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 patie

The research aims to measure, assess and evaluate the efficiency of the directorates of Anbar Municipalities by using the Data Envelopment Analysis method (DEA). This is because the municipality sector is consider an important sector and has a direct contact with the citizen’s life. Provides essential services to citizens. The researcher used a case study method, and the sources of information collection based on data were monthly reports, the research population is represented by the Directorate of Anbar Municipalities, and the research sample consists of 7 municipalities which are different in terms of category and size of different types. The most important conclusion reached by the research i

Shallow foundations have been commonly used to transfer load to soil layer within the permissible limits of settlement based on the bearing capacity of the soil. For most practical cases, the shape of the shallow foundation is of slight significance. Also, friction resistance forces in the first layers of soils are negligible due to non-sufficient surrounding surface area and compaction conditions. However, the bearing capacity of a shallow foundation can be increased by several techniques. Geocell is one of the geosynthetic tool applied mainly to reinforce soil. This study presents a numerical approach of honeycombed geocell steel panels reinforcing the sandy soil under shallow foundation, and several parameters are investigated such as th

Microalgae present much usefulness for antimicrobial research because of its enormous biodiversity and rapid growth rate. From this study results it is reaveled that Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were isolated from a pond of water in the province of Diwaniyah. The culture supernatants were obtained when extracted with methanol solvent. Antimicrobial activity of extracts was tested for pathogens, and the best inhibition zone obtained was against Candida albicans (32mm), S.aureus (15mm), and to E.coli (9mm). While it showed no effect against both S.epidermidis and Klebsiella spp. Biofilm was formed by all tested isolates with differences in its strength formation. The C. reinhardtii

The parameters of resistance spot welding (RSW) performed on low strength commercial aluminum sheets are investigated experimentally, the performance requirements and weldability issues were driven the choice of a specific aluminum alloy that was AA1050. RSW aluminum alloys has a major problem of inconsistent quality from weld to weld comparing with welding steel
alloys sheet, due to the higher thermal conductivity, higher thermal expansion, narrow plastic temperature range, and lower electrical resistivity. Much effort has been devoted to the study of describing the relation between the parameters of the process (welding current, welding time, and electrode force) and weld strength. Shear-tensile strength tests were performed to ind

This study was aimed to find and test biological methods for reducing the aggregation of plastics such as PS in the environment  and study the ability of Greater Wax worms larvae (Galleria mellonella) to eat PS that similar in the its structure to beeswax .Weight loss, morphology changes ,FTIR spectroscopy  and GC-mass analysis were performed which showed changes in chemical properties of the PS due to degradation. In this study  the percentage of weight loss was 33% in the PS treated with G. mellonella. FTIR of PS frass showed the disappearance of aromatic cycle band that was found in the origin PS at region more than 3000 cm-1. Also The PS frass samples from wax worms larvae revealed the creation of a new O-H stretching alcohol

This study proposes a mathematical approach and numerical experiment for a simple solution of cardiac blood flow to the heart's blood vessels. A mathematical model of human blood flow through arterial branches was studied and calculated using the Navier-Stokes partial differential equation with finite element analysis (FEA) approach. Furthermore, FEA is applied to the steady flow of two-dimensional viscous liquids through different geometries. The validity of the computational method is determined by comparing numerical experiments with the results of the analysis of different functions. Numerical analysis showed that the highest blood flow velocity of 1.22 cm/s occurred in the center of the vessel which tends to be laminar and is influe

Abstract—The upper limb amputation exerts a significant burden on the amputee, limiting their ability to perform everyday activities, and degrading their quality of life. Amputee patients’ quality of life can be improved if they have natural control over their prosthetic hands. Among the biological signals, most commonly used to predict upper limb motor intentions, surface electromyography (sEMG), and axial acceleration sensor signals are essential components of shoulder-level upper limb prosthetic hand control systems. In this work, a pattern recognition system is proposed to create a plan for categorizing high-level upper limb prostheses in seven various types of shoulder girdle motions. Thus, combining seven feature groups, w

A sensitive, accurate, and affordable colorimetric method was developed for assaying prednisolone (PRZ) in various medicinal forms. The procedure involves the oxidation of PRZ by ferric ions, followed by complexation of the resulting ferrous ions with ferricyanide to produce a greenish-blue product. Common complexation conditions were thoroughly investigated. The mole ratio of FeCl₃·6H₂O to K₃Fe(CN)₆ was 8:1. The proposed mechanism of complexation was suggested and considered. Various parameters were optimized, including the reduction of the colorimetric reaction temperature to 50°C and the duration of heating and analysis to 20-30 minutes. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 1-60 µg/mL. The limit of detection (LOD