SUMMARY. The objectives of the present study were to assess the possible predictors of COVID-19 severity and duration of hospitalization and to identify the possible correlation between patient parameters, disease severity and duration of hospitalization. The study included retrospective medical record extraction of previous coron avirus COVID-19 patients in Basra hospitals, Iraq from March 1st and May 31st, 2020. The information of the participants was investigated anonymously. All the patients’ characteristics, treatments, vital signs and laboratory tests (hematological, renal and liver function tests) were collected. The analysis was conducted using the SPSS (version 22, USA). Spearman correlation was used to measure the relationships between different blood lab data predictors, the disease severity and the duration of hospitalization. The Kruskal Wallis Test was used to measure the difference in the severity of the disease according to the serum ferritin level. Overall, 499 patients were includ ed in the current study: 58.4% were female and 41.6% were male. Nearly half of the patients had chronic disease particularly diabetes mellitus (20.8%) and hypertension (23.6%). With regards to hematological tests, there was a significant correlation between lymphocyte level and disease severity, duration of hospitalization, ferritin, platelets and neutrophil level. In addition, serum urea and creatinine have significant (p-value < 0.05) positive correlation with the disease (COVID-19) severity. Similarly, there is a significant difference in the severity of the disease ac cording to the ferritin level. Thus, patients with more severe symptoms had higher level of blood ferritin. Further more, patients with co-existing diseases have experienced more severe COVID-19 symptoms. This indicates that, lymphocyte and ferritin levels are good predictors of COVID-19 severity. This study finding indicated that evalua tion of blood laboratory indices (CBC including lymphocytes and ferritin) and renal/liver function parameters in the beginning of the COVID-19 could predict the severity and duration of hospitalization. In addition, patients with multiple comorbidities are at higher risk of longer days of hospitalization. An early attention to the patient parameter and lab data may help in tailoring treatments and promote possible interventions to triage hospitaliza tion and save more lives particularly Iraqi might experience a second wave of the pandemic.
Background: University students in Iraq face rising obesity risk linked to physical inactivity, prolonged sedentary behavior, insufficient sleep, and academic stress. Longitudinal evidence examining the combined influence of these behaviors on weight status in Iraqi universities remains limited. Objective: This study examined six-month longitudinal associations of physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep duration, and perceived stress with body mass index and percentage body fat among Iraqi university students. Methods: A prospective multi-behavioral study was conducted at six public universities in Iraq. Six hundred undergraduate students aged 18–25 years were followed monthly during one academic semester. Validated questionn
... Show MoreThin films ZrO2: MgO nanostructure have been synthesized by a radio frequency magnetron plasma sputtering technique at different ratios of MgO (0,6, 8 and 10)% percentage to be used as the gas sensor for nitrogen dioxide NO2. The samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and sensing properties were also investigated. The average particle size of all prepared samples was found lower than 33.22nm and the structure was a monoclinic phase. The distribution of grain size was found lower than36.3 nm and uninformed particles on the surface. Finally, the data of sensing properties have been discussed, where the
... Show MoreThis research presents a response surface methodology (RSM) with I‐optimal method of DESIGN EXPERT (version 13 Stat‐Ease) for optimization and analysis of the adsorption process of the cyanide from aqueous solution by activated carbon (AC) and composite activated carbon (CuO/AC) produced by pyro carbonic acid microwave using potato peel waste as raw material. Pyrophosphate 60% (wt) was used for impregnation with an impregnation ratio 3:1, impregnation time of 4 h at 25°C, radiant power of 700 W, and activation time of 20 min. Batch experiments were conducted to determine the removal efficiency of cyanide from aqueous solution to evaluate the influences of various experimental parameters su
This paper presents a hybrid genetic algorithm (hGA) for optimizing the maximum likelihood function ln(L(phi(1),theta(1)))of the mixed model ARMA(1,1). The presented hybrid genetic algorithm (hGA) couples two processes: the canonical genetic algorithm (cGA) composed of three main steps: selection, local recombination and mutation, with the local search algorithm represent by steepest descent algorithm (sDA) which is defined by three basic parameters: frequency, probability, and number of local search iterations. The experimental design is based on simulating the cGA, hGA, and sDA algorithms with different values of model parameters, and sample size(n). The study contains comparison among these algorithms depending on MSE value. One can conc
... Show MoreAlpha shape theory for 3D visualization and volumetric measurement of brain tumor progression using magnetic resonance images
have suffered from deteriorating residential neighborhoods, poor economic, social and urban living conditions of the population and deteriorating the infrastructural and superior services. These problems were the secretions of these cities' rapid urbanization. Based on the principles of sustainable urban planning and in order to achieve adequate opportunities for the lives of the population and provide them with sustainable livelihoods, policies have emerged to upgrade along the lines of community participation and programmes to reform and develop those neighbourhoods, raise their efficiency and make them livable. Thus, the problem of research was identified "The absence of a comprehensive cognitive perception of the most prominent facto
... Show MoreEnvironmental pollution is experiencing an alarming surge within the global ecosystem, warranting urgent attention. Among the significant challenges that demand immediate resolution, effective treatment of industrial pollutants stands out prominently, which for decades has been the focus of most researchers for sustainable industrial development aiming to remove those pollutants and recover some of them. The liquid membrane (LM) method, specifically electromembrane extraction (EME), offers promise. EME deploys an electric field, reducing extraction time and energy use while staying eco-friendly. However, there's a crucial knowledge gap. Despite strides in understanding and applying EME, optimizing it for diverse industrial pollutant
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