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Copyright of Iraqi Journal of Science is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, ARIMA model was used for Estimating the missing data(air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed) for mean monthly variables in different time series at three stations (Sinjar, Baghdad , AL.Hai) which represented different parts of Iraq from north to south respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ambient temperature is the major parameter that influences wind speed. When temperature rises, air will be extended and wind will flow with different speeds in all directions, increasing of temperature means that wind speed will be increased and vice versa. The relative humidity and atmospheric pressure affected with temperature, too. Climate changes making significant effects on the atmospheric temperature. In this project, the data of thirty four years (1981 – 2004) has been analyzed to get an idea about the changes occurred in the meteorological parameters in Al-Nasiriya city, which was chosen because it has a distinctive wind speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat pipes find their increasing uses in heat recovery and energy saving in thermal systems. Our work involves the designing, building, and testing of a heat pipe heat exchanger made of 28 copper thermosyphons. We investigated the use of distilled water and R134a as the thermosyphons’ working fluid with optimisation. The thermosyphons were arranged into four rows by seven columns with a hot air flow at the evaporator and a cooling water flow at the condenser. The performance was tested in three working fluid cases: distilled water, R134a, and a hybrid. The hot air flowrate was varied and at temperatures of 80 °C, 110 °C, and 140 °C to investigate the performance. The results show that increasing the air flow temperature increased the effectiveness. Optimisation was examined using the ε-NTU analysis and revealed that R134a offered the highest effectiveness with a relatively small NTU. Tested using three values of Cr, highest effectiveness of 30%, 51% and 40% for distilled water, R134a, and the hybrid respectively, was achieved across all fluid cases at Cr = 0.15. A Reynolds analysis performed to compare the effect of relative flows over the evaporator and condenser showed that increasing Reh/Rec, increased the heat transfer at the condenser and the overall effectiveness. At Reh/Rec = 2500, heat transfer was 500 W, 2000 W and 800 W for distilled water, R134a, and the hybrid respectively. Our work could potentially be useful in the designing and optimising of a thermosyphon heat exchanger for saving energy in air-water heat handling applications.

The objective of this study is to examine the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of swimming pool water in Mafraq city, north of Jordan and the overall quality of the used water. Three public swimming pools were selected from Mafraq city [Areef Pool (SW1), Teachers Club Pool (SW2) and Anakeel Pool (SW3)] to analyze the physical, chemical and biological properties of their water as well as determine their compliance with the Jordanian Standards for Swimming Pools Water. Sampling was carried out weekly for eight successive weeks between July and August 2019 before bathing (after disinfection) and after bathing and analysed in Al al-Bayt University and Ministry of Environment laboratories. The parameters used to evaluate the quality of water in swimming pools were temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), residual chlorine (Cl2), total organic carbon (TOC), trihalomethanes (THM), major cations and anions, selected heavy metals, and total coliform bacteria, E. coli and Pseudomonas. Most of the physical and chemical parameters analysed were within the recommended limit except for pH and EC. Residual chlorine exceeded the permissible limits in SW3 before and after bathing, recording mean values of pH, EC (4.3 ± 0.25 - 4.33 ± 0.44), (2314 ± 343 - 2453 ± 460), respectively. The dissolved oxygen was less than the recommended limit. Total coliforms, E. coli and Pseudomonas counts were < 1 before and after bathing in all the samples.

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumanii) has recently emerged as a major pathogen causing nosocomial infections in patients admitted to intensive care units with a surprisingly rapid acquisition of antibiotic resistance. Objective: To study the rate of occurrence of A. baumanii in different clinical samples and to investigate the association between biofilm formation and presence of ompA and bap genes in multi-drug resistance isolates. Methods: A total of 150 clinical samples were collected from (blood, sputum, urine, wound swab) during a period from the first of October 2017 to the end of March 2018 from Al-Imamein Al-Kadhimein City, Central Teaching Hospital of Pediatrics, Welfare Children Protection in Medical City and Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital and tested against 14 antibiotics by disc diffusion method. Quantitative microtiter plate assay was done for detection of biofilm formation. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to detect ompA and bap genes. Results: There were 75 A. baumanii isolated from different clinical samples as follows: 41 from blood, 13 from wound, 12 from sputum and 9 from urine. The results of antimicrobial susceptibility test showed, high rate of resistance to Aztronem (94.7%) followed by Cefotaxime (89.3%), Cefepim (86.7%), Meropinem (86.7%), Ceftriaxone (86.7%), Ceftazidime (85%), Gentamicin (85%), and Piperacillin (82.7%) respectively. Moderate - to - low rate of resistance to Ciprofloxacin (78%), Impenim (46.7%), Levofloxacin (46%), Amikacin (44%), Tigacycline (42.3%) and Colistin (44%). The detection of biofilm formation showed that (52%) of isolate produce biofilm and the prevalence of ompA gene was 86.7% while the prevalence of Bap-gene was 34.7%. Conclusion: High frequency of A. baumannii infection was observed in different hospitals in Baghdad. More than half of the isolates were biofilm producer and there is highly significant association between the presence of bap gene and the biofilm formation but not with ompA gene. Keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii, ompA, Bap, MD Citation: Talib SS, Abdulrahman TR, Ali SH. Detection of some biofilm genes related with multidrug-resistant in Acinobacter baumannii isolated from clinical isolates. Iraqi JMS. 2018; 16(4): 430-438. doi: 10.22578/IJMS.16.4.11

