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.
This paper predicts the resilient modulus (Mr) for warm mix asphalt (WMA) mixtures prepared using aspha-min. Various predictor variables were analyzed, including asphalt cement types, asphalt contents, nominal maximum aggregate sizes (NMAS), filler content, test temperatures, and loading times. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the behavior of each predictor variable individually and collectively. Through univariate analysis, it was observed that Mr exhibited an inverse trend with asphalt cement grade, NMAS, test temperature, and load duration. Although Mr increased slightly with higher filler and asphalt content, the magnitude of this increase was minimal. Multivariate analysis revealed that the rate of change
... Show MoreNumerous regions in the city of Baghdad experience the congestion and traffic problems. Due to the religious and economic significance, Al-Kadhimiya city (inside the metropolitan range of Baghdad) was chosen as study area. The data gathering stage was separated into two branches: the questionnaire method which is utilized to estimate the traffic volumes for the chosen roads and field data collection method which included video recording and manual counting for the volumes entering the selected signal intersections. The stage of analysis and evaluation for the seventeen urban roads, one highway, and three intersections was performed by HCS-2000 software.The presented work plots a system for assessing the level of service
... Show MoreMany international companies have branches or agencies in Iraq and have large market shares, and this has contributed to the increase in the import of these companies' products. This process created an additional problem of handling a large number of expired or defective products. There are many methods that contribute significantly to reducing these problems. The most prominent of these is the activation of reverse logistics options in Iraq by international and local companies. This research aims to conduct a survey of the reverse logistics options approved by some local and international companies and compare between them. This paper found that Amaron, Hitachi, Apple, Samsung and Huawei have limited options for reverse logistics and that
... Show MoreExtension of bandwidth for high reflectance zone for the spectral region (8-14pm) was studied adapting the concept of contiguous and overlapping high reflectance stacks. Computations was carried out using the modified characteristic matrix theory restricted to near-normal incidence of light on dielectric , homogenous and isotropic symmetrical stack. Certain precautions must be taken in the choice of stacks to avoid deep —reflectance minima from developing within the extended high reflectance region. Results illustrate that the techniques of extending the high reflectance regions are applicable not only to mirrors , but also to short-and long-edge filter and to narrow band pass filters.
The phenomenon of young people frequenting closed cafes spread in Baghdad to smoke hookahs and cigarettes has increased. This phenomenon is associated with unemployment, an increase in leisure time and the deterioration of economic conditions. This phenomenon has an impact on indoor air quality and exposes workers to the risk of exposure to various pollutants, including particulate matter, therefore, we examined some indicators (PM2.5, PM10) IAQ for a month in summer and another month in winter in six different locations in the Rusafa district. PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations, relative humidity (RH) and temperatures were measured using (Multifunction Air Quality Detector BENETECH -China). The results showed an increase in temperatures inside
... Show MoreMolasse medium containing different concentrations of (NH4)2 SO4, (NH4)3 PO4, urea, KCI, and P2O5 were compared with the medium used for commercial production of C. utilis in a factory south of Iraq. An efficient medium, which produced 19. 16% dry wt. and 5. 78% protein, was developed. The effect of adding various concentrations of micronutrients (FeSO4, 7T20, MnSO4. 7H20, ZnSO4. 7E20) was also studied. Results showed that FeSo4. 7H20 caused a noticeable increase in both dry wt. and protein content of the yeast.
Structural, optical, and electrical properties of thin films of CdS : Zn prepared by the solution – growth technique are reported as a function of zinc concentration. CdS are window layers influencing the photovoltaic response of CIS solar cells. The zinc doping concentration was varied from 0.05 to 0.5 wt %, zinc doping apparently increase the band gap and lowers the resistivity. All beneficial optical properties of chemically deposited CdS thin films for application as window material in heterojunction optoelectronic devices are retained. Heat treatment in air at 400 °C for 1h modify crystalline structure, optical, and electrical properties of solution growth deposited CdS : Zn films.
Chitosan-schiff base with three different ratios of para-Dimethyl aminobenzaldehyde& chitosan Schiff base hydrogels have been prepared for controlled drug release study. The synthesized chitosan Schiff base and chitosan Schiff base hydrogel were characterized by FT-IR, UV-Visible, SEM, analysis. Swelling properties of the hydrogel were investigated at three different media pH (2, 7, 10). The swelling degree varied with the pH, amount of crosslinking agent glutaraldehyde and with the amount of paraDimethylaminobenzaldehyde for the hydrogels. All hydrogels were used for controlled drug release system. Aspirin was used as model drug, in three different buffer solution (2, 7, 10) as release media. The rate of release of drugs in the pH2 is m
... Show MoreIn this investigative endeavor, a novel concrete variety incorporating sulfur-2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine modification was developed, and its diverse attributes were explored. This innovative concrete was produced using sulfur-2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine modification and an array of components. The newly created sulfur-2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine modifier was synthesized. The surface texture resulting from this modifier was examined using SEM and EDS techniques. The component ratios within concrete, chemical and physical traits derived from the sulfur-2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine modifier, chemical and corrosion resistance of concrete, concrete stability against water absorption, concrete resilience against freezing, physical and mechanical p
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