Isolation and Diagnosis of Escherichia coli bacteria from Patients with Urinary Tract Infections and Bacteriosis and Studying their Sensitivity to Some Antibiotics and Nanobodies

The current study included the collection of 120 clinical samples (diuresis, blood) from patients visiting Baghdad city hospitals (Yarmouk Teaching Hospital, Central Children\u27s Teaching Hospital, and Baghdad Teaching Hospital) for the period from November 2022 to February 2023. 30 discharge samples were collected from healthy people as a control group. The samples were within different ages and genders ranging from 14 years to 52 years.   10% of the E bacteria have been isolated coli of blood and 150% of blood based on phenotypic and culture characteristics and biochemical tests and the diagnosis was confirmed using the phytic device. The results of the sensitivity test of bacterial isolates using the tablet method of diffusion showed that most of the isolates were resistant to the antibiotics used, where the percentage of resistance to Tetracycline (96%), (84%) Nitrofurantoin, (82%) Ceftriaxone, (66%) Meropenem, (52%) Ciprofloaxcine, (70%) Gentamicin, (80%) Amikacin, (46%) Imipenem, Nalidixic acid (40%). The antimicrobial activity of gold and titanium nanoparticles was evaluated against 15 bacterial isolates (5 isolated from diuretic samples, 5 exit samples, 5 blood samples) using the diffusion method by gratigran. The results showed that the nanoparticles had a clear inhibitory effect against the studied isolates where the average inhibition diameters ranged between 17-22 mm and the MIC value (Minimal inhibitory concentration) was between 64-126

Effect of Different Plant Growth Regulators on Callus Induction from Seeds of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

The present study was undertaken to develop a reproducible protocol for efficient in vitro callus initiation of chick pea (Cicer arietinum L.). The main objectives of this present study were to develop the optimal concentrations and combination of auxin and cytokinin for optimized callus induction from seeds as explants. Callus induction was initiated from seeds on MS media supplement, which varied according to the plant growth regulators treatment. Among the growth regulator combinations the highest rate of callus induction (85%) was observed in MS medium containing 2 mg L -1 of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid (2,4-D), 2 mg L -1 Benzylaminopurine (BAP) showed higher percentage ( 63% ) of callus formation than 1- Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), which produced 49% of callus. There were significant differences in percentage of calli fresh/dry weights (g/jar) on the different initiation ( seven) medium used were the MS+2,4-D, MS+2,4-D +NAA+ BAP and MS+ BAP had the highest fresh/dry weights (g/jar) in both induction medium

The Effectiveness of Fermi Problem solving with Flipped Learning Techniques in Teaching physics on Improving Critical Thinking Skills among Emirati Secondary Students

The urgent need of developing novel teaching methods in education to improve the critical thinking skills has been widely discussed by educational experts. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of Fermi problem solving with flipped learning techniques in teaching physics on the improvement of critical thinking skills among Emirati tenth graders. The sample of the study consists of 40 male and female secondary students from two secondary schools belonging to Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge in United Arab Emirates divided into two groups; the control group consists of 20 students (10 male and 10 female) taught the physics unit by traditional methods, the experimental group consists of 20 students (10 males and 10 females) taught the physics unit by Fermi problem solving with flipped learning techniques. The quasi-experimental design was used, where the modified critical thinking skills test was prepared and administered on the two groups as a pre-test before the students start the treatment and as a post-test once they are finished. The MANCOVA and Two-Way ANCOVA tests were employed to analyze the data. The findings showed that there were statistically significant differences at (α = 0.05) in student’s critical thinking skills test (in favor of experimental group), indicating that the performance of students in treatment group was better than the control group in the post-test. This means that the Fermi problem solving with flipped learning techniques has significant effectiveness on improvement of critical thinking skills among the United Arab Emirates secondary students. Also there were no statistically significant differences between male and female students

Knowledge, attitude, practice and satisfaction of patients using analgesic patches in Jordan

