Background: Opportunistic viral infections make an important threat to renal transplantation recipients (RTRs), and with the use of more intense newly-developed immunosuppressive drugs; the risk of renal allograft loss due to reactivation of these viruses has increased considerably. At the top priority of these viruses lie BK polyomavirus (BKV) and human cytomegalovirus (CMV). Reactivation of these viruses in these chronically immunosuppressed RTRs can lead to renal impairment and subsequently allograft loss, unless early detected and properly treated. Objectives: The study aimed to detect and quantify plasma viral load of BKV and CMV in RTRs using quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR), in order to study the prevalence of these two viruses in the sole renal transplantation center in Baghdad, and correlate viral load with the diseases severity. Furthermore, the prevalence of BKV-CMV coexistence in RTRs, to find out whether infection by one of them is a risk factor for infection by the other was investigated. Patients and Methods:A total of 99 RTR were enrolled in the study, and 15 non-transplanted patients with chronic kidney diseases (CKD) together with 15 health living donors (LD) were taken as controls. Plasma samples were taken from all participants. From which viral DNA was extracted, and then real time PCR technique was used to measure the viral load. Results:Out of 99, 12 (12.12%) of RTR patients were positive for BK viremia with a viral load (VL) ranging from (1x102 to 1x109 copies/ml), while none of the control groups was BK positive, and 5 patients out of these 12 had BKV nephropathy. For CMV, 13.13% of RTR patients had positive CMV viremia with a VL ranging from (1.25x102 to 7.94x107 copies/ml), and only one of the CKD controls was CMV positive. Only 3 patients had BK-CMV coexistence, which was statistically not a significant risk factor for one another. Conclusion: Our study suggests that both BK polyomavirus and CMV should be considered important causes for nephropathy and allograft loss in RTRs in Iraq.
Maintaining the quality of apricot fruits during storage is not an easy task due to the changes in their physical and chemical properties, so it is necessary to use less expensive, easy to apply, environmentally friendly, and safer preservatives to maintain the nutritional value of apricot. The damage to some fruits during storage can be a source of infection, which leads to the damage of healthy fruits more quickly, which requires building an intelligent model to detect damaged fruits. The aim of the research is to study the effect of immersing apricots in lemon juice once and sugar-water solution again on the quality properties of apricots, including sweetness, color, hardness, and water content. On the other hand, the YOLOv7 algorithm wa
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Four antimony compounds were used in this inves as additives to retard combustion of unsaturated polyester and epoxy resins, namely: 1. Tetraethyl ammonium tribromoethylantimonates (additive I). 2. Tetraethyl ammonium chlorodibromoethylantimonates (additive II). 3. Tetraethyl ammonium trichloroethylantimonates (additive III). 4. Tetraethyl ammonium bromodichloroethylantimonates (additive IV). The effects of these additives on flammability of unsaturated polyester and epoxy resins have been studied by using sheets of the resins with weight percentages of (0.5,1.0,1.5,2.0,2.5&3.0%) of the additives in dimensions of (150 X150X3)mm .Three standard test methods were used to measure the flame retardation which are: (ASTM:D -2863), (ASTM:D-635
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Earth dams in regions with moderate to high seismic activity are crucial for protecting downstream communities. Iraq and its neighboring areas have seen recurrent seismic activity, notably the 2017 Halabja Earthquake, which potentially compromised the integrity of the existing earth dam. The Darbandikhan Dam, affected by an earthquake, has inadequacies in its crest and downstream slope, presenting a greater danger of significant earthquake-induced damage compared to cyclic shocks. Consequently, evaluating the dam's safety is essential for safeguarding downstream residents and identifying optimal ways to avert slope stability failure amid recurrent seismic activity. Iraq's seismicity map is being updated to reflect earthquake magni
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In this work, microbubble dispersed air flotation technique was applied for cadmium ions removal from wastewater aqueous solution. Experiments parameters such as pH (3, 4, 5, and 6), initial Cd(II) ions concentration (40, 80, and 120 mg/l) contact time( 2, 5, 10 , 15, and 20min), and surfactant (10, 20and 40mg/l) were studied in order to optimize the best conditions .The experimental results indicate that microbubbles were quite effective in removing cadmium ions and the anionic surfactant SDS was found to be more efficient than cationic CTAB in flotation process. 92.3% maximum removal efficiency achieved through 15min at pH 5, SDS surfactant concentration 20mg/l, flow rate250 cm3/min and at 40mg/l Cd(II) ions initial co
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Background: The longevity of any prosthesis depends on the materials from which it was fabricated, that is why, defects in the material properties may reduce the service life of prosthesis and necessitate its replacement. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of adding different concentrations of Polyamide-6 (Nylon-6) on the tear and tensile strength of A-2186 RTV silicone elastomer. Materials and Methods: 80 samples were fabricated by the addition of 0%, 1%, 3% and 5% by weight PA-6 micro-particles powder to A-2186 platinum RTV silicone elastomer. The study samples were divided into four (4) groups, each group containing 20 samples. One control group was prepared without PA-6 micro particles and three experimental groups were pr
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