BACKGROUND: Montelukast (Singulair) is a cysteinyl leukotriene receptor antagonist, used for the maintenance treatment of asthma and to relieve symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis and asthma, also used for exercise-induced bronchospasm. AIM: This study was performed to determine the prevalence of Montelukast use as an add-on therapy among Iraqi asthmatic patients on treatment. Comparing the effectiveness of regimens with and without montelukast. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on 73 Iraqi asthmatic patients on treatment of both sexes with age range (18-60) years old, attending Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital and Al-Zahraa Centre of Asthma and Allergy, Baghdad, for the period between February and March 2017. A questionnaire was specifically prepared to meet the objectives and was used to collect the data of the study. RESULTS: There was a significant statistical reduction of frequency in asthmatic attacks after Montelukast treatment (p-value < 0.05). Out of 73 patients, 39 were males, and 34 were females, 46 were jobless, 37 were married, 63 were urban residents, 63 were educated. Prevalence of exacerbation factors was as following: infection was found in 60.3% of the patients, exercise in 57.5%, dust in 72.6%, smoking in 60.6%, food in 24.7%, others (stress, perfumes) in 20.5%. The prevalence of Montelukast use in this study was 46% (34 patients). Out of 34 patients using Montelukast, 28 were using inhaled salbutamol, 5 were using oral salbutamol, 15 were using inhaled corticosteroids, 9 were using systematic corticosteroids, 2 were using xanthines, and 6 were using ketotifen. CONCLUSION: Montelukast was used as add-on therapy with the inhaled corticosteroids to reduce the required dose of inhaled corticosteroids also the use of Montelukast lead to reduced number of exacerbations which will be reflected on the use of inhaled salbutamol and systematic corticosteroids. Also, Montelukast was superior to xanthines and ketotifen as an add-on therapy.
This paper proposes a new encryption method. It combines two cipher algorithms, i.e., DES and AES, to generate hybrid keys. This combination strengthens the proposed W-method by generating high randomized keys. Two points can represent the reliability of any encryption technique. Firstly, is the key generation; therefore, our approach merges 64 bits of DES with 64 bits of AES to produce 128 bits as a root key for all remaining keys that are 15. This complexity increases the level of the ciphering process. Moreover, it shifts the operation one bit only to the right. Secondly is the nature of the encryption process. It includes two keys and mixes one round of DES with one round of AES to reduce the performance time. The W-method deals with
... Show MoreThis paper investigates the interaction between fiscal and monetary policy in Iraq after 2003 using the prisoner’s dilemma.The paper aims to determine the best form of coordination between these policies to achieve their goals; payoff matrix for both policies was constructed. To achieve the purpose, the quantitative approach was applied using several methods, including regression, building payoff matrices and decision analysis using a number of software.The results of the monetary policy payment function show that inflation rate has an inverse relationship with the auctions of selling foreign currency and a positive relationship with the government’s activity, while the fiscal policy function shows that real growth is positively
... Show MoreSustainable vegetative management plays a significant role in improving soil quality in degraded agricultural landscapes by enhancing soil microbial biomass. This study investigated the effects of grass buffers (GBs), biomass crops (BCs), grass waterways (GWWs), and agroforestry buffers (ABs) on soil microbial biomass and soil organic C (SOC) compared with continuous corn (
Protecting information sent through insecure internet channels is a significant challenge facing researchers. In this paper, we present a novel method for image data encryption that combines chaotic maps with linear feedback shift registers in two stages. In the first stage, the image is divided into two parts. Then, the locations of the pixels of each part are redistributed through the random numbers key, which is generated using linear feedback shift registers. The second stage includes segmenting the image into the three primary colors red, green, and blue (RGB); then, the data for each color is encrypted through one of three keys that are generated using three-dimensional chaotic maps. Many statistical tests (entropy, peak signa
... Show MorePhotodetector based on Rutile and Anatase TiO2 nanostructures/n-Si Heterojunction
Abstract
The current study presents numerical investigation of the fluid (air) flow characteristics and convection heat transfer around different corrugated surfaces geometry in the low Reynolds number region (Re<1000). The geometries are included wavy, triangle, and rectangular. The effect of different geometry parameters such as aspect ratio and number of cycles per unit length on flow field characteristics and heat transfer was estimated and compared with each other. The computerized fluid dynamics package (ANSYS 14) is used to simulate the flow field and heat transfer, solve the governing equations, and extract the results. It is found that the turbulence intensity for rectangular extended surface was larg
... Show MoreIn this paper, we investigate the connection between the hierarchical models and the power prior distribution in quantile regression (QReg). Under specific quantile, we develop an expression for the power parameter ( ) to calibrate the power prior distribution for quantile regression to a corresponding hierarchical model. In addition, we estimate the relation between the and the quantile level via hierarchical model. Our proposed methodology is illustrated with real data example.
The concept of the active contour model has been extensively utilized in the segmentation and analysis of images. This technology has been effectively employed in identifying the contours in object recognition, computer graphics and vision, biomedical processing of images that is normal images or medical images such as Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI), X-rays, plus Ultrasound imaging. Three colleagues, Kass, Witkin and Terzopoulos developed this energy, lessening “Active Contour Models” (equally identified as Snake) back in 1987. Being curved in nature, snakes are characterized in an image field and are capable of being set in motion by external and internal forces within image data and the curve itself in that order. The present s
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