Given the paucity and toxicity of available drugs for leishmaniasis, coupled with the advent of drug resistance, the discovery of new therapies for this neglected tropical disease is recognised as being of the utmost urgency. As such antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been proposed as promising compounds against the causative Leishmania species, insect vector-borne protozoan parasites. Here the AMP temporins A, B and 1Sa have been synthesised and screened for activity against Leishmania mexicana insect stage promastigotes and mammalian stage amastigotes, a significant cause of human cutaneous disease. In contrast to previous studies with other species the activity of these AMPs against L. mexicana amastigotes was low. This suggests that amastigotes from different Leishmania species display varying susceptibility to peptides from the temporin family, perhaps indicating differences in their surface structure, the proposed target of these AMPs. In contrast, insect stage L. mexicana promastigotes were sensitive to two of the screened temporins which clearly demonstrates the importance of screening AMPs against both forms of the parasite. Copyright © 2011 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Criticism, as an evaluative criterion, is a significant speech act for English language learners to improve their speech and actions in their academic life. Yet, it is realized differently across diverse cultures. Few studies have shown that the linguistics forms of one language are different from those available in another language. Hence, this study aims to investigate the cross-cultural similarities and differences between 60 Iraqi and Malay university learners in the use of criticism strategies. The data are collected using a Discourse Completion Test (DCT) and a Focus Group Interview (FGI). The data are coded based on Nguyen’s (2005) coding scheme of criticism in terms of the realization strategies. Qualitative
... Show MoreA new laboratory study conducted on stepped spillways in order to investigate their efficiency of dissipating flow energy. All previous study on stepped spillway indicated that the flow energy dissipation decreased as increasing in discharge. Increasing in the step numbers and the spillway slope led to energy dissipation decrease. In this study, an experimental attempt to increase energy dissipation at variable discharges was performed on stepped spillway and that leads to decreasing the cost of initiating the stilling basin or may be ignoring it. Five spillways were constructed from concrete and tested to investigate and compare among them. Three were roughed by gravel with different size for each one, one of them was s
... Show MoreThe synthesis of nanoparticles (GNPs) from the reduction of HAuCl4 .3H2O by aluminum metal was obtained in aqueous solution with the use of Arabic gum as a stabilizing agent. The GNPs were characterized by TEM, AFM and Zeta potential spectroscopy. The reduction process was monitored over time by measuring ultraviolet spectra at a range of λ 520-525 nm. Also the color changes from yellow to ruby red, shape and size of GNP was studied by TEM. Shape was spherical and the size of particles was (12-17.5) nm. The best results were obtained at pH 6.
Listeria monocytogenes represents a critical foodborne pathogen causing listeriosis, a severe infection with mortality rates of 20- 30%. This comprehensive review integrates cutting-edge research from 2015-2024 with Iraqi epidemiological data to address significant knowledge gaps in regional surveillance and global comparative analysis. Recent discoveries include five novel Listeria species in 2021, revolutionary whole genome sequencing (WGS) surveillance systems, and advanced understanding of RNA-mediated regulation. Iraqi prevalence data reveals concerning patterns with rates ranging from 3.5% to 93.8% across different sample types, substantially higher than global averages. Critically, Iraqi isolates demonstrate alarming antibiotic resis
... Show MoreSchiff bases (SBs) based on amino acid derivative stand for multipurpose ligands that formed by condensing amino acids with carbonyl groups. They are significant in pharmaceutical and medical areas due to their widespread biological actions such as antiseptic, antifungal, along with antitumor actions. Transition metallic complexes resulting from SB ligands with biological activity were extensively experimented in the literature. In this article, we review, in details, about synthesizing and biological performances of SBs along with its complexes.
In this research the a-As flims have been prepared by thermal evaporation with thickness 250 nm and rata of deposition (1.04nm/sec) as function to annealing temperature (373 and 373K), from XRD analysis we can see that the degree of crystalline increase with , and I-V characteristic for dark and illumination shows that forward bias current varieties approximately exponentially with voltage bias. Also we found that the quality factor and saturation current dependence on annealing temperatures.
Sentiment analysis refers to the task of identifying polarity of positive and negative for particular text that yield an opinion. Arabic language has been expanded dramatically in the last decade especially with the emergence of social websites (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Several studies addressed sentiment analysis for Arabic language using various techniques. The most efficient techniques according to the literature were the machine learning due to their capabilities to build a training model. Yet, there is still issues facing the Arabic sentiment analysis using machine learning techniques. Such issues are related to employing robust features that have the ability to discrimina
... Show MoreThis study aims to encapsulate atenolol within floating alginate-ethylcellulose beads as an oral controlled-release delivery system using aqueous colloidal polymer dispersion (ACPD) method.To optimize drug entrapment efficiency and dissolution behavior of the prepared beads, different parameters of drug: polymer ratio, polymer mixture ratio, and gelling agent concentration were involved.The prepared beads were investigated with respect to their buoyancy, encapsulation efficiency, and dissolution behavior in the media: 0.1 N HCl (pH 1.2), acetate buffer (pH 4.6) and phosphate buffer (pH 6.8). The release kinetics and mechanism of the drug from the prepared beads was investigated.All prepare
... Show More