Hypertension is a major health problem throughout the world because of its high prevalence and its association with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. It is defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy, safety and cardiovascular disease risk lowering ability, of three antihypertensive drug regimens.

A retrospective study was carried out on 66 hypertensive patients, divided in to three groups based on their antihypertensive drug regimens (ACE inhibitors, β-blockers treated and combination antihypertensive therapy, the combination therapy consist of two or more of the following antihypertensive drugs ACE inhibitor di

Background: Early detection of subclinical left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction is crucial and could influence patients' prognosis by aiding the clinician to candidate patients for better management.

Objective: To detect early LV systolic dysfunction in asymptomatic patient with chronic aortic regurgitation by two dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography.

 Methods:  Sixty one asymptomatic patients with chronic aortic regurgitation, with no ischemic heart diseases (by coronary angiography) or conductive heart diseases, no diabetes mellitus, no hypertension, and no other valvular heart diseases (group 1) and fifty age and sex-matched healthy subjects (

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-

The research utilizes data produced by the Local Urban Management Directorate in Najaf and the imagery data from the Landsat 9 satellite, after being processed by the GIS tool. The research follows a descriptive and analytical approach; we integrated the Markov chain analysis and the cellular automation approach to predict transformations in city structure as a result of changes in land utilization. The research also aims to identify approaches to detect post-classification transformations in order to determine changes in land utilization. To predict the future land utilization in the city of Kufa, and to evaluate data accuracy, we used the Kappa Indicator to determine the potential applicability of the probability matrix that resulted from

This study aims at identifying the notion of Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) pertinent to the performance of three general hospitals constructed inside the Sulaimani City, tracing the relationship between the quality of the indoor environments and medical staff (doctors and nurses) satisfaction level. Using some indoor environment elements in the right way will positively influence the mood, stress level of the medical staff, and patient recovery as a result. The POE toolkits (AEDET and ASPECT) have been implemented on targeted wards at the selected hospitals. AEDET and ASPECT questionnaires were distributed among 152 medical staff to obtain their perspectives. In total, 112 valid questionnaires were received. The medica

Apical periodontitis (AP) is the most prevalent chronic inflammatory disease of the teeth. Bone resorption dynamics in symptomatic and asymptomatic AP are still unrecognized. This study examined different inflammatory markers within gingival crevicular fluid, including matrix metalloproteinases 8 (MMP8), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP1), receptor activator of nuclear factor κB (RANK), its ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG), to be used in comparing symptomatic apical periodontitis (SAP) and asymptomatic apical periodontitis (AAP) versus healthy teeth. Subjects with SAP, AAP, and a control group were recruited and GCF samples were collected by Periopaper strips. Clinical and radiographical measures were used f

This study aimed to investigate the effect of total suspended solids (TSS) on the performance of a continuously operated dual-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) proceeded by primary clarifier to treat actual potato chips processing wastewater. The system was also tested in the absence of the primary clarifier and the results demonstrated a significant effect of TSS on the polarization curve of the MFC which was obtained by operating the graphite anodic electrode against Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The maximum observed power and current densities were decreased form 102.42 mW/m² and 447.26 mA/m² to 80.16 mW/m² and 299.10 mA/m², respectively due to the adverse effect of TSS. Also

In this study, a novel application of lab-scale dual chambered air-cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been developed for simultaneous bio-treatment of real pharmaceutical wastewater and renewable electricity generation. The microbial fuel cell (MFC) was provided with zeolite-packed anodic compartment and a cation exchange membrane (CEM) to separate the anode and cathode. The performance of the proposed MFC was evaluated in terms of COD removal and power generation based on the activity of the bacterial consortium in the biofilm mobilized on zeolite bearer. The MFC was fueled with real pharmaceutical wastewater having an initial COD concentration equal to 800 mg/L and inoculated with anaerobic aged sludge. Results demo

ABSTRACT Background: resin cement type and intraoral temperature fluctuations may affect the fracture performance of successful zirconia restorations. To fill this gap, the purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the influence of thermocycling on fracture resistance and mode of failure of monolithic zirconia crowns luted with Rely X™ U200 and BreezeTMself-adhesive resin cements as well as imply the effect of adding 2 % of polylysine (PLS) to these cements. Materials: 64 maxillary premolars were milled out of zirconia blocks using CAD/CAM milling system. They were divided into four groups (n = 16) according to the cement type. Four different resin cements were used (RelyXTMU200, Breeze™, RelyX™ U200 with 2 % PLS