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

This comprehensive review examines the efficacy and safety of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors in treating various autoimmune diseases, and focuses on their application in Iraqi patients. Elevated TNF-α levels are linked to autoimmune disorders, leading to the development of anti-TNF-α therapies such as infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab, certolizumab pegol, and golimumab, which have gained FDA approval for conditions like psoriasis, in¬flammatory bowel disease, ankylosing spondylitis, and rheumatoid arthritis. While these therapies demonstrate sig¬nificant therapeutic benefits, including improved quality of life and disease management, they also carry risks, such as increased susceptibility to infections and pote

Purpose: To explore whether baseline matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8 level in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) (exposure) can predict the outcome (reduction in probing pocket depth (PPD) (outcome)) of nonsurgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) (manual or ultrasonic or both) in patients with periodontitis (population/problem) after 3 months. Methods: Six databases (PubMed, Cochrane library, ProQuest, Ovid, Scopus, EBSCO) were searched for relevant articles published until 30 July 2021. Retrieved articles were passed through a three-phase filtration process on the basis of the eligibility criteria. The primary outcome was the change in PPD after 3 months. Quality of the selected articles was assessed using Cochrane Risk of Bias tool (RoB2

The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional status for samples at the age of 17-15 years. These samples were taken from secondary schools and universities in Baghdad area, 123 of them were male and 261 were female. Data on weight, height and body mass index (BMI) were determined in each individual. Smaller sample of 215 individuals (male and female) from the original sample was taken in order to record their nutritional behavior and daily food intake during the 24 hours prior to the visit through personal meeting using special questionnaire. The results showed that the weight and the height were within the range of the people of neighboring Arab countries, who are in the same age. Beside 44.4- 55.95% of these samples were within t

The interest of application of liquid membrane (pertraction) processes for recovery of medicinal compounds from dilute ammoniacal leach solutions is demonstrated. Selectivity of the liquid membrane ensures a preferential transport of the desired solute from the native extract into the strip solution, vinblastine was successfully extracted from basic media (pH 9.2) and stripped by acidic media of sulfuric acid (pH= 1.3) applying continuous pertraction in a rotating discs contactor and using n-decane as liquid membrane. Transport of vinblastine in three-liquid-phase system was studied and performed by means of a kinetic model involving two consecutive irreversible first-order reactions. The kinetic parameters (apparent rate constants of th

In this study, the energy charging mechanism is mathematically modeled to determine the impact of design modifications on the thermofluidic behavior of a phase change material (PCM) filled in a triplex tube containment geometry. The surface area of the middle tube, where the PCM is placed, is supported by single or multi-internal frustum tubes in vertical triplex tubes to increase the performance of the heating and cooling of the system. In addition to the ordinary straight triplex tubes, three more scenarios are considered: (1) changing the middle tube to the frustum tube, (2) changing the inner tube to the frustum tube, and (3) changing both the internal and central tubes to the frustum tubes. The impact of adopting the tube desig

Herein, a cost-effective bio approach using extract derived from desert truffles (Tirmania nivea) is utilized to synthesize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). AuNPs were thoroughly investigated using UV–vis, XRD, SEM, and TEM analyses. It was shown that nanoparticles had an fcc structure with a smooth spherical surface, an average diameter of 9.44 ± 0.26 nm, and an SPR band observed at 548 nm. Investigations were conducted on AuNPs' antibacterial and anti-cancer properties of prostate cancer cells. The findings suggest that AuNPs showed better antibacterial effects against S. aureus compared to E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and K. pneumoniae. AuNPs’ combination with antibiotics demonstrated a synergistic effect with significant antibacterial activi