Electronic Journal of University of Aden for Basic and Applied Sciences

Front Cover

2026-10-02T16:47:38+00:00

UTILIZING POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL TO IMPROVE THE SOLUBILITY AND DISSOLUTION RATE OF CLARITHROMYCIN BY THE SOLID DISPERSION METHOD

2026-10-02T16:52:38+00:00

Clarithromycin (CAL), a poorly water-soluble agent, is a novel broad-spectrum macrolide antibiotic utilised in various infections. The current study aimed to enhance its solubility and dissolution rate by formulating solid dispersions with different polyethylene glycols (PEG). These solid dispersions were synthesised via the solvent evaporation technique at varying drug-to-PEG 4000 and 6000 ratios. The dissolving investigation of the prepared solid dispersions revealed that the value of the greatest cumulative release of the solid dispersion formula clarithromycin-PEG4000 ratio (1:1) (CALPEG4000) (1.1) was 99.49%; nevertheless, the dissolution efficacy (DE) was rich at a significant level (88.4) with a ratio (1:9). The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra revealed that there was no interaction between the medication and PEG when physically combined, indicating that the formulation's components are highly compatible Pure CAL has a melting point of 228. In contrast, when combined with polymers PEG4000 and 6000, the melting point drops to around 214 and 219, respectively, according to the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) test. Finally, the use of hydrophilic carriers, such as PEG, dramatically improved the dissolution rate and solubility of CAL.

PHARMACY SERVICES, WATER, SANITATION AND PHYSICAL AMENITIES: CAREGIVERS’ PERSPECTIVES FROM A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN NIGERIA

2026-10-02T16:59:19+00:00

Assessing satisfaction is essential for improving hospital service delivery, particularly Good Pharmacy Practice and the care environment, including water, sanitation, and basic amenities, is now recognized as core to health system performance. In Nigeria, routine satisfaction surveys are uncommon despite SERVICOM, and family caregivers who commonly support inpatient care and can judge services are infrequently surveyed. This study assessed caregivers’ perspectives on pharmacy services and selected amenities at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH). Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH) is a 435-bed federal tertiary facility in Edo State. A three-month cross-sectional descriptive survey (March–May 2025) was conducted among caregivers of inpatients in female medical, male medical, and paediatric wards who had used hospital services for at least 48 hours and consented. Using interviewer-administered structured questionnaires, 151 caregivers were recruited through proportionate ward allocation and random selection; amenity items (kitchen, lighting, water, toilet) showed good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha=0.85). Analyses (descriptive statistics, chi-square, and forward stepwise multivariable logistic regression) showed caregivers’ mean age was 39.7±12.7 years; 74.8% were female and 45.0% had tertiary education. Patients’ ages ranged from <1 to 95 years (median 38; IQR 6–64), 29.8% were ≥60 years, median admission duration was 10.5 days (IQR 5–18), and 53.8% were admitted for NCDs. Pharmacy staff care was satisfactory for 68.2%, but obtaining medicines was often difficult due to perceived drug unavailability and higher hospital pharmacy costs. Satisfaction differed by illness type (p=0.016); NCD admission predicted dissatisfaction versus infectious disease (aOR 3.75, 95%CI 1.54–9.08), while caregiver age 40–59 years reduced odds versus 18–39 years (aOR 0.32, 95%CI 0.13–0.75); model p<0.001. Lighting rated highest; water, kitchen, and toilets lowest. Strengthening medicine supply systems and addressing WASH and support services are actionable priorities to improve caregiver-perceived quality and patient-centred inpatient care in under-resourced settings.

MANAGEMENT OF BLUNT ABDOMINAL TRAUMA IN A RESOURCE-LIMITED SETTING: EXPERIENCE FROM AL-GAMHORIA MODERN GENERAL HOSPITAL, ADEN, YEMEN

