chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease with episodes of exacerbation. Variable factors including infectious pathogen can predispose for this exacerbation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of intestinal protozoa in COPD exacerbation. A total of 56 patients with COPD were included in this study. Patients were categorized into two groups based on the frequency of exacerbation during the last 6 months: those with ≤1 exacerbation (32 patients) and those with ≥2 exacerbations (24 patients). Stool specimens from each patient were collected two times (one week interval) examined for intestinal parasite. In univariate analysis, rural residence and parasitic infection were more common among patients with frequent exacerbation (45.83% and 33.33%, respectively) than patients with non-frequent exacerbation (18.75% and 9.38%, respectively) with significant differences. However, in multivariate analysis, only body mass index >25 kg/m2 (OR=4.59, 95%CI=1.18-17.86, P=0.028) and parasitic infection (OR=5.51, 95%CI=1.01-30.18, P=0.049) were independently associated with COPD exacerbation. These data indicate a significant association between frequent COPD exacerbation and infection with some intestinal protozoa. However, the cause-effect relationship is debatable.
Recently, Malaysia has been recognized as one of the most popular destinations for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Southeast Asia. But how do these FDI inflows affect Malaysia economy? This paper aims to identify the role of FDI inflows in Malaysia economic growth through a proposed endogenous growth model. Annual data covers from 1975 to 2010. Unit root test and Johansen Co-integration test are adopted to respectively verify the time series data is stable and the linear combination of the variables is stationary. Hierarchical Multiple Regressions (HMR) Analysis is then conducted to find out the momentum of the Malaysia economic growth including FDI inflows. The results show that the FDI inflows together with the human capital deve
... Show MoreThis research sheds light on the physical environment role in creating the place attachment, by discussing one of the important factors in the attachment creation, it is the concept place dependence, consisting of two important dimensions: the place quality and the place expectation; they contain a number of the supporter physical environment sub-indicators for place attachment. Eight physical indicators were reached; they were found to have a close relationship to the place attachment, including: the open and green spaces existence, land use diversity, diversity of housing types, dwelling / population density, accessibility, transport network development degree, transport multiple mo
Abstract The aim of this study is to identify the role played by the university in reinforcing the culture of voluntary work in college students and sequencing these roles according to their priority. To achieve this aim, the researcher used the descriptive approach. After being informed of the literature background and of the previous studies related to the core aim of this recent study, the researcher has built up a questionnaire of (20) items investigating the role of university in reinforcing the culture of voluntary work in the college students. The standardized features of the questionnaire have been checked for the purpose of the questionnaire validity (virtual and constructive validity) and stability (reconstruction and Cronbach's A
... Show MoreWomen issues occupy an important place in international and development projects and programs. This is one of the goals of 21 Century announced during universal summit conference in 2000. The goals are : teaching children, reducing the average of the dead, in addition to the main goal which is reducing the poor level in 2015.
The increasing number of countries that adopt democratic policies, economic freedom and openness lead to heighten and develop the role of women in different ways. As a result, many feminism journals have appeared. Since journals help people to make decisions about public issues as well as acquiring new knowledge, it stimulates women to make decisions.
Feminism journalism takes a new trend. It has become specia
It is necessary to examine the nature of the Turkish position and what Turkey seeks to achieve at the international, regional and Iraqi levels. Or is this external role an expression of foreign policy and has not yet reached the level of maturity that reaches the stage of strategy? The answer to this question is the essence of research in the Turkish role. The answer to this question requires the realization of the elements and pillars that guarantee Turkey's continuity and survival. Continuity is a cornerstone of the strategy. The continuity of the role and its interaction with the event and the ability to employ multiple alternatives are what qualify the state to describe its politics. The external strategy has evolved into. In order t
... Show MoreIt is widely accepted that early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) makes it possible for patients to gain access to appropriate health care services and would facilitate the development of new therapies. AD starts many years before its clinical manifestations and a biomarker that provides a measure of changes in the brain in this period would be useful for early diagnosis of AD. Given the rapid increase in the number of older people suffering from AD, there is a need for an accurate, low-cost and easy to use biomarkers that could be used to detect AD in its early stages. Potentially, the electroencephalogram (EEG) can play a vital role in this but at present, no reliable EEG biomarker exists for early diagnosis of AD. The gradual s
... Show MoreBackground: The aim of this study was to determine phototoxic effect of visible blue light on anaerobic periodontal pathogens namely Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Materials and methods: Strains of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis were isolated from pockets of systemically healthy patients aged between 35-55 years old with pocket depths of 5-6 mm, the bacteria cultured on special blood Agar plates solid media, then subjected to visible blue light emitted from commercially available light cure devise (LED curing light); that emits blue light (400-500nm) of 1000mw energy at different periods of time exposures, then the CFU of each plate was measured by direct colony count
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