Leishmania species are the causative agent of a tropical disease known as leishmaniasis. Previous studies on the old world species Leishmania major, showed that the amastigotes form which resides inside the macrophage of the vertebrate host, utilize host’s sphingolipids for survival and proliferation. In this study, gene expression of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) subunit two (MmLCB2) of the mouse macrophage cell line (RAW264.7), which is the first enzyme in the de novo sphingolipid biosynthesis, was detected in both infected and non-infected macrophages. This was detected under condition where available sphingolipid was reduced, with the new world species Leishmania mexicana. Results of qPCR analysis showed that there was no differen
... Show More
Increasing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of silicon solar cells by improving their junction properties or minimizing light reflection losses remains a major challenge. Extensive studies were carried out in order to develop an effective antireflection coating for monocrystalline solar cells. Here we report on the preparation of a nanostructured cerium oxide thin film by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) as an antireflection coating for silicon solar cell. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of a cerium oxide nanostructure film are investigated as a function of the number of laser pulses. The X-ray diffraction results reveal that the deposited cerium oxide films are crystalline in nature and have a cubic fluorite. The field
... Show MoreObjective: Zerumbone (ZER) is a well-known natural compound that has been reported to have anti-cancer effect. Thus, this study investigated the ZER potential to inhibit Thymidine Phosphorylase (TP) and the ability to trigger Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated cytotoxicity in non-small cell lung cancer, NCI-H460, cell line. Material and Method: The antiangiogenic activity for ZER was evaluated by using the thymidine phosphorylase inhibitory test. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was determined via DCFDA dye by using flow cytometry. Result and Discussion: ZER was found to be potent TP inhibitory with the IC50 value of 50.3± 0.31 μg/ml or 230±1.42 µM. NCI-H460 cells upon treatment with ZER produced sign
... Show MoreZnIn2(Se1-xTex)4 (ZIST) chalcopyrite semiconductor thin films at various contents (x = 0.0, 0.2, and 0.4) are deposited on glass and p type silicon (111) substrate to produce heterojunction solar cell by using the thermal evaporation technique at RT where the thickness of 500 nm with a vacuum of 1×10-5 mbar and a deposited rates of 5.1 nm/s. This study focuses on how differing x content effect on the factors affecting the solar cell characteristics of ZIST thin film and n-ZIST/p-Si heterojunction. X-ray diffraction XRD investigation shows that this structure of ZIST film is polycrystalline and tetragonal, with (112) preferred orientation at 2θ ≈ 27.01. Moreover, atomic force microscopy AFM is studying the external morphology of
... Show MoreObjective: Zerumbone (ZER) is a well-known natural compound that has been reported to have anti-cancer effect. Thus, this study investigated the ZER potential to inhibit Thymidine Phosphorylase (TP) and the ability to trigger Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated cytotoxicity in non-small cell lung cancer, NCI-H460, cell line. Material and Method: The antiangiogenic activity for ZER was evaluated by using the thymidine phosphorylase inhibitory test. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was determined via DCFDA dye by using flow cytometry. Result and Discussion: ZER was found to be potent TP inhibitory with the IC50 value of 50.3± 0.31 μg/ml or 230±1.42 µM. NCI-H460 cells upon treatment with ZER produced sign
... Show MoreIn this work, a functional nanocomposite consisting of multi walled carbon nanotubes combined with nanoparticles of silver and Pomegranate peel extract (MWCNTs- SNPs -NPGPE) was successfully synthesized using ultra sonic technique. The nanocomposite has been characterized using Transmission electron microscope (TEM), XRD, Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) UV-Vis and FTIR. The obtained results reveal that the MWCNTs-SNPs-NPGPE nanocomposite exhibits form of nanotubes with rough surfaces and containing black spots, which are the silver nanoparticles. The dimensions of this tube are 161 nm in length and 60 nm in width with nanoparticles of silver not exceeding 20 nm. The XRD pattern of the prepared MWCNTs-SNPs-NPGPE nanocomposite s
... Show More