Cataract is an opacity in the normally transparent focusing lens of the eye which leads to blindness. The aim of current study is to investigate the possible protective and therapeutic effects of aqueous extract of Foeniculum vulgare seed eye drops (0.5%) against selenite induced cataract in rabbits. Aqueous extract of Foeniculum vulgare seed prepared then formulated as eye drops. Sodium selenite used to induce cataract in rabbits' right eye by single intravitreal injection. Thirty-six rabbits included in the study and divided into three equal groups (12 rabbits in each group): healthy control group, Cataract-Induced group and group treated by Foeniculum vulgare seed extract eye drops. Parameters include the score of lens opacity which was determined by using an ophthalmoscope, pupillary response to light, pupil diameter, Corneal sensation, Conjunctival redness, intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement, malondialdehyde (MDA) level in aqueous humor and scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of the eye lens. The results of this study revealed that eye drop of Foeniculum vulgare seed extract was highly significantly reduced the mean of lens opacity score in comparison with cataract-induced group after two weeks of cataract induction (p< 0.01). MDA level of the group treated with Foeniculum vulgare seed extract eye drops was highly significant less than the MDA level of cataract-induced group (p< 0.01). SEM image of rabbit's lens treated by Foeniculum vulgare seed extract eye drops shows normal appearances of the eye lens. in conclusion, eye drops prepared from aqueous extracts of Foeniculum Vulgare seed had protective and …
The effects of nutrients and physical conditions on phytase production were investigated with a recently isolated strain of Aspergillus tubingensis SKA under solid state fermentation on wheat bran. The nutrient factors investigated included carbon source, nitrogen source, phosphate source and concentration, metal ions (salts) and the physical parameters investigated included inoculum size, pH, temperature and fermentation duration. Our investigations revealed that optimal productivity of phytase was achieved using wheat bran supplemented with: 1.5% glucose. 0.5% (NH4)2SO4, 0.1% sodium phytate. Additionally, optimal physical conditions were 1 × 105 spore/g substrate, initial pH of 5.0, temperature of fermentation 30˚C and fermentation dura
... Show MoreIn the present study, magnet silica-coated Ag2WO4/Ag2S nanocomposites (FOSOAWAS) were fabricated via a multistep method to address the drawbacks related to single photocatalysts (pure Ag2WO4 and pure Ag2S) and to clarify the significant influence of semiconductor heterojunction on the enhancement of visible-light-driven organic degradation. Different techniques were performed to investigate the elemental composition, morphology, magnetic and photoelectrochemical properties of the fabricated FOSOAWAS photocatalyst. The FOSOAWAS photocatalyst (1 g/L) exhibited excellent photodegradation efficiency (99.5%) against Congo red dye (CR = 20 ppm) after 140 min of visible-light illumination. This result confirmed the ability of the heterojunction be
... Show MorePurpose Heavy metals are toxic pollutants released into the environment as a result of different industrial activities. Biosorption of heavy metals from aqueous solutions is a new technology for the treatment of industrial wastewater. The aim of the present research is to highlight the basic biosorption theory to heavy metal removal. Materials and methods Heterogeneous cultures mostly dried anaerobic bacteria, yeast (fungi), and protozoa were used as low-cost material to remove metallic cations Pb(II), Cr(III), and Cd(II) from synthetic wastewater. Competitive biosorption of these metals was studied. Results The main biosorption mechanisms were complexation and physical adsorption onto natural active functional groups. It is observed that
... Show MoreBacteriocin is an important antimicrobial peptide that can be used in industrial and medical fields due to its characteristics of antibacterial, food preservation and anticancer activities. Fifty isolates of Bacillus sp were collected from different soil samples which were already recognized via morphological and biochemical identification process. The isolates were screened for bacteriocin production effective against Staphylococcus spp in order to select the highest producing isolate. The isolate NK16 showed the maximum bacteriocin production (80 AU/ml) which was further characterized as Bacillus subtilis NK 16 through using API identification system (API 20E and API 50CHB). Then, next step was to detect the optimal conditions for maximum
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The purpose of our study was to develop Dabigatran Etexilate loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (DE-NLCs) using Glyceryl monostearate and Oleic acid as lipid matrix, and to estimate the potential of the developed delivery system to improve oral absorption of low bioavailability drug, different Oleic acid ratios effect on particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency and loading capacity were studied, the optimized DE-NLCs shows a particle size within the nanorange, the zeta potential (ZP) was 33.81±0.73mV with drug entrapment efficiency (EE%) of 92.42±2.31% and a loading capacity (DL%) of 7.69±0.17%. about 92% of drug was released in 24hr in a controlled manner, the ex-vivo intestinal p
... Show MoreThis study expands the state of the art in studies that assess torsional retrofit of reinforced concrete (RC) multi-cell box girders with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips. The torsional behavior of non-damaged and pre-damaged RC multi-cell box girder specimens externally retrofitted by CFRP strips was investigated through a series of laboratory experiments. It was found that retrofitting the pre-damaged specimens with CFRP strips increased the ultimate torsional capacity by more than 50% as compared to the un-damaged specimens subjected to equivalent retrofitting. This indicated that the retrofit has been less effective for the girder specimen that did not develop distortion beforehand as a result of pre-loading. From
... Show MoreUrinary tract infection is a bacterial infection that often affects the bladder and thus the urinary system. E. coli is one of the leading uropathogenic bacteria that cause urinary tract infections. Uropathogenic E. coli is highly effective and successful in causing urinary tract infections through biofilm formation and urothelial cell invasion mechanisms. Other organisms that cause urinary tract infections include members of the Enterobacteriaceae family, streptococci and staphylococci species and perch. In addition, K.penumoniae is another important gram-negative bacterium that causes urinary tract infections. With the PCR technique, unseen bacterial species can be detected using standard clinical microbiology methods. In this study, the
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