Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Petrography of Al-Hisa Phosphate Rocks and Its Upgraded Ores

Several samples from phosphate rock and upgraded ores collected from Al-Hisa mine central Jordan were investigated geochemically and mineralogical. Mineralogical study showed that the main mineral phases are Françoise, beside calcite, gypsum clay and silica. The petrography of francolite shows that it is presented mainly in the form of pellets, ooliths and bioclsts, the matrix formed mainly from calcite, micro-quartz and anhydrite. The upgrading process causes enrichment of Françoise, clay and gypsum to some extent, and depletion of calcite and quartz. Thus the TCP increased from 52% in the original phosphate rocks and reaches 64% in the upgraded ores. The dramatic drop of chlorine in upgrading ores reflects its solubility if the effluent water, that might cause increase of Cl in surface water bodies. Keywords: Phosphate, Upper Cretaceous, Upgraded ores, Francolite, TCP, Jordan

Lapin Challenge Model for Laboratory Development of an Oral Carbohydrate Based Vi Vaccine for Typhoid

A vaccine seed strainVSS of Salmonella enterica serovar typhoid was elected from local isolates of human enteric fever.A cell free culture fitrate antigen was prepared from VSS  for in-vitro use.Vi antigen was separated,characterized from propagation of VSS in a suitable growth media.Incomplete Freund adjuvant IFA  was as immune preconditionar  and as immunostimlant.In three groups of rabbits each of five.First,saline control,second IFA preconditioned and the third was the  Vi-IFA combination in which,the vaccine specific immune priming protocol was IFA through SC route to one week only.Followed by and oral 3mg/5ml dosages in a week  a part for five weeks.Two to three days post to the sixth  week dose,live S.typhi challenge dose of1.5/10 to five was applied per  Os for the three groups.Saline  control group got clinical infection, IFA group has shown 80%  immune efficacy and the Vi-IFA group has shown 100% immune efficacy.Vi-IFA prototype experimental  vaccine formulation proved to be;pure,safe, immunogenic,non-allergenic and immune effective against experimental live  challenge.It induces humoral agglutinins , hem agglutinin and inhibits migration of leukocyte in capillary test.Confirmation of these findings in other nonhuman primate model is suggestive

Dense medium machine processing method for palm kernel/ shell separation

A machine processing method for the separation of cracked palm kernel from the shells using dense medium is presented. Cracked palm kernel is a mixture of kernels, broken shells, dusts and other impurities. In order to produce quality palm kernel oil, clean palm kernel nuts must be used, therefore the need for the separation of the palm kernel nuts from the shells. Several methods are used in the separation. The handpicking method yields good quality kernels but the method is slow, laborious and unsuitable for large scale productions. Salt solution method is unsuitable because of acidity of concentrated solution of salt used which affects the palm kernel as well as the quality of the oil produced. The clay suspension method is time consuming, laborious and cumbersome. The limitations of the above-stated methods of separation gave rise to the need for alternative methods of separation. A machine processing method using dense medium, a separator, a shell collector and a kernel collector was proposed. A machine was developed which produced kernels that contain 6.5% moisture content, 51% fat, 8.9% protein, 7% free fatty acid and 1.9% ash content. The kernels from the machine separation method were compared with the kernels produced by the other methods. The results revealed that the kernels obtained by hand picking method contains 7% moisture content, 52% fat, 9% protein, 7% free fatty acid and 2% ash content. The ones obtained using salt solution bath method contain 6% moisture content, 45% fat, 8% protein, 4.5% free fatty acid and 1.7% ash content. The ones obtained using conventional clay bath method contain 8% moisture content, 48% fat, 8.5% protein, 5.5% free fatty acid and 1.8% ash content. From the results obtained, the dense medium separation and clay suspension methods provide a better and cleaner means of palm kernel nut and shell separation because of the low moisture content and high fat, protein and ash contents among the methods of separation used.Keywords: Palm Kernel, Shell, Separation, Machine Processing Method, Dense Mediu

INFLUENCE OF STEEL FIBRES OF CRIMPED AND HOOKED-END SHAPE ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF PORTLAND CEMENT

Cement mortar without fibers might crack due to shrinkage or volume changes. Cracking in cement mortar leads to elastic deformation. The development of these cracks causes elastic deformation of cement mortar. This study examined the influence of two steel fibers' geometrical forms (crimped and hooked with just one end) in different amounts by volume (Volume fraction = 0.25%, 0.5%, and 0.75%) on the cement mortar's mechanical features. Among the characteristics were splitting, compressive as well as flexural strength. The samples were prepared, poured into cubic molds for compressive strength testing cylindrical molds used for splitting strength testing, and prismatic molds for flexural strength testing, and processed at various times 3, 14, and 28 days before the tests. According to the findings, the highest increase was obtained after adding 0.75% of crimped fibers, the compressive strength increased by 13.3 %21.29%, and 44.8%, for 3,14.28 days respectively, and split tensile strength increased by 66.17%,68.9%, and 79.48% for 3.14 and 28 days respectively and flexural strength increased by 72 %,91% and 92% for 3.14 and 28 days, respectively

Topical piroxicam in vitro release and in vivo anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects from palm oil esters-based nanocream

During recent years, there has been growing interest in use of topical vehicle systems to assist in drug permeation through the skin. Drugs of interest are usually those that are problematic when given orally, such as piroxicam, a highly effective anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, and analgesic, but with the adverse effect of causing gastrointestinal ulcers. The present study investigated the in vitro and in vivo pharmacodynamic activity of a newly synthesized palm oil esters (POEs)-based nanocream containing piroxicam for topical delivery

Stability Studies of Nano-Scaled Emulsions Containing Ibuprofen for Topical Delivery

