Traditional nursing interventions for children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) often lack active engagement and show limited improvement in motor function. Play interventions involving manipulative activities may better support motor skill development. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of structured play-based nursing interventions on hand motor skills in children with cerebral palsy. Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design with a control group was used. The study was conducted at the Paediatric Welfare Hospital in Baghdad from November 25, 2024, to February 13, 2025. A non-probability sample of 79 children was identified based on the study criteria; of these, 64 children met the eligibility criteria and agreed to participate. While all children continued routine care, only intervention groups received play-based therapy using clay, beads, and sand. The Box and Block Test (BBT) was used to assess hand function before and after the intervention. Data were analysed using SPSS (version 0.27) with descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The intervention groups demonstrated significant improvements in hand function compared to the control group (ANOVA: F = 8.11, p = 0.001, η² = 0.29), reflecting a medium-to-large effect size. Analysis across time points showed that at post-test 1, the effect size was medium (η² = 0.17), whereas at post-test 2, it increased to medium-to-large (η² = 0.29). Post-hoc comparisons indicated that the clay intervention produced the largest gains in Box and Block Test scores (Cohen’s d = 0.65, medium effect), while sand therapy resulted in moderate improvements and bead therapy showed smaller gains. Overall, the percentage improvement in hand function ranged from 18% to 27% across intervention groups. Conclusion: Nursing interventions incorporating play activities are effective in improving hand function in children with cerebral palsy. These methods are child-friendly, supporting the development of motor skills and promoting greater independence. However, no follow-up assessments were conducted to evaluate the long-term sustainability of improvements. Future studies should include follow-up evaluations to confirm lasting benefits.
The aim of this work is to enhance the mechanical properties of the glass ionomer cement GIC (dental materials) by adding Zirconium Oxide ZrO2 in both micro and nano particles. GIC were mixed with (3, 5 and 7) wt% of both ZrO2 micro and nanoparticles separately. Compressive strength (CS), biaxial flexural strength (BFS), Vickers Microhardness (VH) and wear rate losses (WR) were investigated. The maximum compression strength was 122.31 MPa with 5 wt. % ZrO2 micro particle, while 3wt% nanoparticles give highest Microhardness and biaxial flexural strength of 88.8 VHN and 35.79 MPa respectively. The minimum wear rate losses were 3.776µg/m with 7 wt. % ZrO2 nanoparticle. GIC-contai
... Show MoreThe Antimicrobial activity of Probiotic Bifidobacterium sp and Prebiotics : chicory roots ( Hot water extract ) and Inulin ( 10 % ) against some Pathogenic bacteria (Esherichia coli , Proteus mirabilis , Klebsiella sp , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Serratia marcescens was studied . The combination of Probiotic and Prebiotics (Synbiotic) (Bifidobacterium sp + chicory ) and (Bifidobacterium sp + Inulin ) also tested for their antimicrobial activity against Pathogenic bacteria . Results showed that Bifidobacterium sp had good antimicrobial activity against all the Pathogenic bacteria tested , followed by chicory and inulin . The synergistic inhibitory effect of Synbiotic (Bifidobacterium sp + chicory ) and ( Bifidobacterium sp + inuli
... Show MoreBy optimizing the efficiency of a modular simulation model of the PV module structure by genetic algorithm, under several weather conditions, as a portion of recognizing the ideal plan of a Near Zero Energy Household (NZEH), an ideal life cycle cost can be performed. The optimum design from combinations of NZEH-variable designs, are construction positioning, window-to-wall proportion, and glazing categories, which will help maximize the energy created by photovoltaic panels. Comprehensive simulation technique and modeling are utilized in the solar module I-V and for P-V output power. Both of them are constructed on the famous five-parameter model. In addition, the efficiency of the PV panel is established by the genetic algorithm
... Show MoreOne of the most important virulence factors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is biofilm formation, as it works as a barrier for entering antibiotics into the bacterial cell. Different environmental and nutritional conditions were used to optimize biofilm formation using microtitre plate assay by P. aeruginosa. The low nutrient level of the medium represented by tryptic soy broth (TSB) was better in biofilm formation than the high nutrient level of the medium with Luria Broth (LB). The optimized condition for biofilm production at room temperature (25 °C) is better than at host temperature (37 °C). Moreover, the staining with 0.1% crystal violet and reading the biofilm with wavelength 360 are considered essential factors in
... Show MoreA New developed technique to estimate the necessary six elastic constants of homogeneous laminate of special orthotropic properties are presented in this paper for the first time. The new approach utilizes the elasto-static deflection behavior of composite cantilever beam employing the famous theory of Timoshenko. Three extracted strips of the composite plate are tested for measuring the bending deflection at two locations. Each strip is associated to a preferred principal axis and the deflection is measured in two orthogonal planes of the beam domain. A total of five trails of testing is accomplished and the numerical results of the stiffness coefficients are evaluated correctly under the contribution of the macromechanic
... Show MoreIn the present study, metal complexes of Mn(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Cu(II) and Hg(II) were synthesized using new Tetraazamacrocyclic Schiff Base (5E,8E,14E,17E)-6,8,15,17-tetramethyl-1,2,3,4,4a,7,9a,10,11,12,13,13a,16,18a-tetradecahydrodibenzo [b,i][1,4,8,11]tetraazacyclotetradecine (L) derived from 1,2-diamino cyclo hexane with the acetyl acetone. Compounds have been exanimated and confirmed by fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-visible), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR), carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (13CNMR), microelemental analyses (CHN), thermal analysis (TG), conductivity and magnetic susceptibility. The propose geometry for all complexes [MLCl2] structures were octahedral. Therm
... Show MoreBackground
Respiratory tract aspergillosis is a pulmonary disease cause by aspergillus species which are opportunistic fungi that mainly infect immuno-compromised patients .
Objective(s)
The present study aimed to detect the frequency of pulmonary aspergillosis among clinically suspected and under follow up tuberculosis patients conducted at Tropical Diseases Teaching Hospital, Omdurman, Khartoum State , Sudan during the period from December 2019 to November 2020.
Materials and Methods
One hundred and fifty sputum samples were collected from suspected cases of pulmonary tuberculosis and under follow up tuberculosis patients. All specimens were examined using 20% KOH and cultured on two
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