Purpose: To investigate the knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP) and satisfaction of Jordanian patients using analgesic patches. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in four urban centers in Jordan (Amman (capital), Irbid (northern Jordan), Zarqa (central Jordan), and Karak (southern of Jordan)) using a validated closed and open-ended questionnaire. The questionnaire was delivered by hand to a target sample of 250 patients. Results: A total of 178 patients were recruited with a response rate of 71.2 %. Only 40 % of patients had previously been prescribed or recommended to take analgesic patches by a physician or pharmacist. The overall proportion of patients who were aware of the correct use of patch was only of 31 %. Conclusion: The use of patches in Jordan is limited due to lack of patients’ knowledge about the proper use of patches. Further studies should be carried out to evaluate healthcare providers’ perceptions and knowledge towards the use of patches

The Effect of Ephedra Foeminea Extract as an Antimicrobial and Antifungal Agent

Drugs derived from natural sources play a significant role in the prevention and treatment of human diseases. In many developing countries, traditional medicine is an essential part of primary healthcare systems (Abdallah, 2011). Due to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, it is essential to investigate new drugs with lesser resistance especially ones that can be derived from natural resources like plants. Ephedra is likely one of the oldest medicinal plants that are still currently in use. Antimicrobial and antifungal activities of some ephedra species have been noticed in recent years (ZHANG Ben-Mei et al,2018). The aim of the study is to observe and understand the effects of E. foeminea extracts as antimicrobial and antifungal agents. It is an experimental study; four different types of bacteria including, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, MRSA, and Escherichia coli as well as two different types of fungi including, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Candida albicans were used as test microorganisms. Maceration extraction technique (William P. Jones,2012) for the dried stem of E. foeminea will be used by methanol / water 90/10 for 2 days (Ali Parsaeimehr et el,2010). Three concentrations of the extract will be used on 30 plates for each type of microorganism in the laboratories of the University of Palestine. Antimicrobial activity will be tested by using plate methods in which a variable diameter of a growth inhibition zone in most types of bacteria will appear. The MIC values may also be evaluated using the broth serial dilution method according to standard methods (CLSI, 2012)

Pill-burden and its association with treatment burden among patients with advanced stages of chronic kidney disease

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with multimorbidity and high treatment burden. Pill-burden is one component of the overall treatment burden. However, little is known about its magnitude and contribution to the overall treatment burden among patients with advanced stages of CKD. This study aimed to quantify the magnitude of pill-burden in dialysis-dependent vs. non-dialysis-dependent advanced-stage CKD patients and its association with treatment burden. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study for the assessment of pill-burden and treatment burden among non-dialysis and hemodialysis (HD)-dependent CKD patients. Pill-burden was quantified as "number of pills/patient/week" through electronic medical record, while treatment burden was assessed using the "Treatment Burden Questionnaire (TBQ)". Furthermore, oral and parenteral medication burden was also quantified. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential analysis, including Mann - Whitney U test and two-way between groups analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: Among the 280 patients included in the analysis, the median (IQR) number of prescribed chronic medications was 12 (5.7) oral and 3 (2) parenteral medications. The median (IQR) pill-burden was 112 (55) pills/week. HD patients experienced higher pill-burden than non-dialysis patients [122 (61) vs. 109 (33) pills/week]; however, this difference did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.81). The most commonly prescribed oral medications were vitamin D (90.4%), sevelamer carbonate (65%), cinacalcet (67.5%), and statins (67.1%). Overall, patients who had high pill-burden (≥112 pills/week) had significantly higher perceived treatment burden compared to low pill-burden patients (<112 pills/week) [47(36.2) vs. 38.5(36.7); p = 0.0085]. However, two-way ANOVA showed that dialysis status is the significant contributor to the treatment-burden in the high overall pill-burden group (p < 0.01), the high oral-medication-burden group (p < 0.01), and the high parenteral-medication-burden group (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Patients with advanced CKD experienced a high pill-burden, which increases the treatment burden; however, the dialysis status of the patient is the main factor affecting the overall treatment burden. Future intervention studies should target this population with an aim to reduce polypharmacy, pill-burden, and treatment burden, which may ultimately improve CKD patients' quality of life.The authors would like to acknowledge Qatar University for the funding provided for the study. This manuscript is part of an MSc dissertation submitted to Qatar University and related abstracts were presented and published as part of the 56th European Renal Association - European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA) Congress, Budapest, Hungary, 13-16 June 2019. The study received funding from Qatar University (grant number: QUCG- CPH-22/23-592 and QUST-CPH-SPR/2017-19). The content of this paper is the sole responsibility of the authors.Scopu

