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 tests that measure special strength defined by speed contributes a great deal in evaluating the players' weaknesses and strengths so as to aid coaches judge their players according to scientific and objective measurements. The problem of the study lies in answering the following question : is there a test that measures legs' vertical strength defined by speed especially for youth basketball players? The aim of the research was to construct and standardize a test for measuring legs' vertical strength defined by speed in youth basketball. The subjects of the study were 74 youth basketball players from Baghdad. The researchers concluded that the test measures leg's vertical strength defined by speed for youth basketball players as well as
... Show MoreBackground: Coronavirus, which causes respiratory illness, has been a public health issue in recent decades. Because the clinical symptoms of infection are not always specific, it is difficult to expose all suspects to qualitative testing in order to confirm or rule out infection as a test. Methods: According to the scientific studies and investigations, seventy-three results of scientific articles and research were obtained using PubMed, Medline, Research gate and Google Scholar. The research keywords used were COVID-19, coronavirus, blood parameters, and saliva. Results: This review provides a report on the changes in the blood and saliva tests of those who are infected with the COVID-19.COVID-19 is a systemic infection that has
... Show MoreA cut-off low is a closed low with a low value of geopotential height at the upper atmospheric levels that has been fully detached (cut-off) from the westerly flow and move independently. A cut-off low causes extreme rainfall events in the mid-latitudes regions. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the cut-off low at 500 hPa over Iraq from a synoptic point of view and the behavior of geopotential height at 500 hPa. To examine the association of the cut-off low at 500 hPa with rainfall events across Iraq, two case studies of heavy rainfall events from different times were conducted. The results showed that the cut-off low at 500 hPa with a low value of geopotential height will strengthen the low-pressure system at the surface, lea
... Show MoreThe catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) of phenol has been studied in a trickle bed reactor
using active carbon prepared from date stones as catalyst by ferric and zinc chloride activation (FAC and ZAC). The activated carbons were characterized by measuring their surface area and adsorption capacity besides conventional properties, and then checked for CWAO using a trickle bed reactor operating at different conditions (i.e. pH, gas flow rate, LHSV, temperature and oxygen partial pressure). The results showed that the active carbon (FAC and ZAC), without any active metal supported, gives the highest phenol conversion. The reaction network proposed account
... Show MoreCongenital distal vaginal obstruction is usually asymptomatic in a newborn female. On rare occasions, it may present as an acute emergency with life threatening complications.This paper is reporting the rare condition of two newborn females presenting urgently with abdominal distension and acute urinary retention as a result of congenital distal vaginal Obstruction. The case history and urgent management shall be presented and both conditions shall be discussed.
Utilizing the modern technologies in agriculture such as subsurface water retention techniques were developed to improve water storage capacities in the root zone depth. Moreover, this technique was maximizing the reduction in irrigation losses and increasing the water use efficiency. In this paper, a polyethylene membrane was installed within the root zone of okra crop through the spring growing season 2017 inside the greenhouse to improve water use efficiency and water productivity of okra crop. The research work was conducted in the field located in the north of Babylon Governorate in Sadat Al Hindiya Township seventy-eight kilometers from Baghdad city. Three treatments plots were used for the comparison using surface
... Show MoreVisualization of water flow around different bluff bodies at different Reynolds number ranging (1505 - 2492) was realized by designing and building a test rig which contains an open channel capable to ensure water velocity range (4-8cm/s) in this channel. Hydrogen bubbles generated from the ionized water using DC power supply are visualized by a light source and photographed by a digital camera. Flow pattern around a circular disk of (3.6cm) diameter and (3mm) thickness, a sphere of (3.8cm) diameter and a cylinder of
(3.2cm) diameter and (10cm) length are studied qualitatively. Parameters of the vortex ring generated in the wake region of the disk and the separation angle of water stream lines from the surface of the sphere are plott