The use of antibiotics without prescription (self-medication) is growing globally and is associated with increased bacterial resistance, ineffective treatment and adverse reactions. This study aimed at assessing the practice of antibiotic self-medication in the Iraqi population. A cross-sectional study design was adopted in this work. The sample was comprised of 303 staff members from the non-medical colleges in Iraq. An online questionnaire was distributed between the 29th of June to the 14th of September 2021 to collect data including socio-demographic characteristics and questions about antibiotic self-medication. Most of the participants had a university degree and a moderate monthly income. The majority (88%) have practiced self-medication at least once before. A “simple” condition and convenience were the main motivators behind self-medication, which was mainly used for sore throat, fever and cough. Own experience was the most reported determining factor for selecting an antibiotic, and community pharmacies were the main source for obtaining the antibiotics. About 40% of the participants admitted to switching the antibiotic or changing its dose during the treatment course. Self-medication with antibiotics is a major issue in our community and measures have to be taken to reduce its impact on public health through the development of bacterial resistance.
The non-isothermal crystallization kinetics and crystalline properties of nanocomposites poly butyleneterephthalate, [PBT] /multiwalled-carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were tested by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). PBT/(MWCNTs) nanocomposite was prepared by ultrasonicated of MWCNTs (0.5, 1, 2, 4 wt %) in dichloromethane (DCM) and after that the powdered PBT polymer was added to the MWCNTs solution. The non-isothermal crystallization results show that increasing the MWCNTs contents, decreased the melting temperature (Tm) of PBT/(MWCNTs) nanocomposite as compared with pure PBT, while resulting in improving the degree of crystallinity. These results indicated that a little amount of MWCNTs can be evident strong nucleating agent in PBT na
... Show MoreIn this paper, we designed a new efficient stream cipher cryptosystem that depend on a chaotic map to encrypt (decrypt) different types of digital images. The designed encryption system passed all basic efficiency criteria (like Randomness, MSE, PSNR, Histogram Analysis, and Key Space) that were applied to the key extracted from the random generator as well as to the digital images after completing the encryption process.
In this paper, An application of non-additive measures for re-evaluating the degree of importance of some student failure reasons has been discussed. We apply non-additive fuzzy integral model (Sugeno, Shilkret and Choquet) integrals for some expected factors which effect student examination performance for different students' cases.
This paper aims to evaluate the reliability analysis for steel beam which represented by the probability of Failure and reliability index. Monte Carlo Simulation Method (MCSM) and First Order Reliability Method (FORM) will be used to achieve this issue. These methods need two samples for each behavior that want to study; the first sample for resistance (carrying capacity R), and second for load effect (Q) which are parameters for a limit state function. Monte Carlo method has been adopted to generate these samples dependent on the randomness and uncertainties in variables. The variables that consider are beam cross-section dimensions, material property, beam length, yield stress, and applied loads. Matlab software has be
... Show MoreGypseous soils are common in several regions in the world including Iraq, where more than 28.6% of its surface is covered with this type of soil. This soil, with high gypsum content, causes different problems for construction and strategic projects. As a result of water flow through the soil mass, the permeability and chemical arrangement of these soils varies with time due to the solubility and leaching of gypsum. In this study, the soil of 36% gypsum content, was taken from one location about 100 km southwest of Baghdad, where the samples were taken from depths (0.5 - 1) m below the natural ground and mixed with (3%, 6%, 9%) of Copolymer and Novolac polymer to improve the engineering properties that include: collapsibility, perm
... Show MoreOften there is no well drilling without problems. The solution lies in managing and evaluating these problems and developing strategies to manage and scale them. Non-productive time (NPT) is one of the main causes of delayed drilling operations. Many events or possibilities can lead to a halt in drilling operations or a marginal decrease in the advancement of drilling, this is called (NPT). Reducing NPT has an important impact on the total expenditure, time and cost are considered one of the most important success factors in the oil industry. In other words, steps must be taken to investigate and eliminate loss of time, that is, unproductive time in the drilling rig in order to save time and cost and reduce wasted time. The data of
... Show MoreNon-thermal (low-temperature) plasma may act as an alternative approach to control superficial wound and skin infections when the effectiveness of chemical agents is weak due to natural pathogen or biofilm resistance. In this paper an atmospheric pressure plasma needle jet device which generates a cold plasma jet is used to measure the effectiveness of plasma treatment against different pathogenic bacteria and to test the individual susceptibility of pathogenic bacteria to non-thermal argon plasma. It is found that, Gram-negative bacteria were more susceptible to plasma treatment than Gram-positive bacteria. For the Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, there were no survivors among the initial 1x108C.F.U (Co
... Show MoreThe main aim of this study is to assess the performance and residual strength of post-fire non-prismatic reinforced concrete beams (NPRC) with and without openings. To do this, nine beams were cast and divided into three major groupings. These groups were classified based on the degrees of heating exposure temperature chosen (ambient, 400, and 700°C), with each group containing three non-prismatic beams (solid, 8 trapezoidal openings, and 8 circular openings). Experimentally, given the same beam geometry, increasing burning temperature caused degradation in NPRC beams, which was reflected in increased mid-span deflection throughout the fire exposure period and also residual deflectio
Objective: Comprehending microbial diversity and antibiotic resistance patterns is essential for efficient treatment protocols. This study sought to determine the incidence of bacterial and fungal pathogens responsible for burn and wound infections and their antibiotic susceptibility profiles. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 140 patients with burn or wound infections. Sterile swabs and pus aspiration were employed to collect samples, which were subsequently processed using standard microbiological procedures. Antibiotic resistance was determined using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method, following Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 25.0, and the Chi-
... Show MoreBackground: Decontamination of gutta percha cones was important factor for success of root canal treatment. The aim of the present in vitro study was to identify and to compare the antimicrobial effect of following disinfection solutions: 0.2% chlorhexidine gluconate, Iodine, tetracycline hydrochloride solution, EDTA & formocresol mixed with zinc oxide eugenol, on E faecalis, E coli and Candida albicans using sensitivity test Materials and Methods: Three types of microorganisms were isolated from infected root canals (E faecalis, E coli and Candida albicans) and cultured on Mueller Hinton agar petri-dishes. Disinfection of gutta percha cones done by immersion in six disinfection solutions (six groups), the groups are: distill water (used a
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