Synthesis,Structural and Biomedical Characterization of Hydroxyapatite/Borosilicate Bioactive Glass Nanocomposites

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials - In this work, a borosilicate glass sample (5SiO2–45B2O3–20Na2O–25CaO–5Ag2O) was added to nano-sized...     

In vitro evaluation and in vivo performance of lyophilized gliclazide

Enhancement of the dissolution rate of the poorly water-soluble hypoglycemic agent, gliclazide, by the aid of lyophilization was investigated. Mannitol, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP-k-30) were employed in different weight ratios (43%, 56% and 64% w/w, respectively) as water-soluble excipients in the formulation. Lyophilized systems were found to exhibit extremely higher in vitro dissolution rate compared to the unprocessed drug powder. Solid state characterization of the lyophilized systems using X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry techniques revealed that dissolution enhancement was attributable to transformation of gliclazide from the crystalline to an amorphous state in the solid dispersion formed during the lyophilization process. The gastrointestinal absorption and hypoglycemic effect of the lyophilized gliclazide/SLS system were investigated following oral administration to Albino rabbits. C_max and area under the plasma concentration–time curve of gliclazide (AUC_0–12) after administration of the lyophilized formulations were significantly higher than those obtained after administration of the unprocessed gliclazide.     

TQM implementation in hospitals

This paper discusses the essential elements for successful Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation in hospital, and the challenges that occur with such implementation. Guidelines for this implementation are provided to show how TQM tools can be used effectively in hospitals.     

Effect of the addition of Fe2O3 and heat treatment duration on the magnetic susceptibility of V2O5-P2O5-B2O3 glass system

The effect of the addition of Fe₂O₃ and heat treatment duration on the magnetic susceptibility of vanadium borophosphate glass were studied. The magnetic susceptibility of glass samples was found to increase with increasing Fe₂O₃ content, which may be explained by the formation of the FeO₆ group and the change of Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺ which has higher paramagnetic properties. No detectable changes in the magnetic susceptibility with heat treatment for the samples containing 0.0, 0.5 and 1.0 mol% Fe₂O₃ was observed. The magnetic susceptibility for the heat treated samples containing 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 mol% Fe₂O₃ decreases sharply with increasing duration of heat treatment up to 6 h and then remains almost constant. The sharp decrease in magnetic susceptibility of 2.5 mol% Fe₂O₃ is attributed to the increase in the number of ferrous ions. The sharp decrease for samples containing 5.0 and 7.5 mol% Fe₂O₃ is attributed to the increase in the number of Fe³⁺ in tetrahedral co-ordination. The rate of crystallization owing to the heat treatment was calculated and was found to increase with increasing iron oxide content. The geometry of crystallization was found to be in three-, two-and one-dimension(s) for samples containing 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 mol% Fe₂O₃, respectively.     

Effect of the percentage carbon equivalent on the nodule characteristics,density and modulus of elasticity of ductile cast iron

Successful melting and Mg treatment were conducted using a vortex unit which produced spheroidal graphite (SG) Fe ingots having a percentage carbon equivalent (%CE) ranging from 3.782 to 5.240. Microstructure examination revealed graphite nodules embedded in a white matrix (unetched condition). The variation of %CE proved to have a pronounced effect on the nodule characteristics. The nodule count showed a maximum value at %CE of 4.613. For metal-mould ingots it reached a value of 1584 nodules mm^–2, while for sand-mould ingots it reached a value of 970 nodules mm^–2. Nodule size was found to be inversely proportional to the nodule count for both sand- and metal-mould ingots. The nodularity of all ingots was, in general, higher than 95%. The density of SG Fe was found to decrease gradually (at %CE=3.782) from 7242 to 6969 kg m^–3. The modulus of elasticity (E) showed a boat-like curve having minimum values of 189 and 192 GPa for the sand and metal moulds, respectively.     

Thermal characteristics of packed bed storage system

The thermal behaviour of a packed bed storage system charged with hot air is modelled using two partial differential equations representing the energy conservation in the air and solid phases constituting the bed. These two equations are coupled through the heat exchange process between the two phases. A fully implicit numerical scheme based on forward, upwind and central differencing for the time, first and second space derivatives, respectively, is used to solve the modelling equations. Marching technique is used for the air equation and a tri-diagonal matrix solver is employed to solve the solid equation. The solution yields the thermal structure of the bed, namely the air and solid temperature distribution inside the bed at any particular time, and the variation of total energy stored in the bed with time. The effect of bed length, solid diameter and void fraction on the thermal characteristics of the packed bed is studied. Further, the performance of the bed under variable inlet air temperature and mass flow rate is investigated.     

Leaching kinetics of Cs and Co radionuclides fixed in cement and cement-based materials

Leach characteristics of ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co radionuclides from both ordinary Portland cement and cement mixed with two different ratios of silica fume and ilmenite have been studied using International Atomic Energy's (IAEA) standard leach method. A mathematical model has been simulated to predict the release rate of each nuclide from cubic geometry waste matrix and the predicted values are discussed in relation to experimentally observed leach rates to confirm the validity of the proposed mechanism in the model. The effect of temperature on the radionuclides leaching rates was also studied and the effective diffusion coefficients were obtained at different temperatures. The net fractional release of the two radionuclides from different waste forms showed a decreasing pattern as ¹³⁷Cs>⁶⁰Co, indicating the largest diffusion coefficient for cesium in all waste matrices.     

Islam, Jihad, and Terrorism in Post-9/11 Arabic Discussion Boards

This study analyzed the contents of three of the most popular Arabic-language online message boards regarding the attacks of September 11, 2001 on the United States. Although terrorists claimed that the attacks were committed in the name of Islam, those who posted messages on all three forums rejected this claim. More than 43% of the messages condemned the attacks as a criminal act of terrorism that contradicts the core teachings of Islam. Some 30% saw some justification behind the attacks, even if they felt sorry for the victims and their families. However, those participants viewed the attacks as a political, rather than a religious, issue.