This study was aimed at investigating the prevalence of human bocavirus (HBoV) among Jordanian ch... more This study was aimed at investigating the prevalence of human bocavirus (HBoV) among Jordanian children hospitalised with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) as well as the clinical feature associated with HBoV infection, the seasonal distribution of HBoV and the DNA sequencing of HBoV positive samples. A total of 220 nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from children below 13 years of age who were hospitalised with LRTI in order to detect the presence of HBoV using real-time polymerase chain reaction assay and direct HBoV sequencing. HBoV was detected in 20 (9.1 percent) patients, whose median age was four (range 0.8-12) months. Children under the age of 12 months were more susceptible to HBoV infection (p-value is 0.016). The main clinical diagnoses of patients infected with HBoV were bronchopneumonia (35 percent) and bronchiolitis (30 percent). Coughing (100 percent), wheezing (82.7 percent) and fever (68.2 percent) were the most prominent symptoms in infected patients. HBoV infections were seasonal; increasing in cooler months, diminishing in the summer and peaking in March (45 percent). Direct DNA sequencing revealed that three out of 20 (15 percent) specimens were identical to Stockholm 1 and 2 isolates, and single base pair substitution (A to T) at codon 92 was found in 17 out of the 20 (85 percent) specimens that were positive for HBoV, resulting in a threonine-to-serine substitution. More attention should be given to diagnosing HBoV in patients with LRTI using molecular techniques.
A prospective study was carried out on 210 cases of children under 10 years of age with fever. Ca... more A prospective study was carried out on 210 cases of children under 10 years of age with fever. Cases of gastroenteritis, respiratory tract infections, and suspected sepsis in children seen or admitted to the pediatric hospital were studied. Clinical and microbiological data were recorded in a questionnaire or obtained from patient medical records. Most of the children with septicemia (71.3 per cent) were less than 1 year old. Focal source of bacteremia was gastroenteritis (40.4 per cent), pneumonia or bronchopneumonia (20 per cent), meningitis (7.4 per cent), and urinary tract infections (7.4 per cent). The predominant pathogens isolated from blood or stool specimens were gram-positive bacteria (53.3 per cent), mainly Streptococcus pneumoniae and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. The gram-negative bacteria (45.6 per cent) were mainly Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Yersinia spp. One case of Candida albicans (1.1 per cent) was reported. Pasteurella pneumotropica was reported in two cases for the first time. The mortality rate was 4 per cent, mostly from septicemia cases. Long duration of hospitalization (> 10 days) and parenteral feeding were identified as risk factors. Resistance of the isolated pathogens to several commonly used antibiotics was observed. Empirical treatment with antibiotics is recommended only in life-threatening cases.
The antibacterial activity of ethanol extracts of 15 plant species used in the traditional medici... more The antibacterial activity of ethanol extracts of 15 plant species used in the traditional medicine in Jordan and other Middle East countries were tested. Extracts of certain parts of these plants were tested in vitro against 14 pathogenic bacterial species and strains using the agar diffusion method. Results evaluated as the diameter of inhibition zone of bacterial growth showed that 25 mg/well of 12 plant extracts have antibacterial activity on one or more of the testedbacteria. Three plants exhibited broad spectrum antibacterial activity: Punica granatum L., Quercus infectoria Olive., and Rhus coriaria L. The most susceptible bacteria were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus and Streptococcus pyogenes (ATCC 12351), and the most resistant species were Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922 and clinical isolates), Klebsiella pneumoniae, Shigella dysentriae (ATCC 49345), and Yersinia enterocolitica (ATCC 9610). The minimum inhibitory oncentrations (MIC) of active extracts ranged from 4–32...
We describe here four synthetic peptides derived from the hemagglutinin of measles virus. The pep... more We describe here four synthetic peptides derived from the hemagglutinin of measles virus. The peptides were predicted by a computer program combining hydrophilicity, flexibility, surface probability, secondary structure and antigenic index parameters of the amino acid sequence of measles virus hemagglutinin. Rabbits were immunized with the synthesized peptides conjugated to purified protein derivative using immunostimulating complex as adjuvant. Anti-peptide antisera raised in rabbits against the peptide conjugates reacted well with the homologous peptides and with measles virus antigen as tested with plate ELISA. None of these sera had either neutralizing or hemagglutination inhibiting antibody or reacted with measles hemagglutinin protein in Western blot and reacted weakly in immunofluorescence. Human sera positive for measles virus antibody reacted with the synthesized peptides indicating that the selected locations function as partial antigenic sites.
Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used for identification and assessment of genetic div... more Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used for identification and assessment of genetic diversity between isolates of Streptomyces from soil. Genomic DNA from 18 Streptomyces isolates and 2 reference strains were amplified using four different 10-mer primers. Different DNA fingerprinting patterns were obtained for all the isolates. Electrophoretic and cluster analysis of the amplification products revealed incidence of polymorphism among the isolates and none of them was identical to the reference strains although there were some common amplification bands. Two highly divergent groups were determined among the isolates. The results indicate that RAPD is an efficient method for discriminating and studying genetic diversity of Streptomyces isolates.
