Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) are among the common psychiatric disorders and constitute a major public health concern. Iraqi’s were exposed to widespread violence and wars in the last decades. High prevalence of alcohol and substance use was reported recently in Baghdad. Research literature documented the association of SUDs with exposure to trauma events e.g. wars, terrorist attacks and natural disaster. Published articles on SUDs among prisoners in Iraq are scarce. Therefore, this work was carried out to report on SUDs among prisoners in Al-Diwania governorate and its relation to antisocial activity.
Methods: A total of 1200 prisoners in Al-Diwania civilian prison were included in the study during the period from 2nd January to 2nd May 2010. A questionnaire using ICD 10 characteristics of SUDs was used. The requested data in addition to characteristics of SUDs were demographic data and type of crime. In order to study the association of SUDs with criminal act, a control group (150 prisoners out of 1050) was selected randomly from the prisoners without SUDs.
Results: The study revealed a rate of (12.5%) of SUDs The peak age of abuse was at age 31 – 35 years. More than half of the sample which was composed of male prisoners was in age 25 to 35 years. Fifty three (35.3%) of the abusers were illiterate, and 70 (46.7%) finished the primary school. Only 2 of the abusers (1.3%) had higher education. Thirty (20%) of the abusers were unemployed, 100 (66.67%) were self-employed and only 18 (12%) were employed. Criminal act was significantly associated with SUDs.
Conclusion: High rate of SUDs was revealed among prisoners. SUDs were significantly associated with criminal behavior.
One hundred thirty seven Staphylococcus spp. isolates were isolated form one hundred fifty clinical specimens which were collected from several hospitals at Al-Sulaimaniya city. Seventy two Staphylococcus aureus isolates, 28 Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates and 37 isolates related to other coagulase negative staphylocci (S. chromogenes, S. lugdunensis, S. cohnii, S. saprophyticus, S. hominis, and S. haemolyticus constituted 3.60%, 2.20%, 2.90%, 2.90%, 6.60%, and 8.80%, respectively). Burn specimens represented the highest (P< 0.05) reservoir for S. aureus and S. epidermidis isolates. Staphylococci developed variable susceptibility to 4 antibiotics (cefoxitin; 30 μg, oxacillin; 1μg, methicillin; 5μg, and cefotaxime; 30 μg). Neve
... Show MoreBackground: Iraqi people have endured an excess burden of morbidity’ and mortality during the last two decades due to wars and sanctions. This report M’as carried out to assess the nutritional status of first year primary school children.
Methods: A total of3881 school children in Balad district in Salahadin govemorate was included in the study. Age, height and weight were recorded. Malnutrition was regarded as value of less than 2 SD of the reference value.
Results: Among the total sample, 16.5%, 20.06% and 15.3% were underweight, stunted and wasted, respectively. No significant difference was detected in malnutrition rates between both sexes. Conclusion: High rates of malnutrition were detected among school children.
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Background : The hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is defined as the triad of liver disease, arterial deoxygenation, and pulmonary vascular dilatation. The reported prevalence of HPS in cirrhotic patients varies between 5% -17.5%.Objective : To estimate the prevalence of hepatopulmonary syndrome among patients with chronic liver disease and portal hypertension and to study the correlation between HPS and the severity of liver disease.Patients and methods : Thirty patients were studied for the presence of HPS using transthoracic contrast echocardiography for detection of pulmonary vasodilatation. Arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) was determined in erect and supine position using a pulse oximeter , (SaO2 ≤ 92 % in supine position and/or a d
... Show MoreLactobacillus is one of Lactic Acid Bacteria group, they are known to exhibit antagonistic activity against pathogenic organisms. This study evaluates the protective effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus Crud Bacteriocin like substance against growth of some food borne pathogenic bacteria. Antimicrobial effect of crud bacteriocin like substance was tested against the growth of S. typhi and S. aureus that isolated from food samples by agar well diffusion assay.
The results showed that the crud extract of bacteriocin like substance had antibacterial activity against the two tested bacteria, and the effect against S. typhi was greater than that of S. aureus , the zone of inhibition was (15)mm against S.&n
Background: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of CMV infection among HIV / AIDS patients in relation to disease progression, and to study the mortality during the period of the study.
Patients and Methods: The study included 155 HIV/AIDS patients (148 HIV- infected and seven AIDS patients) and 122 apparently "healthy" controls. CMV (IgG and 1gM) antibodies were determined by ELISA. The patients were followed up for a period of nine months, and retested frequently for development of active CMV infection.
Results: The prevalence of CMV (IgG) antibodies in the HIV/AIDS patients was 100%. A significant higher prevalence of CMV (IgM) among AIDS patients (42.9°/6) than among HIV infected
A total of 28 birds were examined to investigate about the distribution of the nematode Hadjelia truncata among some members of the avian family Columbidae in Al-Diwaniya Province, Central Iraq. The percentages of the infection rate with this nematode were 27.27, 37.5, 14.28 and 0 in Columba livia, C. palumbis, Streptopelia decaocto, and S. turtur respectively. Reporting Hadjelia truncata from Streptopelia decaocto constitutes a new host record.
The present study is concerned with Biostratigraphy of the Early-Middle Miocene outcrops of Jeribe Formation in the Zurbatiyah area, Wasit Governorate, Eastern Iraq. Forty-two Samples collected from Shur Sharin and AL-Hashima outcrop sections. The fossil content is rich in large and small benthic foraminifera; Twenty-one species and genus are identified in this study, in addition to coral, gastropoda, pelecypoda, ostracoda, alge, echinoid and shell fragments. According to the presence of benthic foraminifera, two Biozone have been identified in the Jeribe: Austrotrillina asmariensis-Dendritina rangi Concurrent Zone and Borelis melo curdica range zone.The age of the Formation determined as Early-Middle Miocene depending on these Bioz
... Show MoreIraq territory as a whole and south of Iraq in particular encountered rapid desertification and signs of severe land degradation in the last decades. Both natural and anthropogenic factors are responsible for the extent of desertification. Remote sensing data and image analysis tools were employed to identify, detect, and monitor desertification in Basra governorate. Different remote sensing indicators and image indices were applied in order to better identify the desertification development in the study area, including the Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Salinity index (SI), Top Soil Grain Size Index (GSI) , Land Surface Temperature (LST) , Land Surface Soil Moisture (LSM), and La
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