Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease on the rise in different regions of Iraq, especially in areas with poor hygiene and among refugee populations. The effectiveness of existing chemotherapy for leishmaniasis is constrained by its high toxicity, cost, and the development of drug resistance. The current research examined various concentrations (ranging from 125 to 1000 μM) of lupeol to evaluate its ability to boost the generation of nitric oxide, which has anti-leishmanial properties, in an ex-vivo macrophage model. Griess assay was used to detect the nitric oxide (NO) production in Leishmania donovani infected U937 cell-line macrophages along 24 and 48 hours post treated. The nitric oxide concentration was significantly increased (P≤0.05) in the treated infected-macrophages after 24 and 48 hours post treated. Furthermore, the infectivity index was calculated for ex vivo amastigote-macrophage infection and the results showed a significant decrease in the percentage of invasion at higher concentrations of Lupeol at all periods of incubation (P≤0.05); whereas, the average of amastigotes per cell in lupeol-treated macrophages increased significantly (P≤0.05) only after 48hours of incubation. The results indicate that lupeol has the potential to enhance anti-leishmanial nitric oxide production by macrophages, enabling them to eliminate intracellular amastigote forms of the parasite. Further details on effect of Lupeol can be studied as a promising anti-leishmanial compound.
This work is focused on studying the effect of liquid layer level (height above a target material) on zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO and ZnO2) production using liquid-phase pulsed laser ablation (LP-PLA) technique. A plate of Zn metal inside different heights of an aqueous environment of cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) with molarity (10-3 M) was irradiated with femtosecond pulses. The effect of liquid layer height on the optical properties and structure of ZnO was studied and characterized through UV-visible absorption test at three peaks at 213 nm, 216 nm and 218 nm for three liquid heights 4, 6 and 8 mm respectively. The obtained results of UV–visible spectra test show a blue shift accomp
... Show MoreLeishmaniasis is one of the neglected parasitic diseases, which belongs to the family Trypanosomatidae. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic in Iraq and the available drugs are of side effect or resistant by the parasite. In this study, cytotoxicity of methotrexate was investigated on the promastigotes proliferation of the Iraqi strain ofL.tropica.The results showed a significant (p ≥ 0.05) difference in growth of treated groupsat all concentration (1000, 500, 250, 125.5, 62.5, 31.25, 15.6) μM, after 24 and 48 hours of follow up, while after 72 hours, significant difference was observed at concentration(1000, 125, 62.5) μM.The IC50 measured after 24and 48 hours and it was 40.366 and 44.452 μM, respectively.The present study showed
... Show MoreAn overall mathematical model for copper pipe corrosion in flowing water was derived based on mass transfer fundamentals where we introduced the effects of boundary layer velocity, bulk flow velocity and the surface oxide protective film on the corrosion rate. A set of experiments were conducted in a straight 10mm diameter copper pipe, flow of water include six velocities of maximum value 7.33m/sec at 200C and 350C. The good agreement between the calculated and experimental corrosion rate values were achieved , the agreement reached 92% .
Enterobius vermicularis infection is considered as one of the important causes of anaemia and malnutrition among children. This topic has recently received an increased amount of attention. The objective of this study is to evaluate the demographical, anthropometrical, nutritional, and haematological status of E. vermicularis infection among children. This study was conducted in Al Diwaniyah province, south of Iraq, for the period of October 2020 to the end of January 2021. The study included 122 children from both genders (males, n= 61, and females, n=61) and their ages ranged between 1 and 14 years. Nutritional status, body mass index (BMI), BMI percentile, and weight- for- age Z score were evaluated for some particip
... Show Morehe effect of different cultural conditions on production of bioemulsifier from Serratia marcescens S10 was determined; different carbon and nitrogen sources were used such as: different oils include: edible (vegetable) oils (olive oil, sesame oil, sun flower oil and corn oil) and heavy oils (oil 150, oil 60, oil 40) as carbon sources and (NH4Cl, casein, (NH4)2SO4, peptone, tryptone, gelatin and yeast extract) as nitrogen sources were added to production media. Bioemulsifier was estimated by measuring the surface tension (S.T), emulsification activity (E.A) and emulsification index (E24%). The best results of bioemulsifier production from Serratia marcescens S10 were obtained at pH8 and incubated at 37ºC for 5days, using sesame oil
... Show MoreThis study was conducted during the spring season of 2023-2024 and the fall season of 2024-2025 at the fields of the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad, to investigate effects of irrigation intervals I1 ,I2 (3 and 6 days) , soil amendment with zeolite at three concentrations Z0 ,Z1,Z2 (0, 4, and 8 g. kg soil⁻¹), and foliar spraying with kaolin for three concentrations C0,C1,C2 (0, 0.5, and 1 g .L⁻¹). The results revealed that the treatment I1Z2C2 significantly excelled in leaf area, chlorophyll concentrations, and yield for both seasons, achieving 31.0 dm², 21.5 mg per 100 g fresh weight, and 1984.7 g in the first season, and 34.08 dm², 23.6 mg per 100 g fresh weight, and 2526.3 g in the
... Show MoreLeishmania species are intracellular protozoan parasites that spend a portion of their life cycle in the midgut of sand flies and the remainder in the tissues of mammals. These parasites, which cause a class of human disorders known as leishmaniasis, live mostly in macrophages, where they multiply and survive by employing a variety of defense mechanisms against the oxidative stress and acidity generated by these immune cells. To help control their reaction to heat stress, they also produce heat shock proteins. Furthermore, the promastigote form has a glycocalyx that is necessary for colonizing the gut wall of the sand fly and completing its life cycle. Consequently, a variety of virulence factors contribute to the parasite's pathoge
... Show MoreBackground: Regeneration dentistry demonstrates significant challenges due to the complexity of different dental structures. This study aimed to investigate osteogenic differentiation of human pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) cultured on a 3D-printed poly lactic acid (PLA) scaffold coated with nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) and naringin (NAR) as a model for a dental regenerative. Methods: PLA scaffolds were 3D printed into circular discs (10 × 1 mm) and coated with nHA, NAR, or both. Scaffolds were cultured with hDPTCs to identify cellular morphological changes and adhesion over incubation periods of 3, 7, and 21 days using SEM. Then, the osteogenic potential of PLA, PLA/nHA/NAR, or PLA scaffolds coated with MTA elutes (PLA/MTA scaffolds) were evaluate
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