Iraqi Cities Research Articles

COVID-19 vaccination, do women suffer from more side effects than men? A retrospective cross-sectional study

The vaccine was the only way to fight against Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) from its statement as a pandemic till day. COVID-19 vaccines were approved by the world health organization (WHO) in December 2020. Despite a large number of studies regarding the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines, to our knowledge, there were limited studies that outlined the gender disparity towards COVID-19 vaccine adverse effects. This study aims to outline the variety of side effects among men and women after getting COVID-19 vaccines (either single or two doses). It is a cross-sectional study accomplished electronically from September to November 2021. The participants involved were 843 Health Care Workers (HCWs) from different cities in Iraq. The majority of respondents were females (664). Around 65% of males experienced adverse effects compared to 77% of females. A high frequency of severe pain was reported among females. Regarding dermatological reactions like swelling, redness and skin rash were also higher reported among female subjects. In addition to that, higher frequencies of moderate and severe systemic adverse effects and mild to moderate nausea was also reported more frequently among females. In terms of cardiopulmonary adverse effects, all the reported adverse effects were found more frequently among females. In conclusion, COVID-19 vaccines produced limited adverse effects and the majority of them were reported among women. This may be associated with hormonal and psychological factors related to them.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on religious tourism amongst Muslims in Iraq

Tourism, as an industry, has become one of the most dynamic sectors of the world economy these days and has specific features that are different from other industries. In the tourism industry, production and consumption points occur spatially at the same time. In addition, the tourism industry contributes to the economic growth of developed regions and can simultaneously distribute the wealth created geographically. It is notable that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused many challenges in the tourism industry regarding the presence of tourists in tourism centres and the closing of all tourism service chains, including food, entertainment, transportation and travel services worldwide. Tourism-related businesses, which are considered as invisible export and one of the engines of development and occupation, have been rendered obsolete. In other words, the businesses, as well as multiple units and activities in the related chain, have been damaged and employees of this industry have lost their jobs. This has led to the recession and regressive course of the developing and large industry of tourism in the world. It is worth noting that the tourism industry includes various sections, the most important of which is religious tourism. All religions in the world have different religious places, works, traditions and customs, which have become amongst the most important tourist attractions. Meanwhile, Muslims and the religion of Islam play a significant role in this branch of tourism. The Hajj, pilgrimage to holy places and the existence of mourning ceremonies or religious celebrations of Muslims are amongst the largest religious tourism events in the world. Given the importance of this issue, the present study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on religious tourism in Iraq in 2021. This field study was conducted on 4500 Muslim managers and staff of restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, clothing stores and souvenir shops around the holy shrines of imams and religious places in Karbala, Najaf, Kufa, Samarra and Kazemi. According to the results, the tourism of Iraq, which is mainly limited to Muslim religious sites in several major Iraqi cities, has also seen a decline in the number of religious tourists. The negative effects of COVID-19 on religious tourism have also been proved statistically by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), as µ ≥ 3 has been counted in all indices.Contribution: Our findings offered new insights into the impact of COVID-19 on tourism, based on statistical analysis. In this study, the authors showed how COVID-19 affects various aspects of religious tourism, which has not been addressed in previous researches.

Evaluation and Parameterization of Air Pollutants as A Function of Meteorological Parameters in Zakho City, Kurdistan Region -Iraq

Many cities in Iraq are facing environmental issues, such as air, and noise pollution, due to huge increases in population, vehicles density, heavy traffic congestion, as well as petroleum extraction. Therefore, the quality of the air has deteriorated and has threatened citizens’ health. In this research, the concentration of gaseous pollutants like carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), ozone (O3), methane (CH4), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) were measured at five locations near heavy traffic jams in Zakho City, (north of Iraq) during autumn and winter 2021-2022. In addition, the relationship between these pollutants and the meteorological parameter was investigated such as temperature (T, °C), relative humidity (RH, %), atmospheric pressure (AP, mbar), wind speed (WS, m/s), and wind direction (WD). Methane (CH4), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gases were not detected at all locations. In autumn, carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and ozone (O3) concentrations ranged from 0.0468-8.852 ppm, 0.0497-0.071%, and 0.0012-0.145 ppm, respectively, and 0.056-8.667 ppm, 0.0417-0.06 Vol%, and 0.0006-0.0571ppm respectively during winter. The results show that concentrations of recorded gases and meteorological parameters were weakly correlated.

