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.
We demonstrate that the selective hydrogenation of acetylene depends on energy profile of the partial and full hydrogenation routes and the thermodynamic stability of adsorbed C2H2 in comparison to C2H4.
The mechanism of the electronic flow rate at Al-TiO2 interfaces system has been studied using the postulate of electronic quantum theory. The different structural of two materials lead to suggestion the continuum energy level for Al metal and TiO2 semiconductor. The electronic flow rate at the Al-TiO2 complex has affected by transition energy, coupling strength and contact at the interface of two materials. The flow charge rate at Al-TiO2 is increased by increasing coupling strength and decreasing transition energy.
Tin Selenide (SnSe) Nano crystalline thin films of thickness 400±20 nm were deposited on glass substrate by thermal evaporation technique at R.T under a vacuum of ∼ 2 × 10− 5 mbar to study the effect of annealing temperatures (as-deposited, 100, 150 and 200) °C on its structural, surface morphology and optical properties. The films structure was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) which showed that all the films have polycrystalline in nature and orthorhombic structure, with the preferred orientation along the (111) plane. These films was synthesized of very fine crystallites size of (14.8-24.5) nm, the effect of annealing temperatures on the cell parameters, crystallite size and dislocation density were observed.
... Show MoreBiomass is a popular renewable carbon source because it has a lot of potential as a substitute for scarce fossil fuels and has been used to make essential compounds like 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). One of the main components of biomass, glucose, has been extensively studied as a precursor for the production of HMF. Several efforts have been made to find efficient and repeatable procedures for the synthesis of HMF, a chemical platform used in the manufacturing of fuels and other high-value compounds. Sulfonated graphite (SG) was produced from spent dry batteries and utilized as a catalyst to convert glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Temperature, reaction time, and catalyst loading were the variables studied. When dimethyl sulfo
... Show MoreThe presence of antibiotic residues such as ciprofloxacin (CIPR) in an aqueous environment is dangerous when their concentrations exceed the allowable. Therefore, eliminating these residues from the wastewater becomes an essential issue to prevent their harm. In this work, the potential of efficient adsorption of ciprofloxacin antibiotics was studied using eco-friendly ZSM-5 nanocrystals‑carbon composite (NZC). An inexpensive effective natural binder made of the sucrose-citric acid mixture was used for preparing NZC. The characterization methods revealed the successful preparation of NZC with a favorable surface area of 103.739 m2/g, and unique morphology and functional groups. Investigating the ability of NZC for adsorbing CIPR antibioti
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