Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected disease in tropical countries, including Iraq. Several studies have sought to examine chemotherapies for leishmaniasis treatment but most of them are of toxic and/or undesirable side effect, therefore, the need for investigating new fewer toxic therapies is essential. Aim of study: In this study, the cytotoxic effect of Artemisinin (ART), a novel herbal compound, was screened against the two forms, promastigotes and amastigotes, of the Iraqi isolate of Leishmania tropica, the causative agent of Baghdad boil. Material and methods: Different concentrations (1000, 500, 250, 125, 62.5, 31.25, 15.6 and 7.8) µM of Artemisinin were screened to investigate the leishmanicidal activity of the herbal compound against the two forms of the parasite along three times of follow up (24, 48, 72) hour using MTT cytotoxicity assay. Results: The results showed that growth rate and cell viability were significantly decreased at all studied concentrations. The IC50 was measured after 72 hours of follow up and was 2.625 µM and 2.636 µM for promastigotes and amastigotes, respectively. Conclusion: These findings approved the leishmanicidal efficacy of Artemisinin against the of L. tropica and can be further studied to screen its effectiveness in vivo for exploring a safer herbal drug for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.
Objective(s): Biocompatibility, non-toxicity, minimal allergenicity, and biodegradability are all characteristics of chitosan. Other biological properties of chitosan have been reported, including antitumor, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. This research aim is the synthesis of drug compounds by preparation and characterization of polymer chitosan Schiff base and chitosan Schiff base / Poly vinyl alcohol / poly vinyl pyrrolidone Nanocomposite and study applications (anticancer cell line, antimicrobial agents). Methods: Chitosan Schiff base was prepared from the reaction of chitosan with carbonyl group of 4-nitro benzaldehyde. Polymer blend have been prepared by solution casting method. Chitosan Schiff base mixing with PVA and PVP
... Show MoreBackground: The emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilliin burn wound infections related to biofilm formation, which lend to challenge in treatment with conventional antibiotics andprompting to search for novel antimicrobial agents to control the infections.Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have wide spectrum biological properties with different mechanisms of action and less toxicity towards human cells.
Objective:The goal of this study was to evaluated the anti-bacterial and anti-biofilm activities of AgNPs alone and in combination with aminoglycoside (Amikacin) and β-lactam (Ampicillin) antibiotics against multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacilli (Pseudomonas aeruginos
... Show MoreStaphylococcal enterotoxin‐B (SEB) is one of the most potent bacterial superantigens that exerts profound toxic effects by inducing a cytokine storm. Inhaled SEB can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which is often fatal and with no effective treatments.
Efficacy of Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was tested in a mouse model of SEB‐mediated ARDS, in which lung inflammation, alterations in gut/lung microbiota and production of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs) was measured. Gene dysregulation of lung epithelial cells was studied by transcriptome arrays. F
Background: The need of the patient for a more reasonable esthetic orthodontic intervention has risen nowadays. Thus, orthodontists make use of esthetic orthodontic materials like brackets, ligature elastics, and arch wires. The esthetic brackets come as different forms of materials, such as ceramic brackets, which have their stainability remaining as the most important consideration for the patients and the orthodontists. This study aimed to compare the staining effects of various staining materials, including black tea, cigarette smoke and Pepsi, as well as the time effect on the color stability of sapphire ceramic brackets bonded with three kinds of light cure orthodontic adhesives: Transbond, Resilience and Enlight. Materials and Met
... Show MoreBackground: evaluate the effects of three different intracoronal bleaching agents on the shear bond strengths (SBS) and failure site of stainless steel and monocrystalline (sapphire) orthodontic brackets bonded to endodontically treated teeth using light cured orthodontic adhesive in vitro. Materials and methods: Eighty extracted sound human upper first premolars were selected, endondontically treated and randomly divided equally (according to the type of the brackets used) into two main groups (n = 40 per group). Each main group were subdivided (according to the bleaching agent used) into four subgroups 10 teeth each; as following : control (un bleached) group, hydrogen peroxide group (Hp) 35%, carbamide peroxide group (CP) 37% group and s
... Show MoreThe neutrophil/ lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have the potential to be inflammatory markers that reflect the activity of many inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the NLR and PLR as potential markers of disease activity in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
The study involved 132 patients with ankylosing spondylitis and 81 healthy controls matched in terms of age and gender. Their sociodemographic data, disease activity scores using the Bath Ankylosing
This work presents an investigation on the fabrication and characterization of Fe doped zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) of 1:1 M ratio of Zn:Fe (Fe/Zn-ZIF-8) and adsorption performances of acquired materials. The synthesized Zn-ZIF-8, Fe-ZIF-8, and Fe/Zn-ZIF-8 materials were characterized for the phase structure, morphology, elemental analysis and surface area by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX), and BET surface area, respectively. The results revealed the adsorption capacity was enhanced by incorporation of Fe into ZIF-8 structure. The CR dye adsorption capacities were 287, 219, and 412 mg/g for Zn-ZIF-8, Fe-ZIF-8, and Fe/Zn-ZIF-8 adsorbers, respectivel
... Show MoreThe present study investigates deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as potential media for enzymatic hydrolysis. A series of ternary ammonium and phosphonium-based DESs were prepared at different molar ratios by mixing with aqueous glycerol (85%). The physicochemical properties including surface tension, conductivity, density, and viscosity were measured at a temperature range of 298.15 K – 363.15 K. The eutectic points were highly influenced by the variation of temperature. The eutectic point of the choline chloride: glycerol: water (ratio of 1: 2.55: 2.28) and methyltriphenylphosphonium bromide:glycerol:water (ratio of 1: 4.25: 3.75) is 213.4 K and 255.8 K, respectively. The stability of the lipase enzyme isolated from porcine pancreas (PPL) a
... Show MoreSeveral recent approaches focused on the developing of traditional systems to measure the costs to meet the new environmental requirements, including Attributes Based Costing (ABCII). It is method of accounting is based on measuring the costs according to the Attributes that the product is designed on this basis and according to achievement levels of all the Attribute of the product attributes. This research provides the knowledge foundations of this approach and its role in the market-oriented compared to the Activity based costing as shown in steps to be followed to apply for this Approach. The research problem in the attempt to reach the most accurate Approach in the measurement of the cost of products from th
... Show MoreThe beet armyworm (BAW), Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a highly destructive pest of vegetables and field crops. Management of beet armyworm primarily relies on synthetic pesticides, which is threatening the beneficial community and environment. Most importantly, the BAW developed resistance to synthetic pesticides with making it difficult to manage. Therefore, alternative and environment-friendly pest management tactics are urgently required. The use of pesticidal plant extracts provides an effective way for a sustainable pest management program. To evaluate the use of pesticidal plant extracts against BAW, we selected six plant species (Lantana camara, Aloe vera, Azadirachta indica, Cymbopogon citratus, Nicotiana tabacum ,
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