Background: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) enterococci have become a major problem in recent times and have been reported increasingly around the world. Lytic phages infect bacteria leading to rapid host death with limited risk of phage transduction, underlining the increasing interest in potential phage therapy in the future. Objective (s): The aim of this study is to use phage therapy as alternative approach for treatment of Enterococcus faecalis infections that recorded as MDR in Iraq to tackle this problem. Materials and Methods: Thirty E. faecalis isolates were collected from patients with different infectious diseases such as urinary tract infection (UTI), diabetic foot, septicemia, and wound infections. The isolation of specific lytic phages was from different environmental sources such as (sewage, and wastewater). The biokinetic assays were carried out to measure the characteristics of the isolated phage. The study of the bacteriophage and the formed phage cocktail infectivity against isolates E.faecalis was tested by the top layer assay. The phage endolysin was extracted from the best bacteriophage that gave best results. Results: All the isolated E.faecalis was reported as MDR in this study. About 75 E.faecalis specific phages were isolated and purified. All the isolated bacteria were 100% sensitive to the lytic phages. The formed phage cocktail was capable to create inhibition zones on the most bacterial isolates' lawns. The molecular weight and the concentration of the extracted endolysin was evaluated in this study and found to be as (48 kDa) and (0.5mg/ml), respectively. The antibacterial activity of the extracted endolysin was evaluated by the turbidity reduction assay. A clear decline in the bacterial growth was manifested (5x107 CFU/ml) to (1x104 CFU/ml), in which the bacterial growth was reduced by (3.63 log). The endolysin found to be effective against 90% of E.faeclais isolates. Conclusion: The activity of the isolated specific phage together with the activity of the formed phage cocktail, were efficient as successful and inexpensive method of therapy against MDR E.faecalis. The potential of the extracted endolysin over the phage therapy was verified in this study. The coverage rate and the absence of resistant E.faecalis to the phage and its endolysin had emphasized on the importance of this alternative therapy to commonly used antibiotics. List of abbreviation: MDR = multiple drug-resistant, E. faecalis = Enterococcus faecalis, BT = burst time, BS = burst size, IP = infective percentage, Phage =bacteriophage, CFU = Colony forming unit, kDa = Kilodalton, OD = Optical Densities.
Density Functional Theory (DFT) method of the type (B3LYP) and a Gaussian basis set (6-311G) were applied for calculating the vibration frequencies and absorption intensities for normal coordinates (3N-6) at the equilibrium geometry of the Di and Tetra-rings layer (6, 0) zigzag single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) by using Gaussian-09 program. Both were found to have the same symmetry of D6d point group with C--C bond alternation in all tube rings (for axial bonds, which are the vertical C--Ca bonds in rings layer and for circumferential bonds C—Cc in the outer and mid rings bonds). Assignments of the modes of vibration IR active and inactive vibration frequ
... Show MoreThe widespread use of the Internet of things (IoT) in different aspects of an individual’s life like banking, wireless intelligent devices and smartphones has led to new security and performance challenges under restricted resources. The Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) is the most suitable choice for the environments due to the smaller size of the encryption key and changeable security related parameters. However, major performance metrics such as area, power, latency and throughput are still customisable and based on the design requirements of the device.
The present paper puts forward an enhancement for the throughput performance metric by p
... Show MoreObjective: To evaluate the effectiveness of educational program on female students’ knowledge toward premenstrual syndrome.
Methodology: A quasi-experimental design study conducing on (140) student purposely in four secondary schools at Al-sadder city (70) student for study group and (70) for control group. The prevalence of PMS selected through American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) (2015) criterias to select PMS students before program. The education program were set in four steps, the first step (pre-test) is to assess the knowledge , before the implementation of the program, the second step is implementing the program, following two steps post-test I and II between each test two weeks. Validity is determined
New chelating ligand derived from triazole and its complexes with metal ions Rhodium, Platinum and Gold were synthesized. Through a copper (I)-catalyzed click reaction, the ligand produced 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between 2,6-bis((prop-2-yn-1-yloxy) methyl) pyridine and 1-azidododecane. All structures of these new compounds were rigorously characterized in the solid state using spectroscopic techniques like: 1HNMR, 13CNMR, Uv-Vis, FTIR, metal and elemental analyses, magnetic susceptibility and conductivity measurements at room temperature, it was found that the ligand acts as a penta and tetradentate chelate through N3O2, N2O2, and the geometry of the new complex
... Show MoreLead toxicity elicits neurological damage which is a well-known disorder that has been considered to be a major cause for multiple condition such as behavioral defect; mental retardation; and nerve insufficient activity.
This research is designed to estimate potential protective effect of vinpocetine on neurotoxicity stimulated by lead acetate in rats.
Eighteen adult rats of both sexes were randomly enrolled into three groups. Each group includes 6 rats as followings: Group I- Rats were given 0.3ml normal saline solution orally; then intraperitoneal injection of 100μl of the normal saline was given 1h later; this group was considered as control. Group II- Rats were given an intraperitoneal injection of 20mg/kg lead acetate
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Coronavirus has affected many people around the world and caused an increase in the number of hospitalized patients and deaths. The prediction factor may help the physician to classify whether the patient needs more medical attention to decrease mortality and worsening of symptoms. We aimed to study the possible relationship between C reactive protein level and the severity of symptoms and its effect on the prognosis of the disease. And determine patients who require closer respiratory monitoring and more aggressive supportive therapies to avoid poor prognosis. The data was gathered using medical record data, the patient's medical history, and the onset of symptoms, as well as a blood sample to test the
... Show MoreContinuous turbidimetric analysis (CTA) for a distinctive analytical application by employing a homemade analyser (NAG Dual & Solo 0-180°) which contained two consecutive detection zones (measuring cells 1 & 2) is described. The analyser works based on light-emitting diodes as a light source and a set of solar cells as a light detector for turbidity measurements without needing further fibres or lenses. Formation of a turbid precipitated product with yellow colour due to the reaction between the warfarin and the precipitation reagent (Potassium dichromate) is what the developed method is based on. The CTA method was applied to determine the warfarin in pure form and pharmaceu
In this study, iron was coupled with copper to form a bimetallic compound through a biosynthetic method, which was then used as a catalyst in the Fenton-like processes for removing direct Blue 15 dye (DB15) from aqueous solution. Characterization techniques were applied on the resultant nanoparticles such as SEM, BET, EDAX, FT-IR, XRD, and zeta potential. Specifically, the rounded and shaped as spherical nanoparticles were found for green synthesized iron/copper nanoparticles (G-Fe/Cu NPs) with the size ranging from 32-59 nm, and the surface area was 4.452 m2/g. The effect of different experimental factors was studied in both batch and continuous experiments. These factors were H2O2 concentration, G-Fe/CuNPs amount, pH, initial DB15
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