Background: Suppression of quorum sensing (QS) that regulates many virulence factors, including antimicrobial resistance, in bacteria may subject the pathogenic microbes to the harmful consequences of the antibiotics, increasing their susceptibility to such drugs. Aim: The current study aimed to make an aqueous crude extract from the soil Proteus mirabilis isolate with the use of the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique for its analysis, and then, study the impact of the extract on clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Methods: Preparation of crude extracts from P. mirabilis (both organic and aqueous), which were then analyzed by GC-MS to detect the bioactive ingredients. Furthermore, the extract’s capability to interfere with both the expression of the QS of P. aeruginosa and its antibacterial resistance was examined. Results: The highest GC-MS peak (37.11%.) appeared for 1,3-benzodioxole, 4-methoxy-6-(2-propenyl), along with the presence of other components of antibacterial activities. When the aqueous extract was added to the culture of two multi-drug resistant (MDR) P. aeruginosa, a significant reduction in the expression of the QS regulatory gene LasI occurred, indicating its interference with QS. Moreover, upon adding the extract to the culture of P. aeruginosa (MDR) and then subjecting it to Amikacin and Colistin, already not effective on the bacteria, the isolates became more susceptible to these antibiotics showing zones of inhibition of 25 and 17 mm, respectively. Conclusion: The crude aqueous extract of the soil P. mirabilis isolate might be a potential producer of QS inhibitors with antibacterial activities that render the MDR P. aeruginosa more susceptible to antibiotics to whom they already exerted resistance.
A study has been performed to compare the beddings in which ductile iron pipes are buried. In water transmission systems, bends are usually used in the pipes. According to the prescribed layout, at these bends, unbalanced thrust forces are generated that must be confronted to prevent the separation of the bend from the pipe. The bed condition is a critical and important factor in providing the opposite force to the thrust forces in the restraint joint system. Due to the interaction between the native soil and the bedding layers in which the pipe is buried and the different characteristics between them. Also, the interaction with the pipe material makes it difficult to calculate the real forces opposite to the thrust forces and the way they
... Show MoreLandsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) has been imaging the Earth since March 1984 and Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) was added to the series of Landsat instruments in April 1999. In this paper the two sensors are used to monitoring the agriculture condition and detection the changing in the area of plant covers, the stability and calibration of the ETM+ has been monitored extensively since launch although it is not monitored for many years, TM now has a similar system in place to monitor stability and calibration. By referring to statistical values for the classification process, the results indicated that the state of vegetation in 1990 was in the proportion of 42.8%, while this percentage rose to 52.5% for the same study area in
... Show MoreWater level and distribution is very essential in almost all life aspects. Natural and artificial lakes represent a large percentage of these water bodies in Iraq. In this research the changes in water levels are observed by calculating the areas of five different lakes in five different regions and two different marshes in two different regions of the country, in a period of 12 years (2001 - 2012), archived remotely sensed images were used to determine surface areas around lakes and marshes in Iraq for the chosen years . Level of the lakes corresponding to satellite determined surface areas were retrieved from remotely sensed data .These data were collected to give explanations on lake level and surface area fluctuations. It is imp
... Show MoreCladophora and Spirulina algae biomass have been used for the removal of Tetracycline (TC) antibiotic from aqueous solution. Different operation conditions were varied in batch process, such as initial antibiotic concentration, different biomass dosage and type, contact time, agitation speed, and initial pH. The result showed that the maximum removal efficiencies by using 1.25 g/100 ml Cladophora and 0.5 g/100 ml Spirulina algae biomass were 95% and 94% respectively. At the optimum experimental condition of temperature 25°C, initial TC concentration 50 mg/l, contact time 2.5hr, agitation speed 200 rpm and pH 6.5. The characterization of Cladophora and Spirulina biomass by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) indicates that the presenc
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In this study, mucilage was extracted from Malabar spinach and tested for drag-reducing properties in aqueous liquids flowing through pipelines. Friction produced by liquids flowing in turbulent mode through pipelines increase power consumption. Drag-reducing agents (DRA) such as polymers, suspended solids and surfactants are used to reduce power losses. There is a demand for natural, biodegradable DRA and mucilage is emerging as an attractive alternative to conventional DRAs. Literature review revealed that very little research has been done on the drag-reducing properties of this mucilage and there is an opportunity to explore the potential applications of mucilage from Malabar spinach. An experi
... Show MoreOnline service is used to be as Pay-Per-Use in Cloud computing. Service user need not be in a long time contract with cloud service providers. Service level agreements (SLAs) are understandings marked between a cloud service providers and others, for example, a service user, intermediary operator, or observing operators. Since cloud computing is an ongoing technology giving numerous services to basic business applications and adaptable systems to manage online agreements are significant. SLA maintains the quality-of-service to the cloud user. If service provider fails to maintain the required service SLA is considered to be SLA violated. The main aim is to minimize the SLA violations for maintain the QoS of their cloud users. In this res
... Show MoreThe objective of this study is to estimate the effect of the hydro-ethanolic catechin extract toward blood glucose, lipid profile and liver functions in alloxan diabetic mice. 50 healthy mice (25-30 g) were divided into five groups of ten animals for each. Group A received normal saline as normal control group. To induce diabetes, alloxan (150 mg/kg), intraperitoneal (i.p.) single dose was injected to groups B, C, D and E. Group B represents diabetic control group. Groups C, D and E received ethanolic catechin extract (30 mg/kg and 40 mg/kg) for different periods of 1, 2 and 3 weeks as treated groups. Blood glucose, serum lipids [Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglycerides (TGs) and High Density Lipoproteins (HDL)], asparagine transaminase (AST),
... Show MoreThe antioxidant and antibacterial activities of ethanolic extract and phenolic compounds extract of Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and Oregano (Oreganum vulgare) plants were studied; the phenolic content and the relationship between these compounds and the above activities were also investigated. The results showed that the Lemon balm had the highest phenolic content (56.5% mg g) and the phenolic content of Oregano was twice lower than Lemon balm. Lemon balm has the highest antioxidant activity which causes lipid peroxidation inhibition activity of linoleic acid (90.5%), this activity was more than ?-tocopherole antioxidant activity (79.3 %). It was found that the main source of antioxidant activity o
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