Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) is problematic and still the leading cause of urinary tract infections worldwide. It is developed resistance against most antibiotics. The investigation, surveillance system, and efficient strategy will facilitate selecting an appropriate treatment that could control the bacterial distribution. The present study aims to investigate the epidemiology and associated risk factors of uropathogenic E. coli and to study their antibiotic resistance patterns. 1585 midstream urine specimens were collected from symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTI) patients (225 males and 1360 females) admitted to Zakho emergency hospital, Zakho, Kurdistan Region, Iraq from January 2016 until the end of December 2018. Specimens were inoculated on blood and MacConkey plates and incubated at 37оC for 24 hours. Uropathogenic E. coli was diagnosed based on gram staining, colony characteristics, and standard biochemical tests in accordance with local standards and guidelines. All isolates were screened for their antibiogram pattern using the disk diffusion method based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. The results showed that out of 1585 urine specimens, 1026 (64.7%) were UTIs positive with a statistically higher rate in 2016 (83.6%) (P< 0.0001). The UTIs frequency in females was significantly higher than males (P< 0.0001). Generally, the uropathogenic E. coli represented 21.1% with the highest level in 2016 (22.9%). The uropathogenic E. coli rate was higher, statistically not significant, in females (21.4%) than males (18.5%) (P=0.4946). Additionally, through the three years of study, uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) was in high frequency in February and May 2016. The female’s age group from 20 to 39 years was the most vulnerable (46%) form total infected females, while those from 70-74 years (1%) were the least susceptible in males and females. A high percentage (80.56 %) of multidrug resistance E. coli isolates was observed with high resistance against -lactamase and macrolides antibiotics. However, higher sensitivity was towards imipenem and meropenem. In conclusion, the wrong and overuse of antibiotics will increase the resistance rate of E. coli. For this reason, proper use of available antibiotics is necessary. Also, the educational programs and periodic monitoring of antimicrobial susceptibility are essential for reducing the antibiotic resistance rate.
The reason for conducting this study is to prolong release of miconazole in the ocular site of action by ocular-based gels (OBGs) formulations. The formulation factors affecting on the release from OBG should be studied using various gelling agents in various concentrations to achieve the improvement in retention and residence time in response to prolonged release. In this study, the formulations were prepared using carbopol 940, pectin, sodium alginate, poloxamer 407, and poly(methacrylic acid) at 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% w/v, respectively. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose E5 (HPMC E5) 1% was added as thickening agent/viscosity builder. The formulation containing carbopol 940, pectin and sodium alginate at 1.5% w/v, displayed a noticable im
... Show MoreMicroalgae present much usefulness for antimicrobial research because of its enormous biodiversity and rapid growth rate. From this study results it is reaveled that Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were isolated from a pond of water in the province of Diwaniyah. The culture supernatants were obtained when extracted with methanol solvent. Antimicrobial activity of extracts was tested for pathogens, and the best inhibition zone obtained was against Candida albicans (32mm), S.aureus (15mm), and to E.coli (9mm). While it showed no effect against both S.epidermidis and Klebsiella spp. Biofilm was formed by all tested isolates with differences in its strength formation. The C. reinhardtii
... Show MoreThree types of zeolite A were prepared from Iraqi kaoline which are 3A, 4A and 5A by ion exchange method .They were characterized by XRD and atomic absorption techniques .They were used as adsorbents to examine their applicability for H2S adsorption .The adsorption process was performed in a static form and constant volume system which constructed from stainless steel .The effect of zeolite type and temperature on the adsorption properties of H2S at -5 , 25 and 55 oC was studied .The zeolite type 5A has the highest adsorption value (79.384 µmol/g ) and the three types may be arranged in a sequence toward H2S adsorption as 5 A> 4A>3A .The amount of H2S adsorbed increased as temperature decreased from 55 to -5 for all samples. Langmuir , Fre
... Show MoreThe development of economic and environmentally friendly extractants to recover cobalt metal is required due to the increasing demand for this metal. In this study, solvent extraction of Co(II) from aqueous solution using a mixture of N,N0-carbonyl difatty amides (CDFAs) synthesised from palm oil as the extractant was carried out. The effects of various parameters such as acid, contact time, extractant concentration, metal ion concentration and stripping agent and the separation of Co(II) from other metal ions such as Fe(II), Ni(II), Zn(III) and Cd(II) were investigated. It was found that the extraction of Co(II) into the organic phase involved the formation of 1:1 complexes. Co(II) was successfully separated from commonly associated metal
... Show MoreIn this study, oxidative desulfurization of dibenzothiophene (DBT) with H2O2 as an oxidant was studied, whereas the catalyst used was zirconium oxide supported on Activated carbon (AC). Zirconium oxide (ZrO2) was impregnated over prepared activated carbon (AC) and characterized by various techniques such as XRD, FTIR, BET, SEM, and EDX. This composite was used as a heterogeneous catalyst for oxidation desulfurization of simulated oil. The results of this study showed that ZrO2/AC composite exhibited significant catalytic activity and stability, effectively lowering sulfur content under mild conditions. Factors such as reaction temperature (30, 40, 50, 60°C), time (5, 10, 15,20,30,60, 80 100 min), catalyst dose (0.3, 0.5,
... Show MoreSome physical properties enthalpy (?H), entropy (?s), free energy (?G),capacities(?cp?) and Pka values) for valine in dimethyl foramideover the temperature range 293.15-318.15K, were determined by direct conductance measurements. The acid dissociation at six temperature was examined at solvent composition x2) involving 0.141 of dimethyl foramide . As results, calculated values have been used to determine the dissociation constant and the associated thermodynamic function for the valine in the solvent mixture over temperatures in the range 293.15-318.15 k. The Pka1, and Pka2 were increased with increasing temperature.
Conventional concretes are almost unbending, and even a small amount of strain potential leaves them brittle. This lack of bendability is a major source of strain loss, and it has been the main goal behind the development of bendable concrete, often known with engineered ce ment composites, or ECC. This form of concrete has a lot more flexibility than regular concrete. Micromechanical polymer fibers are used to strengthen ECC. In most cases, ECC uses a 2% amount of thin, separated fibers. As a result, bendable concrete deforms but unlike traditional concrete, it does not crack. This study aims to include this kind of concrete, bendable concrete, which can be used to solve concrete problems. Karasta (CK) and Tasluja (CT) Portland Lime
... Show MoreLiquid-liquid membrane extraction technique, pertraction, using three types of solvents (methyl isobutyl ketone, n-butyl acetate, and n-amyl acetate) was used for recovery of penicillin V from simulated fermentation broth under various operating conditions of pH value (4-6) for feed and (6-8) for receiver phase, time (0-40 min), and agitation speed (300-500 rpm) in a batch laboratory unit system. The optimum conditions for extraction were at pH of 4 for feed, and 8 for receiver phase, rotation speed of 500 rpm, time of 40 min, and solvent of MIBK as membrane, where more than 98% of penicillin was extracted.
Removal of heavy metal ions such as, cadmium ion (Cd 2+) and lead ion (Pb 2+) from aqueous solution onto Eichhornia (water hyacinth) activated carbon (EAC) by physiochemical activation with potassium hydroxide (KOH) and carbon dioxide (CO2) as the activating agents were investigated. The Eichhornia activated carbon was characterized by Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques. Whereas, the effect of adsorbent dosage, contact time of pH, and metal ion concentration on the adsorption process have been investigated using the batch process t