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.
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This research includes a detailed morphological description of the Pollenia mesopotamica sp. nov. in Iraq. Locality, host plant and data of collection were given.
Some major pollutants of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) those discharged as water produced (WP) from the AlAhdab oil field (AOF) in the ponds close to it may leak to the water resources around and eventually reaches the marshes which will affect its ecosystem. Thus, this work aims to track the availability of PAH in the water resources and the Main Outfall Drain (MOD) nearby. The determination of PAH was evaluated using “High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)”. The mean concentration of sixteen PAH in the produced water within the field was relatively high (0.01 to 10.89 g/ml) with standard deviations of (0.10.9). While, PAH outside the field were gradually diminishes down to (0.01-0.039) x10-2 g/ml which exceeds th
... Show MoreEducation around the world has been negatively affected by the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Many institutions had to transition to distance learning in compliance with the enforced safety measures. Distance learning might work well for settings with stable internet connections, professional technical teams, and basic implementation of technology in education. In contrast, distance learning faces serious challenges in less fortunate settings with inferior infrastructure. This report aims to shed light on the immediate action steps taken at a leading pharmacy school in Iraq to accommodate for the enforced changes in pharmacy education. The University of Baghdad College of Pharmacy went from less than minimal technology impl
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The Economist opinion (views) gathered on the great Importance’s of small enterprise on the production sectors at Developed or in developing countries, statistics indicate that these enterprise represent almost 90% of the total enterprises in most economies in the world.
Many of these enterprises have originated in Iraq since the beginning of last century and the question of financing these enterprises remained an issue facing the most of workers in this sector, because of the peculiarty of which are characterized by which as a lack of financial abilities and the difficulty of obtain the sources of financing in Iraq and considered the enterprise as the guarantor of fulfilling Financial obligations. Afte
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Background: Fluoropyrimidines are widely used in the treatment of various solid tumors. One-third of cancer patients develop severe treatment-related toxicity. A part of fluoropyrimidine-related toxicity arises due to impaired activity of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) caused by genetic variants in the DPYD gene. Objective: This study aims to determine the frequency of DPYD mutations among patients with adverse effects of 5-fluorouracil therapy. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 46 patients with 5-FU adverse effects. All demographic, clinical, and laboratory findings were recorded. Molecular testing was conducted to detect the DPYD mutation using the PGX-5FU StripAssay® kit, which identifies the IVS14 + 1G>
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