http://blogs.najah.edu/author/ali-barakat An-Najah Blogs :: Ali Barakat Blogs en-us Thu, 25 Apr 2024 15:45:50 IDT Thu, 25 Apr 2024 15:45:50 IDT [email protected] [email protected] http://blogs.najah.edu/staff/ali-barakat/article/Short-Communication-Pharmacological-and-Pharmaceutical-Factors-Affecting-Physicianrsquos-and-lrmPharmacistrsquos-Selection-of-DrugsPublished ArticlesA survey of random sample of physicians and pharmacists in north Palestine was carried out to ascertain the factors that influence their decisions when selecting a drug for a patient Of the four hundred 400 questionnaire distributed two hundred and fourteen 214 were filled correctly and returned giving a response rate of approximately 56 The ten factors which had the greatest influence on drug selection were as follows in ranking order: active ingredients evidence of product efficacy patient characteristics presence of side effects for the drug successful self use of product product abuse potential confidence in manufacturer availability of product in community pharmacies cost of drug for the patient and range of dosage forms available for the product Commercial factors like profitability number of medical samples and personal relations with manufacturers have slight influence on the drug selection by physicians and pharmacists The results of this short communication suggest that selection of drugs for therapy is based on clinical and patient factors and whilst commercial factors may be involved they do not compromise the quality of therapeutic recommendations An-Najah University Journal for Research - Natural Sciences A ISSN: 1727-2114 Volume 18 Issue 1 2004 Pages: 087-096 http://blogs.najah.edu/staff/ali-barakat/article/Two-Sample-Multivariate-Test-of-HomogeneityPublished ArticlesGiven independent multivariate random samples X1 X2 and Y1 Y2 from distributions F and G a test is desired for Ho: F = G against general alternatives Consider the k n1n2 possible ways of choosing one observation from the combined samples and then one of its k nearest neighbors and let Sk be the proportion of these choices in which the point and neighbor are in the same sample SCHILLING proposed Sk as a test statistic but did not indicate how to determine k BARAKAT QUADE and SALAMA proposed a test statistic which is equivalent to a sum of N Wilkoxon rank sums The limiting distribution of the test has not been found yet We suggest as a test statistic Tm = S Shmjو Where h mj = I{jth nearest neighbor of the median m is a y} The limiting distribution of Tm is normal A simulation with multivariate normal data suggests that our test is generally more powerful than Schillings test using k = 1 2 or 3 An-Najah University Journal for Research - Natural Sciences A ISSN: 1727-2114 Volume 17 Issue 1 2003 Pages: 025-033 http://blogs.najah.edu/staff/ali-barakat/article/Characteristics-of-Maternal-Employment-during-Pregnancy-Effects-on-Low-BirthweightPublished Articles Background: Although maternal employment is considered a risk factor for low birth weight LBW the manner in which employment might affect birth weight is poorly understood In this analysis selected characteristics of employment during pregnancy were examined for effects on pregnancy outcomes Methods: Work characteristics included the number of hours per week physical activities and environmental conditions The outcomes of interest were fetal growth retardation 2500 grams at term and preterm delivery 37 weeks The study population consisted of 2711 non-Black married mothers who participated in the 1980 National Natality Survey NNS The NNS data were merged with data from the 1m revision of The Dictionary of Occupational Titles DOT from which measures of occupational physical activities and environmental exposures were obtained Logistic regression was used in the analysis Results: Those who worked 40 or more hours per week were more likely than women who worked fewer hours to have a low birth weight delivery at=37 weeks No physical or environmental characteristics of work were associated with low birth weight or preterm delivery Conclusions Non-Black married American women may face a risk of delivering low-birth weight babies at or near term only if they work 40 or more hours each week However the lack of risk associated with other characteristics of work may be a function of measurement error in the DOT data source or of low levels of exposure in the analysis population Am J Public Health 1991; 81;1007-1012