Global concerns are rising due to complications associated with the use of chemical agents and antibiotic resistance. Consequently, research focus has shifted towards the quest for effective agents of biological origin. The aim of the present study was to assess the antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of aqueous and organic extracts derived from various parts of Alcea kurdica. Different parts of A. kurdica were obtained and prepared into leaf, flower and root powders. The powders were extracted with aqueous and organic solvents. The antimicrobial activity of these extracts was assessed against bacterial pathogens using the agar well-diffusion assay. Additionally, the antioxidant effects of the extracts were evaluated using the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and resazurin dye scavenging assays. The results showed dose-dependent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli for both the organic and aqueous leaf and floral extracts. Furthermore, an antioxidant effect (>80%) was also observed for the organic and water extracts of the flowers, leaves and roots of the plant at the highest concentration (500 µg/ml), as compared to ascorbic acid, which served as the positive control using both the DPPH and resazurin methods. The findings of this study highlighted that A. kurdica can be considered a rich source of potential antioxidant and antibacterial agents, warranting future investigation to identify its active ingredients.
Sol-gel method was use to prepare Ag-SiO2 nanoparticles. Crystal structure of the nanocomposite was investigated by means of X-ray diffraction patterns while the color intensity was evaluated by spectrophotometry. The morphology analysis using atomic force microscopy showed that the average grain sizes were in range (68.96-75.81 nm) for all samples. The characterization of Ag-SiO2 nanoparticles were investigated by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Ag-SiO2 NPs are highly stable and have significant effect on both Gram positive and negative bacteria. Antibacterial properties of the nanocomposite were tested with the use of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. The results have shown antibacteri
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to investigate the antibacterial capabilities of different coating durations of three nanoparticle (NP) coatings: molybdenum (Mo), tantalum (Ta), and zinc oxide (ZnO), and their effects on the surface characteristics of 316L stainless steel (SS). The coated substrates underwent characterization utilizing field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) techniques. The antibacterial efficacy of NPs was evaluated using the agar diffusion method. The FE-SEM and EDX images confirmed the presence of nano-sized particles of Mo, Ta, and ZnO on the surface of the substrates with perfectly symmetrical spheres and a uniform distribution of
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This work involves studying the effect of adding some selective organic component mixture on corrosion behavior of pure Al and its alloys in condensed synthetic automotive solution (CSAS) at room temperature. This mixture indicates the increasing of octane number in previous study and in this study show the increasing in corrosion resistance through the decreasing in corrosion rate values.
Electrochemical measurements were carried out by potentiostat at 3 mV/sec to estimate the corrosion parameters using Tafel extrapolation method, in addition to cyclic polarization test to know the pitting susceptibility of materials in tested medium.
The cathodic Tafel slope
... Show MoreRecently, research has focused on non-thermal plasma (NTP) technologies as a way to remove volatile organic compounds from the air stream, due to its distinctive qualities, which include a quick reaction at room temperature. In this work, the properties of the plasma generated by the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) system and by a glass insulator were studied. Plasma was generated at different voltages (3, 4, 6, 7, 8 kV ) with a fixed distance between the electrodes of 5 mm, and a constant argon gas flow rate of (2.5) I/min. DBD plasma emission spectra were recorded for each voltage. The Boltzmann plot method was used to calculate the electron temperature in the plasma ( ), and the Stark expansion method was used to calculate the elec
... Show MoreThin films of the blended solution of (NiPc/C60) on glass substrates were prepared by spin-coated method for three different ratios (100/1, 100/10 and 100/100). The effects of annealing temperature and C60 concentration on the optical properties of the samples were studied using the UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and FTIR spectra. The optical absorption spectrum consists of two main bands, Q and B band, with maxima at about (602-632) nm and (700-730) nm for Q1 and Q2 respectively, and (340-375) nm for B band. The optical energy gap were determined from optical absorption spectra, The variation of optical energy gap with annealing temperature was nonsystematic and this may be due to the improvement in crystal structure for thin films. Whi
... Show MoreBackground: The possibility of converting the organic fraction of municipal solid waste to mature compost using the composting bin method was studied. Nine distinct treatments were created by combining municipal solid waste (MSW) with animal waste (3:1, 2:1), poultry manure (3:1, 2:1), mixed waste (2:1:1), agricultural waste (dry leaves), biocont (Trichoderm hazarium), and humic acid. Weekly monitoring of temperature, pH, EC, organic matter (OM percent), and the C/N ratio was performed, and macronutrients (N, P, K) were measured. Trace elements, including heavy metals (Cd and Pb), were tested in the first and final weeks of maturity. Results: Temperatures in the first days of composting reached the thermophilic phase in MSW compost
... Show MoreBackground: The possibility of converting the organic fraction of municipal solid waste to mature compost using the composting bin method was studied. Nine distinct treatments were created by combining municipal solid waste (MSW) with animal waste (3:1, 2:1), poultry manure (3:1, 2:1), mixed waste (2:1:1), agricultural waste (dry leaves), biocont (Trichoderm hazarium), and humic acid. Weekly monitoring of temperature, pH, EC, organic matter (OM percent), and the C/N ratio was performed, and macronutrients (N, P, K) were measured. Trace elements, including heavy metals (Cd and Pb), were tested in the first and final weeks of maturity. Results: Temperatures in the first days of composting reached the thermophilic phase in MSW compost
... Show MoreThe aim of this research is to develop qualitative workouts based on certain sensory perceptions for the development of offensive basketball abilities and to determine their impact on female pupils. Several findings, based on the au-thor's extensive expertise instructing basketball materials and our closeness to the sample, revealed deficits in some sensory perceptions “in the game of basketball”, which impair the accuracy of passing the ball to the best team-mate. It also affects the pace of dribbling and the difficulty of selecting the op-timal moment and distance to fire. Therefore, the researcher designs qualita-tive activities based on many sensory experiences, including distance, speed, force, and direction shift. In addition, the
... Show MoreThe Wheat husk is one of the common wastes abundantly available in the Middle East countries especially in Iraq. The present study aimed to evaluate the Wheat husk as low cost material, eco-friendly adsorbents for the removal of the carcinogenic dye (Congo red dye) from wastewater by investigate the effect of, at different conditions such as, pH(3-10), amount of adsorbents (1-2.3gm/L),and particle size (125-1000) μm, initial Congo red dye concentration(10, 25 , 50 and 75mg/l) by batch experiments. The results showed that the removal percentage of dye increased with increasing adsorbent dosage, and decreasing particle size. The maximum removal and uptake reached (91%) , 21.5mg/g, respectively for 25 initial concent
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