When the guard honey bees, Apis mellifera L., form a clump at the hive entrance or on the flight board, the oriental hornet, Vespa orientails L., either creeps toward the clump or hovers over it in order to take a bee. Once the hornet creeps, only few bees facing the hornet become alert, rock their heads and antennae, open their wings, and take a posture of defense. The rest of the clump stays listless without any signal of concern. However, the clump stays dense and the defending bees do not detach themselves neither from the rest of the clump nor from each other. For this reason, it is very difficult for the hornet to grab a bee unless the latter makes a “mistake” by detaching herself from other adjacent bees. If the hornet grabs s

The current study aimed to detect the effect of gentamicin stress on the expression of hla (encodes hemolysin) and nuc (encodes nuclease) genes of Staphylococcus aureus. Fifty-eight isolates identified as S. aureus were isolated locally from different clinical specimens. Disk diffusion method was used to detect the resistance to S. aureus. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of gentamicin was estimated by broth microdilution method. hla and nuc genes were determined by polymerase chain reaction technique. The biofilm was evaluated using the microtiter plate method in the presence and absence of gentamicin at sub-MIC. The results showed that 18 (31%) and 40 (69%) S. aureus isolates were sensitive and resistant to gentamicin, respectiv

The present study aimed to determine the frequency of ABO and Rh blood group antigens among Sabians (Mandaeans) population. This paper document the frequency of ABO and Rh blood groups among the Sabians (Mandaeans) population of Iraq.There is no data available on the ABO/Rh (D) frequencies in the Sabians (Mandaeans) population. Total 341 samples analyzed; phenotype O blood type has the highest frequency 49.9%, followed by A 28.7%, and B 13.8% whereas the lowest prevalent blood group was AB 7.6%. The overall phenotypic frequencies of ABO blood groups were O>A>B>AB. The allelic frequencies of O, A, and B alleles were 0.687, 0.2 and 0.1122 respectively. Rhesus study showed that with a percentage of 96.2% Rh (D) positive is by far the mo

     Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces an extracellular biofilm matrix that consists of nucleic acids, exopolysaccharides, lipid vesicles, and proteins. Alginate, Psl and Pel are three exopolysaccharides that constitute the main components in biofilm matrix, with many biological functions attributed to them, especially concerning the protection of the bacterial cell from antimicrobial agents and immune responses. A total of 25 gentamicin-resistant P. aeruginosa selected isolates were enrolled in this study. Biofilm development was observed in 96% of the isolates. In addition, the present results clarified the presence of pelA and pslA in all the studied isolates. The expression of these genes was very low. Even though all biof

After about twelve months or maybe more, some people can’t achieve pregnancy. This might be a sign of infertility as a reproductive system disease. The following study was carried out to investigate the DAZ 1 gene methylation level and its association with azoospermia in Iraqi patients. One hundred and fifty human blood samples were collected from from different regions in Baghdad governorate, including (private medicals Labs and the high institute for infertility diagnosis assisted reproductive techniques and Kamal Al- Samara'ay IVF Hospital) from both fertile and infertile men. The control group consists of 50 samples ranging from 22 to 51 years old, while the patient (infertile group) consists of 100 samples ranging between 25 and 51 y

Kidney disease is a kidney injury or disease that affects many people globally. The study aims to evaluate the effect of Phosphatidyl Inositol (4,5) Bisphosphate, 5-Phosphatase (PIP2) enzyme on calcium (Ca2+) levels and its relationship to oculocerebrorenal gene variations in kidney stone and kidney failure patients. The enzyme-produced amount was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Genetic variations were studied through the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, followed by the sequencing of fragments of the exons (9, 13, 15). Blood samples were collected from eighty patients (40 with kidney stones and 40 with kidney failure), and 40 were healthy individuals. Results showed a significant difference between t

Exploring the antibacterial potential of neem oil (Azadirachta indica) in combination with gentamicin (GEN) against pathogenic molds, especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa, has drawn concern due to the quest for natural treatment options against incurable diseases. Prospective research directions include looking for natural cures for many of the currently incurable diseases available now. microbial identification system, were used to identify the isolates. The research utilized a range of methods, such as the diffusion agar well (AWD) assays, TEM (transmission electron microscopy) analysis, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays, and real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) to analyze bacterial expression and the antibacterial action of neem oil (Azadira

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 cur