Bacteria strain H7, which produces flocculating substances, was isolated from the soil of corn field at the College of Agriculture in Abu-Ghrib/Iraq, and identified as Bacillus subtilis by its biochemical /physiological characteristics. The biochemical analysis of the partially purified bioflocculant revealed that it was a proteoglycan composed of 93.2 % carbohydrate and 6.1 % protein. The effects of bioflocculant dosage, temperature, pH, and different salts on the flocculation activity were evaluated. The maximum flocculation activity was observed at an optimum bioflocculant dosage of 0.2 mL /10 mL (49.6%). The bioflocculant had strong thermal stability within the range of 30-80 °C, and the flocculating activity was over 50 %. The bioflocculant had the highest flocculating activity at alkaline conditions pH 10 (71%), and when many salts were used as cations, ZnSO4.7H2O, MnCl2, and CuSO4 enhanced flocculation activity at 89%, 80%, and 73% respectively.
Background: The microbial production of substances that have the potency to suppress the growth of other microorganisms is probably one of the prevalent defense strategy developed in nature, microorganisms produce a variable bunch of microbial defense systems, which include antibiotics, metabolic by-products, lytic agents, bacteriocins and others. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to isolate and identify Enterococcus faecium isolates then detecting its ability of carrying the gene responsible for enterocin production in this species. Materials and methods: Out of 50 samples from different sources (food and clinical sources) were collected for the Enterococcus faecium isolation, and the isolated bacteria Enterococ
... Show MorePiroxicam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used in the treatment of musculo-skeletal and joint disorders. The problem with this drug is its poor solubility in water and hence poor bioavailability after oral administration. In order to improve its solubility and dissolution behavior, hydrophilic additives such as starch, lactose, superdisintegrants including crospovidone (C.P), cross carmellose sodium (CCS), and sodium starch glycolate (SSG) were physically dry mixed with the drug by simple trituration. The improvement in the solubility in 0.1 N HCl was obtained as the amount of starch or lactose increased in the physical mixture, while for superdisintegrants, they further improve the solubility when they are present in s
... Show MoreThe emergence of staphylococci, either coagulase negative (CNS) or coagulase positive (CPS), as important human pathogens has implied that reliable methods for their identification are of large significance in understanding the diseases caused by them. The identification and characterization of staphylococci from biopsies taken from human breast tumors is reported here. Out of 32 tissue biopsies, a total of 12 suspected staphylococci grew on mannitol salt agar (MSA) medium, including 7 fermenters and 5 non-fermenter staphylococci based on traditional laboratory methods. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) successfully identified seven isolates at the genus level as methicillin resistant St
... Show MoreIn this work, chemical and thermal treatment were used to enhance silica extract on the purity of rice husk and to reduce the impurities associated with the extraction of silica. The thermal degradation of rice husk was studied. The characteristics and thermal degradation behavior of rice husk which investigated using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Hydrochloric acid was used to soak the rice husk and the study of leaching influence is followed by XRF tests for samples before and after the combustion process. Acid treatment and combustion method seem to have a clear effect on silica purity. The pyrolysis processes were carried out at Laboratory temperature up to 650 oC in the presence of nitrogen gas flowing at 150 ml/min. The effect o
... Show MoreKeys for 22 species representing ten genera Thripidae collection carried out during 1999-2001 in different localities in the middle of Iraq. Of them four species are described as new to science, Frankliniella megacephala sp. nov; Retithrips bagdadensis sp. nov; Chirothrips imperatus sp. nov; Taeniothrips tigridis sp. nov; Another thirteen species are recorded for the first time in Iraq; Thrips meridionalis (Pri.); Microcephalothrips abdominils (Crawford); Scolothrips pallidus (Beach); Scritothrips mangiferae Pri.; Frankliniella tritici Bagnall; Frankliniella schultzie Trybom; Frankliniella unicolor Morgan; Retithrips aegypticus Mar
... Show MoreThis work deals with preparation of zeolite 5A from Dewekhala kaolin clay in Al-Anbar region for drying and desulphurization of liquefied petroleum gas. The preparation of zeolite 5A includes treating kaolin clay with dilute hydrochloric acid 1N, treating metakaolin with NaOH solution to prepare 4A zeolite, ion exchange, and formation. For preparation of zeolite 4A, metakaolin treated at different temperatures (40, 60, 80, 90, and 100 °C) with different concentrations of sodium hydroxide solution (1, 2, 3, and 4 N) for 2 hours. The zeolite samples give the best relative crystallinity of zeolite prepared at 80 °C with NaOH concentration 3N (199%), and at 90 and 100°C with NaOH concentration solution 2N (184% and 189%, respectively). Ze
... Show MoreThe adsorption of Pb(II) ions onto bentonite and activated carbon was investigated. The effects of pH, initial adsorbent dosage, contact time and temperature were studied in batch experiments. The maximum adsorption capacities for bentonite and activated carbon were 0.0364 and 0.015 mg/mg, respectively. Thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs free energy change, Enthalpy change and Entropy change have been calculated. These thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption process was thermodynamically spontaneous under natural conditions and the adsorption was endothermic in nature. Experimental data were also tested in terms of adsorption kinetics, the results showed that the adsorption processes followed well pseudo second- order
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