A computer program combining of hydrophilicity, flexibility, surface probability, secondary struc... more A computer program combining of hydrophilicity, flexibility, surface probability, secondary structure and antigenic index parameters of the amino acid sequence of measles virus (MV) fusion protein was used to select four possible epitopes. Rabbits were immunized with the synthesized peptides conjugated to purified protein derivative using the homobifunctional cross-linker bis-sulfosuccinimidyl suberate. Immune stimulating complexes were prepared with the peptides conjugated to the purified protein derivative carrier using a dialysis method. All antisera raised in rabbits against the peptide conjugates had a high titer to the homologous peptides and reacted well with denatured MV as tested by plate ELISA. None of the sera had neutralizing antibody. Human sera positive for MV antibody reacted strongly with the synthesized peptides indicating that the selected locations function as partial antigenic sites. Antisera against peptide conjugates reacted weakly in immunofluorescence and non...
Sixteen isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis recovered from different Jordanian habitats were compa... more Sixteen isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis recovered from different Jordanian habitats were compared using random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) to determine whether they could be differentiated at the molecular level. Total genomic DNA from each isolate and three reference strains were amplified using 10-mer primers. Electrophoretic analysis of the amplification products revealed the incidence of polymorphism among the isolates. Pair-wise comparisons of polymorphic products were used to construct a dendrogram applying the cluster analysis. Fifteen of the isolates were all in one major cluster which was divided into six small groups. Such analysis showed some regional variation among the isolates, but did not indicate a clearly defined habitat locational pattern of the DNA polymorphism.
... 2. Ibrahim R. Thwiny Buraidah Maternity and Pediatric Hospital, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia. ... ... more ... 2. Ibrahim R. Thwiny Buraidah Maternity and Pediatric Hospital, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia. ... Bern et al., reported that rotavirus group A was significantly associated with watery diar-rhea in Bangladesh.34 In this study 41 per cent of the patients had watery diarrhea (results not ...
... the bacteria. In Lepidoptera as well as in Diptera, the 8endotoxin affects mainly the midgut ... more ... the bacteria. In Lepidoptera as well as in Diptera, the 8endotoxin affects mainly the midgut epithelium (Heimpel and Angus, 1959; Sutter and Raun, 1967; de Barjac, 1978b;Lacey and Federici, 1979). The pathological observations ...
This study was aimed at investigating the prevalence of human bocavirus (HBoV) among Jordanian ch... more This study was aimed at investigating the prevalence of human bocavirus (HBoV) among Jordanian children hospitalised with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) as well as the clinical feature associated with HBoV infection, the seasonal distribution of HBoV and the DNA sequencing of HBoV positive samples. A total of 220 nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from children below 13 years of age who were hospitalised with LRTI in order to detect the presence of HBoV using real-time polymerase chain reaction assay and direct HBoV sequencing. HBoV was detected in 20 (9.1 percent) patients, whose median age was four (range 0.8-12) months. Children under the age of 12 months were more susceptible to HBoV infection (p-value is 0.016). The main clinical diagnoses of patients infected with HBoV were bronchopneumonia (35 percent) and bronchiolitis (30 percent). Coughing (100 percent), wheezing (82.7 percent) and fever (68.2 percent) were the most prominent symptoms in infected patients. HBoV infections were seasonal; increasing in cooler months, diminishing in the summer and peaking in March (45 percent). Direct DNA sequencing revealed that three out of 20 (15 percent) specimens were identical to Stockholm 1 and 2 isolates, and single base pair substitution (A to T) at codon 92 was found in 17 out of the 20 (85 percent) specimens that were positive for HBoV, resulting in a threonine-to-serine substitution. More attention should be given to diagnosing HBoV in patients with LRTI using molecular techniques.
A prospective study was carried out on 210 cases of children under 10 years of age with fever. Ca... more A prospective study was carried out on 210 cases of children under 10 years of age with fever. Cases of gastroenteritis, respiratory tract infections, and suspected sepsis in children seen or admitted to the pediatric hospital were studied. Clinical and microbiological data were recorded in a questionnaire or obtained from patient medical records. Most of the children with septicemia (71.3 per cent) were less than 1 year old. Focal source of bacteremia was gastroenteritis (40.4 per cent), pneumonia or bronchopneumonia (20 per cent), meningitis (7.4 per cent), and urinary tract infections (7.4 per cent). The predominant pathogens isolated from blood or stool specimens were gram-positive bacteria (53.3 per cent), mainly Streptococcus pneumoniae and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. The gram-negative bacteria (45.6 per cent) were mainly Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Yersinia spp. One case of Candida albicans (1.1 per cent) was reported. Pasteurella pneumotropica was reported in two cases for the first time. The mortality rate was 4 per cent, mostly from septicemia cases. Long duration of hospitalization (> 10 days) and parenteral feeding were identified as risk factors. Resistance of the isolated pathogens to several commonly used antibiotics was observed. Empirical treatment with antibiotics is recommended only in life-threatening cases.
