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.
Stable isotope (?18O, ?D) values were determined along with the chemical compositions at 10 different locations along the Tigris river between Baghdad-Ammara cities of Iraq. The physico-chemical parameters and isotopic data were measured. The sampling site represents 34 % of total Tigris river in the republic of Iraq. The systematically increased in values of stable isotope as move from the downstream of the river and the most significantly appears at Kut lake. This increase occurs as a result of several factors, viz. (a) evaporation occurs low water level in the river and its tributaries, and (b) return flow water to the river from irrigation water in groundwater systems. The change in ion distribution and in the isotopic values related di
... Show MoreThe research dealt with the concepts of the philosophy of values and its epistemological variables according to specific propositions represented in their scientific approaches to value theory in the field of industrial design. As the epistemological propositions of the theory of values were dealt with based on the epistemological fields that dealt with the concept and what values are, starting with the modernist propositions and postmodern, passing through the propositions of sociological and psychological thought, which was a prelude to extracting the concepts of value theory and adopting it in the field of industrial product design. The epistemological approaches to value theory in industrial product design were repr
... Show MoreAfrican countries are among the countries in the world that suffer from the phenomenon of child recruitment in wars and conflicts. There are many reasons behind it, including the nature of the human formation of children, the societal violence to which they are exposed, lack of access to education, economic hardships, as well as the role of African wars and conflicts and other reasons that compelled children to join armed groups and participate in military operations. The recruitment of children is divided into two types, compulsory and voluntary, and this leads to many humanitarian and security repercussions that are not limited to a specific period of time but extend to subsequent generations, and due to its seriousness, t
... Show MoreIn this paper, we will focus to one of the recent applications of PU-algebras in the coding theory, namely the construction of codes by soft sets PU-valued functions. First, we shall introduce the notion of soft sets PU-valued functions on PU-algebra and investigate some of its related properties.Moreover, the codes generated by a soft sets PU-valued function are constructed and several examples are given. Furthermore, example with graphs of binary block code constructed from a soft sets PU-valued function is constructed.
The financial statements must accurately, clearly and fairly present the financial situation and financial statements should be reliable as well. Pursuant to Board Decision No. (74) 2020, CBI obliges banks, according to the Banking Law No. (94) for the year 2004, Article (33) paragraph 2 concerning real estate owned from previous years and expropriated as a result debt settlement , to apply a real estate liquidation provision at a rate of 20% for each property expropriated and at a rate of 100% for each year of delay up to (5) years .also from the significance of the issue of real estates that become a property of banks as a result of debt settlement and the pr
... Show MoreThis research aims to introduce the general tax on sales in gordan and the most important concepts related to this type of taxes and identify the most on characteristics and stand on its role in supplying the general budget of the necessary fundig to cover the over head of the state and the factorsinfluencing it and whether such a tax has been able to chieve the desired goals.including in contribute to an important and growing role in puplic revenues or not to be able to achieve these goals through the use of descriptive and analytical technique based on the data and information relevant.wasreached some conclusion and recommendations was most important is that the general sales tax comes in
... Show MoreInvestment in high education is considered to be most important factors of production which the return an individual and social than economic returns found by searching the growing problem of unemployment, especially among youth graduates, where the unemployment rate in 2010 (50%) of these high rates have led to increased migration of scientific minds graduate recently, "to search for job opportunities outside Iraq for not hiring functions and this is in vain" clear "in the human and financial resources lead to structural imbalances in the Iraqi economy. When calculating the correlation coefficient between the graduates and the unemployment rate where it reached (0.21) emerged from the results of
... Show MoreAbstract:
The aim of the current study lies in showing and demonstrating the effect of the independent variable of organizational integrity with its dimensions represented by (organizational optimism, organizational trust, organizational integrity, organizational sympathy) on the dependent variable of strategic drifts through its dimensions represented by (organizational culture, leadership, innovation, strategic planning) .The analytical descriptive approach has been adopted and the questionnaire has been used as a tool to obtain data and information from the sample of (57) people who are at the administrative levels (seni
... Show MoreThe skill high-jump scoring is based on mechanical and physical abilities. The most important of all is the strength used by the player from the moment of preparation to the moment of scoring, which led the researchers to study the characteristics of the series of power chain functions of this skill according to (Biosyn System) The players of the national team's back line have a handball to find out the relationship between the properties of the power chain curve and the accuracy of the high jump to the upper and lower target angles. The aim of the research was to identify the values of the Force Series variables for the skill of the high-jump curve of the handball as well as the relationship between the properties of the power chain functi
... Show MoreComparative Study Between Glimepiride and Glibenclamide in the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetic Patients in Al-Yarmouk Hospital