This study aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of laser lithotripsy and pneumatic lithotripsy, the two most commonly used transurethral lithotripsy methods for treating bladder stones in children in Iraq. Between January 2013 and December 2016, 64 children with bladder stones were included in this prospective randomized study, after ethical committee approval and written consent from the children’s parents or caregivers were obtained. Patients were assigned randomly by computer software to two groups treated with either pneumatic cystolithotripsy or laser lithotripsy. A 9 Fr. semirigid ureteroscope was used to pass the lithotripter through and fragment the stone. A catheter of 8–12 Fr. was then introduced and kept in place for 24 h. All children were hospitalized for 24 h, and the catheter was removed the next morning. Outpatient follow-up was maintained for 6–12 months. In terms of operation outcomes and complications, the laser lithotripsy group had a significantly longer duration of operation (74.5 ± 26.6 min vs. 51.5 ± 17.2 min, p = 0.001), whereas the number of patients requiring an extended hospital stay was significantly higher in the pneumatic lithotripsy group (48.5% vs. 16.1%, p = 0.006). Moreover, pneumatic lithotripsy was associated with a significantly greater risk of having at least one adverse effect (64% greater than that in the laser group). Stone clearance rates did not significantly differ between treatment groups. In conclusion, both pneumatic and laser lithotripters can be used to treat children with bladder stones with high efficacy and safety.
Methylotrophs bacteria are ubiquitous, and they have the ability to consume single carbon (C1) which makes them biological conversion machines. It is the first study to find facultative methylotrophic bacteria in contaminated soils in Iraq. Conventional PCR was employed to amplify MxaF that encodes methanol dehydrogenase enzyme. DNA templates were extracted from bacteria isolated from five contaminated sites in Basra. The gene specific PCR detected Methylorubrum extorquens as the most dominant species in these environments. The ability of M. extorquens to degrade aliphatic hydrocarbons compound was tested at the laboratory. Within 7 days, gas chromatographic (GC) studies of remaining utilize
... Show MoreIn the present study, the effectiveness of a procedure of electrocoagulation for removing chemical oxygen demand (COD) from the wastewater of petroleum refinery has been evaluated. Aluminum and stainless steel electrodes were used as a sacrificial anode and cathode respectively. The effect of current density (4-20mAcm−2), pH (3-11), and NaCl concentration (0-4g/l) on efficiency of removal of chemical oxygen demand was investigated. The results have shown that increasing of current density led to increase the efficiency of COD removal while increasing NaCl concentration resulted in decreasing of COD removal efficiency. Effect of pH was found to be lowering COD re
The objective of this work is to investigate the performance of a conventional three phase induction motor supplied by unbalanced voltages. An effort to study the motor steady state performance under this disturbance is introduced. Using per phase equivalent circuit analysis with the concept of symmetrical components approach, the steady state performance is theoretically calculated. Also, a model for the induction motor with the MATLAB/Simulink SPS tools has been implemented and steady state results were obtained. Both results are compared and show good correlation as well. The simulation model is introduced to support and enhance electrical engineers with a complete understanding for the steady state performance of a fully loaded induc
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This work involves studying the effect of adding some selective organic component mixture on corrosion behavior of pure Al and its alloys in condensed synthetic automotive solution (CSAS) at room temperature. This mixture indicates the increasing of octane number in previous study and in this study show the increasing in corrosion resistance through the decreasing in corrosion rate values.
Electrochemical measurements were carried out by potentiostat at 3 mV/sec to estimate the corrosion parameters using Tafel extrapolation method, in addition to cyclic polarization test to know the pitting susceptibility of materials in tested medium.
The cathodic Tafel slope
... Show MoreImproving" Jackknife Instrumental Variable Estimation method" using A class of immun algorithm with practical application
This paper presents the non-linear finite element method to study the behavior of four reinforced rectangular concrete MD beams with web circular openings tested under two-point load. The numerical finite elements methods have been used in a much more practical way to achieve approximate solutions for more complex problems. The ABAQUS /CAE is chosen to explore the behavior of MD beams. This paper also studies, the effect of both size and shape of the circular apertures of MD beams. The strengthening technique that used in this paper is externally strengthening using CFRP around the opening in the MD beams. The numerical results were compared to the experimental results in terms of ultimate load failure and displace
... Show MoreExcessive intake of fluoride, mainly through drinking water is a serious health hazard affecting humans worldwide. In this study, the defluoridation capacities of locally available raw waste beef bones have been estimated. Several experimental parameters including contact time, pH, bone dose, fluoride initial concentration, bone grains size, agitation rate, and the effect of co-existence of anions in actual samples of wastewater were studied for fluoride removal from aqueous solutions. Results indicated excellent fluoride removal effeciency up to 99.7% at fluoride initial concentration of 10 mg F/L and 120 min contact time. Maximum fluoride uptake was obtained at neutral pH range 6-7. Fluoride removal kinetic was well described by the ps
... Show MoreA series of laboratory model tests has been carried out to investigate the using of pomegranate sticks mat as reinforcement to increase the bearing capacity of footing on loose sand. The influence of depth and length of pomegranate sticks layer was examined. In the present research single layer of pomegranate sticks reinforcement was used to strengthen the loose sand stratum beneath the strip footing. The dimensions of the used foundation were 4*20 cm. The reinforcement layer has been embedded at depth 2, 4 and 8 cm under surcharge stresses . Reinforcing layer with length of 8 and 16 cm were used. The final model test results indicated that the inclusion of pomegranate sticks reinforcement is very effective in improvement the loading cap
... Show MoreThis study included the isolation and identification of Aspergillus flavus isolates associated with imported American rice grains and local corn grains which collected from local markets, using UV light with 365 nm wave length and different media (PDA, YEA, COA, and CDA ). One hundred and seven fungal isolates were identified in rice and 147 isolates in corn.4 genera and 7 species were associated with grains, the genera were Aspergillus ,Fusarium ,Neurospora ,Penicillium . Aspergillus was dominant with occurrence of 0.47% and frequency of 11.75% in rice grains whereas in corn grains the genus Neurospora was dominant with occurrence of 1.09% and frequency 27.25% ,results revealed that 20 isolates out of 50 A. flavus isolates were able
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