Background: Hepatitis C and B is common disease all over the world and their chronicity is a social and medical problem so medical treatment by alpha interferon can change the mortality and morbidity.
Object: Identify the incidence of the side effects of pegylated interferon alpha in a sample of Iraqi patients with chronic hepatitis B&C and their relation to age, gender, duration of treatment and type of hepatitis comparing them with the literatures from other countries.
Patients and methods:A descriptive case series study was conducted on 50 patients, 24 male and 26 female, with established diagnosis of hepatitis B(20 patients)and C(30 patients) who attend Baghdad Teaching hospital and Gastroenterology and Hepatology centre in Baghdad between the period of January 2009 and October 2010 with follow up over at least 3 months.
A direct interview with detailed history and thorough clinical examination with some simple laboratory investigation were done to determine any of the documented side effects of alpha interferon therapy or discover new side effects not elicited in the studies done on other populations.
Results: Flu-like illness is the most common side effect (84%), followed by fatigue, anorexia, local reaction and neuropsychiatric side effects while Neutropenia, lymphopenia and thyroiditis are rare.
There is no significant difference in the incidence of side effects between age groups with the exception of constipation which occurs more in younger age group. Arthralgia, palpitation, eczema, itching and rash increase in incidence with prolonged duration of treatment.
There is no significant difference in incidence of side effects between both genders apart from hypertension (more in female) and dizziness (more in male).
There is no significant difference in incidence of side effects between patients with hepatitis B&C but anemia occurs more in patients with hepatitis C and tremor reported more in patients with hepatitis B.
Conclusion: Almost all patients on treatment with interferon-based regimen will experience adverse events that can threaten good adherence. Flu-like illness is the most common side effect (84%), followed by fatigue, anorexia, local reaction and neuropsychiatric side effects (depression, nervousness, insomnia).
The higher incidence of anemia in patients with hepatitis C is mostly due to concomitant ribavirin therapy.
Age, gender, type of hepatitis and duration of treatment can affect the incidence of interferon therapy.
This research aims to improve the radiation shielding properties of polymer-based materials by mixing PVC with locally available building materials. Specifically, two key parameters of fast neutron attenuation (removal cross-section and half-value layer) were studied for composite materials comprising PVC reinforced with common building materials (cement, sand, gypsum and marble) in different proportions (10%, 30% and 50% by weight). To assess their effectiveness as protection against fast neutrons, the macroscopic neutron cross-section was calculated for each composite. Results show that neutron cross-section values are significantly affected by the reinforcement ratios, and that the composite material PVC + 50% gypsum is an effect
... Show MoreThis research was aimed to determine the petrophysical properties (porosity, permeability and fluid saturation) of a reservoir. Petrophysical properties of the Shuiaba Formation at Y field are determined from the interpretation of open hole log data of six wells. Depending on these properties, it is possible to divide the Shuiaba Formation which has thickness of a proximately 180-195m, into three lithological units: A is upper unit (thickness about 8 to 15 m) involving of moderately dolomitized limestones; B is a middle unit (thickness about 52 to 56 m) which is composed of dolomitic limestone, and C is lower unit ( >110 m thick) which consists of shale-rich and dolomitic limestones. The results showed that the average formation water
... Show MoreThe study aims to evaluate the removal of sulfur content from Iraqi light naphtha produced in Al-Dora refinery by adsorption desulfurization DS technique using modified activated carbon MAC loaded with nickel Ni and copper Cu as single binary metals. The experiments were carried in a batch unit with various operating parameters; MAC dosage, agitation speed, and a contact time of 300 min at constant initial sulfur concentration 155 ppm and temperature. The results showed higher DS% by AC/Ni-Cu (66.45)% at 500 rpm and 1 g dosage than DS (29.03)% by activated carbon AC, increasing MAC dosage, agitation speed, and contact time led to increasing DS% values. The adsorption capacity of MAC results was recorded (16, 15, and 20) mg sulfu
