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.
Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most prevalent cyanotic congenital heart disease, for which surgical correction remains the definitive treatment. Balloon dilatation of the pulmonary artery provides recognised immediate palliative benefits in selected TOF patients. Nonetheless, optimal patient selection and midterm outcomes remain subjects of ongoing debate. This study aimed to assess midterm results following pulmonary valvoplasty at 6 months period in children with TOF focusing on defining factors that affect response to palliative therapy
In this work, a test room was built in Baghdad city, with (2*1.5*1.5) m3 in dimensions, while the solar chimneys (SC) were designed with aspect ratio (ar) bigger than 12. Test room was supplied by many solar collectors; vertical single side of air pass with ar equals 25, and tilted 45o double side of air passes with ar equals 50 for each pass, both collectors consist of flat thermal energy storage box collector (TESB) that covered by transparent clear acrylic sheet, third type of collector is array of evacuated tubular collectors with thermosyphon in 45o instelled in the bottom of TESB of vertical SC. The TESB was
... Show MoreThermal management has grown more and more problematic as electronic components continue to get faster and smaller. One of the passive two-phase cooling systems are Oscillating heat pipe (OHP) that have the capacity to transmit a significant quantity of thermal energy across long distances. Oscillating heat pipe is a device that has the potential to satisfy this developing requirement. An investigation into the effects of orientation, filling ratio, and heat load on the initiation and characteristics of oscillatory motion, combining numerical simulations with experimental validation. A copper tube with a 2 mm inner diameter and a 2 mm wall thickness is used to fabricate the OHP. The condenser, evaporator, and adiabatic sections are
... Show MoreNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of chronic liver and defines by fat accumulation ≥5% in liver which can progresses to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NAFLD related to obesity as well as non obese individuals. Adiponectin is a cytokine secreted from adipose tissue involved NAFLD pathogenesis and liked with obesity. Irisin is a myokine, has a convenient effect against metabolic diseases such as obesity, disylipemia diabetes type 2 and reversed liver steatosis and may be related with NAFLD. Vitamin D is one of the fat soluble vitamins and more precisely as a pro-hormone through its metabolite (1,25(OH)2 cholecalciferol) the major steroid hormone. After the skin exposure to the light, vitamin D undergoes to
... Show MoreAphelenchus avenae was isolated from the wheat crown in Summel distract- Duhok, Kurdistan region-Iraq infected by a crown rot disease which is caused by Fusarium spp; wheat's crown culturing on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) and incubating at 25°C A. avenae was found associated with fungal culture which meant that fungal nematode was parasitic on crown rot fungi on wheat crown, this species was described for the first time in Iraq.
Fungal Nematode incubated with Fusarium graminearum, F. oxysporum and Verticillium dahliae reproduce in both solid and liquid media, best results of nematode reproduction were recorded on F. graminearum followed by F. oxy
... Show MoreCoupling reaction of m-and p- amino acetop henone and p-amino benzoic acid with (LHistidine) gave the new bidentate azo ligands (L1, L2 and L3). The prepared ligands were identified by FT-IR, UV-Vis, 1HNMR and GC- mass sp ectroscopic technique. Treatment of the prepared ligands with the following metal ions (CoII, NiII, CuII, ZnII, CdII and HgII) in aqueous ethanol with a 1:2 M:L ratio and at optimum pH, yielded a series of neutral complexes of the general formula [M (L)2 Cl2]. The prepared complexes were characterized by using flame atomic absorption, FT-IR, UV-Vis and 1HNMR spectroscopic methods as well as magnetic susceptibility and conductivity measurements. Chloride ion content was also evaluated by (Mohr method). The nature of the com
... Show MoreToday, the five Caspian riparian states on the shores of the Caspian Sea (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Iran) have become a front for ambitions and international and regional competition, especially in light of the features and characteristics that natural geography has endowed them with and their enjoyment of a group of economic and mineral wealth that are not optimally exploited so far which made it a strategic attraction area for international trends and interventions, especially Western ones. It is a battleground for major international companies aiming to monopolize promising industrial investments in order to impose control and influence on the region’s resources and economic wealth and thus impose their forei
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