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.
Periodontitis is one of the most prevalent bacterial diseases affecting man with up to 90% of the global population affected. Its severe form can lead to the tooth loss in 10-15% of the population worldwide. The disease is caused by a dysbiosis of the local microbiota and one organism that contributes to this alteration in the bacterial population is Prophyromonas gingivalis. This organism possesses a range of virulence factors that appear to contribute to its growth and survival at a periodontal site amongst which is its ability to invade oral epithelial cells. Such an invasion strategy provides a means of evasion of host defence mechanisms, persistence at a site and the opportunity for dissemination to other sites in the mouth. However, p
... Show MoreBackground: The diagnosis of prostatic pathology may be of challenging , as some difficult and suspected, atypical cases may lack basal cell layer by routine H&E sections . Antibodies against 34BE12(HMW-CK) and p63 aid the diagnosis of such cases , to distinguish benign from malignant prostatic lesions.
Objective: to identify basal cells in atypical prostatic lesions ,and distinguish benign from malignant prostatic lesions.
Type of the study: A retro-spective study.
Methods: 115cases of paraffin embedded prostatic tissue blocks ,diagnosed as : 76 cases were benign prostatic hy
... Show MoreBiotreatment using immobilized cells (IC) technology has proved to be the most promising and most economical approach for the removal of many toxic organic pollutants found in petroleum-refinery wastewater (PRW) such as phenol. This study was undertaken to evaluate the degradation of phenol by Pseudomonas cells individually immobilized in two different bio-carrier matrices including polyvinyl alcohol-guar gum (PVA-GG) and polyvinyl alcohol-agar agar (PVA-AA). Results of batch experiments revealed that complete removal of phenol was attained in the first cycle after 150 min using immobilized cells (IC) in both PVA-GG and PVA-AA. Additional cycles were confirmed to evaluate the validity of recycling beads of immob
... Show MoreObjective: The present study investigates whether the exposure to low-power diode laser induces denaturation in red blood cell (RBC) membrane protein composition, and determines the irradiation time for when denaturation of membrane protein process begins. Background: A low-energy laser has been used extensively in medical applications. Several studies indicated significant positive effects of laser therapy on biological systems. In contrast, other studies reported that laser induced unwanted changes in cell structure and biological systems. The present work studied the effect of irradiation time of low-power diode laser on the structure of membrane proteins of human RBCs. Materials and methods: The RBC suspension was divided into five equa
... Show MoreThis study deals with the corrosion inhibition of metal corrosion process of medium carbon steel using 1M HCl for kinetic studies and rate reaction determination. The weight loss method is applied to pieces of Medium carbon steel divided to Cubans with dimensions (0.4*2*2.4) cm , and use Tafel Extrapolation Method, the samples were polished using carbide silicon paper with dimensions of (180,200,400,600,800,1000). The samples were immersed in the alcoholic medium ethanol at a temperature 293K for 3hr. Natural inhibitor Kujarat Tea (Hibiscus sabdarriffa L.) is used which is extracted in aqueous and alcoholic medium, different concentrations (1000،2000, 3000) ppm have been used ; The best concentration found through the results is a conce
... Show MoreThe research aims to measure the efficiency of health services Quality in the province of Karbala, using the Data Envelopment analysis Models in ( 2006). According to these models the degree of efficiency ranging between zero and unity. We estimate Scale efficiency for two types of orientation direction, which are input and output oriented direction.
The results showed, according Input-oriented efficiency that the levels of Scale efficiency on average is ( 0.975), in the province of Karbala. While the index of Output-oriented efficiency on average is (o.946).
Silver/polyvinyl alcohol (Ag/PVA) nanocomposite films were synthesized via solution casting with varying concentrations of Ag nanoparticles (1–5 wt%). A comprehensive investigation was conducted to understand the influence of Ag content on the structural, optical, mechanical, thermal, electrical, and antibacterial properties of the composites. UV-Vis spectroscopy revealed a red shift in absorption peaks and a reduction in the optical band gap, which decreased from 3.78 eV for pure PVA to 3.37 eV for the 5 wt% Ag composite. FTIR and SEM analyses confirmed successful nanoparticle incorporation and morphological changes. The nanocomposites exhibited enhanced tensile strength, elongation at break, Young’s modulus, and hardness due t
... Show MoreThe sensors based on Nickel oxide doped chromic oxide (NiO: Cr2O3) nanoparticals were fabricated using thick-film screen printing of sol-gel grown powders. The structural, morphological investigations were carried out using XRD, AFM, and FESEM. Furthermore, the gas responsivity were evaluated towards the NH3 and NO2 gas. The NiO0.10: Cr2O3 nanoparticles exhibited excellent response of 95 % at 100oC and better selectivity towards NH3 with low response and recovery time as compared to pure Cr2O3 and can stand as reliable sensor element for NH3 sensor related applications.
In this paper, CdO nanoparticles prepared by pulsed laser deposition techniqueonto a porous silicon (PS) surface prepared by electrochemical etching of p-type silicon wafer with resistivity (1.5-4Ω.cm) in hydrofluoric (HF) acid of 20% concentration. Current density (15 mA/cm2) and etching times (20min). The films were characterized by the measurement of AFM, FTIR spectroscopy and electrical properties.
Atomic Force microscopy confirms the nanometric size.Chemical components during the electrochemical etching show on surface of PSchanges take place in the spectrum of CdO deposited PS when compared to as-anodized PS.
The electrical properties of prepared PS; namely current density-voltage charact
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