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.
An experimental analysis was included to study and investigate the mass transport behavior of cupric ions reduction as the main reaction in the presence of 0.5M H2SO4 by weight difference technique (WDT). The experiments were carried out by electrochemical cell with a rotating cylinder electrode as cathode. The impacts of different operating conditions on mass transfer coefficient were analyzed such as rotation speeds 100-500 rpm, electrolyte temperatures 30-60 , and cupric ions concentration 250-750 ppm. The order of copper reduction reaction was investigated and it shows a first order reaction behavior. The mass transfer coefficient for the described system was correlated with the aid of dimensionless groups as fo
... Show MoreThe theater can be considered a media that the effectiveness of its tools and the perceptions it produces cannot be abandoned according to patterns or aesthetic artistic trends, and at the same time it carries a large amount of information that can be worked on activating it with conscious directions within the elements of the theatrical performance, and these can be counted The study is an attempt to trace the functioning of the communication and media elements in the structure of the theatrical performance, as the study included: An introduction that defines the research problem and its importance, which crystallized around the following question: Does the media communication through theatrical presentation form its desired effectivene
... Show MoreThe peculiarity of worship spaces in the Islamic architecture is evident by its symbolic connotations with doctrinal connections, thus the niche has a major status in that symbolic connotation, which transformed due to the cultural interaction from a rock on the wall directed towards Mecca into an element of integrated structural entity with performative and aesthetic characteristics. The spread of the Islamic religion contributed to subjecting it to a design acculturation process, thus the problem of the research was raised by the following question: has the evolutionary tendency of acculturation been able to effect a major transformation in the niche design? The research aims at identifying the design acculturation and its translation
... Show MoreRefuse derived fuel (RDF) is considered one of the most important types of low cost thermal energy which can be tapped in the industry, especially the cement industry in particular being the need of high thermal energy during the production processes, and in this paper we have implemented the use of a derivative of the fuel RDF as a substitute for gasoline , to reduce production costs and thereby achieve production efficiency, and the methodology used in this research statistical analysis as well as the use of the cost of kaizen target for the purpose of reducing costs and achieve production efficiency, and this has reduced the cost total cement production by which led to reduce total costs of cement production by 8.4% and an incre
... Show Moreتتبلور فكرة البحث حول التوصل لنوع العلاقة التي تربط التعليم الالكتروني خلال جائحة كورونا برفع المهارات التكنولوجية للأساتذة والطلاب، وتبرز أهمية البحث في ان نجاح الوصول لهذه العلاقة يمكن الإفادة منها في تغيير منهجية تطوير المهارات التكنولوجية مستقبلا وذلك باعتماد الجوانب التطبيقية الفعلية بدلا من الدورات وورش العمل والتي قد لا تضاهي الطريقة العملية في رفع مستوى المهارات المختلفة سواء التدريسية او التكنو
... Show MoreTourism is a human phenomenon and economic and social activity. It represents an effective forces in the life of the individuals and state alike. As any other economic and human activity has appositive and negative results.
So there is a necessary to planning and activate this sector to get the most possible advantage.
Tourism has special importance out of its effect on the structure and performance of national economy. It can be regarded a dynamic activity with mutual effect include all the economic activities within and out the state. Tourism is affected and affect the production con summing , joineries , communication , ports ,hotel , restaurants ,internal and
... Show MoreThe current research aims through its chapters to verify the relationship and impact of strategic leadership as an independent variable in the marketing performance as a respondent variable, in a leap cement plant, and try to come up with a set of recommendations that contribute to enhancing the practice and adoption of the two variables in the organization under discussion. And based on the importance of the research topic to the community, and to the researched organization and its members, the analytical and analytical approach was adopted in the completion of this research, and the research community included a leap cement plant in Anbar Governorate, while the research sample was represented by (department heads, and people o
... Show MoreThe musical templates are the fundamental reason for admiration and interest among a lot of cultural and societal medias because of the beauty of it's melodic value, where a lot of Iraqi singing and music specialists and composers try to consolidate daily life idea and translate it into music in a manner that preserve the template and rhythm horizontally and vertically, through the involvement of the scientific and philosophical concepts and theories of modern thought to reach the recipient,, as is the theory of form (Gestalt), one of the most important theories that stretched to their interpretations to the field in general art and in music science, especially, as an area that can be manifested as partial components template music, conn
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