The Evaluation of COVID-19 Vaccination Program in Duhok Province, Iraqi Kurdistan: Challenges and Solutions

This review aims to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccination program in Duhok, determine its negative and positive points, and subsequently improve it. In Duhok, across the 59 mass vaccination centers, vaccination coverage rates were investigated for all populations aged ≥18 years and populations aged ≥12 years receiving the three available vaccines, namely: Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer, by the end of the year 2021. By December 2021, the total number of vaccine doses provided was 621430, of whom 72.92% were Pfizer receivers. At the end of 2021, 35.92% of people aged ≥18 years were vaccinated with at least one dose, whereas the rate was reduced to 25.15% after including people aged ≥12 years. Notably, this rate is higher among health care workers (HCWs), showing that 9474 (60%) of 12000 HCWs were vaccinated with at least one dose. COVID-19 vaccination education highlights its importance in disease prevention and attenuation. Although the average vaccination coverage in Duhok is better than in other cities in Iraq, it remains below the World Health Organization (WHO) standard; hence, urgent action is indicated to increase the coverage rate and to expand the vaccines to include 5-11 years old children. The coverage rate among HCWs is fairly good in Duhok Province. Furthermore, it is important to strengthen the vaccination program in Duhok by improving staff experience, implementing infection preventive measures, and improving the registration system.

Developmental Stages and Engineering Technical Treatments for the Architecture of the Structural Construction of the Ziggurat Building in the Cities of Central and Southern Ancient Iraq (Selected Samples)

The architecture in ancient Iraq has been taking care of the architecture of the ziggurat building and the renewal of its construction، as it is one of the most important religious buildings within the religious architecture that occupies the centers of the ancient Iraqi cities، as the ancient Iraqi society preserved it in its form and architectural identity that reflects its religious thought through time. From this، the research focused on the study of architecture and engineering treatments that became as a new technology within the stages of building the structural construction of the new ziggurat buildings in the centers of the ancient Iraqi cities.

Evaluation of Nurses' Attitudes towards Patients’ End of life in Diyala Governorate

Abstract:
 Objectives: To assess nurses' attitude toward end of life phase. To find out relationships between nurses attitude and socio demographic data (age, gender, level of education, years of experience).
 Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study design is carried out to assess the attitude on nurses concerning patient at the end of life phase at critical care units, from the period of (1nd November 2021) to (1th February 2022). A probability sample random sampling technique used. Then, the number of participants in Baquba Teaching Hospital and general al khalis hospital were determined by using randomly selected. simple Total of (100) nurses working at critical care units through the time of the study period and the study criteria and agree to participate. Pilot study were excluded ten nurses from the study. the result of co-relation co efficient were (79%).The content validity of the questioner is obtained by panel of (14) experts. inferential statistics and Descriptive were used to analytic the results of the study using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 and Microsoft Excel (2016).
 Results: study results of this showed the level of attitude nurse's toward End of life care together with nurses working in diyala city in Iraq were (poor 0%, fair 51%, and good49%). There is no significant difference between nurses’ attitude toward care of the dying patient (number of training course, area of employment).
 Conclusions: nurses have moderate level of attitude, and there is no significant difference between nurses’ attitude toward care of the dying patient (number of training course, area of employment).
 Recommendations: The recommended of study is necessity of evolving Education or training that can enhance nurses behavior toward End of life care. investigate relationship amonng religion and spiritual of nurses and their attitude toward end-of-life care.

Identification of osteopenia and osteoporotic changes in pediatric thalassemia patients at thalassemia center, Misan city, Iraq; An intervention study

