Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii ) is considered a critical healthcare problem for patients in intensive care units due to its high ability to be multidrug-resistant to most commercially available antibiotics. The aim of this study is to develop a colorimetric assay to quantitatively detect the target DNA of A. baumannii based on unmodified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) from different clinical samples (burns, surgical wounds, sputum, blood and urine). A total of thirty-six A. baumannii clinical isolates were collected from five Iraqi hospitals in Erbil and Mosul provinces within the period from September 2020 to January 2021. Bacterial isolation and biochemical identification of isolates were carried out followed by DNA extraction from 36 isolates and six negative ATCC strains (Salmonalle typhi, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aures) and only one positive control ATCC A. baumannii using Phenol/Chloroform method. AuNPs were synthesized using the citrate reduction method and examined by XDR, FTIR, UV-VIS, FE-SEM, and TEM. The optimized colorimetric assay was employed based on unmodified spherical AuNPs and PCR amplification of 16S rRNA intergenic spacer sequences (ITS) with species-specific DNA oligo-targeters. Detection and optimization of A. baumannii amplicons using unmodified AuNPs were performed based on species-specific DNA oligonucleotide. The AuNPs assay was able to colorimetrically detect and distinguish A. baumannii from other ATCC bacterial isolates. The turnaround time of this assay was about 3 hours, including sample preparation and amplification, to show (0.025-6 ngµl-1) as a detection limit of DNA concentration. The efficacy of colorimetric detection was proved to effectively diagnose A. baumannii isolates with high sensitivity, simplicity, and robustness to rapidly diagnose A. baumannii isolates from different clinical samples.
Biomarkers such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP) and Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) have a role in the pathogenesis of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this study was to explore the differences between serum levels of such biomarkers in severe and non-severe COVID-19 cases and compare them with normal people and to evaluate the sociodemographic variables and chronic diseases effect on the severity of COVID-19. The study included 160 subjects, divided into two groups, a case group of 80 patients, and a control group of 80 normal persons. The case group was divided into two subgroups: 40 severe COVID-19 patients and 40 patients with non-severe disease. Blood IL-6 was asses
... Show MoreAbstract Daily dressing changes cause distress and pain for victims of burn injuries. The study aimed to determine the effect of music in reducing the pain and anxiety of thermally burned children during routine dressing changes. This quantitative study employed a randomized controlled trial design. The participants comprised 80 children at the Specialized Burns Hospital, in Baghdad, Iraq who were divided into two groups. The intervention group were exposed to three generic musical pieces (children’s music, nature sounds, and classical music) for 10-15 minutes. The researchers used the Objective Pain Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and physiological parameters to measure the children’s responses immediately before the dressing cha
... Show MoreOnomatopoeia has always been a functional poetic device which enjoys a high sound significance in the poetry of many languages. In modern English and Arabic poetry alike, it proves to be vital and useful at different levels: musical, thematic and at the level of meaning. Still, the cultural difference looms large over the ways it is employed by the poets of each. The present paper investigates the employment of onomatopoeia in the poetry of D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930) and Badr Shakir al-Sayyab (1926-1964) who are chosen due to the importance they enjoy in modern English and Arabic poetry and the richness of their poems in onomatopoeias. The conclusions reached at are in a sense related to cultural differences which govern the use of onomato
... Show MoreIn this paper Alx Ga1-x As:H films have been prepared by using new deposition method based on combination of flash- thermal evaporation technique. The thickness of our samples was about 300nm. The Al concentration was altered within the 0 x 40.
The results of X- ray diffraction analysis (XRD) confirmed the amorphous structure of all AlXGa1-x As:H films with x 40 and annealing temperature (Ta)<200°C. the temperature dependence of the DC conductivity GDC with various Al content has been measured for AlXGa1-x As:H films.
We have found that the thermal activation energy Ea depends of Al content and Ta, thus the value of Ea were approximately equal to half the value of optical gap.
Bringing about urban, economic, and social changes in rural areas similar to those occurring in urban areas aims to reduce urban-rural disparities by providing services in those areas, decentralizing the management of these services, expanding citizen participation in local governance (decentralized administration), and achieving comprehensive development, developing and empowering localities, and keeping pace with new transformations and their impacts on the functions of the center and localities. In fact, the lack of clarity of the role of local government in planning and managing services has hindered development plans, and declined the level of services in rural areas, and has negative
... Show MoreThe topic of (pilgrims) of the old and modern subjects at the same time, as it extends his foot and is associated with the beginning of speech and argument, a modern because it is based on studies and research (and the theory of pilgrims) from (Austin and Cyril) through (Charles Breman) to (Aristotle) ), It is worth mentioning here to mention the role of (Hazem al - Qartagni) in mentioning the value of the pilgrimage of hair and saying the use of persuasion in the hair, is palatable and acceptable. Hence our research applied these views, and we chose the pendants as a model for that matter.
The primary goal of in-situ load testing is to evaluate the safety and performance of a structural system under particular loading conditions. Advancements in building techniques, analytical tools, and monitoring instruments are prompting the evaluation of the appropriate loading value, loading process, and examination criteria. The procedure for testing reinforced concrete (RC) structures on-site, as outlined in the ACI Building Code, involves conducting a 24-h load test and applying specific evaluation criteria. This article detailed a retrofitting project for an RC slab-beams system by utilizing carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets to strengthen the structure following a fire incident. The RC structure showed indicators of deter
... Show MoreThe study aimed to examine the impact of audit committee characteristics on the practices of intellectual capital disclosure in the annual reports of Bank and Insurance companies listed on Palestine Exchange, through performing content analysis of the annual reports for the study sample which totaled thirteen companies, including six banks and seven insurance companies. To achieve the study objectives, the study employed a content analysis approach in order to analyze the content of the intellectual capital disclosure practice, in addition, the study used cross-sectional with longitudinal data for time series for a period of time between 2014-2019. The empirical results indicated that financial expertise and the number of meeting
... Show MoreThe study aimed to identify the social support and its relation with death anxiety for
olds who are listed at the Palestinian ministry of social affairs in the Jerusalem governorate,
the researcher uses the descriptive method and she bases her research on two types of
criterion: the social support and the criterion of death anxiety, these two criterion are applied
on a stratified random sample, amounted to (184) of the elderly.
The results show no statistical differences in the level of social support for olds who
are listed at the Palestinian ministry of social affairs according to the variables of sex.
Whereas there are statistical differences in the level of social support for those olds according
to the variab