Basra City Research Articles

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Students of Intermediate Schools in Basra

Background: Obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century and represents a serious health problem for low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings. Its prevalence has increased at an alarming rate. Globally, more than 340 million children and adolescents aged 5–19 years are overweight or obese, and approximately two-third of them live in developing countries. Aim: The present study was implemented to assess the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among adolescents in intermediate schools in Basrah, Iraq. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the second semester (between January 15 and May 30, 2013) among children attending public and private secondary schools in Basra city to determine the relationship between certain variables and the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Results: According to the study findings, the overall prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among adolescents aged 13–15 years in intermediate schools were 20.6% and 22.6%, respectively. Conclusions: A combination of decreased physical activity, sedentary behaviors (watching TV, playing video games, and using the internet), ingestion of unhealthy foods, and consumption of soft drinks may be responsible for the observed increased prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescent students in Basra city.

Antibiotic Susceptibility of Bacterial Wound Infection: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Wound infections are one of the most prevalent hospital acquired illnesses and a significant contributor to morbidity. Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections worsen the condition in developed, developing, and underdeveloped countries. Aim: The purpose of this research was to identify the frequency of various bacterial pathogens and their sensitivity to various kinds of antibiotics in various categories of wound infections in randomly selected Basra City hospitals. Method: Fifty-seven patients with wound infection were involved in this cross sectional study, which was conducted by extracting data from the records of hospital laboratories, where information about bacterial examination of swabs taken by hospital staff from infected wounds and cultured with antibiotic sensitivity test by laboratory staff for treatment purposes. Results and Conclusions: The median age of patients was 38 years, 59.65% of them were males. The most frequent bacteria encountered was Klebsiella pneumonia (24.56%). Single bacterial growth was dominant (86% of cultured bacteria). In antibiotic sensitivity test Gentamycin (7.19%), Ciprofloxacin (5.92%), Amikacin (5.50%), and Tobramycin (5.36%) were the most frequent antibiotics tested, while Cefotaxime, Ceftriaxone, Clarithromycin, and Nalidixic acid were the least used. The highest sensitivity shown by the cultured bacteria was to Tigecycline (92.86%), Lenizoild (90.91%), and Teicoplanin, (80.00%), although they had not been tested widely. While, the antibiotics to which the cultured bacteria did not show any sensitivity were Lomefloxacin (0.00), Ceftriaxone (0.00), and Nalidixic Acid (0.00). Also, the antibiotics to which there had been high resistance were Piperacillin (17.14%) and Minocycline (13.64%).

A Biochemical Study of Infertile Women With and Without Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in Basra City, Iraq

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous endocrine disorder that affects body systems and leads to reproductive and metabolic complications.Among women of reproductive age, it is considered as one of the main cause of infertility. The present study aimed to evaluate a biochemical hormones (FSH, LH, LH/FSH ratio and TESTO) of infertile women with and without polycystic ovarian syndrome in Basra City - Iraq, in order to know whether they represent biomarkers of polycystic ovarian syndrome. Method:The present study included 60 patients infertile women (30 with PCOS and 30 without PCOS) aged between 16 to 40 years, which was admitted to Infertility and IVF Centre in Basra Hospital for Women and Children (IbnGhazwan) in Basra Government-Southern Iraq. A control group of 30 entirely healthy participants with an age range of (16 -40) years were considered. Body mass index was calculatedfor the two groups. There follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone and testosterone were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Software of SPSS 26 was used for the statistical analysis. Results: The results of the present study showed a significant increase in each of (LH and LH/FSH) concentration in PCOS compared to the control. Moreover, the results illustrateda significant increase in patients without PCOS(LH and BMI)compared to the controls. Conclusion: The study concluded that there is a significant increase in LH, LH/FSH levels in addition to BMI among women with PCOS and without PCOS compared to Fertile women.

The Association between body mass index(BMI)with some pituitary gland hormones in infertile women with and without hypothyroidism in Basra Governorate

Obesity and being overweight are rising and becoming a global issue. Obesity has a negative impact on all body systems, including the endocrine system. The present study aimed to determine whether there is an association between BMI and pituitary gland hormones in infertile women's serum in Basra City, Iraq. The study was conducted at Ibn-Gzouan Hospital for Obstetrics and Gynecology in Basra City, southern Iraq, between October 2021 and March 2022. Thestudy included 60 infertile women (30 with hypothyroidism and 30 without hypothyroidism) aged between 18 and 45 years,with a pathological period of infertility from 2 to 15 years. The studied infertile women were divided into two groups according to the measured BMI. The first group had a BMI of less than 25 (24 women) and the second had a BMI of greater than 25 (36 women).The results showed that there are significant elevations in LH level and cortisol levels as well as in LH/FSH ratio. Cortisol showed a positive correlation with BMI (r = 0.374, p = 0.025), FSH showed a positive correlation with LH level (r = 0.428, p = 0.009) in the same direction LH showed a positive correlation win LH/FSH ratio (r = 0.668, p = 0.000). In infertile women with a BMI greater than 25, FSH showed a negative correlation with the LH/FSH ratio (r = -0.342, p = 0.041). From the above results, we can conclude that BMI is an essential parameter in any treatment of women

