Background: Directly observed therapy-short course (DOTS) had been adopted by World Health Organization (WHO) as hopeful strategy for treatment of tuberculosis (TB) since early nineties. Iraqi health authorities started DOTS implementation since 2001 in Baghdad. Coverage expanded gradually till 100% in 2004. War and unstable security condition hit Iraq since March 2003. Objective: The objective of this study was To evaluate the DOTS implementation program in Baghdad in different periods including 2 unstable periods for proper assessment of war and instability on treatment of TB. Patients and methods: This study had been conducted in Baghdad during four different periods (before and during 2003 war, after war; without and with DOTS). Direct interview with patients, and follow up of their treatment were done. Results: The results reveled that78% of patients were in active age groups, 62% of them were males. Surprisingly, direct observation was not achieved in those who were treated under DOTS in the whole periods. Patients treated under DOTS in the 1st and 4th periods showed much better sputum conversion rate after 2 month treatment (88.7 %in 1st and86.5% in 4th periods` patients) than those treated under DOTS during war (45.9% or Non-DOTS 75.6%). A better cure rate also found in patients of both periods (64.9% in 1st and 63% in 4th period) than patients in other periods ( 11% in 2nd% and 43.6% in the 3rd one) .Conclusions: DOTS strategy played important role in improving registration and curing of TB cases in Baghdad. War and unstable security conditions got a destructive effect on treatment of TB patients regardless the followed strategy. Involvement of private medical sector and other governmental and nongovernmental organization can improve TB treatment outcome.
This study aims to evaluate the performance of the sewage treatment plant in Al- Diwaniya, one of cities in the southern part in Iraq. This evaluation could be used to facilitate effluent quality assessment or optimal process control of the plant. The influent reaching the plant is considered a medium to strong in strength with BOD5/COD ratio in the range 0.23 and 0.69 which can be considered an easily degradable sewage by the biological processes performed by the activated sludge unit. The quality of the effluent was found to be higher than the Iraqi standards for disposal to water bodies. The BOD5/COD ratios of the treated sewage varied over a wide range as low of 0.13 to 1.48 indicating operational problems in the plant. Regressio
... Show MoreAl-Rustamiya sewage treatment plant (WWTP) serves the east side of Baghdad city (Rusafa) and is considered one of the largest projects.It consists of three parts (old project F0, first extension F1, and second extension F2) that treat wastewater and the
effluent is discharged into Diyala river and thus into the Tigris River. These plants are designed and constructed with an aim to manage wastewater to reachIraqi effluent standard for BOD5, COD, TSS and chloride concentrations of 40, 100, 60 and 600
mg/L respectively. The data recordedfrom March till December 2011 provided from Al-RustamiyaWWTP, were considered in this study to evaluate the performance of the plant. The results indicated that the strength of the wastewater enterin
(9)
CuInSe2(CIS) thin films have been prepared by use vacuum thermal evaporation technique, of thickness750 nm with rate of deposition 1.8±0.1 nm/sec on glass substrate at room temperature and pressure (10-5) mbar. Heat treatment has been carried out in the range (400-600) K for all samples. The optical properties of the CIS thin films are been studied such as (absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coefficient, real and imaginary dielectric constant) by determined using Measurement absorption and transmission spectra. Results showed that through the optical constants we can make to control it are wide applications as an optoelectronic devices and photovoltaic applications.
CuInSe2 (CIS)thin films have been prepared by use vacuum thermal evaporation technique, of 750 nm thickness, with rate of deposition 1.8±0.1 nm/sec on glass substrate at room temperature and pressure (10-5) mbar. Heat treatment has been carried out in the range (400-600) K for all samples. The optical properties of the CIS thin films are been studied such as (absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coefficient, real and imaginary dielectric constant)by determined using Measurement absorption and transmission spectra. Results showed that through the optical constants we can made to control it is wide applications as an optoelectronic devices and photovoltaic applications.
This study is concerned with the effect of Deep Cryogenic Treatment (DCT) at liquid nitrogen temperature (-196 o C) on the mechanical properties and performance of low carbon steel (A858). The tests specimens were divided in to two groups, the first group was subjected to the conventional heat treatment of normalizing, and the second group was also normalized then subjected to (DCT). The results have shown that after (DCT), the Hardness, Tensile properties and the impact energy absorbed were all slightly increased. However the fatigue test showed some positive improvement in fatigue limit by 20(N/mm2 ), and the volume wear rates at different loads were significantly decreased after (DCT). The changes in microstructure due to (DCT) were c
... Show More
(1)
Background: Polymer surfaces usually present problems in bonding and finishing due to their low hydrophilicity. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of plasma treatment with the use of two types of gases (oxygen and argon) on surface roughness, and chemical surface properties of acrylic resin denture base polymer material. Materials and Methods: Three heat cured acrylic resin specimens of (2*8*30 mm) dimensions were prepared for each test carried out in this study. Two tests were conducted, surface roughness test and chemical surface analysis test. Results: Application of plasma treatment increased surface roughness for both oxygen and argon plasma treated acrylic resin specimen groups compared with control untreated group,
... Show More
(3)
(1)
The lowest layer of the atmosphere is called the atmospheric mixed layer, characterized by small-scale, irregular air motions defined by winds that change in speed and direction. Aerosol radiative effects impact the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), which holds most aerosols in the lower atmosphere. Aerosol absorption and scattering both lower the quantity of solar energy that reaches the ground, which has an impact on the spectral signature of the land coverings. In this study, 51 locations in downtown Baghdad were chosen for four different types of land cover (water bodies, farms, open areas, and residential areas) for Sentinel 2 satellite imagery, and the time the pictures were taken was 8:00 am ( 22 March, 22 June, 20 September,
... Show More
(1)
(2)
Objective(s): To evaluate youth's health risk behaviors in Baghdad City and to determine the relationship between such behaviors and the youth's demographic characteristics of age, gender and grade. Methodology: A descriptive study, using the evaluation approach, is carried out to evaluate youth's health risk behaviors in Baghdad City for the period of January 26th 2016 to May 20th 2016. A non-probability "purposive" sample of (160) University students is selected for the purpose of the study from four groups of colleges (medical, engineering, sciences, and education) and it is equally distributed of
Due to the significance of hospital drinking water, a study was done to assess the water in three hospitals in Baghdad (Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital, Ibn Sina Hospital, and Ibn-Al-Nafis Hospital) for its nature and quality, compare it to other hospitals in terms of its physical, chemical, and bacterial specifications, and compare it to international standards. According to Iraqi standards from 2009 and WHO standards from 2011, Chemical factors were measured, which included pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), and Calcium Ion (Ca+2). Reported readings are all within acceptable ranges for drinking water. In contrast, turbidity, total hardness (T.H.), chlorides (Cl-), magnesium (Mg+2), the number of aerobic plates (APC), total coliform (T
... Show More
(1)
Background: This study aimed to examine the efficacy of methylene blue (MB) and toluidine blue O (TBO) photodynamic therapy (PDT) as adjuncts to root surface debridement (RSD). Methods: This split-mouth, randomized, controlled clinical trial included eighteen patients, and a total of 332 sites (control = 102, MB = 124 and TBO = 106) were examined. Two sessions of PDT were completed at baseline and two weeks after RSD. Clinical parameters of bleeding on probing (BOP), plaque index (PI), probing pocket depth (PPD), and clinical attachment level (CAL) were measured pre- and post-treatment. Results: PPD and BOP reductions in sites treated by RSD with adjunctive photosensitizers (MB and TBO) were significantly higher than in control site
... Show More
(1)
(2)
