Nanofiltration (NF) ceramic membrane have found increasing applications particularly in wastewater and water treatment. In order to estimate and optimize the performance of NF membranes, the membrane should be characterized correctly in terms of their basic parameters such as effective pore radius (r_p) and equivalent effective thickness as well as effective surface charge ( ), the effective charge density ( ) and Donnan potential ( ). The impact of electrokinetic (zeta) potential on the membrane surface charge density, effective membrane charge density and Donnan potential at two different concentrations of the reference solutions 0.001, 0.01 M sodium chloride at various pH values from 3 to 9, and effective po

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected disease in tropical countries, including Iraq. Several studies have sought to examine chemotherapies for leishmaniasis treatment but most of them are of toxic and/or undesirable side effect, therefore, the need for investigating new fewer toxic therapies is essential. Aim of study: In this study, the cytotoxic effect of Artemisinin (ART), a novel herbal compound, was screened against the two forms, promastigotes and amastigotes, of the Iraqi isolate of Leishmania tropica, the causative agent of Baghdad boil. Material and methods: Different concentrations (1000, 500, 250, 125, 62.5, 31.25, 15.6 and 7.8) µM of Artemisinin were screened to investigate the leishmanicidal activity of th

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected disease in tropical countries, including Iraq. Several studies have sought to examine chemotherapies for leishmaniasis treatment but most of them are of toxic and/or undesirable side effect, therefore, the need for investigating new fewer toxic therapies is essential. Aim of study: In this study, the cytotoxic effect of Artemisinin (ART), a novel herbal compound, was screened against the two forms, promastigotes and amastigotes, of the Iraqi isolate of Leishmania tropica, the causative agent of Baghdad boil. Material and methods:  Different concentrations (1000, 500, 250, 125, 62.5, 31.25, 15.6 and 7.8) µM of Artemisinin were screened to investigate the leishmanic

Dox, is still widely used in modern cancer treatments for different type of malignancy despite the advent of targeted therapy. However, its beneficial effect was limited by its toxicity on various organs. The objective of this study was to investigate the hepatoprotective effect of menaquinone-7 against hepatotoxicity induced by doxorubicin in rats. Sixty adult rats of both sexes were used in this study; the animals were randomly enrolled into six groups of 10 animals each. Group I: negative control; Group II: Menaquinones-7 at a dose of 16µg/kg; Group III: Menaquinones-7 at a dose of 48µg/kg; Group IV: positive control (Doxorubicin 15mg/kg); Group V: Menaquinones-7 at a dose of 16µg/kg administered prior to a single dose of Doxorubicin

  Introduction and Aim: Bacteriocins are antimicrobial peptides that have bactericidal and/or bacteriostatic activity against other bacteria. The aim of this study was to assess the antibacterial efficiency of Klebocin a K. pneumoniae bacteriocin, against biofilm formation by clinical isolates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA.   Materials and Methods: S. aureus isolated from clinical samples was identified according to vitek 2 system Antibiotic susceptibility test was performed according to disc diffusion method. Vitek 2 compact system was also used to detect MRSA strains. Agar well diffusion method was used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of klebocin from K. pneumoniae towards 11 strains of S. aureus by

Eleven yoghurt samples were collected from local markets in Baghdad to isolate Lactobacillus buchneri. Only 3 isolates of L. buchneri were found and the isolate No. 3 was the most producer of bacteriocin. Bacteriocin was adsorbed 100% onto silicic acid at pH 6.0-7.0. Below or above these pH values, adsorption was decreased, ranging between 35 and 90%. Therefore, pH 6.0 was used for the purification procedure. The purification procedure including silicic acid adsorption/desorption and cation-exchange chromatography (CEC) resulted in a 11.11 fold increase in the final specific activity of pure bacteriocin (1176.47 Au/mg) compared to the culture supernatant which was 32.64 Au/mg. The molecular weight was determined to be about 3.4 kDa. The bac

Chemical pesticides have an impact on other living organisms in addition to their intended target organisms. Any chemical pesticide is therefore made safe for use by examining its biological characteristics and side effects. The present study was aimed at determining the resistance efficiency of six bacterial isolates obtained from malathion-contaminated soils. Bacteria were isolated from soil samples collected in Adhamiya, Baghdad, Iraq. Biochemical tests and VITEK 2 compact equipment were used to identify the bacterial isolates. Primary and secondary screening tests were conducted on the bacterial isolates for resistance against malathion pesticides. The optimal bacterial growth conditions were determined in malathion-contaminated media.

The role of specific amino acids namely cysteine, methionine, threonine and asparagine in the protection provided by vamin solution against B-lactam inhibition to E. coli was evaluated in vitro In minimal medium, cells were treated with 32 ug/ml of penicillin G, carbenciLlin, hostacillin, cloxacillin and cephalotin in the presence of specific amino acid supplementation. Deletion of specific amino acids from the media abolished the protection provided by vamin. Threonine was essential for the protection of cells against all tested antibiotics, while cysteine was essential for protection against carbencillin and sephalotin. Deletion of methionine or asparagine abolished the protection against carbencillin and to a less extent cephalotin.

ABSTRACT The role of specific amino acids namely cysteine, methionine, threonine and asparagine in the protection provided by vamin solution against B-lactam inhibition to E. coli was evaluated in vitro. In minimal medium, Cells were treated with 32 ug/ml of penicillin G, carbencillin, hostacillin, cloxacillin and cephalotin in the presence of specific amino acid supplementations. Deletion of specific amino acids from the media abolished the protection provided by vamin. Threonine was essential for the protection of cells against all tested antibiotics, while cysteine was essential for protection against carbencillin and cephalotin Deletion of methionine or asparagine abolished the protec- tion against carbencillin and to a less extent ce