Asthma is one of the most common chronic, non-communicable diseases affecting children worldwide. The estimated prevalence of pediatric asthma in Iraq is 15.8%. Physiologic, inflammatory and structural factors contribute to the development of asthma. Assessment and monitoring of asthma control can be done by a validated children asthma control test (CACT). Management of asthma must address three components which are an appropriate management plan, the most appropriate medication if necessary, and the use of safe and effective medication. The management plan should consider patient counseling and education about the definition of asthma, signs, and symptoms, the pathophysiology of asthma, common triggers for asthma and how can avoid them, what are the rescue medication and the controller one, proper inhaler techniques, and how to monitor asthma control. Patient education accounts for 90% of success and this can be achieved by an active collaboration among health care providers. This is a prospective interventional study that aims at evaluating pharmacist counseling for asthmatic children. The study involved 105 participants whose consent was taken and underwent a face-to-face interview about asthma counseling and inhaler technique for those who use it. Ninety-two eligible participants remained. Their CACT was recorded at the first visit and then followed up weekly for one month either by phone or physical to assess asthma control. In the fourth week, a CACT was recorded and compared to the first one before intervention. There was a significant improvement in CACT after providing the counselling and weekly follow up.
The study was carried out to determine the cytotoxic, antioxidant and gastro-protective effect of ethyl-4-[(3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxybenzylid ene)amino] benzoate (ETHAB) in rats.
Cumulative lifetime lead (Pb) exposure has been associated with accelerated declines in cognition through the free radical generation and epigenetic effects. Several pieces of literature have identified a correlation between exposure to lead and neurodegenerative disorders. Harwich strain Drosophila melanogaster was exposed to lead acetate for two weeks, and changes in pulse transmission by acetylcholinesterase and systemic redox were evaluated. Besides, molecular docking studies of acetylcholinesterase against Quercetin and its most common derivatives contained in food have been performed. Pharmacokinetic studies on Quercetin and its derivatives have also been performed in silico toxicity. The data obtained showed alterations in antioxi
... Show MoreThis study expands the state of the art in studies that assess torsional retrofit of reinforced concrete (RC) multi-cell box girders with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips. The torsional behavior of non-damaged and pre-damaged RC multi-cell box girder specimens externally retrofitted by CFRP strips was investigated through a series of laboratory experiments. It was found that retrofitting the pre-damaged specimens with CFRP strips increased the ultimate torsional capacity by more than 50% as compared to the un-damaged specimens subjected to equivalent retrofitting. This indicated that the retrofit has been less effective for the girder specimen that did not develop distortion beforehand as a result of pre-loading. From
... Show MoreIn the present study, magnet silica-coated Ag2WO4/Ag2S nanocomposites (FOSOAWAS) were fabricated via a multistep method to address the drawbacks related to single photocatalysts (pure Ag2WO4 and pure Ag2S) and to clarify the significant influence of semiconductor heterojunction on the enhancement of visible-light-driven organic degradation. Different techniques were performed to investigate the elemental composition, morphology, magnetic and photoelectrochemical properties of the fabricated FOSOAWAS photocatalyst. The FOSOAWAS photocatalyst (1 g/L) exhibited excellent photodegradation efficiency (99.5%) against Congo red dye (CR = 20 ppm) after 140 min of visible-light illumination. This result confirmed the ability of the heterojunction be
... Show MoreIn this study, biodiesel was prepared from chicken fat via a transesterification reaction using Mussel shells as a catalyst. Pretreatment of chicken fat was carried out using non‐catalytic esterification to reduce the free fatty acid content from 36.28 to 0.96 mg KOH/g oil using an ethanol/ fat mole ratio equal to 115:1. In the transesterification reaction, the studied variables were methanol: oil mole ratio in the range of (6:1 ‐ 30:1), catalyst loading in the range of (9‐15) wt%, reaction temperature (55‐75 °C), and reaction time (1‐7) h. The heterogeneous alkaline catalyst was greenly synthesized from waste mussel shells throughout a calcin
This investigation reports application of a mesoporous nanomaterial based on dicationic ionic liquid bonded to amorphous silica, namely nano-N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-N-(silican-propyl)-N′-sulfo-ethane-1,2-diaminium chloride (nano-[TSPSED][Cl]2), as an extremely effectual and recoverable catalyst for the generation of bis(pyrazolyl)methanes and pyrazolopyranopyrimidines in solvent-free conditions. In both synthetic protocols, the performance of this catalyst was very useful and general and presented attractive features including short reaction times with high yields, reasonable turnover frequency and turnover number values, easy workup, high performance under mild conditions, recoverability and reusability in 5 consecutive runs without lo
... Show MoreIn this study, biodiesel was prepared from chicken fat via a transesterification reaction using Mussel shells as a catalyst. Pretreatment of chicken fat was carried out using non‐catalytic esterification to reduce the free fatty acid content from 36.28 to 0.96 mg KOH/g oil using an ethanol/ fat mole ratio equal to 115:1. In the transesterification reaction, the studied variables were methanol: oil mole ratio in the range of (6:1 ‐ 30:1), catalyst loading in the range of (9‐15) wt%, reaction temperature (55‐75 °C), and reaction time (1‐7) h. The heterogeneous alkaline catalyst was greenly synthesized from waste mussel shells throughout a calcin