The goal of the research is to develop a sustainable rating system for roadway projects in Iraq for all of the life cycle stages of the projects which are (planning, design, construction and operation and maintenance). This paper investigates the criteria and its weightings of the suggested roadway rating system depending on sustainable planning activities. The methodology started in suggesting a group of sustainable criteria for planning stage and then suggesting weights from (1-5) points for each one of it. After that data were collected by using a closed questionnaire directed to the roadway experts group in order to verify the criteria weightings based on the relative importance of the roadway related impacts

Cyanobacteria are prokaryotic photosynthetic communities which are used in biofertilization of many plants especially rice plant. Cyanobacteria play a vital role to increase the plant's ability for salinity tolerance. Salinity is a worldwide problem which affects the growth and productivity of crops. In this work three cyanobacteria strains (Nostoc calcicola, Anabaena variabilis, and Nostoc linkia) were isolated from saline soil at Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate; North Egypt. The propagated cyanobacteria strains were used to withstand salinity of the soil and increase rice plant growth (Giza 178). The length of roots and shoot seedlings was measured for seven and forty days of cultivation, respectively. The results of this investigation showed

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of prodigiosin on P. aeruginosa' s biofilm genes involved in the pathogenicity and persistency of the bacteria; Materials and methods: Gram negative bacterial isolates were taken from burn and wounds specimen obtained from some of Baghdad hospitals. Forty six isolates were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and four isolates as Serratia marcescens by using biochemical tests and VITEK 2 compact system. Susceptibility test was performed for all P. aeruginosa isolates, the results showed that 100% were resistant to Amikacin and 98% were sensitive to Meropenem. Resistant isolates were tested for biofilm formation; the strong and moderate isolates (17) were detected by PCR for AlgD gene

Alteration of repeat tract length within the SSR of phase variable genes may enhance the persistence of isolates within their host for a long time (a period of months) (Alamro et al.,2014). Alamro et al. (2014) showed there was trend towards selection for OFF state or low expression for five phase variable genes (opc, hmbr, nadA, nalP, hpuAB) in three carriers (V54, V124 and V64) within strains belonging into CC174 and CC167 in first, second and third time points. He concluded that the selection for low or OFF state helped N. meningitidis to persist for a long time (Alamro et al., 2014). The current study aimed to detect the alteration in the repeat tracts of the same five variable genes within the previous three carriers (V54, V124, and V6

Biofilm formation is one of the biggest challenges of scientists. Role of heavy metals in forming biofilm is not clear enough. Here, the effect of lead on biofilm formation by Bacillus spp. isolated from soil in terms of biofilm formation and remove was studied. In present study, 10 isolates of Bacillus spp were isolated from soil. The ability of all isolates to form biofilm was evaluated. The effect of lead on biofilm formation was studied by adding lead (pb) before forming biofilm. In another experiment the lead was added after biofilm formation to study the effect of lead on biofilm remove. The current study, showed the ability of all studied isolates to form biofilm. Maximum biofilm formation by Bacillus spp isolate number 8 (B8) follow

The aims of study is to detect the inhibitory effect of Saccharomyces boulardii and Lactobacillus acidophilus on Escherichia coli that has been isolated from recurrent urinary tract infection in women. The sensitivity of E.coli isolates to antibiotics had been studied and the most resistant E.coli isolate to antibiotics had been studied .The cup assay was used on nutrient agar and Muller-Hinton agar to detect the inhibitory activity for each S.boulardii yeast grown on YEGP media and L.acidophilus grown on MRS media in which the result showed a high inhibition activity for each of them .Also in this study the adhesion property of E.coli had been evaluated in the presence of S.boulardii at concentration of 1×109 and L.acidophilus at conc

Adhesion (type 1 fimbriae) and host defense avoidance mechanisms (capsule or lipopolysaccharide) have been shown to be prevalent in Escherichia coli isolates associated with urinary tract infections. In this work, 50 uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolated from children with urinary tract infections were genotypically characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. We used two genes; fimH and kpsMTII, both of them previously identified in uropathogenic E.coli (UPEC) isolates. The PCR assay results identified fimH (90.0)% and kpsMTII (72.0)% isolates. In the present study, was also demonstrated that these genes may be included in both or one of them within a single isolate.

In this study, from a total of 856 mastitis cases in lactating ewes, only 34 Streptococcus agalactiae isolates showed various types of resistance to three types of antibiotics (Penicillin, Erythromycin and Tetracycline). St. agalactiae isolates were identified according to the standard methods, including a new suggested technique called specific Chromogenic agar. It was found that antibiotic bacterial resistance was clearly identified by using MIC-microplate assay (dilution method). Also, by real-time PCR technique, it was determined that there were three antibiotics genes resistance ( pbp2b, tetO and mefA ). The high percentage of isolate carried of a single gene which was the Tetracycline (20.59%) followed by percentage Penicillin was

Owing to high antibacterial resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, it could be considered as the main reason behind the nosocomial infections. P. aeruginosa has a well-known biofilm forming ability. The expression of polysaccharide encoding locus (pelA gene) by P. aeruginosa is essential for this ability. The purpose of the current research was to determine the biofilm formation in P. aeruginosa isolated from clinical samples and to evaluate the role of the selected PelA gene in biofilm formation using PCR method in Iraqi patients. Results revealed that 24 (96%) isolates were found to have the ability to form biofilm that was remarkably related to gentamicin resistance. Moreover, the pelA gene was found in all biofilm-producers. In c