Background: The microbial production of substances that have the potency to suppress the growth of other microorganisms is probably one of the prevalent defense strategy developed in nature, microorganisms produce a variable bunch of microbial defense systems, which include antibiotics, metabolic by-products, lytic agents, bacteriocins and others. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to isolate and identify Enterococcus faecium isolates then detecting its ability of carrying the gene responsible for enterocin production in this species. Materials and methods: Out of 50 samples from different sources (food and clinical sources) were collected for the Enterococcus faecium isolation, and the isolated bacteria Enterococ

In this work, chemical and thermal treatment were used to enhance silica extract on the purity of rice husk and to reduce the impurities associated with the extraction of silica. The thermal degradation of rice husk was studied. The characteristics and thermal degradation behavior of rice husk which investigated using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Hydrochloric acid was used to soak the rice husk and the study of leaching influence is followed by XRF tests for samples before and after the combustion process. Acid treatment and combustion method seem to have a clear effect on silica purity. The pyrolysis processes were carried out at Laboratory temperature up to 650 oC in the presence of nitrogen gas flowing at 150 ml/min. The effect o

Piroxicam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used in the treatment of musculo-skeletal and joint disorders. The problem with this drug is its poor solubility in water and hence poor bioavailability after oral administration. In order to improve its solubility and dissolution behavior, hydrophilic additives such as starch, lactose, superdisintegrants including crospovidone (C.P), cross carmellose sodium (CCS), and sodium starch glycolate (SSG) were physically dry mixed with the drug by simple trituration. The improvement in the solubility in 0.1 N HCl was obtained as the amount of starch or lactose increased in the physical mixture, while for superdisintegrants, they further improve the solubility when they are present in s

Background: Anti-oxidants are used as supplements to counteract the over production of free radicals in periodontal disease.Co-Q10 functions as an intercellular antioxidant by acting as a primary scavenger of free radicals (FRs) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), this study aimed to evaluate the effect of intra pocket application of perio Q gel (coenzyme Q10) alone and as adjunct to scaling and root planing on the periodontal clinical parameters in the treatment of patients with chronic periodontitis and compare the better improvement on the clinical periodontal parameters among different treatment modalities at 3 and 6 weeks. Materials and methods: A total of 323 sites with pocket depth (5-8) mm in patients with chronic periodontitis were

The angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) I\D gene polymorphism influences the blood ACE enzyme activity. Renoprotective effect of ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) varies among patients due to genetic variation, particularly in Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System genes. This study investigates the genetic variations of ACE I\D and AGT1RA1166C gene polymorphisms in the antiproteinuric effect of ACEI therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. This is a cross-sectional study that included 76 T2DM patients who are ACEI users, divided into two groups: T2DM without diabetic kidney disease (DKD) included 31 patients, and T2DM with DKD included 45 patients. Urine samples were taken for measurement of urine albumin and creatinine, then calcul

    This study was based on the determination of aphid species that infested Chrysanthemum sp. (Asterales, Asteraceae) in the middle of Iraq; five aphid species belong to subfamily Aphidinae were recorded: Aphis fabae Scopoli, 1763, Aphis gossypii Glover, 1877,  Coloradoa rufomaculata (Wilson, 1908), Macrosiphoniella sanborni (Gillette, 1908) and Myzus persicae (Sulzer, 1776). A. gossypii was the most dominant species throughout the study period while M. persicae  is the lesser species.

    A summary of  the main taxonomic characters is presented here and a pictorial key which was designed to separate aphi

In this study is the phenomenon of desertification risk assessment in the Abu Ghraib area west of Baghdad/Iraq, which has an area of about (384.168 km 2), that the annual mean temperature is more than (22 C). Rainfall was low, ranging from the (200 mm) per year for Iraq and (2.82) mm per year of the study area* temperature is high and evaporation is also high (mm 7.73) per year*, so the climate in general of the dry type and the system of soil moisture is the kind of Aridic (Torric). To this study was to identify three indicators to monitor for the period from 2001-2005 using GIS and these indicators are (soil, groundwater and the nature of land use), using ArcGIS 9.1. The results showed that the risk of desertification was part of the leve

Birds of prey (Raptors) are top predator avian species that many migrate annually through Mesopotamian marshes in southern Iraq toward their wintering grounds in Arabia and Africa, while others are breeding residents; however, information on their current status is scarce. From January 2016 to April 2019, a total of 20 field expeditions were conducted in the geographical zone of the Mesopotamian marshes, wetlands of international importance. The survey covered the Central Marshes, Al-Hammar and Hawizeh Marsh. One of the objectives of the field surveys is to list the raptors species that wintering and/or migrating through the Mesopotamian marshes and to understand their current spatial and temporal distribution. In the present study, a to