Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a disease caused by Leishmania tropica parasite. Current treatments for this parasite are undesirable because of their toxicity, resistance, and high cost. Macrophages are key players against pathogens. Nitric oxide (NO), a molecule produce by immune cells, controls intracellular killing of pathogens during infection. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) demonstrated broad-spectrum activity against various types of infectious diseases. It has the ability to stimulate oxygen species production. This study aims to analyze the macrophages activation through NO production and estimate the cytotoxicity based on the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release upon exposure to L. tropica and Ag NPs. Serially concentrations of Ag NPs were used under two conditions during and following macrophages exposure to L. tropica. MTT assay was used to determine the cytotoxicity of Ag NPs on L. tropica amastigotes during infection of macrophages in vitro. The results showed that by increasing the Ag NPs concentrations, the viability percentage of L. tropica amastigotes decreased and reached to 21.7 ± 0.64 % during infection compared with the control. The 50% inhibitory concentration of Ag NPs on amastigotes was 2.048µg/ml during infection. Moreover, post-phagocytosis study involved the assessment of NO and LDH release by macrophages upon exposure to L. tropica. It have shown that untreated macrophages released low levels of NO while in the presence of Ag NPs, macrophages were activated to produce higher levels of NO under all experimental conditions. On the other hand, macrophages were capable of controlling cytotoxicity and decreasing LDH levels during phagocytosis of L. tropica amastiogotes. Taking together, these findings suggest that Ag NPs can enhance macrophages NO production which provides a method for the identification of Ag NPs ligands with microbicidal and anti-cytotoxic properties against L. tropica pathogens.
Cadmium is one of the heavy metal found in the wastewater of many industries. The electrocoagulation offers many advantages for the removal of cadmium over other methods. So the removal of cadmium from wastewater by using electrocoagulation was studied to investigate the effect of operating parameters on the removal efficiency. The studied parameters were the initial pH, initial concentration, and applied voltage. The study experiments were conducted in a batch reactor with with two pairs of aluminum electrodes with dimension and 2mm in thick with 1.5 cm space between them. The optimum removal was obtained at pH =7, initial concentration = 50 mg/L, and applied voltage = 20 V and it was 90%.
Fractional Er: YAG laser resurfacing is increasingly used for treating rhytides and photo aged skin because of its favorable benefit‐risk ratio. The multi-stacking and variable pulse width technology opened a wide horizon of rejuvenation treatments using this type of laser. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the use of fractional 2940 nm Er: YAG laser in facial skin rejuvenation. Twelve female patients with mean age 48.3 years and multiple degrees of aging signs and solar skin damages, were treated with 2 sessions, one month apart by fractional Er: YAG laser. Each session consisted of 2 steps, the first step employed the use of the multi stack ablative fractional mode and the fractional long pulsed non-ablative mode settings were u
... Show MoreThe aim of this research is to study the surface alteration characteristics and surface morphology of the superhydrophobic/hydrophobic nanocomposite coatings prepared by an electrospinning method to coat various materials such as glass and metal. This is considered as a low cost method of fabrication for polymer solutions of Polystyrene (PS), Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and Silicone Rubber (RTV). Si were prepared in various wt% of composition for each solutions. Contact angle measurement, surface tension, viscosity, roughness tests were calculated for all specimens. SEM showed the morphology of the surfaces after coated. PS and PMMA showed superhydrophobic properties for metal substrate, while Si showed hydroph
... Show MoreSecured multimedia data has grown in importance over the last few decades to safeguard multimedia content from unwanted users. Generally speaking, a number of methods have been employed to hide important visual data from eavesdroppers, one of which is chaotic encryption. This review article will examine chaotic encryption methods currently in use, highlighting their benefits and drawbacks in terms of their applicability for picture security.
In this study, the circulating fluidized bed was used to remove the Tetracycline from wastewater utilizing a pistachio shell coated with ZnO nanoparticles. Several parameters including, Tetracycline solution flowrate, initial static bed height, Tetracycline initial concentration and airflow rate were systematically examined to show their effect on the breakthrough curve and the required time to reach the adsorption capacity and thus draw the fully saturated curve of the adsorbent. Results showed that using ZnO nanoparticles will increase the adsorbent surface area and pores and as a result the adsorption increased, also the required time for adsorbent saturation increased and thus the removal efficiency may be achieved at mi
... Show MoreDifferent injection material types were tried in the injection of soft clay, such as lime (L), silica fume (SF), and leycobond-h (LH). In this study, experiments were made to study the effect of injection on soft clay consolidation settlement. A sample of natural soft clayey soil was investigated in the laboratory and the sample was injected with each of the grout materials used, L, SF, L + SF, and L + SF + LH. A 20 cm3 of each slurry grout was conducted into the soil, which was compacted in California Bearing Ratio (CBR) mold and cured for 7 days, and then the sample was loaded to 80 N load by a circular steel footing 60 mm in diameter. The settlement was r
The new sustainable development goals set by the UN include a goal of making cities inclusive, safe, sustainable, and resilient. Cities are growing at huge rates, and conditions of deteriorating QOL̛s are increasing in the form of poor access to services, and slums are remarkable, especially in the cities of the Middle East; hence, the research problem can arise from a lack of knowledge regarding the in determination of a way to assess the resilience of cities to develop mechanisms that will improve the quality of urban life. In this study, a tool called CRF has been applied for the assessment of the city's resilience principles of health and quality of life, economics and social, infrastructure and environmental systems, and the principle
... Show More