2026-10-02T17:44:31+00:00

Blunt abdominal trauma (BAT) is a frequent emergency in spite of improved recognition, diagnosis and managemand remaining a major health - threat causing significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries and needs careful evaluation and management for better outcome, where the resources are limited and the impact of the financial burden is very important. Advances in imaging have supported the shift from routine laparotomy to selective non-operative management (SNOM), but evidence from resource-limited settings remains scarce. To study the mode of blunt abdominal injury, role of various investigations modalities (FAST, CT scan) to detect various organ injuries and their application alongside good clinical evaluation in guiding treatment decision with the aim of reducing unnecessary surgical intervention, to evaluate the management outcomes of blunt abdominal injury in BAT at Al-Gamhoria Modern General Hospital, Aden, Yemen. Retrospective descriptive and analytical study was based on 67 patients,present to Algamhoria Modern General Hospital. Aden. Yemen. all cases were managed with blunt abdoninal injury The study was done on retrieving the records from the medical records department between 2018-2023 Data included demographics, mechanism of injury, clinical presentation, imaging, management, complications, and mortality. Most of the patients in our study were male (91,04%) and aged <30 years (74.63%). Road traffic accidents were the leading cause (67.16%). Conservative management initially was applied in 52 (77.61), out of 67 patients of these 4 went on to require surgical intervention due to failuer of conservative treament; in total 48 (71.64%) patients were managed non- operatively and 19(28.36%) were managed surgically. NOM has been very successful with rate of (92,3%) and failure occurred in 4 (7.7%), spleen 11(16.41%) was the commonest organ injured, followed by Liver 8(11,94%), kidney injury in 7(10.45%),, and the most common surgery performed was splenectomy 9 ( 13,43% ), most common extra- abdominal injury was thoracic 8(11,94 %) as a ribs fracture, heamothorax and pneumothorax and orthopedec 7 (10,45%) were mainly pelvic fractures, Imaging significantly influenced management: conservative rates were higher with CT (81.3%), FAST (70%), and CT+FAST (86.7%) compared with no imaging (16.7%). mortelity rate was 2 (2,98%). complication 6 (8,96 %) surgical site infection most common were in 4 (5,97%). Selective non-operative management of BAT is safe and effective in hemodynamic stable patients without peritoneal sings, particularly when supported by imaging. CT remains the most valuable tool, while FAST is indispensable for unstable patients. Expanding imaging capacity is critical to improving trauma outcomes in resource-limited settings.

ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF BACTERIA CAUSING EAR INFECTIONS AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS AMONG PATIENTS ATTENDING ENT CLINICS IN ADEN, YEMEN

2026-10-02T17:53:20+00:00

Ear infections represent a critical, neglected public health crisis in developing countries, severely impacting millions of children and adults. This study aimed to identify the bacterial etiological agents of ear infections among patients attending ENT clinics in Aden City and to determine the risk factors associated with bacterial pathogens. A total of 181 ear swab samples were collected from August to October 2025 and cultured on appropriate media. The bacterial isolates were identified using colony characteristics, Gram staining, and standard biochemical tests. Out of the 181 samples, 171 (94.5%) were culture-positive. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most frequently isolated organism (45.6%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (23.9%), Escherichia coli (15.2%), Klebsiella spp. (7.6%), Proteus spp. (4.7%), and Streptococcus spp. (1.8%), whereas Enterobacter spp. and Citrobacter spp. were the least common (0.6% each). The highest positive infection rate was (42.1%) in children ≤10 years old. Most positive infections occurred in females (60.2%) compared to males (39.8%). Positive infections were more common among the illiterate group (43.3%) and among urban residents (56.1%). Exposure to water appeared as the most significant risk factor (98.1%). The P. aeruginosa was the most common pathogen in ear infections. Early diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and strengthened health education and prevention are recommended, especially for children and other high-risk groups.

STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF SLAUGHTERING METHODS (HALAL AND NON-HALAL) AND FROZEN STORAGE ON QUALITY INDICATORS OF CHICKEN MEAT

2026-10-02T18:09:39+00:00

This study aims to investigate the effect of different slaughtering methods (Islamic Halal slaughter, Halal slaughter after stunning, and Non-Halal slaughter by suffocation) alongside frozen storage on various quality indicators of chicken meat. Conducted at the laboratories of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Marine Biology—Hadhramout University, and the Central Public Health Laboratories in Hadhramout Governorate, Yemen, this study adopted an experimental methodology based on structured laboratory trials to test hypotheses and interpret findings according to sound scientific principles. The results demonstrated that Halal slaughter without stunning yielded higher protein (15.13%–14.85%) and fat content (5.63%–5.00%) in the studied samples (fresh and after frozen storage, respectively) due to reduced degradation and oxidation processes. Conversely, these proportions decreased in Non-Halal slaughter owing to muscle stress and accelerated enzymatic degradation, which subsequently diminished the nutritional value. The study also revealed that meat from Halal slaughter maintained moderate pH values (~5.75–5.80) and a higher water-holding capacity (WHC), reflecting tissue integrity; these properties deteriorated in Non-Halal slaughter, accompanied by a slight rise in pH post-freezing due to poor bleeding efficiency and tissue damage. Meat subjected to Halal slaughter without stunning recorded the highest heme iron (Heme\ Fe) content (2.55 mg/100g) as a result of efficient bleeding, whereas it significantly dropped to 1.60 mg/100g in Non-Halal slaughter. Total Volatile Basic Nitrogen (TVB-N) (17.100%) was at its lowest level in Halal-slaughtered meat, gradually increasing after storage to 20.45%—yet remaining within acceptable limits—whereas it exhibited a sharp increase (spoilage indicator) in Non-Halal meat after freezing, reaching 20.23%. Water-holding capacity (WHC) registered a marked increase up to 89% in Halal slaughter, compared to a decrease to 80% in Non-Halal slaughter. Drip loss (8.00%) was lowest in Islamic Halal-slaughtered meat post-freezing and increased significantly to 11.50% in Non-Halal meat following frozen storage. The study recommends adopting Islamic Halal slaughter without stunning as the primary method in slaughterhouses to ensure optimal quality, nutritional value, and safety of chicken meat.

