Prodigiosin is a ‘natural red pigment produced by Serratia marcescens which exhibits immunosuppressive and anticancer properties in addition to antimicrobial activities. This work presents an attempt to maximize the production of prodigiosin by two different strategies: one factor at time (OFAT) and statistical optimization. The result of OFAT revealed that sucrose and peptone were the best carbon and nitrogen sources for pigment production with concentration of prodigiosin of about 135 mg/ L. This value was increased to 331.6mg/ L with an optimized ratio of C/N (60:40) and reached 356.8 with pH 6 and 2% inoculum size at end of classical optimization. Statistical experimental design based on Response surface methodology was co

Studies on the flexural behavior of post-tensioned beams subjected to strand damage and strengthened with near-surface mounted (NSM) technique using carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) are limited and fail to examine the effect of CFRP laminates on strand strain and strengthening efficiency systematically. Furthermore, a design approach for UPC structures in existing design guidelines for FRP strengthening techniques is lacking. Hence, the behavior of post-tensioned beams strengthened with NSM-CFRP laminates after partial strand damage is investigated in this study. The testing program consists of seven post-tensioned beams strengthened by NSM-CFRP laminates with three partial strand damage ratios (14.3% symmetrical damage, 14.3%

Background: Since carbapenems are currently the preferred treatment for severe infections brought on by multidrug-resistant bacteria which can create Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamases (ESBLs), it is extremely concerning that Gram-negative bacteria are becoming resistant to carbapenem. It has been demonstrated that Klebsiella pneumoniae produces a beta-lactamase that hydrolyses the β-lactam ring in antibiotics, making it one of the few bacteria which are currently exhibiting a high value of resistance because of changing in the organism's core genome. Methods: For the current study, 50 samples were gathered from different water sources, and based on morphological and biochemical testing, 10 isolates were determined to be K. pneumoniae. Accord

In this article, the casting method was used to prepare poly(methyl methacrylate)/hydroxyapatite (PMMA/HA) nanocomposite films incorporated with different contents (0.5, 1, and 1.5 wt%) of graphene nanoplatelets (Gnp). The chemical properties and surface morphology of the PMMA/HA blend and PMMA/HA/Gnp nanocomposite were characterized using FTIR, and SEM analysis. Besides, the thermal conductivity, dielectric and electrical properties at (1–107 Hz) of the PMMA/HA blend and PMMA/HA/Gnp composites were investigated. The structural analysis showed that the synthesized composites had a low agglomerated state, with multiple wrinkles of graphene flakes in the PMMA/HA blend. The thermal conductivity was improved by more than 35-fold its value for

Iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were synthesized via an eco-friendly green approach by adding Phoenix dactylifera extract to the aqueous solution of ferric chloride. The effect of annealing temperature (Ta) (100-150) °C on particle size was studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were used to evaluate the produced nanoparticles. According to XRD spectra, the crystallite size of the samples was determined using the Scherrer formula. AFM and FE-SEM were used to determine surface morphology. A UV-Vis optical spectroscopic examination was carried out to determine the band gap energy of the iron oxide nanoparticles. It was found th

Thin films ZrO₂: MgO nanostructure have been synthesized by a radio frequency magnetron plasma sputtering technique at different ratios of MgO (0,6, 8 and  10)% percentage to be used as the gas sensor for nitrogen dioxide NO₂. The samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and sensing properties were also investigated. The average particle size of all prepared samples was found lower than 33.22nm and the structure was a monoclinic phase. The distribution of grain size was found lower than36.3 nm and uninformed particles on the surface. Finally, the data of sensing properties have been discussed, where the

This article presents the simultaneous adsorption of bimetal Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ from an aqueous solution using activated carbon synthesized from a plum seed precursor by sulfuric acid and microwave activation: plum seeds chemically activated by 45% (w/w) sulfuric acid with 2:1 ratio for 4 h, then carbonized for 2 h at 700 °C and the product obtained activated in a microwave oven for 20 min at 700 W for final of activation. Plum seeds and activated carbon produced were characterized in terms of their physical and chemical composition using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller measurements, field emission scanning electr

In this article the nanoparticles synthesis of ZnO (Nps) by using the precipitation method at concentrations range (0.5, 0.25, 0.125, 0.0625, 0.03125) mg/mL and then activity was examined against Streptococcus spp that causing dental caries in vitro by well diffusion method, find these concentrations effected in these bacteria and better concentration is 0.03125. ZnO Nps were characterization by EDS to prove this particles are ZnO, and also characterized by atomic force microscope (AFM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and TEM, from these technic found that the average size about 30.52 nm and hexagonal shape. The UV-visible result reveals that the large band is observed at 340.8 nm, Zeta potential show that the surface charge is 30.19 mv an