Background: Thalassemia syndrome is a heterogeneous group of hereditary disorders affecting the synthesis of globin chains of adult hemoglobin's, leading to ineffective erythropoiesis, hemolysis, and moderate to severe anemia. To identify the incidence of osteopenia and osteoporosis and it is relation to some of the probable risk factors of decreasing BMD among thalassemia patients attended Misan thalassemia center in Misan city in Iraq.
 Methods: A randomized cross-sectional study, applied through a period from September 2020 to September 2021, on 50 thalassemia patients attended thalassemia Center Amarah, Misan, Iraq. 24 were males and 26 were females, we divided them in to two groups according to age (10-14) years, (>14-18) years. They were scanned for bone mineral density (BMD) at lumbar spine.
 Results: 90% of patients had reduction in BMD patients mostly among THM patients. 40% had positive family history of thalassemia, Vitamin D3 level were low in (80%) of patients & DEXA studies were mostly between [(-1) -(-2.5)] before treatment that slightly improved after therapy in ranges of osteopenia but not in osteoporosis which increase severity as well.
 Conclusions: Most thalassemia patient had severe anemia, corrected by frequent blood transfusion are complicated by increasing serum ferritin level and decreasing level of vitamin D3 in association with reduction in bone density mass in ranges of osteopenia and osteoporosis which correlates positively with increasing ages, early age at diagnosis and female gender this altered bone mass density require family awareness for better nutrition and optimum medical therapy and compliance to improve outcomes. 

Water corridors management: a case study from Iraq

ABSTRACT In Iraq, cities are expanding without regard to green infrastructure. Green and agricultural spaces are not being retained but instead are being converted into residential and commercial areas. Along with the changing climate, these changes decrease the quality of life. This study aims to assess knowledge deficiencies and current water management practices in expanding Al-Kut city in Iraq. An integrated, comprehensive vision for the city was formulated based on the green infrastructure concept to take advantage of the rivers’ banks and water corridors in order to mitigate climate change and urban heat island effects. It was concluded that there is mismanagement of water corridors within the city, which is squandering the opportunity to incorporate the abundance of water resources and green infrastructure into the cityscape to enhance the community's quality of life.

Risk factors among patients with ovarian cancer attending oncology hematology center in Basrah city

Worldwide, approximately 225,500 ovarian cancers are diagnosed annually . The leading cause of gynecological cancer death (140,200 worldwide annually) is the ovarian cancer, which accounts for more deaths than all the other gynecological cancers combined. The ovarian cancer is the fourteenth commonest cancer among population in Basrah city in Iraq. Methods This is a case control study carried out in the Basrah oncology –hematology center and primary health care centers in Basrah city . The study include 103 cases of ovarian cancer and 206 control. Result we found that more than half of case of ovarian cancer aged 50 years and above. History of insulin treatment is a risk factor for ovarian cancer (OR more than one) with significant statistical association. Hysterectomy and tubal ligation are protective against ovarian cancer . Conclusion There are many risk factors of ovarian cancer some of these are modifiable while the others are not modifiable. Hysterectomy and tubal ligation considered as protective factors.

شیکردنەوەی شوێنی ناوچە گەشتوگوزارییەکانی قەزای سۆران و ڕواندز و کاریگەرییان لەسەر ئاراستەکانی جووڵەی گەشتیاران

Abstract Tourism activities has a significant and effective role in the country economy nowadays, which is the base of building country economy and the outcome rate increases yearly, that is for stepping forward like the developed countries and compete them especially for attracting tourists. New styles and methods of tourism must be applied and taken into consideration. The aim of the research is to solve and explore the important tourism places in soran and rawanduz that have been the most visited places by tourists in the recent years. This way the tourism rate increases annually. There are many important and famous tourism places in soran and rawanduz that with more caring and researches, these two will be huge tourism cities in Iraq and Kurdistan Region.

Specifying optimum water resources based on cost-benefit relationship for settlements by artificial immune systems: Case study of Rutba City, Iraq

Abstract The present study aims to specify optimum water resources depending on a cost-benefit relationship for residential areas by heuristic optimization. For this purpose, a case study of Rutba City in Iraq was applied. It is planned that water demand of the city is supplied by four different pumped pipelines (Pipelines 1–4). An optimum water supply among these pipelines was determined by considering their daily incomes (water charge per m3) and expenses (electricity price of pump stations), and daily demand for the city. In order to solve this optimization problem, a heuristic optimization model using a modified clonal selection algorithm (Clonalg), a class of artificial immune aystems was improved. The algorithm was coded in Matlab programming language, and it was run ten times to test its stability. Two objective functions of total daily income and expense were simultaneously used to maximize total daily net income under the constraints of the required daily water demand of the city and pump discharge capacities. Another constraint was that total net income for ten years should finance the initial cost of the unconstructed pipeline 4. The results showed that the optimization model using the modified Clonalg is useful and feasible for determining optimum water supply in terms of the cost-benefit relationship.

