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.
Rare earth metal oxides (REMOs) have gained considerable attention in recent years owing to their distinctive properties and potential applications in electronic devices and catalysts. Particularly, cerium dioxide (CeO2), also known as ceria, has emerged as an interesting material in a wide variety of industrial, technological, and medical applications. Ceria can be synthesized with various morphologies, including rods, cubes, wires, tubes, and spheres. This comprehensive review offers valuable perceptions into the crystal structure, fundamental properties, and reaction mechanisms that govern the well-established surface-assisted reactions over ceria. The activity, selectivity, and stability of ceria, either as a stand-alone catalyst or as
... Show MoreA ‘locking-bolt’ demountable shear connector (LBDSC) is proposed to facilitate the deconstruction and reuse of steel-concrete composite structures, in line with achieving a more sustainable construction design paradigm. The LBDSC is comprised of a grout-filled steel tube and a geometrically compatible partially threaded bolt. The latter has a geometry that ‘locks’ the bolt in compatible holes predrilled on the steel flange and eliminates initial slip and construction tolerance issues. The structural behaviour of the LBDSC is evaluated through nine pushout tests using a horizontal test setup. The effects of the tube thickness, strength of concrete slab, and strength of infilled grout on the shear resistance, initial stiffness, and du
... Show MoreTo date, comprehensive reviews and discussions of the strengths and limitations of Remote Sensing (RS) standalone and combination approaches, and Deep Learning (DL)-based RS datasets in archaeology have been limited. The objective of this paper is, therefore, to review and critically discuss existing studies that have applied these advanced approaches in archaeology, with a specific focus on digital preservation and object detection. RS standalone approaches including range-based and image-based modelling (e.g., laser scanning and SfM photogrammetry) have several disadvantages in terms of spatial resolution, penetrations, textures, colours, and accuracy. These limitations have led some archaeological studies to fuse/integrate multip
... Show MoreLost circulation or losses in drilling fluid is one of the most important problems in the oil and gas industry, and it appeared at the beginning of this industry, which caused many problems during the drilling process, which may lead to closing the well and stopping the drilling process. The drilling muds are relatively expensive, especially the muds that contain oil-based mud or that contain special additives, so it is not economically beneficial to waste and lose these muds. The treatment of drilling fluid losses is also somewhat expensive as a result of the wasted time that it caused, as well as the high cost of materials used in the treatment such as heavy materials, cement, and others. The best way to deal with drilling fluid losses
... Show MoreIn this work, two cone-inverted cylindrical and cross-hybrid dielectric resonator antennas are stacked and excited by the coaxial probe method with an operating standard resonant frequency of 5.438 GHz. A drawback of these standard Dielectric Resonator Antennas (DRAs) is their narrow bandwidth. For good antenna performance, a stacked DR geometry and a thick dielectric substrate having a low dielectric constant are desired since this provides large bandwidth, better radiation power, reduces conductor loss and nonappearance of surface waves. Many approaches, such as changing the shape of the dielectric resonator, have been used to enhance bandwidth. Using DRA, having the lowest dielectric constant, increases the bandwidth and the electroma
... Show MoreThe creative production of the philosophy of beauty in artistic works constitutes a step towards development and progress by meeting the growing and changing needs of humanity according to various factors, including those related to the human situation and others related to technical outputs, as well as the multiplicity of the field for the emergence of new artistic currents and movements concerned with graphic production and communication and communication processes that It is associated with imagination and freedom from social and cultural constraints, in which the design production seeks to link more realistic intellectual contents with the achievements of the creative artwork as a communication system to involve the recipient (the vi
... Show MoreThe term "tight reservoir" is commonly used to refer to reservoirs with low permeability. Tight oil reservoirs have caused worry owing to its considerable influence upon oil output throughout the petroleum sector. As a result of its low permeability, producing from tight reservoirs presents numerous challenges. Because of their low permeability, producing from tight reservoirs is faced with a variety of difficulties. The research aim is to performing hydraulic fracturing treatment in single vertical well in order to study the possibility of fracking in the Saady reservoir. Iraq's Halfaya oil field's Saady B reservoir is the most important tight reservoir. The diagnostic fracture injection test is determined for HF55using GOHFER soft
... Show Moreconversation is an oral skill in which two persons can exchange their ideas, thoughts and opinions to communicate with each other. Learners can work in pairs or groups to practice dialogues chosen by the teacher from their textbook materials or from additional resources. Nowadays, because of Corona virus infection, our college students are taught all the subjects including conversation course either via google classroom platform or any other platforms. Google meet is one of online meetings between the teacher and students, i.e., a video meet in which students and the teacher join the online meetings in a specified time to communicate, express their ideas, thoughts and feelings about what is mentioned above. In this study, the resea
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