EFFECT OF ADDITIVES ON IN-VITRO RELEASE OF ORODISPERSIBLE DOSAGE FORM

Objective: The aim of this investigation was to prepare orodispersible tablets of meloxicam using various concentrations of superdisintegrants like Ac-DI-Sol, crospovidone, sodium starch glycolate by the direct compression method. Methods: Nine formulae of Meloxicam orodispersible tablets were prepared. These tablets were evaluated for their drug content, weight variation, friability, hardness, wetting time, In-vitro disintegration time and drug release.Results: All the formulation exhibited hardness between 4.21–4.55 kg/cm2. The tablets were disintegrating within 8.3 to 21.9 sec. Dissolution studies revealed that formula containing 7.5 % sodium starch glycolate showed 100% of drug release, at the end of six minutes. Among the formulated tablets, formula F9 containing 7.5 % sodium starch glycolate showed superior organoleptic properties along with excellent In-vitro disintegration time and drug release as compared to other formulae. The concentration of superdisintegrants had an effect on disintegration time and In-vitro drug dissolution whereas hardness and friability of resulting tablets were found to be independent of disintegrant concentration. It was concluded that the superdisintegrants addition technique is a useful method for preparing orodispersible tablets by the direct compression method.Â

Uloga kompleksa germanija s L-cysteinom i α-tokoferolom kao stimulatora antioksidativnog obrambenog sustava štakora izloženih gama-zračenju

This study was conducted to evaluate the potency of the newly prepared germanium L-cysteine α-tocopherol complex [germanium dichloro tetrakis (L-cysteinyl-α-tocopherol amide) dichloride] as a protective agent against γ-irradiation-induced free radicals production and liver toxicity. Male Swiss albino rats were injected intraperitoneally with the germanium complex in a concentration of 75 mg kg-1 body mass per dose, for 6 successive doses, last dose administered twenty minutes pre-exposure to a single dose of whole body γ-irradiation of 6.5 Gy. Lipid peroxidation (LPx), nitric oxide (NO), glutathione (GSH) levels, and activity of the antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) were estimated in blood and liver, and blood total protein, cholesterol, triglyceride and α-tocopherol content were estimated as well. The results revealed that administration of germanium complex pre-irradiation resulted in significant (p < 0.001) improvement compared to the irradiated group in the level of hepatic and blood LPx. Hepatic GSH revealed a significant increase (p < 0.001), while its level showed no significant variation in blood. Also, the level of NO in blood and liver increased significantly (p < 0.001). On the other hand, pretreatment with the germanium complex normalized the activities of SOD, GPx and CAT in blood and liver when compared to the irradiated group. The study also documents a marked decrease in the blood triglyceride and cholesterol (p < 0.001); and significant increase (p < 0.001) of -tocopherol and total protein contents in blood. These biochemical changes were associated with marked improvement of histological status. Therefore, the germanium L-cysteine α-tocopherol complex may be a good candidate for ameliorating the changes induced by irradiation, which indicates the beneficial radio-protective role of this antioxidant agent.U radu je procjenjivan kompleks germanija s L-cisteinom i α-tokoferolom [germanijev diklortetrakis (L-cisteinil-α-tokoferol amid) diklorid] kao zaštitno sredstvo protiv slobodnih radikala induciranih γ-zračenjem hepatotoksičnosti. Mužjacima švicarskih albino štakora davan je intraperitonealno kompleks germanija, u 6 sukcesivnih doza po 75 mg kg-1 tjelesne mase, posljednja doza dana je dvadeset minuta prije izlaganja cijelog organizma jednokratnoj dozi γ-ozračivanja od 6,5 Gy. U krvi i jetri praćena je razina lipidne peroksidacije (LPx), dušikovog(II) oksida (NO), glutationa (GSH), aktivnost antioksidativnih enzima glutation peroksidaze (GPx), superoksid dismutaze (SOD) i katalaze (CAT), te količina ukupnih proteina u krvi, kolesterola, triglicerida i α-tokoferola. Rezultati su pokazali da je primjena germanijevog kompleksa značajno (p < 0,001) poboljšala koncentraciju jetrenih i krvnih LPx. Koncentracija GSH u jetri je značajno porasla (p < 0,001), dok se njegova razina u krvi nije značajno promijenila. Koncentracija NO u krvi i jetri značajno se smanjila (p < 0,001). S druge strane, prethodna obrada s kompleksom germanija normalizirala je aktivnost SOD, GPx i CAT u krvi i jetri u odnosu na ozračenu skupinu. Istraživanja su također pokazala značajno smanjenje triglicerida i kolesterola (p < 0,001) i značajno povećanje (p < 0,001) alfa-tokoferola i ukupnih proteina u krvi. Te biokemijske promjene su povezane s izraženim poboljšanjem histoloških promjena u odnosu na ozračenu skupinu. Opisani kompleks germanija mogao bi se kao antioksidativno sredstvo potencijalno upotrijebiti za spriječavanje promjena uzrokovanih zračenjem

