BACKGROUND: HLA-B27 can effect clinical presentation and course of ankylosing spondylitis. Different detection techniques of HLA-B27 are available with variable sensitivities and specificities. OBJECTIVE: To compare serologic and molecular diagnostic techniques of detecting HLA-B27 status and to correlate it with some clinical variables among ankylosing spondylitis patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 83 Iraqi patients with ankylosing spondylitis. Clinical and laboratory evaluations were reported. HLA-B27 status was determined in all patients by real-time PCR using HLA-B27 RealFast™ kit; ELISA method was used as well to detect soluble serum HLA-B27 antigens using Human Leukocyte Antigen® kit. RESULTS:

Klebsiella infections in the oral cavities of both humans and dogs have been increasingly reported and are associated with various buccal infections, as well as systemic infections. These infections appear to be rising particularly among pets and their owners, suggesting a possible bidirectional transmission between humans and dogs. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the potential link of mixed infections involving Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterococcus spp. Buccal cavity samples were collected from humans (n = 25) and dogs (n = 25). Samples were initially enriched in tryptic soy broth and subsequently cultured on tryptic soy agar, MacConkey agar, and blood agar. All isolates were identified using the VITEK 2 system, and eight selec

Background and objectives Uropathogenic E.coli (UPEC) are major causative agents of urinary tract infection (UTIs), they often possess strong biofilm-forming abilities, and capable of resisting many antibiotics, making catheter associated UTIs (CAUTIs) difficult to treat. Essential oils such as tea tree oil (TTO) have emerged as natural alternatives to antibiotics. This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial, adhesion, and biofilm-forming efficacy of TTO against UPEC, while analyzing its effect on the gene expression of csgA gene and determining its cytotoxicity. Methods Four UPEC isolates collected from different UTIs patients from Baghdad Province. The Antibacterial activity of TTO evaluated using agar wells diffusion assay and micro

total of 17 Escherichia coli isolates were collected from urine specimens of patients with urinary tract infection. Antibiotics sensitivity test indicated that amikacin followed by chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin are the most effective antibiotics. The isolates showed multidruge resistant, nine isolates were resistant to 11-15 antibiotics, 3 were resistant to 16-20 antibiotics and 5 were resistant to 21-25 antibiotic. Two isolates were selected, the first (ED1) was resistant to (22) antibiotics while the second isolate (ED2) was resistant to (14) antibiotics (out of 25). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the black and green tea water boiled extracts were determined towards (ED1,ED2).Results showed that MIC of black tea extr

Enterococcus faecalis is a natural inhabitant of the human gastrointestinal tract but can become dominant and cause infections when the intestinal homeostasis is disrupted. Enterococcal bacteria are considered one of the main reasons for the failure of endodontic treatment. This study aim to isolation and identification of E.faecalis depended on phenotype and molecular method, the phenotypic patterns using traditional biochemical methods, and then diagnosed it based on the genotypes and using specialized primers for 16srRNA and D-Ala: D-Ala ligase genes using polymerase chain reaction, In order to achieve successful treatment, it is necessary to study the bacterial behavior within the root canal system together with their resistance and def

NA Nasir, SHM Ali, HQMA AL-Ess, WA Hussein, MKW Al-Janabi, KIA Mohammed, JM Mosa, Euromediterranean Biomedical Journal, 2020

 The present study is an attempt for detection of A. baumannii by conventional and PCR methods using species-specific primers for these A. baumannii. A total of 87 samples were collected from hospitals in Baghdad (Al-Rasafa and Al-Karkh Hospitals) during the period from 2019 to 2020.The samples included: 40 specimens, from wounds, respiratory infections (sputum), burns, CSF and 47 samples from the hospital environment (swabs), while samples collected from intensive care unit including patient beds, surgical instruments and appliances, emergency lobby and baby incubators. A. baumannii isolate identification depending on the morphologic characteristics on the culture media including, blood agar, MacConkey  agar, as well as t

To determine the relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and skin disorders, sixty six patients who suffering from skin diseases include chronic urticarial (CU) and atopic dermatitis (AD) who attended at Dermatological Clinic/ Al-Numan Teaching Hospital from the beginning of October 2015 to the end of January 2016 with age (6-62) have been investigated and compared to twenty two samples of apparently healthy individuals were studied as control group. All the studied groups were subjected to measurement of antiHelicobacter pylori IgG antibodies by enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) and detection of 16S rRNA and CagA genes by using singleplex and multiplex PCR methods. The results of current study revealed that there was a

This work aimed to investigate the effect of Diode laser 805 nm on plasmid DNA and RNA
contents of some Gram negative bacteria represented by Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis isolates
.Plasmid extraction was done using two methods (Salting out and CTAB method).Different powers and
pulse repetition rates for 805 nm Diode Laser were used to study this effect. Results revealed that the
plasmid profile of the two species were highly affected using (2, 3) W at different frequencies including
5and 10 kHz as compared with 1 kHz while plasmids were gradually disappeared at 1W, 10 kHz. In the
same time the shining of RNA was also decreased gradually then disappeared with increasing powers
especially at 2W and 10 kHz cau