Application of PERS to Evaluate Walkability in State of Qatar

Well-designed pedestrian facilities are essential to promote walking among residents. These facilities also act as safe space for use of cycling and other personal mobility vehicles. In 2018, Ministry of Transport developed a system to assess the pedestrian environment, called Pedestrian Environment Review System (PERS). The PERS system is intended to assess, in a consistent systematic way, the quality of the pedestrian environment. This paper applies the guidelines of this manual to assess the walkability in Doha City. A total of ten links and ten crossings were included in this study. On-street evaluation was completed for each selected element and relevant scores for each parameter was assigned. The links assessment demonstrated that, overall, there were some issues highlighted by the PERS Audit in the studied areas such as poor curb ramp design, placement of obstruction on the pavement, lack of tactile information, conflict between pedestrian and vehicles at side-entry intersections, unavailability of wayfinding materials, etc. The overall pedestrian environment in the wider area assessed was generally positive, adequately maintained and of an appropriate quality. The provision of poor-quality crossings was identified as a negative feature of the studied areas. The issues were related to the infrastructure itself. Recommendations are made based on findings to improve the walkability of pedestrian network in State of Qatar

QUALITY BY DESIGN (QBD) AS A TOOL FOR THE OPTIMIZATION OF INDOMETHACIN FREEZE-DRIED SUBLINGUAL TABLETS: IN VITRO AND IN VIVO EVALUATION

Objective: This study aims to prepare and optimize indomethacin freeze-dried sublingual tablets (IND-FDST) by utilizing a quality by design (QbD) approach to achieve rapid drug dissolution and simultaneously bypassing the GIT for better patient tolerability. Methods: A screening study was utilized to determine the most significant factors which the quality attributes, namely disintegration time and % friability. Then an optimization study was conducted using a full response surface design to determine the optimized formula by varying the amount of the matrix-forming polymer (gelatin) and super disintegrant (croscarmellose sodium (CCS)). The variables' effect on the % friability, disintegration time, wetting time, and amount of drug release after 10 min (%Q10) was studied. The optimized formula was tested for compatibility, morphology as well as stability studies under accelerated conditions in addition to the in vivo pharmacodynamics in rats. QbD was adopted by utilizing a screening study to identify the significant formulation factors followed by a response surface optimization study to determine the optimized IND-FDST formulation. Results: Optimized IND-FDST comprised of gelatin/CCS combination in a ratio of 1:1 possessed adequate %friability (0.73±0.03%), disintegration time (25.40±1.21 seconds), wetting time (3.49±0.68 seconds), and % Q10 (100.99±5.29%) as well as good stability under accelerated conditions. IND-FDST also showed significant inhibition of edema, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, and interleukin-6 release in vivo compared to the oral market product by 70%, 42%, and 65%, respectively. Conclusion: QbD presents a successful approach in the optimization of a successful IND-FDST formula that showed superior in vivo and in vitro characteristics