Quorum sensing (QS) is a perfectly orchestrated molecular communication system. It is a boon for Klebsiella pneumoniae, and bane for the host. This system is believed to make K. pneumoniae a leading cause of multidrug-resistant (MDR) nosocomial infections. This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial and anti-biofilm potential of medicinal plant extracts through interfering with QS of K. pneumoniae. The effect of different concentrations of ethanolic extracts of cinnamon and clove on K. pneumoniae was determined by analyzing the growth curve, survival assay (MTT), Qualitative and quantitative biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, along with studying gene expression of the genes encoding the above traits, using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The low concentrations of the plant extracts did not affect neither on the bacterial growth, nor on the viability of K. pneumoniae, supported with growth curves. Additionally, the biofilm production was inhibited even by lower plant concentrations, and both cinnamon and clove extracts were able to render the MDR bacteria to be more susceptible to antibiotics. At the molecular levels, the bacterium treated with either clove or cinnamon or in combination showed under expression of the biofilm formation regulation gene (bssS), the carbapenem resistance gene (bla), as well as the QS target gene (LuxS). Both clove and cinnamon ethanolic extracts exerted potent impacts on reducing pathogenic traits regulated by QS in K. pneumoniae. Finally, the study recommends further exploration of clove and cinnamon extracts separately or in combination to develop alternative therapies against MDR K. pneumoniae infections.
In this research, the geotechnical properties of the soil profile in Hilla city within Babylon Governorate in the middle parts of Iraq are described. The geotechnical data at the specific sites were collected from some geotechnical investigation reports performed at some selected locations. This article is devoted to studying the distribution of soil properties (the physical and mechanical) in the horizontal and vertical directions. Moreover, a correlation between different physical and mechanical properties is performed. The correlation is executed using statistical analysis by Microsoft Excel Software (2016). From the regression results, it was found that the nature of the soil is c
Self-compacting concrete (SCC) is an innovative concrete that does not require vibration for placing and compaction. It is able to flow under its own weight, completely filling formwork and achieving full compaction, even in the presence of congested reinforcement. The effect of external sulfate attack was studied-Es (very sever exposure SO4>10000ppm) according to ACI 318-11. The mix design method of SCC used is according to EFNARC 2002, and then must satisfy the criteria of filling ability, passing ability and segregation resistance. The experimental program focuses to study two different chemical composition of sulfate resistance Portland cement with different percentage of silica fume replacement by weight of cement and W/cm (0.3 and 0.3
... Show MoreTransference numbers of the aqueous zinc chloride and zinc sulphate solutions have been measured for the concentrations 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, 0.09 and 0.1 mol.dm-3at 298.15K, by using the modified Hittorf method. The dependence of transference number on concentration of each electrolyte was also investigated in an attempt to explain the value of the limiting transference number. The Longsworth method has been used for the extrapolation of zinc transference number in aqueous solutions, using the values of the limiting transference numbers of the appropriate values of the limiting equivalent conductance, it was possible to determine the corresponding values of the limiting ion conductance for the cations and anions of the electrolytes. The
... Show MoreThe present study dealt with taxonomic characters of species Zygophyllum fabago L. in Iraq . this study included the exo-morphological characters which indicated that the species was sub-shrub with solid stem and swallow nodes ,with compound bifoliate and stipulate leaves, the flower is complete and perfect with clawed petals . stamen colored with scaly appendage , fruit capsule with ribs . Anatomical study of vegetative parts indicate that the sclerenchymal tissue was very diffuse in stem such as fibers and sclerides ( stone cells ) , the leaves were bifacial . The geographical distiribution of the species plants was studied . The results supported with photographs
Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the terrestrial invertebrates in Al-Jadriyia district Baghdad- Iraq were investigated. Forth terrestrial invertebrates snails, slug, isopods, and diplopods , were selected for this study. The results showed that all invertebrate groups have the ability in accumulate considerable amounts of heavy metals. Higher levels of zinc and copper were observed in the isopods specimens, it's about ( 60.50±0.58 ) and ( 96.00±0.58 ) ppm respectively , while higher levels of lead were observed in the diplopods specimens ,it's about ( 23.00±1.15 ) ppm ,but the higher levels of both iron and cadmium were observed in snail specimens , it's about ( 590.00±1.15 ) and ( 9.50±1.15 ) ppm respectively .but the
... Show MoreThe implementation of nanotechnology in all industries is one of most significant research fields. Nanoparticles have shown a promising application in subsurface fields. On the other hand, various surfactants have been used in the oil industry to reduce oil/water interfacial tension and also widely used to stabilize the nano-suspensions. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the improvements of surfactants ability in term of interfacial tension (γ) reduction utilizing addition of silicon dioxide nanoparticles at different temperatures and salinity. The pendant drop technique has been used to measure γ and electrical conductivity has been used to measure the critical micelle concentration (CMC). The synergistic effects of
... Show MoreOrthogonal polynomials and their moments have significant role in image processing and computer vision field. One of the polynomials is discrete Hahn polynomials (DHaPs), which are used for compression, and feature extraction. However, when the moment order becomes high, they suffer from numerical instability. This paper proposes a fast approach for computing the high orders DHaPs. This work takes advantage of the multithread for the calculation of Hahn polynomials coefficients. To take advantage of the available processing capabilities, independent calculations are divided among threads. The research provides a distribution method to achieve a more balanced processing burden among the threads. The proposed methods are tested for va
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In this study, modified organic solvent (organosolv) method was applied to remove high lignin content in the date palm fronds (type Al-Zahdi) which was taken from the Iraqi gardens. In modified organosolv, lignocellulosic material is fractionated into its constituents (lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose). In this process, solvent (organic)-water is brought into contact with the lignocellulosic biomass at high temperature, using stainless steel reactor (digester). Therefor; most of hemicellulose will remove from the biomass, while the solid residue (mainly cellulose) can be used in various industrial fields. Three variables were studied in this process: temperature, ratio of ethano
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