Analysis and Design of a Wideband Coaxial Transition to Metal and Printed Ridge Gap Waveguide

In this paper, a wideband coaxial to ridge gap transition is proposed and implemented. The transition has a compact size, wide bandwidth, and simple structure. It can be used to excite ridge gap waveguides implemented by the printed circuit board or computer numerical control (CNC) technologies. A similar circuit model for a coax-to-microstrip junction is proposed and used to establish a systematic design procedure for the proposed transition. Perfect electric conductor and perfect magnetic conductor (PMC) boundaries are used to make the procedure independent of the fabrication technology. The PMC is replaced by a bed of nails for ridge gap realized by CNC technology and mushroom-shaped structure in the case of PCB technology. The proposed transition based on the PCB technology is fabricated and measured. There is a good agreement between simulated and measured results which validates the proposed design. The transition has a 59.22% bandwidth with S11−0.5 dB

Ridge Gap Waveguide Beamforming Components and Antennas for Millimeter-Wave Applications

With the improvement of mobile communication technologies and their broad applications, mobile communication will have more impact on our life. Such systems will support a variety of personal communication services with high-data rate and very low latency applications. To achieve such demands, many proposals associated with the development of 5G identify a set of requirements for which different technological directions are independently emerging. One direction is utilizing the millimeter-wave (mm-Wave) frequency bands where more spectrums are available. Millimeter-wave frequencies offer the advantage of physically smaller components that results in cost-effective RF transceivers and feasible large-scale integrated phased arrays. The smart RF transceivers of 5G along with the potential high-frequency innovative designs must satisfy the growing consumer and technology requirements. This implies utilizing the state-of-the-art guiding structures, especially printed ridge gap waveguide (PRGW), that have low loss and minimal dispersion compared with traditional PCB-based structures. The present chapter focuses on the necessary components for a beamforming antenna system which is implemented using PRGW technology. Millimeter wave antennas with different polarizations have been addressed. Power combining and dividing components have been also developed. These components have been used for integration in a complete beamforming antenna system working at an mm-Wave frequency band

Weight bias among health care providers for children in UAE

Background: This research looks at weight bias among healthcare providers for children in UAE.Methods: This study was done through self-administered questionnaire. Our targets were health care providers for children working in both governmental and private hospitals in UAE. 198 participants were enrolled in the study after exclusion of invalid questionnaires.Results: While 15.4% of healthcare professions in our study acknowledged practice of weight bias during care of obese children, 52.5% denied and 32.1% are not sure about it. 149 participants (76%) believed that failure of obesity management in children is attributed to their weak willpower and poor commitment. Compared with normal children, overweight/obese children are considered less complaint by 59% of our participants, less active by 78.2%, less willpower by 59.5%, less confident by 73.2% and less intelligent by 17.7%. Finally, 10% of our participants consider treatment of overweight/obesity is a waste of time.Conclusions: This study shows significant weight bias among healthcare profession which can occur unintentionally. Weight bias among health care providers affects the quality of medical care of obese children. Education, training and increasing awareness of weight bias among health care providers in UAE is an initial and essential step to decrease the risk of weight bias which is a significant barrier in management of childhood obesity

BIOINFORMATICS: INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES AND ATTENUATION OF DIABETES HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA-INDUCED RENAL INJURY USING MORNING GLORY AND NECKLACE POD EXTRACTS

  Objective: The present research in bioinformatics focuses on pharmacological effects of morning glory and necklace pod ethanolic extracts (MGE and NPE) on some biochemical parameters in high fat diet-induced hypercholesterolemia and streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia in rats.Methods: Compared to atorvastatin; an anti-hypercholesterolemic (HC) and glibenclamide; an antidiabetic drug. Endothelium activation markers of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Creatinine, urea, and inflammatory biomarkers; C-reactive protein (CRP) and pro-inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin (IL)-10 levels were also measured in serum of different therapeutic groups.Results: Significant decrease in ICAM-1 level with MGE and NPE supplemented to normal rats as compared to untreated control with percentages decrease 17.80 and 12.00% was observed. Insignificant change was detected in VCAM-1 level. Profound amelioration in CRP, total urea and creatinine levels by NPE treatment. Creatinine, urea, CRP, and TNF-α level were significantly increased in hyperglycemic (HG)-HC rats. However, IL-10 level showed a significant decrease. Meanwhile, histopathological investigation of the kidney and heart was carried out. Image recognition system for kidney and heart images was developed to diagnose their diseases. Tested extract attenuated creatinine, urea, CRP, and TNF-α level. Hyperglycemia and hypercholesterolemia linked kidney disorders were relieved.Conclusion: In vivo oral administration with each extract declared suppression of cytokines mediated inflammation, vascular function leading to infiltration reduction of renal macrophage together with lowering in kidney indices and ameliorate renal tissues architectures in HG-HC rats

