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.
The research is conducted on target of investigating the role of growth strategy via diversification in value maximization of a firm in terms of controversies literatures had witnessed. Using a descriptive approach for analyzing and verifying the harmony of variables of research and their conceptualized logic , it could be reached to many conclusions agreed in their essence upon that the related diversification has the major role in value maximization of a firm and the wealth of its owners .
Allah's wisdom has necessitated concentrating un human nature the ability of
mediation and forethought .among the aspect of this ability is the recognition of the
relationship between causes and effects issues and reasons behind them and the
sensing of similarities and differences and distinguish the connection between the
subjects and characteristics and the innate perception of material and immaterial good
and bad.
Allah's wisdom has willed not to make his law away from the nature of people of
discovering the relationship between things and their causes, or similarity between
things and their counterparts to use the Quranic text to convince reason and to enable
reason to realize the wisdom quranic text within
Tax governance is a set of legal means that directs the tax administration to deal in good faith with taxpayers based on transparency, integrity and accountability while ensuring the achievement of tax justice and works to introduce advanced means by which it deals with all stakeholders.
In this study, we try to explain its rooting and legal nature by shedding light on the position of some international organizations and their internal legislation in the context of public finance.
Man has a great role in the development of society in all fields, and therefore the human thought played a great role in its continuous pursuit and insight into the social classes that differ in their privileges, which makes the members of society not reconcile because of that disparity that is not based on human principles, so one class exploits another, and this is what stopped me Rather, it prompted me to choose the topic (class and its impact on society) in order to show the impact of classes on each other negatively and positively, so I work to avoid the first with the recommendations I put forward and offer guidance, and strengthen the second, and after this topic of necessity in a place because of the imbalance and promise of appr
... Show MoreThe Hartley transform generalizes to the fractional Hartley transform (FRHT) which gives various uses in different fields of image encryption. Unfortunately, the available literature of fractional Hartley transform is unable to provide its inversion theorem. So accordingly original function cannot retrieve directly, which restrict its applications. The intension of this paper is to propose inversion theorem of fractional Hartley transform to overcome this drawback. Moreover, some properties of fractional Hartley transform are discussed in this paper.
Occupy public investment spending, a great deal of attention since the thirties of the last century, to play important role in economic and social development process and therefore most of the countries are trying different degree of economic development to the completion of the largest amount of public investment, especially in infrastructure, which is one of the pillars essential to economic development, and in order to maximize utilization of the completion of public investment should focus on achieving efficiency in completion.
The current reality of public projects in Iraq, indicating the absence of several key characteristics that must be provided if these proje
The Search stressed on the importance of the role of property tax as a tributaries of the state budget that depend on it to cover the side of public expenditures, along with the rest of the other types of taxes through a review of the tax framework and tax proceeds and stand on the research problem and its effects, according to the following logic questions : -
- What is the contribution of property tax in the overall tax revenue?
- Are there any certain problems in collection of property tax?
3. What are the factors that lead to a negative impact on the outcome of the property tax?
4. How do we strengthen the role of the property tax in the overall tax revenue?
This r
... Show MoreThe influence of Toxoplasma gondii on some biochemical parameters has lately gained an increasing attention. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of some biochemical parameters in Toxoplasma positive and negative subjects. An analytical case–control study was achieved in Baghdad for the period from October 2018 until March 2019. Forty nine females participated in this study, with an age range of 18-55 years. The participants were separated into two groups, namely Toxoplasma positive subjects (n=21) and Toxoplasma negative subjects (n=28), based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Blood and serum samples were collected from all subjects to evaluate the serum levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lip
... Show MoreA ventricular septal defect (VSD) is defined as a communication between the left and right ventricles or between the left ventricle and the right atrium. VSDs are amongst the most common abnormalities of the heart. They can be present in isolation or in association with other congenital cardiac abnormalities. This is study done with the aim to evaluate the types, size, associated CHD with ventricular septal defect in children and adolescent in two cardiac centers (Medical City Complex cardiac clinics, Ibn Al Nafaes teaching hospital) in Baghdad - Iraq