Background: Enterococcus faecalis is a causative agent for urinary tract infections (UTIs) in Iraq and worldwide, even though it is a commensal bacterium in human and animal intestines. It can cause different illnesses due to its ability to produce various virulence factors. A pore-forming toxin (cytolysin) is the most virulence factor in this bacterium. Objective: This study aims to molecularly investigate the frequency of cytolysin toxin among E. faecalis isolated from UTIs. Methods: A hundred and eighty urine specimens were collected from females diagnosed with UTIs. Traditional laboratory and molecular methods were used for bacterial identification and toxin detection using a modified DNA extraction method. Results: The findings revealed that 27.7% (50\180) of causative agents in UTIs were E. faecalis based on the molecular technique that targeted a housekeeping gene (ddI) with specific primers using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Most of the isolates harboured the cytolysin toxin gene (cylLL) with a frequency rate of 92% (46\50). Conclusions: A considerable prevalence of cytolysin-positive isolates in UTIs, which is a worrying indicates of the extensive spreading of a toxic strain in UTIs. The modified method for DNA extraction in gene detection was successfully used to amplify a housekeeping gene (ddI) and a virulence gene (cylLL) for cytolysin toxin detection, and this approach can be utilised for rapid bacterial identification and gene detection in medical and research purposes with a large sample size in an inexpensive manner within a short time.
Hysterothylacium is one of the most important nematode parasites parasitizing fish, and it's the most diverse species nematodes of marine parasites, these species attach to the intestinal wall via their mouth lips adaptation. In the present study, seven out of 56 fish specimens (12.5 %) were found to be infected by the adult worms of Greasy grouper fishes Orangespotted grouper Epinephelus coioides (Forsskål, 1775)from locations of marine coastal water, Arabian Gulf, Iraq. A new recorded of Hysterothylacium spp. collected are morphologically described, genetically and Sccaning Electron Microscope (SEM) images for new systematic observations, on dorsal labium, su
... Show MoreThe simulation of passively Q-switching is four non – linear first order differential equations. The optimization of passively Q-switching simulation was carried out using the constrained Rosenbrock technique. The maximization option in this technique was utilized to the fourth equation as an objective function; the parameters, γa, γc and β as were dealt with as decision variables. A FORTRAN program was written to determine the optimum values of the decision variables through the simulation of the four coupled equations, for ruby laser Q–switched by Dy +2: CaF2.For different Dy +2:CaF2 molecules number, the values of decision variables was predicted using our written program. The relaxation time of Dy +2: CaF2, used with ruby was
... Show MoreMagnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects of unsteady blood flow on Casson fluid through an artery with overlapping stenosis were investigated. The nonlinear governing equations accompanied by the appropriate boundary conditions were discretized and solved based on a finite difference technique, using the pressure correction method with MAC algorithm. Moreover, blood flow characteristics, such as the velocity profile, pressure drop, wall shear stress, and patterns of streamlines, are presented graphically and inspected thoroughly for understanding the blood flow phenomena in the stenosed artery.
The present study was designed to investigate the possibility of exploiting the interspecies interaction of microbial cells in order to enhance the production of prodigiosin by local isolate S. marcescens S23. Prodigiosin is a promising drug owing to its characteristics of antibacterial, antifungal, immunosuppressive and anticancer activities. S. marcescens S23 was isolated from soil sample and already recognized via morphological, biochemical and molecular identification process. The first step was to detect the optimal conditions for maximum prodigiosin production using chemically defined liquid medium. The results revealed that the optimal conditions for prodigiosin production were sucrose as carbon source; peptone as nitrogen source;
... Show MoreIndustrial dyes are major pollutants in wastewater and river water with an initial visible concentration of 1 mg/L. Recent studies have shown the possibility of using polyphenol oxidase in catalytic biological treatment due to its ability to oxidize a large number of dyes and pollutants in wastewater and the flexibility to work in wide ranges of temperature, pH and salinity. It is easy availability as well as the low economic cost resulting from its use in biological treatments, this enzyme polyphenol oxidase was used. The findings in this study showed that the extraction of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) from potato peel was homogenized with potassium phosphate buffer (0.1 M, pH 7) at a ratio of 1:10 (weight: volume) for two min. The res
... Show MoreA novel demountable shear connector for precast steel-concrete composite bridges is presented. The connector uses high-strength steel bolts, which are fastened to the top flange of the steel beam with the aid of a special locking nut configuration that prevents bolts from slipping within their holes. Moreover, the connector promotes accelerated construction and overcomes the typical construction tolerance issues of precast structures. Most importantly, the connector allows bridge disassembly. Therefore, it can address different bridge deterioration scenarios with minimum disturbance to traffic flow including the following: (1) precast deck panels can be rapidly uplifted and replaced; (2) connectors can be rapidly removed and replaced; and (
... Show MoreThe esterification of oleic acid with 2-ethylhexanol in presence of sulfuric acid as homogeneous catalyst was investigated in this work to produce 2-ethylhexyl oleate (biodiesel) by using semi batch reactive distillation. The effect of reaction temperature (100 to 130°C), 2-ethylhexanol:oleic acid molar ratio (1:1 to 1:3) and catalysts concentration (0.2 to 1wt%) were studied. Higher conversion of 97% was achieved with operating conditions of reaction temperature of 130°C, molar ratio of free fatty acid to alcohol of 1:2 and catalyst concentration of 1wt%. A simulation was adopted from basic principles of the reactive distillation using MATLAB to describe the process. Good agreement was achieved.