Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory, immune mediated disease of the central nervous system, mostly affecting young adults with mean age of 30 years, twice as high in women compared to men. The etiology of MS is not fully elucidated. MS symptoms are directly related to demyelination and axonal loss, along with other psychological symptoms, can result in functional limitations, disability and reduced quality of life (QoL). The QoL assessments in patients with a chronic disease may contribute to improving treatment and could even be of prognostic value. The goals of this study were to compare the QoL of Iraqi patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS),using three different diseases modifying therapies(DMTs) administered orally, subcutaneously, and by slow infusion; namely, fingolimod,interferonB-1b, and natalizumab, respectively. And to assess the role of disability status, educational status, occupational status, MS duration, and treatment duration as a predictor for the QoL. Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis (FAMS) questionnaire version 4 was used to assess QoL. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were tested by univariate and multivariate regression analyses to assess the contribution of these predictors to QoL. No significant differences were found in symptoms, thinking/fatigue subscales and FAMS total scores among the three DMTs. In conclusion: Iraqi MS patients using InterferonB-1b, fingolimod or natalizumab have a comparable low level of QoL. The expanded disability status scale (EDSS) is negatively associated with QoL of MS patients in all of the three therapies, while other predictors such as occupational status, educational status, smoking habit and MS duration have different impact in different treatments.
There is a growing need for up-to-date data for rapid decision making in the modern digital age. Recently, the need for high-resolution topographic maps is highly demanding by most mapping clients. With the maturing automatic structure from mobile and multi-view stereoscopy software, small organizations and individuals now have the ability to make their own surveys based on mobile mapping devices. This study looks at how feasible using low-cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) as a mobile mapping device for photogrammetric topographical surveys. It is showing the impact of different UAV flight settings and parameters on the accuracy of mapping products. An automatic scenario for photogra
Sovereign wealth funds have attracted the attention of the governments of the oil and non-oil countries alike, with a variation of the size of those funds to those states, based on the size of the financial surpluses resulting from Alriadat oil or foreign reserves, or state revenues for other sovereign assets. Raj use these funds remarkably during the financial crises the world has seen, including the crisis of 2008-2007., And Iraq is a oil-producing countries, which has the third largest reserves of crude oil (Crude Oil) at the level of the Arab world and of 140 300)) million barrels after Saudi Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the fourth reserves of crude oil in the world after issued Venezuela to the reserve
... Show MoreThe Industrial Banks in most countries in the world plays an essential and vital role in developing the industrial sector due to its effective importance in the economic and social development. The research aims to study the ability of the Industrial Bank of Iraq to the growth and development of the mixed industrial sector companies through loans granted to them. In addition, the research seeks to study credit policies pursued by the Industrial Bank of Iraq to finance the mixed industrial sector companies. The data of the research has been collected from the financial statements of the Industrial Banks of Iraq for the period 2007-2011, and by means of questionnaire distributed to a sample of the mixed industrial sector companies in
... Show MoreEcosystems provide humans with services that include benefits from food, fresh water, climate regulation, and socio-economic assets. The Mesopotamian marshlands are among the largest wetlands in the Middle East and they provide various benefits. However, ecosystem services of the Marshlands are consistently undervalued in national economic analysis and decision making. This study focusses on the Central Marshes, the first National Park in Iraq, and is the first attempt at valuing a series of ecosystem services from a valuable natural ecosystem in Iraq. We adopted the Toolkit for Ecosystem Services Site-Based Assessment (TESSA) for the determination of biophysical and economic values of services at the site level. Data on key ecosystem se
... Show MoreBiomarkers to detect Alzheimer’s disease (AD) would enable patients to gain access to appropriate services and may facilitate the development of new therapies. Given the large numbers of people affected by AD, there is a need for a low-cost, easy to use method to detect AD patients. Potentially, the electroencephalogram (EEG) can play a valuable role in this, but at present no single EEG biomarker is robust enough for use in practice. This study aims to provide a methodological framework for the development of robust EEG biomarkers to detect AD with a clinically acceptable performance by exploiting the combined strengths of key biomarkers. A large number of existing and novel EEG biomarkers associated with slowing of EEG, reductio
... Show MoreCoeliac disease is an immunologically mediated disease of the small intestinal mucosa, characterized by flattening of the small intestinal villi, increased numbers of intra-epithelial lymphocytes and inflammatory cell infiltrates in the lamina propria, resulting in gut damage and nonspecific malabsorption of nutrients. The disease is elicited by ingestion of gluten, a protein found in several cereals, principally wheat, but also barley and to a lesser extent, oats. Successful treatment is avoidance of dietary gluten. Long-standing evidence suggests a T-cell-mediated response to peptides derived from the gliadin fraction of wheat gluten, leading to immunologically mediated intestinal injury in genetically susceptible individuals. The
... Show MoreBackground: The association between oral microbial infection and systemic disease is not a new concept. A major confounding issue is that oral infections often are only one of the many important factors that can influence systemic diseases .Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the periodontal health status of patients with acquired coronary heart disease. Type of the study: Cross-sectional study.Methods: The study group consisted of 200 patients with an age range (35-70) years, having coronary heart disease .This study group were compared to a control group of non-coronary heart disease (200 individuals ) matching with age and gender. The oral parameters were examined including the periodontal conditions, assessment of periodo
... Show MoreThe study aims to measure the impact of reporting on value creation on the earnings quality of the economic unit by presenting and discussing the conceptual aspects of the value creation process through multi-capital and the importance of reporting it in Iraqi private banks in addition to presenting and analyzing the concept of profit quality and its measurement models. Therefore, the checklist prepared for this purpose was used based on previous studies related to the subject in order to determine the level of reporting of the research sample banks by analyzing the content of the annual reports of those banks as well as adopting the Tobin's Q scale to measure the value of the economic unit and then using some statistical models to
... Show MoreAbstract The success of the system of government in any country needs to have a handle on the amount of power efficiency , capacity , capability and wisdom, Iraq has gone through since its inception through several stages of time, namely: The first stage: which ran from August 23, 1921 until July 14, 1958 and was ruling monarchy (rule of the royal family) and punishing power of political elites both of them and works access to power without taking into consideration the laws and principles of the Constitution, and as a result of the inability of civilian powers and political parties access to power to grant that army officers regulatory and disciplinary specifications as well as possessing arms and overthrow the rule of the minority coup
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