Introduction: Although it is discouraged, community pharmacy customers can obtain oral corticosteroids (OCSs) without prescriptions from some community pharmacies in Iraq. Medication abuse is defined as the use of medication for non-medical reasons. Objectives: The study aimed to determine demographics, beliefs, and perceptions associated with the abuse of oral corticosteroids for non-illness reasons among community pharmacy customers. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in fall 2018 in four provinces in Iraq. Customers of 19 community pharmacies asking for OCSs for themselves without a prescription were administered a paper survey. This study used the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) to measure the relationship between the motivational factors and the abuse of OCSs. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationships between the use of OCSs for non-illness and six TRA factors: Normative belief, behavioral belief, evaluation of the behavior, motivation to comply, subjective norms and attitude toward behavior. Results: The study enrolled 141 participants (98 women and 43 men) taking asking for OCSs without prescription. Dexamethasone was the most commonly used OCSs (59.6%). Friends were the primary recommenders for corticosteroids abuse (28.4%). The main reasons for using OCSs were to increase appetite and gain weight (53.9 %). Approximately one-third (36.2 %) of the participants gained weight after using OCSs. The regression analysis of the TRA variables showed two factors were significantly related to the abuse of OCSs. Age had a significant inverse relationship with the abuse of OCSs and the "good appearance" belief had a significant positive association with OCS abuse. Conclusion: Some Iraqi community pharmacy customers use non-prescribed oral corticosteroids to increase appetite and gain weight. Improve body appearance represents the dominant incentive that urges people to use OCSs without prescription. Health officials and healthcare practitioners need to promote people's awareness about the risks of misusing OCSs through education programs and advertisements in public health settings, media, and social media. Article Type: Original Research
Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common malignancy characterized by poor prognosis and low survival rate. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Immunohistochemical expressions of BAD, MDM2, and P21as apoptotic markers in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Materials and methods: This study was performed on forty formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded blocks which histopathologically diagnosed as Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. All cases were collected from the Histopathological Laboratory from patients treated surgically at Maxillofacial surgery Department at Ramadi Teaching Hospital, Iraq. Results: The immunohistochemical staining of BAD showed positive expression in 39 (97.5%), MDM2 showed positive expression in 39(97.5%)
... Show MoreBilastine (BL) is a novel non-sedating second-generation antihistamine, and its bioavailability is about 60%. Objective: To compare the bioavailability of prepared oral self-nanoemulsions of BL (BL-SNE) with that of pure BL and marketed tablets. Methods: Four groups of Wistar rats were used in this study, each with six rats weighing between 200 and 250 g. They were treated orally using a a gavage tube. The groups were fed either with conventional tablets ("Alerbix®") after being ground and dispersed with deionized water (DIW), treated with BL-SNE or fed with pure BL powder suspension. The fourth group did not receive any medication. The concentration of BL in the rat’s plasma was measured using HPLC. We used Trandolapril as an an interna
... Show MoreBackground: Potentially malignant oral disorders (PMODs) are common precursors of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Neoangiogenesis and signalling are important intermediate biomarkers that may govern the progression of dysplastic mucosa into carcinoma. Aims: Evaluate the importance of CD34 and Wnt3 expression in PMODs and OSCCs in relation to their clinicopathological parameters. Settings and Design: Prospective cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: Immunohistochemical staining for CD34 and Wnt3 was performed for 41 samples. These included 27 PMODs, six OSCCs and eight normal gingival and alveolar mucosa. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc tests were applied. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: CD34
... Show MoreBackground: There are various secreted proteins affecting the prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and one of them is Angiopoietin-2(Ang-2) which is thought to have an essential role in the development and progression of the tumor. Aim of the study: This study was conducted to determine the expression of (Ang-2) in (OSCC) to assess its correlations with clinicopathological parameters of the tumor. Material and Methods: 36 formalin- fixed, paraffin- embedded tissue blocks histologically diagnosed as OSCC were examined for Ang-2 immunohistochemical expression semi quantitively. Results: The expression of Ang-2 was significantly associated with histopathological grade (P value=0.023), while there is no significant association wi
... Show MoreDarifenacin hydrobromide is a selective ?3 receptor antimuscarinic drug and it is used in the management of urinary frequency, urgency, and incontinence in detrusor instability. It slightly soluble in water, undergoes extensive hepatic first-pass metabolism and has short elimination half-life (3–4 hours). Therefore, It has low bioavailability (15.4 % - 18.6 %). Darifenacin hydrobromide loaded NLCs were formulated by emulsification sonication using different ratios of solid lipid to liquid lipid, different types of surfactants, and different concentration of surfactants. Formula sixteen was considered as an optimized formula based on its particle size, PDI, zeta potential and entrapment efficiency. Formula sixteen subjected t
... Show MoreHuman beings are starting to benefit from the technology revolution that witness in our time. Where most researchers are trying to apply modern sciences in different areas of life to catch up on the benefits of these technologies. The field of artificial intelligence is one of the sciences that simulate the human mind, and its applications have invaded human life. The sports field is one of the areas that artificial intelligence has been introduced. In this paper, artificial intelligence technology Fast-DTW (Fast-Dynamic Time Warping) algorithm was used to assess the skill performance of some karate skills. The results were shown that the percentage of improvement in the skill performance of Mai Geri is 100%.
In this paper Heun method has been used to find numerical solution for first order nonlinear functional differential equation. Moreover, this method has been modified in order to treat system of nonlinear functional differential equations .two numerical examples are given for conciliated the results of this method.