A New Modeled Equation of the Water Quality Index for Examination of the Water Quality of Treatment Plants in Basra City (Iraq)

Monitoring the pollution degree of water treatment plants (WTPs) or any water sources requires routine and continuous water quality measurements, which is considered a challenging task. For this reason, applying a statistical tool to deal with a single value instead of a huge number of water quality values is very useful for a decision maker in this field. This work aimed to evaluate the characteristics of the purified water that is supplied from the most important water purification stations in Basra governorate for drinking use. Additionally, the study aimed at using the water quality index (WQI) for examination of the water quality, and obtaining a new equation of the WQI for water treatment plants based on the weighted arithmetic index. In this consent, 96 treated water samples were collected, regularly, from eight water purification plants in Basra city over a period of 12 months in 2021, for measuring the main physicochemical properties. Results showed that the studied units supplied treated water with the WQI varying between 50 and 72, and only the water supplied from Al-Asmaee unit could be classified as good water for drinking. The new developed formula of the WQI was valuable and applicable to examine the water quality of any water treatment unit in Basra city. It is recommended to use ridge linear regression (RLR) as the best statistic approach. The coefficient of R2 founded by RLR method was 96.1369. This method is helpful to be applied for a decision maker for monitoring different resources of water in case of the availability of enough data.

Enhancement of Oil Recovery in West Qurna-1 Carbonate Reservoir by Injecting Seawater

Seawater injection is a novel emerging technology for enhancing oil recovery in Middle East carbonate reservoirs. This paper investigated the mechanism of seawater injection in Mishrif formation for the West Qurna-1 oil field. The decline in the pressure of West Qurna-1 needs pressure support by water injection, where it is a supergiant oil field. This study is significant because seawater injection technology is considered a future technology in the south of Iraq for several reasons. One of these reasons is the scarcity of fresh water in the Middle East, especially in Iraq, and the second reason is the availability of seawater, which is close to Basra city. This paper aims to study the essential parameters that influence the oil recovery via sweater injection as well as the inherent mechanisms that help increase the oil recovery. Collected five core plugs from producing units of Mishrif formation, MB1, and MB2, having different petrophysics properties where the permeabilities ranged from 6 to 143 md. Two types of water are used formation water and seawater. We conduct core flood experiments on chosen carbonate core samples and formation water from Iraq's West Quran-1 carbonates. The common belief facts that low salinity flooding of oil recovery gives more producing oil for the same volume of water injected due to wettability alteration. The analysis of injected and producing water indicates that higher concentrations of SO4-2 and Ca-2 ions change the wettability of the rock to more water-wet. Consequently, the oil recovery increases by 10-15 % when using seawater, which is richer in these ions.

The Role Of Urban Space Spatial Hubs As A Positive Product Of Community Behavior

There has been an increasing interest in knowing the effects of urban space on the behavior of society and how it can be used proactively to influence specific behaviors. The field of research is relevant to various fields, including design, geography, urban planning, and human sciences. The result is an arrangement of various ideas, hypotheses, and techniques to see how urban space can improve societal behavior. Studies of urban spaces have become more accurate after the advent of the Syntax Space theory and its various applications, which provided accurate mathematical numerical measurements of urban spaces' general characteristics. In this paper, the axes analysis relied upon using the Depth Maps program and the different measurements it produces to examine the properties of space to indicate positive behavior. The research problem crystallizes: Is there a possibility of measuring the structural properties of space? For the urban space of the proposed base plan for the city of Basra and to achieve the goal represented by the possibility of reaching a method for measuring the space characteristics of the study area (Basra city). Some characteristics (total integration, local interdependence, local control, and density) were highlighted, and the spatial (descriptive) data was interpreted using the Depth Maps program designed by Toner to analyze the spatial structure of the city and to know the validity of the space characteristics and their positive or negative impact on community behavior.

