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
Objective: The study aim to evaluate secondary schools students' exposure to risk factors in Al-Najaf City. Methodology: Descriptive study conducted in Al- Najaf City/Iraq on students at secondary schools, those aged (12-24) years old, for the period from the 13ed of November 2015 and up to 4ed of August 2015. The sample included secondary school from those schools . Data is collected through a constructed questionnaire, reliability and students (intermediate and secondary) (540) student; (270) male and (270) females who are selected randomly content validity process has been determined for the instrument. Dat
The present study aimed to investigate the histological, enzyme histochemical changes and liver function effects of Maxxthor insecticide on albino rats in liver. The experiment included 20 rat which were divided into four groups, the first group 5 rats were considered the control animals and the others were divided equally into three groups with a dose of 0.01, 0.1and 1 mg / kg of body weight, respectively for a period 40 days. The animals given each 48 hours via oral route Maxxthor by tube dosage after dissolved with distilled water. Microscopic examination of liver showed inflammatory cell aggregation around vessels, congestion and dilation of sinusoids hepatocytes hypertrophy with severs inflammatory cells infiltration, kupffer cells pro
... 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
... Show MoreCustomers' creditworthiness standards are the key means employed by private commercial banks in assigning a suitable credit assessment for each customer. Accordingly, it had an instrumental role in indicating the degree of solvency of the potential customer before granting the required credit. The research problem reveals the nature of the relationship between the criteria of customer’s creditworthiness and banking liquidity. The most critical objectives of the study shed light on the role of using creditworthiness criteria as a tool for credit analysis of customers by banks that help reducing credit risks and thus increase banking liquidity. The questionnaire that was distributed to bank employees, the research sample, which w
... Show MoreSocial graphic design is the design that realizes the role and responsibility of the designer in society, and the use of graphic design in bringing about social change, especially as it is a professional contribution that plays an important role in the behavioral development of societies, and through the above, the researcher found a logical justification for his research problem, which is summarized by the following question: (What is the concept of Social Graphic Design and its implications in the fight against drug abuse)
While the two objectives of the research were identified in defining the social graphic design and its effect on combating drug abuse, and the theoretical framework was divided into two topics, the first study dea
The present study aims to explore the effectiveness of a proposed study unit based on the funds of knowledge theory in developing the attitudes towards cultural identity and the proposed study unit. In order to achieve the goal of the study, the two researchers followed the quasi-experimental approach, where the study sample consisted of (28) female students of the fifth-grade at Al-Jeelah Basic Education School, Al-Dakhiliyah Governorate in the Sultanate of Oman. The data were collected by two scales: the first is a scale of attitudes towards cultural identity consisting of (26) items. The second was a scale of attitudes towards the proposed study unit, which consisted of (24) items. The results of the study revealed that the effect of
... Show MoreThe present study included the microscopic and molecular identification of Entamoeba histolytica by using specific primers to detect four virulence factors possessed by Entamoeba histolytica. Virulence factors included Active Cysteine proteinase, Galactose/N-acetyl-D-galactose-lectin, Amoeba pore C and Phospholipase. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) were synthesized from Pseudomonas aeruginosa which producing Pyocyanin pigment as a reducing agent to form it. After that we studied the ability ofTiO2NPs to inhibit virulence factors production and curing the genes responsible for encoding them by using four different dose 2 ,3, 4, 6 mg/Kg and administered by intraperitoneal injection
... Show MoreVideogames are currently one of the most widespread means of digital communication and entertainment; their releases are attracting considerable interest with growing number of audience and revenues each year. Videogames are examined by a variety of disciplines and fields. Nevertheless, scholarly attention concerned with the discourse of videogames from a linguistic perspective is relatively scarce, especially from a pragma-stylistic standpoint. This book addresses this vital issue by providing a pragma-stylistic analysis of the digital discourse of two well-known action videogames (First Person Shooter Games). It explores the role of the digital discourse of action videogames in maintaining real-like interactivity between the game and the
... Show MoreLoratadine is a long acting non-sedating anti-histaminic agent that was developed for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis, whose anti-histaminic action is more effective than the other anti-histaminic drugs available commercially. This project was carried out to prepare an acceptable suspension through studying the release of drug in presence of different types and concentrations of suspending agents such as polysorbate 40, xanthan gum, sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC), aluminum magnesium silicate (veegum) and sodium alginate. The effects of these suspending agents were studied at pH 1.2 (0.1N HCl) and 37 Ù’C. The results showed that the release rate of loratadine in the presence of these suspending agents was dependent o
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