Background: Nursing interventions tailored to the smoking triggers in patients with non-communicable chronic diseases are essential. However, these interventions are scant due to the nature of factors associated with smoking cessation and the poor understanding of the effect of nurse-led intervention in Iraq.Purpose: This study aimed to determine the dominant smoking triggers and examine the effects of a tailored nursing intervention on smoking behavior in patients with non-communicable chronic diseases.Methods: Convenience samples of 128 patients with non-communicable chronic diseases, male and female patients, who were 18-70 years old, were recruited in this quasi-experimental, randomized comparative trial in the outpatient clinic in one major teaching hospital in Baghdad City, Iraq. The intervention included simple yet specific instructions that were given both orally and in written form to the study samples to enable them to manage their craving to smoke for 6 weeks. The smoking triggers were assessed using Why Do You Smoke questionnaire. Participants were randomly allocated to receive either the nurse-led intervention or standard care. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests, logistic regression, and two-sided tests.Results: Stress reduction was the dominant smoking trigger among subjects. The percentage of participants who were either able to completely quit smoking or reduce the number of smoked cigarettes per day (n=19, 29.7%; n=28, 43.8%, respectively) was greater in the study group than those in the control group (n=5, 5.8%; n=5, 5.8%, respectively). Study findings demonstrated significant differences in the inability to improve readiness to quit smoking between the intervention group and control group (p=0.000) at the sixth-week follow-up.Conclusion: The tailored nursing intervention was effective for a successful achievement of smoking reduction and cessation among patients with non-communicable chronic diseases, and a potential to equip nurses in clinical settings to support patients to achieve this is recommended.
The paper proposes a methodology for predicting packet flow at the data plane in smart SDN based on the intelligent controller of spike neural networks(SNN). This methodology is applied to predict the subsequent step of the packet flow, consequently reducing the overcrowding that might happen. The centralized controller acts as a reactive controller for managing the clustering head process in the Software Defined Network data layer in the proposed model. The simulation results show the capability of Spike Neural Network controller in SDN control layer to improve the (QoS) in the whole network in terms of minimizing the packet loss ratio and increased the buffer utilization ratio.
This study examines the structural performance of concrete-encased pultruded Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) I-sections with shear connections. It specifically focuses on how different parameters affect the latter’s ductility, flexural strength, and load-carrying capacity. The key variables studied include various shear connector types, spacing, and geometries, as well as the compressive strength of concrete and the properties of GFRP. The finite element modeling and experimental validation show that the shear connectors significantly improve the ductility, ultimate capacity, and load transmission efficiency. The present review emphasizes that the shear connectors greatly enhance the structural performance when they are prop
... Show MoreIn this paper two ranking functions are employed to treat the fuzzy multiple objective (FMO) programming model, then using two kinds of membership function, the first one is trapezoidal fuzzy (TF) ordinary membership function, the second one is trapezoidal fuzzy weighted membership function. When the objective function is fuzzy, then should transform and shrinkage the fuzzy model to traditional model, finally solving these models to know which one is better
This research was aimed to study the osmotic efficiency of the draw solutions and the factors affecting the performance of forward osmosis process : The draw solutions used were magnesium sulfate hydrate (MgSO4.7H2O) pojtassium chloride (KCL), calcium chloride (CaCl2) and ammonium bicarbonate (NH4HCO3). It was found that water flux increases with increasing draw solution concentration, and feed solution flow rate and decreases with increasing draw solution flow rate and feed solution concentration. And also found that the efficiency of the draw solutions is in the following order:
CaCl2> KCI > NH4HCO3> MgSO4.7H
The increasing requirement and use of dental implant treatments has rendered dental implantology indispensable in dentistry. The aim of this study is to determine the optimum concentration of calcium silicate to be incorporated into a polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) matrix used as an implant material to enhance the bioactivity and mechanical properties of the composite compared with unmodified PEKK. In this study, different weight percentage (wt%) of micro-calcium silicate (m-CS) is incorporated into PEKK with ethanol as a binder. Subsequently, the mixture is dried in a forced convection oven at 120°C and poured into customized molds to fabricate a bioactive composite via compression molding (310°C, 15 MPa, and 20 min holding time
... Show MoreNowadays, it is quite usual to transmit data through the internet, making safe online communication essential and transmitting data over internet channels requires maintaining its confidentiality and ensuring the integrity of the transmitted data from unauthorized individuals. The two most common techniques for supplying security are cryptography and steganography. Data is converted from a readable format into an unreadable one using cryptography. Steganography is the technique of hiding sensitive information in digital media including image, audio, and video. In our proposed system, both encryption and hiding techniques will be utilized. This study presents encryption using the S-DES algorithm, which generates a new key in each cyc
... Show MoreThere is no access to basic sanitation for half the world's population, leading to Socioeconomic issues, such as scarcity of drinking water and the spread of diseases. In this way, it is of vital importance to develop water management technologies relevant to the target population. In addition, in the separation form of water treatment, the compound often used as a coagulant in water treatment is aluminum sulfate, which provides good results for raw water turbidity and color removal. Studies show, however, that its deposition in the human body, even Alzheimer's disease, can cause serious harm to health and disease development. The study aims to improve the coagulation/flocculation stage related to the amount of flakes, i
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