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.
Absence or hypoplasia of the internal carotid artery (ICA) is a rare congenital anomaly that is mostly unilateral and highly associated with other intracranial vascular anomalies, of which saccular aneurysm is the most common. Blood flow to the circulation of the affected side is maintained by collateral pathways, some of which include the anterior communicating artery (Acom) as part of their anatomy. Therefore, temporary clipping during microsurgery on Acom aneurysms in patients with unilateral ICA anomalies could jeopardize these collaterals and place the patient at risk of ischemic damage. In this paper, we review the literature on cases with a unilaterally absent ICA associa
A study on the treatment and reuse of oily wastewater generated from the process of fuel oil treatment of gas turbine power plant was performed. The feasibility of using hollow fiber ultrafiltration (UF) membrane and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane type polyamide thin-film composite in a pilot plant was investigated. Three different variables: pressure (0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 bars), oil content (10, 20, 30 and 40 ppm), and temperature (15, 20, 30 and 40 ᵒC) were employed in the UF process while TDS was kept constant at 150 ppm. Four different variables: pressure (5, 6, 7 and 8 bar), oil content (2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 ppm), total dissolved solids (TDS) (100, 200,300 and 400 ppm), and temperature (15, 20, 30 and 40 ᵒC) were mani
... Show MorePlatelet‐rich fibrin (PRF) has been widely used in regenerative dentistry due to many growth factors produced. Periostin, a matricellular protein, is a reliable marker for tissue regeneration. Periostin is part of the cellular matrix and regulates bone homeostasis. This study aims to explore the efficacy of PRF in improvement of the clinical periodontal parameters as an adjunct to the scaling and root planing and to evaluate periostin level in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) at baseline, 1‐ and 3‐month recall visits. Fourteen periodontitis patients who met the inclusion criteria were recruited in this study. Two contralateral periodontal pockets with 4–6 mm in depth in each patient were sel
Abstract Daily dressing changes cause distress and pain for victims of burn injuries. The study aimed to determine the effect of music in reducing the pain and anxiety of thermally burned children during routine dressing changes. This quantitative study employed a randomized controlled trial design. The participants comprised 80 children at the Specialized Burns Hospital, in Baghdad, Iraq who were divided into two groups. The intervention group were exposed to three generic musical pieces (children’s music, nature sounds, and classical music) for 10-15 minutes. The researchers used the Objective Pain Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and physiological parameters to measure the children’s responses immediately before the dressing cha
... Show MoreThe Fourth Industrial Revolution represents an advanced stage of technological development, characterized by the integration of digital, physical, and biological technologies, with a strong focus on smart connectivity and advanced data analysis. At the core of this revolution stands Artificial Intelligence (AI), which enables the processing of vast amounts of data, decision-making with speed and accuracy, automation of processes, and enhancement of productivity and quality. This research examines the transformative role of AI in the humanities, particularly in archaeological, historical, and geographical studies, where traditional methods face limitations in handling complex and extensive datasets.The study aims to highlight these l
... Show MoreThe research targets study of influence of additives on sand mold’s properties and, consequently, on
that of carbon steel CK45 casts produced by three molds. Three materials were selected for addition
to sand mix at weight percentages. These are sodium carbonates, glycerin and oat flour. Sand molds
of studied properties were produced to get casts from such molds. The required tests were made to
find the best additives with respect to properties of cast. ANSYS software is used to demonstrate
the stresses distribution of each produced materials. It is shown that the mechanical properties of
casts produced is improved highly with sodium carbonates and is less with oat flour and it is seem a
few with glycerin additives
Hydroxychloroquine (HQC) and chloroquine drugs belong to a class of drugs known as 4-aminoquinoline, its structure weak bases due to the presence of the essential side chain, and this chain contributes to the accumulation of drugs in the intracellular parts. A 21 mice were taken and divided into three groups, the first group (A) was the control group that administered oral distilled water for 30 days, and the second group (B) treated group that was dose with 15 mg/kg/day of drug for 30 days, and the third group (C) was the treated group by injected drug with a concentration of 30 mg/kg/day for 30 days also. The result of amino acids studied in the kidney of adult white mice (Mus musculus) showed the presence of (18) amino acid represented:
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to investigate the behavior of composite castellated beam in which the concrete slab and steel beam connected together with headed studs shear connectors. Four simply supported composite beams with various degree of castellation were tested under two point static loads. One of these beams was built up using standard steel beam, i.e. without web openings, to be a reference beam. The other three beams were fabricated from the same steel I-section with various three castellation ratios, (25, 35, and 45) %. In all beams the concrete slab has the same section and properties. Deflection at mid span of all beams was measured at each 10 kN load increment. The test results show that the castellation process leads to
... Show MoreIt is often noted that disordered materials have different chemical properties to their more “ordered” cousins. Quantifying these effects in terms of thermodynamics is challenging in part because disordered materials can be difficult to characterize and are frequently relatively unstable. During the course of our experiments to understand the effects of disorder in catalysts for water oxidation we observed that many disordered manganese and cobalt oxide water oxidation catalysts directly oxidized peroxide in contrast to their more ordered analogues which catalyzed its disproportionation, that is, MnO2+2H+ +H2O2! Mn2+ +2H2O+O2(oxidation) versus H2O2!H2O+1=2 O2(disproportionation). By measuring the efficiency for one reaction over the oth
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