Despite efforts to contain and manage the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak which was declared a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the COVID-19 pandemic still remains a major global challenge. Patients who display the classical symptoms of the infection are easily identified, tested, isolated and monitored. However, many cases of infected asymptomatic patients have been documented. These patients are not easily identified even though many evidences suggest that they can spread the virus to others. How and why these COVID-19 asymptomatic presentations occur remain unclear. The many theories and views are conjectural, and supporting evidences are still needed. In this review, we described the trend in SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding and susceptibility, providing perspectives on gender differences and asymptomatic patients. We further discussed how genetics, gender, viral inoculum, and pre-existing immunity may influence asymptomatic presentations in COVID-19 infections. We hope that this article improves our understanding of asymptomatic SAR-CoV-2 infection and it sheds light on some salient areas that should be considered as the search for a potent vaccine continues.
The antimicrobial activity of ginger extracts ( cold-water, hot-water, ethanolic and essential oil ) against some of pathogenic bacteria ( Escherichia coli , Salmonella sp , Klebsiella sp , Serratia marcescens, Vibrio cholerae , Staphylococcus aureus , Streptococcus sp) was investigated using Disc diffusion method , and the results were compared with the antimicrobial activity of 12 antibiotics on the same bacteria . The results showed that the ginger extracts were more effective on gram-positive bacteria than gram-negative . V. cholerae and S. marcescens,were the most resistant bacteria to the extracts used , while highest inhibition was noticed against Streptococcus sp (28 mm) . The ethanolic extract showed the broadest antibacterial ac
... Show MoreThis paper deals with modelling and control of Euler-Bernoulli smart beam interacting with a fluid medium. Several distributed piezo-patches (actuators and/or sensors) are bonded on the surface of the target beam. To model the vibrating beam properly, the effect of the piezo-patches and the hydrodynamic loads should be taken into account carefully. The partial differential equation PDE for the target oscillating beam is derived considering the piezo-actuators as input controls. Fluid forces are decomposed into two components: 1) hydrodynamic forces due to the beam oscillations, and 2) external (disturbance) hydrodynamic loads independent of beam motion. Then the PDE is discretized usi
Erythrocytes aggregation is an important physiological phenomenon in the circulation of blood, and is a basic characteristic of normal blood that plays a major role in cardiovascular system especially in the microcirculation. Blood samples have been taken from (30) volunteers (15 male, and 15 female), their ages (20-30) years. The Erythrocytes Sedimentation Rate (ESR) for those subjects was measured at different Packed Cells Volume (PCV) (10%-25%), and also it was measured at different temperature (10oC-25oC). The results show that there was a highly significant decrease (P<0.01) in ESR when the PCV increase and a highly significant increase (P<0.01) in ESR when the temperatures increase. The conclusion from these results is that the ESR va
... Show MoreAeromonas hydrophila have been isolated as a cause of a cute gastroenteritis in 23 (5.6%) of 410 patients. Other bacterial enteropathogens have been isolated from 387 patients with diarrhea, were 19 different strains. A. hydrophila occurred more commonly in children with acute diarrhea, the results showed that 18(78.26%) isolates of A. hydrophila found in children under 10 years old ,distributed to 10(43.47%) in male and 8(34.78%) in female ,and in adults with diarrhea 5 (21.73%). In the other hand, we noticed frequency of isolation was higher in male 14(60.86%) when compared with 9(39.14%) in female. Six strains of A. hydrophila have been observed to have bacteriocin activity against 12 of 23 different A. hydrophila ,as well as Staphy
... Show MoreAbstract: Despite the distinct features of the continuous wave (CW) Terahertz (THz) emitter using photomixing technique, it suffers from the relatively low radiation output power. Therefore, one of effective ways to improve the photomixer emitter performance was using nanodimensions electrodes inside the optical active region of the device. Due to the nanodimension sizes and good electrical conductivity of silver nanowires (Ag-NWs), they have been exploited as THz emitter electrodes. The excited surface plasmon polariton waves (SPPs) on the surface of nanowire enhances the incident excitation signal. Therefore, the photomixer based Ag-NW compared to conventional one significantly exhibits higher THz output signal. In thi
... Show MoreThis study introduces a series of single and pile group model tests subjected to lateral loads in . multilayered sand from Karbala, Iraq. The aim of this study is to investigate: the performance of the pile groups subjected to lateral loads; in which the pile batter inclination angle is changed; the effect of pile spacing (s/d) ratio, the influence of using different number of piles and pile group configuration. Results revealed that the performance of single negative (Reverse) Battered piles with inclination of 10° and 20° show a gain of 32% and 76 % in the ultimate lateral capacity over the regular ones. For pile groups, the use of a combination of regular, negative and positive battered piles in
... Show MoreThe objective of this in vivo study is to investigate the effects of 337.1 nm pulsed N2 laser on cellular immune response represented by lymphocyte transformation capacity and phagocytosis activity in laboratory animals. The samples include 60 adult male BALB/c mice, were divided into control group and experimental groups. The experimental groups were divided into two main groups according to the time period after N2 laser irradiation. Each group was divided into 9 subgroups which exposed to N2 laser radiation at different values of pulse repetition rates and exposure times. The results of immunological tests demonstrated that the exposure to 180 J/cm2 of N2 laser radiation induce adverse effect to cellular immune response. The results o
... Show MoreForty six Iraqi women with PCOS were involved in this study . They were treated with metformin alone and with antioxidant agents (vitamin E or C).It was found that all patients who treated with metformin or with combination of metformin with antioxidant agents showed significant decrease in hirsutism score. The treatment of metformin with antioxidant agents is of great benefit in treatment of hirsutism in PCOS due to that there was no worsening effect after treatment. This may indicate that antioxidant agents may participate in alleviation of hirsutism so it can be said that oxidative stress may play an important role in developing of hirsutism in PCOS.