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 irony pushes us to inquire about what is in the text of contradiction, irony, suspense, and other acts of paradox, as well as a departure from what is logical, or familiar, that attracts the attention of the addressee, and this is what drives us to introspect the text and interrogate it in order to get to know the intended product of the text or its real or metaphorical intent. On the other hand, the irony is more in the literary text than in the scientific texts. Therefore, critics add the word literature to it in their definition.
As it is represented by the paradox, we will seek to study the paradox of the title and the problematic that it may pose as the beginning of the text, and i
... Show MoreIn this paper, a step-index fiber with core index 1.445 5 1 7 and cladding index 1.443 1 5 7 has been designed and studied. Multimode operation is achieved by using a fiber with core radius 25 μm operating at a wavelength of 1.3 μm. The mode parameters (effective refractive index, phase constant, fractional modal power in the core and cutoff wavelength) were calculated using RP fiber calculator (PRO version 2020). The shapes of the intensity and amplitude distribution of linearly polarized guided modes were shown.
The growing demand for optical fibers is due to their superior the ability to transmit information with high efficiency and minimal loss across extensive distances. In this study, four optical fibers with core radii ranging from (2.05-5.05) μm, and with a numerical aperture of 0.1624 were analyzed. The modal properties of these fibers were calculated at a wavelength of 1030 nm using the RP Fiber Calculator software (free version 2025). Furthermore, the impact of increasing the core radius on these properties was examined. The results showed that multimode fibers are formed when the core radius is much larger than the wavelength used. In contrast, single-mode fiber is obtained when th
The banking sector of all kinds is the backbone of the economy in all countries, as it is the main financier of most economic projects in order to achieve economic development and achieve stability, which contributes to providing the necessary resources in return for obtaining a profit margin in exchange for giving up his money and bearing credit risks. Among the aforementioned banking sectors are: Islamic banks that invest their capital in several forms in order to obtain profits that enable them to continue and grow, and the most important of these formulas is the Murabaha formula, which is summarized by the bank selling a commodity after owning it and then selling it to the applicant for this commodity based on a prior request
... Show MoreThe topic of the research tagged (narrative structure and its impact on building open and closed endings in the fictional film) is summarized by studying the mechanism of employing closed and open endings in the fictional film. novelist, then the need for it, as well as the objectives of the research and clarifying its limits as well as its importance. Then moving to the theoretical framework, which included three topics, where the first topic was entitled (the cinematic construction of the film narrative), either the second topic (the structure of complexity and narrative solutions), or the third topic dealt with the subject (the structure of the end and its relationship to the construction of the narrative). After completing the theore
... Show MoreThe demand for expatriate labor to Iraq increased after 2003 as a result of the openness that Iraq experienced, but this expatriate labor, which was requested at an increasing rate, has had economic, social, and political effects on the Iraqi economy in general, and the Iraqi labor market in particular. This is due to the high rates of unemployment, as most of these expatriate workers cause competition to local labor, and thus cause repercussions on the Iraqi economy as a whole, except for those expatriate workers coming with companies working in the oil sector. Iraq's GDP
Background: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the most common diagnoses in hospitalized patients. Increased plasma hemostatic markers were noted in acute myocardial infarction, indicating that the blood coagulation system is highly activated in those patients. Aims of the study: To study the level of intrinsic coagulation factors including (FVIII:C, FIX:C ,FXI:C ,FXII:C ) in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Type of the study: Cross –sectional study. Methods: Thirty patients (their age range is 48-68 years) were included in this study (9 female, 21 male) who were just admitted to the coronary care unit in AL-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital and diagnosed as having acute myocardial infarction patients, blood samples were tak
... Show MoreThere is no doubt that each of the arts has a material from which the aesthetic achievement is built, so the researcher found that the art of theater, especially the show, whose artistic achievement is based on the body of the actor who emits the formal language (body language), is the focus of interest and active presence, because the body possesses its spiritual qualities that made him and the ability to The formation of things by (his body language), so the researcher studied this theatrical phenomenon and divided it into four chapters. In the first chapter, the research problem included the following question: (Is there a phenomenon of body language in the contemporary theatrical show "Imagine that" as a model) so It is of cognitive
... Show MoreABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Left ventricular hypertrophy is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular complications such as ischemic heart disease, heart failure, sudden death, atrial fibrillation, and stroke. A proper non-expensive tool is required for detection of this pathology. Different electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria were investigated; however, the results were conflicting regarding the accuracy of these criteria. OBJECTIVE: To assess the accuracy of three electrocardiographic criteria in diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy in adult patients with hypertension using echocardiography as a reference test. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a hospital-based cross sectional observational study which included 340 adult patients with a his
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