Gram-positive enterococciare opportunistic and resistant to many antibiotics. This study aimed to investigate the presence of Enterococcus spp. in our community and whether these isolates are resistant to the macrolides class of antibiotics. Fifty isolates from 112 clinical samples were recognized as Enterococcus spp. and confirmed using Vitek-2 system. The current study found that 50/112 (44.6%) represented the total isolates, 38/50 (76%) of which were Enterococcus faecalis, while 12/50 (24%) were Enterococcus faecium, twenty (40%) isolates from root canals and 30 (60%) isolates from urine were isolated. The sensitivity of the enterococcal isolates to various macrolides (erythromycin, azithromycin and clarithromycin) antibiotics wa

The emergence of such widespread pharmaceuticals as a pollutant has become one of the world's critical environmental problems that may lead to both the public's health and biodiversity deterioration. This article provides an exhaustive account of the current understanding of the environmental persistence of pharmaceutical contaminants following in-depth analysis of the additive effects of existing natural biodegradation pathways on the human health impact of these drugs. Paying special attention to biodegradation decomposing agents such as bacteria, fungi, and algae the paper estimates their ability to convert drug ingredients to compound that is eventually less toxic. Although these biologic systems contain an enormous potential fo

SARS-CoV-2 stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 which is the causative agent of spreading coronavirus disease 2019 that is known as COVID-19 pandemic, the disease leads to severe acute respiratory illness. Matrix metalloproteinases- 9 (MMP-9) plays several important physiological functions. This enzyme could also be implicated in the "cytokine storm" in some way, which may represent one of the possible scianrios during coronavirus infection, in addition to its role in the mechanism of lung fibrosis on molecular basis.. The tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMPs) are well characterized for controlling the activity of MMPs in extracellular matrix remodeling. They also considered as signaling molecules anal

The cyclophosphamide is commonly used for the treatment of cancer and immunosuppressive diseases in young and old age and can induce oxidative stress in reproductive organs, therefore has adverse effects on sperm quality and quantity. In this study, the effects of a single dose of cyclophosphamide on sperm parameters in adult male mice that treated with 10 mg/kg of this drug on the 11^th embryonic day were investigated. Adult female pregnant NMRI mice were divided into 2 groups; the control group received saline and the cyclophosphamide group received cyclophosphamide at a dose of 10 mg / kg on day 11^th of gestation (i.p). 60 days after the birth of the infants, male mice were sacrificed and the sperm collected from

     Enterobius vermicularis infection is considered as one of the important causes of anaemia and malnutrition among children. This topic has recently received an increased amount of attention.  The objective of this study is to evaluate the demographical, anthropometrical, nutritional, and  haematological status of E. vermicularis infection among children. This study was conducted in Al Diwaniyah province, south of Iraq, for the period of October 2020 to the end of January 2021. The study included 122 children from both genders (males, n= 61, and females, n=61) and their ages ranged between 1 and 14 years. Nutritional status, body mass index (BMI), BMI percentile, and wei

According to the European Union Water Framework Directive requirements, diatom metrics were used to assess the ecological status of surface waters in the Gaziantep central catchment (Turkey). A total of 42 diatom taxa were identified. A few environmental factors (especially lead, copper, orthophosphate, and chromium) played significant roles on the distribution of diatom assemblages among the sampling stations. The first two axes of the canonical correspondence analysis elucidated 91.6 % of the species–environment correlations with 13.9 % of the cumulative variance of species. The applied diatom indices (TIT – Trophic Index Turkey, TI – Trophic Index, and EPI-D – Eutrophication and/or Pollution Index-Diatom) showed different results

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health issue that is linked to  early death and low quality of life. Management in its early phases may lead to better health results. Chronic inflammation related to  advanced CKD, as indicated by higher levels of different pro-inflammatory cytokines or impacted levels of acute-phase proteins. This study was carried out in order to assess the roles of interleukins (IL-3 and IL-22), some  kidney functions, complete blood count (CBC) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in CKD progression. Commercial enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were utilized to calculate interleukin (IL-3 and IL-22) levels in the serum of 60 patients with CKD (age range 20-87 years) and 30

