Introduction: Most hospitals rely on rapid antigen-detection kits for the diagnosis of rotavirus infection. Several small studies reviewed the sensitivity and specificity of some of these kits. These studies showed discrepancy in results obtained for sensitivity and specificity that varied according to the type of kit used, area of study, and type of test used as standard for diagnosis of rotavirus infection. The objective of the study is to determine the sensitivity and specificity of five commonly used rotavirus immunoassay kits in comparison to RT-PCR as standard. Methodology: Stool samples (N = 1,414) collected from children under 5 years of age hospitalized with gastroenteritis were tested for rotavirus by immunoassay kits and RT-PCR in a prospective hospital-based surveillance study conducted at 7 centers in Lebanon. Concordance and discrepancy between the two methods was used to calculate sensitivity and specificity, using RT-PCR as the “gold standard”. Results: The sensitivity and specificity were respectively 95.08% and 86.62% for the SD Bioline® (Standard Diagnostics, Inc, South Korea) kit calculated on 645 samples, 65.86% and 45.90% for the VIROTECT® (Trinity Biotech, Ireland) kit calculated on 327 samples, 83.9% and 64.2% for the Rota-Strip (C-1001) (Coris Bioconcept, Belgium) calculated on 95 samples, 52.3% and 10.9% for the Acon® (Acon Laboratories, Inc, California, USA) kit calculated on 122 samples, 68.1% and 20% for the VIKIA® Rota-Adéno (Biomerieux, France) kit calculated on 32 samples. Conclusion: A wide discrepancy was detected between the calculated and advertised sensitivity and specificity for most of the kits.

Objective: a descriptive and practical study was conducted on a random sample of 150 infants had taken from child health care centers in Basrah governorate (Iraq), who fed on breast milk or dried formula milk and involved males with females at age 1month old and they were followed for the full 12 months of their lives to show the impact of the milk type on the child’s health , growth and body characteristics. Results: The most remarkable results showed that all infants were had their own vaccines. 40.9% of breastfed babies were dynamically active , while 100% of formula lactation babies were inactive and lethargic . All breastfed babies were not refuse suckles from mother breast while formula fed babies were refuse. Also , 27.3% of breastfeeding babies had diarrhea and vomiting compared to 72.7% who didn’t had , whereas an opposite ratios 75% , 25% was in formula feeding babies . Moreover , 27.3% of breastfed babies were had a walking delay compared to 67.9% of formula fed babies. In body measurements, the breastfeeding babies were gain weight more over formula lactation babies, where the average weight gain was 12-18gm in 4-20 weeks and increased to 46gm in 48 weeks post-birth. In favor of breastfed infants, the head perimeter growth rate was 2-3 cm between the months of 5-12 and the rate of increasing body length was 4-5 cm per month , along full year of their age. Conclusions: Mother's milk ensures a healthy and optimal infant diet that meets all of the infant's nutritional needs that help the child grow more efficiently in terms of motor and skill activity, as well as psychological and cognitive development, which is socially reflected by improved parent-child relationship. It has a strong effect on naturally increasing of weight, height and head size, increases immunity and prevents diseases such as scurvy and rickets.

Sage extract was created by researchers using a water solvent at extraction levels of 3%, 5%, 7%, and 10% before being added to lab-made yogurt. These yogurt test tubes were kept at 4°C throughout the 14 days. A laboratory test was conducted to determine the antioxidant activity of the components of the bioactive extract all of which performed better than the control. The plant's chemical analysis revealed that the extract contains active ingredients detected by high-performance liquid chromatography with antioxidant properties comparable to those of BHT and synthetic ascorbic acid. Previous phytochemical studies confirmed that sage contains active compounds with antioxidant potential, suggesting its possible application as a natural alternative to synthetic antioxidants such as BHT and ascorbic acid, and even outperforming ascorbic acid in DPPH radical scavenging tests. The value of sage extract was 81.85±0. 38. After storage, yogurt samples showed a significant increase in titratable acidity and a decrease in pH they reached (4.28±0.06, 4.34±0.07, 4.41±0.07, 4.56±0.08, 4.71±0.1) respectively immediately after manufacturing and increased at the end of the storage period for all treatments. The DPPH radical scavenging test showed that the addition of stage extract significantly enhanced yogurts antioxidant activity. Yogurt with the different sage extracts had better sensory qualities than the control treatment; the 5% extract treatment was the best. The efficacy of sage extract as a natural preservative was demonstrated by the fortified yogurt's ability to maintain acceptable quality and storage conditions for 14 days.

Palm trees are economic trees in the world, and the similarity in fruit characteristics may be since they are strains that belong to the same original variety. The current study was conducted during the growing season 2022-2023 on date palm tree cultivars "Barhi and Deglet Barhi", which were grown in one of the orchards in Balad location, north of Baghdad. The trees were subjected to the same agricultural practices and pollinated using pollen grains of the "Ghannami Ahmer" male cultivar. Fruit clusters per palm were adjusted to eight. A factorial experiment was designed using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two factors and the results showed that there were significant differences in the vegetative growth and floral indicators between the two cultivars, as Barhi was significantly superior to Deglet Barhi in circumference of trunk, leaf length and width, length of the pinnae zone, length of the spine zone and length and weight of spadix. As for changes in the physical and chemical characteristics of fruits, Deglet Barhi cultivar was superior to Barhi one in the fresh weight of the fruit, the fresh weight of the fruit flesh, the volume of the fruit, and water content of fruits, while the Barhi cultivar was the best in total soluble solids and total and reduced sugars. Regarding the yield and its components, the Barhi cultivar outperformed the Deglet Barhi cultivar in the number of spikes per cluster and the number of fruits per spike, cluster weight, and date palm yield. The current study aims to compare the vegetative and floral indicators, yield, and qualitative characteristics of date palm fruits of Barhi and Deglet Barhi cultivars.

Objective: Isolation the bacteria from food source has a probiotic characterization and evaluate the inhibitory activity against bacterial pathogens. Methods: Lactic acid bacteria from various sources are isolated by the MRS-CaCO3Agar medium, the isolates were purified and microscopic, biochemical were tested. The antibacterial activity of cell free supernatant (CFS) against Bacillus subtilis , Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli also testing. The isolate was selected based on high inhibitory activity and genetic diagnosis were performed. Results: the highest inhibitory diameter against Gram-positive bacteria was recorded with a diameter of 13 mm to Staph aureus. The results showed that the bacterial isolate Gram positive, immobile, negative for catalyze, Esculin hydrolysis, and CO2 production from glucose, grows at 10- 45⸰C, 2- 6.5% Nacl, and at pH 4.5- 6.9. It had the ability to ferment of sucrose, mannitol, arabinose, sorbitol and xylose. The diagnosis of isolation has been genetically confirmed to the species Enterococcus faecium. Conclusion: The E. faecium can be considered as probiotics in a safe manner to adaptive immune, in addition to the possibility of using it as a potential source of natural antibacterial agent in food and pharmaceutical industries.