Stroke is the second largest cause of death worldwide and one of the most common causes of disability. However, several approaches have been proposed to deal with stroke patient rehabilitation like robotic devices and virtual reality systems, researchers have found that the brain-computer interfaces (BCI) approaches can provide better results. In this study, the electroencephalography (EEG) dataset from post-stroke patients were investigated to identify the effects of the motor imagery (MI)-based BCI therapy by investigating sensorimotor areas using frequency and time-domain features and to select particular methods that help in enhancing the MI-based BCI systems for stroke patients using EEG signal processing. Therefore, to detect the imagined movements that are typically required within conventional rehabilitation therapy with good identification accuracies, the conventional filters and wavelet transform (WT) denoising technique was used in the first stage. Next, attributes from frequency and entropy domains were computed. Finally, support vector machine (SVM) classification techniques were utilized to test the motor imagery (MI)-based BCI rehabilitation. The results demonstrate the capability of the WT denoising technique together with the used features and SVM classifier to discriminate the tested classes of the left hand, right hand and foot MI-based BCI rehabilitation. This study will help medical doctors, clinicians, physicians and technicians to introduce a good rehabilitation program for post-stroke patients.
In architectural learning, it is difficult to stimulate cultural awareness through the traditional education approaches, which results in historic places being neglected as knowledge sources. This research explores the premise that sketch-based visual storytelling may act as a generative approach to connect cognition, emotion, and behavior in historical contexts. The study adopts a qualitative methodology to explore a learning experience comprising two phases: the first is a formal educational setting, and the second is a historical and cultural context, aiming to investigate the role of sketch-based storytelling in enhancing cultural awareness. MAXQDA was employed to code the students’ storyboards on three levels of cultural awareness, m
... Show MoreObjectives: To determine the impact of an educational program on nurses’ knowledge
and practices concerning neurogenic bladder rehabilitation for spinal cord injured persons
through a follow-up approach each two months post program implementation for six
months.
Methodology: "Follow-up" longitudinal design by using time series approach of data
analysis and the application of pre-post tests approach for the study and the control
groups. The study was carried out at Ibn Al-Kuff hospital for (SCI) in Baghdad governorate
from 5th of July 2010 to 15th of October 2011. To achieve the objectives of the study, a
non-probability (purposive) sample of (60) nurses (males and females) were working in SCI
units were selec
One-hundred and twenty Iraqi women (60 single women and 60 married women) with age ranges from (17-49) years have been involved in this study to estimate the levels of anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) as markers of ovarian aging. The descriptive data [age, body mass index (BMI), age at menarche, duration of menarche] have been recorded. Blood samples were collected from the studied women to determine the levels of AMH and FSH. The results revealed non-significant (p>0.05) differences in levels of AMH and FSH between single women and married women. A significant negative correlation was observed between AMH levels and age in single women (r=-0.519, p<0.05) and married women (r=-0.433, p<0.05). A no
... Show MoreBackground: Iron homeostasis is crucial to many physiological functions in the human body, such as cellular activity, erythropoiesis, and the innate immune response. Iron deficiency anemia may occur from obesity's ability to disturb iron homeostasis. Obesity may be seen as a pre-inflammatory condition with mild, ongoing systemic inflammation. Additionally, an increase in hepcidin levels by chronic inflammation causes iron insufficiency in obese people. For this reason, this current experiment is designed to investigate the iron profile and some hematological and inflammatory parameters in obese adults in the Kurdistan region-Iraq.
Subjects and Methods: The cross-sectional study w
... Show MoreBackground: Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that mostly involves the spine and sacroiliac joints. It is associated with a decreased quality of life. Biological medicines such as infliximab and its biosimilar are the mainstay treatments for active ankylosing spondylitis.
Objective: The study objective was to conduct a pharmacoeconomic study comparing the cost-effectiveness of the reference infliximab with its biosimilar in ankylosing spondylitis patients visiting public hospitals.
Subjects and Method: This is a two-center pharmacoeconomic study performed at two large teaching governmental hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq, which s
... Show MoreAsthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of respiratory airways characterized by distinctive history of respiratory symptoms due to variable airflow obstruction which reverses either spontaneously or in response to certain medications. Acetylcholine is a parasympathetic neurotransmitter which plays fundamental roles in the development of persistent asthma. Treatment guidelines recommend using medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids in addition to another controller bronchodilator instead of using high doses inhaled steroid alone for treatment of moderate to severe persistent asthma. The inhaled long acting muscarinic antagonist, tiotropium, was approved recently to control unresponsive asthma to inhaled corticosteroid with or without a long
... Show MoreBackground: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a significant role in the activation of adaptive immunity and may have an essential role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Objectives: To assess the gene expression of TLR4 in individuals with RA compared to healthy individuals. Methods: From July to December 2022. A total of 100 individuals were encompassed in the study, consisting of 50 individuals diagnosed with RA, of whom 42 were females and 8 were males, with an average age of 45.22 years. Additionally, there were 50 healthy control participants, 40 of whom were females and 10 were males, with an average age of 45.64 years. To assess the TLR4 transcript levels, blood samples were collected from each participant, and RN
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