Introduction: Although it is discouraged, community pharmacy customers can obtain oral corticosteroids (OCSs) without prescriptions from some community pharmacies in Iraq. Medication abuse is defined as the use of medication for non-medical reasons. Objectives: The study aimed to determine demographics, beliefs, and perceptions associated with the abuse of oral corticosteroids for non-illness reasons among community pharmacy customers. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in fall 2018 in four provinces in Iraq. Customers of 19 community pharmacies asking for OCSs for themselves without a prescription were administered a paper survey. This study used the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) to measure the relationship between the motivational factors and the abuse of OCSs. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationships between the use of OCSs for non-illness and six TRA factors: Normative belief, behavioral belief, evaluation of the behavior, motivation to comply, subjective norms and attitude toward behavior. Results: The study enrolled 141 participants (98 women and 43 men) taking asking for OCSs without prescription. Dexamethasone was the most commonly used OCSs (59.6%). Friends were the primary recommenders for corticosteroids abuse (28.4%). The main reasons for using OCSs were to increase appetite and gain weight (53.9 %). Approximately one-third (36.2 %) of the participants gained weight after using OCSs. The regression analysis of the TRA variables showed two factors were significantly related to the abuse of OCSs. Age had a significant inverse relationship with the abuse of OCSs and the "good appearance" belief had a significant positive association with OCS abuse. Conclusion: Some Iraqi community pharmacy customers use non-prescribed oral corticosteroids to increase appetite and gain weight. Improve body appearance represents the dominant incentive that urges people to use OCSs without prescription. Health officials and healthcare practitioners need to promote people's awareness about the risks of misusing OCSs through education programs and advertisements in public health settings, media, and social media. Article Type: Original Research
The current research aims to identify the level of mental alertness among students of the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Education for Pure Sciences – Ibn Al-Haytham during the academic year (2022-2023). To achieve this goal, a descriptive approach was followed. The research community was identified as all chemistry students across the four grades (first, second, third, and fourth). A sample from each grade was selected for the current research. A tool was prepared to measure mental alertness within the research sample. The researcher adopted the scale by Baer, Smith, Kristemoyer, & Tany (2006), which was developed by Al-Buhairi et al. (2014), ensuring its validity, reliability, and psychometric characteristics, making i
... Show MoreFootball is a game derived from the integration of football and tennis skills and some of the laws of volleyball and yard measurements, and since it is a newly created game must be studied and cover all aspects related to them to reach them to the highest levels. It is known that each game or sports activity should have Physical capabilities and motor skills, which is important to determine the level of technical performance where the abilities of the game contribute to mastering skills. The significance of the research in determining the standard levels of physical and motor abilities of the football players to help young professionals and the sponsors to increase the efficiency of these capabilities and thus raise the level of per
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The current research aims to identify the typical effect of Flower and Coscroft on expressive performance and the development of lateral thinking among literary fifth-grade students. To achieve the research objective, the researcher chose a sample of (90) female students from the fifth literary grade, with two experimental groups and a control group. The research groups are of six subjects. The research found that the two experimental groups have more expressive performance than the control group. Students of the first experimental group outperformed the students of the second experimental group in expressive performance and lateral thinking tests. In light of the findings of the research, the researcher
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... Show MoreMixture experiments are response variables based on the proportions of component for this mixture. In our research we will compare the scheffʼe model with the kronecker model for the mixture experiments, especially when the experimental area is restricted.
Because of the experience of the mixture of high correlation problem and the problem of multicollinearity between the explanatory variables, which has an effect on the calculation of the Fisher information matrix of the regression model.
to estimate the parameters of the mixture model, we used the (generalized inverse ) And the Stepwise Regression procedure
... Show MoreIn this paper, The transfer function model in the time series was estimated using different methods, including parametric Represented by the method of the Conditional Likelihood Function, as well as the use of abilities nonparametric are in two methods local linear regression and cubic smoothing spline method, This research aims to compare those capabilities with the nonlinear transfer function model by using the style of simulation and the study of two models as output variable and one model as input variable in addition t
... Show MoreForest fires continue to rise during the dry season and they are difficult to stop. In this case, high temperatures in the dry season can cause an increase in drought index that could potentially burn the forest every time. Thus, the government should conduct surveillance throughout the dry season. Continuous surveillance without the focus on a particular time becomes ineffective and inefficient because of preventive measures carried out without the knowledge of potential fire risk. Based on the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI), formulation of Drought Factor is used just for calculating the drought today based on current weather conditions, and yesterday's drought index. However, to find out the factors of drought a day after, the data
... Show MoreMicroalgae have been increasingly used for wastewater treatment due to their capacity to assimilate nutrients. Samples of wastewater were taken from the Erbil wastewater channel near Dhahibha village in northern Iraq. The microalga Coelastrella sp. was used in three doses (0.2, 1, and 2g. l-1) in this experiment for 21 days, samples were periodically (every 3 days) analyzed for physicochemical parameters such as pH, EC, Phosphate, Nitrate, and BOD5, in addition to, Chlorophyll a concentration. Results showed that the highest dose 2g.l-1 was the most effective dose for removing nutrients, confirmed by significant differences (p≤0.05) between all doses. The highest removal percentage was
... Show MoreThe efficiency of management is determining factor for the success or failure of agricultural projects generally and Livestock particularly achieving its objectives. Therefore, this research came to diagnose the most important variables that determine the efficiency of management using the probability regression models to measure the probability of management efficient of broilers production projects using random sample included (60) broilers projects represented 11.6% of Baghdad province (research community) in 2016. After estimating the relationship between the management efficiency (descriptive dependent variable) and the independent variables affecting it (age, educational level, production index (PI), experience). The results
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