Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive airflow limitation that is preventable but not curable. It is associated with persistent symptoms that cause a considerable burden on individual productivity at work, and daily activities, and reduced quality of life, also burdening the healthcare system and society. Objectives: The study aims to measure the burden of COPD on patients in terms of daily activities and work productivity. It also seeks to investigate some inflammatory biomarkers' levels and their correlation with selected outcomes. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study on 120 stable COPD patients who were diagnosed and treated according to the GOLD guidelines at Kirkuk General Hospital's chest and Internal Medicine consultation clinics, and in private internist clinics in Kirkuk City, Iraq between January and April 2023. The Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI-COPD) measured the Burden of COPD. The symptom burden was assessed by the COPD assessment test (CAT). The level of IL-6 monoclonal antibodies was measured via a Roche Cobas 6000 analyzer and TNF-α using the ELISA sandwich technique. All these devices and machines were authorized by the Ministry of Health, Iraq. Results: The mean age was (54.1 ± 8.12) years, 62.5% being males and 37.5% being females; 41.7% were public sector employees, and 39.2% were self-employed. Due to COPD, the overall work loss was (45.9±18.91) days, the mean percentage of absenteeism was (10.9% ± 12.31%), activity impairment was (47.5% ±17.79%) among all patients, presenteeism was (40.8 ± 15.05%,) and COPD-related retirees were 14.2% of the study group. The mean CAT score (19.3±5.63) was high and the most troubling symptom among patients was chest tightness. WPAI-COPD scores were higher in older age and longer disease duration. The levels of biomarkers were above the reference ranges, the mean IL-6 level was (69.4 ± 35.29) pg/ml, and the mean TNF-α was (72.3 ± 22.45) pg/ ml. Conclusions: COPD patients exhibit a disease burden in terms of productivity loss at work and activity impairment that increases with aging and disease duration. COPD patients with low BMI are more prone to a decline in lung functions and to worse symptoms.
أجريت هذه الدراسة في محافظة النجف بالعراق لتحليل عينات بيولوجية من المدخنين وغير المدخنين. تم استخدام العينات، بما في ذلك مصل الدم والبول والشعر والأظافر، كمؤشرات حيوية لتحديد تركيزات اليورانيوم (UC) ونظائره (238U، 235U، و234U). وباستخدام طريقة التعرض الطبيعي، تم استخدام كاشف المسار النووي (CR-39، المملكة المتحدة) لقياس تركيزات اليورانيوم في العينات. تم جمع خمسة وسبعين عينة من مصل الدم والبول والشعر والأظافر للمد
... Show MoreThe research addresses a fundamental Islamic jurisprudential Purposeful issue, which is (Sharia), and to indicate the impact of this on Islamic jurisprudence, deriving rulings and extracting purposes, and to repel the illusion that this issue is only doctrinal, and clarifying the aspects of similarities and links between them by explaining the origin of deriving the purposes of Islamic Law (Sharia) through the meanings and wisdom learned from the texts and the explanation of the rulings. The rulings of Islamic Law (Sharia) have urged bringing benefits and repelling harms, and that the path to do so is reason and its production. I began the research by defining the purposes of Islamic Law (Sharia), then defining the rule of rational right
... Show MoreThe current study investigated the stability and the extraction efficiency of emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) for Abamectin pesticide removal from aqueous solution. The stability was investigated in terms of droplet emulsion size distribution and emulsion breakage percent. The proposed ELM included a mixture of corn oil and kerosene (1:1) as a diluent, Span 80 (sorbitan monooleate) as a surfactant and hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a stripping agent without utilizing a carrier agent. Parameters such as homogenizer speed, surfactant concentration, emulsification time and internal to organic volume ratio (I/O) were evaluated. Results show that the lower droplet size of 0.9 µm and higher stable emulsion in terms of breakage percent of 1.12 % were
... Show MoreThe current study investigated the stability and the extraction efficiency of emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) for Abamectin pesticide removal from aqueous solution. The stability was investigated in terms of droplet emulsion size distribution and emulsion breakage percent. The proposed ELM included a mixture of corn oil and kerosene (1:1) as a diluent, Span 80 (sorbitan monooleate) as a surfactant and hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a stripping agent without utilizing a carrier agent. Parameters such as homogenizer speed, surfactant concentration, emulsification time and internal to organic volume ratio (I/O) were evaluated. Results show that the lower droplet size of 0.9 µm and higher stable emulsion in terms of breakage percent of 1.12 % we
... Show MoreThe aim of this scientific study is to diagnose the nature of the relationship between academic education in the field of media, communication and media practice. The university offers theoretical and practical lessons to students on the concepts of communication sciences, theories, models, legislations, ethics, and techniques over three years or more. And the diploma in the field of communication and Media Sciences gives students the opportunity to work in the field of journalism and media in the future, this is what many academics and media thinkers in Algeria believe, while another trend sees the exact opposite: The study of information and communication sciences within the university in the form of theoretical lessons cannot contribu
... Show MoreThis research was distributed into two sections, the first section was concerned with the concept of value for De Saussair and its methodological impact on his linguistic structural conceptions with respect of the distinction between synchronism and diachronism, the value role of linking function between the sounds and the though, the basing of his theoretical conception on the language being a form and not a material according to this principle and the value impact on the demonstration that the linguistic element acquires its functional importance from the relations inside the language system. It also stopped at the methodological impact of value on defining the analytical linguistic unit and the value role in semantics through the prin
... Show MoreBackground: Joint hypermobility was first mentioned by Hippocrates as an isolated feature, when he described the Celts' Incapacity to Pull a Bowstring or Throw a Dart, Due to The Slackness of Their Limbs
Objective: to determine the prevalence of mitral valve prolapse(MVP)in patients with benign hypermobility syndrome (BJHS).
Type of the study: Cross –sectional study.
Methods: Ninety patients with BJHS were included in this study. Full cardiological assessment was done for all of them, which include clinical examination, electrocardiography and echocardiography. Cardiac assessment was done for another sixty age and sex matched (
... Show MoreBackground: The etiology of Systemic lupus erythematosus seems to be multifactorial including environmental as well as genetic factors. The genetic predisposition was supported by the occurrence of Systemic lupus erythematosus in more than one member of a family as well as in identical twins.
Aim of the study: To determine the human leukocyte antigen typing class I (A and B) in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematousus disease.
Methods: Patients group consisted of 44 Iraqi Arab Muslims patients with Systemic lupus erythematosus disease who presented to Baghdad Medical City from January 2010 to January 2012 from Baghdad Province. The second control group consisted from 80 Iraqi Arab Muslims volunteers from hospital employees and t
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, progressive, inflammatory autoimmune disease of unidentified etiology, associated with articular, extra-articular and systemic manifestation that require long-standing treatment. Taking patient’s beliefs about the prescribed medication in consideration had been shown to be an essential factor that affects adherence of the patient in whom having positive beliefs is an essential for better adherence. The purpose of the current study was to measure beliefs about medicines among a sample of Iraqi patients with Rheumatoid arthritis and to determine possible association between this belief and some patient-certain factors. This study is a cross-sectional study carried out on 250 already diagnosed rheumatoid
... Show More