Background: Quality of life in brain tumor patients is an emerging issue and has prompted neurosurgeons to recon¬sider the need for cognitive assessment in the course of treatment. To date there has been a lack of comprehensive neuropsychological assessment performed preoperatively and in the acute postoperative period in our hospitals.Objectives: to establish the effects of tumors and their surgical treatment, from a neuropsychological perspective, on cognitive functioning in patients with cerebral Gliomas. Methods: This is a prospective study conducted in the Neurosurgical Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, during the period from January 1999 to January 2001. Any patient admitted during the period of the study with clinical history, signs, symptoms, and contrast enhanced MRI suggesting a cerebral glioma and confirmed by postoperative histopathological results of glioma has been included in this study. While multifocal lesions, long-lasting epilepsy, use of antiepileptic therapy, multiple cranial lesions, previous cranial surgery, any chronic illness, and histopathological result of other tumors were exclusion criteria. All patients were at their first operation for brain tumors. Patients were examined by analyzing several functional domains (intelligence, executive functions, memory, language, praxis, gnosis and mood state) in order to establish the effect of tumor and surgery on cognition.Results: 29 patients who fulfilled the selection criteria were included. Mean duration of clinical history was 5 months (range 1–9 months). At baseline, using test- and domain-based criteria, 79% and 38% of patients, respectively, were impaired, the former related to tumor factors such as edema (P < 0.05), larger size (P < 0.05) and higher grade (P = 0.001). Verbal memory, visuospatial memory and word fluency were the most frequently affected functions, partly associated with depression. Postoperatively, 38% and 55% of patients, respectively, were unchanged, 24% and 21% improved, and 38% and 24% worsened; 24% and 62% of patients were intact, respec-tively.Conclusions: The extent of removal did not influence the outcome. Improvement involved previously impaired functions and was correlated with high-grade tumors. Worsening regar¬ded executive functions was related to tumor size and was partly explained by radiological findings on postoperative MRI. This prospective study, focusing on the effects of tumor and surgery, showed that tumor significantly affects cognitive func¬tions, mainly due to the mass effect and higher grading. Surgical treatment improved the functions most frequently affected preoperatively and caused worsening of execu¬tive functions soon after operation, leaving the overall cognitive burden unchanged and capable of improvement prospectively.
In this paper, a fast lossless image compression method is introduced for compressing medical images, it is based on splitting the image blocks according to its nature along with using the polynomial approximation to decompose image signal followed by applying run length coding on the residue part of the image, which represents the error caused by applying polynomial approximation. Then, Huffman coding is applied as a last stage to encode the polynomial coefficients and run length coding. The test results indicate that the suggested method can lead to promising performance.
MR Younus, Al-A'DAB, 2011
Background: Elastomeric chains are used to generate force in many orthodontic procedures, but this force decays over time, which could affect tooth movement. This study aimed to study the force degradation of elastomeric chains. Data and Sources: An electronic search on Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, LILACS, and PubMed was made, only articles written in English were included, up to January 2022.Study selection: Fifty original articles, systematic reviews, and RCTs were selected. Conclusion: Tooth movement, salivary enzymes, alcohol-containing mouthwash, whitening mouthwash, and alkaline and strong acidic (pH <5.4) solutions all have a significant impact on elastomeric chain force degradation. T
... Show MoreIn recent years, it has been evident that searching for alternative methods with low-price and eco-friendly features that produce high-quality adsorbents is in high demand. In the present work, Rice husk from Iraqi rice named (Amber) had been used as the primary source to produce rice husk ash (RHA) for the removal of the antibiotic metronidazole (Flagyl) from water. After optimum drying of rice husk, rice husk ash (RHA) was obtained at 600 °C using an electric oven. RHA has been investigated for properties using X-ray diffraction (XRD), porosity, and surface area (SA). The experimental work adsorption data were optimized to evaluate Langmuir and Freundlich constants. The thermodynamic parameters likely a change in Gipp's energy (ΔG),
... Show MoreAcademia Open Vol 8 No 2 (2023): December DOI: 10.21070/acopen.8.2023.8087 . Article type: (Medicine)Impact of COVID-19 on Dental Students' Psychological Health Maryam Hameed Alwan, [email protected], (1) Department of Oral Diagnosis, College of Dentistry, Baghdad University, Iraq, Iraq (1) Corresponding author Abstract This study investigates the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental students at Baghdad University College of Dentistry. Conducted between December 2021 and January 2022, this cross-sectional survey aligns with ethical guidelines and the Helsinki Declaration. The study utilized Cochran's equation to determine a sample size of at least 400, ensuring a 95% confidence level with a 5% margin of e
... Show MoreAim: This study aimed to compare different types of ligation methods to obtain maximum tooth movement with the least undesirable rotation. Methods: Titanium brackets bonded to acrylic canine teeth were ligated to straight stainless steel (SS) archwires using four ligation methods (figure-O and figure-8 elastics, SS ligatures, and Leone Slide ligatures). The teeth with the ligatures in place were stored in a water bath at 37ºC for 1 day, 1 week, 2, 4 or 6 weeks before testing. The teeth were retracted through softened wax along the archwire and the amount of tooth movement and degree of rotation were measured. Results: Slide ligatures showed the highest distance of tooth movement and degree of canine rotation followed by figure-O elastics
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