Given the paucity and toxicity of available drugs for leishmaniasis, coupled with the advent of drug resistance, the discovery of new therapies for this neglected tropical disease is recognised as being of the utmost urgency. As such antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been proposed as promising compounds against the causative Leishmania species, insect vector-borne protozoan parasites. Here the AMP temporins A, B and 1Sa have been synthesised and screened for activity against Leishmania mexicana insect stage promastigotes and mammalian stage amastigotes, a significant cause of human cutaneous disease. In contrast to previous studies with other species the activity of these AMPs against L. mexicana amastigotes was low. This suggests that amastigotes from different Leishmania species display varying susceptibility to peptides from the temporin family, perhaps indicating differences in their surface structure, the proposed target of these AMPs. In contrast, insect stage L. mexicana promastigotes were sensitive to two of the screened temporins which clearly demonstrates the importance of screening AMPs against both forms of the parasite. Copyright © 2011 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
In this work, we study the effect of doping Sn on the structural and optical properties of pure cadmium oxide films at different concentrations of Tin (Sn) (X=0.1,0.3 and 0.5) .The films prepared by using the laser-induced plasma at wavelength of laser 1064 nm and duration 9 ns under pressure reached to 2.5×10-2 mbar. The results of X-ray diffraction tests showed that the all prepared films are polycrystalline. As for the topography of the films surface, it was measured using AFM , where the results showed that the grain size increases with an increase in the percentage of doping in addition to an increase in the average roughness. The optical properties of all films have also been studied through the absorbance s
... Show MoreIn this work, Titanium oxide thin films doped with different concentration of CuO (0,5,10, 15,20) %wt were prepared by pulse laser deposition(PLD) technique on glass substrates at room temperature with constant deposition parameter such as : pulse (Nd:YAG), laser with λ=1064 nm, constant energy 800 mJ , repetition rate 6 Hz and No. of pulse (500). The structure , optical and electrical properties were studied . The results of X-ray diffraction( XRD) confirmed that the film grown by this technique have good crystalline tetragonal mixed anatase and rutile phase structure, The preferred orientation was along (110) direction for Rutile phase. The optical properties of the films were studied by UV-VIS spectrum in the range of (360-1100)
... Show MoreHBV and HCV are the major causes of chronic liver diseases throughout the world, and constitute a major global health risk. There is accumulated evidence that the imbalance of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine production may play an important role in the pathogenesis of viral hepatic infections and may influence the clinical outcome and disease progression. This study was undertaken to analyze the circulating levels of Tumor Necrotic Factor (TNF-α) and Th2 cytokine IL-10 in patients infected with Hepatitis B and C virus. The study population consisted of 30 patients with chronic HBV, in addition to other 30 patients with chronic HCV infection were recruited on their first examination at the Al-Kindy General Hospital in Baghdad
... Show MoreOptical properties and surface morphology of pure and doped Polystyrene films with different divalent metals of Zn, Cu and Sn and one concentration percentage have been studied. Measurements of UV-Vis spectrophotometer and AFM spectroscopy were determined. The absorbance, transmittance and reflectance spectrums were used to study different optical parameters such as absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coefficient and energy gap in the wavelengths rang 200-800nm. These parameters have increased in the presence of the metals. The change in the calculated values of energy gaps with doping metals content has been investigated in terms of PS matrix structural modification. The value of opt
... Show MoreThis research aims to know the role and impact of participation in the capabilities of human resources programs, and for the purpose of measuring it has been determined the dimensions of these two variables by relying on standards for this purpose, was chosen as the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research / device supervision and scientific calendar as one of the important departments in the ministry and includes a large number of individuals at different organizational levels for the purpose of answering a questionnaire prepared for the purpose of measurement and access to the results and the achievement of the objectives of the research and which ha
... Show MoreCdSe quantum dots possess a tuning energy gap which can control gap values according to the size of the quantum dots, this is made the material able to absorb the wavelengths within visible light. A simple model is provided for the absorption coefficient, optical properties, and optical constants for CdSe quantum dots from the size 10nm to 1nm with the range of visible region between (300-730) nm at room temperature. It turns out that there is an absorption threshold for each wavelength, CdSe quantum dots begin to absorb the visible spectrum of 1.4 nm at room temperature for a wavelength of 300 nm. It has been noted that; when the wavelength is increased, the absorption threshold also increases. This applies to the optical propertie
... Show MoreThe research targets study of influence of additives on sand mold’s properties and, consequently, on
that of carbon steel CK45 casts produced by three molds. Three materials were selected for addition
to sand mix at weight percentages. These are sodium carbonates, glycerin and oat flour. Sand molds
of studied properties were produced to get casts from such molds. The required tests were made to
find the best additives with respect to properties of cast. ANSYS software is used to demonstrate
the stresses distribution of each produced materials. It is shown that the mechanical properties of
casts produced is improved highly with sodium carbonates and is less with oat flour and it is seem a
few with glycerin additives
The optimal design of any structural elements requires examining all environmental risks, emergency accidents, and standard load cases. Exposure to fire is one of the most common safety threats. Nowadays wide developments are achieved in the field of concrete technology, therefore, experimental and theoretical investigations should be performed on the characteristics of such developed materials under different loading conditions. This study investigates the impact of fire exposure on the mechanical characteristics of self-compacting concrete, specifically compressive and tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and stress-strain relation. The adopted fire exposure consisted of six steady-state temperatures (300, 400, 500, 600, 700,
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