Background Bloodstream infection (BSI) is a life-threatening condition caused by the presence of microorganisms, generally caused by a range of bacteria in the blood. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible role of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) as biomarkers of pediatric BSI. Methodology The study was conducted on 150 blood samples collected from the patient who admitted to Children Welfare Teaching Hospital, Medical City, Baghdad. During the period from November 2020 to March 2021, ninety blood samples from them were positive culture and 60 blood samples were negative culture (control group). The isolates were identified depending on the morphological, microscopic examination, and biochemical tests. Moreover, serum was obtained from all participants for the determination of the screening level of human PCT measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and CRP by slide agglutination test. Results The results in this study revealed that the mean levels of serum PCT and CRP in Gram-negative group and Gram-positive group were significantly difference from the control group. Conclusions The adoption of these biomarkers as routine diagnostic tests for sepsis may help in the early diagnosis of pediatric sepsis.
This study evaluates the flexural behavior of ultra-thin (50 mm) one‑way reinforced‑concrete (RC) slabs retrofitted with near‑surface mounted (NSM) carbon‑fiber‑reinforced polymer (CFRP) rods under quasi‑static loading. T300‑grade CFRP rods (≈4 mm diameter) were bonded in pre‑cut 7 mm × 7 mm grooves using a two‑part epoxy. As a proof-of-concept experimental baseline, three simply‑supported specimens (1000 mm × 500 mm × 50 mm) were tested in a six‑point bending configuration (four applied loads + two reactions): two conventional controls and one strengthened slab. A load‑control rate of ~15 kN/min was applied; the controls were cycled twice and the strengthened slab four times. Relative to the average of
... Show MoreIn this study, vegetable tanned leather waste of cow (VTLW-C) is used as adsorbent for removing methyl violet 10B dye from aqueous solution. The VTLW-C adsorbent was characterized by FTIR and SEM in order to evaluate its surface properties before using in adsorption experiments. Batch adsorption method was applied to study the effect of different factors such as weight of leather waste, time of shaking, and starting concentration of methyl violet 10B dye. Different isothermal models such as Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D–R) were used to analyze the experimental data. Kinetic study proceeds using (PFO) kinetic model and (PSO) kinetic model. The results showed better agreement with the Freundlich model; this means
... Show MoreThis work investigates experimentally the effect of using a skirt with a square foundation of 100 mm width resting on dry gypseous soil (i.e., loose soil with 33% relative density), and subjected to an inclined load. Previous works did not study the use square skirted foundation rested on gypseous soil and subjected to inclined load. The investigated soil was brought from Tikrit city with 59% gypsum content. Standard physical and chemical tests on selected soil were carried out. Model laboratory tests were carried out to determine the effect of using a skirt with a square foundation on the load-settlement behavior of gypseous soil and subjected to inclined load with various Skirt depth (Ds) to foundation width (B) ratio
... Show MoreIn current article an easy and selective method is proposed for spectrophotometric estimation of metoclopramide (MCP) in pharmaceutical preparations using cloud point extraction (CPE) procedure. The method involved reaction between MCP with 1-Naphthol in alkali conditions using Triton X-114 to form a stable dark purple dye. The Beer’s law limit in the range 0.34-9 μg mL-1 of MCP with r =0.9959 (n=3) after optimization. The relative standard deviation (RSD) and percentage recoveries were 0.89 %, and (96.99–104.11%) respectively. As well, using surfactant cloud point extraction as a method to extract MCP was reinforced the extinction coefficient(ε) to 1.7333×105L/mol.cm in surfactant-rich phase. The small volume of organi
... Show MoreThis study investigated the bioethanol production from green algae Chlorella vulgaris depending on its carbohydrate-enriched biomass. Four different phosphorous concentrations were employed to stimulate bioethanol production from Chlorella vulgaris. The impact of various phosphorous values on Chlorella vulgaris growth rate as well as primary product (carbohydrate) were evaluated. High performance liquid chromatography was utilized in this work. The stationary phase was identified as day 14, 12, 10 and 6 in treatments 6, 4, 2 and g/L, respectively. The findings suggest that the treatment without phosphorous addition had the highest record of carbohydrate content (22.64% dry weight) as well as the highest bioethanol yield (20.66% dry weight).
... Show MoreThe settlement evaluation for the jet grouted columns (JGC) in soft soils is a problematic matter, because it is influenced by the number of aspects such as soil type, effect mixture between soil and grouting materials, nozzle energy, jet grouting, water flow rate, rotation and lifting speed. Most methods of design the jet-grouting column based on experience. In this study, a prototype single and group jet grouting models (single, 1*2, and 2*2) with the total length and diameter were (2000 and 150 mm) respectively and clear spacing (3D) has been constructed in soft clay and subjected to vertical axial loads. Furthermore, different theoretical methods have been used for the estimation
The current study deals with host-guest complex formation between cucurbit [7] urils as host and lansoprazole as guesti using PM3 (semi empirical molecules orbital calculations) also DFT calculations. In this complex, the formation of hydrogen bonding may be occurred through portal oxygen atoms(O2) of cucurbit [7] urils and amine groups (NH 2 )of the drug. The energies of HOMO and LUMO orbital’s have been computed for the host guest complex and its components. The result of the stabilization energy explained a complex formation.
Effect of [Cu/In] ratio on the optical properties of CuInS2 thin films prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis on glass slides at 300oC was studied. The optical characteristics of the prepared thin films have been investigated using UV-VIS spectrophotometer in the wavelength range (300-1100 nm). The films have a direct allow electronic transition with optical energy gap (Eg) decreased from 1.51 eV to 1.30 eV with increasing of [Cu/In] ratio and as well as we notice that films have different behavior when annealed the films in the temperature 100oC (1h,2h), 200oC (1h,2h) for [Cu/In]=1.4 . Also the extinction coefficient (k), refractive index (n) and the real and imaginary dielectric constants (ε1, ε2) have been investigated