Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global concern, especially in low- and middle-income countries, threatening food production, healthcare, and life expectancy. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs can optimize antibiotic use, improve patient outcomes, lower AMR, and save healthcare costs. This observational-retrospective study in Dhi Qar Governorate aimed to assess antimicrobial prescribing patterns in Al-Nasiriya public hospitals. Dhi Qar Health Directorate comprises ten hospitals, and only one hospital was excluded from the study. The study used data from antibiotic stewardship committees, including antibiogram, antibiotic, and meropenem surveys, hospital pharmacies’ medical files, and the directorate statistics from 1/1/2023 to 1/10/2023. The number of patients undergoing antibiotic screening was 6090. Most patients (43.34%) were in the 18–49 years age range. Most cases of antibiotics' clinical indication were surgical procedures (41.82%), with cesarean sections being the most common (16.15%), followed by medical treatment (37.25%), with respiratory conditions (21.34%) being the most common. Most patients (99.72%) received empirical rather than targeted treatment, parenteral rather than oral treatment (98.93% were given parenteral antibiotics); more than half of patients (52.84%) were prescribed a combination of two or more antibiotics. Most cases (95.43%) in antibiotic screening were continued on the same dose without reviewing the antibiotic prescription after 48–72 hours. The treatment resulted in 87.75% healing, 53.57% discharge with antibiotic discontinuation, and a 1.21% death rate among patients. Metronidazole, ceftriaxone, meropenem, amoxicillin, and cefotaxime were the most frequently prescribed antibiotics. The data from hospital pharmacies’ medical files showed the consumption of 14 types of antibiotics within the WHO's Watch group and 18 within the Access group. The most antibiogram-isolated bacteria were E. coli (19.06%), Staphylococcus non-aureus spp. (18.74%), Staphylococcus aureus (11.26%), Klebsiella pneumonia (10.15%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (7.88%). The antibiogram showed resistance to many antibiotics, and there was a significant difference in resistance distribution among the Access, Watch, and Reserve groups (P value = 0.024). Antibiotic practice showed empirical treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics (most of which are in the WHO Watch group), limited culture and sensitivity testing, and limited antibiogram use, making monitoring antibiotic resistance hard.
In this study two types of extraction solvents were used to extract the undesirable polyaromatics, the first solvent was furfural which was used today in the Iraqi refineries and the second was NMP (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone).
The studied effecting variables of extraction are extraction temperature ranged from 70 to 110°C and solvent to oil ratio in the range from 1:1 to 4:1.
The results of this investigation show that the viscosity index of mixed-medium lubricating oil fraction increases with increasing extraction temperature and reaches 107.82 for NMP extraction at extraction temperature 110°C and solvent to oil ratio 4:1, while the viscosity index reaches to 101 for furfural extraction at the same extraction temperature and same
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were prepared under different pressures with values (15, 30, 60 and 120) Pa using the DC reactive magnetron homemade system with mixed gases of argon and oxygen in ratio (50:50). The result of X-ray diffraction patterns discovered that the structure of the deposited films was polycrystalline, including the phase of anatase. All the appeared peaks were matched to the planes (101), (004), (105), and (211) of diffracted states. Both the intensities and the number of the appeared peaks are declined according to the increased pressure, and the plane of (101) is be considered the preferential grown plane, it is taking a maximum texture factor. Both the lattice constant and the atomic inter-planer spacing take th
... Show MoreRemoving Congo red (CR) is critical in wastewater treatment. We introduce a combination of electrocoagulation (EC) and electro-oxidation (EO) to address the elimination of CR. We also discuss the deposition of triple oxides (Cu–Mn–Ni) simultaneously on both anodic and cathodic graphite electrodes at constant current density. These electrodes efficiently worked as anodes in the EC-EO system. The EC-CO combination eliminated around 98 % of the CR dye and about 95 % of the Chemical Oxygen demand (COD), and similar results were obtained with the absence of NaCl. Thus, EC-EO is a promising technique to remove CR in an environmentally friendly pathway.
Introduction and Aim: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a Gram-negative bacterium responsible for a wide range of infections, including respiratory tract infections (RTIs). This research was aimed to study the antibacterial and anti-biofilm effect of AgNPs produced by Gram positive and negative bacteria on RTIs associated with K. pneumoniae. Materials and Methods: The biofilm formation of K. pneumoniae was determined by tube method qualitatively from select bacterial species characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy. The antibacterial susceptibility of the bacteria AgNPs was tested for their antibacterial and antibiofilm activity on a clinical isolate of K. pneumoniae. Results: K. pneumoniae isolated from RTIs were strong biofilm prod
... Show MoreThis study explores eggshell waste as a low-cost, eco-friendly adsorbent for removing Aniline Blue dye from water. Batch and continuous experiments under various conditions showed effective performance. FTIR and SEM analyses confirmed porosity and functional groups. The adsorption followed the Sips isotherm and pseudo-first-order kinetics. The porous calcium carbonate structure enhanced dye removal. Thermodynamic results indicated an endothermic and spontaneous process. Lower flow rates improved performance in fixed-bed columns. The study supporting environmentally friendly solutions aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Background: Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) is the most ‎commonly used mâ€aterial in denture construction. This material is ‎far from ideal in fulfilling the‎ mechanical requirements, like low impact and transverse strength and poor thermal conductivity are present in this material. The purpose of this study was to study the effect of addition a composite which include 1%wt silanized silicone dioxide nano fillers (SiO2) and 1wt% oxygen plasma treated polypropylene fiber (PP) on some properties of heat cured acrylic resin denture base material (PMMA). Materials and methods: One hundâ€red (100) prepared specimens were divided into five groups according to the tests, each group consisted of 20 specimens and t
Fiber‐reinforced elastic laminated composites are extensively used in several domains owing to their high specific stiffness and strength and low specific density. Several studies were performed to ascertain the factors that affect the composite plates’ dynamic properties. This study aims to derive a mathematical model for the dynamic response of the processed composite material in the form of an annular circular shape made of polyester/E‐glass composite. The mathematical model was developed based on modified classical annular circular plate theory under dynamic loading, and all its formulas were solved using MATLAB 2023. The mathematical model was also verified with real experimental work involving the vibration test of the f
... Show MoreBulk AlxSb1-x samples were prepared with different x ratios (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9) by quenching technique. This was done throughout mixing the aluminum and antimony elements according to the proper atomic weight and put them in an evacuated quartz ampoule which then sealed and heated at 1273 K for five hours and left to cool in air. Thin films of AlxSb1-xwere prepared by using thermal evaporation under vacuum of 10-5 mbar on glass substrates at room temperature with deposition rate (10-15nm/min) at thickness of ∼ 500nm. The structures of AlxSb1-x bulk and thin films have been studied by X–ray diffraction technique. The results showed that all alloys have polycrystalline structures and the p
Today's smart engineering systems are often faced with situations that are structurally uncertain, informationally incomplete, and non-probabilistically ambiguous, especially for electrical systems. ARDL models are limited in applications in complex computational environments where the uncertainty is due to vagueness, not randomness, and assume the exact parametric representation of the models and the structure of the stochastic uncertainty. This study proposes a new soft-computing paradigm using Fuzzy Autoregressive Distributed Lag (FARDL) models and compares the performance of the Linear Programming (LP) and Quadratic Programming (QP) estimation algorithms using large-scale parallel Monte Carlo simulations to overcome these drawba
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