Background: Eucalyptus extracts and derivatives are natural substances with potent antimicrobial properties. This study investigated the in- vitro effects of non-nutritive sweeteners on the antifungal activity of alcoholic and aqueous Eucalyptus extracts against Candida albicans, a common oral pathogen. Materials and Method: Ten isolates of Candida albicans were isolated from dental students’ salivary samples. The alcoholic and aqueous extracts were prepared from fresh Eucalyptus leaves using maceration. The sensitivity of Candida albicans isolates to various concentrations of Eucalyptus extracts ranging from 50 to 250 (mg/mL) was evaluated via agar well diffusion method, while the agar streaking method was used to assess the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC). In addition, the effect of non-nutritive sweeteners on the MFC of the extracts was investigated. Results: The Eucalyptus extract-sensitive Candida albicans isolates showed an increase in inhibitory zone width with increasing extract concentration. Regarding their antifungal effectiveness, clear disparities were observed among extract concentrations. Against Candida albicans, the MFC for Eucalyptus alcoholic extract was 75 mg/mL, but the MFC for Eucalyptus aqueous extract was 200 mg/mL. Notably, 15% stevia and 5% sucralose did not affect the antifungal effects of the Eucalyptus alcoholic extract. The antifungal effectiveness of the aqueous Eucalyptus extract against Candida albicans was unaffected by stevia and sucralose concentrations of up to 1%. Conclusion: Significant antimicrobial action against Candida albicans is shown in Eucalyptus extracts. Results indicated that stevia and sucralose at specific quantities could be utilized as sweeteners for Eucalyptus extracts in an efficient manner without impairing the extracts’ antifungal activity.
An electrolytic process for the removal of Zn(II) from aqueous solution using a parallel amalgamated copper screens cathode operated in the flow through mode is proposed. The current-potential curves recorded at a rotating amalgamated copper disc electrode were used to determine diffusion coefficient of Zn(II). The performance of electrolytic reactor was investigated by using different flow rates at initial zinc ion concentration(48 mg/L). Taking into account the residential Zn(II) concentration, the best results were obtained for cathode potential of (-1.35 V vs. SCE) at flow rate (320 L/h). Zinc ion concentration was found to decrease from 48 mg/L to 1 mg/L during 120 min. of electrolysis. The experimental data are well correlate
... Show MoreLiposome-mediated transfection of cancer cells provide a valuable experimental technique to study cellular gene expression and may also be adapted for gene therapy studies. However, the widely recognized advantage of liposome-mediated transfection is high efficiency. Therefore, this study were performed to optimize transfection techniques in human larynx carcinoma cell line Hep-2 using the commercial synthetic lipid TransFast™ Reagent and monitoring the expression efficiency by using the pSV-?-galactosidase Control Vector which encoded ?-galactosidase, maximum transfection efficiency were achieved with TransFast™ Reagent used at the Charge ratios of 2:1 and 0.5 µg DNA/ml, this is indicate that TransFast™ Reagent can be used as an eff
... Show MoreIn this study, oxidative desulfurization of dibenzothiophene (DBT) with H2O2 as an oxidant was studied, whereas the catalyst used was zirconium oxide supported on Activated carbon (AC). Zirconium oxide (ZrO2) was impregnated over prepared activated carbon (AC) and characterized by various techniques such as XRD, FTIR, BET, SEM, and EDX. This composite was used as a heterogeneous catalyst for oxidation desulfurization of simulated oil. The results of this study showed that ZrO2/AC composite exhibited significant catalytic activity and stability, effectively lowering sulfur content under mild conditions. Factors such as reaction temperature (30, 40, 50, 60°C), time (5, 10, 15,20,30,60, 80 100 min), catalyst dose (0.3, 0.5,
... Show MoreThis paper presents a study to investigate the behavior of post-tensioned segmental concrete beams that exposed to high-temperature. The experimental program included fabricating and testing twelve simply supported beams that divided into three groups depending on the number of precasting concrete segments. All specimens were prepared with an identical length of 3150 mm and differed in the number of the incorporated segments of the beam (9, 7, or 5 segments). To simulate the genuine fire disasters, nine out of twelve beams were exposed to a high-temperature flame for one hour. Based on the standard fire curve (ASTM – E119), the temperatures of 300◦C (572◦F), 500◦C (932◦F), and 700◦C (1292◦F) were adopted. Consequently,
... Show MoreColorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common gastrointestinal malignancy and one of the top ten common cancers worldwide with approximately 2 million cases. There are multiple risk factors that could lead to CRC emergence; of which are genetic polymorphisms. Excision repair cross-complementing group 2 (ERCC2) gene encodes for ERCC2 enzyme which plays a crucial role in maintaining genomic integrity by removing DNA adducts. Several studies suggested that there could be a link between genetic polymorphisms of ERCC2 gene and the risk of CRC development. Hence the present study aims to validate the relationship between the following ERCC2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs13181, rs149943175, rs530662943, and rs1799790) and CRC susceptibility. A t
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The aim of this paper is to investigate and discuss the mechanisms of corrosion of epoxy coatings used for potable water tanks. Two distinct types of Jotun epoxy coatings: Tankguard 412 contained polyamine cured epoxy and Penguard HB contained polyamide cured epoxy, were tested and studied using the electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) method. The porosity of epoxy coatings was determined using EIS method. The obtained results showed that the two epoxy coatings have excellent behavior when applied and tested in potable water of Basrah city. Polyamine is more resistance to water corrosion compared to polyamide curing epoxy and has high impedance values. Microscopic inspection after te
... Show MoreConstruction of artificial higher order protein complexes allows sampling of structural architectures and functional features not accessible by classical monomeric proteins. Here, we combine in silico modelling with expanded genetic code facilitated strain promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition to construct artificial complexes that are structurally integrated protein dimers and demonstrate functional synergy. Using fluorescent proteins sfGFP and Venus as models, homodimers and heterodimers are constructed that switched ON once assembled and display enhanced spectral properties. Symmetrical crosslinks are found to be important for functional enhancement. The determined molecular structure of one artific
In this study, nano TiO2 was prepared with titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) as a resource to titanium oxide. The catalyst was synthesized using phosphotungstic acid (PTA) and, stearyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (STAB) was used as the structure-directing material. Characterization of the product was done by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescent spectroscopy (XRF), nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements, Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, were used to characterize the calcined TiO2 nanoparticles by STAB and PWA. The TiO2 nanomaterials were prepared in three crystalline forms (amorphous, anatase, anatase-rutile). The results showed that the nanoparticles of anatase TiO2 have good cata
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