Background. Body mass index (BMI) is a person's weight in kilograms (or pounds) divided by the square of height in meters (or feet). Obesity affects a wide spectrum of age groups, from the young to the elderly, and there are several eye diseases related to obesity like diabetic retinopathy, floppy eyelid syndrome, retinal vein occlusion, stroke-related vision loss, age-related macular degeneration, and possibly, refractive errors. Refractive errors (RE) are optical imperfections related to the focusing ability of the eye and are the main cause of visual impairment which may result in missed education and employment opportunities, lower productivity and impaired quality of life. Aim. The study aimed to find an association between body mass index (BMI) and refractive errors. Methodology. A cross-sectional study was designed to involve a representative sample of medical students in Al-Kindy College of medicine, from December 8, 2021 to January 10, 2022. Weight and height were measured. BMI was estimated, and their refractive error was assessed. Results. A total of 400 students participated in the study, of which 191 (47.8%) had refractive errors, whereas 209 (52.2%) were emmetropic. Thirty-seven point eight percent of the participants had BMI > 25. A significant relationship between refractive errors and all BMI groups was found (p < 0.025). Compared to normal weight group, overweight and obese groups, only the underweight group showed a significant relationship with refractive errors, p < 0.006. Conclusion. Myopia is associated with being underweight, hence the link between the two is statistically significant. The severity of this condition, however, is unaffected by body mass index. Myopia was not a concern among students with normal or high body mass index (BMI).
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with polymorphic expression. B cells have an essential contribution in immune system activation via the production of different cytokines and functioning as potent antigen-presenting cells. Therefore, a drug that particularly targets B cells may represent an ideal therapeutic approach for SLE. Rituximab (RTX), an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody causing transient B-cell depletion, has been used to manage SLE. This study aims to assess Rituximab effects on lupus nephritis (LN) patients when added to conventional immunosuppressants. Twenty four patients, 15-32 years old, with class III/IV/V LN were involved in this study. All were on steroids before lupus nephritis occurrence. They were
... Show MoreTaking into account the significance of food chains in the environment, it demonstrates the interdependence of all living things and has economic implications for people. Hunting cooperation, fear, and intraspecific competition are all included in a food chain model that has been developed and researched. The study tries to comprehend how these elements affect the behavior of species along the food chain. We first examined the suggested model's solution properties before calculating every potential equilibrium point and examining the stability and bifurcation nearby. We have identified the factors that guarantee the global stability of the positive equilibrium point using the geometric approach. Additionally, the circumstances that would gu
... Show MoreFuzzy logic is used to solve the load flow and contingency analysis problems, so decreasing computing time and its the best selection instead of the traditional methods. The proposed method is very accurate with outstanding computation time, which made the fuzzy load flow (FLF) suitable for real time application for small- as well as large-scale power systems. In addition that, the FLF efficiently able to solve load flow problem of ill-conditioned power systems and contingency analysis. The FLF method using Gaussian membership function requires less number of iterations and less computing time than that required in the FLF method using triangular membership function. Using sparsity technique for the input Ybus sparse matrix data gi
... Show MorePreserving the Past and Building the Future: A Sustainable Urban Plan for Mosul, Iraq
Membrane distillation (MD) is a hopeful desalination technique for brine (salty) water. In this research, Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD) and Air Gap Membrane Distillation (AGMD) will be used. The sample used is from Shat Al –Arab water (TDS=2430 mg/l). A polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) flat sheet membrane was used as a flat sheet form with a plate and frame cell. Several parameters were studied, such as; operation time, feed temperature, permeate temperature, feed flow rate. The results showed that with time, the flux decreases because of the accumulated fouling and scaling on the membrane surface. Feed temperature and feed flow rate had a positive effect on the permeate flux, while permeate temperatu
... Show MoreIn this study, ultraviolet (UV), ozone techniques with hydrogen peroxide oxidant were used to treat the wastewater which is produced from South Baghdad Power Station using lab-scale system. From UV-H2O2 experiments, it was shown that the optimum exposure time was 80 min. At this time, the highest removal percentages of oil, COD, and TOC were 84.69 %, 56.33 % and 50 % respectively. Effect of pH on the contaminants removing was studied in the range of (2-12). The best oil, COD, and TOC removal percentages (69.38 %, 70 % and 52 %) using H2O2/UV were at pH=12. H2O2/ozone experiments exhibited better performance compared to
... Show MoreThe finite element method has been used in this paper to investigate the behavior of precast reinforced concrete dapped-ends beams (DEBs) numerically. A parametric investigation was performed on an experimental specimen tested by a previous researcher to show the effect of numerous parameters on the strength and behavior of RC dapped-end beams. Reinforcement details and steel arrangement, the influence of concrete compressive strength, the effect of inclined load, and the effect of support settlement on the strength of dapped-ends beams are examples of such parameters. The results revealed that the dapped-end reinforcement arrangement greatly affects the behavior of dapped end beam. The failure load decreases by 25% when
... Show MoreFerrite with general formula Ni1-x Cox Fe2O4(where x=0.0.1,0.3,0.5,0.7, and 0.9), were prepared by standard ceramic technique. The main cubic spinel structure phase for all samples was confirmed by x-ray diffraction patterns. The lattice parameter results were (8.256-8.299 °A). Generally, x -ray density increased with the addition of Cobalt and showed value between (5.452-5.538gm/cm3). Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) showed that the average grain size and surface roughness was decreasing with the increasing cobalt concentration. Scanning Electron Microscopy images show that grains had an irregular distribution and irregular shape. The A.C conductivity was found to increase with the frequency and the addition of Cobal
... Show MoreThe ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 is associated with high morbidity and mortality. This zoonotic virus has emerged in Wuhan of China in December 2019 from bats and pangolins probably and continuing the human‐to‐human transmission globally since last two years. As there is no efficient approved treatment, a number of vaccines were developed at an unprecedented speed to counter the pandemic. Moreover, vaccine hesitancy is observed that may be another possible reason for this never ending pandemic. In the meantime, several variants and mutations were identified and causing multiple waves globally. Now the safety and efficacy of these vaccines are debatable and recommended to d