Parasitological investigation of piscivorous birds in Al-Hammar marsh south of Iraq during December-February 2004 and December 2005 were revealed that water birds infected with five nematode species, which belong to three different superfamilies, Desmidocercella numidica (Seurat, 1920) (Superfamily: Aproctoidea) from three piscivorous birds including Grey heron Ardea cinerea, Bittern Botaurusstellaris, and small white heron Ardeola ralloides; Avioserpens sp. 1 and Avioserpens sp. 2 (Superfamily: Dracunculoidea) from small bittern Ixobrychus minutus and black glossy ibis Plegadisfalcinellus respectively; Baruscapillaria sp. and Baruscapillarinae gen. sp. (Sup

In this work we present a detailed study on anisotype nGe-pSi heterojunction (HJ) used as photodetector in the wavelength range (500-1100 nm). I-V characteristics in the dark and under illumination, C-V characteristics, minority carriers lifetime (MCLT), spectral responsivity, field of view, and linearity were investigated at 300K. The results showed that the detector has maximum spectral responsivity at λ=950 nm. The photo-induced open circuit voltage decay results revealed that the MCLT of HJ was around 14.4 μs

When the guard honey bees, Apis mellifera L., form a clump at the hive entrance or on the flight board, the oriental hornet, Vespa orientails L., either creeps toward the clump or hovers over it in order to take a bee. Once the hornet creeps, only few bees facing the hornet become alert, rock their heads and antennae, open their wings, and take a posture of defense. The rest of the clump stays listless without any signal of concern. However, the clump stays dense and the defending bees do not detach themselves neither from the rest of the clump nor from each other. For this reason, it is very difficult for the hornet to grab a bee unless the latter makes a “mistake” by detaching herself from other adjacent bees. If the hornet grabs s

Many international studies indicated that the polymorphisms of some genes disturbed the folate homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism and increased the vulnerability to Down syndrome (DS). We aimed to measure the serum levels of folate and Hcy in DS children and compare the levels with age and sex-matched apparently normal healthy children. We also aimed to study the A80G polymorphism of the gene reduced folate carrier (RFC1) in the DS children as a risk factor. Forty children with DS (24 were boys, and 16 were girls) with the age range between 5-13 years, and 26 normal healthy children (16 boys and ten girls) were included in this study. The results show that the highest genotype in the control group was AG (53.85%) followed by AA and GG (30.

The current study aimed to detect the effect of gentamicin stress on the expression of hla (encodes hemolysin) and nuc (encodes nuclease) genes of Staphylococcus aureus. Fifty-eight isolates identified as S. aureus were isolated locally from different clinical specimens. Disk diffusion method was used to detect the resistance to S. aureus. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of gentamicin was estimated by broth microdilution method. hla and nuc genes were determined by polymerase chain reaction technique. The biofilm was evaluated using the microtiter plate method in the presence and absence of gentamicin at sub-MIC. The results showed that 18 (31%) and 40 (69%) S. aureus isolates were sensitive and resistant to gentamicin, respectiv

     Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces an extracellular biofilm matrix that consists of nucleic acids, exopolysaccharides, lipid vesicles, and proteins. Alginate, Psl and Pel are three exopolysaccharides that constitute the main components in biofilm matrix, with many biological functions attributed to them, especially concerning the protection of the bacterial cell from antimicrobial agents and immune responses. A total of 25 gentamicin-resistant P. aeruginosa selected isolates were enrolled in this study. Biofilm development was observed in 96% of the isolates. In addition, the present results clarified the presence of pelA and pslA in all the studied isolates. The expression of these genes was very low. Even though all biof

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the association between polymorphisms in the promoter region of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) gene at locations -308G/A, -857C/T, and -863C/A with the tendency of being non-responder to etanercept.

Patients and methods: Between October 2020 and August 2021, a total of 80 patients (10 males, 70 females; mean age: 50 years; range, 30 to 72 years) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving etanercept for at least six months were included. The patients were divided into two groups responders and non-responders, based on their response after six months of continuous treatment. Following polymerase chain reac

charge transfer complex formed by interaction between the p- aminodiphenylamine (PADPA) as electron donor with iodine as electron acceptor in ethanol at 250C as evidenced by color change and absorption. The spectrum obtained from complex PADPA – Iodine shows absorptions bands at 586 nm. All the variables which affected on the stability of complex were studies such as temperature, pH, time and concentration of acceptor. The linearity of the method was observed within a concentration rang (10–165) mg.L-1 and with a correlation coefficient (0.9996), while the molar absorbitivity and sandell sensitivity were (4643.32) L.mol-1.cm-1 and (0.0943) μg.cm-2, respectively. The adsorption of complex PADPA–I2 was studied using adsorbent surfaces