To elucidate the anti- Methicillin resistance Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) effect of pomegranate alone and in combination with moxifloxacin fluoroquinolone. A total of five clinical isolates of MRSA (ATCC 43300) were used in the study. Disc diffusion method was used to determine the anti-MRSA effect of pomegranate and/or moxifloxacin by using Mueller-Hinton agar. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) of moxifloxacin and pomegranate were calculated, the dynamic picture of the bactericidal effect of pomegranate and/or moxifloxacin was determined. SPSS version 20.00 was used for data analysis. Zone of inhibition (ZOI) of moxifloxacin was 19.67±4.84mm which was not significant compared with pomegranate ZOI 14.59±2.73mm, (P=0.07). The combination of moxifloxacin and pomegranate led to more significant ZOI (26.83±4.91mm) compared with moxifloxacin (P=0.04) and pomegranate alone (P=0.0012). MIC of pomegranate was high (31.62±6.95mg/mL) compared with low MIC of moxifloxacin (2.70±0.63 mg/mL), (P<0.0001), while MIC of the combination was low (1.22±0.85mg/mL) compared MIC of moxifloxacin, (P=0.012). FIC of pomegranate was 0.038 and FIC of moxifloxacin was 0.45, therefore sFIC index was 0.488, equal to the synergistic effect. The kill rates of combination were higher than those of pomegranate or moxifloxacin, against MRSA ATCC 43300. Ellagic acid-rich pomegranate extract alone has significant antibacterial activity and synergizes the bactericidal effect of moxifloxacin against MRSA.
The development of new building materials, able of absorbing more energy is an active research area. Engineering Cementitious Composite (ECC) is a class of super-elastic fiberreinforced cement composites characterized by high ductility and tight crack width control. The use of bendable concrete produced from Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) may lead to an interest in new concrete mixes. Impact results of bendable concrete reinforced with steel mesh and polymer fibers will provide data for the use of this concrete in areas subject to impact loading. The experimental part consisted of compressive strength and impact resistance tests along with a result comparison with unreinforced concrete. Concrete samples, with dimensions of 100×
... Show MoreThe clinical impact of interaction between body iron status (serum iron and ferritin) and type 2 diabetes has been investigated in this study. Thirty-six females were enrolled, eighteen type 2 diabetes and eighteen apparently healthy. These two groups were matched for age and body mass index BMI. The eighteen diabetes females were matched for age, BMI, pharmacological treatment (oral hypoglycemic agent), and chronic diabetes complications. The biochemical parameters measured for both groups (control and diabetes patient) were fasting insulin (Io), fasting blood glucose (Go), serum iron and ferritin. A significant increase in all parameters in patients compared to healthy control was noticed. The insulin resistance (IR) which was calculat
... Show MoreSKF Dr. Abbas S. Alwan, Dhurgham I. Khudher, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES & RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY, 2015
The study analyzed the current situation of public hospitals in the capital of Baghdad exclusively and diagnosed the resources available; especially after the high demand for these hospitals as a result of the citizen’s need to review the hospital to take care of them, especially after the Corona pandemic. Eight major hospitals in Baghdad were selected to determine the current reality of providing fire safety tools or equipment and what are the preventive measures needed to reduce it. The results after practical study showed many defects and weaknesses in the current situation due to their reliance on the traditional management to manage and provide all preventive measures and safet
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a ubiquitous environmental organism, is a difficult-to-treat opportunistic pathogen due to its broad-spectrum antibiotic resistance and its ability to form biofilms. In this study, we investigate the link between resistance to a clinically important antibiotic, imipenem, and biofilm formation. First, we observed that the laboratory strain P. aeruginosa PAO1 carrying a mutation in the oprD gene, which confers resistance to imipenem, showed a modest reduction in biofilm formation.We also observed an inverse relationship between imipenem resistance and biofilm formation for imipenem-resistant strains selected in vitro, as well as for clinical isolates.We identified two clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa from the sputum
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Stainless steel (AISI 304) has good electrical and thermal conductivities, good corrosion resistance at ambient temperature, apart from these it is cheap and abundantly available; but has good mechanical properties such as hardness. To improve the hardness and corrosion resistance of stainless steel its surface can be modified by developing nanocomposite coatings applied on its surface. The main objective of this paper is to study effect of electroco-deposition method on microhardness and corrosion resistance of stainless steel, and to analyze effect of nanoparticles (Al2O3, ZrO2 , and SiC) on properties of composite coatings. I
... Show MoreThe bubbled slab, a type of reinforced concrete (RC) slab with plastic voids, is an innovative design that employs a biaxial distribution of voiding formers within the slab to reduce the slab’s self-weight while preserving a load-carrying capacity that is approximately comparable to that of solid slabs. This paper presents a new approach for figuring out the effective critical shear perimeter of voided slabs using the reduced-volume concept of concrete. This approach aims to reduce the coefficient of variation of the current design standards, namely the ACI 318-19 and Eurocode 2, for assessing the slabs’ resistance to punching shear. Our experimental program investigated the impact of voiding former patterns and the location of
... Show MoreThe objective of this study is to evaluate plasma levels of total Sialic acid TSA and Lipid –associated Sialic acid LSA as a marker of Rheumatoid Arthritis AR. Plasma Sialic acid is known as a parameter of inflammation. In the present study, in order to explore the potential role of sialic acid in arthritis rheumatoid, plasma sialic acid levels, plasma LSA and total protein in patients with arthritis rheumatoid were measured. A total 40 patients were compared with 40 healthy control subjects. Plasma TSA, LSA and TP level were determined spectrophotometrically in plasma samples. Plasma Sialic acid levels were significantly increased in RA (88.48±14.15 mg/dl, P<0.05) and LSA level were significantly increased in RA (26.3
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