Introduction: Candida spp. has become increasingly resistant to antifungal drugs, with elevated MIC levels causing a negative medical impact and increasing the number of patients at risk of candidiasis. According to the CDC, about 7% of Candida blood samples show reduced susceptibility to fluconazole. Monitoring the antifungal resistance profile of Candida spp. is vital, as non-Albicans species may limit treatment options. Objective: Evaluate the antifungal effectiveness against clinical Candida spp. isolates of six antifungals: amphotericin B, fluconazole, voriconazole, itraconazole, caspofungin, and 5-fluorocytosine. Methods: 100 samples were collected from various clinical samples at the National Centre of Teaching Laboratories in Baghdad, Iraq, from May to December 2023. The effectiveness of six antifungals (fluconazole (FLC), itraconazole (ITR), voriconazole (VRC), amphotericin B (AMB), caspofungin (CAS), and 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC)) was tested using the MA120 Automated ID and AST System (Render) according to CLSI standards. Results: Out of 100 isolates, nine Candida species were identified: C. albicans (54%), C. glabrata (20%), C. dubliniensis (10%), C. tropicalis (6%), C. krusei (5%), C. parapsilosis (2%), and C. rugosa, C. lusitaniae, and C. kyfer (each 1%). The non-susceptible rates to the six antifungals were: 5-FC (42%), FLC (21% intermediate, 9% resistant), AMB (11%), ITR (8%), VRC (6%), CAS (4% intermediate, 1% resistant). Conclusion: We observed increased resistance rates to 5-FC, FLC, ITR, AMB, and VRC, but not to caspofungin. C. albicans showed a high 5-FC non-WT phenotype (72%) with elevated MIC values, while C. glabrata had a 7% non-WT rate against AMB. C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis revealed limited susceptibility to azoles
The electrical insulation of the manufacture sulfonated phenol-formaldehyde viscous material (product) has been studied with Polyvinyl-acetate (PVA) and toluene diisocyanate (TDI) blend has been prepared by fixing percentage by weight 3:1 and mixed with different percentages by weight of the product sulfonated phenol formaldehyde viscous mass (SPF). The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is done on (SPF) resin powder and prepared film of PVA-TDI-SPF viscous mass. The quality factor (Q), dissipation factor (D), parallel resistance (Rp), series resistance (Rs), parallel capacitance (Cp), series capacitance (Cs) and phase shift (?) are measured. The calculated maximum dielectric constant (??) is 3.49x107 at sample (1) wt.1% SPF vis
... Show MoreActivated carbon prepared from date stones by chemical activation with ferric chloride (FAC) was used an adsorbent to remove phenolic compounds such as phenol (Ph) and p-nitro phenol (PNPh) from aqueous solutions. The influence of process variables represented by solution pH value (2-12), adsorbent to adsorbate weight ratio (0.2-1.8), and contact time (30-150 min) on removal percentage and adsorbed amount of Ph and PNPh onto FAC was studied. For PNPh adsorption,( 97.43 %) maximum removal percentage and (48.71 mg/g) adsorbed amount was achieved at (5) solution pH,( 1) adsorbent to adsorbate weight ratio, and (90 min) contact time. While for Ph adsorption, at (4) solution pH, (1.4) absorbent to adsorbate weight ratio, and (120 min) contact
... Show MoreCombining different treatment strategies successively or simultaneously has become recommended to achieve high purification standards for the treated discharged water. The current work focused on combining electrocoagulation, ion-exchange, and ultrasonication treatment approaches for the simultaneous removal of copper, nickel, and zinc ions from water. The removal of the three studied ions was significantly enhanced by increasing the power density (4–10 mA/cm2) and NaCl salt concentration (0.5–1.5 g/L) at a natural solution pH. The simultaneous removal of these metal ions at 4 mA/cm2 and 1 g NaCl/L was highly improved by introducing 1 g/L of mordenite zeolite as an ion-exchanger. A remarkable removal of heavy metals was reported
... Show MoreThe paper is devoted to solve nth order linear delay integro-differential equations of convolution type (DIDE's-CT) using collocation method with the aid of B-spline functions. A new algorithm with the aid of Matlab language is derived to treat numerically three types (retarded, neutral and mixed) of nth order linear DIDE's-CT using B-spline functions and Weddle rule for calculating the required integrals for these equations. Comparison between approximated and exact results has been given in test examples with suitable graphing for every example for solving three types of linear DIDE's-CT of different orders for conciliated the accuracy of the results of the proposed method.
Ceramic coating compose from a ceramic mixture (MgO, Al2O3) and metall (Al-Ni) were produced by Thermal Spray Technique. The mixed ratio of used materials Al:Ni (50%) and 40% of Al2O3 and 10% MgO. This mixture was spray on a stainless steel substrate of type (316 L) by using thermal spray with flame method and at spraying distances (8, 12, 16 and 20) cm, then the prepared films were treated by laser and thermal treatment. After that performing a hardness and adhesion tests were eximined. The present study shows that the best value of the thermal treatment is 1000 ℃ for 30 mint; the optimum spray distance is 12 cm and most suitable laser is 500 mJ where the microscopic and mechanical character
... Show MoreThis study uses an environmentally friendly and low-cost synthesis method to manufacture zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) by using zinc sulfate. Eucalyptus leaf extract is an effective chelating and capping agent for synthesizing ZnO NPs. The structure, morphology, thermal behavior, chemical composition, and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles were studied utilizing FT-IR, FE-SEM, EDAX, AFM, and Zeta potential analysis. The FE-SEM pictures confirmed that the ZnO NPs with a size range of (22-37) nm were crystalline and spherical. Two methods were used to prepare ZnO NPs. The first method involved calcining the resulting ZnO NPs, while the second method did not. The prepared ZnO NPs were used as adsorbents for removing acid black 210
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