According to the prevalence of multidrug resistance bacteria, especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa, in which the essential mechanism of drug resistance is the ability to possess an efflux pump by which extrusion of antimicrobial agents usually occurs, this study aims to detect the presence of mexB multidrug efflux gene in some local isolates of this bacteria that show resistance towards three antibiotics, out of five. Sensitivity test to antibiotics was performed on all isolates by using meropenem (10µg/disc), imipenem (10µg/disc), amikacin (30 μg/disc), ciprofloxacin (5µg/disc) and ceftazidime (30 µg/disc). Conventional PCR results showed the presence of mexB gene (244bp) in four isolates out of ten (40%). In addition,25, 50μg/ml of curcumin was used to detect its efficacy with the antibiotics that the bacteria showed resistance towards. Results showed the highest resistance for ciprofloxacin (80%), while all of them were sensitive to imipenem. In addition, the present results show that both concentrations of curcumin (25, 50μg/ml) were effective in increasing the zone of inhibition from zero to 10 mm for isolates towards amikacin. Same result was obtained towards ciprofloxacin, except for an increase of inhibition zone from zero to 7 mm to one isolate (38T) when treated with 50 μg/ml, and finally an increase in sensitivity to ceftazidime was found and inhibition zone was increased from 8 to 11 for the second isolate (42E), which revealed that curcumin potentiates antibiotics activity by inhibition of efflux pump mechanisms that can be related to the synergetic activity between antibiotics and curcumin.
A simple and rapid high performance liquid chromatographic with fluorescence detection method for the determination of the aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2 in peanuts, rice and chilli was developed. The sample was extracted using acetonitrile:water (90:10, v/v%) and then purified by using ISOLUTE multimode solid phase extraction. After the pre-column derivatisation, the analytes were separated within 3.7 min using Chromolith performance RP-18e (100–4.6 mm) monolithic column. To assess the possible effects of endogenous components in the food items, matrix-matched calibration was used for the quantification and validation. The recoveries of aflatoxins that were spiked into food samples were 86.38–104.5% and RSDs were <4.4%. The method was
... Show MoreDiabetes mellitus (DM) is the most common endocrine disorder and one of the highly progressive diseases which is indicated by high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). The present study aims to study the effects of treatment with zinc and vitamin C on glycemic profile [fasting blood sugar (FBS), glycated haemoglobin (HbA1C), and insulin hormone level] in type 2 diabetic patients. The study included 56 diabetic patients [30 without foot ulcers (15 without zinc and vitamin C supplements, 15 with zinc and vitamin C supplements) and 26 with foot ulcers (15 without zinc and vitamin C supplements, 11 with zinc and vitamin C supplements)]. Also, 15 healthy persons were used as a control group. The patients were enrol
... Show MoreBackground: Periodontitis is an infection attributable to multiple infectious; it causes an interrelated cellular and humoral host immune responses. Recent reports have indicated that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) may contribute to pathogenesis of periodontitis. The HCMV can stimulate the release of cytokines from inflammatory and non-inflammatory cells and weaken the periodontal immune defense. This study aimed to reveal the presence of anti-CMV IgG, and determine the levels of ILâ€6 and TNF-α and to correlate the presence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) with cytokines levels. Materials and Methods: Forty patients with chronic periodontitis and 40 healthy control subjects (their age and sex were matched with the patients) were involved
... Show MoreEight-hydroxyguanosine (8-OHdG) is considered as one of the principle forms of oxygen radicals that stimulated the oxidative stress and has been extensively utilized as a biomarker for oncogenesis. The primary goal of the present study was to investigate the alteration in the levels of 8-OHdG, antioxidant profile and proinflammatory cytokines levels in patients with lung carcinoma. Blood samples were collected from 40 cases with lung cancer (stage III) admitted before the treatment, for health examination at the Nanakaly Hospital in Erbil city and 45 healthy samples of controls with ages ranging between 38-69 years for both groups. Circulating concentration of 8-OHdG, tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6 were evaluated by
... Show MoreChronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) patients display a highly variable clinical course, with progressive acquisition of drug resistance. We sought to identify aberrant epigenetic traits that are enriched following exposure to treatment that could impact patient response to therapy.
Epigenome-wide analysis of DNA methylation was performed for 20 patients at two timepoints during treatment. The prognostic significance of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) was assessed in independent cohorts of 139 and 1
The current study looked into heavy metal poisoning of the Euphrates river which runs from Al-Kifl to Kufa in Iraq. One of the goals of this research was to determine the pollution levels and the contamination sources. We looked at six heavy metal (Cd, Pb, Zn, Cr, Fe, and Mn) characteristics in sediment, taking samples from six sites along the Euphrates every season from March 2020 to January 2021. To assess pollution levels, three indices were chosen: enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (I-geo) and contamination factor (CF). According to EF, the Cd and Pb elements recorded considerable enrichment, very high enrichment and extremely high pollution at practically all sites in four seasons, while the remainder of the HMs recorde
... Show MoreType 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is the furthermost common form of DM which is identified by hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and relative insulin deficiency. This study aims to detect the role of interleukin-17 (IL-17) in patients with T2DM compared with the healthy control and to investigate the relationship between IL-17 and insulin resistance. The study involved 50 Iraqi T2DM patients, randomly selected with an age range of 33-71 years .For the purpose of comparison, 30 Iraqi healthy persons with an age range of 33-71 years were also included. Patients and control groups were characterized in terms of gender, age, body mass index (BMI), homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance(HOMA-IR),fasting serum glucose (FSG) and lipid pr
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