Background: Gallstone disease (GSD) is a significant global health burden with variable prevalence influenced by metabolic, genetic, and infectious factors. Increasing evidence suggests that Gram-positive bacteria, particularly Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus species, contribute to gallstone pathogenesis through enzymatic activity and biofilm formation. Objectives: To characterize Gram-positive bacteria within gallstones from Iraqi patients, evaluate their biofilm-forming capacity, and analyze the relationship between bacterial colonization, gallstone type, and cholesterol levels. Methods: A total of 100 gallstones were obtained from patients undergoing elective cholecystectomy between October 2024 and March 2025. Stones were aseptically processed for bacterial isolation and identification using selective culture media and the VITEK® 2 Compact System. Serum cholesterol levels were determined by enzymatic colorimetric assay. Biofilm formation was quantified via the 96-well microtiter plate method, and statistical correlations between gallstone type, cholesterol level, and bacterial presence were analyzed. Results: Cholesterol stones (57%) were more prevalent than pigment (40%) and mixed stones (3%). Bacterial growth was observed in 43% of gallstones, with Enterococcus species (31 isolates) predominating over S. aureus (12 isolates). Species-level identification revealed E. faecalis (n= 16), E. faecium (n= 9), and E. gallinarum (n= 6), marking the first reported isolation of E. gallinarum from gallstones. Cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher in sterile stones (median 235 mg/dL) compared to bacteria-positive stones (173-186 mg/dL) (P < 0.0001). Biofilm analysis showed all S. aureus isolates as strong producers, whereas E. faecalis exhibited predominantly moderate-to-strong formation, while E. faecium and E. gallinarum displayed weaker capacities. Conclusion: A significant interplay between microbial colonization and gallstone composition. Strong biofilm-producing Gram-positive bacteria, particularly S. aureus and E. faecalis, may facilitate stone maturation and persistence. The novel isolation of E. gallinarum expands the spectrum of biliary microbiota.
Diabetes mellitus is a common health problem worldwide counting about 1.2 million cases in Iraq in 2015. Taking in account of the patient’s beliefs about the prescribed medication had been reported to be one of the most important factors that affects adherence where holding positive beliefs about medications is a prerequisite for intentional adherence. The aim of the current study was to investigate and assess beliefs about medicines among type 2 diabetic patients and to determine possible association between this belief and glycemic control as well as some patient-specific factors. This study is a cross-sectional study carried out on 380 (mean age 56.58± 10.06 years) already diagnosed T2DM patients who attended the National Diabetes
... Show MoreThe aim of this study was to critically appraise and synthesize the best available evidence on the effectiveness of interventions suitable for delivery by nurses, designed to enhance cardiac patients' adherence to their prescribed medications.
Cardiac medications have statistically significant health benefits for patients with heart disease, but patients' adherence to prescribed medications remains suboptimal.
A systematic quantitative review of intervention effects.
Background: Sexual dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia was reported as one of the most distressing antipsychotics drug adverse effects and it is directly related to treatment compliance, but the subject seldom touched in the field of psychiatry in Iraq previously.Objectives: To assess and find out the impact of schizophrenia on Sexuality of the patient, and illustrate effect of anti-schizophrenic on sexual activityMethods: using DSM4-TR and ASEX scale questionnaires for 104 male participants from out 155schizophrenic patient were studied in sex clinic in Al-Rashad teaching hospital for psychiatric disease in Baghdad. The study extended for 22 months from 1st of July 2010 to the 1st of April 2012, t test and chi square test were us
... Show MoreUrinary tract infection is a bacterial infection that often affects the bladder and thus the urinary system. E. coli is one of the leading uropathogenic bacteria that cause urinary tract infections. Uropathogenic E. coli is highly effective and successful in causing urinary tract infections through biofilm formation and urothelial cell invasion mechanisms. Other organisms that cause urinary tract infections include members of the Enterobacteriaceae family, streptococci and staphylococci species and perch. In addition, K.penumoniae is another important gram-negative bacterium that causes urinary tract infections. With the PCR technique, unseen bacterial species can be detected using standard clinical microbiology methods. In this study, the
... Show MoreDuring recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the investigation of the cytokines roles in pathogenesis of cancer, thus the study aimed at evaluating the level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-?) in sera of Iraqi multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Beta 2-microglobulion (?2-m) was assessed to determine if there was any association between this cytokine and the level of ?2- m, as the latter is related to the stage of the disease. In addition, the age and gender were also taken into consideration. Furthermore, we investigated the relationship between IgG and TNF-? in sera of patients. 49 Iraqi patients (27 males and 22 females).The patients were also divided into two groups: the first group included (17) patients who were
... Show MoreBroyden update is one of the one-rank updates which solves the unconstrained optimization problem but this update does not guarantee the positive definite and the symmetric property of Hessian matrix.
In this paper the guarantee of positive definite and symmetric property for the Hessian matrix will be established by updating the vector which represents the difference between the next gradient and the current gradient of the objective function assumed to be twice continuous and differentiable .Numerical results are reported to compare the proposed method with the Broyden method under standard problems.
Abstract : This research is a field study of international cities that hosted various events of which (Sports, Exhibitions, Scientific, Cultural) and other events, these positive impacts on the city driven by such hosts were identified. The research goal was to support hosting events to improve the hostess city and to draw future plans for further developments and to invest event’s hosting to strengthen the city’s value according to a strategic vision that looks for the future the most important conclusions are Entering events hosting is a part of urban development strategies and The most important recommendations are coordination between hosting event activities and its facilities with the infrastructure structure of the host city, its
... Show MoreThe study targets exploring the similarities and differences between Iraqi and Malaysian learners of English in refusing marriage proposals. Also, it examines the favored politeness strategies that learners use to protect their interlocutors’ face, heeding both their social distance and status. Data were gathered by a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) which contained six marriage situations. Responses were analyzed based on Beebe et al.’s (1990) refusal taxonomy and Scollon et al.’s (2012) politeness system. The findings indicated that both the Iraqi and Malaysian learners preferred the indirect refusal strategies in marriage proposals, as well as the hierarchical politeness in the form of independence strategies regardless of t
... Show MoreThe study targets exploring the similarities and differences between Iraqi and Malaysian learners of English in refusing marriage proposals. Also, it examines the favored politeness strategies that learners use to protect their interlocutors’ face, heeding both their social distance and status. Data were gathered by a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) which contained six marriage situations. Responses were analyzed based on Beebe et al.’s (1990) refusal taxonomy and Scollon et al.’s (2012) politeness system. The findings indicated that both the Iraqi and Malaysian learners preferred the indirect refusal strategies in marriage proposals, as well as the hierarchical politeness in the form of independence strategies regardless of t
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