One eighth of the bird species in the world is considered globally threatened; the avifauna of Iraq comprises 409 species and is considered as the major indicator of the health of Iraq’s biological resources. The Iraqi geography falls into five main regions among which is the desert and semi-desert areas which cover much of the country area. Al-Najaf desert is still one of the poorly known regions from the biodiversity point of view. Birds of conservation concern are detected in Al-Najaf desert during 31 field trips to 20 sites conducted from August 2018 to April 2020, (citing literature records, and personal interviews with locals).The factors caused the bird numbers to decline in Al-Najaf desert include hunting and trapping, logging, invasive species, and climate change.
Nine birds are found threatened with 3 EN and 6 VU comprising Saker Falcon Falco cherrug Gray, 1834 (Falconidae, Falconiformes), Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus Linnaeus, 1766 (Falconidae, Falconiformes), Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis Hodgson, 1833 (Accipitridae, Accipitriformes), Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Accipitridae, Accipitriformes), Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga (Pallas, 1811) (Accipitridae, Accipitriformes), Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris (Ménétrés, 1832) (Anatidae, Anseriformes), Macqueen's Bustard Chlamydotis macqueeni (Gray, 1834) (Otididae, Otidiformes), Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur (Linnaeus, 1758) (Columbidae, Columbiformes), and Southern Grey Shrike Lanius meridionalis aucheri Bonaparte, 1853 (Laniidae, Passeriformes). It is concluded that Al-Najaf desert is a region of top priority area for biodiversity conservation as it hosts large number of threatened bird species.
The adult worms of the Microphallidae family are mainly found as intestinal parasites of birds and mammals, while metacercariae is most commonly found in decapodal crustaceans. The Microphallidaeare family is spread throughout the world. It includes approximately 47 genera. Mature worms usually enter the digestive system of vertebrates, especially birds and mammals. Microphallidae contain eight subfamilies: Androcotylinae - Basantisiinae - Endocotylinae - Gynaecotylinae - Levinseniellinae - MaritrematinaeMicrophallinae - Sphairiotrematinae. Therefore, due to the lack of studies on the Microphallidae family in Iraq, we began to develop a database on this important family.
Background: Candida tropicalis is one of the most causes of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) in women. Systemic candidiasis and candidemia may also occur in pregnancies. Objective: This study was carried out to detect and isolate of this yeast from aborted placenta, which may cause severe complications such as spontaneous abortion. Materials and methods: Fresh aborted placenta were collected and washed by normal saline to remove the blood. Then, cut it into portions and place it in test tube containing 5 ml of normal saline. Finally, shake for 10 minutes, after that, cultured for microbial isolation. Isolation and detection were done by some conventional methods with Api candida and CHROMagar. Results: The results showed that four iso
... Show MoreIrinotecan (CPT-11) is a semisynthetic derivative of the antineoplastic agent camptothecin used in a wide range as an anti-cancer agent in many solid tumors because of its cytotoxic effect through the interaction with the topoisomerase I enzyme. The major limiting factors for irinotecan treatment are its association with potentially life-threatening toxicities including neutropenia and acute or delayed-type diarrhea, results from distinct interindividual and interethnic variability due to gene polymorphism.
This is a cross sectional pharmacogentics study was conducted on 25 cancer patients to estimate the prevalence of UGT1A1*93 and ABCC5 allele single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in Iraqi cancer patients treated with irinotecan
... Show MoreHerein, 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
... Show MorePhytoplankton assemblage in relation to physical and chemical characteristics of water in Al-Auda marsh of Maysan province southern Iraq was assessed from November 2012 to July 2013. Six sampling sites were chosen to examine all phytoplankton species in the study area. A total of 246 species and seventy-five genera have been recognized belonging to twelve phytoplankton classes as follows: Bacillariophyceae (106 taxa), Chlorophyceae (34 taxa), Euglenophyceae (29 taxa), Cyanophyceae (29 taxa), Conjugatophyceae (19 taxa), Mediophyceae (10 taxa), Cryptophyceas (5 taxa), Coscinodiscophyceae (4 taxa), Chrysophyceae (4 taxa), Dinophyceae (3 taxa), Trebouxiophyceae (2 taxa) whereas Compsopogonophyceae record
This study is considered the first effort of its kind in Iraq and in the Middle East towards studying the Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris that was carried on in Hor Al-Dalmaj, southern Iraq. The findings of this effort illustrate its importance as it paves the way for further study and observation for the bird and this important wetland itself. This study tackles the all possible aspects of the ecological and biological statuses of Marbled Teal (Threatened –Vulnerable bird species – IUCN Redlist) by means of field surveys and systematic monitoring that were conducted along the four seasons over the years 2013-2014 in one of the ecologically important and prominent and poorly-known wetlands in the
... Show MoreBackground: Toxin-producing Shiga Escherichia coli has been identified as a new foodborne pathogen that poses a significant health risk to humans. Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli can be found in raw cow milk and its derivatives. A small number of Escherichia coli strains that produce shiga toxin are pathogenic. Aim of study: The study aimed to see if there were any virulence genes in 50 milk samples that were typical of Entero-haemorrhagic E. coli and evaluate the Myrtus communis effects on these bacteria. Materials and Method: Milk samples were used to isolate E. coli bacteria (n= 27), biochemically analyzed, and genetically screened for virulence genes using a multiplex (PCR). The hydro-alcoholic extraction of Myrtus communis leave
... Show MoreMyriophyllum spicatum distribution in Al-Burgga marsh, Hor Al-Hammar was described in relation to some of the physical-chemical properties for its habitat (water depth, light penetration, water temperature, water salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, Ca+2, Mg+2, reactive NO2=, reactive NO3-1, and reactive PO4-3) during 2011, seasonally. CANOCO ordination program (CCA) was used to analyse the data. Its vegetation cover percentage was with its peak at summer, its value was 90 %, while the lowest value was 20 % in winter. Statistically, Positive relationships for WT, sal., Ca+2, Mg+2, reactive NO2=, reactive NO3-1, and reactive PO4-3 with the vegetation cover percentage were observed. While, negative relationships for WD, pH, and DO with the ve
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