Over the past few decades, the health benefits are under threat as many commonly used antibiotics have become less and less effective against certain illnesses not only because many of them produce toxic reactions but also due to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. The clinical use of a combination of antibiotic therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections is probably more effective than monotherapy. The present study aims to estimate the antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of Conocarpus erectus leaves extracts against multi-drug resistant P. aeruginosa isolated from different hospitals in Baghdad city. One hundred fifty different clinical specimens were collected from patients from September 2021 to January 2022. All samples were cultured on specific and differential media, only 83 isolates were able to grow on cetrimide agar and at 42˚C, and then the VITEK 2 compact system was dependent to complete the identification. The results showed that the high resistance of the isolates was to the two antibiotics Ceftriaxone and Amoxicillin-Clavulanic acid with a percentage of (92.7%) and (89.2%) respectively, followed by Trimethoprim with a resistance rate of (79.5%). Ten isolates with multi-drug resistance are selected to evaluate the antibacterial activity of plant extracts and the combination between Conocarpus erectus extract and antibiotics. Maceration and Soxhlet apparatus were used to prepare the methanolic and aqueous extracts. The results of the radical scavenging ability showed that the methanolic and aqueous extracts (96.44 and 94.13%) in 10 mg/ml respectively, were more than the artificial antioxidant (BHT) which was 93.11% and the approach with the vitamin C which was 97.20%. The results of the total phenolic content were observed at 51.58 and 65.60 mg/g in 5 mg/ml for the aqueous and methanolic extracts respectively. The antibacterial activity of C. erectus leaves extracts showed that the methanolic extract was more effective than the aqueous extract at a concentration of 100 mg/ml. The results of the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the methanolic extract against P. aeruginosa were between 8-32 mg\ml. While the MIC values of the aqueous extract were 128-256 mg\ml. The synergistic activity between C. erectus methanolic extract and antibiotics against multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa was assessed using the checkerboard analysis technique. The methanolic extract showed a synergistic effect with Cefepime against six isolates (FICI: ≤0.5), and an additive effect against four isolates (FICI: (≥ 0.5–1.0). Furthermore, a synergistic effect with Ceftriaxone against seven isolates and additive interaction was found against three isolates.
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We studied the effect of certain environmental conditions for removing heavy metal elements from contaminated aqueous solutions (Cd, Cu, Pb, Fe, Zn, Ni, Cr) using the bacterium Bacillus subtilis to appoint the optimal conditions for removal ,The best optimum temperature range for two isolate was 30-35○C while the hydrogen number for the maximum mineral removal range was 6-7. The best primary mineral removal was 100 mg/L, while the maximum removal for all minerals was obtained after 6 hrs of Cu element time and the maximum removal efficiency was obtained after 24 hrs of Cu element. The results have proved that the best aeration for maximum removal was obtained at rotation speed of 150 rpm/minute. Inoculums of 5ml/100ml which contained 1
... Show MoreElectrochemical oxidation in the presence of sodium chloride used for removal of phenol and any other organic by products formed during the electrolysis by using MnO2/graphite electrode. The performance of the electrode was evaluated in terms fraction of phenol and the formed organic by products removed during the electrolysis process. The results showed that the electrochemical oxidation process was very effective in the removal of phenol and the other organics, where the removal percentage of phenol was 97.33%, and the final value of TOC was 6.985 ppm after 4 hours and by using a speed of rotation of the MnO2 electrode equal to 200 rpm.
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The study aims at investigating the effectiveness of the Virtual Library Technology, in developing the achievement of the English Language Skills in the Center of Development and Continuous Education, in comparison with the individual learning via personal computer to investigate the students' attitude towards the use of both approaches. The population of the study includes the participants in the English Language course arranged in the Center. The sample includes 60 students who were randomly chosen from the whole population (participants in English Courses for the year 2009-2010). The sample is randomly chosen and divided into two experimental groups. The first group has learned through classroom technology; while the other group has l
... Show MoreAutomatic Programming Assessment (APA) has been gaining lots of attention among researchers mainly to support automated grading and marking of students’ programming assignments or exercises systematically. APA is commonly identified as a method that can enhance accuracy, efficiency and consistency as well as providing instant feedback on students’ programming solutions. In achieving APA, test data generation process is very important so as to perform a dynamic testing on students’ assignment. In software testing field, many researches that focus on test data generation have demonstrated the successful of adoption of Meta-Heuristic Search Techniques (MHST) so as to enhance the procedure of deriving adequate test data for efficient t
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This study aims to assess the removal efficiency andestablish the BOD5 and COD statisticalcorrelation of the sewage flowing in Al-Diwaniyah wastewater treatment plant in Iraq during the study period (2005-2016). The strength of the influent wastewater entering the plant varied from medium to high in strength. High concentrations of BOD5 and COD in the effluent were obtained due to the poor performance of the plant. This was observed from the BOD5 /COD ratios that did not confirm with the typical ratios for the treated sewage. To improve the performance of this plant, regression equations for BOD5 and COD removal percentages were suggested which can be used to facilitate evaluation of liquid waste and optimal control process. The equations
... Show MoreThe main objective of this study is to determine whether the use of He-Ne Laser (632.8 nm wavelength and power 0.5 mW) is an eligible and effective tool to kill or reduce the cell viability of Candida albicans isolated from complete upper dentures. Twenty one swabs were taken from the complete upper dentures. Only six swabs showed positive cultures for C. albicans. The isolate was divided into two groups, group I was not irradiated (control), and group II was irradiated by He-Ne Laser for different periods (10, 15, 20, and 30) min. After irradiation, the results showed a significant reduction in the viable cell count and colonies diameters especially at exposure periods 10 and 15 min. Although the low power He-Ne Laser was not eradicating t
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This investigation aims to explore the potential of waterworks sludge (WS), low-cost byproduct of water treatment processes, as a sorbent for removing Congo Red (CR) dyes. This will be achieved by precipitating nano-sized (MgAl-LDH)-layered double hydroxide onto the surface of the sludge. The efficiency of utilizing MgAl-LDH to modify waterworks sludge (MWS) for use in permeable reactive barrier technology was confirmed through analysis with Fourier transform infrared and X-ray diffraction. The isotherm model was employed to elucidate the adsorption mechanisms involved in the process. Furthermore, the COMSOL model was utilized to establish a continuous testing model for the analysis of contaminant transport under diverse conditions.
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