Objective: To study the effect of epidural spinal injection over one year in case of spinal stenosis. Methodology: This prospective study included 566 patients with spinal stenosis seen at Al-Kindy Teaching and Al-Sader, Hospitals who were treated by local epidural steroid injection. They were followed up for at least five subsequent visits after seven days, one month, three months, six months, and one year to assess efficacy. Result: Mean age of patients was 49.5 years, with a predominance of females (65%). L4/L5 was the most involved level in the spinal stenosis (70%). Grade II stenosis accounted for (45.4%) of cases. The pairwise comparison revealed that there was significant decrease in proportions of patients with pain in day 3 compared to two weeks (p<0.001). After one year, there was significant increase in patient’s number in comparison to day 3 (p<0.0001). There was a relationship between time and steroid injection that was statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: The patients of spinal stenosis get benefit from epidural steroids injections in early follow-up but the effect decreases over the year.
Choosing antimicrobials is a common dilemma when the expected rate of bacterial resistance is high. The observed resistance values in unequal groups of isolates tested for different antimicrobials can be misleading. This can affect the decision to recommend one antibiotic over the other. We analyzed recalled data with the statistical consideration of unequal sample groups. Data was collected concerning children suspected to have typhoid fever at Al Alwyia Pediatric Teaching Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. The study period extended from September 2021 to September 2022. A novel algorithm was developed to compare the drug sensitivity among unequal numbers of Salmonella typhi (S. Typhi) isolates tested with different antibacterials.
... Show MorePolyacrylonitrile nanofiber (PANFS), a well-known polymers, has been extensively employed in the manufacturing of carbon nanofibers (CNFS), which have recently gained substantial attention due to their excellent features, such as spinnability, environmental friendliness, and commercial feasibility. Because of their high carbon yield and versatility in tailoring the final CNFS structure, In addition to the simple formation of ladder structures through nitrile polymerization to yield stable products, CNFS and PAN have been the focus of extensive research as potential production precursors. For instance, the development of biomedical and high-performance composites has now become achievable. PAN homopolymer or PAN-based precursor copolymer can
... Show MoreImage classification is the process of finding common features in images from various classes and applying them to categorize and label them. The main problem of the image classification process is the abundance of images, the high complexity of the data, and the shortage of labeled data, presenting the key obstacles in image classification. The cornerstone of image classification is evaluating the convolutional features retrieved from deep learning models and training them with machine learning classifiers. This study proposes a new approach of “hybrid learning” by combining deep learning with machine learning for image classification based on convolutional feature extraction using the VGG-16 deep learning model and seven class
... Show MoreThis work involved the successful synthesis of three new Schiff base complexes, including Ni(II), Mn(II), and Cu(II) complexes. The Schiff base ligand was created by reacting the malonyldihydrazide molecule with naphthaldehyde, and the final step involved reacting the ligand with the corresponding metallic chloride yielding pure target complexes. FTIR, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, mass, and UV/Vis spectroscopies were used to comprehensively characterize the produced complexes. These substances have been employed in this study to photo-stabilize polystyrene (PS) and lessen the photo-degradation of its polymeric chains. Several methods, including FTIR, weight loss, viscosity average molecular weight, light and atomic force microscopy, and energy disper
... Show MoreIn this paper, a new equivalent lumped parameter model is proposed for describing the vibration of beams under the moving load effect. Also, an analytical formula for calculating such vibration for low-speed loads is presented. Furthermore, a MATLAB/Simulink model is introduced to give a simple and accurate solution that can be used to design beams subjected to any moving loads, i.e., loads of any magnitude and speed. In general, the proposed Simulink model can be used much easier than the alternative FEM software, which is usually used in designing such beams. The obtained results from the analytical formula and the proposed Simulink model were compared with those obtained from Ansys R19.0, and very good agreement has been shown. I
... Show MoreThis investigation proposed an identification system of offline signature by utilizing rotation compensation depending on the features that were saved in the database. The proposed system contains five principle stages, they are: (1) data acquisition, (2) signature data file loading, (3) signature preprocessing, (4) feature extraction, and (5) feature matching. The feature extraction includes determination of the center point coordinates, and the angle for rotation compensation (θ), implementation of rotation compensation, determination of discriminating features and statistical condition. During this work seven essential collections of features are utilized to acquire the characteristics: (i) density (D), (ii) average (A), (iii) s
... Show MoreLowering the emission, fuel economy and torque management are the essential
requirements in the recent development in the automobile industry. The main engine control
input that satisfies the above requirements is the throttling angle which adjusts the air mass
flow rate to the engine port. Due to the uncertainty and the presence of the nonlinear
components in its dynamical model, the sliding mode control theory is utilized in this work
for the throttle valve angle control system to design a robust controller for this system in the
presence of a nonlinear spring and Coulomb friction. A continuous sliding mode control law
which consists of a saturation function, instead of a signum function, and the integral of
ano
Lost circulation or losses in drilling fluid is one of the most important problems in the oil and gas industry, and it appeared at the beginning of this industry, which caused many problems during the drilling process, which may lead to closing the well and stopping the drilling process. The drilling muds are relatively expensive, especially the muds that contain oil-based mud or that contain special additives, so it is not economically beneficial to waste and lose these muds. The treatment of drilling fluid losses is also somewhat expensive as a result of the wasted time that it caused, as well as the high cost of materials used in the treatment such as heavy materials, cement, and others. The best way to deal with drilling fluid losses
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