The antibacterial activity of ethanol extracts of 15 plant species used in the traditional medici... more The antibacterial activity of ethanol extracts of 15 plant species used in the traditional medicine in Jordan and other Middle East countries were tested. Extracts of certain parts of these plants were tested in vitro against 14 pathogenic bacterial species and strains using the agar diffusion method. Results evaluated as the diameter of inhibition zone of bacterial growth showed that 25 mg/well of 12 plant extracts have antibacterial activity on one or more of the testedbacteria. Three plants exhibited broad spectrum antibacterial activity: Punica granatum L., Quercus infectoria Olive., and Rhus coriaria L. The most susceptible bacteria were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus and Streptococcus pyogenes (ATCC 12351), and the most resistant species were Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922 and clinical isolates), Klebsiella pneumoniae, Shigella dysentriae (ATCC 49345), and Yersinia enterocolitica (ATCC 9610). The minimum inhibitory oncentrations (MIC) of active extracts ranged from 4–32...
We describe here four synthetic peptides derived from the hemagglutinin of measles virus. The pep... more We describe here four synthetic peptides derived from the hemagglutinin of measles virus. The peptides were predicted by a computer program combining hydrophilicity, flexibility, surface probability, secondary structure and antigenic index parameters of the amino acid sequence of measles virus hemagglutinin. Rabbits were immunized with the synthesized peptides conjugated to purified protein derivative using immunostimulating complex as adjuvant. Anti-peptide antisera raised in rabbits against the peptide conjugates reacted well with the homologous peptides and with measles virus antigen as tested with plate ELISA. None of these sera had either neutralizing or hemagglutination inhibiting antibody or reacted with measles hemagglutinin protein in Western blot and reacted weakly in immunofluorescence. Human sera positive for measles virus antibody reacted with the synthesized peptides indicating that the selected locations function as partial antigenic sites.
Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used for identification and assessment of genetic div... more Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used for identification and assessment of genetic diversity between isolates of Streptomyces from soil. Genomic DNA from 18 Streptomyces isolates and 2 reference strains were amplified using four different 10-mer primers. Different DNA fingerprinting patterns were obtained for all the isolates. Electrophoretic and cluster analysis of the amplification products revealed incidence of polymorphism among the isolates and none of them was identical to the reference strains although there were some common amplification bands. Two highly divergent groups were determined among the isolates. The results indicate that RAPD is an efficient method for discriminating and studying genetic diversity of Streptomyces isolates.
A computer program combining of hydrophilicity, flexibility, surface probability, secondary struc... more A computer program combining of hydrophilicity, flexibility, surface probability, secondary structure and antigenic index parameters of the amino acid sequence of measles virus (MV) fusion protein was used to select four possible epitopes. Rabbits were immunized with the synthesized peptides conjugated to purified protein derivative using the homobifunctional cross-linker bis-sulfosuccinimidyl suberate. Immune stimulating complexes were prepared with the peptides conjugated to the purified protein derivative carrier using a dialysis method. All antisera raised in rabbits against the peptide conjugates had a high titer to the homologous peptides and reacted well with denatured MV as tested by plate ELISA. None of the sera had neutralizing antibody. Human sera positive for MV antibody reacted strongly with the synthesized peptides indicating that the selected locations function as partial antigenic sites. Antisera against peptide conjugates reacted weakly in immunofluorescence and non...
Sixteen isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis recovered from different Jordanian habitats were compa... more Sixteen isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis recovered from different Jordanian habitats were compared using random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) to determine whether they could be differentiated at the molecular level. Total genomic DNA from each isolate and three reference strains were amplified using 10-mer primers. Electrophoretic analysis of the amplification products revealed the incidence of polymorphism among the isolates. Pair-wise comparisons of polymorphic products were used to construct a dendrogram applying the cluster analysis. Fifteen of the isolates were all in one major cluster which was divided into six small groups. Such analysis showed some regional variation among the isolates, but did not indicate a clearly defined habitat locational pattern of the DNA polymorphism.
... 2. Ibrahim R. Thwiny Buraidah Maternity and Pediatric Hospital, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia. ... ... more ... 2. Ibrahim R. Thwiny Buraidah Maternity and Pediatric Hospital, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia. ... Bern et al., reported that rotavirus group A was significantly associated with watery diar-rhea in Bangladesh.34 In this study 41 per cent of the patients had watery diarrhea (results not ...
... the bacteria. In Lepidoptera as well as in Diptera, the 8endotoxin affects mainly the midgut ... more ... the bacteria. In Lepidoptera as well as in Diptera, the 8endotoxin affects mainly the midgut epithelium (Heimpel and Angus, 1959; Sutter and Raun, 1967; de Barjac, 1978b;Lacey and Federici, 1979). The pathological observations ...
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