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

The Phenomenon of Euphemism in the Translon Activity Euphemism is the replacement of a harsh word with a less harsh or more acceptable   one.   Most   languages   are   affected   by   ideological,   cultural, social,   or   religious   perspectives   which   in   turn   would   reflect   different linguistic levels. On such a basis, translation is affected by its medium,i.e. language, and consequently what is acceptably expressed by a nation may   not  be  acceptable by another.   In   this paper, we try   to  

In the last decades, using mineral admixture in concrete became very necessary to improve concrete properties and reduce CO₂ emissions associated with the cement production process. Subsequently, more sustainable concrete can be obtained.  Ternary blended cement containing two different types of mineral admixture can achieve ambitious steps in this trend. In this research, the synergic effects of mineral admixtures in ternary blended cement and its effects on concrete fresh properties, strength, durability, and efficiency factors of mineral admixture in ternary blended cement, were reviewed. The main conclusion reached after reviewing many literature pieces is that the concrete with ternary blended cement

In this research an analysis for improving the fatigue behavior (safety factor of fatigue) of non- articular prosthetic foot (SACH) in the region (Bolt Adapter).The laser peening was carried to the fatigue specimens to improving the fatigue properties of bolt’s material. The tests of mechanical properties and fatigue behavior were carried for material that the bolt manufacture from it, a region where the failure occur and inserted of these properties to the program of engineering analysis (Ansys) to calculate the safety factor of fatigue. The results showed that the safety factor after hardening by laser is increased by 42.8%.

Matching between wind site characteristics and wind turbine characteristics for three selected sites in Iraq was carried out. Site-turbine matching for potential wind power application in Iraq has not yet been well reported on. Thus, in this study, five years’ wind speed data for sites located in Baghdad (33.34N, 44.40E), Nasiriyah (31.05N, 46.25E), and Basrah (30.50N, 47.78E) were collected. A full wind energy analysis based on the measured data, Weibull distribution function, and wind turbine characteristics was made. A code developed using MATLAB software was used to analyse the wind energy and wind turbines models. The primary objective was to achieve a standard wind turbine-site matching based on the capacity factor. Another matching

Background: Thymus vulgaris is a plant rich in essential oils acclaimed for the management of oxidative stress and inflammation in the organs. Meanwhile, the heavy metal lead is widely distributed in nature and continued exposure to lead acetate causes reduced fertility.Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the effects of T. vulgaris on ovarian and uterine structural and functional characteristics in female rats exposed to lead acetate. Methods: Three groups of 18 mature Wistar albino female rats (Rattus norvegicus), 15 weeks old and weighing between 200 and 210 g, were established and handled for 60 days as follows: Group A (control group) received 0.5 mL of distilled water (DW) daily; group B received 5 mg/kg body weight (BW

priorities of materials research due to their promising properties, especially in the field of thermoelectricity. The efficiency or performance of thermoelectric devices is expressed in terms of the thermoelectric figure-of-merit (ZT) – a standard indicator of a material’s thermoelectric properties for use in cooling systems. The evaluation of ZT is principally determined by the thermoelectric characteristics of the nanomaterials. In this paper, a set of investigative computations was performed to study the thermoelectric properties of monolayer TMDCs according to the semiclassical treatment of the Boltzmann transport equation. It was confirmed that the thermoelectric properties of 2D materials can be greatly improved compared with thei

Highway embankments stability during its service period represents an important factor for the safety of highway users and vehicles. Consequently, the cost of construction of these embankments should be adequate to maintain the safety and durability during this period through proper estimation of the loading on asphalt pavement, slope stability, horizontal and vertical deformation, etc. Slope stability of the embankment mainly depends on the shear strength of the soil layers materials; this shear strength is affected by the water table level through the contribution of the capillary water. Negative pore water pressure above the water table level evolves matric suction in the unsaturated zone above water table; this matric suction increases

Fumonisin B1 (FB1) is a mycotoxin produced in some grains (mainly corn) by Fusarium species. Due to a structural similarity between FB1 and sphinganine, sphingolipids metabolism is inhibited. Such inhibition plays a critical role in cell to cell singling and structure of lipoprotein; therefore FB1 has been suggested to have a relationship with human and animal cancer. This research is planned to study the effect of FB1 on male mice at two doses (20 and 30 µg/ ml) on the expression of TGF-β1 and p16 in liver cells. Three groups of Swiss albino male mice; each group was orally administrated with FB1 toxin as the following: normal saline (control group); 20 and 30 µg/ ml. All groups were sacrificed after two weeks of oral manage

عملية تغيير حجم الصورة في مجال معالجة الصور باستخدام التحويلات الهندسية بدون تغيير دقة الصورة تعرف ب image scaling  او image resizing. عملية تغيير حجم الصورة لها تطبيقات واسعة في مجال الحاسوب والهاتف النقال والاجهزة الالكترونية الاخرى. يقترح هذا البحث طريقة لتغيير حجم الصورة باستخدام المعادلات الخاصة بمنحني Bezier وكيفية الحصول على افضل نتائج. تم استخدام Bezier curve في اعمال سابقة في مجالات مختلفة ولكن في هذا البحث تم استخد