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 present work reports an approach of hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods, which simplifies the production of low cost films with controlled morphology for H2S gas sensor application. The prepared ZnO nanorods exhibit a hexagonal wurtzite phase analyzed by the X-ray diffraction analysis. The FTIR spectra provide information that the band located between 465-570 cm-1 corresponds to the stretching bond of Zn-O, which confirms the creation of ZnO. PL spectroscopic studies showed that the doping of Ag NPs and f-MWCNT in the ZnO matrix leads to the tuning of the bandgap. The SEM analysis showed the morphology of ZnO was the nanorods. The nanocomposites Ag/ZnO and F-MWCNT/ZnO which prepared, sep
... Show MoreBackground: Repeated teenage pregnancy is a major burden on the healthcare system worldwide. Objective: We aimed to compare teenagers with their first and third pregnancies and to evaluate the likelihood of neonatal complications. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on female teenagers (aged ≤ 19 yr) with singleton pregnancies. The subjects (n = 298) were screened over 12 months. Ninety-six women were excluded, based on the exclusion criteria. The remaining subjects (n = 202) were divided into two groups: teenagers with first pregnancy (n = 96) and teenagers with third pregnancy (n = 47). The subjects were observed throughout pregnancy and delivery. The final sample size of the first and thi
... Show MoreThe ability of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to uptake three pharmaceuticals (diclofenac, mefenamic acid and metronidazole) from two types of soil (clay and sandy soil) was investigated in this study to explore the human exposure to these pharmaceuticals via the consumption of beans. A pot experiment was conducted with beans plants which were grown in two types of soil for six weeks under controlled conditions. During the experiment period, the soil pore water was collected weekly and the concentrations of the test compounds in soil pore water as well as in plant organs (roots, stems and leaves) were weekly determined.
The results showed that the studied pharmaceuticals were detected in all plant tissues; their concentration
NH3 gas sensor was fabricated based on deposited of Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs-OH) suspension on filter paper substrates using suspension filtration method. The structural, morphological and optical properties of the MWCNTs film were characterized by XRD, AFM and FTIR techniques. XRD measurement confirmed that the structure of MWCNTs is not affected by the preparation method. The AFM images reflected highly ordered network in the form of a mat. The functional groups and types of bonding have appeared in the FTIR spectra. The fingerprint (C-C stretch) of MWCNTs appears in 1365 cm-1, and the backbone of CNTs observed at 1645 cm-1. A homemade sensi
... Show MoreThe electron correlation for inter-shells (1s 2p), (1s 3p) and (1s 3d) was described by the inter-particle radial distribution function f(r12). It was evaluated for Li-atom in the different excited states (1s2 2p), (1s2 3p) and (1s2 3d) using Hartree-Fock approximation (HF). The inter particle expectation values for these shells were also evaluated. The calculations were performed using Mathcad 14 program.
في هذا البحث تم تحضير المركبات المعدنية النانوية الجديدة لأيونات البلاتين 4+و الذهب 3+ مع ليكاند قاعدة مانخ جديد مشتق من السيبروفلوكساسين بطريقة الموجات فوق الصوتية. تم تشخيص المعقدات النانوية والليكاند الجديد بأستخدام تقنيات فيزيائية و كيميائية مختلفة مثل أطياف الاشعة تحت الحمراء، حيود الاشعة السينية ، المجهر الالكتروني الماسح ، المجهر الالكتروني النافذ و مجهر القوة الذرية. تم تحديد نشاط مضادات الأك
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