Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a disease caused by Leishmania tropica parasite. Current treatments for this parasite are undesirable because of their toxicity, resistance, and high cost. Macrophages are key players against pathogens. Nitric oxide (NO), a molecule produce by immune cells, controls intracellular killing of pathogens during infection. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) demonstrated broad-spectrum activity against various types of infectious diseases. It has the ability to stimulate oxygen species production. This study aims to analyze the macrophages activation through NO production and estimate the cytotoxicity based on the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release upon exposure to L. tropica and Ag NPs. Serially concentrations of Ag NPs were used under two conditions during and following macrophages exposure to L. tropica. MTT assay was used to determine the cytotoxicity of Ag NPs on L. tropica amastigotes during infection of macrophages in vitro. The results showed that by increasing the Ag NPs concentrations, the viability percentage of L. tropica amastigotes decreased and reached to 21.7 ± 0.64 % during infection compared with the control. The 50% inhibitory concentration of Ag NPs on amastigotes was 2.048µg/ml during infection. Moreover, post-phagocytosis study involved the assessment of NO and LDH release by macrophages upon exposure to L. tropica. It have shown that untreated macrophages released low levels of NO while in the presence of Ag NPs, macrophages were activated to produce higher levels of NO under all experimental conditions. On the other hand, macrophages were capable of controlling cytotoxicity and decreasing LDH levels during phagocytosis of L. tropica amastiogotes. Taking together, these findings suggest that Ag NPs can enhance macrophages NO production which provides a method for the identification of Ag NPs ligands with microbicidal and anti-cytotoxic properties against L. tropica pathogens.
Recurrent strokes can be devastating, often resulting in severe disability or death. However, nearly 90% of the causes of recurrent stroke are modifiable, which means recurrent strokes can be averted by controlling risk factors, which are mainly behavioral and metabolic in nature. Thus, it shows that from the previous works that recurrent stroke prediction model could help in minimizing the possibility of getting recurrent stroke. Previous works have shown promising results in predicting first-time stroke cases with machine learning approaches. However, there are limited works on recurrent stroke prediction using machine learning methods. Hence, this work is proposed to perform an empirical analysis and to investigate machine learning al
... Show MoreIn this work, an enhanced Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) based on Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) sensor using a sided polished structure for the detection of toxic ions Arsenic in water was designed and implemented. The SPR curve can be obtained by polishing the side of the PCF after coating the Au film on the side of the polished area, the SPR curve can be obtained. The proposed sensor has a clear SPR effect, according to the findings of the experiments. The estimated signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), sensitivity (S), resolution (R), and Figures of merit (FOM) are approaching; the SNR is 0.0125, S is 11.11 μm/RIU, the resolution is 1.8x〖10〗^(-4), and the FOM is 13.88 for Single-mode Fiber- Photonic Crystal Fiber- single mode Fiber (SMF-P
... Show MoreIn this study, Zizphus spina-christi leaf powder was applied for the adsorption of methyl orange. The effect of different operating parameters on the Batch Process adsorption was investigated such as solution pH (2-12), effect of contact time (0-60 min.), initial dye concentration (2-20 mg/L), effect of adsorbent dosage (0-4.5 g) and effect of temperature (20-50ᵒC). The results show a maximum removal rate and adsorption capacity (%R= 23.146, qe = 2.778 mg/g) at pH = 2 and equilibrium was reached at 40 min. The pseudo- second-order kinetics were found to be best fit for the removal process (R2 = 0.997). Different isotherm models (Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubini-Radushkevich,Temkin) were applied in this stud
... Show MoreThe process of stocks evaluating considered as a one of challenges for the financial analysis, since the evaluating focuses on define the current value for the cash flows which the shareholders expected to have. Due to the importance of this subject, the current research aims to choose Fama & French five factors Model to evaluate the common stocks to define the Model accuracy in Fama& French for 2014. It has been used factors of volume, book value to market value, Profitability and investment, in addition to Beta coefficient which used in capital assets pricing Model as a scale for Fama & French five factors Model. The research sample included 11 banks listed in Iraq stock market which have me
... Show MoreCopper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles were synthesized through the thermal decomposition of a copper(II) Schiff-base complex. The complex was formed by reacting cupric acetate with a Schiff base in a 2:1 metal-to-ligand ratio. The Schiff base itself was synthesized via the condensation of benzidine and 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde in the presence of glacial acetic acid. This newly synthesized symmetric Schiff base served as the ligand for the Cu(II) metal ion complex. The ligand and its complex were characterized using several spectroscopic methods, including FTIR, UV-vis, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, CHNS, and AAS, along with TGA, molar conductivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The CuO nanoparticles were produced by thermally decomposing the
... Show MoreThe Corrosion protection effectiveness of Alimina(Al2O3,50nm)and Zinc oxide (ZnO,30nm) nanoparticales were studied on carbon steel and 316 stainless steel alloys in saline water (3.5%NaCl)at four temperatures: (20,30,40,50 OC)using three electrodes potentiostat. An average corrosion protection efficiencies of 65 %and 80% was achieved using Al2O3 NP's on carbon steel and stainless steel samples respectively, and it seems that no effect of rising temperature on the performances of the coated layers. While ZnO NP'S showed protection efficiency around 65% for the two alloys and little effected by temperature rising on the performanes of the coated layers. The morphology of the coated spesiemses was examined by Atomic force microscope.
Nanomaterials have an excellent potential for improving the rheological and tribological properties of lubricating oil. In this study, oleic acid was used to surface-modify nanoparticles to enhance the dispersion and stability of Nanofluid. The surface modification was conducted for inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) TiO₂ and CuO with oleic acid (OA) surfactant, where oleic acid could render the surface of TiO2-CuO hydrophobic. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the surface modification of NPs. The main objective of this study was to investigate the influence of adding modified TiO₂-CuO NPs with weight ratio 1:1 on thermal-physical propertie
... Show MoreThe seed propagation is the predominant method of Echinacea propagation, which has been criticized for its time-consuming control over the separation factor and the uncertainty of pathogen-free plants produced by this method. The technology of tissue culture has provided multiple opportunities for the production of secondary metabolites continuously without being restricted to a specific season, due to the possibility of controlling the environmental conditions and the components of the nutrient medium needed by the plant. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of salicylic acid as elicitor and tyrosine as precursor on propagation and some secondary compounds production in coneflower in vitro. The result showed the superiori
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