Geographical location and its impact on the size of cities in Yaqut al-Hamwi

The books of the prolific Arab-islamic geographical heritage represent the products of Arab geographers and travelers through their numerous trips and documented through them the multiple observations that resulted from their visit to many places. Its beginnings are the center of prosperity and growth of human civilization. When travelers moved between cities for commercial or other purposes, they knew the Iraqi cities they visited, as they got to know their locations and geographical nature, as well as their importance in terms of size and its relationship to geographical location, not to mention their of city planning processes. In which the natural geographical foundations had an important role, and as a result of the originality of these geographical observations because they represent the Arab-Islamic civilizational values, it was necessary to stop at one of the most important travelers, Yaqout Al-Hamawi, and focus on his book (Dictionary of Countries), which this research relied on as a basic source, and Yagout lived Al-Hamawi in the seventh century AH and he died in the city of Aleppo in the year 626 AH/1228 AD. Therefore, this research came to study the geographical location and its impact on the size of the cities at Yakut al-Hamawi

موقف الحزب الشيوعي العراقي من حرب الخليج الثانية 2 آب1990- 28 شباط 1991

The issue of the second Gulf War occupied an important part of the activities of the Iraqi Communist Party, despite its vacillating position on the issue. The Communist Party called for external intervention to bring down the Baath government at times, and called on states not to interfere in Iraqi internal affairs at other times. The Communist Party’s neglect of its popular bases inside Iraqi cities and limiting its work to party organizations far from the cities in northern Iraq led to losing the opportunity for effective participation by pressuring the regime to back down from the decision of the Gulf War and calling only for the overthrow of the Baath government, through statements in the party’s official newspaper and inviting opposition forces from During some party meetings to overthrow the Baath regime and establish a democratic state. Keywords: Iraqi Communist Party ، Second Gulf War ، Coalition forces

Nurses' Knowledge Concerning End of Life Care in Critical Care Units

The study aimed to assess nurses' Knowledge toward Palliative Care of Patients end of life phase, a descriptive cross-sectional study design is carried out from the period of November 2021) to (1th February 2022). A probability simple random sampling technique Then, the number of participants in each selected hospital were determined using the sampling to each randomly selected at hospital in Dyala city in Iraq. A total of (100) nurses were working in the critical care units during the time of the study period and met the study criteria and agree to participate. Ten nurses for pilot study were excluded from the study. the result of co-relation co efficient were (79%). Study data were collected through A questionnaire was built as a data collection tool and consisted of two parts instrument. The study found results of this study showed that nurses are good knowledge (74.0%) for palliative care and toward End of life care among nurses working in Dyala city in Iraq. This study emphasizes the need to develop palliative care services. The study recommends Education or training the nurses who read the articles about palliative care. Provide evidence More attention and resources should be directed towards education and support Nurses who care for patients with palliative care needs. Keywords: Palliative Care, Critical Care Units, End of life care, End of life phase

Techno-economic analysis of solar/wind power based hydrogen production

In the presented paper, it is aimed to determine the cost analysis of solar/wind hybrid power-based hydrogen production for different system configurations. In line with this aim, a hybrid energy system consists of various wind turbines having different rated powers (500 kW, 900 kW, 1300 kW and 2000 kW) and operated at different hub heights (80 m, 100 m and 120 m) integrated with two different solar panels (Panasonic-330W and Kyocera-315W). In addition, the electrolyzers having different rated power (18 electrolyzers each with a power of 48 kW, 4 electrolyzers each with a power of 215 kW, 2 electrolyzers each with a power of 430 kW and 1 electrolyzer with a power of 860 kW) are added to the solar/PV hybrid system. To evaluate the performance of the hybrid system, a case study was carried out to implement the proposed system in Iraq. The site selection in Iraq was obtained with a geographical information system (GIS). For all calculations were performed for the cities of Basrah, Wasit and Anbar. The maximum hydrogen production quantity having a value of 49,150 m3H2/year is obtained in Basrah and hydrogen production cost in this case is equal 0.752 $/m3H2. This cost can be decreased to 0.723 $/m3H2 if the excess energy is sold to the grid. In all considered cities, Basrah has the remarkable electricity and hydrogen production potential between the considered cities in Iraq.

