Escherichia coli has been recognized worldwide as the most common causative agent for severe infections of the urinary tract. Colibactin is a genotoxin produced through a gene cluster called polyketide synthase (pks) island by members of Enterobacteriaceae. Limited information is available about the frequency of colibactin in E. coli isolates in Iraq. Hence, this study aimed to examine the frequency of some colibactin genes (CIbA and CIbQ) in clinical isolates of E. coli obtained from urinary tract infections (UTIs) in Iraq. Between October 2023 and January 2024, 120 urine samples were collected from females diagnosed with UTIs in Iraqi hospitals. 70 E. coli isolates were isolated after identification by biochemical methods and confirmed by molecular technique. In particular, the 16S rRNA gene was targeted using specific primers to confirm their identity. Conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed to detect the CIbA and CIbQ genes and confirm the presence of colibactin. The findings of this study revealed a high prevalence of colibactin-producing isolates (40%, 28/70) compared to colibactin-non-producing isolates (60%, 42/70) with non-significant differences (p>0.05). In conclusion, the frequency of colibactin genes is high in E. coli strains isolated from UTIs in Iraq. The presence of pks-positive isolates at a high frequency is concerning, as it suggests the spread of a highly genotoxic strain in urinary tract infections in Iraq that could potentially lead to the development of urinary tract cancer diseases.
A comparative study was carried out to evaluate alkaloid antibacterial activity which was extracted from the root bark Punica granatum L. by liquid membrane techniques (SA) and organic solvent traditional techniques (SB). The screening of the antimicrobial activity was conducted by agar well diffusion method against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Proteus mirabilis at three concentration levels (5, 10 and 15 mg/ml). Alkaloid extracts were analyzed by a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Among the tested extractions, SB showed the highest antibacterial activity against all five bacterial strains, especially at 15 mg/ml concentration. However, all the B type solution
... Show MoreCadmium element is one of the group IIB and classified as heavy metal and effects on human health and environment. The present work concerns with the biosorption of Cd(II) ions from aqueous solution using the outer layer of onions. Adsorption of the used ions was found to be pH dependent and maximum removal of the ions by outer layer of onions and was found to be 99.7%.
This study aims to estimate the accuracy of digital elevation models (DEM) which are created with exploitation of open source Google Earth data and comparing with the widely available DEM datasets, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), version 3, and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTER GDEM), version 2. The GPS technique is used in this study to produce digital elevation raster with a high level of accuracy, as reference raster, compared to the DEM datasets. Baghdad University, Al Jadriya campus, is selected as a study area. Besides, 151 reference points were created within the study area to evaluate the results based on the values of RMS.Furthermore, th
... Show MoreInvesting in renewable energies, including biomass, is an important topic in Iraq. Research indicates that there is great potential for renewable energy in Iraq, including biomass, but achieving this great potential requires clear strategies and significant investments. This research sought to determine the amount of biomass energy that can be produced by the residues of eight Iraqi crops: wheat, barley, oats, corn, rice (straw), rice (husk), cotton, and sugar beets. could produce. Calorific value and accessible residue amount were considered to determine the residue's potential for energy. Estimates for 2021 showed that 1,308,516 tons of agricultural residue would be available overall for the eight crops. The two crop
... Show MoreThis research was aimed to study the pollen morphology for the genus Pterocephalus(Vaill) from Dipsacaceae family in Iraq, and to utilize these feathers in isolating the species as valuable taxonomic traits for enriching Iraqi flora. The study included characteristics of the type, shape, size, sculpturing and apertures, as well as determining the full dimensions using light microscopy as well as numerical analysis of this species and draw polygonal shapes and denderogram convergence between species. The results of the study of pollen and polygonal forms showed significant differences in the characteristics at the level of each species, which helps to identification the genus species, as it was found that the pollen was a tricolp
... Show MoreIn this study, the synoptic analysis of dust storm for spring and summertime in Iraq were investigated. The images for dust provided by NASA are used to emphasize the dust storm days, while the composite maps of wind vector and geopotential 850hPa are mapped to investigate the pressure and wind direction patterns appearing with the dust condition in the same days. Spring has more dust frequency than summertime, especially in May. The frontal type of dust storm is dominant on spring, the cold air pushes the warm air that picking up the sand to the air through the vertical wind, but the southwestern high-speed wind and drought condition were controlled on the dust in summer. The northwestern wind is the main factor that carries the dust for l
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