Abstract Objective Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multi-factorial disease and genetic factor is one of the important etiologic risk factors. Various genetic polymorphisms have been elucidated that they might be associated with OA. Recently, several studies have shown an association between Growth Differentiation Factor 5(GDF5) polymorphism and knee OA. However, the role of genetic predisposing factor in each ethnic group cannot be replicated to all, with conflicting data in the literatures. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between GDF5 polymorphism and knee OA in Thai population. Materials and Methods One hundred and ninety three patients aged 54-88 years who attended Ramathibodi Hospital were enrolled. Ninety cases with knee OA according to American College of Rheumatology criteria and one hundred and three cases in control group gave informed consent. Blood sample (5 ml) were collected for identification of GDF5 (rs143383) single nucleotide polymorphism by PCR/RFLP according to a standard protocol. This study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee on human experimentation of Ramathibodi Hospital Faculty of Medicine, Mahidol University. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for the risk of knee OA by genotype (TT, TC and CC) and allele (T/C) analyses. Results The baseline characteristics between two groups including job, smoking and activity were not different, except age and BMI. The entire cases and controls were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p > 0.05). The OA knee group (n = 90) had genotypic figure which has shown by TT 42.2% (n = 38), TC 45.6% (n = 41) and CC 12% (n = 11), whereas the control group (n = 103) revealed TT 32% (n = 33), TC 45.6% (n = 47), and CC 22.3% (n = 23), respectively. Genotypic TT increased risk of knee OA as compared to CC [OR = 2.41 (P = 0.04, 95%CI = 1.02-5.67)]. In the allele analysis, the T allele was found to be significantly associated with knee OA [OR = 1.53 (P = 0.043, 95%CI = 1.01-2.30)]. Conclusion These data suggested that GDF5 polymorphism has an association with knee OA in Thai ethnic. This finding also supports the hypothesis that OA has an important genetic component in its etiology, and GDF5 protein might play important role in the pathophysiology of the disease.

Background and Aims : Older adults are particularly susceptible to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) due to factors such as age-related insulin resistance, decreased physical activity, and deficiency of micronutrients, especially zinc. Studies have suggested that the risk allele of the zinc transporter 8 gene (SLC30A8) single-nucleotide poly-morphism (SNP) rs13266634 may contribute to T2DM susceptibility in addition to the complex protein interactions and alterations in the protein expressions and modifications associated with T2DM. This study was implemented to study the associations between SLC30A8 polymorphism, serum zinc levels, and the profiles of proteins differentially expressed in nondiabetic ( n = 116) and prediabetic/diabetic ( n = 149) subjects. Methods : SNP genotyping using TaqMan ® assay and proteomic analysis by LC-MS/MS were performed in each group. Results : The results showed a higher risk of diabetes in individuals with the risk genotype CC accompanied by a low serum zinc level than in those with other genotypes. Profiles of proteins differentially expressed between the groups were identified and shown to be particularly associated with zinc-related functions, zinc transporter 8, and glucose metabolism. Proteins exclusively expressed in prediabetes/diabetes were assigned to a Reactome pathway related to zinc transporter and insulin processing. Conclusions : Our findings suggest that individuals carrying at least one copy of SLC30A8 rs13266634 accompanied by a low serum zinc level might be susceptible to T2DM, which could be due to alterations in insulin signaling and zinc metabolism. Understanding this relationship deepens our understanding of the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying T2DM risk, offering potential targets for therapeutic intervention and prevention strategies.

