A significant increase in the incidence of non-O157 verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) infections have become a serious health issues, and this situation is worsening due to the dissemination of plasmid mediated multidrug-resistant microorganisms worldwide. This study aims to investigate the presence of plasmid-mediated verotoxin gene in non-O157 E. coli. Standard microbiological techniques identified a total of 137 E. coli isolates. The plasmid was detected by Perfectprep Plasmid Mini preparation kit. These isolates were subjected to disk diffusion assay, and plasmid curing with ethidium bromide treatment. The plasmid containing isolates were subjected to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for investigating the presence of plasmid mediated verotoxin gene (VT1 and VT2) in non-O157 E. coli. Among the 137 E. coli isolates, 49 isolates were non-O157 E. coli while 29 (59.1%) isolates were verotoxin producing non-O157 serotypes and 26 non-O157 VTEC isolates possessed plasmids. Certain isolates harboured single sized plasmid while others had multiple plasmids with different size varied from 1.8kb to 7.6kb. A plasmid containing all (100%) the isolates was multidrug-resistant. Eight isolates changed their susceptibility patterns while three isolates were found to lose plasmid after post plasmid curing treatment and the rest of the isolates (15) remained constant. Different PCR sets characterized 3 plasmid-mediated verotoxins producing non-O157 E. coli. This current study demonstrated the occurrence of plasmid mediated verotoxin gene in non-O157 E. coli. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the global literature on plasmid-mediated verotoxin gene in non-O157 E. coli. Timely diagnosis and surveillance of VTEC infections should prioritize to stop or slow down the virulence gene for dissemination by plasmid-mediated gene transfer amongst the same bacteria or other species.
This study aims to use claystone beds exposed in the Injana Formation (Late Miocene) at Karbala-Najaf plateau, middle of Iraq for the manufacturing of perforated and ordinary bricks. The claystone samples were assessed as an alternative material of the recent sediments, which are preferred to remain as agricultural land. The claystones are sandy mud composing of 29.1 - 39.1% clay, 37.2 - 54.8% silt and 14.1-26.8% sand. They consist of kaolinite, illite, chlorite, palygorskite, and montmorillonite with a lot of quartz, calcite, dolomite, gypsum and feldspar. Claystone samples were characterized by linear shrinkage 0.01 - 0.1%, volume shrinkage 0.1 - 0.9%, bulk density 1.2 - 2.11gm/cm3 (1.68 g / cm3 average), and the efflorescence is
... Show MoreMembrane distillation (MD) is a hopeful desalination technique for brine (salty) water. In this research, Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD) and Air Gap Membrane Distillation (AGMD) will be used. The sample used is from Shat Al –Arab water (TDS=2430 mg/l). A polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) flat sheet membrane was used as a flat sheet form with a plate and frame cell. Several parameters were studied, such as; operation time, feed temperature, permeate temperature, feed flow rate. The results showed that with time, the flux decreases because of the accumulated fouling and scaling on the membrane surface. Feed temperature and feed flow rate had a positive effect on the permeate flux, while permeate temperatu
... Show MoreA new, Simple, sensitive and accurate spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the determination of sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) drug in pure and dosage forms. This method based on the reaction of sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) with 1,2-napthoquinone-4-sulphonic acid (NQS) to form Nalkylamono naphthoquinone by replacement of the sulphonate group of the naphthoquinone sulphonic acid by an amino group. The colored chromogen shows absorption maximum at 460 nm. The optimum conditions of condensation reaction forms were investigated by (1) univariable method, by optimizing the effect of experimental variables (different bases, reagent concentration, borax concentration and reaction time), (2) central composite design (CCD) including the effect of
... Show MoreCarbon dioxide (CO2) flooding is an EOR technique in which carbon dioxide is injected into the reservoir to improve the oil recovery. The reservoir oil and rock properties are altered when carbon dioxide interacts with the oil and rock present in the reservoir. Carbon dioxide injection alters the oil and rock properties by causing reduction in oil viscosity, oil swelling and wettability alteration of the rock. This paper will present a proposal to study the wettability alteration in carbonate formations during miscible carbon dioxide flooding. In miscible carbon dioxide flooding, the injection pressure of carbon dioxide would be kept above the minimum miscibility pressure. Thus carbon dioxide is miscible with the oil present in the reservoi
... Show MoreQuick and accurate quaternary mixture resolution of furosemide (FURO), carbamazepine (CARB), diazepam (DIAZ) and carvedilol (CARV) by using derivative spectrophotometric method was performed. FURO and CARV were determined by means of first (D1), second (D2), third (D3) and fourth (D4) derivative spectrophotometric methods, CARB was determined by using D1, D2, D3 derivatives, while D1 and D2 were used for the determination of DIAZ. The recommended methods were verified using laboratory prepared mixtures and then successfully applied for the pharmaceutical formulations analysis of the cited drugs. The results obtained revealed the efficiency of the proposed methods as quantitative tool of analysis of the quaternary mixture with no requirement
... Show MoreAbstract
Although the rapid development in reverse engineering techniques, 3D laser scanners can be considered the modern technology used to digitize the 3D objects, but some troubles may be associate this process due to the environmental noises and limitation of the used scanners. So, in the present paper a data pre-processing algorithm has been proposed to obtain the necessary geometric features and mathematical representation of scanned object from its point cloud which obtained using 3D laser scanner (Matter and Form) through isolating the noised points. The proposed algorithm based on continuous calculations of chord angle between each adjacent pair of points in point cloud. A MATLAB program has been built t
... Show More