Aim: Rats are accused in disseminating many zoonotic diseases. This study aimed to isolate and identify bacteria from internal organs of rats captured in Baghdad City, Iraq. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 black rats (R. rattus) were trapped from different areas in Baghdad city. Rats were kept in individual plastic cages for 3 h before euthanizing. Deep pharyngeal swab, intestinal content, urine, and pieces of the liver and spleen, lung, kidney, and brain were obtained aseptically. The specimens were inoculated into peptone water and incubated at 37°C for 24 h for enrichment. A loopful of each specimen was then subcultured onto MacConkey Agar, Blood Agar, and Mannitol Salt Agar. CHROMagar O157 H7 and CHROMagar Listeria were used to detect Escherichia coli 157:7 and Listeria spp., respectively. Biochemical tests on analytical profile index, microscopic examination, and commercial kit for latex agglutination test for serotyping E. coli O157:H7 were used. Results: Mixed bacterial isolates were recorded as 116, 52, 36, 28, 18, 6, and 4 from intestinal contents, deep pharyngeal, liver and spleen, urine, lung, brain, and kidney, respectively. Microorganisms included E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp., Bacillus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Citrobacter freundii, Proteus vulgaris, E. coli O157:H7, Enterobacter cloacae, Listeria spp., Klebsiella spp., Ochrobactrum anthropi, Aeromonas spp., Brucella spp., Pseudomonas fluorescens, Escherichia fergusonii, Micrococcus spp., Morganella spp., Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas luteola, and Streptobacillus spp. The highest bacterial prevalence (88; 73.33%) was recorded for E. coli, where 68 isolates were identified from the intestinal contents. Of these, four isolates were E. coli O157:H7. Conclusion: Rats are important carriers and transmitters of a number of pathogens and can disseminate these microorganisms to humans and animals.
A new modified differential evolution algorithm DE-BEA, is proposed to improve the reliability of the standard DE/current-to-rand/1/bin by implementing a new mutation scheme inspired by the bacterial evolutionary algorithm (BEA). The crossover and the selection schemes of the DE method are also modified to fit the new DE-BEA mechanism. The new scheme diversifies the population by applying to all the individuals a segment based scheme that generates multiple copies (clones) from each individual one-by-one and applies the BEA segment-wise mechanism. These new steps are embedded in the DE/current-to-rand/bin scheme. The performance of the new algorithm has been compared with several DE variants over eighteen benchmark functions including sever
... Show MoreThis paper describes the problem of online autonomous mobile robot path planning, which is consisted of finding optimal paths or trajectories for an autonomous mobile robot from a starting point to a destination across a flat map of a terrain, represented by a 2-D workspace. An enhanced algorithm for solving the problem of path planning using Bacterial Foraging Optimization algorithm is presented. This nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithm, which imitates the foraging behavior of E-coli bacteria, was used to find the optimal path from a starting point to a target point. The proposed algorithm was demonstrated by simulations in both static and dynamic different environments. A comparative study was evaluated between the developed algori
... Show MoreContracaecum rudolphii Hartwich, 1964 is a nematode which causes major concerns to human and wildlife animal’s health. However, the population genetics of C. rudolphii has been poorly studied in Iraq. In order to gain a deeper understanding in the outline of the genetic diversity of the nematode C. rudolphii that were isolated from its host cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758), in the middle areas of Iraq, twenty specimens of C. rudolphii adults were isolated from nine individuals of P. carbo. The first (ITS-1) internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of C. rudolphii were amplified using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR); then, the amplicons were subjected to sequencing. Concatenation of ITS
... Show MoreSince its first description as a cytotoxic agent, Olea europaea leaves extract gained significant popularity against human breast cancer, ethyl acetate extract of Olea europaea leaves obtained by acid hydrolysis method was evaluated in vitro as cytotoxic agent against new human breast cancer (AMJ13) cell line, using the MTT assay. One main pentacyclic triterpenoid; oleanolic acid, was isolated from leaves of Olea europaea by well-known two different methods, but not used for this compound before, the acidic hydrolysis method and basic acidic method. The presence of oleanolic acid was proved in both methods with qualitative and quantitative d
... Show MoreContracaecum rudolphii Hartwich, 1964 is a nematode which causes major concerns to human and wildlife animal’s health. However, the population genetics of C. rudolphii has been poorly studied in Iraq. In order to gain a deeper understanding in the outline of the genetic diversity of the nematode C. rudolphii that were isolated from its host cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758), in the middle areas of Iraq, twenty specimens of C. rudolphii adults were isolated from nine individuals of P. carbo. The first (ITS-1) internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of C. rudolphii were amplified using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR); then, the amplicons were subjected to sequencing. Concatenation of ITS-1 (rD
... Show MoreEvaporation is one of the major components of the hydrological cycle in the nature, thus its accurate estimation is so important in the planning and management of the irrigation practices and to assess water availability and requirements. The aim of this study is to investigate the ability of fuzzy inference system for estimating monthly pan evaporation form meteorological data. The study has been carried out depending on 261 monthly measurements of each of temperature (T), relative humidity (RH), and wind speed (W) which have been available in Emara meteorological station, southern Iraq. Three different fuzzy models comprising various combinations of monthly climatic variables (temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity) were developed
... Show MoreGreywater is a possible water source that can be improved for meeting the quality required for irrigation. Treatment of greywater can range from uncomplicated coarse filtration to advanced biological treatment. This article presents a simple design of a small scale greywater treatment plant, which is a series of physical and natural processes including screening, aeration, sedimentation, and filtration using granular activated carbon filter and differentiates its performance with sand filter. The performance of these units with the dual filter media of (activated carbon with sand) in treatment of greywater from Iraqi house in Baghdad city during 2019 and that collected from several points including washbasins, kitchen si
... Show MoreObjective(s): The present study describes the quality of life (QOL) among adolescents with age of (12-22) year old and identifies factors that may be associated with it. Methodology: A cross-sectional design is carried throughout to evaluate adolescents' quality of life in Hilla City for the period of September 2nd 2016 to November 6th 2016. The present study is conducted in different settings that include schools and colleges in Hilla City. A non-probability "purposive" sample of (144) participant is selected and comprised of (50%) males and (50%) females. An instrument is constructed for the intent of the st