Facies evaluation and sedimentary environments of the Yamama Formation in the Ratawi oil field, South Iraq

Microfacies and environmental analyses of the Yamama Formation were conducted in the Tithonian–Hautervian sequence in the Ratawi oil field of Basra city in southern Iraq. The study includes petrographic, facies, and depositional models for the study area. Seven main facies and several secondary facies have been deposited in multiple environments. Moreover, they are affected by many diagenesis processes. Those facies have noncore depths that can be monitored by matching them with their corresponding well logs to obtain their electrofacies. The facies are distinguished according to the grain or mud supported or on the appearance of the configuration facies through microscopy. After comparing them with the well logs, electrofacies are identified as the following main limestone facies (mudstone, mudstone–wackestone, wackestone, wackestone–packstone, packstone, packstone–grainstone, and grainstone facies). The formation environments in this field are divided into several environments depending on the facies and electrofacies characteristics of the formation, including a lagoon environment, open marine environment, shoal environment, and slope environment.

Voltage Upgrading of Power Distribution Network in Basra City from 11 kV to 33 kV

Wydawnictwo SIGMA-NOT wydaje czasopisma fachowe informujące swoich czytelników o najnowszych osiągnięciach naukowych i nowoczesnych rozwiązaniach technicznych w Polsce i na świecie, popularyzuje problemy techniczne oraz poszerza wiedzę i kulturę techniczną.

A Proposed Model for E-learning Adaptability Measurement During COVID-19 Pandemic Using Data Mining Techniques

E-learning became the main medium of education in the world for the past two years. COVID-19 virus has pushed all the universities and academic institutions to utilize and activate E-learning platforms and systems. The sudden and urgent transformation from the regular traditional learning system to E-learning system has involved many challenges and limitations. Therefore, the need to evaluate and enhance the current E-learning mechanism in Iraq became very urgent and critical need. The target level was students at higher education institutes which include university students in Basra city. The data collected based on students’ evaluation and opinions about E-learning based on their interaction and usage during two years under COVID-19 spread era. This research involved applying data mining techniques to sample dataset and utilizing the obtained results as feedback for a proposed model suggested by the authors to measure adaptability. The proposed model is derived from the idea of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with focus on the positivity as the main factor to measure adaptability. The results of the research showed approximate adaptation level of 52% which is very close compared to the actual situation in real life which involve limitations and challenges faced by Iraqi students.

Influence of External Reflector on The Efficiency of The Conical Solar Still (CSS) in Basra City

This research, a conical solar still was constructed under various atmospheric conditions of Basra city, Iraq, Latitude 30° 33′ 56.55″N, Longitude 47° 45′ 5.86″E. The Basra city well-knows of plentiful of solar radiation intensity. The still contains a basin with total area of (314 cm2). In addition, one of stills was provided with external reflector, in order to reflect the direct sunlight to the absorber surface. The solar still was prepared from available local materials. The experimental results showed the thermal efficiency arrived to (58 %) for conical solar still with external reflector of the day 23 August 2023, and the solar radiation arrived to (6271 w/m2) at same date. Aim of the research, a mathematical simulation was conducted to calculate the rate of production per hour for solar still, and the results of these calculation were compared to the productivity which found experimentally.

Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in Pediatric Malignancy Patients: A Two-Year Retrospective Study in Basra City

Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in Pediatric Malignancy Patients: A Two-Year Retrospective Study in Basra City

KNOWLEDGE OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS TEACHERS ABOUT FIRST AIDS IN BASRA CITY CENTER

KNOWLEDGE OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS TEACHERS ABOUT FIRST AIDS IN BASRA CITY CENTER

Evaluating Traffic Performance on Basra City Urban Roads Network

Evaluating Traffic Performance on Basra City Urban Roads Network

Design of A Conical Solar Still (CSS) And Evaluation of Its Performance in Basra-Iraq

In this research conical Solar Still (CSS) (with a circular basin) has been constructed and their performance has been evaluated under different atmospheric circumstances of Basra city (Iraq) (Latitude 30° 33′ 56.55″N, Longitude 47° 45′ 5.86″E). The conical solar still consists of a basin area of (0.0314 m2). This small measurement has been adopted in the size (0.25 m) for the size of the conical glass cover and the difficulty of obtaining the larger measurement, this measurement of the conical cover is considered as the largest size for manufacturing obtained in Basra-Iraq. The maximum experimental efficiency of the experimental still varies from (58%) for the conical solar still.

Comparative Anatomical, Histological, and Histochemical Study of the Duodenum between Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) and Domestic Fowl (Gallus domesticus)

This work was designed to conduct an anatomical, histological, and histochemical comparative study of the duodenum between common moorhen and domestic fowl. Thirty birds of common moorhen and thirty birds of domestic fowl that were obtained from a commercial market (Al Basra city) were used in this study, and the work was conducted at the veterinary medicine collage, University of Basra. The anatomical study showed that the duodenum was a convoluted tube that extended as a U shape and held the pancreas between the two arms of the duodenum. The duodenum has similar histological structures in both domestic fowl and common moorhen where the wall of this tubular organ is composed of four layers (tunica mucosa, sub mucosa, muscularis externa, and serosa). The results of statistical analysis revealed significant differences at level P<0.05 in the thickness of (tunica mucosa, crypts, tunica sub mucosa, and tunica muscularis) between two birds. The histochemical study of the duodenum revealed the carbohydrates distribution on the mucous layer and columnar epithelium and around the intestinal glands, while the glycogen granules distribution around the glands and muscle layers.

