Quorum sensing (QS) is a perfectly orchestrated molecular communication system. It is a boon for Klebsiella pneumoniae, and bane for the host. This system is believed to make K. pneumoniae a leading cause of multidrug-resistant (MDR) nosocomial infections. This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial and anti-biofilm potential of medicinal plant extracts through interfering with QS of K. pneumoniae. The effect of different concentrations of ethanolic extracts of cinnamon and clove on K. pneumoniae was determined by analyzing the growth curve, survival assay (MTT), Qualitative and quantitative biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, along with studying gene expression of the genes encoding the above traits, using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The low concentrations of the plant extracts did not affect neither on the bacterial growth, nor on the viability of K. pneumoniae, supported with growth curves. Additionally, the biofilm production was inhibited even by lower plant concentrations, and both cinnamon and clove extracts were able to render the MDR bacteria to be more susceptible to antibiotics. At the molecular levels, the bacterium treated with either clove or cinnamon or in combination showed under expression of the biofilm formation regulation gene (bssS), the carbapenem resistance gene (bla), as well as the QS target gene (LuxS). Both clove and cinnamon ethanolic extracts exerted potent impacts on reducing pathogenic traits regulated by QS in K. pneumoniae. Finally, the study recommends further exploration of clove and cinnamon extracts separately or in combination to develop alternative therapies against MDR K. pneumoniae infections.
The applications of Multilevel Converter (MLC) are increased because of the huge demand for clean power; especially these types of converters are compatible with the renewable energy sources. In addition, these new types of converters have the capability of high voltage and high power operation. A Nine-level converter in three modes of implementation; Diode Clamped-MLC (DC-MLC), Capacitor Clamped-MLC (CC-MLC), and the Modular Structured-MLC (MS-MLC) are analyzed and simulated in this paper. Various types of Multicarrier Modulation Techniques (MMTs) (Level shifted (LS), and Phase shifted (PS)) are used for operating the proposed Nine level - MLCs. Matlab/Simulink environment is used for the simulation, extracting, and ana
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β-thalassemia major is a genetic disease that causes sever defect in normal hemoglobin synthesis. The patients with β-thalassemia major need periodic blood transfusions that can result in accumulation of body iron, so treatment with iron chelating agent is required. Complications of this iron overload affecting many vital organs, including the liver. The aim of this work was to evaluate liver enzymes in β -thalassemia major patients with deferasirox versus without it. Two groups of β-thalassemia major patients were involved in this study named group A; 40 β-thalassemia patients of blood transfusion dependent without deferasirox, group B; 40 β-thalassemia patients of blood transfusion dependent on de
... Show MoreAn investigation was conducted effect of addition co- solvent on solvent extraction process for two types of a lubricating oil fraction (spindle) and (SAE-30) obtained from vacuum distillation unit of lube oil plant of Daura Refinery. In this study two types of co-solvents ( formamide and N-methyl, 2, pyrrolidone) were blended with furfural to extract aromatic hydrocarbons which are the undesirable materials in raw lubricating oil, in order to improve the viscosity index, viscosity and yield of produced lubricating oil. The studied operating condition are extraction temperature range from 70 to 110 °C for formamide and 80 to 120 °C for N-methyl, 2, pyrrolidone, solvent to oil ratio range from 1:1 to 2:1 (wt./wt.) for furfural with form
... Show MoreThe genus of Androctonus is widely distributed in Asia and Africa .It is found in Egypt, Palestine, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The present study is the first taxonomic study to describe Androctonus crassicauda (Oliver,1807) in Iraq .The genus Androctonus recognized by three main characters which are: color it is ranges from light brown to raddish to blackish brown to black, pedipalp (Chelae) is narrower than patella in adults, and pedipalp fingers with many denticles. Among other characters by which the genus can be distinguished by body hairs and, the rows of denticles on pedipalp fingers. The main morphological characters of the species are figured of And
... Show MoreBackground: Manuka honey (MH) is a mono-floral honey derived from the Manuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium). MH is a highly recognized for its non-peroxide antibacterial activities, which are mostly related to its unique methylglyoxal content (MGO) in MH. The beneficial phytochemicals in MH is directly related to their favorable health effects, which include wound healing, anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of MH on pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-8 and TNF-α) in patients with gingivitis and compare it with chlorhexidine (CHX) and distilled water (DW). Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized, double blinded, and parallel clinical trial. Forty-fiv
... Show MoreThe manuscript should contain an abstract. The abstract should be self-contained and citation-free and should not exceed 200 words. The abstract should state the purpose, approach, results and conclusions of the work. The author should assume that the reader has some knowledge of the subject but has not read the paper. Thus, the abstract should be intelligible and complete in it-self (no numerical references); it should not cite figures, tables, or sections of the paper. The abstract should be written using third person instead of first perso The fast microwave assisted pyrolysis (FMWAP) of water hyacinth (WH) for biochar production is investigated. Taguchi’s method was used to optimize FMWAP parameters. The effects of microwave
... Show MoreExperimental research was carried out to investigate the performance of CFRP wrapping jackets used for retrofitting twelve square reinforced concrete (CR) column specimens damaged by exposure to fire flame, at different temperatures of 300, 500 and 700ºC, except for two specimens that were not burned. The specimens were then loaded axially till failure after gradual or sudden cooling. The specimens were divided into two groups containing two main reinforcement ratios, ρ= 0.0314 and ρ= 0.0542. This was followed by the retrofitting procedure that included wrapping all the specimens with two layers of CFRP fabric sheets. The test results of the retrofitted specimens showed that the fire damaged RC
... Show MoreThis paper presents a method of designing and constructing a system capable of acquiring
the third dimension and reconstructs a 3D shape for an object from multi images of that object using
the principle of active optical triangulation. The system consists of an illumination source, a photo
detector, a movement mechanism and a PC, which is working as a controlling unit for the hard ware
components and as an image processing unit for the object multi view raw images which must be
processed to extract the third dimension. The result showed that the optical triangulation method
provides a rapid mean for obtaining accurate and quantitative distance measurements. The final
result's analysis refers to the necessity of usin
The study aimed to identify how to raise grateful children from an Islamic educational perspective. For that objective to be achieved, the researcher used both of deductive and descriptive approaches using the method of documentary research. The study's results show that children are the real wealth of the community and the foundation of cultural building; therefore, paying attention their raising is a responsibility that must be shared by everyone; gratitude is part parcel of the Islamic doctrine, which is one of the greatest virtues; the virtue of gratitude is the attitude of the believers which in turn strengthens the bonds and expands the network of positive social relationships; It is also considered a cultural significance
... Show MoreThe aerodynamic characteristics of general three-dimensional rectangular wings are considered using non-linear interaction between two-dimensional viscous-inviscid panel method and vortex ring method. The potential flow of a two-dimensional airfoil by the pioneering Hess & Smith method was used with viscous laminar, transition and turbulent boundary layer to solve flow about complex configuration of airfoils including stalling effect. Viterna method was used to extend the aerodynamic characteristics of the specified airfoil to high angles of attacks. A modified vortex ring method was used to find the circulation values along span wise direction of the wing and then interacted with sectional circulation obtained by Kutta-Joukowsky the
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