Search

Background: Students’ lifestyles and eating habits can be disturbed due to their busy work schedule. Objectives: This study is aimed to assess the prevalence of healthy habits among students from the private colleges of pharmacy and Physical Education Sport Sciences in Iraq. Materials and Methods: A total of 358 students of Al-Mustaqbal University in Babylon province, Iraq were participated in this cross-sectional study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a predesigned questionnaire, which includes questions on the student’s sociodemographic information, weight status, meal habits, smoking status, alcohol use, fried food consumption, and overall fruits and vegetables intake. The Statistical Program for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to determine descriptive statistics. Results: Students’ body mass index (BMI) revealed that 2.9% of male students were underweight, 51.2% were normal, and 37.3% were overweight, whereas 6.4% of female students were underweight, 64% were normal, and 26.4% were overweight. Eating irregularly was highly reported between females and males (P < 0.001). More students in sports science eat breakfast daily compared with students in pharmacy. Of the total sample, 37.1% and 44.4% of students reported regularly snacking and consuming fried food, respectively. Female student smoking was reported (P < 0.001). Students reported rarely drinking alcohol. Conclusions: The findings of this study indicated that students attending private college had lifestyle behaviors that range from healthy to unhealthy. These behaviors were potentially affected by gender and college type.

This study was aimed to examine the suppressive effects of Stachys byzantine leaf methanolic extracts on cancer cell lines and pathogenic microbes. Five concentrations of S. byzantine methanolic extract, from 25 to 400 µg/ml, were applied to HepG1 and HCT116 cells. S. byzantine methanolic extracts inhibited liver and colon cancer cell viability at different concentrations. The MTT assay results demonstrated that the extract’s IC-50 values for HepG1 were 271.61µg/ml and for HCT116 was 184.86µg/ml. The methanolic extracts obtained from S. byzantine showed antibacterial activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The extract inhibited Staphylococcus aureus with 15, 20, and 22 mm inhibition zones at 100, 200, and 400 mg/ml, respectively. However, the extract was more effective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with inhibitory zones of 30, 30, and 35 mm at 100, 200, and 400 mg/ml respectively. This study indicates that methanolic extracts derived from S. byzantine leaves have anti-cancer and antibacterial properties.

A magnetic bio-based adsorbent derived from H2O2-activated zeolite and turmeric carbohydrate polymer was fabricated, characterized, and utilized in removing methylene blue (MB) dye at pH 8.0 and temperatures between 25 and 55 °C. To understand the molecular-scale adsorption mechanism, a range of advanced statistical physics models were employed in conjunction with conventional equilibrium models. The as-synthesized biosorbent presented high maximum capacities according to the Langmuir model, with values ranging from 268.67 to 307.73 mg/g. The double-layer equation yielded the best-fitting results to the MB experimental data among the applied statistical physics models. The number of MB molecules ranged from 1.14 to 1.97, suggesting a multi-molecular mechanism with a non-parallel orientation. The main factor affecting the effectiveness of this adsorbent was the density of its functional groups, which varied from 27.7 to 142.1 mg/g. Adsorption energies in the range of 19.22–21.69 kJ/mol were obtained, representing the existence of physical forces like hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions. To complete the macroscopic examination of the MB adsorption mechanism, thermodynamic parameters such as entropy, Gibbs free energy, and internal energy were considered. The adsorption/desorption outcomes up to five cycles displayed the stability of the magnetic biosorbent and its potential for decontaminating industrial effluents. Overall, this work increases our understanding of the MB adsorption mechanism onto the produced biosorbent at the molecular level.

This article deals with a thorough investigation of the energy internet towards future emerging technologies for energy distribution and management to solve existing limitations and enhance the performance of future sustainable energy. In consequence, a comprehensive review of energy internet features, applications, methods and existing issues and challenges are explained by developing arguments for future prospects. Key features of the energy internet such as energy sources, communication technologies, data computation, energy management systems and financial analysis are highlighted to enhance the energy efficiency, reliability, and security of the power network. Different energy internet application architectures and models are demonstrated for regulatory bodies under different dimensional concepts, networks, and layers. This article also explains the energy internet methods related to different programming approaches, artificial intelligence, and optimization algorithms for achieving granted reliability and enabling a decentralized energy market with a two-way energy flow. Furthermore, the present review focuses on the various issues and challenges of existing energy internet platforms related to safety, security, standards, protocols, costing and complexity as well as provides recommendations for future energy internet toward efficient energy distribution and management. Moreover, the study analyzes the impact of the energy internet on the conventional power grid and provides a global landscape of energy internet projects to make it more effective, dependable, and sustainable. All the highlighted insights of this review collectively inspire advancements in the energy internet platform for future energy data dissemination and management.

Conveying heat from one medium to another is more critical when merging these media is banned. Thus, the media should flow individually in separate pipes. This paper explores the exchange of heat between tube bundles enclosed in a circular vessel with a rotating frame. The rotating frame serves to modulate the natural convection to mixed convection. The hot and cold tubes are distributed peripherally while the rotor is centered in the insulated vessel. The study focused on the configuration of the tubes, namely their number, size (r*), and radial position (e*), and how these parameters act with various Rayleigh numbers (Ra = 103 - 105) and rotational speeds (ω* = 0 - 400). The time-dependent equations are discretized and solved using the finite element method with rotating meshes. The outcomes indicate that the augmentation of Nusselt number with the rotational speed and Rayleigh number relies significantly on the radial position, the size as well as the number of hot tubes. The Nusselt number increases by 74.59 % and 9.57 % for Ra = 105 and 103, respectively, when the rotational speed is elevated from 0 to 200, whereas it increases by 308 % when the tube size is reduced from r* = 0.05 to r* = 0.01 at ω* = 200. It is deduced that the size of the tube is the supreme parameter affecting the Nusselt number.

Solid dispersion using hydrophilic carrier is one of the approaches that has a potential to increase solubility, dissolution rate and consequently the oral bioavailability of poorly-water soluble drugs. In this study, class II drug "Carvedilol" (CVD) was used because of its poor solubility, it serves as a model drug that contributes to irregular dissolution and limited bioavailability. CVD: PVP K30 solid dispersion formulations SD1, SD2 and SD3 were prepared by kneading method at different weight ratios ,1:1; 1:2 and 1:4 respectively and evaluated for drug content, solubility and dissolution rate. Kneading method enhances the stability of drugs and suitable for processing thermolabile substances. The optimum solid dispersion ratio was characterized also for drug-carrier interaction by FTIR spectroscopy, and crystallinity by SEM and PXRD and compared with physical mixture and pure drug powder. The results showed that the solubility of carvedilol increased by increasing the proportion of PVP K30 used in the dispersion of the drug. On the other hand, dissolution study revealed a significant enhancement in the dissolution rate of the drug using solid dispersion compared to pure drug and physical mixture. X-ray diffraction of the solid dispersion suggest that the drug's transformation from crystalline to amorphous form may be responsible for the observed improvement in dissolving rate. The carvedilol solid dispersion improved the solubility and dissolution, which depend on the carrier concentration ratio. The dissolution of drugs increased with an increase in carrier content. The studies of PXRD, SEM, and FTIR revealed the amorphous nature of the drug in solid dispersion. The solid dispersion by kneading approach using PVP K30 as a carrier is a potential method for improving CVD's solubility and dissolution rate.