Background Bloodstream infection (BSI) is a life-threatening condition caused by the presence of microorganisms, generally caused by a range of bacteria in the blood. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible role of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) as biomarkers of pediatric BSI. Methodology The study was conducted on 150 blood samples collected from the patient who admitted to Children Welfare Teaching Hospital, Medical City, Baghdad. During the period from November 2020 to March 2021, ninety blood samples from them were positive culture and 60 blood samples were negative culture (control group). The isolates were identified depending on the morphological, microscopic examination, and biochemical tests. Moreover, serum was obtained from all participants for the determination of the screening level of human PCT measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and CRP by slide agglutination test. Results The results in this study revealed that the mean levels of serum PCT and CRP in Gram-negative group and Gram-positive group were significantly difference from the control group. Conclusions The adoption of these biomarkers as routine diagnostic tests for sepsis may help in the early diagnosis of pediatric sepsis.
In this paper, split-plate airlift electrochemical reactor as an apparatus with new configuration for wastewater treatment was provided. Two aluminum plates were fixed inside the reactor and present two functions; first it works as split plates for internal loop generation of the airlift system (the zone between the two plates acts as riser while the other two zones act as downcomer) and second it works as two electrodes for electrocoagulation process. Simulated wastewater contaminated with zinc ions was used to test the performance of this apparatus for zinc removal by studying the effect of different experimental variables such as initial concentration of zinc (50-800 ppm), electrical current density (2.67-21.4 mA/cm2), init
... Show MoreWhile conservative access preparations could increase fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth, it may influence the shape of the prepared root canal. The aim of this study was to compare the prepared canal transportation and centering ability after continuous rotation or reciprocation instrumentation in teeth accessed through traditional or conservative endodontic cavities by using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).
Forty extracted intact, matured, and 2-rooted human maxillary first premolars were selected for this
The melting duration in the photovoltaic/phase-change material (PV/PCM) system is a crucial parameter for thermal energy management such that its improvement can realize better energy management in respect to thermal storage capabilities, thermal conditions, and the lifespan of PV modules. An innovative and efficient technique for improving the melting duration is the inclusion of an exterior metal foam layer in the PV/PCM system. For detailed investigations of utilizing different metal foam configurations in terms of their convective heat transfer coefficients, the present paper proposes a newly developed mathematical model for the PV/PCM–metal foam assembly that can readily be implemented with a wide range of operating condition
... Show MoreThe new compounds of pyrazolines were synthesized from the reaction of different acid hydrazide with ethylacetoacetate and ethanol under reflux. These compounds were obtained from many sequence reactions. The 4-acetyl-5-methyl-2,4-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-one compounds synthesized from the reaction of 5-methyl-2,4-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-one with acetyl chloride in calcium hydroxide and 1,4-dioxane. Finaly, Schiff bases were prepared via condensation reaction of products of mono- and tri ketone derivatives[IV]a, b with phenyl hydrazines as presented in (Scheme 1, 2). The synthesized compounds were identification by using FTIR, NMR and Mass spectroscopy (of some of them).
An experiment was conducted in pots under field conditions during fall seasons of 2017 and 2018. This study aimed to improve a weak growth of seedlings under salt stress in sorghum. Three factors were studied. 1st factor was three cultivars (Inqath, Rabeh, and Buhoth70). 2nd factor was seed priming (primed and unprimed seed). Seed were primed by soaking for 12 hours in a solution containing 300 + 70 mg L−1 of gibberellic (GA3) and salicylic (SA) acids, respectively. 3rd factor was irrigation with saline water (6, 9 and 12 dS m−1) resulting from dissolving sodium chloride in distilled water in addition to control treatment (distilled water). Randomized complete block design was used with four replications. In both seasons: the results sh
... Show MoreIn this study, Al2O3 thin films were prepared by dc reactive sputtering technique using different gas mixtures of argon and oxygen gases (90:10, 70:30, 50:50, 30:70, and 10:90). These films were characterized to introduce their surface morphology and elemental composition as functions of the oxygen content in the gas mixture. The gas mixing ratio plays a crucial role in controlling the nanoscale morphology of the prepared thin films. The [Al]/[O] ratio varies non-linearly with the Ar:O2 mixing ratio. Increasing the oxygen content leads to a progressive decrease in surface roughness, resulting in smoother and more uniform films with finer granular features. These results presented herein are useful to optimize the sputtering process to ac
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