Wilson's disease (WD) is a rare metabolic disorder caused by variations in the ATP7B gene. It usually manifests hepatic, neurologic, and psychiatric symptoms due to excessive copper accumulation. The prevalence of WD and its common variants differ across populations. This study aimed to examine these aspects of WD within the Thai population, where information has been limited. We reviewed ClinVar and the Wilson Disease Mutation Database, organizing variants classified as pathogenic or likely pathogenic in one or both databases as "relaxed" and "strict" lists. Allele frequencies were estimated from genotyping array data (Asian Screening Array: ASA; Illumina Corp, CA) of 6291 Thai subjects, which also underwent genotype imputation. The prevalence of WD in the Thai population was estimated assuming Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. The strict list yielded a prevalence of 1/24,128 (carrier frequency=1/78), while the relaxed list yielded a prevalence of 1/9971 (carrier frequency=1/50). The most common WD variants in Thai subjects were c.2333 G > T, c.3443 T > C, and c.813 C > A from the strict list, and c.3316 G > A and c.2605 G > A from the relaxed list. The ASA chip covered approximately 59 and 24% of WD variants from the strict and relaxed lists, respectively. Based on the estimated prevalence, a carrier screening program for WD is not currently required in Thailand. However, as genotyping services become more affordable and accessible, such a program would facilitate early identification, treatment, and prevention of WD., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Japan Society of Human Genetics.)

Inter-individual variability in drug responses is significantly influenced by genetic factors, underscoring the importance of population-specific pharmacogenomic studies to optimize clinical outcomes. In this study, we analyzed whole genome sequencing data from 949 unrelated Thai individuals and conducted an in-depth analysis of 3239 genes involved in drug pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, or immune-mediated adverse drug reactions. We identified 43 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 134 diplotypes, and 15 human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, all with moderate to high clinical significance. On average, each Thai individual carried 14 SNPs, one to two HLA alleles, and six diplotypes with actionable phenotypic associations. Clinically important diplotypes were present in over 20% of individuals for seven genes (CYP2A6, CYP2B6, CYP2C19, CYP3A5, NAT2, SLCO1B1, and VKORC1). In addition, clinically significant SNPs with allele frequencies exceeding 20% were identified among 15 genes, including VKORC1, CYP4F2, and ABCG2. We also identified 21,211 potentially deleterious variants among 3239 genes. Of these variants, 3746 were novel. The comprehensive dataset from this study serves as a valuable resource of pharmacogenomic variants in the Thai population, which will facilitate the development of personalized drug therapies and enhance patient care in Thailand., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Organelle-specific protein translocation systems are essential for organelle biogenesis and maintenance in eukaryotes but thought to be absent from prokaryotic organelles. Here, we demonstrate that MamF-like proteins are crucial for the formation and functionality of bacterial magnetosome organelles. Deletion of mamF-like genes in the Alphaproteobacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense results in severe defects in organelle positioning, biomineralization, and magnetic navigation. These phenotypic defects result from the disrupted targeting of a subset of magnetosomal proteins that contain C-terminal glycine-rich integral membrane domains. Phylogenetic analyses reveal an ancient evolutionary link between MamF-like proteins and plastidial Tic20. Our findings redefine the molecular roles of MamF-like proteins and suggest that organelle-specific protein targeting systems also play a role in bacterial organelle formation., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has transformed pharmacogenomics (PGx), enabling thorough profiling of pharmacogenes using computational methods and advancing personalized medicine. The Thai Pharmacogenomic Database-2 (TPGxD-2) analyzed 948 whole genome sequences, primarily from the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) cohort. This study is an extension of the previous Thai Pharmacogenomic Database (TPGxD-1) and specifically focused on 26 non-very important pharmacogenes (VIPGx) genes. Variant calling was conducted using Sentieon (version 201808.08) following GATK's best workflow practices. We then annotated variant call format (VCF) files using Golden Helix VarSeq 2.5.0. Star allele analysis was performed with Stargazer v2.0.2, which called star alleles for 22 of 26 non-VIPGx genes. The variant analysis revealed a total of 14,529 variants in 26 non-VIPGx genes, with TBXAS1 had the highest number of variants (27%). Among the 14,529 variants, 2328 were novel (without rsID), with 87 identified as clinically relevant. We also found 56 known PGx variants among the known variants (n = 12,201), with UGT2B7 (19.64%), CYP1B1 (8.9%), SLCO2B1 (8.9%), and POR (8.9%) being the most common. We reported a high frequency of intermediate metabolizers (IMs) in CYP2F1 (34.6%) and CYP4A11 (8.6%), and a high frequency of decreased functional alleles in POR (53.9%) and SLCO1B3 (34.9%) genes. This study enhances our understanding of pharmacogenomic profiling of 26 non-VIPGx genes of notable clinical importance in the Thai population. However, further validation with additional computational and reference genotyping methods is necessary, and novel alleles identified in this study should undergo further orthogonal validation., (© 2024 The Author(s). Clinical and Translational Science published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.)

