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.
The loose sand is subject to large settlement when it is exposed to high stresses. This settlement is due to the nature of the high drainage of sand, which displays foundations and constructions to a large danger. The densification of loose sandy soils is required to provide sufficient bearing capacity for the structures. Thus soil stabilization is used to avoid failure in the facilities. Traditional methods of stabilized sandy soil such as fly ash, bituminous, and cement often require an extended curing period. The use of polymers to stabilize sandy soils is more extensive nowadays because it does not require a long curing time in addition to being chemically stable. In this study, the effect of adding different percent
... Show MoreIn this study, the use of non-thermal plasma theory to remove toxic gases emitted from a vehicle was experimentally investigated. A non-thermal plasma reactor was constructed in the form of a cylindrical tube made of Pyrex glass. Two stainless steel rods were placed inside the tube to generate electric discharge and plasma condition, by connecting with a high voltage power supply (up to 40 kV). The reactor was used to remove the contaminants of a 1.25-liter 4-cylinder engine at ambient conditions. Several tests have been carried out for a ranging speed from 750 to 4,500 rpm of the engine and varying voltages from 0 to 32 kV. The gases entering the reactor were examined by a gas analyzer and the gases concentration ratio
... Show MoreThis research analyzes the level of the short circuit effect of the Iraqi super network and decides the suitable location for the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) connections in order to obtain the best short circuit reduction of the total currents of the buses in the network. The proposed method depends on choosing the transmission lines for Alternating current (AC) system that suffers from high Short Circuit Levels (SCLs) in order to reduce its impact on the transmission system and on the lines adjacent to it and this after replacing the alternating current (AC) line by direct current (DC) line. In this paper, Power System Simulator for Engineering (PSS/E) is used to model two types of HVDC lines in an effective regi
... Show MoreShabak is one of minority related to Kurdish nation , speaking Bajalan variety especially Goran Dialect.
This study is a historic and diactological study about Kurdish Bajalan variety.The study is composed an introduction and tw0 chapters. The first chapter talks about Bajalan variety , and it has two axes . In the first axe , I talk about the geography of Bajalan variety and in the second axes the map of goran dialect . The second chapter is about Shabak variety and it is constituted of three axes : The first section is about Shabak variety , in the second section is allocated to the domicile of Shabak variety and in the third section , talks about the saint of shabak and in the end the
... Show MoreAn experimental study was conducted with low cost natural waste adsorbent materials, barley husks and eggshells, for the removal of Levofloxacine (LEVX) antibacterial from synthetic waste water. Batch sorption tests were conducted to study their isothermal adsorption capacity and compared with conventional activated carbon which were, activated carbon > barley husks > eggshells with removal efficiencies 74, 71 and 42 % with adsorbents doses of 5, 5 and 50 g/L of activated carbon, barley husks, and eggshells respectively. The equilibrium sorption isotherms had been analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich, and Sips models, and their parameters were evaluated. The experimental data were correlated well with the Langmuir model which gives the
... Show MoreThe nanostructured MnO2 /carbon fiber (CF) composite electrode was prepared using the anodic electrodeposition process. The crystal structure and morphology of MnO2 particles were determined with X-ray diffraction and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The electrosorptive properties of the prepared electrode were investigated in the removal of cadmium ions from aqueous solution, and the effect of pH, cell voltage, and ionic strength was optimized and modeled using the response surface methodology combined with Box–Behnken design. The results confirm that the optimum conditions to remove Cd(II) ions were: pH of 6.03, a voltage of 2.77 V, and NaCl concentration of 3 g/L. The experimental results showed a good fit for the Freundli
... Show MoreThis study aims to identify the level of quality of Islamic banking services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It also investigates the importance of the various dimensions of the quality of banking services. The sample of the study included 69 clients of Al Rajhi Bank and Al-Bilad Bank. The study concluded that the overall level quality of services that Islamic banking offer is high. However, their relative importance varies from one dimension to another. The security, confidence and physical aspects are very high which this is a good point. On the other hand, the application aspects do not get the same importance. These aspects include the customer's wishes, helping them to improve the services offered to them,
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