Introduction: Biocides are commonly used for disinfection in a variety of contexts. They are generally used to avoid infection by controlling biofilm on medical equipment. However, the literature lacks information on the effect of biocide on efflux pump gene expression. Objective: To determine the influence of biocide on biofilm development and efflux pump acrA and ramA gene expression. Methodology: The microtiter plate method was used to identify biofilm development in 80 isolates of K. pneumoniae. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of three biocides (quaternary ammonium compound (QAC), chlorohexidine digluconate, and chloroxylenol) were estimated. The effect of QAC on the intensity and viability of biofilms was investigated as well. Its influence on biofilm was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. For each isolate, gene expression of the acrA and ramA was evaluated before and after treatment with the biocide (at ½MIC). Results: The study revealed that 60% of isolates formed moderate biofilms. Biofilms of all isolates were inhibited by QAC at high concentrations. Moreover, QAC at ½MIC downregulated the gene expression of the efflux pump gene (acrA) and its regulator (ramA). Conclusion: Biofilms of all isolates were prevented by QAC at high doses. Furthermore, QAC at ½MIC decreased the expression of the efflux pump gene (acrA) and its regulator (ramA).
The aim of this study is to evaluate the levels of trace elements Magnesium (Mg), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), and Selenium (Se) in blood sera of asthmatic patients by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The concentrations of Mg, Cu, and Zn have been determined by Flame Atomic Absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS), and Se with flameless Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (GFAAS). The study involves (55) asthmatic patients as study group and (28) subjects as control from both genders. Serum levels of Mg, Cu, and Se were significantly higher (p<0.001 for all) in patients when compared with healthy subjects, while Zn level was relatively significant (p<0.05). Our observations confirm the efficacy and applicability of (AAS) in
... Show MoreA solid Phase Extraction (SPE) followed by HPLC-UV method is described for the simultaneous quantitative determination of nine priority pollutant phenols : Phenol, 2- and 4-Nitrophenol, 2,4-Dimethylphenol, 2-, 2,4-Di-, 2,4,6-Tri-, and Penta- chlorophenol, 4 Chloro-3-methylphenol. The phenols were separated using a C-18 column with UV detector at wave length of 280nm. The Flow of mobile phase was isocratic consisted of 50:50 Acetonitrile: phosphate buffer pH=7.1, column temperature 45 C°, Flow Rate 0.7 ml/min. Calibration curves were linear (R2 = 0.9961-0.9995). The RSDs (1.301-5.805)%, LOD(39.1- 412.4) µg/L, LOQ(118.5-1250.8) µg/L, the Robustness (1.55-4.89), Ruggedness (2.82-4.00), Repeatability (2.1-4.95), Recoveries%
... Show MoreA rapid high performance liquid chromatography method for the determination of sphinganine (Sa) and sphingosine (So) in urine samples by employing a silica-based monolithic column is described. The samples were first extracted using ethyl acetate and derivatized using ortho-phthaldialdehyde in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol. C20 sphinganine was used as internal standard. Under the optimized conditions, separation was achieved using a mixture of methanol:water (93:7, v/v), column temperature at 30°C, flow rate of 1 mL min−1, and an injection volume of 10 μL. Good linearity was obtained for Sa and So over the concentration range 20–500 ng mL−1(correlation coefficients ≥0.9978). The detection limits were 0.45 ng mL−1 for Sa and
... Show MoreThe research intent evaluates the performance of material technical department / Technical College -Baghdad.
The study depend on the descriptive analytical approach to determine and treating the variables to get data and information that related to study, the researchers depended on questionnaire designed for this purpose and contains eight main dimensions that’s are scientific reference , academy course, staff member , administrative system, physical facilities , student ,scientific research, graduate service , in addition each dimension involved (5) items contacted with mean dimensions, which translate aspects of performance evaluation, the questionnaire applied on two samples staff member
... Show MoreIn this study, simple, low cost, precise and speed spectrophotometric methods development for evaluation of sulfacetamide sodium are described. The primary approach contains conversion of sulfacetamide sodium to diazonium salt followed by a reaction with p-cresol as a reagent in the alkaline media. The colored product has an orange colour with absorbance at λmax 450 nm. At the concentration range of (5.0-100 µg.mL-1), the Beer̆ s Low is obeyed with correlation coefficient (R2= 0.9996), limit of detection as 0.2142 µg.mL-1, limit of quantification as 0.707 µg.mL-1 and molar absorptivity as 1488.249 L.mol-1.cm-1. The other approach, cloud point extraction w
... Show MoreIn this investigation, the mechanical properties and microstructure of Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) of Al.6061 alloy reinforced by ceramic materials SiC and Al2O3 with different additive percentages 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 wt.% for the particle size of 53 µm are studied. Metal matrix composites were prepared by stir casting using vortex technique and then treated thermally by solution heat treatment at 530 0C for 1 hr. and followed by aging at 175 0C with different periods. Mechanical tests were done for the samples before and after heat treatment, such as impact test, hardness test, and tensile test. Also, the microstructure of the metal matrix composites was examine
... Show MoreFinding orthogonal matrices in different sizes is very complex and important because it can be used in different applications like image processing and communications (eg CDMA and OFDM). In this paper we introduce a new method to find orthogonal matrices by using tensor products between two or more orthogonal matrices of real and imaginary numbers with applying it in images and communication signals processing. The output matrices will be orthogonal matrices too and the processing by our new method is very easy compared to other classical methods those use basic proofs. The results are normal and acceptable in communication signals and images but it needs more research works.
Automatic speaker recognition may achieve remarkable performance in matched training and test conditions. Conversely, results drop significantly in incompatible noisy conditions. Furthermore, feature extraction significantly affects performance. Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients MFCCs are most commonly used in this field of study. The literature has reported that the conditions for training and testing are highly correlated. Taken together, these facts support strong recommendations for using MFCC features in similar environmental conditions (train/test) for speaker recognition. However, with noise and reverberation present, MFCC performance is not reliable. To address this, we propose a new feature 'entrocy' for accurate and robu
... Show MoreReading is an interactive process that goes on between the reader and the text, resulting in comprehension. The text presents letters, words, sentences, and paragraphs that encode meaning. The reader uses knowledge, skills, and strategies to determine what that meaning is. Reading comprehension is much more than decoding; it results when the reader knows which skills and strategies are appropriate for the type oftext, and understands how to apply them to accomplish the reading purpose.Reading comprehension is important because without it reading is nothing more than tracking symbols on a page with your eyes and sounding them out leaving the reader with no information. Instead of promoting traditional approaches, reading should be ta
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