Introduction:Serratia marcescens is a gram-negative pathogen of many species. Its pathogenicity and survival are linked to its capacity to build biofilms as well as its strong inherent resistance to antimicrobials and cleaning agents. Objectives: To analyse the impact of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) on the gene expression of QS-related genes (rssB, rsmA,and pigP) of S. marcescens. Methodology: The broth microdilution technique estimated the bactericidal effectiveness of glyceryl trinitrate. The presence of rssB, rsmA,and pigP in S. marcescens isolates was detected using PCR. qRT-PCR was used to assess the effect of GTN on rssB, rsmA,and pigPgene expression. Results: The results demonstrated that GTN has no effect on S. marcescens growth. Furthermore, rssB, rsmA,and pigP were located in all S. marcescens isolates and their gene expression was downregulated due to GTN presence. Conclusion: GTN can act as a promising anti-quorum sensing agent in reference to S. marcescens.
Background: The bone mineral density of the lumbar vertebra has been assessed according to the results of the Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA). Although anemia is known to affect bone mineral density, at the present time, it is not clear which vertebra is more affected by this disease. Objective: To evaluate the effects of anemia on the bone mineral density of the lumbar vertebra in comparison with a normal subject and determine which part of the lumbar vertebra is more affected by anemia. Methods: All 205 participants in this study complained of bone pain (90 males and 105 females). 95 patients, including both sexes, suffered from anemia. Additionally, the study included 110 seemingly healthy volunteers as the control group
... Show MoreSweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is an economically important vegetable crop. Wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. capsici is a specific pathogen that affects the pepper. Four isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. capsici Fo3, Fo6, Fo7 and Fo8 were obtained from diseased pepper plants that were collected from different pepper fields in Baghdad. Fo6 isolate that has high pathogenicity to pepper seeds, Trichoderma harzianum (Th) was tested in vitro against F. oxysporum f. sp. capsici showed a high inhibition rate for the isolate Fo6, the concentration of chelated iron Fe-EDDHA 0.5% reduced the radial growth of Fo6 whi
... Show MoreMeasuring the efficiency of postgraduate and undergraduate programs is one of the essential elements in educational process. In this study, colleges of Baghdad University and data for the academic year (2011-2012) have been chosen to measure the relative efficiencies of postgraduate and undergraduate programs in terms of their inputs and outputs. A relevant method to conduct the analysis of this data is Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The effect of academic staff to the number of enrolled and alumni students to the postgraduate and undergraduate programs are the main focus of the study.
Bacteriocin is an important antimicrobial peptide that can be used in industrial and medical fields due to its characteristics of antibacterial, food preservation and anticancer activities. Fifty isolates of Bacillus sp were collected from different soil samples which were already recognized via morphological and biochemical identification process. The isolates were screened for bacteriocin production effective against Staphylococcus spp in order to select the highest producing isolate. The isolate NK16 showed the maximum bacteriocin production (80 AU/ml) which was further characterized as Bacillus subtilis NK 16 through using API identification system (API 20E and API 50CHB). Then, next step was to detect the optimal conditions for maximum
... Show MorePathological blood clot in blood vessels, which often leads to cardiovascular diseases, are one of the most common causes of death in humans. Therefore, enzymatic therapy to degrade blood clots is vital. To achieve this goal, bromelain was immobilized and used for the biodegradation of blood clots. Bromelain was extracted from the pineapple fruit pulp (Ananas comosus) and purified by ion exchange chromatography after precipitation with ammonium sulphate (0-80 %), resulting in a yield of 70%, purification fold of 1.42, and a specific activity of 1175 U/mg. Bromelain was covalently immobilized on functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), with an enzyme loading of 71.35%. The results of the characterization of free and immobilized
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