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.
This study was undertaken to provide more insight on the optimum injection temperature used for the production of PE crates, thereby saving time and money, and improving part quality. The work included processing trails of HDPE crates in an injection
molding machine at five temperatures ranged from 220 to 300°C. Both Rheological and mechanical characterization was conducted in order to understand the effect of injection temperature on the properties of crates. Oven aging was also applied for (4 weeks) to evaluate the long-term thermal stability. The results revealed that producing the crates at a temperature range of (260-280 °C) gives the best rheological and mechanical result. The lowest drop in thermal stability has been observed
This paper was aimed to study the efficiency of forward osmosis (FO) process as a new application for the treatment of wastewater from textile effluent and the factors affecting the performance of forward osmosis process.
The draw solutions used were magnesium chloride (MgCl2), and aluminum sulphate (Al2 ( SO4)3 .18 H2O), and the feed solutions used were reactive red, and disperse blue dyes.
Experimental work were includes operating the forward osmosis process using thin film composite (TFC) membrane as flat sheet for different draw solutions and feed solutions. The operating parameters studied were : draw solutions concentration (10 – 90 g/l), feed solutions concentration (5 – 30 mg/l), draw solutions flow rate (10 – 50 l/hr
This review focuses on conservation agriculture (CA) and its effects on increasing the soil’s resistance to erosion. CA involves minimum soil disturbance (minimum tillage/ no-till), diversified crop rotation, and maintenance of the soil cover to increase soil fertility and reduce erosion. CA reduces soil loss by up to 90% and water erosion by approximately 50 to 70% from runoff as it increases the health of the soil, yield of crops, and water-retention capacity of the soil by incorporating soil organic matter and promoting biodiversity. Crop rotation prevents the replenishment and depletion of soil nutrients by atmospheric fixation of nitrogen/biological nitrogen fixation. Controlled traffic farming (CTF) is a new strategy in which travel
... Show MoreA new spectrophotometric method has been developed for the assay of olanzapine (OLN.) in pure and dosage forms. The method is based on the diazocoupling of (OLN.) with diazotized p-nitroaniline in alkaline medium to form a stable brown colored water-soluble azo dye with a maximum absorption at 405 nm. The variables that affect the completion of reaction have been carefully optimized. Beer’s law is obeyed over the concentration range of (0.5-45.0 μg.mL-1) with a molar absorptivity of 1.5777×104 L.mol-1.cm-1. The limit of detection was 0.3148 μg.mL-1 and Sandell’s sensitivity value was 0.0198 μg.cm-2. The propose
... Show MoreThe steady 3-D raw water turbulent flow is numerically investigated. This flow is formed of solid silica sand (quartz) carried by water in stainless steel pipe. The flow in a straight pipe and flow in a pipe with a sudden contraction are analyzed using a two-way coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. Erosion rate is estimated by Oka erosion model combined with the constant coefficient of restitution. The effect of solid particles mass flow rate, inlet velocity, particle diameter, internal pipe diameter, orientation, contraction coefficient, and wall pipe contraction angle on erosion rate are examined. The predicted erosion is distributed homogenously for straight pipe, while the step wall area of the contraction is the most eroded part. The
... Show MoreThis paper focuses on the concept of cognition and its clarification in the light of Islamic epistemology. Knowledge passes through two essential parts: conception and assent. Conception explains simple knowledge, while assent explains knowledge involving a judgment. The paper proceeded with the identification of the problem of relationship blurring between cognition and knowledge. The external and inner senses have explained the relationship between the stages of knowledge and cognition. The external senses receive stimuli and form primary conceptions. These conceptions transfer to the first part of the inner senses, which is common sense; it collects the sensations and transmits them to pictorial power. Secondary conceptions are f
... Show MoreTo determine the relationship between infertility and Helicobacter pylori infection, thirty-five infertile patients of ages (20-49) years have been investigated and compared with 10 apparently firtility individuals. All the studied groups were carried out to measure (ASA), (TNF-á), (IL-6), (anti-H.pylori IgA) and (anti-H.pyloriIgG) by Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. The statistical analysis also demonstrated that there were a highly significant differences (P<0.01), when compared between studied group. Also, the statistical analysis demonstrated that there were a highly significant differences (P<0.01) when compare between infertility and fertility in Conc. of sperm. The percentage distribution of ASA in serum and seme
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