Leishmania parasites are the causative agent of leishmaniasis. Many studies are inspecting chemical drugs, including the use of miltefosine and amphotericin B, but curative values may be limited for these drugs with side effects due to the chemical origin, therefore, investigating less toxic therapies is essential. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of artemisinin on Iraqi strain of Leishmania tropica, by experimental macrophage ex vivo infection of amastigotes into mouse macrophage cell-line RAW264.7. Different concentrations (100, 200, 300, 400, 500)μM of artemisinin (ART) were screened to examine the susceptibility of L. tropica amastigotes to invade macrophage cell line along three times of follow up (24, 48 and 72) hours. Results showed that artemisinin had a cytotoxic effect on the parasite in which a significance difference (P < 0.05) in cell viability was observed and IC50 was calculated as 182.6 μM after 48 hours treatment. In addition, percentage of infectivity of intracellular amastigotes was significantly decreased. These findings revealed the potential efficacy of artemisinin against the infectious amastigotes and can be further studied to screen its effectiveness in vivo for exploring a safer herbal compound to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis.
A quantitative analysis of geomorphic indices was carried out to understand the impacts of tectonics on the geomorphological relief of drainage basins and alluvial fans. Based on field work, satellite images and aerial photographs interpretation, five stages of alluvial fanswere recognized within the study area. Theyare of a coalesced type, forming continuous belt of Bajada, andcovering vast areas whichextend along the southwestern limb of Hemrinanticline. The alluvial fans’ sediments lie unconformably over pre- Quaternary sediments represented by angular unconformity.The earlier stages of the fanswere developed during the Plio- Pleistocene age, whereas the later stage represents the sediments of the Holocene age. Fourdistinct seg
... Show MoreMany previous investigations have found quercetin to be a powerful antioxidant and antitumor flavonoid, but its poor bioavailability has limited its use. This current study investigated the effects of two newly synthesized Quercetin Schiff bases containing 2-amino thiadiazole-5-thiol (Q1), and its benzyl derivatives (Q2) on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Cell viability and apoptosis were assessed to determine the toxic effects of Q1 and Q2. Cytotoxicity valuation showed that both compounds inhibited MCF-7 cell growth, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity increased in a dose-dependent aspect compared to the control group. Comet assay results observed that Q1 and Q2 induce more serious DNA damage than the control (untreated cell
... Show MoreIn this study, (50–110 nm) magnetic iron oxide (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles were synthesized by pulsed laser ablation of iron target in dimethylformamide (DMF) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solutions. The structural properties of the synthesized nanoparticles were investigated by using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, UV–VIS absorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The effect of laser fluence on the characteristics of these nanoparticles was studied. Antibacterial activities of iron oxide nanoparticles were tested against Gram-positive; Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative; Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescens. The results sh
... Show MoreInflammation of the tonsils could be described as acute tonsillitis, mainly due to infection. Recurrent tonsillitis could be defined as 3-7 episodes during the first 3 years of age. Vitamin D, which is a neuro-hormone with pleiotropic biological activities may modulate the immune response by alleviation, and stimulation of Th1 and Th2 cell proliferation, respectively, that influence the stimulation, synthesis, and secretion of both pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines. In this study we aimed to shed light on the levels of vitamin D in children with different episodes of tonsillitis in association with levels of interleukins (TNFα, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10). Blood samples were collected from 48 participants in 3 groups: control, acute tonsilliti
... Show MoreThis work involved the co-substitution of the two bioactive ions of strontium and magnesium into the hydroxyapatite (HA) coating which was then electrochemically deposited on Ti-6Al-4V ELI dental alloy (Gr.23) before and after treatment by Micro Arc Oxidation (MAO). The deposited layers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The adhesion strength of the coating layer was estimated by using pull-off adhesion test. The adhesion strength of Sr/Mg-HA on the Ti-6Al-4V ELI dental alloy after MAO treatment was 1.79 MPa, which was higher than that before MAO treatment (1.62 MPa). The corrosion behavior of th
... Show MoreAbstract: Recombinant Newcastle disease virus (rNDV) has shown an anticancer effect in preclinical studies, but has never been tested in a lung cancer models. In this study we explored the anticancer activity of genetically modified NDV expressing IL-2-P53 (rClone30–IL-2-P53) in lung cancer model. We have cloned IL-2 and P53 genes and inserted them in the viral genome of New Castle Disease Virus to create a genetically modified rNDV- IL-2-P53 virus and tested the anti-tumor activity of the new virus in vitro on different types of cancer cell lines by MTT assay. TheIL-2 and P53 gene were successfully cloned and inserted into the viral genome by using a Mlu I and Sfi I endonucleases, viral vector was constructed correctly and successf
... Show MoreThe present study aims at knowing the reasons of the student of secondary school abstention from participation in the theatrical activity, and to know the reasons that resulted in this abstention. In addition to that, the study aims at knowing the differences according to variables (gender, scholastic stage, and major of study). The sample of the study was chosen from the secondary schools in Baghdad in the random manner from Al-Karakh and Al-Rusafa districts of (147) students. The questionnaire was used to collected data.
The result showed that all the items are intense, the item of (Students do not know how to use their leisure time) obtained the hi
... Show MoreAqueous and ethanolic extracts of different parts (seeds, leaves, bark) of neem plant (Azadirachta Indica) were screened for antibacterial activaties against five species of bacteria (Staphylococcus aurous, Staphylococcus epidermises, Acinetobacter baumanni, Psedommonas aeruginosa, and Escherishia coli). Different extracts 40-80 mg/L were tested using Ager-well diffusion method. Neem parts potent demonstrated for anti-bacterial activaties against all microorganisms tested. The results showed that neem seeds aqueous and ethanolic, extract have significant effects for all tested bacteria, the maximum inhibition zone by seeds cold aqueous and cold ethanolic extracts were 22 & 13 mm for E. coli and S. epidermidis respectively; while leav
... Show MoreThe study of Mars's ionosphere was made by investigating the measurements of the electron density (Ne) depending of the variation of the solar activities through different local time, different seasons, and different altitudes. The datasets has been taken from MARSIS on board the Mars Express spacecraft, the investigation for the solar indices and the electron density (Ne) have been made for two period of time depending on the strength of the geomagnetic storms, the first one was taken when the geomagnetic storms was low as in years (1998 & 2005), the data was chosen for three seasons of these years, Winter (December), Summer (June) and Spring (April). The second period was taken for the years (2001 & 2002) when the geomagnetic s
... Show More