The frenzy caused by the horrific news on the TVs and the social media about COVID19 brings to the forefront the catastrophic epidemics in the past that led to mass deaths and haunt the imagination of historians and public alike. Works of fiction often depict the disastrous consequences of these epidemics, both real and imagined, focusing on the gothic experience the characters endure and their struggle to survive the disasters. This article explores this major issue in a contemporary novel, Laurie Halse Anderson’s Fever 1793 (2000). It chronicles the journey of the female protagonist and her struggle to survive and achieve autonomy during the historical yellow fever that hit Philadelphia more than two centuries ago, which stuck to the memory of people to the current day.
The purpose of this study to synthesize and characterize silver nanoparticles using phenolic compounds obtained from Camellia sinensis, to test the antibacterial properties of biosynthesized nanoparticles on the formation of biofilms in multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Ten isolates of P. aeruginosa were obtained from the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Institute laboratories of the University of Baghdad. By using the VITEK-2 system and culturing the isolates on cetrimide agar, the diagnosis was confirmed. Camellia sinensis silver nanoparticles (CAgNPs) were created using an extract of the plant's aqueous and methanolic leaves. Based on the results of the nanoparticle synthesis, spherical nanoparticles that may be single or
... Show MoreBackground: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine and metabolic disease that affects approximately 15% of women of childbearing age worldwide. It is one of the causes of infertility and is characterized by hirsutism, acne, persistent or interrupted anovulation, and hyperandrogenemia. Neuregulin-4 (NRG-4) is an adipokine hormone from the protein neuregulin family. Its level is greater in PCOS than in control women, and Neuregulin-4 is linked to body fat percentage and liver fat, as well as insulin resistance (IR).
Objectives: To estimate the serum NRG-4 levels in women diagnosed with (PCOS), to compare it with, non-PCOS healthy control and to explore the effect of hyperandrogenism on the obtained r
... Show MoreSimple, precise and economic batch and flow injection analysis (FIA)-spectrophotometric methods have been established for simultaneous determination of salbutamol sulfate (SLB) in bulk powder and pharmaceutical forms. Both methods based on diazotization coupling reaction of SLB with another drug compound (sulfadimidine) as a safe and green diazotization agent in alkaline medium. At 444 nm, the maximum absorption of the orange azo-dye product was observed. A thorough investigation of all chemical and physical factors was conducted for batch and FIA procedures to achieve high sensitivity. Under the optimized experimental variables, SLB obeys Beer’s law in the concentration range of 0.25-4 and 10-100 μg/mL with limits of detection o
... Show MoreThe Umm Al-Naaj Marsh was chosen in Maysan province, and it is one of the sections of Mar Al-Hawza, which is one of the most prominent Iraqi marshes in the south. The marshes are located between latitudes 30 35 and 32 45 latitudes and longitudes 13 46 and 48 00. The area of the study area is 76479.432142 hectares to evaluate soil quality and health index and their spatial distribution based on measuring physical, chemical, biological and fertility traits and calculating the total quality index for those characteristics. Using an auger drilling machine, we collected 50 randomly selected surface samples, evenly distributed across the study region, from Al-Aq 0.0–0.30 m, noting their precise locations along the way. Soil health and quality w
... Show MoreDuring infection, T. gondii disseminates by the circulatory system and establishes chronic infection in several organs. Almost third of humans, immunosuppressed individuals such as HIV/AIDS patients, cancer patients, and organ transplant recipients are exposed to toxoplasmosis. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the possibility that Toxoplasma infection could be a risk factor for COVID-19 patients and its possible correlation with C-reactive protein and ferritin. Overall 220 patients referred to the Al Furat General Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq were enrolled from 2020–2021. All serum samples were tested for T. gondii immunoglobulins (IgG and IgM) antibodies, C-reactive protein and ferritin levels. In patients with COVID-19, the results
... Show MoreTwo simple, rapid, and useful spectrophotometric methods were suggest or the determination of sulphadimidine sodium (SDMS) with and without using cloud point extraction technique in pure form and pharmaceutical preparation. The first method was based on diazotization of the Sulphdimidine Sodium drug by sodium nitrite at 5 ºC, followed by coupling with α –Naphthol in basic medium to form an orange colored product . The product was stabilized and its absorption was measured at 473 nm. Beer’s law was obeyed in the concentration range of (1-12) μg∙ml-1. Sandell’s sensitivity was 0.03012 μg∙cm-1, the detection limit was 0.0277 μg∙ml-1, and the limit of Quantitation was 0.03605μg
... Show MorePathogenic microorganisms from hospitals, communities, and the environment remain great threats to human health. The increasing concern about antibiotic resistance has also necessitated the search for robust alternatives. Therefore, this study aims to isolate, screen and evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from a soil sample taken from northern, western and eastern parts of Kelana Jaya Lake against four antibiotics (gentamycin, tetracycline, ampicillin, and penicillin) on a Mueller-Hinton Agar media plate. Pseudomonas identification was done by using API 20 kit. Disc diffusion was employed as well as the oxidase test. From the positive oxidase result, the isolated bacteria were identified as Burkhold
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