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.
Thermal performance of closed wet cooling tower has been investigated experimentally and theoretically
in this work. The theoretical model based on heat and mass transfer equations and heat and mass transfer balance equations which are established for steady state case. A new small indirect cooling tower was used for conducting experiments. The cooling capacity of cooling tower is 1 kW for an inlet water temperature of 38oC, a water mass velocity 2.3 kg/m2.s and an air wet bulb temperature of 26oC. This study investigates the relationship between saturation efficiency, cooling capacity and coefficient of performance of closed wet cooling tower versus different operating parameters such wet-bulb temperature, variable air-spray water fl
Formulations based on nanomaterials have the ability to reduce the consuming of hazardous pesticides and theirimpact on human health and environment. The present study focused on a comparative investigation of histological effects of nanocapule acetamiprid (NACMP) in vivoand commercial parental bulk form of acetamiprid (ACMP) on albino mice. Nanoformulations of pesticides have the potential to improve food productivity without compromising with the ecosystem. In the present study, nanocapsules containing acetamiprid were prepared from two natural macromolecules, alginate and chitosan. The characterization of the nanocapsules were investigated by Dynamic Light Scattering(DLS), T ransmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Atomic force
... Show MoreFrom a health standpoint, fluoride (F) is a vital element for humans. It had harmful effects on numerous organs when consumed in high dosages. Fluoride poisoning has been linked to liver damage. The purpose of this study was to see how sodium fluoride (Naf) affected liver function and the glycemic index in adult male albino rats. Fourteen (14) adult male Wistar albino rats were randomly and evenly divided into two groups and given the following treatments for thirty (30) days: G1 Group (Control group), were given distilled water and fed a balanced diet, G2 rats were administered water that contained 100 ppm Naf. The animals were fasted for 8-12 hours before being anesthetized and blood samples were taken by heart puncture technique
... Show MoreThis study evaluated the knowledge and practice of breast self-examination (BSE), among a sample of educated Iraqi women. The study sample comprised 858 women aged 18–62 years affiliated to 6 major Iraqi universities, categorized according to occupation as teaching staff (11.5%), administrative staff (18.0%) and students (70.5%). Data were collected by a self-completed questionnaire. In all, 93.9% of the women had heard about BSE, the main source of information was television (39.9%), doctors (18.4%) and the awareness campaign of the Iraqi National Breast Cancer Research Programme (11.6%). Only 53.9% of the women practised BSE; the most common excuses by those that did not were lack of knowledge of the significance of BSE (42.0%) and lack
... Show MoreTo damp the low-frequency oscillations which occurred due to the disturbances in the electrical power system, the generators are equipped with Power System Stabilizer (PSS) that provide supplementary feedback stabilizing signals. The low-frequency oscillations in power system are classified as local mode oscillations, intra-area mode oscillation, and interarea mode oscillations. A suitable PSS model was selected considering the low frequencies oscillation in the inter-area mode based on conventional PSS and Fuzzy Logic Controller. Two types of (FIS) Mamdani and suggeno were considered in this paper. The software of the methods was executed using MATLAB R2015a package.
This paper presents experimental investigations on buried Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) pipes with a diameter of 1400 mm. The tested pipes were buried in dense, gravelly sand and subjected to traffic loads to study the effects of backfill cover on pipe deflection. The experimental program included tests on three GRP pipes with backfill covers of 100 cm, 75 cm, and 50 cm. The maximum traffic loads applied to the pipe–soil system corresponded to Iraqi Truck Type 3 (AASHTO H type). Vertical deflections of the pipes were monitored during the application of these loads. The experimental results showed that, as the backfill cover increased, the maximum vertical deflection of the pipe decreased. Deflection reductions were 38.0% and 33.3
... Show MoreOne of the contemporary trends in education and training is the use of educational, competitive and digital games, because one of the most important goals of games is (motivation and challenge). Thus, it ensures the expected reaction from the recipient’s interaction with the game, so we seek his interaction with the content he receives. It is no secret that games distance him from boring content and introduce him to the world of motivation by integrating them with magical elements that make an attractive and desirable game. Naturally, in the case of stimuli and motives that activate the recipient within the context of the educational process procedures, the return is high and especially enjoyable. The aim of the research is to pre
... Show MoreThis study identifies the contribution of some positive variables (happiness, optimism, and hope) to the level of psychological health in the practitioners of the nursing profession in Algeria, a total of (38) male and female nurses were employed as research sample. The researcher used a scale to measure happiness, optimism, hope, and psychological health. The results showed that the level of psychological health varies depending on the positive variables (happiness, optimism), as well as it depends on the variables of gender and professional Experience.
The constructivist learning model is one of the models of constructivist theory in learning, as it generally emphasizes the active role of the learner during learning, in addition to that the intellectual and actual participation in the various activities to help students gain the skills of analyzing artistic works. The current research aims to know the effectiveness of the constructivist learning model in the acquisition of the skills of the Institute of Fine Arts for the skills of (technical work analysis). To achieve the goal, the researcher formulated the following hypothesis: There are no statistically significant differences between the average scores of the experimental group students in the skill test for analyzing artworks befor
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