Computational methods analyze genomic data to identify genetic variants linked to drug responses, thereby guiding personalized medicine. This study analyzed 942 whole-genome sequences from the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) cohort to establish a population-specific pharmacogenomic database (TPGxD-1) in the Thai population. Sentieon (version 201808.08) implemented the GATK best workflow practice for variant calling. We then annotated variant call format (VCF) files using Golden Helix VarSeq 2.5.0 and employed Stargazer v2.0.2 for star allele analysis. The analysis of 63 very important pharmacogenes (VIPGx) reveals 85,566 variants, including 13,532 novel discoveries. Notably, we identified 464 known PGx variants and 275 clinically relevant novel variants. The phenotypic prediction of 15 VIPGx demonstrated a varied metabolic profile for the Thai population. Genes like CYP2C9 (9%), CYP3A5 (45.2%), CYP2B6 (9.4%), NUDT15 (15%), CYP2D6 (47%) and CYP2C19 (43%) showed a high number of intermediate metabolizers; CYP3A5 (41%), and CYP2C19 (9.9%) showed more poor metabolizers. CYP1A2 (52.7%) and CYP2B6 (7.6%) were found to have a higher number of ultra-metabolizers. The functional prediction of the remaining 10 VIPGx genes reveals a high frequency of decreased functional alleles in SULT1A1 (12%), NAT2 (84%), and G6PD (12%). SLCO1B1 reports 20% poor functional alleles, while PTGIS (42%), SLCO1B1 (4%), and TPMT (5.96%) showed increased functional alleles. This study discovered new variants and alleles in the 63 VIPGx genes among the Thai population, offering insights into advancing clinical pharmacogenomics (PGx). However, further validation is needed using other computational and genotyping methods., (© 2024 The Author(s). Clinical and Translational Science published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.)

Phytoplankton blooms provoke bacterioplankton blooms, from which bacterial biomass (necromass) is released via increased zooplankton grazing and viral lysis. While bacterial consumption of algal biomass during blooms is well-studied, little is known about the concurrent recycling of these substantial amounts of bacterial necromass. We demonstrate that bacterial biomass, such as bacterial alpha-glucan storage polysaccharides, generated from the consumption of algal organic matter, is reused and thus itself a major bacterial carbon source in vitro and during a diatom-dominated bloom. We highlight conserved enzymes and binding proteins of dominant bloom-responder clades that are presumably involved in the recycling of bacterial alpha-glucan by members of the bacterial community. We furthermore demonstrate that the corresponding protein machineries can be specifically induced by extracted alpha-glucan-rich bacterial polysaccharide extracts. This recycling of bacterial necromass likely constitutes a large-scale intra-population energy conservation mechanism that keeps substantial amounts of carbon in a dedicated part of the microbial loop., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Pressure ulcers account for a substantial fraction of hospital-acquired pathology, with consequent morbidity and economic cost. Treatments are largely focused on preventing further injury, whereas interventions that facilitate healing remain limited. Intermittent electrical stimulation (IES) increases local blood flow and redistributes pressure from muscle-bone interfaces, thus potentially reducing ulcer progression and facilitating healing., Methods: The Pressure Injury Treatment by Intermittent Electrical Stimulation (PROTECT-2) trial will be a parallel-arm multicenter randomized trial to test the hypothesis that IES combined with routine care reduces sacral and ischial pressure injury over time compared to routine care alone. We plan to enroll 548 patients across various centers. Hospitalized patients with stage 1 or stage 2 sacral or ischial pressure injuries will be randomized to IES and routine care or routine care alone. Wound stage will be followed until death, discharge, or the development of an exclusion criteria for up to 3 months. The primary endpoint will be pressure injury score measured over time., Discussion: Sacral and ischial pressure injuries present a burden to hospitalized patients with both clinical and economic consequences. The PROTECT-2 trial will evaluate whether IES is an effective intervention and thus reduces progression of stage 1 and stage 2 sacral and ischial pressure injuries., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05085288 Registered October 20, 2021., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In proteomics, fast, efficient, and highly reproducible sample preparation is of utmost importance, particularly in view of fast scanning mass spectrometers enabling analyses of large sample series. To address this need, we have developed the web application MassSpecPreppy that operates on the open science OT-2 liquid handling robot from Opentrons. This platform can prepare up to 96 samples at once, performing tasks like BCA protein concentration determination, sample digestion with normalization, reduction/alkylation and peptide elution into vials or loading specified peptide amounts onto Evotips in an automated and flexible manner. The performance of the developed workflows using MassSpecPreppy was compared with standard manual sample preparation workflows. The BCA assay experiments revealed an average recovery of 101.3% (SD: ± 7.82%) for the MassSpecPreppy workflow, while the manual workflow had a recovery of 96.3% (SD: ± 9.73%). The species mix used in the evaluation experiments showed that 94.5% of protein groups for OT-2 digestion and 95% for manual digestion passed the significance thresholds with comparable peptide level coefficient of variations. These results demonstrate that MassSpecPreppy is a versatile and scalable platform for automated sample preparation, producing injection-ready samples for proteomics research., (© 2023 The Authors. PROTEOMICS published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)