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
In this search, a new pyrophosphate technique was proved. The technique was employed to single- nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which diagnosis using a one-base extension reaction. Three Mycobacterium tuberculosis genes were chosen (Rpob, InhA, KatG) genes. Fifty-four specimens were used in this study fifty-three proved as drug-resistant specimens by The Iraqi Institute of Chest and Respiratory Diseases in Baghdad.; also one specimen was used as a negative control. The steps of this technique were by used a specific primer within each aliquot that has a short 3-OH end of the base of the target gene that was hybridized to the single-stranded DNA template. Then, the Taq polymerase enzyme and one of either α-thio-dATP, dTTP, dGTP, or dCTP
... Show MoreThe beet armyworm (BAW), Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a highly destructive pest of vegetables and field crops. Management of beet armyworm primarily relies on synthetic pesticides, which is threatening the beneficial community and environment. Most importantly, the BAW developed resistance to synthetic pesticides with making it difficult to manage. Therefore, alternative and environment-friendly pest management tactics are urgently required. The use of pesticidal plant extracts provides an effective way for a sustainable pest management program. To evaluate the use of pesticidal plant extracts against BAW, we selected six plant species (Lantana camara, Aloe vera, Azadirachta indica, Cymbopogon citratus, Nicotiana tabacum ,
... Show MoreIn this work, combining acyclovir with ciprofloxacin (CCP), a new Schiff base and its metal complexes with iron (III), manganese (II), copper (II), zinc (II), and calcium (II) ions are synthesized and structurally characterized by XRD, SEM, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FT-IR, and UV-Visible spectral techniques. Furthermore, molecular docking studies were carried out, and the complexes were tested to resolve any potential hang-ups in opposition to the Herpes virus and DFT calculation studies. In addition, the metal complexes and ligand were screened against antibacterial strains of one gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and three gram-negative bacteria (
... Show MoreIn this work ,pure and doped(CdO)thin films with different concentration of V2O5x (0.0, 0.05, 0.1 ) wt.% have been prepared on glass substrate at room temperature using Pulse Laser Deposition technique(PLD).The focused Nd:YAG laser beam at 800 mJ with a frequency second radiation at 1064 nm (pulse width 9 ns) repetition frequency (6 Hz), for 500 laser pulses incident on the target surface At first ,The pellets of (CdO)1-x(V2O5)x at different V2O5 contents were sintered to a temperature of 773K for one hours.Then films of (CdO)1-x(V2O5)x have been prepared.The structure of the thin films was examined by using (XRD) analysis..Hall effect has been measured in orded to know the type of conductivity, Finally the solar cell and the effici
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