This study aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of laser lithotripsy and pneumatic lithotripsy, the two most commonly used transurethral lithotripsy methods for treating bladder stones in children in Iraq. Between January 2013 and December 2016, 64 children with bladder stones were included in this prospective randomized study, after ethical committee approval and written consent from the children’s parents or caregivers were obtained. Patients were assigned randomly by computer software to two groups treated with either pneumatic cystolithotripsy or laser lithotripsy. A 9 Fr. semirigid ureteroscope was used to pass the lithotripter through and fragment the stone. A catheter of 8–12 Fr. was then introduced and kept in place for 24 h. All children were hospitalized for 24 h, and the catheter was removed the next morning. Outpatient follow-up was maintained for 6–12 months. In terms of operation outcomes and complications, the laser lithotripsy group had a significantly longer duration of operation (74.5 ± 26.6 min vs. 51.5 ± 17.2 min, p = 0.001), whereas the number of patients requiring an extended hospital stay was significantly higher in the pneumatic lithotripsy group (48.5% vs. 16.1%, p = 0.006). Moreover, pneumatic lithotripsy was associated with a significantly greater risk of having at least one adverse effect (64% greater than that in the laser group). Stone clearance rates did not significantly differ between treatment groups. In conclusion, both pneumatic and laser lithotripters can be used to treat children with bladder stones with high efficacy and safety.
ABSTRACTBackground: In Medical ethics education, improving medical student’s attitudes toward respecting the right of patients is an essential task. The medical students’ attitude has been affected by social, educational and personality background factors.Objective: To investigate medical student’s attitudes regarding medical ethics courses.Method: The study was conducted in Al-Kindy College of Medicine on academic year (2013 -2014) for the period from January to September. A cross- sectional study design was adopted with a self- administered questionnaire form distributed to medical students in the 5th-6th under graduate grades. The questionnaire consisted of 31 items relevant to student’s opinion about attitudes concerning ethi
... Show More<p>In combinatorial testing development, the fabrication of covering arrays is the key challenge by the multiple aspects that influence it. A wide range of combinatorial problems can be solved using metaheuristic and greedy techniques. Combining the greedy technique utilizing a metaheuristic search technique like hill climbing (HC), can produce feasible results for combinatorial tests. Methods based on metaheuristics are used to deal with tuples that may be left after redundancy using greedy strategies; then the result utilization is assured to be near-optimal using a metaheuristic algorithm. As a result, the use of both greedy and HC algorithms in a single test generation system is a good candidate if constructed correctly. T
... Show MoreThis paper presents a comparative study between different oil production enhancement scenarios in the Saadi tight oil reservoir located in the Halfaya Iraqi oil field. The reservoir exhibits poor petrophysical characteristics, including medium pore size, low permeability (reaching zero in some areas), and high porosity of up to 25%. Previous stimulation techniques such as acid fracturing and matrix acidizing have yielded low oil production in this reservoir. Therefore, the feasibility of hydraulic fracturing stimulation and/or horizontal well drilling scenarios was assessed to increase the production rate. While horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing can improve well performance, they come with high costs, often accounting for up t
... Show MoreThe syntheses, characterization and experimental solid state X-ray structures of five low-spin paramagnetic 2-pyridyl-(1,2,3)-triazole-copper compounds, [Cu(Ln)2Cl2], are presented in this study, for the following five Ln ligands: L1 = 2-(1-(p-tolyl)-1H-(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)pyridine), L2 = 2-(1-(4- chlorophenyl)-1H-(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)pyridine), L3 = 4-(4-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)benzonitril), L4 = 2-(1-phenyl-1H-(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)pyridine) and L5 = 2-(1-(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-1H-(1,2,3- triazol-4-yl)pyridine). These five [Cu(Ln)2Cl2] complexes each contain two bidentate 2-pyridyl-(1,2,3)- triazole (Ln) and two chloride ions as ligands, with the Cu–N(pyridine) bonds, Cu–N(triazole) and Cu–Cl bonds trans to each othe
... 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 MoreWireless Body Area Sensor Networks (WBASNs) have garnered significant attention due to the implementation of self-automaton and modern technologies. Within the healthcare WBASN, certain sensed data hold greater significance than others in light of their critical aspect. Such vital data must be given within a specified time frame. Data loss and delay could not be tolerated in such types of systems. Intelligent algorithms are distinguished by their superior ability to interact with various data systems. Machine learning methods can analyze the gathered data and uncover previously unknown patterns and information. These approaches can also diagnose and notify critical conditions in patients under monitoring. This study implements two s
... Show MoreThe recurrent somatic variations in
The aim of the study was to detect the frequency of R132 mutations in the