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A focus group study to seek the opinions of Malaysian geriatricians, pharmacists, and nurses about education materials on fall-riskincreasing drugs
Get PDFFalls and related injuries are major public health problems among older people (OP). The use of fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) has been identified as a risk factor for falls, yet the use of the drugs among OP is common. Previous studies showed that OP have low awareness about FRIDs. Education materials (EMs) have the potential to be used to enhance knowledge of OP on various health-related topics including FRIDs. This study employed a focus group discussion (FGD) to seek the opinions of key stakeholders in OP care about EMs on FRIDs. Nineteen healthcare providers (HCPs) participated in the FGDs which were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis. The HCPs believed that the awareness of OP about medications as a risk factor for falls is low. EMs on FRIDs were well received by the HCPs, and were associated with several benefits. Several topics were recommended to be included in the EMs with the aim to enhance the awareness and risk perceptions about FRIDs among OP and to promote HCP–patient communication about the drugs. The HCPs’ opinions may assist the development of EMs on FRIDs by informing the priorities and scope of content, thus ensuring the suitability and relevance for OP
Objective structured clinical examination: Challenges and opportunities from students’ perspective
Get PDFBackground
Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) has been used in evaluating clinical competence in health professions education around the world. Despite its implementation in Iraq for around a decade, limited studies investigated the challenges and opportunities to improve the standard and quality of this examination from student’s perspective.
Methods
This qualitative study was based on an online open-ended questionnaire survey that was carried out in the College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Iraq at the beginning of the 2018–2019 academic year. A convenience sample of 180 students in the clinical phase (4th, 5th, and 6th) year of study were invited to participate.
Results
A total of 141 students responded to the online questionnaire. The participants were generally happy with the OSCE, and they recognized many positive aspects, including the role of the OSCE in increasing confidence, engagement and motivating learning, the role of the OSCE in achieving a higher level of learning, the content validity of the OSCE, and the quality of the OSCE. The main weak points of the OSCE identified by the students included unfairness, gender discrimination, duration of the OSCE, and the behavior of the examiners. Suggestions to improve the OSCE examination included improving the examiners’ behavior, with the focus on the training of the examiners, and avoiding discrimination among students.\ud
Conclusions
Most of the students were generally satisfied with the current OSCE examination. The main concern of the students was related to the organization of the OSCE. Valuable suggestions were raised to improve the OSCE quality including examiners’ and simulated patients’ training
Iridoids Isolation from a Phytochemical Study of the Medicinal Plant Teucrium parviflorum Collected in Iraqi Kurdistan
Get PDFHerbal medicines are still widely practiced in Kurdistan Region-Iraq, especially by people living in villages on mountainous regions. Among plants belonging to the genus Teucrium (family Lamiaceae), which are commonly employed in the Kurdish traditional medicine, we have analyzed, for the first time, the methanol and aqueous methanol extracts of T. parviflorum aerial parts. The plant is mainly used by Kurds to treat jaundice, liver disorders and stomachache. We aimed to determine the phytochemical profile of the extracts and the structures of the main components, so to provide a scientific rationale for the ancient use of the plant in the ethno-pharmacological field. TLC analysis of the two extracts on silica gel and reversed phase TLC plates, using different visualization systems, indicated similar contents and the presence of phenolics, flavonoids, terpenoids and sugars. The chlorophyll-free extracts exhibited weak/no antimicrobial activities against a panel of bacteria (MICs = 800–1600 µg/mL) and fungal strains (MICs ≥ 5 mg/mL). At the concentration of 600 µg/mL, the methanol extract showed moderate antiproliferative effects against A549 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines in the MTS assay. Moreover, both extracts exhibited a significant dose-dependent free radical scavenging action against the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical (EC50 = 62.11 and 44.25 μg/mL, respectively). In a phytochemical study, a high phenolic content (77.08 and 81.47 mg GAE/g dry extract, respectively) was found in both extracts by the Folin–Ciocalteu assay. Medium pressure liquid chromatographic (MPLC) separation of the methanol extract on a reversed phase cartridge eluted with a gradient of MeOH in H2O, afforded two bioactive iridoid glucosides, harpagide (1) and 8-O-acetylharpagide (2). The structures of 1 and 2 were established by spectral data, chemical reactions, and comparison with the literature. Interestingly, significant amounts of hepatotoxic furano neo-clerodane diterpenoids, commonly occurring in Teucrium species, were not detected in the extract. The wide range of biological activities reported in the literature for compounds 1 and 2 and the significant antiradical effects of the extracts give scientific support to the traditional use in Iraqi Kurdistan of T. parviflorum aerial parts for the preparation of herbal remedies
