Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are of potential interest because of their effective antibacterial and antiviral activities. Capping agents are used for exhibiting a better antibacterial activity than uncapped Ag NPs. There are very few reports that have shown the usage of AgNPs for in-vivo antibacterial therapy. Citrate-capped silver nanoparticles were synthesized chemically by citrate reduction method; the size of Cit-AgNPs was determined by an atomic force microscope (AFM) and was between 15-90 nm. Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) isolates were the only sensitive species to Cit-AgNPs. MICs and MBC of Cit-AgNPs were determined by using A. baumannii. The results showed an additive effect of Cit-AgNPs. Four mice groups were infected with a sub-lethal dose of A. baumannii intraperitoneally, IP. The single daily dose of Cit-AgNPs and imipenem plus Cit-AgNPs combination were administered IP. Imipenem and phosphate buffer saline (PBS) was used as positive control and negative control, respectively. Interestingly, only the PBS-treated group showed growth of A. baumannii in the liver and spleen of sacrificed mice. Histopathologically, Cit-AgNPs showed antibacterial activity and had an additive effect when combined with imipenem in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, the Cit-AgNPs showed dose-dependent activity and the organs differed in the illumination of the toxicity effect of Cit-AgNPs even after high dose administration. In conclusion, Cit-capped AgNPs had antibacterial activity against multiple drug resistant (MDR) A. baumannii but not against K. pneumoniae and E. coli. Cit-capped AgNPs increased the inhibition zone of imipenem in …
Background: There are several diseases in the body following recovery from COVID-19 infection because this virus operates on human genes in various types of peripheral tissue in the human body. It penetrates host cells via Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 receptors and may have effects on bone remodeling, leading to osteopenia or osteoporosis, which are characterized by low bone mineral density, resulting in diminished bone strength. Bone Alkaline Phpsphatase is an enzyme released into the bloodstream as a soluble homodimer after being cleaved by a phospholipase and can be utilized as a biomarker of bone development. Objective: This research was designed to investigate the alteration of bone homeostasis balance in Iraqi post-COVID-19
... Show MoreEco-friendly concrete is produced using the waste of many industries. It reduces the fears concerning energy utilization, raw materials, and mass-produced cost of common concrete. Several stress-strain models documented in the literature can be utilized to estimate the ultimate strength of concrete components reinforced with fibers. Unfortunately, there is a lack of data on how non-metallic fibers, such as polypropylene (PP), affect the properties of concrete, especially eco-friendly concrete. This study presents a novel approach to modeling the stress-strain behavior of eco-friendly polypropylene fiber-reinforced concrete (PFRC) using meta-heuristic particle swarm optimization (PSO) employing 26 PFRC various mixtures. The cement was partia
... Show MoreThe effect of molecules intersystem crossing (Kisc) on characteristics
(energy and duration) of a Passive Q- switched Laser Pulse has been
studied by mathematical description (rate equations model) for
temporal performance of which was used as a saturable absorber
material (passive switch) with laser. The study shows that the energy
and duration pulse are decreasing while the molecules intersystem
crossing into saturable absorber energy levels is increasing.
Cr2O3 thin films have been prepared by spray pyrolysis on a glass substrate. Absorbance and transmittance spectra were recorded in the wavelength range (300-900) nm before and after annealing. The effects of annealing temperature on absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coefficient, real and imaginary parts of dielectric constant and optical conductivity were expected. It was found that all these parameters increase as the annealing temperature increased to 550°C.
This study was undertaken to diagnose routine settling problems within a third-party oil and gas companies’ Mono-Ethylene Glycol (MEG) regeneration system. Two primary issues were identified including; a) low particle size (<40 μm) resulting in poor settlement within high viscosity MEG solution and b) exposure to hydrocarbon condensate causing modification of particle surface properties through oil-wetting of the particle surface. Analysis of oil-wetted quartz and iron carbonate (FeCO₃) settlement behavior found a greater tendency to remain suspended in the solution and be removed in the rich MEG effluent stream or to strongly float and accumulate at the liquid-vapor interface in comparison to naturally water-wetted particles. As su
... Show MoreAbstract
Magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) process is one of non-traditional or advanced finishing methods which is suitable for different materials and produces high quality level of surface finish where it uses magnetic force as a machining pressure. A set of experimental tests was planned according to Taguchi orthogonal array (OA) L27 (36) with three levels and six input parameters. Experimental estimation and optimization of input parameters for MAF process for stainless steel type 316 plate work piece, six input parameters including amplitude of tooth pole, and number of cycle between teeth, current, cutting speed, working gap, and finishing time, were performed by design of experiment
... Show MoreThe taxonomy of Ficus L., 1753 species is confusing because of the intense morphological variability and the ambiguity of the taxa. This study handled 36 macro-morphological characteristics to clarify the taxonomic identity of the taxa. The study revealed that Ficus is represented in the Egyptian gardens with forty-one taxa; 33 species, 4 subspecies and 4 varieties, and classified into five subgenera: Ficus Corner, 1960; Terega Raf., 1838; Sycomorus Raf., 1838; Synoecia (Miq.) Miq., 1867, and Spherosuke Raf.,1838; out of them seven were misidentified. Amongst, four new Ficus taxa were recently introduced to Egypt namely: F. lingua subsp. lingua Warb. ex De Wild. & T. Durand, 1901; F. pumila L., 1753; F. rumphii Blume, 1825, and F. su
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