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.
Scleral acrylic resin is widely used to synthesize ocular prosthesis. However, the properties of this material change over time, thus requiring the prosthesis to be refabricated. Many studies were conducted to improve these properties by reinforcing this material with nanoparticles. This study aims to evaluate the effect of silver nanoparticle powder on the mechanical properties (transverse flexural strength, impact strength, shear bond strength, surface microhardness, and surface roughness) of scleral acrylic resin used for ocular prostheses. Two concentrations were selected from the pilot study and evaluated for their effects on scleral acrylic resin properties. According to the pilot study, 0.01 and 0.02wt% AgNPs powder improved
... Show MoreThis paper reports on the experimental study, which conducted a series of triaxial tests for the asphalt concrete using hydrated lime as a mineral additive. Three HMA mixes, prepared by the specification for wearing, levelling and base layers, were studied under three different temperatures. The test results have demonstrated that, compared with the control mixes excluding HL, the permanent deformation resistance of the HL modified mixes has significant improvement. The deformation has been reduced at the same load repetition number, meanwhile the flow number has been considerably increased. The degree of improvement in permanent deformation resistance using HL is more pronounced at high stress deviation states and high temperature.
... Show MoreHBV and HCV are the major causes of chronic liver diseases throughout the world, and constitute a major global health risk. There is accumulated evidence that the imbalance of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine production may play an important role in the pathogenesis of viral hepatic infections and may influence the clinical outcome and disease progression. This study was undertaken to analyze the circulating levels of Tumor Necrotic Factor (TNF-α) and Th2 cytokine IL-10 in patients infected with Hepatitis B and C virus. The study population consisted of 30 patients with chronic HBV, in addition to other 30 patients with chronic HCV infection were recruited on their first examination at the Al-Kindy General Hospital in Baghdad
... Show MoreRecent research has examined the improvement of physical and dielectric properties of BaTiO3 ceramic material by small addition of excess TiO2 or BaCO3. The prepared samples sintered at different temperatures and varying soaking time. The results show that increasing the sintering temperature within 1350°C and soaking time of 10 hrs give better electrical and physical properties, which indicate the reaction is complete at higher temperature and period.
The chemical additives used to enhance the properties of drilling mud cause damage to humans and the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to search for alternative additives to add them to the drilling mud. Thus, this study investigates the effects of pomegranate peel and grape seed powders as natural waste when added to un-weighted water-based mud. The test includes measurements of the rheological properties and filtration, as well as the alkanity and density of the drilling mud. The results showed a decrease in PH values with an increase in the concentrations of pomegranate peel or grapeseed, and a decrease in mud density with an increase in powders of pomegranate peel and grape seed concentrations that resulted f
... Show More(Cu1-x,Agx)2ZnSnSe4 alloys have been fabricated with different Ag content(x=0, 0.1, and 0.2) successfully from their elements. Thin films of these alloys have been deposited on coring glass substrate at room temperature by thermal evaporation technique under vacuum of 10-5Torr with thickness of 800nm and deposition rate of 0.53 nm/sec. Later, films have been annealed in vacuum at (373, and 473)K, for one hour. The crystal structure of fabricated alloys and as deposited thin films had been examined by XRD analysis, which confirms the formation of tetragonal phase in [112] direction, and no secondary phases are founded. The shifting of main polycrystalline peak (112) to lower Bragg’s angle as compared to Cu2ZnSnSe4 angle refers to incorpora
... Show MoreThe purpose of this work is to clarify the effect of the Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) on the properties of the galaxy. A photometric study of two galaxies by surface optical measurements techniques and by using'griz filters' was performed. The scientific material that used in this work was obtained from ''SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY'' (DR7), a fuzzy color, contour maps, photometric parameters, and color indices were studied by using surface photometric technique. The work was done by Ellipse task in IRAF (Image Reduction and Analysis Facility) software from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO).
Optical properties and surface morphology of pure and doped Polystyrene films with different divalent metals of Zn, Cu and Sn and one concentration percentage have been studied. Measurements of UV-Vis spectrophotometer and AFM spectroscopy were determined. The absorbance, transmittance and reflectance spectrums were used to study different optical parameters such as absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coefficient and energy gap in the wavelengths rang 200-800nm. These parameters have increased in the presence of the metals. The change in the calculated values of energy gaps with doping metals content has been investigated in terms of PS matrix structural modification. The value of opt
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