STUDY OF EFFICACY OF HIGH TIBIA MEDIAL OPEN WEDGE OSTEOTOMY IN MEDIAL COMPARTMENT OSTEOARTHRITIS

2026-10-02T18:25:16+00:00

Knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition causes progressive wear in the articular cartilage and rises pressure over the medial compartment of the knee joint which will end up as a varus deformity. High tibial osteotomy is one of the surgical managements in treatment knee osteoarthritis, the goal of the treatment is to relieve medial compartment knee pain and slowdown the arthritic progression. The purpose of study to evaluate the efficacy of Medial Opening-Wedge High Tibial Osteotomy for Medial Knee Osteoarthritis. The study is a prospective descriptive clinical study was car-ried out between 2023 and 2023 across two designated specialized surgical centers in the Aden Governorate, Yemen Twenty consecutive active patients (comprising 23 knees) presenting with symptomatic isolated medial compartment knee osteoarthritis Kellgren-Lawrence grades II–III associated with mechanical varus deformity were enrolled , all in-cluded subjects had proven refractory to conservative management protocols for at least three to six months medial open wedge high tibia osteotomy was technically executed via a standard medial approach, the clinical and functional assessment was systematically compiled at baseline (preoperative) and at a final 2-year postoperative follow-up using the validated Arabic translation of the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score. The definitive study sample con-sisted of 55% male and 45% female patients, with a mean age of 44.55±9.6 years and a well-controlled mean Body Mass Index of 24.80±1.5 kg/m2 , Preoperative radiographic staging classified 60% of cases as Kellgren-Lawrence grade III and 40% as grade II , Lateral distribution demonstrated a right-sided dominance in 60% of cases, followed by 25% left-sided, and 15% presenting with bilateral involvement the intraoperative distraction produced an average oste-otomy wedge gap size ranging between 13 and 14 mm, Functional evaluation was done by comparing pre .and postop-erative scores (knee Injury and osteoarthritis outcome scoring ) ,the final 2-year post-surgical evaluation, all five dis-crete functional domains evaluated via the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scoring subscales exhibited pro-found, statistically significant improvements relative to the baseline preoperative marks (p<0.001) osteotomy gaps were safely achieved in 100% of the evaluated knees (23/23) within an average healing window of 12 to 24 weeks No instances of structural construct failure, secondary loss of coronal realignment, or non-union were observed. The con-clusions of study was the Medial opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy utilizing rigid plate stabilization without bone grafting constitutes a highly effective, safe, and biologically reliable joint-preserving procedure for active patients un-der 60 years old suffering from mild-to-moderate varus knee osteoarthritis, The procedure delivers outstanding short- to midterm functional recovery, excellent pain relief.

A COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF EXECUTION OPERATIONS IN ETHEREUM AND ETHEREUM ONTOLOGY: A LOCAL NETWORK EXPERIMENT

2026-10-02T18:32:08+00:00

This study presents EthOn, an ontology-driven framework designed to enhance the efficiency of the Ethereum blockchain. By integrating semantic ontologies into the Ethereum layer, EthOn enables context-aware reasoning, thereby improving smart contract execution and enhancing interoperability among decentralized applications (dApps). The framework was experimentally evaluated using Protégé, Web3.js, Ganache Network, and Apache Jena. The results indicate that the Ethereum network consumes between 204,345 and 4.365 million gas units per block under low-load conditions, and between 4.448 million and 11.872 million gas units under high-load conditions. In contrast, the EthOn model achieves lower gas consumption, ranging from 132,560 to 3.697 million gas units under low load, and from 3.2 million to 10.034 million gas units under high-load conditions. This reflects a significant and consistent reduction in gas consumption, ranging from 15% to over 30% across different transaction workloads, while maintaining a high level of accuracy and reliability. Furthermore, the framework preserves its efficiency under high-load conditions, demonstrating strong robustness and scalability. These findings highlight the promising potential of semantic technologies in advancing blockchain infrastructures, paving the way for more intelligent, efficient, and scalable decentralized systems.