The creation and characterisation of biodegradable blend films based on chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol for application in a range of packaging is described. The compatibility between the chitosan and PVA polymers was good. Composite films had a compact and homogeneous structure, according to the morphology analysis. The mechanical test result of PVA/CH at concentrations 5% showed, that The higher values of TS recorded in sample (p1, with 40 MPa) while the lower values appeared in sample (p9, with 22.09 MPa), the TS decreased gradually as the amount of PVA increased in blend film. While the blend film of pure Chitosan exhibits a poor mechanical strength which makes it a poor candidate for packaging but Blending CH with PVA together improved

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a permanent loss of kidney function which is diagnosed when the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is under 60 ml\min\1.73m2 for more than three months. The present study was conducted at Kidney Transplant and Dialysis Center in the Medical City in Baghdad from October 2018 to April 2019. Sixty CKD patients with an age ranged of 40 to 65 years and 25 healthy subjects were involved in this study. Blood samples were collected to evaluate the levels of kidney function parameters and thyroid hormones. The levels of urea, creatinine and uric acid showed highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) increases in CKD patient in comparison with the control group, while the values of GFR and creatinine clearance showed highly

Type 2 daibetes mellitus (T2DM) is a global concern boosted by both population growth and ageing, the majority of affected people are aged between (40- 59 year). The objective of this research was to estimate the impact of age and gender on glycaemic control parameters: Fasting blood glucose (FBC), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), insulin, insulin resistance (IR) and insulin sensitivity (IS), renal function parameters: urea, creatinine and oxidative stress parameters: total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Eighty-one random samples of T2DM patients (35 men and 46 women) were included in this study, their average age was 52.75±9.63 year. Current study found that FBG, HbA1C and IR were highly significant (P<0.01) inc

Diabetes is a chronic disease which has reached pandemic proportions in a lot of countries of the world. In spite of the remarkable development in therapeutics chemistry, the usage of customary drugs is still a common practice for the treatment of diabetes. The current study was designed to investigate the effects of pomegranate seed oil (PSO) on kidney functions in the experimentally-induced diabetes in male rabbits. Diabetes was experimentally introduced by the intraperitoneal injection of alloxan monohydrate (150mg/kg BW). After three days of alloxan injection, samples were taken for the determination of glucose concentration. Serum glucose concentration of 200mg/ml was considered as an indication of animal diabetes. The experimental

This study investigated the healing effects of topical application of zerumbone, a well‐known anti‐inflammatory compounds loaded on nanostructured lipid carrier gel (Carbopol 940) (ZER‐NLCG) on excisional wounds in streptozotocin‐induced diabetic rats. Diabetic rats with inflicted superficial skin wound were topically treated with ZER‐NLCG, empty NLCG, and silver sulfadiazine cream (SSDC) once daily for 21 days. Wound tissue samples were analyzed for proinflammatory cytokines, namely, interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), interleukin‐1 β (IL‐1β), and tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), hydroxyproline contents, catalase,

To elucidate the anti- Methicillin resistance Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) effect of pomegranate alone and in combination with moxifloxacin fluoroquinolone. A total of five clinical isolates of MRSA (ATCC 43300) were used in the study. Disc diffusion method was used to determine the anti-MRSA effect of pomegranate and/or moxifloxacin by using Mueller-Hinton agar. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) of moxifloxacin and pomegranate were calculated, the dynamic picture of the bactericidal effect of pomegranate and/or moxifloxacin was determined. SPSS version 20.00 was used for data analysis. Zone of inhibition (ZOI) of moxifloxacin was 19.67±4.84mm which was not significant compared with pomegrana

The antagonism of the rhizospheric bacteria toward pathogenic fungi Macrophomina phaseolina was investigated. Ten soil samples were collected from the rhizospheric zone around Cowpea root (Vignaunguiculata L.). These samples were used as the source of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and rhizobacterial isolates. Twenty-five bacteria were isolated and evaluated as an antagonistic agent against pathogenic fungi. M. phaseolina was isolated from infected roots of Cowpea and used as a pathogen. Twenty-five bacteria were isolated and evaluated as an antagonistic agent against pathogenic fungi. M. phaseolina was isolated from infected roots of Cowpea and used as a pathogen. The synergistic effect between A. siccitolerans and (AMF) Glomusmosseae,

