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.
Cryptography algorithms play a critical role in information technology against various attacks witnessed in the digital era. Many studies and algorithms are done to achieve security issues for information systems. The high complexity of computational operations characterizes the traditional cryptography algorithms. On the other hand, lightweight algorithms are the way to solve most of the security issues that encounter applying traditional cryptography in constrained devices. However, a symmetric cipher is widely applied for ensuring the security of data communication in constraint devices. In this study, we proposed a hybrid algorithm based on two cryptography algorithms PRESENT and Salsa20. Also, a 2D logistic map of a chaotic system is a
... Show MoreAn experiment was carried out in a field in Husayniyah sub-district of the Holy Karbala Governorate. The research included studying the impact of the plowing depth and soil moisture on some technical indicators when using the disc plow. The 80 hp New Holland tractor was used in this experiment. Two factors were studied, the first factor is the soil moisture (12- 9%), (16-13%) and (20-17%) and the second factor was the depth of tillage (10-13) cm, (15-18) cm and (20-23) cm, which represented the secondary blocks. Bulk density, percentage of slippage and drawing force were studied. The field trials was conducted according to Split blocks in a randomized complete block design in three replicate. Consequences showed (according to the conditions
... Show MoreThis study aims to fabricate and assess the β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) bioactive ceramic coat layer on bioinert ceramic zirconia implants through the direct laser melting technique by applying a long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser of 1064 nm. Surface morphologies, adherence, and structural change in the coatings were evaluated by optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope, hardness, and x-ray diffractometer. The elastic modulus (EM) of the coating was also determined using the nanoindentation test. The quality of the coating was improved when the laser power was 90 W with a decrease in the scan speed to 4 mm s−1. The chemical composition of the coat was maintained after laser processing; also, the Energy Dispersive
... Show MoreFinding the shortest route in wireless mesh networks is an important aspect. Many techniques are used to solve this problem like dynamic programming, evolutionary algorithms, weighted-sum techniques, and others. In this paper, we use dynamic programming techniques to find the shortest path in wireless mesh networks due to their generality, reduction of complexity and facilitation of numerical computation, simplicity in incorporating constraints, and their onformity to the stochastic nature of some problems. The routing problem is a multi-objective optimization problem with some constraints such as path capacity and end-to-end delay. Single-constraint routing problems and solutions using Dijkstra, Bellman-Ford, and Floyd-Warshall algorith
... Show MoreBreast cancer is the most diagnosed form of malignant tumour in Iraqi women. Tamoxifen and trastuzumab are highly effective adjuvant therapy for breast cancer.
This study's objectives were to define the patient's belief in tamoxifen or trastuzumab when used as adjuvant therapy and to determine the variation in belief between the two medications in a sample of Iraqi breast cancer patients.
The cross-section survey was conducted using the BMQ-Specific questionnaire. Ninety-seven participants (sixty-seven tamoxifen, thirty trastuzumab) participated in this study.
The mean of specific-necessity scale for tamoxifen was (3.7) and for trastuzumab (4). The findings showed a high necessity for both medicines, and there wer
... Show MoreEmploying phase-change materials (PCM) is considered a very efficient and cost-effective option for addressing the mismatch between the energy supply and the demand. The high storage density, little temperature degradation, and ease of material processing register the PCM as a key candidate for the thermal energy storage system. However, the sluggish response rates during their melting and solidification processes limit their applications and consequently require the inclusion of heat transfer enhancers. This research aims to investigate the potential enhancement of circular fins on intensifying the PCM thermal response in a vertical triple-tube casing. Fin arrays of non-uniform dimensions and distinct distribution patterns were des
... Show MoreCoagulation - flocculation are basic chemical engineering method in the treatment of metal-bearing industrial wastewater because it removes colloidal particles, some soluble compounds and very fine solid suspensions initially present in the wastewater by destabilization and formation of flocs. This research was conducted to study the feasibility of using natural coagulant such as okra and mallow and chemical coagulant such as alum for removing Cu and increase the removal efficiency and reduce the turbidity of treated water. Fourier transform Infrared (FTIR) was carried out for okra and mallow before and after coagulant to determine their type of functional groups. Carbonyl and hydroxyl functional groups on the surface of
... Show MoreModified bentonite has been used as effective sorbent material for the removal of acidic dye (methyl orange) from aqueous solution in batch system. The natural bentonite has been modified using cationic surfactant (cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide) in order to obtain an efficient sorbent through converting the properties of bentonite from hydrophilic to organophilic. The characteristics of the natural and modified bentonite were examined through several analyses such as Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Surface area. The batch study was provided the maximum dye removal efficiency of 88.75 % with a sorption capacity of 555.56 mg/g at specified conditions (150 min, pH= 2, 250 rpm, and 0.
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