Elaborating on the links between declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and employee performance
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to elucidate the links between declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and performance in the context of ISO 9001:2015 certification. It develops a model which tests the impact of training and rewarding on employees’ declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and motivation. It tests the effects of declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and motivation on employees’ contextual and task performance. The study is conducted in Turkey using data collected from 423 employees working in various firms operating in the textiles, food production, and mining sectors. Our results show that although training and rewarding are important antecedents of knowledge and motivation, ISO 9001:2015 certified firms had difficulties in converting these benefits into better employee performance
Competence kinetic and thermodynamic studies between natural bio-adsorbent green microalgae and synthetic adsorbent magnetic nanoparticles for copper(II) ion in water
Get PDFThe present work investigated the kinetic and thermodynamic study of adsorbents to remove copper ions from aqueous solutions and compared the efficiency between the natural microalgae bio-adsorbent chlorella species (sp.) and synthetic magnetic nanoparticles. All materials synthesized and characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The highest Cu+2 ion adsorption for the copper solution at 100 mg/L was 57.2%, while at pH 8 it was 59.7%. The more efficient adsorbent for Cu+2 acquired by chlorella was 0.24 mg/g. The second-order kinetic model is fitted, the activation energy (Ea) for the three adsorbents; Chlorella, Fe3O4, (Fe3O4 coated with SiO2) were 95.24, 40.69, 20.39 kJ/mol, respectively indicating the adsorption process is slower than the magnetic nanoparticles. Enthalpy activation changes (ΔH#) were endothermic and showed that the adsorption of the Cu+2 on the chlorella was chemisorption and on the magnetic nanoparticles was physisorption. Entropy change of activation (ΔS#), and activation Gibbs free energy change (ΔG#) showed that adsorption process of Cu+2 on the three adsorbents was feasible and spontaneous in temperature range 293-313 K. The novelty of this work is to determine the type and efficiency of adsorption of algae and nanoparticles
FACTORS AFFECTING FIRM PERFORMANCE IN COMMERCIAL IRAQI BANKS
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of several potential factors on the performance of banks in the context of a developing country, Iraq. Profitability is one of the top priorities for banks and other businesses, as they can maintain and sustain their financial position, expand their equity, and improve their solvency and liquidity by achieving appropriate returns; thus, strengthening their ability to handle the risks and obligations they face. The study sample consists of 10 commercial banks listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange during the period 2009 -2020. The collected panel data were analyzed using Pooled Ordinary Least Square method. Bank performance is measured through the usage of ROA and ROE. The explanatory bank-specific variables are size, liquidity ratio, total loan to total asset, and bank age. The explanatory economic-specific factors are GDP, inflation rate, interest rate, and cash reserve rate. The results show that the considered explanatory variables affect bank performance with different levels of impact
In vitro effects of the green synthesized silver and nickel oxide nanoparticles on the motility and egg hatching ability of Marshallagia marshalli
Get PDFBackground
Gastrointestinal nematodes are one of the serious health problems on the human society and in the livestock industry. Marshallagia marshalli is one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal nematodes in small ruminant, have subtle but more significant adverse effects on the health and fitness of their hosts.
Aim
In this study, green synthesized nickel oxide (NiO) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) have been checked to evaluate the possible antiparasitic effects of nickel oxide and silver nanoparticles on Marshallagia marshalli.
