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.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a pandemic worldwide. On a daily basis the number of deaths associated with COVID-19 is rapidly increasing. The main transmission route of SARS-CoV-2 is through the air (airborne transmission). This review details the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the aerodynamics, and different modes of transmission (e.g. droplets, droplet nuclei, and aerosol particles). SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted by an infected person during activities such as expiration, coughing, sneezing, and talking. During such activities and some medical procedures, aerosols and droplets contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 particles are formed. Depending on their
... Show MoreAn experimental study was conducted on pressure drop of water flow through vertical cylindrical packed beds in turbulent region and the influence of the operating parameters on its behavior. The bed packing was made of spherical and non-spherical particles (spheres, Rasching rings and intalox saddle) with aspect ratio range 3.46 D/dp 8.486 obtaining bed porosities 0.396 0.84 and Reynolds number 1217 21758. The system is consisted of 5 cm inside diameter Perspex column, 50 cm long; distilled water was pumped through the bed with flow rate 875, 1000, 1125, 1250,1375 and 1500 l/h and inlet water temperature 20, 30, 40 and 50 ˚C. The packed bed system was monitored by using LabVIEW program, were the result
... Show MoreThe electrospun nanofibers membranes (ENMs) have gained great attention due to their superior performance. However, the low mechanical strength of ENMs, such as the rigidity and low strength, limits their applications in many aspects which need adequate strength, such as water filtration. This work investigates the impact of electrospinning parameters on the properties of ENMs fabricated from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) solved in N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF). The studied electrospinning parameters were polymer concentration, solution flow rate, collector rotating speed, and the distance between the needle and collector. The fabricated ENMs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand the surface morphology and es
... Show MoreIn this study, the optical and thermal performance of a Parabolic Trough Collector PTC system is investigated theoretically. A series of numerical simulations and theoretical analysis has been conducted to investigate the effect of the receiver geometry and location relative to the focal line on its optical performance. The examined receiver geometries are circular, square, triangular, elliptical and a new design of circular‐ square named as channel receiver. The thermal performance of PTC is studied for different flow rates from (0.27 to 0.6 lpm) theoretically. Results showed that the best optical design is the channel receiver with an optical efficiency of 84% while the worst is the elliptical
In light of the increasing interest in Child-rearing in nurseries and kindergartens and the most important experiences gained by the child at this stage that form the basis for the subsequent stages of her/his physical mental and social growth.
The significance of the research concentrates the need to asses the affecting variables on the child growth to create opportunities for her/him to have intact rearing.
The research also aims to classify these variables at each age level and highlight its moral role.
The problem of the research is the lack of clarity of different variables impact of the child growth in different age levels in nurseries and kindergart
... Show MoreBackground: This study aimed to apply a high-power pulsed alexandrite laser in vitro, the researchers tested different exposure periods, pulse lengths, and laser fluencies to see which dosage was most successful against S. aureus bacteria, which had developed resistance to many antibiotics. Method: Three bacteria samples were exposed to laser beams for 30 seconds with a 5ms pulse duration and a laser fluency of 5J/cm2. The process was repeated with laser fluencies of 10, 15, and 20. Results: The study was carried out by using different doses of Alexandrite laser. Results: There are significant differences (p = 0.05) in the mean number of bacteria colonies exposed for 30 and 60 seconds at any laser fluencies utilized in the present i
... Show MorePseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for serious infections. At least three different exopolysaccharides, alginate, polysaccharide synthesis locus (Psl), and pellicle exopolysaccharide (Pel) make up the biofilm matrix in P. aeruginosa . The effect of temperature on the biofilm formation and gene expression was examined by microtiter plate and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). To be able to determine the effect of temperature on biofilm formation and gene expression of P. aeruginosa, 303 clinical and environmental samples were collected. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated from 61 (20.1%) and 48 (15.8%) of the clinical and e
... Show MoreThis study was conducted in the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering Sciences - University of Baghdad in the field of sheep and goats in the Department of Animal Production. Effect of different concentrations of bovine albumin on some semen characteristics of frozen rams. Used in this experiment, 3 rams and their ages ranging from 2.5-3 years. The sample of the semen was diluted with Tris dilution with the addition of 10 ml of egg yolk per 100 ml, the sample by 1:1 with the tris and then the collection of sperm samples (Pooling) after the semen was divided into four treatments Control and bovine albumin at concentrations of 5, 7.5 and 10% and then complete dilution 10: 1, at 5C, dilution 20: 1, containing 5% glycerol per 100 ml. The results
... Show MoreUrban Balance is one of the important indicators that leads to an assessment of the urbanization process in a particular country , province or even a city that is multi-centered. By examining the data related to Anba province, it was found that the value of this indicator is equal to 0.96, which is less than the absolute one, and therefore the urbanization in the province is distributed collectively
The development of a mathematical or statistical model for estimating urban growth is a complex process due to the overlap between indicators or variables that can be adopted to calculate estimate growth rates Al-Qaim city has been considered as an example to develop a statistical method by which changes
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