Holistic Assessment of Community Palliative Care Needs Among Palestinian Cancer Patients

Background: Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life of terminally ill patients and their families. Objectives: This cross-sectional study aims to assess the level of community palliative care among terminally ill Palestinian cancer patients and the needs of their families in the West-Bank and Gaza strip. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among cancer patients. Patients were recruited through five hospitals that provide cancer care in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (Al-Hussein Hospital, Beit Jala; Augusta Victoria Hospital, Jerusalem; Istishari Arab Hospital, Ramallah; European Hospital and Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rantisi Hospital; Gaza). Data were collected using an interview-based questionnaire. The questionnaire focused on assessment of physical, psychosocial, emotional, and spiritual components of palliative care. In addition, the questionnaire assessed caregiver’s needs. Results: A total of 238 patients were interviewed. The mean age of the participants was 53.8±15 years. The most common types of cancer among patients were breast cancer (51 [21.4%]) and colorectal cancer (33 [13.9%]). Fifty percent of the patients had their children as their primary caregivers. Overall, the majority of the patients had good psychosocial, spiritual, and emotional scores. On the other hand, >80% had moderate to poor physical functioning scores. Psychosocial and emotional scores decreased significantly as the disease progressed. More than 33% of the patients reported that their caregivers were in need of financial, legal, and work-related support. In addition, other commonly reported unmet needs included support in understanding what to expect in the future and dealing with the feelings and worries of the patient. Conclusions: Cancer patients suffer mostly from their physical symptoms in addition to financial problems. On the other hand, assessment of the emotional, spiritual and psychological functioning of Palestinian patients indicates that the strength of religious beliefs and the support of the family and the friends in the Palestinian community had a great impact on the patients and help reduced the gap in palliative care services

The need for national medical licensing examination in Saudi Arabia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Medical education in Saudi Arabia is facing multiple challenges, including the rapid increase in the number of medical schools over a short period of time, the influx of foreign medical graduates to work in Saudi Arabia, the award of scholarships to hundreds of students to study medicine in various countries, and the absence of published national guidelines for minimal acceptable competencies of a medical graduate.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>We are arguing for the need for a Saudi national medical licensing examination that consists of two parts: Part I (Written) which tests the basic science and clinical knowledge and Part II (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) which tests the clinical skills and attitudes. We propose this examination to be mandated as a licensure requirement for practicing medicine in Saudi Arabia.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The driving and hindering forces as well as the strengths and weaknesses of implementing the licensing examination are discussed in details in this debate.</p

Prophylactic and immune modulatory influences of Nigella sativa Linn. in broilers exposed to biological challenge

Background and Aim: Prophylaxis and disease prevention is an essential strategy among biorisk management in poultry farms that stimulate and maintain the birds' immunity. The aim of this study was to investigate the prophylactic, and immune-stimulant influence of Nigella sativa Linn. in broilers under biological stress. Materials and Methods: A total of 250 1-day-old (ross) chicks were divided into 5 groups; four of which were supplemented with 1.4%, 2.8%, 4.2%, and 5.6% N. sativa Linn., respectively. The four supplemented groups were challenged with Escherichia coli O157:H7 1.5x108 at a 14th day old. A total of 1050 samples (150 serum, 150 swab, and 750 organ samples) were collected and examined. Results: A highly significant increase (p<0.01) in 5.6% N. sativa Linn. supplemented group in performance traits (body weight, weight gain, and performance index), biochemical parameters (proteinogram, liver enzymes, and creatinine), immunoglobulins concentration, and immune organs' weight. Meanwile, liver showed improvement of histoarchitecture without fibrosis. Heart showed a mild pericarditis with a mild degree of hydropic degeneration. Bursa, thymus, and spleen showed lymphoid hyperplasia. Conclusion: A concentration of 5.6% N. sativa Linn. in broiler's feed can improve the immune response and subsequent resistance of broilers against diseases