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
Theoretical and experimental investigations of the transient heat transfer parameters of constant heat flux source subjected to water flowing in the downward direction in closed channel are conducted. The power increase transient is ensured by step change increase in the heat source power. The theoretical investigation involved a mathematical modeling for axially symmetric, simultaneously developing laminar water flow in a vertical annulus. The mathematical model is based on one dimensional downward flow. The boundary conditions of the studied case are based on adiabatic outer wall, while the inner wall is subjected to a constant heat flux. The heat & mass balance equation derived for specified element of bulk water within the annulu
... Show MoreAn electrocoagulation process has been used to eliminate the chemical oxygen demand (COD) from wastewaters discharged from the Al-Muthanna petroleum refinery plant. In this process, a circular aluminum bar was used as a sacrificial anode, and hallow cylinder made from stainless steel was used as a cathode in a tubular batch electrochemical Reactor. Impacts of the operating factors like current density (5-25mAcm-2), NaCl addition at concentrations (0-2g/l), and pH at values (3-11) on the COD removal efficiency were studied.
Results revealed that the increase in current density increases the COD removal efficiency, whereas an increase
Background: fixed orthodontic appliances deleterious influence on gingival health is well documented. Association between weight status and gingival health is presented in many studies. This study aimed to evaluate how early the impact of fixed orthodontic therapy on patients` gingival health, and if there are differences of that impact among different weight status groups. Materials and Methods: Sample consisted of 54 patients (25 males, 29 females; age limits are 16 -18 years) going under the course of treatment with fixed orthodontic appliance. Patients were categorized according to their Body Mass Index (BMI) into 3 weight status groups considering WHO charts in 2007 (underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese), then determinat
... Show MoreThe reticuloendothelial system (RES) play an important role in immunity against bacterial infection and Klebsiella pneumoniae one of the most common causes of hospital-acquired infections. Dextran70 (D70), a polysaccharide, may alter functions of this system through changing many biological activities in the tissues.
This study thoroughly investigates the potential of niobium oxide (Nb2O5) thin films as UV-A photodetectors. The films were precisely fabricated using dc reactive magnetron sputtering on Si(100) and quartz substrates, maintaining a consistent power output of 50W while varying substrate temperatures. The dominant presence of hexagonal crystal structure Nb2O5 in the films was confirmed. An increased particle diameter at 150°C substrate temperature and a reduced Nb content at higher substrate temperatures were revealed. A distinct band gap with high UV sensitivity at 350 nm was determined. Remarkably, films sputtered using 50W displayed the highest photosensitivity at 514.89%. These outstanding optoelectronic properties highlight Nb2O5 thin f
... Show MoreIn this research, the electrical characteristics of glow discharge plasma were studied. Glow discharge plasma generated in a home-made DC magnetron sputtering system, and a DC-power supply of high voltage as input to the discharge electrodes were both utilized. The distance between two electrodes is 4cm. The gas used to produce plasma is argon gas which flows inside the chamber at a rate of 40 sccm. The influence of work function for different target materials (gold, copper, and silver), - 5cm in diameter and around 1mm thickness - different working pressures, and different applied voltages on electrical characteristics (discharge current, discharge potential, and Paschen’s curve) were studied. The results showed that the discharge cur
... Show MoreIn this study, the effect of fire flame on the punching shear strength of steel fiber reinforced concrete flat plates was experimentally investigated using nine half-scale specimens with dimensions of 1500×1500 mm and a total thickness of 100 mm. The main investigated variables comprised the steel fiber volume fraction 0, 1, and 1.5% and the burning steady state temperature 500 and 600 °C. The specimens were divided into three groups, each group consists of three specimens. The specimens in the first group were tested with no fire effect to be the reference specimens, while the others of the second and third groups were tested after being exposed to fire-flame effect. The adopted characteristics of the fire test were; (one hour) b
... Show MoreOBJECTIVE: To determine the preferred specialties of graduated medical doctors working in Basra, and determine the factors behind their preferences. METHODS: The study was conducted in 38 primary health care centres and seven hospitals in Basra from January-June 2014. A cross-sectional study was adopted with the use of a self-administered questionnaire form. Two hundred ninety six graduated doctors were agreed to participate. Chisquare test and logistic regression were used to test the association between deciding a future speciality and influencing factors. RESULTS: The most preferred specialties were radiology and ultrasound, gynaecology and obstetrics, surgery, internal medicine, dermatology and paediatrics. Clinical specialties were sta
... Show MoreExtraction and identification of parsley (Petroselinum sativum) seeds flavonoids (apigenin), as well as evaluation its anticancer efficacy was the main aim of the current study. Thin layer chromatography results clarified that apigenin is the major flavonoid in parsley seeds. The cytotoxic effect of apigenin in mammary adenocarcinoma (AMN3) bearing mice was manifested through significant (P ≤ 0.01) reduction in tumor volume and growth rate inhibition (90.8 %) after 24 days of oral administration at a dose of 300 mg/kg body weight. The volume of tumor in the treated group reached 1354.8 mm³ while the recorded size of the control was 14758 mm³. Transplanted cancer mice showed a significant (P ≤ 0.01) elevation in concentration of liver,
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