Over the past few decades, the health benefits are under threat as many commonly used antibiotics have become less and less effective against certain illnesses not only because many of them produce toxic reactions but also due to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. The clinical use of a combination of antibiotic therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections is probably more effective than monotherapy. The present study aims to estimate the antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of Conocarpus erectus leaves extracts against multi-drug resistant P. aeruginosa isolated from different hospitals in Baghdad city. One hundred fifty different clinical specimens were collected from patients from September 2021 to January 2022. All samples were cultured on specific and differential media, only 83 isolates were able to grow on cetrimide agar and at 42˚C, and then the VITEK 2 compact system was dependent to complete the identification. The results showed that the high resistance of the isolates was to the two antibiotics Ceftriaxone and Amoxicillin-Clavulanic acid with a percentage of (92.7%) and (89.2%) respectively, followed by Trimethoprim with a resistance rate of (79.5%). Ten isolates with multi-drug resistance are selected to evaluate the antibacterial activity of plant extracts and the combination between Conocarpus erectus extract and antibiotics. Maceration and Soxhlet apparatus were used to prepare the methanolic and aqueous extracts. The results of the radical scavenging ability showed that the methanolic and aqueous extracts (96.44 and 94.13%) in 10 mg/ml respectively, were more than the artificial antioxidant (BHT) which was 93.11% and the approach with the vitamin C which was 97.20%. The results of the total phenolic content were observed at 51.58 and 65.60 mg/g in 5 mg/ml for the aqueous and methanolic extracts respectively. The antibacterial activity of C. erectus leaves extracts showed that the methanolic extract was more effective than the aqueous extract at a concentration of 100 mg/ml. The results of the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the methanolic extract against P. aeruginosa were between 8-32 mg\ml. While the MIC values of the aqueous extract were 128-256 mg\ml. The synergistic activity between C. erectus methanolic extract and antibiotics against multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa was assessed using the checkerboard analysis technique. The methanolic extract showed a synergistic effect with Cefepime against six isolates (FICI: ≤0.5), and an additive effect against four isolates (FICI: (≥ 0.5–1.0). Furthermore, a synergistic effect with Ceftriaxone against seven isolates and additive interaction was found against three isolates.
High temperature superconductors materials with composition Bi1.6-xSbxPb0.4Sr2Ca2-yCdyCu3OZ (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3) and (y = 0.01 and 0.02), were prepared by using the chemical reaction in solid-state ways, and test influence of partial replacement of Bi and Ca with Sb and Cd respectively on the superconducting properties, all samples were sintered at the same temperature (850 oC) and for the same time (195 h). The structural analysis of the prepared samples was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements performed at room temperature, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and dc electrical resistivity was measured as a function of temperature. It was found that the sample prepared by partial substitution of Sb at ratio (x= 0.2
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In this work; copper oxide films (CuO) were fabricated by PLD. The films were analyzed by UV-VIS absorption spectra and their thickness by using profilometer. Pulsed Nd:YAG laser was used for prepared CuO thin films under O2 gas environment with varying both pulse energy and annealing temperature. The optical properties of as-grown film such as optical transmittance spectrum, refractive index and energy gap has been measured experimentally and the effects of laser pulse energy and annealing temperature on it were studied. An inverse relationship between energy gap and both annealing temperature and pulse energy was observed.
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Tin dioxide doped silver oxide thin films with different x content (0, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07) have been prepared by pulse laser deposition technique (PLD) at room temperatures (RT). The effect of doping concentration on the structural and electrical properties of the films were studied. Atomic Force Measurement (AFM) measurements found that the average value of grain size for all films at RT decrease with increasing of AgO content. While an average roughness values increase with increasing x content. The electrical properties of these films were studied with different x content. The D.C conductivity for all films increases with increasing x content. Also, it found that activation energies decrease with increasing of AgO content for all films.
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Sesame crop, one of the very important oily, industrial, and summer crops that is economically important, has been investigated. The plantation and production of this crop has been studied in Al-Qadisiyah governorate during 2003-218. This is because this governorate is well-known by sesame plantation. Such a study helps to know the geographical distribution of sesame agricultural season in 2017-2018, and explore the most important natural factors that affect its plantation. Different research approaches have been adopted based on that facts that need to be met. A field study approach has been used in studying sesame crop descriptively and conceptually, shedding light on its nutritional and economic importance. Moreover, a descriptive com
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Abstract
The aim of the research is to identify the effect of using the self-questioning strategy on the achievement of fourth-grade students in science and the development of their reflective thinking in physics in the city of Baghdad. The research sample was divided into two groups: an experimental group of (20) students and a control group of (20) students. The researchers developed two tools: a test of (40) multiple-choice questions. The second tool is a test to measure the reflective thinking skills of fourth-grade students. It consists of (25) multiple-choice questions distributed on skills as follow: reflection and observation, detection of inaccuracies, reaching conclusions, giving clear explanations, an
... Show MorePhase change materials are known to be good in use in latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems, but one of their drawbacks is the slow melting and solidification processes. So that, in this work, enhancing heat transfer of phase change material is studied experimentally for in charging and discharging processes by the addition of high thermal conductive material such as copper in the form of brushes, which were added in both PCM and air sides. The additions of brushes have been carried out with different void fractions (97%, 94% and 90%) and the effect of four different air velocities was tested. The results indicate that the minimum brush void fraction gave the maximum heat transfer in PCM and reduced the time
... Show MoreAbstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of bone density value in Hounsfield unit derived from cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), and implant dimensions in relation to implant stability parameters namely the resonance frequency analysis and the insertion torque (IT) value. It included 24 patients who received 42 dental implants (DI). The bone density of the planned implant site was preoperatively measured using cone beam computed tomography. The implant stability was measured using Osstell implant stability quotient (ISQ). The ISQ values were recorded immediately postoperatively and after 16 weeks. The IT value was categorized as 35 N/cm or > 35 N/cm. The mean (standard deviation) primary stability was 79.58 (5.27) ISQ,
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Background: Poly-ether-ether-ketone(PEEK) has been introduced to many dental fields. Recently it was tested as a retainer wire‎ following orthodontic treatment. This study aimed to investigate the effect of changing the bonding spot size and location on the performance of PEEK retainer wires. Methods: A biomechanical study involving four three-dimensional finite element models was performed. The basic model was with a 0.8 mm cylindrical cross-section PEEK wire, bonded at the center of the lingual surface of the mandibular incisors with 4 mm in diameter composite spots. Two other models were designed with 3 mm and 5 mm composite sizes. The last model was created with the composite bonding spot of the canine away from the center of t
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