Biphasic systems, like emulsions and nano-scaled emulsions, are naturally unstable. The extent and rate of the destabilization process differ from system to another. The stability of such systems upon storage is an important aspect to ensure their abilities to exert the expected effects and consequently render them pharmaceutically acceptable. In the present study, the stability of the nano-scaled emulsion containing newly synthesized palm oil esters (POEs) was assessed under different storage conditions and over specified durations. Three nano-scaled emulsion formulae were chosen for this investigation. They basically comprised ibuprofen as the active ingredient, triethanolamine aqueous solution pH 7.4 as the external phase, POEs as the oil phase, Tween 80 as an emulsifier, Carbopol® 940 as the rheology modifier and menthol or limonene as penetration promoters. The evaluation processes were carried out at several temperatures (4, 25 and 40 °C) with factors, such as droplets size, electrical conductivity, drug content, pH and flow properties were relatively held constant. The data collectively showed that all formulations were stable over an observation period of three months.Keywords: Ibuprofen, nano-scaled emulsion, palm oil esters, stabilit

Modification and Validation of an HPLC Method for Quantification of Piroxicam

Piroxicam is a NSAID that is widely used in the treatment of joint pain and osteoarthritis. The objectives of the study were to modify and validate HPLC method so as to obtain an accurate, sensitive and precise method to quantify piroxicam concentrations without interference from the other ingredients presence in the formulation. The method published by Owen et al. was adapted and modified to suit the above requirements. The modification was carried out on the mobile phase as the mobile phase used by the authors was not able to separate the drug peak from the interference of the formulation excipients. The modified mobile phase consisted of 5 mM of disodium hydrogen phosphate adjusted to pH 3 with concentrated ortho phosphoric acid, methanol, acetonitrile and glacial acetic acid at ratios of 27:20:52:1 respectively. The method was validated and found to be specific, precise, accurate and reproducible even when run at different times of the same day or on different times on different days. The limit of detection and quantification were determined to be 0.035 μg/ml and 0.0625 μg/ml respectively. It could be concluded that this method could be used to determine piroxicam concentration in the samples collected from in vitro study of permeability through the synthetic membrane and excised rat skin.Keywords: Piroxicam, HPLC, Quantification analysis, Modification

Study of Pseudoternary Phase Diagram Behaviour and the Effect of Several Tweens and Spans on Palm Oil Esters Characteristics

Palm oil esters are high molecular weight esters oil that has been newly synthesized by University Putra Malaysia researchers. It has received a lot of attention for its pharmaceutical and chemical application. The aim of this study is to study the effects of the palm oil esters with different HLB surfactant mixture on the ternary diagrams behaviour and to confine the various systems resulted from these combinations. These systems include traditional emulsion, gel area, transpernat micro-emulsion area, O/W and W/O emulsions. In this study, pseudoternary phase diagrams of water, POEs and non-ionic surfactant mixture of several HLB values were constructed using water titration method. The resultant mixtures collected after each addition and mixing of water were analysed visually, along with conductivity, dilution in water and dye test (methylene blue) to classify them as O/W emulsion (transparent and opaque) or W/O (opaque) and liquid or gel. As a conclusion, palm oil esters were found to be suitable for the formulation of different types of emulsion. Additionally, different HLB value of non-ionic surfactant(s) exhibited different pseudoternary phase diagram characteristics.Keywords: palm oil esters, Tween, Span, Pseudoternary phase diagram, O/W emulsio

Study of Pseudoternary Phase Diagram Behaviour and the Effect of Several Tweens and Spans on Palm Oil Esters Characteristics

Palm oil esters are high molecular weight esters oil that has been newly synthesized by University Putra Malaysia researchers. It has received a lot of attention for its pharmaceutical and chemical application. The aim of this study is to study the effects of the palm oil esters with different HLB surfactant mixture on the ternary diagrams behaviour and to confine the various systems resulted from these combinations. These systems include traditional emulsion, gel area, transpernat micro-emulsion area, O/W and W/O emulsions. In this study, pseudoternary phase diagrams of water, POEs and non-ionic surfactant mixture of several HLB values were constructed using water titration method. The resultant mixtures collected after each addition and mixing of water were analysed visually, along with conductivity, dilution in water and dye test (methylene blue) to classify them as O/W emulsion (transparent and opaque) or W/O (opaque) and liquid or gel. As a conclusion, palm oil esters were found to be suitable for the formulation of different types of emulsion. Additionally, different HLB value of non-ionic surfactant(s) exhibited different pseudoternary phase diagram characteristics.Keywords: palm oil esters, Tween, Span, Pseudoternary phase diagram, O/W emulsio

Stability Studies of Nano-Scaled Emulsions Containing Ibuprofen for Topical Delivery

Biphasic systems, like emulsions and nano-scaled emulsions, are naturally unstable. The extent and rate of the destabilization process differ from system to another. The stability of such systems upon storage is an important aspect to ensure their abilities to exert the expected effects and consequently render them pharmaceutically acceptable. In the present study, the stability of the nano-scaled emulsion containing newly synthesized palm oil esters (POEs) was assessed under different storage conditions and over specified durations. Three nano-scaled emulsion formulae were chosen for this investigation. They basically comprised ibuprofen as the active ingredient, triethanolamine aqueous solution pH 7.4 as the external phase, POEs as the oil phase, Tween 80 as an emulsifier, Carbopol® 940 as the rheology modifier and menthol or limonene as penetration promoters. The evaluation processes were carried out at several temperatures (4, 25 and 40 °C) with factors, such as droplets size, electrical conductivity, drug content, pH and flow properties were relatively held constant. The data collectively showed that all formulations were stable over an observation period of three months.Keywords: Ibuprofen, nano-scaled emulsion, palm oil esters, stabilit