wt) B. aegypticea fruit extract). Blood samples were collected from all groups at day 0, 15, 30 from the beginning of the treatment; each group was kept in a cage and was supplied with feed composed of meat powder, wheat flour, oil and salt, and given orally 400mg/Kg B.Wt Balanites aegypticea aqueous fruit extract for group D and F, and 200 mg/Kg B.Wt Balanites aegypticea fruit extract for group E, and 10 mg/kg B.Wt glibenclamide for group C daily for a period of 30 days. Results presented the Balanites aegypticea aqueous fruit extract decreased significantly the plasma glucose in alloxan induced diabetic rats compared to control diabetic rats, which may be attributed to increased glucose uptake. and decreased significantly the plasma total cholesterol and LDL-C and Triglycerides concentration and increased significantly HDL-C of diabetic rats compared to diabetic untreated rats. It is evident that administration of Balanite fruits to diabetic rats decreased the plasma glucose and lipid profile within a short period of time

Petrography and Mineralogy of Amphibolite Rocks in Penjween Complex, Northeastern Iraq

Penjween igneous complex is situated in the northeastern part of the Iraqi Zagros Thrust Zone (IZTZ) which is considered as integral part of the Alpine-Himalayan Orogenic Belt of Cretaceous age. The amphibolite rocks exist in Penjween as pods of lensoid-shape of variable sizes (2-3m). These amphibolite pods are surrounded by sheared tectonized serpentinite and peridotite and one is in contact with amphibole-bearing gabbro dike. In addition, there is an albitite dyke in contact with the amphibolite. These amphibolites exhibit deformation and alteration which is evident by the existence of chlorite veins cutting through or as patches within these rocks. Petrographic observations reveal that the main mineral constituents are amphibole; both primary and secondary, plagioclase with accessory clinopyroxene, quartz, titanite, apatite, zircon and iron oxides. Secondary minerals include chlorite, epidote, secondary amphibole and iron oxides as a consequence of alteration. Dominated textures are porphyroblastic, poikiloblastic, nematoblastic , blasto-ophitic and blasto-subophitic which are inherited from the original rocks. Accordingly, two mineral assemblages are identified: 1- Hb. + plag. + cpx.± qtz. ± titanite ± zircon ± apatite ± iron oxides, 2- Hb. + plag. ± qtz. ± titanite ± apatite ± zircon ± iron oxides ± chl. ± sericite ± ep. The secondary assemblage is more altered. On the basis of Mg/(Mg+Fe)-Si per formula of the analyzed amphibole, two types of amphibole are observed; Mg-hornblende and tschermakite. Chemical analyses of the plagioclase grains give two types; oligoclase (An23.9 Ab75.9 ) and albite (An1.7 Ab97.9)

Efficacy and Safety of Etanercept in Severely Active Rheumatoid Arthritis: 6-month, Open Label, Prospective, Observational Study from Iraq

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of etanercept in severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a sample of Iraqi patients. Patients and methods: An open labeled single group prospective observational study was conducted over 15 months on 190 Iraqi patients with RA diagnosed according to 1987 American College of Rheumatology criteria. All the included patients were given etanercept at a dose of 50 mg by subcutaneous injection on weekly bases. Disease activity score at 28 joints (DAS28) and functional class of RA were measured at baseline and after 6months. Results: There was significant improvement in disease activity (DAS28) (p<0.001) with percent of change (-29.26%) and functional disability (P=0.001) with etanercept use over a period of 6 months. Elevated liver transaminase were 3.68%, leucopenia 3.15%, headache 2.11%, itching 2.11%,  serious chest infection 1.57%, leg abscess 0.52%,  injection site reactions 1.05%, breast cancer  0.52, and  drug induced psoriasis 0.52%. Conclusion: Etanercept was effective and relatively safe in treatment of RA patients among Iraqi patients. Keywords: Etanercept, Rheumatoid arthritis, Diseases activity score 28 (DAS28)

RAPID AND VALIDATED HPLC-UV METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF GEMIFLOXACIN IN HUMAN URINE

Objective: To develop and validate a simple and rapid reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method for the determination of Gemifloxacin (GFX) in human urine.Methods: GFX was isolated from urine samples after acidification using methylene chloride. Good chromatographic separation was achieved using C18 Ultrasphere (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm.) analytical column maintained at 25 °C. The mobile phase consisted of methanol and 0.1 M phosphate buffer pH 3 in the ratio of (48: 52, v/v), respectively. The analysis time was 10 min at a 1.0 ml/min flow rate. The UV detection was carried out at 272 nm.Results: GFX has been eluted at 7.5 min. Linearity was obtained over a concentration range of 20-200 ng/ml (r2>0.999). The extraction recovery of GFX from urine samples was 60%. The proposed method demonstrated excellent intra-and inter-day precision and accuracy within 1.19% and 100.65 %, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) was found to be 6.3 ng/ml.Conclusion: Simple and accurate RP-HPLC method for determination of GFX in human urine was developed and validated. The method was successfully applied for determination of GFX in human urine samples from healthy volunteers up to 24 hours after oral administration of 320 mg gemi floxacin tablets.Â

