The Gram-negative bacillus Serratia marcescens (S. marcescens) belongs to the Enterobacteriaceae family. S. marcescens was once thought to be a nonpathogenic saprophytic organism that appeared on decomposing organic matter, animals, plants, and foods, water, and soil. However, it has evolved into an opportunist pathogen that causes nosocomial infections, where it is linked to a variety of hospital-acquired infections, including conjunctivitis, septicemia, wound, and eye infections, pneumonia, meningitis, osteomyelitis, and endocarditis, in addition to respiratory tract and urinary tract infections (UTI). Chitinase, protease, nuclease, lipase, and hemolysin are among the products released by S. marcescens strains, and many of these compounds are probably virulence factors in human infections caused by this disease. Prodigiosin pigment is a natural red produced by S. marcescens which exhibits anticancer, and immunosuppressive properties furthermore to antimicrobial activities. This bacterium has been identified as an opportunistic pathogen that may harbor multidrug resistance mechanisms that complicate treatment, many S. marcescens strains are resistant to a wide range of antibiotics. There are two categories of S. marcescens strains: non-pigmented (white), and pigmented (red). Two stages are involved in the biosynthesis of prodigiosin. The bipyrrole moiety 4-methoxy-2,2-bipyrrole-5-carbaldehyde (MBC) and the monopyrrole moiety 2-methyl-3-n-amyl-pyrrole (MAP) are produced in the first step, which is also referred to as the cytoplasmic step. The condensation of the terminal products of the two parallel routes, MBC and MAP, to generate prodigiosin is the second step in the final biosynthetic process. The aim of this research is to study and know the use of prodigiosin in an applied and medical field and the method of extracting and purifying prodigiosin and the possibility of genetic manipulation of S. marcescens.
A total of four types of instant dry yeast
Animal fats are a good, promising and ethical alternative source for biodiesel production, but they need more complex treatments than vegetable oils. Iraqi butchery plants waste fats (sheep fat) which are suggested as feedstock to produce biodiesel. This type of fat contains a large quantity of free fatty acids (FFAs) (acid number 49.13 mg KOH/g of fat). The direct transesterification of such fats produce high amount of soap instead of desired biodiesel, so a pre-treatment step (to reduce FFAs) is necessary before transesterification. This step was done by esterification of the free fatty acids in the fat by adding ethanol and using 1% acid catalyst (H2SO4) for 30 minutes. The results showed that the acid number of sheep fat after pre-tr
... Show MoreIn this research, production of ethanol from waste potatoes fermentation was studied using Saccharmyses cerevisiae. Potato Flour was prepared from potato tubers after cooking and drying at 85°C. Homogenous slurry of potato flour was prepared in water at solid liquid ratio 1:10. Liquefaction of potato flour slurry with α-amylase at 80°C for 40 min followed by saccharification with glucoamylase at 65°C for 2 hr .Fermentation of hydrolysate with Saccharomyces cerevisiae at 35°C for two days resulted in production of 33 g/l ethanol.
The parameters studied were; temperature, time of fermentation and pH. It was found that Saccharification process is affected by enzyme Amylo 300 conc
... Show MoreOne hundred twelve urine samples were collected from Baghdad hospitals and examined by different identification techniques. Seventy isolates (62.5%) were diagnosed as Escherichia coli after microscopic and cultural identifications. The result of PCR product electrophoresis on the isolates showed that thirteen isolates (18.57%) have Pap E gene which are uropathogenic E. coli. Antibiotic susceptibility test was done, and four high resistant strains were mixed with aqueous extract of Quercus infectoria plant in 96 well ELISA plate and incubated for different times. After 0, 6, and 12 hr. of incubation, the effect of the plant extract on the bacterial growth was determined by ELISA reader, and the effect on the expression of P
... Show MoreThe bauxite produced from Al-Ga 'ara area in Al-Enbar containing 50.4 wt. percentages Al2O3 was used for a- alumina production.
For α-alumina pro
... Show MoreLeishmania species are the causative agent of a tropical disease known as leishmaniasis. Previous studies on the old world species Leishmania major, showed that the amastigotes form which resides inside the macrophage of the vertebrate host, utilize host’s sphingolipids for survival and proliferation. In this study, gene expression of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) subunit two (MmLCB2) of the mouse macrophage cell line (RAW264.7), which is the first enzyme in the de novo sphingolipid biosynthesis, was detected in both infected and non-infected macrophages. This was detected under condition where available sphingolipid was reduced, with the new world species Leishmania mexicana. Results of qPCR analysis showed that there was no differen
... Show MoreBiodiesel is becoming one of the most attractive alternative biofuels for petroleum-based diesel fuels. The castor plant is one of the abundant non-edible oils found in many countries. This paper aims to study Libyan castor oil and its potential for diesel conversion. Experiments were carried out in the laboratories of the Specific Center for Training in the Oil Industries in Al-Zawiya. The oil was extracted using a Soxhlet extractor and n-hexane solvent at 60 °C. Transesterification reactions were conducted in a batch reactor (a three-neck flask was used, where the middle opening carries a reflux condensation unit) at 65 °C. The methanol-to-castor oil molar ratio was 6:1, with a catalyst concentration of 1 wt.% relative to the ca
... Show MoreBackground: The ideal maxillofacial prosthesis should have fine and thin boundaries that bindwith the surrounding facial structures and possess high tear strength.This study aims to determinethe best percentages of nanofiller (TiO2) and intrinsic pigment (silicone functional intrinsic) thatcould be mixed in as additives to improve the tear strength of Cosmesil M511 andVST50F siliconeelastomers with the least effect on their hardness.Materials and Methods: In this in vitro experimental study, a total of 80 samples, 40 for eachelastomer, were fabricated. Each elastomer sample was split into two equal groups to test for tearstrength and Shore A hardness. Each group consisted of 20 samples, including 10 control sampleswithout additives and 10 e
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