To determine the relationship between infertility and Helicobacter pylori infection, thirty-five infertile patients of ages (20-49) years have been investigated and compared with 10 apparently firtility individuals. All the studied groups were carried out to measure (ASA), (TNF-á), (IL-6), (anti-H.pylori IgA) and (anti-H.pyloriIgG) by Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. The statistical analysis also demonstrated that there were a highly significant differences (P<0.01), when compared between studied group. Also, the statistical analysis demonstrated that there were a highly significant differences (P<0.01) when compare between infertility and fertility in Conc. of sperm. The percentage distribution of ASA in serum and seme

To determine the relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) disorder, 20 patients with MS aged (25-60) years have been investigated from the period of 2016/12/1 to 2017/3/1 and compared to 15 apparently healthy individuals. All study groups were carried out to measure anti H.pylori IgA and H.pylori IgG antibodies by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. There was a significant elevation (p<0.05) in the concentration of anti H.pylori IgG and IgA antibodies (Abs) compared to control group, and there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the concentration of IgA and IgG (Abs) of H.pylori according to gender, and there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the concentration of IgA and I

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the correlation between levels of certain seminal biochemical parameters and serum reproductive hormones, on the one hand, and sperm function tests, on the other hand, in asthenospermic patients. Patients and Methods: Sixty asthenospermic patients and twenty fertile men as a control group were included in this study. Semen samples were collected to perform seminal fluid analysis. Total protein, cholesterol, calcium, creatine kinase, and fructose were measured in the seminal plasma. Blood samples were collected for hormonal assay of serum reproductive hormones: testosterone, prolactin, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone. Results: The results revealed a significant positive correla

A total number of 68 water samples was revealed 20 isolates being Staphylococcus aureus. Irrigation water isolates represented 25% of isolates while wastewater 75%. all isolates were identified by morphological, microscopial, biochemical tests and VITEK®2 Compact. Bacterial isolates were subjected to 16 antibiotics, all irrigation water and wastewater isolates were resistant to penicillin while they were fully sensitive to Ciprofloxcin. Irrigation water isolates showed relatively greater multi-drug resistance than wastewater, wherein irrigation water isolates showed 100% multi-drug resistance while wastewater isolates showed 73.3% multi-drug resistance, indicating the ability of S. aureus MDR to move from one site to another, which means t

With the growing number of patient’s being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis each year it is becoming ever more important to find the cause for these neurological disorders. The present study attempts to shed light on one of the factors that may play a role as a causative agent in these neurological diseases by finding a correlation between the Herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 in patients with Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis by detecting the virus in these patients using immunological techniques. Sixty patients with neurological diseases (40 patients with Multiple sclerosis and 20 patients with Parkinson’s disease) who’s ages ranged from (17-76) years have been investigated.  Samples wer

In the present study, the aim was made to identify the relationship between thyroid autoimmunity (TAI) and female infertility. The study was performed on 30 infertile women and 22 age-matched healthy fertile control age (33 ± 5 years). Overall, serum prolactin (PRL), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) assay is the key test for the diagnosis and management of hypo and hyperthyroidism. Anti-TPO Ab and anti-TG Ab were measured. The mean ± SE of serum PRL (31.080 ± 3.06) ng/ml was significantly (P<0.05) higher in infertile group compared with control (16.191±1.36) ng/ml. Serum TSH was significantly (P<0.05) higher in infertile group (5.689 ± 1.12) µIU/ml compared to control group (2.282 ± 0.18) µIU/ml. The prevalence of positive

     The lymphotoxin alpha is a highly polymorphic gene and any genetic variation in it may lead to an increased production of cytokine LTA thus helping tumor development and progression. The aim of this work was to investigate the association of LTA polymorphism with the risk of breast cancer among Iraqi women. The findings of this study demonstrated that the age group > 50 years old formed 52% of the breast cancer patients (P <0.001). Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium analysis revealed that genotype frequencies of most SNPs in BC patients and HC were consistent with HWE. No association was found between LTA polymorphisms and BC. Moreover, seven haplotypes were detected in BC group. However, only one of them developed sign