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.
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<p>Analyzing X-rays and computed tomography-scan (CT scan) images using a convolutional neural network (CNN) method is a very interesting subject, especially after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this paper, a study is made on 423 patients’ CT scan images from Al-Kadhimiya (Madenat Al Emammain Al Kadhmain) hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, to diagnose if they have COVID or not using CNN. The total data being tested has 15000 CT-scan images chosen in a specific way to give a correct diagnosis. The activation function used in this research is the wavelet function, which differs from CNN activation functions. The convolutional wavelet neural network (CWNN) model proposed in this paper is compared with regular convol
... Show MoreTreatment of a high strength acidic industrial wastewater was attempted by activated carbon
adsorption to evaluate the feasibility of yielding effluents of reusable qualities. The experimental
methods which were employed in this investigation included batch and column studies. The
former was used to evaluate the rate and equilibrium of carbon adsorption, while the latter was
used to determine treatment efficiencies and performance characteristics. Fixed bed and expanded
bed adsorbers were constructed in the column studies. In this study, the adsorption behavior of acetic acid onto activated carbon was examined as a function of the concentration of the adsorbate, contact time and adsorbent dosage. The adsorption data was mo
Color in the fantasy child theater represents a psychological and sematic symbol in conveying the connotations and clarifying meanings being an exciting and clarifying means. The researcher felt the necessity of shedding light on the color semiotics in the theater shows presented for children which are characterized by fantasy atmospheres and the ability to employ the color semiotics that goes along with the nature of the Iraqi theater shows through the following question:
What is the extent of the representation of the color significance of the mark shown in the fantasy theatrical show presented to the Iraqi child?
The aim of the research is:
Exposing the color utilization and its s
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In regression testing, Test case prioritization (TCP) is a technique to arrange all the available test cases. TCP techniques can improve fault detection performance which is measured by the average percentage of fault detection (APFD). History-based TCP is one of the TCP techniques that consider the history of past data to prioritize test cases. The issue of equal priority allocation to test cases is a common problem for most TCP techniques. However, this problem has not been explored in history-based TCP techniques. To solve this problem in regression testing, most of the researchers resort to random sorting of test cases. This study aims to investigate equal priority in history-based TCP techniques. The first objective is to implement
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In this research, the removal of cadmium (Cd) from simulated wastewater was investigated by using a fixed bed bio-electrochemical reactor. The effects of the main controlling factors on the performance of the removal process such as applied cell voltage, initial Cd concentration, pH of the catholyte, and the mesh number of the cathode were investigated. The results showed that the applied cell voltage had the main impact on the removal efficiency of cadmium where increasing the applied voltage led to higher removal efficiency. Meanwhile increasing the applied voltage was found to be given lower current efficiency and higher energy consumption. No significant effect of initial Cd concentration on the removal efficie
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Background: The use of osseointegrated fixtures in dentistry has been demonstrated both histologically and clinically to be beneficial in providing long term oral rehabilitation in completely edentulous individual. Most patients suffer from denture instability; particularly with mandibular prosthesis, the use of dental implant will be benefit significantly from even a slight increase in retention. The concept of implanting two to four fixtures in a bony ridge to retain a complete denture prosthesis appealing therefore, as retention, stability and acceptable economic compromise to the expanse incurred with the multiple fixture supported fixed prosthesis. Materials and methods in this study the sample were eight patients selected from a hosp
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