Internists' Satisfaction with Clinical Laboratories Services of Basra City: A Pilot Study

Background: The quality of laboratory services is a very important tool for patient care. Medical decisions in diagnosing disease and providing appropriate treatment mainly depends on the results of laboratory tests jointly with the clinical examination and interview. So this study was conducted to assess the confidence of internists in laboratory services and to analyze the strengths and limitations imposed on these services. Method: A cross sectional study was conducted among 53 respondent internists from government and private sector laboratories in Basra Governorate from 1st of April to 30th of May 2022. This study included doctors specialized in internal medicine in private and public hospitals and clinics. A structured, self-administered questionnaire was used, which consisted of a 2-5 point Likert scale questions with 22 survey principles and two main sections: personal information and data on services provided by laboratories. All participants were informed of the contents of the questionnaire form and gave consent. The collected data were fed to a database made through IBM SPSS statistics for Windows, version 24 to obtain statistical analyzes. After securing validity, reliability analysis was carried out and Alpha Cronbach (0.732) was considered reliable. The average score for each item on the scale was calculated, and an overall degree of physicians' confidence in laboratory services was calculated. Results: Respondents' mean age was 50.62 years and the mean experience years was 20. Most of the respondents were male internists nearly half of them held a doctorate or the Arab/Iraqi board for medical specializations' degrees. The average general-confidence of participants was 58.5%. Nearly half of the internists were satisfied with the laboratory services provided by government hospitals in Basra Governorate. However, there are some services that need attention. For the private sector, mostly (84.9%) of participants preferred private sector laboratories. Conclusion: All the doctors who were included in the study were convinced with services provided by the private sector laboratories, and relationships between internal medicine specialists and laboratory staff were good, which may have a positive impact on the provision of services.

Internists' Satisfaction with Clinical Laboratories Services of Basra City: A Pilot Study

Internists' Satisfaction with Clinical Laboratories Services of Basra City: A Pilot Study

DEVELOPING A HYDRAULIC SIMULATION MODEL TO DETECT THE AGRICULTURAL LAND-USE SERVED BY IRRIGATION CHANNELS: A CASE STUDY AL-KHORA RIVERS, SOUTH OF IRAQ

This research aims to determine the areas and locations of agricultural lands served by irrigation water in the Al-Khora region, northwest of Basra city. As the irrigation water flows to the agricultural lands in the Al-Khora area through the irrigation channels branching from the Al-Saraji and Al-Khora rivers, which branch from the Shatt Al-Arab, and are designed to irrigate the surrounding agricultural lands depending on the tide’s phenomenon. Since tidal water level in the Shatt al-Arab is variable throughout the day, which leads to an irregular distribution of water between one region and another throughout the days of the year, and it is difficult to determine the areas served by irrigation water whenever we move away from the Shatt al-Arab. Therefore, this study focused on building a hydraulic simulation model in the HEC-RAS program to simulate flow in the rivers of the study area and to know the extent of its spread in the surrounding areas. The areas of agricultural uses reached by the tidal water were determined in the periods of the lowest tide in November, and the volumes of water used in the irrigation process and the ranges of their impact on the neighboring areas were also calculated. The study concluded that the agricultural areas confined between the Sarraji and Al-Khora rivers can increase from 1298 to 1698 acres (equivalent to 31% of their original area) if the areas of land that can be irrigated by the side canals branching from the two rivers are taken into consideration.

Investigation of Air Quality in Medical Centers in Different Places in Basra Province, South of Iraq

To prevent nosocomial infection in patients, maintaining acceptable indoor air quality (IAQ) in medical centers (MCs) is crucial. The properties of IAQ in several medical centers were investigated in this study. The aim of this was to focus on some indoor air pollutants in different medical clinics. Models of air samples were measured inside several medical clinics in Basra province. The results of TVOC, CH2O, and PM2.5 were distributed between exceeding the standard limits and others within the standard. The results in the urban (center of Basra city) were within the legal limits for TVOC and CH2O, but the rural areas were above the legal limits in those areas. PM2.5 were above legal limits but urban sites had the highest. Healthcare workers and patients are exposed to a variety of chemicals that vary with the activities and products used. The presence and exposure of VOCs, CH2O, and PM2.5 may lead to health effects on the patient people. Variation between rural and urban sites in pollutants concentration was clear.