Each Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) plan needs to be tested and verified before any treatment to check its quality. Octavius 4D-1500 phantom detector is a modern and qualified device for quality assurance procedure. This study aims to compare the common dosimetric criteria 3%/3 mm with 2%/2 mm for H&N plans for the IMRT technique. Twenty-five patients with head and neck (H&N) tumor were with 6MV x-ray photon beam using Monaco 5.1 treatment planning software and exported to Elekta synergy linear accelerator then tested for pretreatment verification study using Octavius 4D-1500 phantom detector. The difference between planned and measured dose were assessed by using local and global gamma index (GI) analysis method at threshold 10%. The DD/DTA criteria are performed with 3%/3 mm and 2%/2 mm. A significant difference is shown between the measured and calculated point dose for the treatment plans. A comparison made between the gamma passing rate between the 2%/2 mm and 3%/3 mm shows a significant difference for local and global which shows that the 2%/2 mm are more sensitive to dose variation than 3%/3 mm. The total monitor unit (MU) shows a negative linear relationship with both criteria and %GP types. A significant correlation is shown between the total MU and global %GP at 2%/2 mm criterion. The conclusion of the study indicates that 2%/2 mm criterion is more sensitive to the dose distribution changes than the 3%/3 mm. The total number of monitor units should be taken into consideration during the planning of H&N tumors using the IMRT plans.
The load shedding scheme has been extensively implemented as a fast solution for unbalance conditions. Therefore, it's crucial to investigate supply-demand balancing in order to protect the network from collapsing and to sustain stability as possible, however its implementation is mostly undesirable. One of the solutions to minimize the amount of load shedding is the integration renewable energy resources, such as wind power, in the electric power generation could contribute significantly to minimizing power cuts as it is ability to positively improving the stability of the electric grid. In this paper propose a method for shedding the load base on the priority demands with incorporating the wind po
... Show MoreThe aim of the present study is to study the meiobenthic invertebrate's community associated with the aquatic plant Ceratophyllum demersum in Al-Salamiyat irrigation canal / north Baghdad, with the chemical and physical parameters of the canal water, during the study period from September 2015 to May 2016. Two sites were chosen for sample collection, the first site (S1) at the beginning of the canal near it's connection with Tigris river, and the second site (S2) after 10 km from the first site. The chemico-physical analysis results revealed that the water temperature ranged from 10-30oC, and pH values ranged between 6.9-7.8, and the dissolved oxygen concentration and the BOD values from 7.2-9.2 mg/l, and 1.2-5.4 mg/l, respectively. The sal
... Show MoreBackground: Client satisfaction with the immunization service is used to evaluate the quality of the admitted service and at the same time it affects the goodness of the health care outcome.
Objectives: This study assessed the satisfaction with immunization services offered to children and factors affecting this satisfaction.
Methods: Exit interviews for clients were conducted in Baghdad, Al-Karkh in a representative sample of primary health care centers to assess clients’ satisfaction with immunization services. Clients are companions of children encountered at study settings.
Results: Among the 253 respondent clients, 183 (72.3%) reflected satisfaction with the immunization
... Show MoreBackground: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a significant role in the activation of adaptive immunity and may have an essential role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Objectives: To assess the gene expression of TLR4 in individuals with RA compared to healthy individuals. Methods: From July to December 2022. A total of 100 individuals were encompassed in the study, consisting of 50 individuals diagnosed with RA, of whom 42 were females and 8 were males, with an average age of 45.22 years. Additionally, there were 50 healthy control participants, 40 of whom were females and 10 were males, with an average age of 45.64 years. To assess the TLR4 transcript levels, blood samples were collected from each participant, and RN
... Show MoreAcademic Entitlement (AE) is the expectation by students to receive high grades or preferential treatment without significant effort. Exploring AE from faculty perspective has not been investigated in Arab colleges of pharmacy. The aim of this study was to explore experiences and perceptions towards student AE among pharmacy faculty in the Arab World. A cross-sectional, self-administered, anonymous, electronic survey was sent to pharmacy faculty across pharmacy colleges in Arab countries. The survey collected demographic data, an AE measure including 17 items reflecting seven AE components, and faculty perceptions and perceived reasons for AE. A total of 345 responses were collected. The AE level wa
Multilocus haplotype analysis of candidate variants with genome wide association studies (GWAS) data may provide evidence of association with disease, even when the individual loci themselves do not. Unfortunately, when a large number of candidate variants are investigated, identifying risk haplotypes can be very difficult. To meet the challenge, a number of approaches have been put forward in recent years. However, most of them are not directly linked to the disease-penetrances of haplotypes and thus may not be efficient. To fill this gap, we propose a mixture model-based approach for detecting risk haplotypes. Under the mixture model, haplotypes are clustered directly according to their estimated d
In this paper, effective slab width for the composite beams is investigated with special emphasis on the effect of web openings. A three dimensional finite element analysis, by using finite element code ANSYS, is employed to investigate shear lag phenomenon and the resulting effective slab width adopted in the classical T-beam approach. According to case studies and comparison with limitations and rules stipulated by different standards and codes of practice it is found that web openings presence and panel proportion are the most critical factors affecting effective slab width, whereas concrete slab thickness and steel beam depth are less significant. The presence of web opening reduces effective slab width by about 21%.
... Show MoreIron status can affect the outcome of
This research deals with a shrinking method concernes with the principal components similar to that one which used in the multiple regression “Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection: LASS”. The goal here is to make an uncorrelated linear combinations from only a subset of explanatory variables that may have a multicollinearity problem instead taking the whole number say, (K) of them. This shrinkage will force some coefficients to equal zero, after making some restriction on them by some "tuning parameter" say, (t) which balances the bias and variance amount from side, and doesn't exceed the acceptable percent explained variance of these components. This had been shown by MSE criterion in the regression case and the percent explained v
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