Background The appropriate disposal of medication is a well-recognized issue that has convened growing recognition in several contexts. Insufficient awareness relating to appropriate methods for the disposal of unneeded medicine may result in notable consequences. The current research was conducted among the public in Iraq with the aim of examining their knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding the proper disposal of unused and expired medicines. Methods The present study used an observational cross-sectional design that was community-based. The data were obtained from using an online questionnaire. The study sample included people of diverse genders, regardless of their race or occupational status. The study mandated that all participants meet two criteria: firstly, they had to be a minimum of 18 years old, and secondly, they needed to have permanent residency status in Iraq. Results The research population consisted of 591 participants from general population. The majority of participants were men (64.8%) with average age of 33.5±9.1 years. The majority of participants (˃50%) answered four out of eight knowledge questions correctly. There were significant (P-value ˂0.05) differences in four knowledge items about disposing of unused/expired medications according to the educational level. Elder participants had significantly higher knowledge about the disposing of unused/expired medications compared to younger ones. More than 84% correctly agreed that improper disposal of unused and expired medication has adverse effects on environment. Although the majority of the participants had positive attitude toward the safe disposal of unused/expired medications, their actual practice was improper for these medications. Approximately 70% of the participants have disposed unused/expired medications into their home trash can. Conclusion Despite increasing awareness from the general populace about the possible harm and substantial hazards linked to expired medicines, there is an absence of understanding concerning the proper techniques for disposing of and managing these prescriptions.
Leishmania is one of the protozoan parasites that are transferred to human by infected sand flies and gives rise to a range of diseases entitled as Leishmaniasis. More than 20 known species of Leishmania can infect humans and cause various clinical symptoms. Three most known clinical manifestations are Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL), Mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis (MCL) and Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) (kala-azar or black fever). The difference in the clinical form dependent on several factors: species of Leishmania, type of vector that transmits the Leishmania, and the immune status of an infected individual. The current drugs which are used as anti-leishaminial treatment are characterized by enormou
... Show MoreA simple, low cost and rapid flow injection turbidimetric method was developed and validated for mebeverine hydrochloride (MBH) determination in pharmaceutical preparations. The developed method is based on forming of a white, turbid ion-pair product as a result of a reaction between the MBH and sodium persulfate in a closed flow injection system where the sodium persulfate is used as precipitation reagent. The turbidity of the formed complex was measured at the detection angle of 180° (attenuated detection) using NAG dual&Solo (0-180°) detector which contained dual detections zones (i.e., measuring cells 1 & 2). The increase in the turbidity of the complex was directly proportional to the increase of the MBH concentration
... Show MoreGestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a growing health concern that usually appears during the second and third trimester stage of pregnancy and is characterized by carbohydrate intolerance of variable severity. The aim of the present study was to scrutinize the relationship between the G972R polymorphism of the insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) gene with GDM in the Iraqi female population. One hundred and twenty of blood samples taken from healthy women (control) and women with gestational diabetes mellitus in 3rd trimester stage of pregnancy, fasting blood glucose (FBG) and HbA1c% measured to diagnose GDM, lipid profile (cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL, LDL, and VLDL), insulin concentration, insulin resistance and beta cell function to
... Show MoreThis paper examines a new nonlinear system of multiple integro-differential equations containing symmetric matrices with impulsive actions. The numerical-analytic method of ordinary differential equations and Banach fixed point theorem are used to study the existence, uniqueness and stability of periodic solutions of impulsive integro-differential equations with piecewise continuous functions. This study is based on the Hölder condition in which the ordering , and are real numbers between 0 and 1.
This paper aimed to determine the Optimal Reliable Frequency (ORF) that can maintain certain connection link between different transmitter/receiver stations laid over the Iraqi territory. Three different transmitting sites were chosen as tested stations located in the northern, central, and southern regions of Iraq. These sites are Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra, respectively. In this study, the years 2009 and 2014, which represent the minimum and maximum years of solar cycle 24, were chosen to examine the effect of low and high solar activity on the determined ORF. The datasets of the Best Usable Frequency (BUF) were calculated using the ASAPS international communication model. An analytical study was made on the generated BUF parameter data
... Show MoreFlame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (FAAS) was used in this study to determine the concentrations of heavy metals such as Ca, Fe, Mn, Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, Cu, Pb and Zn in some food additives of Iraq. The order of metal contents in food additives was found to be Ca ˃ Mn ˃ Fe ˃ Cu ˃ Zn ˃ Pb ˃ Cr ˃ Ni ˃ Co ˃ Cd. The concentration level of each metal was compared with that recommended by food agriculture organisation (FAO) and world health organisation (WHO). Calibration curves were linear for all standard solutions of heavy metals in the range starting from 0.02-0.4 mg/kg for Cd to 11-100 mg/kg for Ca. The correlation coefficients values (R2) of calibrations were investigated and ranged from 0.9971 for Cr to 0.9999 for Ca. Th
... Show MoreVarious assays are used to determine the toxic effects of drugs at cellular levels in vitro. One of these methods is the dye exclusion assay, which measures membrane integrity in the presence of Trypan blue. Trypan blue the dye which was used in this study to investigate cytotoxic effect of a new Cis –dichloroplatinum (II) complex [(Qu)2PtCl2] on the viability of polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs). Three concentrations of platinum complex were prepared (70, 35and 17.5 µg/ ml) and the results revealed that the percentage of cell viability decreased as the platinum complex concentration increased in comparison with control.
... Show MoreWater quality planning relies on Biochemical Oxygen Demand BOD. BOD testing takes five days. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is increasingly used for water resource forecasting. This work designed a PSO technique for estimating everyday BOD at Al-Rustumiya wastewater treatment facility inlet. Al-Rustumiya wastewater treatment plant provided 702 plant-scale data sets during 2012-2022. The PSO model uses the daily data of the water quality parameters, including chemical oxygen demand (COD), chloride (Cl-), suspended solid (SS), total dissolved solids (TDS), and pH, to determine how each variable affects the daily incoming BOD. PSO and multiple linear regression (MLR) findings are compared, and their performance is evaluated usin
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