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
When dye is present in wastewater, it is considered a hazardous organic pollutant and must be eliminated. The goal of the current study was to evaluate the elimination of Malachite green (MG) and Methyl violet (MV) dyes using Ni foam (NiF) as an anode, along with stainless steel mesh electrodes as cathodes, and alum sludge (AS) as a third particle electrode in a three-dimensional electrocoagulation-flotation system (3DECF). With an electrolysis period of 30 minutes and pH = 7, response surface method was used to estimate the optimum conditions of studied parameters. These parameters were current density within the range of 1–5 mA/cm², concentration of NaCl within the range of 0.4 –1 g/L, and air flow rate within a range of 1–5 L/min.
... Show MoreThe molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV) is a dermatotropic poxvirus. The causative agent of molluscum contagiosum (MC) is nonlethal, common and worldwide. Additionally, little inflammation is associated with MC papules. The present study aims to evaluate the immune status of MC patients by measuring the level of immunoglobulins IgG and IgM by using the radial immune diffusion assay (RIA) and the level of interleukin 18 receptor 1 (IL-18R1) by the Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The study is conducted during November 2013 to April, 2014 in outpatient clinic of Baquba Teaching Hospital. There are 75 patients, diagnosed with clinical lesions of MCV on different areas of the body, whose age is ranged between 2-50 years including 40(53.
... Show MoreBackground: Fixed orthodontic appliances impede the maintenance of oral hygiene and result in plaque accumulation leads to enamel demineralization caused by acids produced by bacteria. Studies on plaque control strategies in orthodontic populations are limited. This might be caused by difficulties in the quantitative evaluation of dental plaque because the teeth have various levels of bracket coverage, and different tooth sizes and malocclusions, making the traditional categorical indices complex. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of different hygiene protocols on plaque quantity on bands with different attachments. Materials and method: Twenty patients had four bands within the orthodontic appliance. Then randomly divided into
... Show MoreMarriage outside the court is a manifestation of the oppression that women are subjected to in Iraq its seriousness comes out of the consequences that it leads to The. It overlooks the age of the girl and her marriage in younger age or coerced to marry as it leads to neglecting the affordability of marital relationship as long as the marriage does not have any legal or material consequences. The present study aims to detect Characteristics of both wives, husbands and families Who agree to marry her daughters outside the court. And the reasons that lead them to marry outside the courts. It also aims to provide information on the circumstances of marriage and reasons for refusing to ratify it in court. The study was based on the sample soc
... Show MoreThe aim of the present study is to study the meiobenthic invertebrate's community associated with the aquatic plant Ceratophyllum demersum in Al-Salamiyat irrigation canal / north Baghdad, with the chemical and physical parameters of the canal water, during the study period from September 2015 to May 2016. Two sites were chosen for sample collection, the first site (S1) at the beginning of the canal near it's connection with Tigris river, and the second site (S2) after 10 km from the first site. The chemico-physical analysis results revealed that the water temperature ranged from 10-30oC, and pH values ranged between 6.9-7.8, and the dissolved oxygen concentration and the BOD values from 7.2-9.2 mg/l, and 1.2-5.4 mg/l, respectively. The sal
... Show MoreFinding communities of connected individuals in complex networks is challenging, yet crucial for understanding different real-world societies and their interactions. Recently attention has turned to discover the dynamics of such communities. However, detecting accurate community structures that evolve over time adds additional challenges. Almost all the state-of-the-art algorithms are designed based on seemingly the same principle while treating the problem as a coupled optimization model to simultaneously identify community structures and their evolution over time. Unlike all these studies, the current work aims to individually consider this three measures, i.e. intra-community score, inter-community score, and evolution of community over
... Show MoreCyclophosphamide is chemotherapeutic agent that utilized for the treatment of different malignancies; however its’ used associated with numerous adverse effects. Vitamin B2 and vitamin B12 suggested having myeloprotective effect. This work is designed to investigate the myeloprotective effect of both vitamins against cyclophosphamide induced myelosuppression. One hundred adult rats of both sexes were used in this study. The animals were randomly enrolled into ten groups of 10 rats each. Group I: Control group. Group II: Cyclophosphamide-treated. Group III and Group IV Orally-administered vitamin B2 (10, and 40 mg/kg/day), respectively alone for 7 days. Group V:
... Show MoreThe physical and elastic characteristics of rocks determine rock strengths in general. Rock strength is frequently assessed using porosity well logs such as neutron and sonic logs. The essential criteria for estimating rock mechanic parameters in petroleum engineering research are uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus. Indirect estimation using well-log data is necessary to measure these variables. This study attempts to create a single regression model that can accurately forecast rock mechanic characteristics for the Harth Carbonate Formation in the Fauqi oil field. According to the findings of this study, petrophysical parameters are reliable indexes for determining rock mechanical properties having good performance p
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