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
The increasing use of antiseptic compounds creates selective pressure cause emergence of antiseptic resistance among Staphylococcus aureus .Resistance mechanism of antiseptic is driven mainly by multi drug resistant (MDR) efflux protein.Sixty five isolates of S.aureuswere collected from different clinical sources and subjected to 11 antibiotics most of them are recognized by efflux systems as extruded substrates. Range of efflux activity was estimated using cartwheel method. Simultaneous discrimination of antiseptic coding genes (qacA/B, smr and norA)as well as nuc and mecA genes among multidrug resistantS.aureus(MRSA) isolates was preformed using multiplex PCR assay
... Show MoreA taxonomic keys was established of book and bark lice Order Psocoptera to isolated insects in Iraq from different localities of Baghdad and Babylon provinces. Thirteen species belong to eight genera and five families have been studied and described in details, these species were recorded for the first time in Iraq. These species are: Belaphopsocus badonneli New, 1971; Belaphotroctes oculeris Bodonnel, 1973; Embodopsocosis newi Bodonnel, 1973; Epipsocus stigamaticus Mockeord, 1991; Lepinotus huoni Schmidt and New, 2008; Liposcelies decolor Peramane 1925 Liposcelies paeta Pearman 1942 Liposclies bostrychphila Badonnel 1931; Liposclies brunnea Mostchulsky 1852; Liposclies entoophila Enderlein 1907; Neopsocopsis minuscule Li 2002 ;
... Show MoreObjective. This study aimed to evaluate the orthodontic bond strength and enamel-preserving ability of a hydroxyapatite nanoparticles-containingself-etch system following exposure to various ageing methods. Materials and Methods. Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHAp) were incorporated into an orthodontic self-etch primer (SEP, Transbond™ plus) in three different concentrations (5%, 7%, and 9% wt) and tested versus the plain SEP (control) for shear bond strength (SBS), adhesive remnant index (ARI) scores, and enamel damage in range-finding experiments using premolar teeth. The best-performing formulation was further exposed to the following four artificial ageing methods: initial debonding, 24 h water storage, one-month water stora
... Show MoreThe bubble columns are widely used as a two or three phase reactor in industrial chemical process such as absorption, biochemical reactions, coal liquefaction, etc. To design such a column, two main parameters should be taken in consideration, the gas hold-up (), and the liquid phase mass transfer coefficient KLa. The study includes the effect of gas velocity and the addition of alcohols on gas hold-up and mass transfer coefficient in bubble column with draught tube when the length of the column is 1.5m and the ratio of the draught tube diameter to the column diameter equals 0.5 and the air dispersion into the base of the draught tube using a multi hole tuyere is equivalent to a diameter of 0.15 mm and
... Show MoreOil recovery could be impacted by the relation between vertical permeability (Kv) and horizontal permeability (Kh) (Kv/Kh). 4816 plugs that have been getting hold of 18 wells of Mishrif formation in the West Qurna oilfield were used. Kv/Kh data provided some scatter, but the mean is ~1. Kv/Kh =1 was used for the Petrel model before upscaling according to the heterogeneity of each layer.
Kv/Kh values for Mishrif Formation in West Qurna Oilfield are 0.8 for relatively homogeneous, 0.4 for heterogeneous rock, and 0.1 for cap rocks (CRII).
Eclipse TM was used for reservoir simulation. PVT and SCAL data e
... Show MoreBackground: Nasal obstruction is common in otorhinolaryngology outpatient visitors. The diagnosis of such compliant is by history, clinical examination and diagnostic procedures. Nasal endoscopy and computerized tomography scan are common diagnostic investigations. Nasal obstruction is either anterior or posterior (nasal septal deviations, hypertrophied turbinate pathological cyst, polyps, mass etc), or postnasal obstruction (hypertrophied turbinate, adenoid hypertrophy, nasopharyngeal cyst or nasopharyngeal tumors).
Aim of study: Prospective study to compare endoscopic finding and computerized tomography of nose, paranasal sinuses and postnasal space as diagnostic methods for nasal obstruction and other nose, p
... Show MoreFor the design of a deep foundation, piles are presumed to transfer the axial and lateral loads into the ground. However, the effects of the combined loads are generally ignored in engineering practice since there are uncertainties to the precise definition of soil–pile interactions. Hence, for technical discussions of the soil–pile interactions due to dynamic loads, a three-dimensional finite element model was developed to evaluate the soil pile performance based on the 1 g shaking table test. The static loads consisted of 50% of the allowable vertical pile capacity and 50% of the allowable lateral pile capacity. The dynamic loads were taken from the recorded data of the Kobe e
A set newly complexes with the general formula [M(L)Cl2] are resulting from the reaction of a new schiff base ligand [Ethyl (6R,7R)-7-((E)-2-((2-ethoxy-2- oxoethoxy)imino)-2-(2-(((E)-4-nitrobenzylidene) amino) thiazol -4- yl) acetamido) -8- oxo -3- vinyl -5- thia -1-aza bicyclo [4. 2.0] oct -2- ene -2- carboxylate] (L). This ligand was derived from the reaction of the two substances 4-nitrobenzaldehyde and precursor (P). Reaction the ligand with metal ions M= Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Cd(II) afforded new complexes which are characterized by FT-IR and Electronic Spectra. These measurements indicate that the complexes have a tetrahedral geometry. The Penicillin-Binding Protein 3 (PBP3) of Staphylococcus aureus and the target protein
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