Total lipid profile levels as an indicator of functional outcomes in first-ever acute stroke patients

A stroke is an abrupt neurological injury caused by alterations in the blood arteries of the brain, resulting in the loss of neurological function. Stroke is the second greatest cause of death in people globally, after ischemic heart disease, and the most prevalent cause of acquired disability. The goal of this study was to determine the levels of lipid profiles in acute stroke patients. From December 2020 until September 2021, the study will be conducted. One hundred males and females’ respondents were included from Ibn-Sena and Al-Salam Teaching hospitals at Mosul City in Iraq. The socio-demographic and clinical data, especially the clinical findings at the time of admission were recorded on a standardized data sheet. Clinical examination and a To confirm the diagnosis, a CT scan of the brain was conducted. A blood sample was taken on the day of admission for total lipid profile analysis. To determine the severity of a stroke, the NIHSS was employed. The patients' functional outcomes were followed for up to three months using a modified Rankin Scale, as follows: good functional (0 - 3), poor functional outcomes (4 - 6).

Assessment of Potentially Toxic Elements in the Urban Soil and Plants of Kirkuk City in Iraq

Kirkuk city is known for its industrial activities, especially oil and cement production, as well as its road traffic. The aim of this study was to assess potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the soil and plants from urban areas by measuring pollution indices and estimating the effect that this pollution has on the environment. Leaf and soil samples were taken from 10 different locations in Kirkuk. These samples were pre-treated using the acid digestion method and concentrations of 12 elements were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results indicate a high content of aluminum and magnesium (mg/kg) in the soil samples from all study sites. For leaf samples, the results showed a moderate to low amount of magnesium and aluminum. Based on our results, the PTE concentrations were found in the following order—Mg > Al > Ni > Cu > Cr > Pb > Co > As > Se > Cd > Hg > Ti—in leaf samples from all 10 study sites. However, in the soil samples, PTE concentrations were in the following order—Mg > Al > Cr > Ni > Cu > Pb > Co > As > Se > Ti > Cd > Hg—from all study sites. Pollution indices showed a moderate level of contamination of Pb, Cd, and Ni, and a high level of contamination of As and Hg in plant and soil samples from all study sites in Kirkuk city.

AN EVALUTION ON KARBALA CITY SLUMS AND CONCRETE BLOCKS IN IRAQ: A HOUSING UNIT DESIGN PROPOSAL

This research deals with one of the biggest housing problems in Iraq; where economic, social and political problems and the lack of organization have led to the emergence of slums in Iraqi cities and where the great social changes have been destroying Iraqi society. The appearance of concrete blocks in Iraqi cities during the war which divided and divided cities and neighborhoods into separate scattered pieces made the matter worse, as their numbers are estimated in the hundreds of thousands. The damage caused by concrete blocks is close to the damage of informal neighborhoods in cities. The research focuses both on the housing problems particularly in the slum areas of the city of Karbala with the changes of the planning policies of the city by the presence of slums and the existence of concrete blocks in Iraqi cities as an urban problem. Finally, the research proposes a housing unit design as a solution for the problem of slums by using concrete blocks.

The Social Spaces of Music Traditions in Baghdad before and after Destruction

The Social Spaces of Music Traditions in Baghdad before and after Destruction

Association of ADIPOQ (rs 2241766) Gene Polymorphism with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients A Case-Control Study

The adiponectin gene (ADIPOQ) is the main genetic determinant of plasma adiponectin amounts from (30 - 70%) of the inherited genetic components. Multiple nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs 2241766 for the ADIPOQ gene correlate with metabolic syndromes such as insulin resistance, abdominal obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, rapid glucose excess, and plasma adiponectin level. A polymorphism study was conducted based on PCR 2241766 in Al-Diwaniyah city in Iraq, and this study included (300) people aged (30-45) years who were distributed into two groups, the first group (G1) included (150) control, and the second group (G2) included (150) type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. The purpose of the current study was to reveal the ADIPOQ polymorphism and its role in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The overall genotype of the ADIPOQ rs2241766 gene was significantly different between the type 2 diabetes mellitus patients (G2) and control (G1) for the genotype GG (χ2 = 13.45, p-value = 0.002), G allele (χ2 = 10.324, p-value = 0.001), and TG & TT compared to the GG genotype (χ2 = 13.266, p-value = 0.0001). In conclusion, the results of the genotype and allele distribution of ADIPOQ rs2241766 gene in type 2 diabetes patients group showed that there is an association between ADIPOQ rs2241766 gene and type 2 diabetes mellitus.