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
This research focuses on the epidemic of Job burnout and seeks to achieve sustainable preeminence among the employees of the University of Baghdad. It also identifies the meaning of the differences between the two genders of males and females according to the variables, and it also does the correlation between the two variables. First, the two researchers developed a test of job burnout that incorporates 18 items, which has been proven to be statistically fit. Moreover, they developed a competitive superiority measure consisting of 22 items in it, and its psychometric properties confirm their fit. The two tools were applied to a sample of 120 employees who were randomly selected from six colleges at the University of Baghdad, alongside univ
... Show MoreThe present study aimed to investigate the histological, enzyme histochemical changes and liver function effects of Maxxthor insecticide on albino rats in liver. The experiment included 20 rat which were divided into four groups, the first group 5 rats were considered the control animals and the others were divided equally into three groups with a dose of 0.01, 0.1and 1 mg / kg of body weight, respectively for a period 40 days. The animals given each 48 hours via oral route Maxxthor by tube dosage after dissolved with distilled water. Microscopic examination of liver showed inflammatory cell aggregation around vessels, congestion and dilation of sinusoids hepatocytes hypertrophy with severs inflammatory cells infiltration, kupffer cells pro
... Show MoreThe research aims to get acquainted with the evaluation of the reality of the application of the curriculum axis from among the eight Iraqi academic accreditation standards in a sample of governmental and private universities and colleges in Iraq and to identify the main and secondary reasons for it as well as to provide proposed mechanisms and procedures to help reduce gaps, If the research problem is represented in the weak availability of the requirements of the curriculum axis in universities and colleges (the study sample) due to the weak documentation and successful implementation of them and interest in them is still below the level of ambition, In order to arrive at scientific facts, the researchers adopted the comparativ
... Show MoreAlthough there are many wastewater treatment plants, we still suffer from many problems resulting from a lack of experience or technical operating problems. In this research, the service’s efficiency is evaluated according to the design laws required for small factories in the province of Najaf, which works with filtering technology through point filtration, the old project in the Al-Baraka plant, and the second works. Within the biological treatment mbbr + activated sludge, which is a biomass technology where samples were taken from both plants and annual values of the pollutant rate after treatment in the old Al-Baraka plant project COD 64 mg/L and the demand for biochemical oxyge
The performance of the pavement in terms of vehicle safety and tire wear is affected by the friction behavior of the pavement. To highlight the main characteristics that affect the production of better friction resistance of the pavement surface in this work. The micro-texture and macro-texture of the asphalt surface of Baghdad Airport highway were studied using two methods: (sand patch method and the British pendulum test). The sand patch was examined by drawing sand grains of a specific volume, while the micro-texture was analyzed using a BPT under dry and wet surface conditions. All data obtained from the two examinations were analyzed and modelled statistically using SPSS 25 software. Results show that skid resistance of pavemen
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In past years, structural pavement solution has been combined with destructive testing; these destructive methods are being replaced by non-destructive testing methods (NDT). Because the destructive test causes damage due to coring conducted for testing and also the difficulty of adequately repairing the core position in the field. Ultrasonic pulse velocity was used to evaluate the strength and volumetric properties of asphalt concrete, of binder course. The impact of moisture damage and testing temperature on pulse velocity has also been studied. Data were analyzed and modeled. It was found that using non-destructive testing represented by pulse velocity could be useful to predict the quality of asphalt c
... Show MoreThe aim of this research is to test the relationship of influence and correlation between strategic performance and its five dimensions (financial dimension, after internal processes, after internal customer satisfaction, after learning and growth, environmental and social dimension), by adopting international indicators in agricultural projects To determine the extent of the differences between the research variable and its dimensions, and then try to come out with a number of recommendations that contribute to the evaluation of agricultural projects and their performance by diagnosing and treating deviations, and based on the importance of the research topic in agricultural institutions. Institutions of the Environment and Soci
... Show MoreBackground: Axillary lymph node (ALN) enlargement with diffuse cortical thickening and conserved echogenic hilum may represent a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Sonographic strain elastography may help the characterization of borderline ALN.
Aim: To evaluate the strain elastography of borderline ALN and to calculate a cutoff value of strain ratio (SR) that can identify suspicious ALN with the highest sensitivity and specificity to reduce unnecessary invasive procedures.
Subjects and Methods: A prospective study included 45 patients who attended the Breast clinic in Oncology Teaching Hospital with borderline axillary lymphadenopathy (intact hilum and diffusely thic
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