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.
Background: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is a widely used test for glycemic control. It is done for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Renal disease is accompanied by thyroid abnormalities, which affect HbA1c, especially in those taking erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs). We aimed to find the effect of thyroid dysfunction on HbA1c in hemodialysis patients taking ESAs and those who do not. Materials and Method: Fifty six patients were included in this study, which was done between September 2017 and June 2018, in Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Thyroid stimulating hormone, free T3, free T4 and HbA1c measurements were done. The patients were divided into 2 groups; those who took ESAs and those who did not, then they were subdivided into those
... Show MoreBackground: Moral distress, as one of the most important issues in the nursing profession, can negatively affect the healthcare system Objectives: To examine the effect of moral distress on decision making. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study a non-probability sampling method was used and a total sample collected was (126) ICU nurses Result: Moral distress among ICUs nurses were moderate and decision making was good Conclusion: Although nurses in ICUs perceive good decision making but suffered from moderate MD which affected their decision making. MD is still an important issue that nurses may face in ICUs Conclusion: Although nurses in ICUs perceive good decision making but suffered from moderate MD which affected the
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Asthma is a chronic respiratory disorder in which immunological and structural cells play a role. The limits of conventional medicines necessitate the development of innovative therapeutic techniques for asthma. In the present study, we investigated the possible protective effect of cinnamic acid (CA) on ovalbumin-induced asthma in a mouse model. Sixty albino male mice BALB/c type weighing (20-30) grams were chosen at random and divided into five groups each one contains 12 animal: Group I: PBS/liquid paraffin control. Group II: asthma model group. Group III: cinnamic acid control group; mice received cinnamic acid (50 mg/kg) in liquid paraffin orally by gavage. Group IV: asthma model / group of (25 mg / kg) cinnamic acid; mice received
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Fiber reinforced polymer composite is an important material for structural application. The diversified application of FRP composite has taken center of attraction for interdisciplinary research. However, improvements on mechanical properties of this class of materials are still under research for different applications. In this paper we have modified the epoxy matrix by Al2O3, SiO2 and TiO2 nano particles in glass fiber/epoxy composite to improve the mechanical and physical properties. The composites are fabricated by hand lay-up method. It is observed that mechanical properties like flexural strength, hardness are more in case of SiO2 modified epoxy composite compare to other nano
... Show MoreIn this work, 332 Al alloy was prepared and reinforced with (0.5% and 1%) nano-Al2O3 particles. The prepared unreinforced and reinforced 332 Al alloy with nano-Al2O3 were solution heat treated (T6) at 510 ̊C and aged at 225 ̊C with different times (1, 3, and 5 h). Hardness test was performed on all the prepared alloys. All prepared alloys were dry slided under different applied loads (5, 10, 15, and 20 N) against steel counterface surface using pin on disk apparatus. The results showed that refinement effect was observed after addition of nano-Al2O3 particles and a change in silicon morphology after performing the solution heat treatment. The results also showed that har
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Background: Polishing technique for acrylic resin material have great effect on properties of acrylic material and bacterial colonization such as staphylococcus aurous, which are responsible for many acrylic prosthetic infections such as the commonly ocular infections. Ineffective polishing technique could affect roughness and subsequently porosity of acrylic materials.So, a new effective method for polishing acrylic was used depending on the use of optiglaze coating material. So, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of optiglaze polishing on porosity of acrylic resin material and staphylococcus aurous activity in comparison to conventional polishing technique.
Materials and methods: Specimen(n=120) were prepared :20 spe
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In order to study the effect of inoculation with mycorrhiza and fertilization with plant residues on the growth of plants, we used two factors: the first two levels of mycorrhiza inoculation, Glumus mossea (0 and 10 g.pot-1) and the second factor, four levels of plant residues (10 g.pot-1) celery plant residues, 10 g pot-1 mint residues, and 10 g pot-1 black bean seed residues. Mychorrizal treatment (10 g pot-1) increased the number of mycorrhiza spores and the infection percentage of mycorrhizal by 917.44% and 13088.23%, respectively; celery treatment (10 g.pot-1) increased the chlorophyll index in the leaves and height of the chard plant by 31.34% and 94.04%, respectively; and black seed treatment (10 g.pot-1) increased the percen
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The study aimes to investigate the effects of leaves & fruits ethanolic extract of Duranta repens L. on biological performance for all stages of life cycle of the mosquito Culex pipiens piepiens L., For this purpose the mosquitoes were reared in the laboratory till the fourth generation .Different concentrations of leaves (800,1000,1200,1400ppm) and fruits (800,1000,1200ppm) were tested on (eggs,larval stages,pupal stages and the adult stages). The results revealed that the extracts gave highest mortality rate for the eggs at(100%) compared with control,fruits extract shown highest mortality rate of the four larval instars (100%)at 1200ppm compared with leave extract at(80,50,33.33,20%).Also the extract caused a high mortality rate for pupa
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