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 aim of this research is to employ the roundhouse strategy to study its impact on the students achievement of the 10th grade in physics and their core thinking. After the application of the research experience and gaining data, which was processed statistically using the statistical packages program (SPSS). The results of the researcher revealed the superiority of the students of the experimental group who studied using the roundhouse strategy on the students of the control group who studied the usual method in the achievement test. As results showed that there were statistically significant differences between the average scores of the experimental group and the average scores of the control group students in the core thinking test and
... Show MoreInterleukins (IL-2 and IL-4) are increased in asthmatics and were reported to induce resistance to steroid therapy in some patients who fail to get benefit from glucocorticoids when used in full dose and for long period of time. In this context, the present study was conducted on Iraqi patients to provide additional laboratory mean, beside the clinical diagnosis, for the decision whether the asthma is steroid sensitive or resistant by monitoring the level of immunoglobulins, complement proteins and interleukins among asthmatic patients (steroid sensitive or resistant) and the possible contribution of other factors like age, sex and environments in the development of steroid resistance. A total number of 55 asthmatics and 28 normal subjec
... Show MoreObjective: To measure the serum levels of Fetuin-A, ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), and ferritin in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19in Baghdad, Iraq. Moreover, to determine these biomarkers' cut-off valuesthat differentiate between severely ill patients and control subjects. Methods: This case-control study was done from 15 September to the end of December 2021 and involved a review of the files and collectionof blood samples from patients (n=45, group1) hospitalized in COVID-19 treatment centersbecause of severe symptoms compared tohealthy subjects as controls (n=44, group2). Results: Fetuin-A serum levels were not statistically different between patients and controls. In contrast, IMA and ferritin levels were significan
... Show MoreABSTRACT Background: One of the methods used in the treatment of maxillofacial fracture is intermaxillary fixation(IMF), the most common type is the Erich arch bar with interdental wiring. This study was conducted to investigate the impact of intermaxillary fixation on gingival health condition among a group of patients with facial fracture in relation to salivary physical properties. Materials and methods: Thirty patients with an age range of (17-37) years old with facial fractures and indicated for IMF. Plaque index and gingival index (Loe, 1967) were used to assess both of them before application and after removal of IMF. Unstimulated saliva sample collection was carried out under standardized conditions according to Navazesh and Kum
... Show MoreBoth type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes have a genetic component, with over 60 chromosomal regions related to type 1 diabetes and over 200 connected with type 2 diabetes at significant genome-wide levels. Numerous single nucleotide polymorphisms in the RETN gene and genetic variables can account for up to 70% of the variations in circulating resistin levels. The RETN polymorphism has been linked in numerous studies to obesity, insulin sensitivity, type 2 diabetes, and cerebrovascular illness. Our objective is to compare this RETN gene 3ʹ-untranslated region polymorphism in type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes Iraqi patients. We choose 51 type 1 diabetes and 52 type 2 diabetes patients against 50 healthy subjects (control group) to investig
... Show MoreThe research section tagged (Aesthetics of Abstract Expressionism and its Representations in the Artistic Products of Students of the Department of Art Education) into four chapters and it included in..
The first chapter: (the methodological framework) for the research, and the research problem is summarized through the question (what are the aesthetics of abstract expressionism and its representations in the artistic productions of the students of the Department of Art Education). In the products of students of the Department of Art Education).
The aim of the research was (discovering the aesthetics of abstract expressionism and its representations in the artistic products of the students of the Department of Art Education). As we
The diagnoses system of varicose disease has a good level of performance due to the complexity and uniqueness in patterns of vein of the leg. In addition, the patterns of vein are internal of the body, and its features are hard to duplicate, this reason make this method not easy to fake, and thus make it contains of a good features for varicose disease diagnoses. The proposed system used more than one type of algorithms to produce diagnoses system of varicose disease with high accuracy, in addition, this multi-algorithm technique based on veins as a factor to recognize varicose infection. The obtained results indicate that the design of varicose diagnoses system by applying multi- algorithms (Naïve Bayes and Back-Propagation) produced new
... Show MoreThis study was carried out in Artificial Insemination Center of Iraq to revealed FMD disease effect on some seminal attributer parameters of 14 imported Holstein bulls divided to three groups according to different reproductive efficiency (four High, five medium and five weak). Results showed that FMD disease had significant (P < 0.05) adverse effect on most seminal attributer parameters, mass, individual motility and sperm concentration / ml during post disease in first of two, four, all months of high, medium and weak semen quality bulls respectively .but semen volume didn’t influenced significantly with this disease. So semen collection should be suspended until resume normal fertility of sperm, after two, four month of high and
... Show MoreObjective(s): To assess parents' attitude toward immunization and its relation with their compliance and to find out the relationship between parents' attitude and their socio-demographic characteristics.
Methodology: A descriptive design is conducted from the period of 19th September 2020 to the 6th of March 2021. A non-probability (convenient) sample of (292) parents was selected from (5) primary health care centers in Karbala city. These centers are distributed throughout (2) primary health care sectors selected randomly as (20%) from each sectors. The questionnaire is developed and composed of three parts: First part: parent's socio-demographic characteristics, Second part: parents' attitude domain, which involves (13 items), and
Hematological malignancies are important diseases that need more powerful therapeutics. Even with current targeting therapies, such as rituximab and other chemotherapeutic agents, there is a need to develop new treatment strategies. Combination therapy seems the best option to target the tumor cells by different mechanisms. Virotherapy is a very promising treatment modality, as it is selective, safe, and causes cancer destruction. The Iraqi strain of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) has proved to be effective both in vitro and in vivo. In the current work, we tested its ability on anti-hematological tumors and enhanced current treatments with combination therapy, and studied this combination using Chou–Talalay analysis. p53 concentration was
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