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.
This paper presents a new azo dye 3-[2-(1H-indol-2-yl)ethyldiazenyl]quinolin-2-ol] from the reaction of the diazonium salt derived from tryptamine and 2-hydroxyquinoline. Azo dye was used to prepare a series of complexes with the chlorides of Ni(II), Pt(IV), Pd(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II). Compounds were analyzed and characterized using elemental analysis, magnetic measurement, UV-vis, IR, MS, NMR, and conductivity. The findings demonstrated that the ligand acts as ionic in complex form, O-bidentate, supporting the proposed formula. The complexes generally exhibited tetrahedral and octahedral geometries, except the palladium complex, which adopted a square planar geometry. TGA was used to investigate the thermal characteristics of compo
... Show MoreSpray pyrolysis technique was subjected to synthesized (SnO2)1-x (TiO2: CuO) x Thin films on different substrates like glass and single crystal silicon using. The structure of the deposited films was studied using x-ray diffraction. A more pronounced diffraction peaks of SnO2 while no peaks of (CuO , TiO2 ) phase appear in the X-ray profiles by increasing of the content of (TiO2 , CuO) in the sprayed films. Mixing concentration (TiO2 , CuO) influences on the size of the crystallites of the SnO2 films ,the size of crystallites of the spray paralyzed oxide films change in regular manner by increasing of (TiO
... Show MoreIn the Rumaila oilfields in southern Iraq, the Zubair Formation was deposited in a shallow environment as three main facies, delta plain, backshore, and delta front depositional conditions indicating a transition from delta front and delta plain to a highstand level due to the finning upward mode. The facies of the Zubair clasts show well-sorted quartz arenite sandstone, poorly sorted quartz arenite sandstone, clayey sandstone that has not been properly sorted, sandy shale, and shale lithofacies. The minor lithofacies were identified using well-logging methods (gamma ray, spontaneous potential and sonic logs) and petrography. The Zubair clasts are of transition environment that appears to be transported from freshwater and deposited
... Show MoreThe main function of a power system is to supply the customer load demands as economically as possible. Risk criterion is the probability of not meeting the load. This paper presents a methodology to assess probabilistic risk criteria of Al-Qudus plant before and after expansion; as this plant consists of ten generating units presently and the Ministry Of Electricity (MOE) is intending to compact four units to it in order to improve the performance of Iraqi power system especially at Baghdad region. The assessment is calculated by a program using Matlab programming language; version 7.6. Results show that the planned risk is (0.003095) that is (35 times) less than that in the present plant risk; (0.1091); which represents respectable imp
... Show MoreNowadays, energy demand continuously rises while energy stocks are dwindling. Using current resources more effectively is crucial for the world. A wide method to effectively utilize energy is to generate electricity using thermal gas turbines (GT). One of the most important problems that gas turbines suffer from is high ambient air temperature especially in summer. The current paper details the effects of ambient conditions on the performance of a gas turbine through energy audits taking into account the influence of ambient conditions on the specific heat capacity ( , isentropic exponent ( ) as well as the gas constant of air . A computer program was developed to examine the operation of a power plant at various ambient temperature
... Show MoreThin films of Nb2O5 have been successfully deposited using the DC reactive magnetron sputtering technique to manufacture NH3 gas sensors. These films have been annealed at a high temperature of 800°C for one hour. The assessment of the Nb2O5 thin films structural, morphological, and electrical characteristics was carried out using several methods such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Hall effect measurements, and sensitivity assessments. The XRD analysis confirms the polycrystalline composition of the Nb2O5 thin films with a hexagonal crystal structure. Furthermore, the sensitivity, response time, and recovery time of the gas sensor were evaluated for the Nb2O5 thin film
... Show MoreThe extraction process of chlorophyll from dehydrated and pulverized alfalfa plant were studied by percolation method. Two solvent systems were used for the extraction namely; Ethanol-water and Hexane-Toluene systems . The effect of circulation rate, solvent concentration, and solvent volume to solid weight ratio were studied. In both ethanol water, and Hexane-Toluene systems it appears that solvent concentration is the most effective variable.
Thin films of In2O3-CdO at various CdO contents (0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04 and 0.05) were deposited on transparent substrate which is glass using chemical spray pyrolysis deposition method at substrate temperature 150oC. The structural properties was studied to characterize the prepared materials by XRD analysis. Surface morphology has been illustrated using scanning electron microscopy which proved the nanosize of prepared materials. This materials have been used as gas sensor for toxic gas which is hydrogen sulfide H2S. The sensitivity and response speed have been investigated with addition of CdO nanoparticles. © 2021, S.C. Virtual Company of Phisics S.R.L. All rights reserved.
Registration techniques are still considered challenging tasks to remote sensing users, especially after enormous increase in the volume of remotely sensed data being acquired by an ever-growing number of earth observation sensors. This surge in use mandates the development of accurate and robust registration procedures that can handle these data with varying geometric and radiometric properties. This paper aims to develop the traditional registration scenarios to reduce discrepancies between registered datasets in two dimensions (2D) space for remote sensing images. This is achieved by designing a computer program written in Visual Basic language following two main stages: The first stage is a traditional registration process by de
... Show More