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.
Remote surveying of unknown bound geometries, such as the mapping of underground water supplies and tunnels, remains a challenging task. The obstacles and absorption in media make the long-distance telecommunication and localization process inefficient due to mobile sensors’ power limitations. This work develops a new short-range sequential localization approach to reduce the required amount of signal transmission power. The developed algorithm is based on a sequential localization process that can utilize a multitude of randomly distributed wireless sensors while only employing several anchors in the process. Time delay elliptic and frequency range techniques are employed in developing the proposed algebraic closed-form solution.
... Show MorePseudomonas aeruginosa readily binds to different kind of abiotic surfaces and form biofilm. The ability of the bacterial species to form biofilm onto polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is associated with several economic, health and environmental problems. The effect of kind of water on ability of this bacterium to form biofilm is scanty in literature. In present study, the ability of different environmental isolates of P. aeruginosa to form biofilm onto polystyrene microtiter plate was evaluated. Furthermore, the effect of waters that collected from different sources on biofilm formation of this bacterium onto PVC was studied. Spectrophotometric method was used to check the ability of bacteria to form biofilm and evaluated the role of waters onto a
... Show MoreThis study included the isolation and diagnosis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from cases of burns samples. 100 samples were collected from resident patients at Al-Kindi Teaching Hospital, who suffer from different types of burns. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated and diagnosed with 39% of the total samples. The cold and hot aqueous and alcoholic extract of flaxseeds oil was prepared and its inhibitory efficacy has been studied on the growth of isolated Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It is revealed that both extracts of flaxseeds oil had a high inhibitory effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of flaxseed oil on the studied bacteria was also estimated, which was 25 mg/ml. In conclusion, the efficacy of fla
... Show MoreAt present, numerous novel chemical compounds face challenges related to their limited solubility in aqueous environments. These compounds are classified under the Biopharmaceutical Classification System (BCS) as either class II or class IV substances. Different carriers were used to increase their solubility. Candesartan cilexetil (CC) is one of the most widely used antihypertensive drugs, which belongs to class II drugs. The aim of this research was to enhance the solubility and dissolution rate of CC through a complexation approach involving β-cyclodextrin and its derivatives, specifically hydroxypropyl beta cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD), methyl beta cyclodextrin (M-β-CD), and sulfonyl ether beta-cyclodextrin (SBE-β-CD), serving as
... Show MoreMRSA is one of the major pathogens in hospitals and the community, which have the ability to produce biofilm as a virulence factor, the impact of chalcone on biofilm formation, the synergism effect of chalcone and antibiotic in both in vitro and in vivo experiments, the gene expression of virulence genes (srtA, fnbA, fnbB) before and after treatment of it on MRSA biofilm cells in vitro, all these were the prime aims of this study. Chalcone at MBIC (20 μg/ml), significantly reduced the biofilm formation to 21.45% and at sub MBIC (15 μg/ml) to 36.58 %. While, Chalcone at MIC(5 μg/ml) reduced MRSA planktonic cells to 49.61%. Susceptibility of MRSA isolates against eight antibiotics showed that all isolates were sensitive to vancomycin and n
... Show MoreThe silver nanoparticles synthesized have to be handled by humans and must be available at cheaper rates for their effective utilization; thus, there is a need for an environmentally and economically feasible way to synthesize these nanoparticles. Therefore, this study aimed to synthesis of silver nanoparticles using phenolic compounds extracted from Rosmarinus officinalis. The maceration method and Soxhlet apparatus were used to prepare aqueous and methanolic Rosmarinus officinalis leaves extracts respectively, Furthermore, Rosmarinus officinalis silver nanoparticles (RAgNPs) were prepared from the aqueous and methanolic leaves extract of this plant and diagnosed using the ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM),
... Show MoreAir pollution from various sources is one of the most serious environmental problems, especially after pollutants are deposited on the surface of the soil and leaves of the plants and then transferred to the rest of the plant and entering food chains. The present study was conducted to determine the effects of air pollution on different biochemical parameters in Eucalyptus sp. and calculation the Air Pollution Tolerance Index. The selected plant leaves were collected from five sites, four of them within the city of Baghdad, namely Al-Jadriya, Al-Andlous, Al-Doura and close to the private generators to represent the urban areas and Abu Ghraib site to represent the rural area. The leaves were taken on a seasonal basis for the period from Octo
... Show MoreTurbidity is a visual property of water that expresses the amount of suspended substances in the water. Its presence in quantities more significant than the permissible limit makes the water undrinkable and reduces the effectiveness of disinfectants in treating pathogens. On this basis, turbidity is used as a basic indicator for measuring water quality. This study aims to evaluate the removal efficiency of AL- Muthanna WTP. Water turbidity was used as a basic parameter in the evaluation, using performance improvement evaluation and data from previous years (2016 to 2020). The average raw water turbidity was 26.7 NTU, with a minimum of 14 NTU, with a maximum of 48 NTU. Water turbidity value for 95% of settling daily reading data was
... Show MoreTurbidity is a visual property of water that expresses the amount of suspended substances in the water. Its presence in quantities more significant than the permissible limit makes the water undrinkable and reduces the effectiveness of disinfectants in treating pathogens. On this basis, turbidity is used as a basic indicator for measuring water quality. This study aims to evaluate the removal efficiency of AL- Muthanna WTP. Water turbidity was used as a basic parameter in the evaluation, using performance improvement evaluation and data from previous years (2016 to 2020). The average raw water turbidity was 26.7 NTU, with a minimum of 14 NTU, with a maximum of 48 NTU. Water turbidity value for 95% of settling daily readi
... Show MoreThis experiment examined the effects of adding sodium alginate and KOJIC acid as substitutes of Conventional antibiotics to soybean lecithin extender on the characteristics of cryopreserved and frozen buffalo bull semen, as well as evaluation of their additions as antibiotics that to help lowering the microbial load. Following the collection and dilution of in the soybean lecithin extender, the experimental treatments were separated into five groups, as follows: T1: (control-) without adding any antibiotics; T2: (control+) adding the conventional antibiotics Gentamicin 0.4 IU and Tylosin 0.08 IU per 100 ml; T3: adding Kojic acid at (0.06 g/L) T4: adding sodium alginate at (0.6 mg/mL)T