Examining Service Quality For Islamic Banks In Egypt

Purpose: Although a great number of research studies for service quality take place in the context of developed countries, the similar studies in the context of developing countries like in Egypt are limited. The purpose of this study is to modify a service quality scale for measuring the performance of Islamic Banks in Egypt using the SERVQUAL multi-item scale after adapting it to fit the Egyptian culture. Research design: The popular multi-item scale of measuring service quality used in this study is SERVQUAL (developed and modified by Parasuraman et al.1985, 1988, 1991,1994). Qualitative research in the form of focus groups was conducted to modify the SERVQUAL scale to fit the Egyptian Islamic banking culture. Three focus groups were conducted with managers and employees working in Islamic banks. Furthermore, a convenience sample of 30 Islamic bank clients was surveyed in order to measure the reliability and validity of the new SERQUAL dimensions derived from the focus groups conducted. Findings: Transcriptions from the 3 focus groups were analyzed using initial and focused coding techniques. Exploratory and factor analytic techniques were used to explore the dimensionality of the scale. The study developed 22 statements for measuring the five different dimensions of service quality in Islamic banks that included: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, Empathy, Assurance and two new dimensions of trust and Shariah- compliance. Research Implications: After the 25th of January revolution, there has been a significant rise of Islamic banking and finance in Egypt. However, this trend is still considered in it's growth stage in Egypt compared to other countries specifically in the Gulf and parts of Europe where Islamic finance and banking is very well established and understood amongst vast amounts of both Muslims and non Muslims. Thus understanding points of weakness and strengths through analyzing the SERVQUAL scale dimensions is essential for Islamic banks as well as the perceptions of current clients about the service quality delivered by such banks. This paper shows that the SERVQUAL after modifications is valid and reliable in the banking industry in Egypt. Based on this study and other studies cited, it appears that future research on Service Quality should involve the development of industry specific measure of service quality.qscienc

Monosodium glutamate induced histological change in the Zona Fasiculata of rats' adrenal and the possible amelioration effect of vitamin C supplementation

Monosodium glutamate in gesting (MSG) is steadily increasing worldwide as a flavour enhancer and food additive. On the other hand, vitamins C has antioxidant properties and can play an important role in preventing or improving many diseases. So, the aim of the present study is to study the impact of MSG administration on the histological structure of the zonafasciculata (ZF) of adult albino rat adrenal cortex and to clarify the possible amelioration effect of vitamin C cosupplementation. Thirty adult male albino rats were divided equally into three groups: group I; negative and positive (received100mg/kg vitamin C) control subgroups. MSG-treated group were administered 2 mg/g body weight MSG via gastric tube andascorbic acid supplemented group were given the same dose of MSG, followed by vitamin C at a dose similar to the positive control group. Tissue sections were obtained and proceeded for light and electron microscope examination. Plasma ACTH and cortisone were estimated. Morphometric and statistical analysis of the results were performed. Plasma ACTH and corticosterone levels in the MSG-treated group were significantly increased comparing to control and MSGtreated group receiving vitamin C. Histologically, in the MSG-treated group, ZF contained highly vacuolated cells and congested blood vessels. The reticular fibres were increased in MSG-treated group decreased in ascorbic acid supplemented group. Ultrastructurally, ZF contained cells with shrunken nuclei and numerous macrophages containing many lysosomes. On the other hand, the cellular architecture of ascorbic acid supplemented group was less affected and congested blood sinusoids were still detected. The reticular fibres were decreased in ascorbic acid supplemented group. Oral administration of MSG caused histological and functional degenerative changes in the ZF of adrenalin adult male albino rat which was ameliorated by supplementation of vitamin C. So, it is recommended to minimize consumption of foodstuffs containing MSG and to eat foods rich in vitamin C after performing more researchers to be sure of these effects on humans.MS

The Study of some Physical, Chemical and Microbiological Properties of Wheat and Date in Iraq

Dates fruits and wheat flour constitute a large part of the daily diet in both rural and urban population of Iraqi, the present study was conducted to estimate some physical, chemical characterization and microbial contamination for five types of Iraqi dates, (Zahdi, Barhi, Khistawi, Maktoum and khdrawi) and three samples of local wheat, (BB10, BB19 and BB20), beside two imported wheat samples from local markets (Zer and Al-Zahara׳a). Microbial varieties were assessed by using total viable count technique (TVC), as well as some chemical and physical properties for examined samples were recorded such as moisture, total protein, lipids, and gluten for wheat samples, total sugars and gravimetric measurements for date fruits. Findings refer to that BB10 and Khdrawi have highest TVC (1.5×106 and 3.3×106) (CFU/gm) respectively, while Pseudomonas sp. showed in Barhi (2.3×103) CFU/gm, and Staphylococcus sp. recorded highest value in BB19 wheat flour (0.5×104 ) CFU/gm with significant differences at (p≤0.05), E coli gave highest appearance in Barhi (3.5×103) CFU/gm