Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) is a major opportunistic nosocomial pathogen, mostly resistant to several groups of antibiotics. Colistin is now used as a last-line treatment for isolates that are highly resistant. The purpose of this study is to identify the importance of LptD; which is involved in the translocation of LPS from the inner membrane to the outer membrane in compartment with LptA and LptC of A. baumannii and its indispensable role as a virulence factor, and the efficiency of colistin as a monotherapy. In the current research, two isolates of A.baumannii were used, the local isolate HHR1 isolated from urine sample and the global strain ATCC 17904, and three antibiotics (colistin, rifampicin and Fosfomycin) were used as a monotherapy and synergic therapy in vivo and ex vivo. The results demonstrated that A. baumannii HHR1 was more resistant to Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) than the standard strains. The effect of AMPs on A. baumannii was increased by increasing the concentration and the time of incubation, and also AMPs were shown to be lethal on A. baumannii growth spatially at high concentration (2 µg ml-1) in monotherapy and (1.5, 2 µg ml-1) in synergic. The susceptibility of isolates towards antibiotics was variable, where colistin exerts significant growth had defect as a monotherapy and in combination with others. The results showed that the expression of lptD, lptA genes of A.baumannii HHR1 were higher than of the same genes in A.baumannii ATCC 17904 in the presence of 2 µg ml-1 colistin, while lptE gene of the A.baumannii ATCC 17904 showed an upregulation pattern than in A.baumannii HHR1. Furthermore, colistin influences the adhesion ability of A. baumannii on epithelial cells (A-549 lung cancer cell) by reducing the number of cells, and thus could colistin be a good candidate for A. baunmannii treatment.
Extract from cell culture of medicinal plant like Nigella sativa have been assessed for its cytotoxic properties. Thymol is likely responsible for the theraputic effects of Nigella sativa leaf callus extract. In this short study the inhibitory effect of Nigella sativa leaf callus extract (Thymol) has been studied on Human Lorgnx Epidrmoid Carcinoma (Hep-2) cell line during different exposure period of time (24, 48 and 72 hrs.) using different concentration of the extract (1000, 500, 400, 300, 200 and 100 µg/ml). The optical density of the Hep-2 cells has been readed on 492 nm wave length. Thymol –induced cytotoxicity was (500 µg/ml) which inhibit cell growing compared to the control and this
... Show MoreA true random TTL pulse generator was implemented and investigated for quantum key distribution systems. The random TTL signals are generated by low cost components available in the local markets. The TTL signals are obtained by using true random binary sequences based on registering photon arrival time difference registered in coincidence windows between two single – photon detectors. The true random TTL pulse generator performance was tested by using time to digital converters which gives accurate readings for photon arrival time. The proposed true random pulse TTL generator can be used in any quantum -key distribution system for random operation of the transmitters for these systems
The effective insulation design of the stress grading (SG) system in form-wound stator coils is essential for preventing partial discharges and excessive heat generation under pulse-width modulation excitation. This paper proposes a method to find the optimal insulation design of the SG system aimed at reducing the dielectric and thermal stresses in the machine coil. The non-uniform transmission line model is used to predict the voltage propagation along the overhang, SG, and slot regions considering the variation in the physical properties of the insulation layers. The machine coil parameters for different insulation materials are calculated by using the finite element method. Two optimization algorithms, fmincon and particle swarm optimiz
... Show MoreThe manganese doped zinc sulfide nanoparticles were synthesized by simple aqueous chemical reaction of manganese chloride, zinc acetate and thioacitamide in aqueous solution. Thioglycolic acid is used as capping agent for controlling the nanoparticle size. The main advantage of the ZnS:Mn nanoparticles of diameter ~ 2.73 nm is that the sample is prepared by using non-toxic precursors in a cost effective and eco-friendly way. The structural, morphological and chemical composition of the nanoparticles have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The nanosize of the prepared nanoparticles was elucidated by Scan
... Show MorePharmaceuticals have been widely remaining contaminants in wastewater, and diclofenac is the most common pharmaceutical pollutant. Therefore, the removal of diclofenac from aqueous solutions using activated carbon produced by pyrocarbonic acid and microwaves was investigated in this research. Apricot seed powder and pyrophosphoric acid (45 wt%) were selected as raw material and activator respectively, and microwave irradiation technique was used to prepare the activated carbon. The raw material was impregnated in pyrophosphoric acid at 80◦C with an impregnation ratio of 1: 3 (apricot seeds to phosphoric acid), the impregnation time was 4 h, whereas the power of the microwave was 700 watts with a radiation time of 20 min. A series o
... Show MoreThe current study included the isolation, purification and cultivation of blue-green alga Oscillatoria pseudogeminata G.Schmidle from soil using the BG-11liquid culture medium for 60 days of cultivation. The growth constant (k) and generation time (G) were measured which (K=0.144) and (G=2.09 days).
Microcystins were purified and determined qualitatively and quantitatively from this alga by using the technique of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa Kits). The alga showed the ability to produce microcystins in concentration reached 1.47 µg/L for each 50 mg DW. Tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum) aged two months were irrigated with three concentrations of purified microcystins 0.5 , 3.0 and 6.0
... Show MoreAbstract
The problem of missing data represents a major obstacle before researchers in the process of data analysis in different fields since , this problem is a recurrent one in all fields of study including social , medical , astronomical and clinical experiments .
The presence of such a problem within the data to be studied may influence negatively on the analysis and it may lead to misleading conclusions , together with the fact that these conclusions that result from a great bias caused by that problem in spite of the efficiency of wavelet methods but they are also affected by the missing of data , in addition to the impact of the problem of miss of accuracy estimation
... Show MoreA particle swarm optimization algorithm and neural network like self-tuning PID controller for CSTR system is presented. The scheme of the discrete-time PID control structure is based on neural network and tuned the parameters of the PID controller by using a particle swarm optimization PSO technique as a simple and fast training algorithm. The proposed method has advantage that it is not necessary to use a combined structure of identification and decision because it used PSO. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive PID neural control algorithm in terms of minimum tracking error and smoothness control signal obtained for non-linear dynamical CSTR system.