Antibiotic resistance increment is a major problem for the human society nowadays which encourages the efforts to look for new therapeutic alternatives from natural defenses. Synergistic antibacterial activity of epidermin and staphylolysin LasA A against Staphylococcus aureus (Staph aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Ps. aeruginosa) was evaluated. The antibacterial activities of epidermin from Staphylococcus epidermidis (Staph epidermidis) and Staphylolysin (LasA) from Ps. aeruginosa using the agar well diffusion assay were evaluated, and then using the micro dilution method to evaluate the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The checkerboard method and fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) were used to evaluate the combination between epidermin and LasA toward targeted clinical isolates of Staph aureus, E. coli and Ps. aeruginosa. The results revealed a synergistic effect between epidermin and LasA on all clinical isolates growth. The highest MIC and MBC of epidermin were 36.04 µL/mL and 51.73 µL/mL against Staph aureus; meanwhile, the highest MIC and MBC of LasA were 44.38 µL/mL and 50 µL/mL against Staph aureus. The FICindex revealed synergistic interactions in combination of epidermin and LasA which recorded 0.286 for Staph aureus while for E. coli was 0.327 and for Ps. aeruginosa was 0.390 respectively showing a synergism effect. This study finds that combination of epidermin with LasA had inhibitory activity on the targeted clinical isolate growth, which can be useful for designing and developing alternative therapeutic strategies against pathogens causing wound and burn infections.
The dual nature of asphalt binder necessitates improvements to mitigate rutting and fatigue since it performs as an elastic material under the regime of rapid loading or cold temperatures and as a viscous fluid at elevated temperatures. The present investigation assesses the effectiveness of Nano Alumina (NA), Nano Silica (NS), and Nano Titanium Dioxide (NT) at weight percentages of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8% in asphalt cement to enhance both asphalt binder and mixture performance. Binder evaluations include tests for consistency, thermal susceptibility, aging, and workability, while mixture assessments focus on Marshall properties, moisture susceptibility, resilient modulus, permanent deformation, and fatigue characteristics. NS notably im
... Show MoreIn this work, mesoporous silica SBA-15 was prepared and functionalized with amine groups (i.e., NH2) to form NH2/SBA-15. The curcumin (CUR) was encapsulated into the surface and pore of NH2/SBA-15 to create CUR@NH2/SBA-15 as an efficient carrier in drug delivery systems (DDSs). The three samples (i.e., SBA-15, NH2/SBA-15, and CUR@NH2/SBA-15) were characterized. The study investigated the effect of the carrier dose, initial CUR concentration, pH, and contact time on the CUR loading efficiency (DLE%) via adsorption. The best DLE% for the SBA-15 and NH2/SBA-15 were found to be 45% and 89.7%, respectively. The Langmuir isotherm had a greater correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.998 for SBA-15. A pseudo-secondorder kinetic model seemed to fit well
... Show MoreThe aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of listening to music or Quran in reducing cancer patients’ anxiety before chemotherapy administration. Reducing anxiety in people with cancer, prior to chemotherapy administration, is a crucial goal in nursing care.
An experimental comparative study was conducted.
A simple randomization sampling method was applied. Two hundred thirty‐eight people with cancer who underwent chemotherapy were participated. They are assigned as Quran, music and control groups.
tA novel synthesis procedure is presented for preparing triethanolamine-treated graphene nanoplatelets(TEA-GNPs) with different specific areas (SSAs). Using ultrasonication, the covalently functionalizedTEA-GNPs with different weight concentrations and SSAs were dispersed in distilled water to prepareTEA-GNPs nanofluids. A simple direct coupling of GNPs with TEA molecules is implemented to synthesizestable water-based nanofluids. The effectiveness of the functionalization procedure was validated by thecharacterization and morphology tests, i.e., FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, EDS, and TEM. Thermal conduc-tivity, dispersion stability, and rheological properties were investigated. Using UV–vis spectrometer, ahighest dispersion stability of 0.876
... Show MoreIn this study , Iraqi Bentonite clay was used as a filler for polyvinyl chloride polymer. Bentonite clay was prepared as a powder for some certain particle size ,followed by calcinations process at (300,700,900) OC ,then milled and sieved. The selected sizes were D ~75 µm and D ~150. After that polyvinyl Al-Cohool solution prepared and used as a coated layer covered the Bentonite powder before applied as a filler ,followed by drying , milling and sieving for limited recommend sizes. polyvinyl chloride solutions were prepared and adding of modified Bentonite power at certain quantities were followed .Sheet of these variables on the mechanical and thermal properties of the prepared reinforced particular polyvinyl chloride composite
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