Antibiotic resistance is the major growing threat facing the pharmacological treatment of bacterial infections. Therefore, bioprospecting the medicinal plants could provide potential sources for antimicrobial agents. Mimusops, the biggest and widely distributed plant genus of family Sapotaceae, is used in traditional medicines due to its promising pharmacological activities. This study was conducted to elucidate the antimicrobial effect of three unexplored Mimusops spp. (M. kummel, M. laurifolia and M. zeyheri). Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying such antibacterial activity were studied. The Mimusops leaf extracts revealed significant antibacterial activities against the five tested bacterial strains with a maximum inhibition zone diameter of 22.0 mm against B. subtilis compared with standard antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The minimal inhibitory and bactericidal concentration values against tested Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains ranged from 3.15-12.5 µg/ml. However, weak antifungal effect was recorded against Candida albicans with MIC value ˃25 µg/ml. The 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay showed that M. caffra was the best antioxidant (IC50=14.75±0.028 µg/ml), while M. laurifolia was the least one (IC50=34.22±0.014 µg/ml). The phenolics in plant leaves extracts were identified and quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) which revealed the presence of seven phenolic acids and four flavonoids. The abundant phenolic compounds were rutin (5.216±0.067 mg/g dried wt.) and gallic acid (0.296±0.068 mg/g) followed by myricetin (0.317±0.091 mg/g) then kaempferol (0.113±0.049 mg/g) as flavonoids. The antibacterial mechanism of M. laurifolia extract, as a representative species, induces ultrastructural changes in the model bacterium Staphylococcus aureus with cell wall and plasma membrane lysis as revealed by transmission electron microscopy. Overall, Mimusops species (M. laurifolia, M. kummel and M. zeyheri) are promising natural alternative sources for antimicrobial agents.
The researcher [1-10] proposed a method for computing the numerical solution to quasi-linear parabolic p.d.e.s using a Chebyshev method. The purpose of this paper is to extend the method to problems with mixed boundary conditions. An error analysis for the linear problem is given and a global element Chebyshev method is described. A comparison of various chebyshev methods is made by applying them to two-point eigenproblems. It is shown by analysis and numerical examples that the approach used to derive the generalized Chebyshev method is comparable, in terms of the accuracy obtained, with existing Chebyshev methods.
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 study investigates the impact of varying glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) stirrup spacing on the performance of doubly GFRP-reinforced concrete beams. The research focuses on assessing the behavior of GFRP-reinforced concrete beams, including load-carrying capacity, cracking, and deformability. It explores the feasibility and effectiveness of GFRP bars as an alternative to traditional steel reinforcement in concrete structures. Six concrete beams with a cross-section of 300 mm (wide) × 250 mm (deep), simply supported on a 2100 mm span, were tested. The beams underwent four-point bending with two concentrated loads applied symmetrically at one-third of the span length, resulting in a shear span (a)-to-depth (h) ratio of 2.
... Show MoreThis study was carried out to obtain the optimum conditions necessary for the process of soya protein hydrolysis by using hydrochloric acid (as a chemical catalyst) instead of the papain enzyme (as a biological catalyst), for the production of soya peptone. These conditions are implemented to test the effect of the variables of the process of hydrolysis on the nature and quality of the product.
The production of soya peptone was studied for their importance in the process of preparing and producing the culture media used in medical and microbiological laboratories.
The process of production of soya peptone includes four main
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This paper deals with a method called Statistical Energy Analysis that can be applied to the mechanical and acoustical systems like buildings, bridges and aircrafts …etc. S.E.A as a tool can be applied to the resonant systems in the circumstances of high frequency or/and complex structure». The parameters of S.E.A such as coupling loss factor, internal loss factor, modal density and input power are clarified in this work ; coupled plate sub-systems and explanations are presented for these parameters. The developed system is assumed to be resonant, conservative, linear and there is an equipartition of energy between all the resonant modes within a given frequency band in a given sub-system. The aim of th
... Show MoreThe growing demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives in road construction has led to the exploration of bio-based materials for bitumen modification. This study investigates the use of sugarcane molasses (SM) as a partial replacement of bitumen, evaluating its performance through an interlaboratory study conducted in India and Iraq. Bio-bitumen binders were prepared by partially replacing 30% of conventional bitumen with sugarcane molasses, and their chemical and thermal behaviour was studied. Additionally, laboratory tests were conducted on bio-bitumen mixtures, evaluating rutting resistance, cracking resistance, moisture susceptibility, and stiffness characteristics. A mechanistic-empirical pavement analysis using
... Show MoreThe pre - equilibrium and equilibrium double differential cross
sections are calculated at different energies using Kalbach Systematic
approach in terms of Exciton model with Feshbach, Kerman and
Koonin (FKK) statistical theory. The angular distribution of nucleons
and light nuclei on 27Al target nuclei, at emission energy in the center
of mass system, are considered, using the Multistep Compound
(MSC) and Multistep Direct (MSD) reactions. The two-component
exciton model with different corrections have been implemented in
calculating the particle-hole state density towards calculating the
transition rates of the possible reactions and follow up the calculation
the differential cross-sections, that include MS
Evidences indicate that human beings were preoccupied with extreme forms of mental and psychic experiences long before they were recorded in literature. Greek myths and legends appear to include symbolizations of delusions, mania, and other bizarre forms of thought and behaviuor. The figure of the mad man or woman is analogous to the wild man, or the imaginary being who appears in various forms throughout western literature and art. Various studies refer to the notion of the wild man as a response to a persistent psychological urge. This urge gives an external expression and a valid form to the impulses of reckless physical self-assertion which is believed to be hidden in all of us, but is normally kept under control. Such impulses were exp
... Show MoreCrime is one of the most severe challenges facing States, and strives to find preventive measures, reduce its seriousness, and prevent them; due to developments, crimes have increased, and emerging new patterns of crimes, there is an urgent need to prevent crimes and reduce their effects. Modernizing its punitive system and diverting it to correctional rehabilitative justice to redress the prejudice caused by the crime and rehabilitate the convicted person by using alternative measures to short-term imprisonment. This research emphasizes alternative sanctions' value to minimizing short-term imprisonment penalties and their impact on societal security through several goals like, the negative consequences, justifications, and alternatives
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