Low Loss and Ultra Flat Rectangular Waveguide Harmonic Coupler

Recently, communication networks are evolving dramatically to meet the human dynamic needs as well as provide the required support for the massive expansion in future applications. This fosters the research in the mm-wave components to create a new infrastructure for these applications. As a result, the electrical characteristics of the designed components in terms of the bandwidth and the linearity have to be evaluated in an accurate way. The linearity of the mm-wave components is evaluated through the assessment of the inter-modulation of these components, especially at the second harmonic band. In this paper, a −17-dB harmonic coupler is designed to pick a strong sample at the second harmonic, while suppressing the fundamental signal at the coupled port. A design procedure for the proposed harmonic coupler is presented and illustrated. The fabricated unit is silver plated to minimize the losses, where the measured coupling at the second harmonic band shows an excellent agreement with the simulated ones. In addition, the measured coupling level at the fundamental band is below −75 dB

Weight awareness among parents and health care providers in Sharjah, UAE

Background: This study looks at weight perception among parents and health care providers in Sharjah, UAE.Methods: This study was done through reviewing 1000 patients files who visited the paediatric OPD in university hospital Sharjah (UHS) during 2015. The files were reviewed for the cause of the visit, the diagnosis of weight status and weight counselling.Results: 18% of study patients were either overweight or obese. In children with abnormal weight status, the cause of the visits was weight related in 3.3% of patients, while it was due to weight unrelated causes in 96.7%. Weight counselling in obese individuals were reported in 35.5% of obese patients. While in overweight group, weight counselling was found in 5% of the patients and in patients with normal BMI, counselling was done in 0.2% of patients.Conclusions: This study shows clear defects in weight awareness and perception in parents and health care providers. Most parents are either not aware about the weight status of their kids or they don’t consider overweight or obesity as medical issues that require medical advice. The very low percentage of specific weight counselling shows weight counselling is not practiced if these patients are evaluated for other complaints. Weight misperception among parents and health care providers can be genuine barriers for prevention of childhood obesity

Printed Ridge Gap Waveguide 3-dB Coupler: Analysis and Design Procedure

Communication systems are witnessing an outstanding revolution that has a clear impact on all aspects of life. The world technology is drifting towards high frequency and data rate solutions to accommodate the future expansion in applications such as 5G communications. The 5G technology will offer advanced features in the mm-Wave frequency band which requires intelligent subsystems such as beam switching. Therefore, the microwave components, especially couplers, still need a significant improvement to follow the rapid variations in future technologies. One of the most recent and promising guiding technologies for mm-Wave applications is the printed ridge gap waveguide (PRGW). In this paper, a design of 3-dB planar quadrature hybrid coupler based on PRGW is presented. The proposed design has superior characteristics such as compactness, low loss, and low dispersion device. The prototype of the proposed coupler is fabricated and tested, where the measured and simulated results show an excellent agreement

The Socio-Demographic Characteristics Associated with Non-Communicable Diseases among the Adult Population of Dubai: Results from Dubai Household Survey 2019.

BACKGROUND: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading causes of death worldwide. In the UAE, NCDs account for nearly 77% of all deaths. There is limited empirical research on this topic in the UAE. We aimed to examine the association of non-communicable diseases and the sociodemographic characteristics among the adult population of Dubai. METHODS: The study used secondary data from the Dubai Household Health Survey (DHHS), 2019. DHHS is a cross-sectional complex design, stratified by geographic area, and uses multistage probability sampling. In this survey, 2247 families were interviewed and only adults aged 18+ were included for the analysis. The quasi-binomial distribution was used to identify the socio-demographic characteristics association with NCDs. RESULTS: The prevalence of NCDs among the adult population of Dubai was 15.01%. Individuals aged 60+, local Arabs (Emirati), divorced and widowed individuals, and individuals who were not currently working reported NCDs more than the other groups. In the regression analysis, the association with NCDs were reported among elderly people, males, unmarried individuals, older individuals who are unmarried, and Emiratis. CONCLUSION: The study identified several socio-demographic characteristics associated with reporting NCDs. This is one of the few studies related to NCDs in Dubai. Allocating appropriate resources to the population groups identified is crucial to reduce the incidence of NCDs in the Emirate