The aim of this study is to investigate the role of prodigiosin on P. aeruginosa' s biofilm genes involved in the pathogenicity and persistency of the bacteria; Materials and methods: Gram negative bacterial isolates were taken from burn and wounds specimen obtained from some of Baghdad hospitals. Forty six isolates were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and four isolates as Serratia marcescens by using biochemical tests and VITEK 2 compact system. Susceptibility test was performed for all P. aeruginosa isolates, the results showed that 100% were resistant to Amikacin and 98% were sensitive to Meropenem. Resistant isolates were tested for biofilm formation; the strong and moderate isolates (17) were detected by PCR for AlgD gene presence. From 17 isolates only two had AlgD gene. All serratia isolates were screened for prodigiosin production, which were extracted from the best producer isolate. Minimal inhibitory concentration was assessed for prodigiosin and ciprofloxacin and synergism between them against the two isolates of P. aeruginosa. Results and conclusions: The results showed that the synergistic effect decreased MIC of both prodigiosin and ciprofloxacin by combination, and reduction of biofilm formation was detected. RNA was extracted from the two selected isolates as control in addition to three treatments. The result of quantitative real time PCR showed down regulation in the AlgD gene expression level under some treatments, while there was no gene expression in most treatments with both sub-MICs treatment
In the present work experiments were conducted to study the effect of solid loading (1,5 and 9 vol.%) on the enhancement of carbon dioxide absorption in bubble column at various volumetric gas flow rate (0.75, 1 and 1.5 m3/h) and absorbent concentration (caustic soda)( 0.1,0.5 and 1 M ). Activated carbon and alumina oxide (Al2O3) are used as solid particles. The Danckwerts method was used to calculate interfacial area and individual mass transfer coefficients during absorption of carbon dioxide in a bubble column. The results show that the absorption rate was increased with increasing volumetric gas flow rate, caustic soda concentration and solid loading. Mass transfer coefficient and interfac
... Show MoreExperiments were conducted to study axial liquid dispersion coefficient in slurry bubble column of 0.15 m inside diameter and 1.6 m height using perforated plate gas distributor of 54 holes of a size equal to 1 mm diameter and with a 0.24 free area of holes to the cross sectional area of the column. The three phase system consists of air, water and PVC used as the solid phase. The effect of solid loading (0, 30 and 60 kg/m3) and solid diameter (0.7, 1.5 and 3 mm) on the axial liquid dispersion coefficient at different axial location (25, 50 and 75 cm) and superficial gas velocity covered homogeneous-heterogeneous flow regime (1-10 cm/s) were studied in the present work. The results show that the axial liquid dispersion coeffic
... Show MoreThe aim of the current study is to demonstrate the effect of honey on the sperms characteristics (sperm concentration, sperm motility, grade of activity and sperm normal morphology) as well as pregnancy rate in mice. Sperms were obtained from caudal epididymis of male mice and prepared by adding10% of honey to the IVF medium using direct sperms activation technique for 30 minute incubation period before artificial insemination.
The study revealed a significant (P > 0.05) increase in active sperm motility (grade A and grade B) 49% and pregnancy rate 53.3% in female mice artificially inseminated with sperms. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in sperm con
... Show MoreThe aim of the research was to assess effects of short and long-period exposure to radiation from mobile phone on blood indices in experimental rats. In this study forty mature female rats were used; the animals were divided into two experimental group, each group consists of twenty animals. Short-period group of rats were exposed to cell phone radiation for different duration 30 m, 60 m, and 90 m per day for six weeks. Long-period group of rats were exposed to radiation from mobile phone for different duration 2h, 4h, and 6h per day for three months. The study noticed that there was significant (P≥0.05) elevation in total white blood cells and the study demonstrated significant increment (P≥0.05) in percentage of
... Show MoreThis study aimed to investigate the effect of oral administration of pomegranate seed oil on diabetic in male rabbits. A total of 32 adult male rabbits.6 months old weighting 1-2kg were divided in to four equal groups. G- Control (negative) Rabbits were received olive oil, G2- (control positive) Rabbits were received (30 mg/kg B.W/daily of the Pomegranate seed oil orally and daily for 45 day. G3-Rabbits were received (150mg/kg of Alloxan injected Intraperitonealy, G4-Rabbits were received the same dose orally of the Pomegranate seed oil four 45 days. There is significant increase (Insulin, Insulin resistance) and decreased glucose in group received Pomegranate seed oil (G4) as compared with G3 (diabetic group). On conclusion, the administra
... Show MoreThe external signals are used as elicitors that can modify the levels of secondary metabolites production and trigger the biotechnological enforcements to improve plant production. In this study, sodium chloride NaCl was used as a stimulating factor for the production of beta-carboline alkaloids, harmine and harmaline, in Peganum harmala. The in vitro induced callus of P. harmalain was used as a source for alkaloid production in the stimulating experiments with sodium chloride. The results illustrated that 2 mg.l-1 of NaCl increased the fresh and dry weight of callus with an average of 944.30 and 72.0 mg, respectively. In a comparative analysis through Gas Chromatography (GC)
... Show MoreBackground and objectives: This study aimed at testing the effect of plastic sleeve or barrier, used to cover the guide of the light cure unit to prevent cross-infection, on the shear bond strength and site of bond failure of stainless steel and ceramic orthodontic brackets. Materials and methods: Forty orthodontic brackets; twenty stainless steel and twenty ceramic brackets bonded to forty extracted human maxillary first premolars using light cure adhesive cured with and without the use of a protective plastic barrier on the guide. Comparing the effect of this barrier on the shear bond strength and adhesive remnant index was performed using an independent t-test and Chi-square test. Results: The protective barrier had decreased the shear b
... Show MoreThis research aims to investigate the effect of four types of nanomaterial on the Marshall properties and durability of warm mix asphalt (WMA). These types are; nano silica(NS), nano carbonate calcium (NCC), nano clay(NC), and nanoplatelets (NP). For each type of Nanomaterial, three contents are tried as following; NS(1%, 3%, and 5%), NCC(2%, 4%, and 6%), NC(3%, 5%, and 7%), and NP (2%, 4%, and 6%) by weight of asphalt cement. Following Marhsall mix design method, the optimum asphalt cement content is determined, thereafter the optimum dosage for each nanomaterial is obtained based on the highest Marshall stability value. The durability of the control mix (no nanomaterial) and modified mixtures have been compared based on moisture damage, r
... Show MoreCarbides or nitrides thin films present materials with good mechanical properties for industrial applications as they can be coatings at low temperatures serve temperature sensitive surfaces. In this work the effect of the C percentage on the mechanical properties represented by the Young modulus (E) of combinatorial magnetron sputtered TiCx (34%x˂65%) has been studied. The structure of the produced films is TiC independent on the C concentration. The mechanical properties are increased with increasing the C concentration up to 50%, and then decreasing with further C % increasing. These results can be explained by considering the resultant residual stresses.