Background: Although underdeveloped in Iraq, telehealth was one tool used to continue health service provision during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aim: To assess women’s experiences and satisfaction with gynaecological and obstetric telehealth services in Iraq during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Free telehealth services were provided by 4 obstetrician-gynaecologists associated with private clinics in 2020–2021. All patients who accessed the services between June 2020 and February 2021 were invited to complete a postconsultation survey on their experience and satisfaction with services. Results were analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression conducted using SPSS version 25. Results: A total of 151 (30.2%) women responded to the survey. Two-thirds (61.6%) of them were between the ages of 19 and 30 years. Some 50.3% learned about telehealth through social media. Gynaecological consultations accounted for 48.3% of all visits, obstetric consultations 42.4% and consultations for both gynaecological and obstetric care 9.3%. Overall, 57.0% of the women were satisfied, 7.9% were dissatisfied and 35.1% neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. Some 82.7 % intended to continue using telehealth after the pandemic. Conclusion: The high-level satisfaction of women with telehealth for gynaecological and obstetric services during the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that telehealth may be a valuable complement to in-person services. Strengthening telehealth systems could be a promising strategy for increasing access to, and efficiency of, select health services beyond the pandemic.
We report a new theranostic device based on lead sulfide quantum dots (PbS QDs) with optical emission in the near infrared wavelength range decorated with affibodies (small 6.5 kDa protein-based antibody replacements) specific to the cancer biomarker human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and zinc(II) protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP) to combine imaging, targeting and therapy within one nanostructure. Colloidal PbS QDs were synthesized in aqueous solution with a nanocrystal diameter of ∼5 nm and photoluminescence emission in the near infrared wavelength range. The ZHER2:432 affibody, mutated through the introduction of two cysteine residues at the C-terminus (
Image segmentation using bi-level thresholds works well for straightforward scenarios; however, dealing with complex images that contain multiple objects or colors presents considerable computational difficulties. Multi-level thresholding is crucial for these situations, but it also introduces a challenging optimization problem. This paper presents an improved Reptile Search Algorithm (RSA) that includes a Gbest operator to enhance its performance. The proposed method determines optimal threshold values for both grayscale and color images, utilizing entropy-based objective functions derived from the Otsu and Kapur techniques. Experiments were carried out on 16 benchmark images, which inclu
In information security, fingerprint verification is one of the most common recent approaches for verifying human identity through a distinctive pattern. The verification process works by comparing a pair of fingerprint templates and identifying the similarity/matching among them. Several research studies have utilized different techniques for the matching process such as fuzzy vault and image filtering approaches. Yet, these approaches are still suffering from the imprecise articulation of the biometrics’ interesting patterns. The emergence of deep learning architectures such as the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) has been extensively used for image processing and object detection tasks and showed an outstanding performance compare
... Show MoreThis paper introduces a non-conventional approach with multi-dimensional random sampling to solve a cocaine abuse model with statistical probability. The mean Latin hypercube finite difference (MLHFD) method is proposed for the first time via hybrid integration of the classical numerical finite difference (FD) formula with Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) technique to create a random distribution for the model parameters which are dependent on time [Formula: see text]. The LHS technique gives advantage to MLHFD method to produce fast variation of the parameters’ values via number of multidimensional simulations (100, 1000 and 5000). The generated Latin hypercube sample which is random or non-deterministic in nature is further integ
... Show MoreThis paper reports the synthesis and use of a novel metal-organic framework (MOF), named Zr-BADS, within the thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes for reverse osmosis (RO) applications. Two types of zirconium-based MOFs, Zr-BADS-1 and Zr-BADS-2, were synthesized via a solvothermal method using bicinchoninic acid disodium salt as a linker and either dimethylformamide or ethanol as solvent, respectively. TFN membranes were prepared by embedding these MOFs within the polyamide thin film supported by a polysulfone support sheet. The specific surface area of Zr-BADS-1 and Zr-BADS-2 was determined to be 396.1 and 278.6 m2/g, respectively, indicating significant surface area conducive to water permeation. Scanning electron microscopic analysis r
... Show MoreBased on the diazotization-coupling reaction, a new, simple, and sensitive spectrophotometric method for determining of a trace amount of (BPF) is presented in this paper. Diazotized metoclopramide reagent react with bisphenol F produces an orange azo-compound with a maximum absorbance at 461 nm in alkaline solution. The experimental parameters were optimized such as type of alkaline medium, concentration of NaOH, diazotized metoclopramide amount, order additions, reaction time, temperature, and effect of organic solvents to achieve the optimal performance for the proposed method. The absorbance increased linearly with increasing bisphenol F concentration in the range of 0.5-10 μg mL-1 under ideal conditions, with a correlati
... Show MoreThe study of sex Structure and age characteristics of an important element of the
follow-up changes between different population groups, which are connected to a large degree
the demographic, social and economic characteristics, particularly since each population
group varying characteristics in terms of age, sex entail social, demographic, cultural and
economic implications, and from that the researcher has taken from Structure of sex and age
for population in the district of Tuz Khurmatu for (1997-2012 ) the subject of consideration
and maintain compared to see the contrast between them. Qualitative Research for installation
and the age of the urban and rural areas has touched the judiciary, as well as its respects