... Show MoreThe quality and cost of constructed buildings are heavily influenced by the performance of design/auditing consultants. Thus, selecting the right design consultant and design auditing consultants is of utmost importance and not an easy task for any construction client. so, the client should specify the efficiency criteria and assess the performance levels of the design and design auditing consultant firm. The study aims to identify the selection criteria of the design consultant in construction projects and also identify the selection criteria of the design auditing consultant for the construction projects by using the Delphi survey with applying the principal components analysis (PCA
Pharmaceuticals are widely distributed in different applications and also released into the environment. Adsorption of Ciprofloxacin HCl (CIPH) on Porcelinaite was studied at ambient conditions. The adsorption isotherms can be well described using the Freundlich and Temkin equations. The pH of the solution influences significantly the adsorption capacity of Porcelinaite, the adsorption of CIPH increased from the initial pH 1.3 and then decreased over the pH rang of 3.8-9. The adsorption is sensitive to the change in ionic Strength, which indicate that electrostatic attraction is a significant mechanism for sorption process. The enthalpy change (∆H) for the adsorption of CIPH onto Porcelinaite signifies an endothermic adsorption. The ∆G
... Show MoreThis study focused on treating wastewater to remove phosphorus by adsorption onto naturaland local materials. Burned kaolin, porcelinite, bauxite and limestone were selected to be testedas adsorption materials.The adsorption isotherms were evaluated by batch experiments, studyingthe effects of pH, temperature and initial phosphorus concentration. The results showed that at pH6, temperature 20°C and 300 mg/l initial phosphorus concentration; the sorption capacity was0.61, 9, 10 and 13 mg/g at 10 h contact time, for burned kaolin, porcelanite, limestone and bauxiterespectively. As the pH increased from 2 to 10 the removal efficiency for the materials differs inbehaviour. The removal efficiency increased from 40 to 90 % for limestone, and dec
... Show MoreThe most used material in the world after water is concrete, which depends mainly on its manufacture of cement leading to the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), flying dust, and other greenhouse gasses (GHGs) resulting in pollution of the atmosphere. The emission of CO2 from cement production is approximately 5% of the global anthropogenic CO2. This research focuses on investigating the amount of CO2 emission from the Iraqi General Cement Company plants includes the cement factories of Kirkuk, Al-Qa’em, Fallujah, and Kubaisa, using the GHGs Protocol Measures Program (specifically cement based-method).
Teachers should have acceptable ratios of multiple intelligences. Knowing their most dominate intelligence, teachers will be capable of understanding and considering the multiple intelligences of their students. Accordingly, they will be able to use Gardner’s theory as an effective approach of teaching for all kinds of learners and not limited to a specific type of students especially those who have high ratios of verbal-linguistic and logic-mathematical intelligences
Background: The occurrence of incidental thyroid cancer (ITC) has increased by three times during the last decades and this rise could be attributed to many factors. To limit the prevalence of ITC with goiter especially nodular goiter, total thyroidectomy can become a procedure of choice.
Objective: To determine the extent of incidental thyroid carcinoma (ITC) and to plan a proper preoperative diagnostic work up and a convenient operative procedure for patients with different thyroid diseases.
Results: ITC was found in 77 patients (19.15%). While, 63 patients with non-toxic MNG (15.6%), 12 patients with non-toxic solitary thyroid nodule (3%) and two patients (0.5%) wi
Abstract
A new type of solar air heater was designed, fabricated, and tested in Baghdad, Iraq winter conditions. The heater consists of two main parts. The horizontal section was filled with the black colored iron chip while the vertical part has five pipes filled with Iraqi paraffin wax. A fan was fixed at the exit of the air. Two cases were studied: when the air moved by natural convection and when forced convection moved it. The studied air heater has proven its effectiveness as it heated the air passing through it to high temperatures. The results manifest that using little air movement makes the temperatures, stored energies, and efficiencies of the two studied cases converge
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