Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) is problematic and still the leading cause of urinary tract infections worldwide. It is developed resistance against most antibiotics. The investigation, surveillance system, and efficient strategy will facilitate selecting an appropriate treatment that could control the bacterial distribution. The present study aims to investigate the epidemiology and associated risk factors of uropathogenic E. coli and to study their antibiotic resistance patterns. 1585 midstream urine specimens were collected from symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTI) patients (225 males and 1360 females) admitted to Zakho emergency hospital, Zakho, Kurdistan Region, Iraq from January 2016 until the end of December 2018. Specimens were inoculated on blood and MacConkey plates and incubated at 37оC for 24 hours. Uropathogenic E. coli was diagnosed based on gram staining, colony characteristics, and standard biochemical tests in accordance with local standards and guidelines. All isolates were screened for their antibiogram pattern using the disk diffusion method based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. The results showed that out of 1585 urine specimens, 1026 (64.7%) were UTIs positive with a statistically higher rate in 2016 (83.6%) (P< 0.0001). The UTIs frequency in females was significantly higher than males (P< 0.0001). Generally, the uropathogenic E. coli represented 21.1% with the highest level in 2016 (22.9%). The uropathogenic E. coli rate was higher, statistically not significant, in females (21.4%) than males (18.5%) (P=0.4946). Additionally, through the three years of study, uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) was in high frequency in February and May 2016. The female’s age group from 20 to 39 years was the most vulnerable (46%) form total infected females, while those from 70-74 years (1%) were the least susceptible in males and females. A high percentage (80.56 %) of multidrug resistance E. coli isolates was observed with high resistance against -lactamase and macrolides antibiotics. However, higher sensitivity was towards imipenem and meropenem. In conclusion, the wrong and overuse of antibiotics will increase the resistance rate of E. coli. For this reason, proper use of available antibiotics is necessary. Also, the educational programs and periodic monitoring of antimicrobial susceptibility are essential for reducing the antibiotic resistance rate.
Water quality planning relies on Biochemical Oxygen Demand BOD. BOD testing takes five days. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is increasingly used for water resource forecasting. This work designed a PSO technique for estimating everyday BOD at Al-Rustumiya wastewater treatment facility inlet. Al-Rustumiya wastewater treatment plant provided 702 plant-scale data sets during 2012-2022. The PSO model uses the daily data of the water quality parameters, including chemical oxygen demand (COD), chloride (Cl-), suspended solid (SS), total dissolved solids (TDS), and pH, to determine how each variable affects the daily incoming BOD. PSO and multiple linear regression (MLR) findings are compared, and their perfor
... Show MoreAbstract: The researcher aims to highlight the historical frames of political development in royal regime era (1921-1949) and study its transitions on social-political aspect for the various periods during this consistent era of Iraq history. As some elements played an important role in shaping this era’s features ,as well as 2hat succeed it, which mainly affected the political progression’s configuration, such as : political culture role, social and cultural foundation, state policy essence and the unofficial institutions remarkable role in influencing public awareness and concerning it's relation to the state ,the clan and religious institutions. The researcher employed Alexis de Tocqueville’s evaluation criteria and indi
... Show MoreThe manganese doped zinc sulfide nanoparticles were synthesized by simple aqueous chemical reaction of manganese chloride, zinc acetate and thioacitamide in aqueous solution. Thioglycolic acid is used as capping agent for controlling the nanoparticle size. The main advantage of the ZnS:Mn nanoparticles of diameter ~ 2.73 nm is that the sample is prepared by using non-toxic precursors in a cost effective and eco-friendly way. The structural, morphological and chemical composition of the nanoparticles have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The nanosize of the prepared nanoparticles was elucidated by Scan
... Show MoreSignature verification involves vague situations in which a signature could resemble many reference samples or might differ because of handwriting variances. By presenting the features and similarity score of signatures from the matching algorithm as fuzzy sets and capturing the degrees of membership, non-membership, and indeterminacy, a neutrosophic engine can significantly contribute to signature verification by addressing the inherent uncertainties and ambiguities present in signatures. But type-1 neutrosophic logic gives these membership functions fixed values, which could not adequately capture the various degrees of uncertainty in the characteristics of signatures. Type-1 neutrosophic representation is also unable to adjust to various
... Show MoreThis article examines the usage features of the phraseological units in Russian political discourse and the peculiarities of the phraseological units’ usage by politicians in their speeches. The main focus is on the expressive and pragmatic functions of using phraseological units in political texts due to their evaluative and expressive nature. The present article also examines the structural and stylistic changes of the phraseological units in political discourse. Moreover, the work provides examples from the speeches of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S.V. Lavrov. As a result, the author comes to the conclusion that phraseological units make it possible to establish a contact be
... Show MoreBackground: The anticancer impact of Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) the highly active polyphenol of green tea was abundantly studied. Though, the exact mechanism of its cytotoxicity is still under investigation. Objectives: Hence, the current study designed to investigate the molecular target of EGCG in HepG2 cells on thirteen autophagy- and/or apoptosis- related genes. Methods: The apoptosis detection analyses such as flow cytometry and dual apoptosis assay were used. The genes expression profile was explored by the real-time quantitative-PCR. Results: EGCG increases G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and the real-time apoptosis markers proteins leading to stimulate apoptos
... Show MoreAbstract
The current research aims to identify the effectiveness of social stories in increasing social interaction among children with an autism spectrum disorder. The researcher used the single-subject design methodology (Single Subject Designs, SSD) with
(A-B) design to answer the research questions. The study sample consisted of (3) children with autism spectrum disorder enrolled in a transit daycare center in the Asir region, Saudi Arabia. The results of the study showed that there is a positive functional relationship between social stories and play to increase social interaction among children with autism spectrum disorder, which contributed to the acquisition and generalization of this behav
... Show More