Methods
The characterization of synthesized NiO NPs and Ag NPs was confirmed using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), and UV–Visible spectroscopy. The adult worms were incubated with various concentrations of NiO and Ag NPs with the quantity of; 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 ppm for 24 h. Mobility and egg hatching abilities of the parasites were recorded at 4-h intervals.
Results
The results showed that both of the nanoparticles NiO and Ag NPs have anthelmintic activity against Marshallagia marshalli. The anthelmintic effects increased with an increase in the concentration of nanoparticles and the incubation time.
Conclusion
The outcome data concluded that Ag-NPs possess a higher level of efficacy than NiO NPs
From Şxex to Chorta: The Adaptation of Maronite Foraging Customs to the Greek Ones in Kormakitis, Northern Cyprus
Get PDFThe traditional foraging of wild vegetables (WVs) has played an important role in the post-Neolithic development of rural local food systems of the Near East and the Mediterranean. This study assessed the WVs gathered by the ancient Maronite Arabic diaspora of Kurmajit/Kormakitis village in Northern Cyprus and compared them with those gathered by their Cypriot and Arab Levantine neighbors. An ethnobotanical field survey focusing on WVs was conducted via twenty-two semi-structured interviews among the few remaining Maronite elderly inhabitants (approximately 200); and the resulting data were compared with those described in a few field studies previously conducted in Cyprus, Lebanon, and coastal Syria. Wild vegetables in Kormakitis are grouped into a folk category expressed by the emic lexeme Şxex, which roughly corresponds to the Greek concept of Chorta (wild greens). The large majority of Şxex have Greek folk phytonyms and they overlap for the most part with the WVs previously reported to be gathered by Greek Cypriots, although a remarkable number of WVs are also shared with that of the other groups. The findings address a possible adaptation of Maronite WV foraging to the Greek one, which may be explained by the fact that the Maronite minority and the majority Greek communities lived side by side for many centuries. Additionally, after Turkish occupation in 1974, a remarkable migration/urbanization of Maronites to the main Greek centers on the southern side of the isle took place, and Kurmajit became part of Cypriot trans-border family networks
Grid to Ground Solutions in Construction Projects
Get PDFNowadays, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) techniques are considered the cornerstones in the field of surveying and civil engineering industry. At present, a plethora of companies is employing GNSS in their daily activities. The engineering construction projects are designed based on ground distances although rapid static works on grid coordinate system, where the distances between points vary from the ground. The established control points should be compatible with the design by converting distances to ground. This study investigates the effect of the scale factor (SF) to reduce the linear distortion when grid is converted to ground. For this purpose, eight different distances from 64.858 m to 887.974 m were taken with rapid static method. The results reveal that whereas the distances are increased, the difference between the grid and ground is proportional, and for the smallest distance, the difference was 54 mm and for the largest was 398 mm. Besides, the grid distances were converted to ground distances using the combined SFs that works as a divider; the average difference was decreased from 175 mm to 45 mm, and the maximum difference was decreased from 398 mm to 85 mm
An Empirical Analysis of Ethical Values and Norms-Variances based on Education and Gender on Justification of Violence
Get PDFEthics reflect beliefs about what is right, what is wrong, what is just, what is unjust, what is good, and what is bad in terms of a person’s behavior. Do ethical values differ based on gender? Do the ethical values differ based on education and age? The objective of this paper is to explore variances based on the factors of gender and education on the three ethical variables namely, ‘Justifiable a man beating his wife’, ‘Justifiable Parents beating their children’, and Justifiable violence against others’. The paper uses the primary data collected from the seventh wave of the world values survey especially taking the data (N=1200) of Iraq. Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis test are run to explore the variances based on gender and education respectively. The finding includes that there is significant variation exists between males and females and based on education. Another finding is for all categories of education (lower, middle, and higher), the mean values of the female are higher than the male which means that for females regardless of their education level ‘parents beating children’ is more justifiable than for males. The paper suggests some recommendations based on the findings