Background: Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) is gram-negative bacterium, which causes Legionnaires’ disease as well as Pontiac fever. Objective: To determine the frequency of Legionella pneumophila in pneumonic patients, to determine the clinical utility of diagnosing Legionella pneumonia by urinary antigen testing (LPUAT) in terms of sensitivity and specificity, to compares the results obtained from patients by urinary antigen test with q Real Time PCR (RT PCR) using serum samples and to determine the frequency of serogroup 1 and other serogroups of L. pneumophila. Methods: A total of 100 pneumonic patients (community acquired pneumonia) were enrolled in this study during a period between October 2016 to April 2017; 92 samples were collected from patients attended and admitted to Al-Imamein Al-Kadhimein Medical City and 8 samples from those in the (Center of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation) in the Medical City of Baghdad. All patients were under therapy with antibiotics. Serum and urine specimens were obtained from all patients; urine samples were processed for urinary antigen test (rapid test). Serum samples were collected and submitted to DNA extraction for detection of L. pneumophila mip gene by q RT PCR assay. Results: The percentage of L. pneumophila in two hospitals in Bagdad was 30%. Of these 26% was serogroup 1 detected by urinary antigen testing (UAT). In the other hand, 23% of samples were positive by q RT PCR based mip gene, of these 19 % were serogroup 1 and 4% were another serogroup. The sensitivity of UAT is high (P value < 0.001), which means statistically highly significance than q RT PCR. Conclusion: LPUAT is a rapid tool for early diagnosis of Legionella infection, which highlights the need of using this test in hospitals and health institutions and there is a high prevalence of L. pneumophila in Iraq that refer to the necessity of considering this microorganism point of view in future studies for detection and treatment in pneumonic patients. Keywords: L. pneumophila, mip gene, quantitative real time PCR, urinary antigen. Citation: Gauad SA, Abdulrahman TR, Muhamad AK, Jawad AA, Hassan JS. Clinical utility of urinary antigen test and molecular method for detection of Legionella pneumophila. Iraqi JMS. 2018; 16(2): 207-215. doi: 10.22578/IJMS.16.2.13
This research study the effect of surface modification and copper (Cu) plating carbon fiber (CF) surface on the thermal stability and wettability of carbon fiber (CF)/epoxy (EP) composites. The TGA result indicates that the thermal-stability of carbon fiber may be enhanced after Cu coating CF. TGA curve showed that the treatment temperature was enhanced thermal stability of Ep/CF, this is due to the oxidation during heating. The Cu plating increased the thermal conductivity, this increase might be due to reduce in contact resistance at the interface due to chemical modification and copper plating and tunneling resistance.
The increase of surface polarity after coating cause decreas
... Show MoreObjective: To determine the quality assurance for maternal and child health care services in Baghdad City.
Methodology: A descriptive study is conducted throughout the period of November 28th 2008 to October 10th
2009. A simple random sample of (349) is selected through the use of probability sampling approach. The study
sample was divided into four groups which include (220) consumers, (35) medical staff, (72) nursing staff and (22)
organization structure (primary health care centers). Data were collected through the use of assessment tools. It was
comprised of four questionnaires and overall items included in these questionnaires are (116) items. The study
included assessment of organization structure. Data were colle
Correlation equations for expressing the boiling temperature as direct function of liquid composition have been tested successfully and applied for predicting azeotropic behavior of multicomponent mixtures and the kind of azeotrope (minimum, maximum and saddle type) using modified correlation of Gibbs-Konovalov theorem. Also, the binary and ternary azeotropic point have been detected experimentally using graphical determination on the basis of experimental binary and ternary vapor-liquid equilibrium data.
In this study, isobaric vapor-liquid equilibrium for two ternary systems: “1-Propanol – Hexane – Benzene” and its binaries “1-Propanol –
... Show MoreThis study explores the challenges in Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems in generating image captions, a task that requires effective integration of computer vision and natural language processing techniques. A comparative analysis between traditional approaches such as retrieval- based methods and linguistic templates) and modern approaches based on deep learning such as encoder-decoder models, attention mechanisms, and transformers). Theoretical results show that modern models perform better for the accuracy and the ability to generate more complex descriptions, while traditional methods outperform speed and simplicity. The paper proposes a hybrid framework that combines the advantages of both approaches, where conventional methods prod
... Show MoreCircular data (circular sightings) are periodic data and are measured on the unit's circle by radian or grades. They are fundamentally different from those linear data compatible with the mathematical representation of the usual linear regression model due to their cyclical nature. Circular data originate in a wide variety of fields of scientific, medical, economic and social life. One of the most important statistical methods that represents this data, and there are several methods of estimating angular regression, including teachers and non-educationalists, so the letter included the use of three models of angular regression, two of which are teaching models and one of which is a model of educators. ) (DM) (MLE) and circular shrinkage mod
... Show MoreIn this paper, point estimation for parameter ? of Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution has been investigated by using simulation technique, to estimate the parameter by two sections methods; the first section includes Non-Bayesian estimation methods, such as (Maximum Likelihood estimator method, and Moment estimator method), while the second section includes standard Bayesian estimation method, using two different priors (Inverse Chi-Square and Jeffrey) such as (standard Bayes estimator, and Bayes estimator based on Jeffrey's prior). Comparisons among these methods were made by employing mean square error measure. Simulation technique for different sample sizes has been used to compare between these methods.
Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) is a relatively new welding process that may have significant advantages compared to the fusion processes as follows joining of conventionally non-fusion weldable alloys, reduced distortion and improved mechanical properties of weldable alloys joints due to the pure solidstate joining of metals. In this paper, a three-dimensional model based on finite element analysis is used to study the thermal history in the spot-welding of aluminum alloy 2024. The model take place the thermomechanical property on the process of the welded metals. The thermal history and the evolution results with numerical model at the measured point in the friction stirred spot weld have a good matching, then the prediction of the t
... Show MoreGlobally, over forty million people are living with Human Immunodeficiency Viral (HIV) infections. Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) consists of two or three Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and has been used for more than a decade to prolong the life of AIDS-diagnosed patients. The persistent use of HAART is essential for effectively suppressing HIV replication. Frequent use of multiple medications at relatively high dosages is a major reason for patient noncompliance and an obstacle to achieving efficient pharmacological treatment. Despite strict compliance with the HAART regimen, the eradication of HIV from the host remains unattainable. Anatomical and Intracellular viral reservo
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The administrations of Presidents Clinton and Bush Jr. have seen the emergence of neoconservatives. The neoconservative were the establishment of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) project in 1997 during the Clinton administration. The neoconservatives, through the New Century Project, were able to make important foreign policy decisions, notably the Iraq Liberation Law, which was passed by Congress on January 26, 1998 and signed by President Clinton and became a law legitimized. Clinton became authorized to take whatever measures he saw fit to contribute to regime change in Iraq. The Bush administration has also undergone major and significant shifts in US strategy on US foreign policy. During the Bush admin
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