Mastitis in dairy herds is of considerable significance, among various etiological agents, Staphylococcus aureus is the most predominant cause of subclinical mastitis in dairy animals. Increased trends in antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and failure of antibiotics lead to increased incentives to look for alternative control measures such as herbal extracts and their active compounds to be applied in manage and control of causative bacterial diseases. This study was designed to determine the antimicrobial efficacy of pomegranate peel extracts against S. aureus isolated from mastitis. Analysis of its content of active ingredients was taken into account using GC-Mass. The disk diffusion assay was used to estimate the antibacterial effects in the S. aureus strains. The GC-MS results showed that pomegranate peel extract contained 40 components, 14 of which have documented antibacterial activity including phenolics (gallic acid, caffeic acid, benzoic acid, cinnamic acid) and flavonoid compounds. Five of which exhibited resistance to beta-lactams. Pomegranate peel extract was able to inhibit the growth of S. aureus at a concentration of 3.125 mg/ml. Scanning electron microscopy indicated the pomegranate peel extracts disrupted the bacterial cell wall causing cell deformations that would decrease their pathogenicity and could control the disease efficiently. Pomegranate peel extracts represent a promising alternative treatment for mastitis in dairy animals.
Urease production by bacteria represents the key elements of several environmental processes including wastewater treatment, fertilizers management, and bio-cement processes. Maximizing urease production from the microbial strains is considered the first step for efficient utilization of the product. Bacillus subtilis OQ119616 was isolated from Sahel Salim soil sample and identified phenotypic and genotypic using 16SrRNA gene sequence. Box–Behnken statistical experimental design with 13- runs were utilized to optimize and evaluate the interaction effects, main effects, and the quadratic effects of four different Ca-salts on the OD (600 nm) and urease specific activity by Bacillus subtilis in liquid media. The maximum specific activity of urease enzyme for calcium chloride was 0.540 (predicted value 0.558) obtained in run (9) using urea 20 g/l (A), calcium chloride 20 g/l (B), and pH 6 (C), while calcium nitrate was 0.441 (predicted value 0.418) obtained in run (4) using urea 30 g/l (A), calcium nitrate 10 g/l (B), and pH 6 (C). For calcium acetate was 0.435 (predicted value 0.430) obtained in run number (12) using urea 10 g/l (A), calcium acetate 1.5 g/l (B), and pH 6 (C), while calcium citrate was 0.653 (predicted value 0.666) obtained in run number (10) using urea 30 g/l (A), calcium citrate 100 M (B), and pH 8 (C). R2 values of urease specific activities were 0.979 (calcium chloride), 0.981 (calcium nitrate), 0.973 (calcium acetate), and 0.981 (calcium citrate) which indicated that the whole variations were explained highly and accurately by the statistical model.
The exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources in the Western Desert require more
continuous activities. The Silah is a newly discovered field in this region. Therefore, this study
emphasizes the application of petrophysical evaluation to sandstone and carbonate reservoirs from
the late and early Cretaceous. These formations are the most potential hydrocarbon reservoirs in
the studied area as a part of the western desert. Additionally, this study involves a comparative
evaluation of the Abu Roash, Bahariya, and Kharita reservoirs using well-logging data by applying
different cross-plots that are used for determining different petrophysical parameters such as shale
volume, porosity, fluid saturation, permeability, and net-to-gross ratio. These logs are gamma-ray
(GR), calliper, resistivity (RLA5, RLA3, and RXOZ), photoelectric effect (PEFZ), neutron (APLC), and
density (RHOZ). These plots agree with the results deduced from the interpretation of lithologic logs.
Fourteen hydrocarbon-bearing zones are identified in the Silah field. Only two zones, namely, Zone 2
in Silah-15 and Zone 1 in South Silah-1X, are considered the best for hydrocarbon generation. These
zones are characterized by low to moderate shale volume, moderate to high total porosity, good
effective porosity, low water saturation, and high net-to-gross ratio. These zones lie in the Abu Roash/F
member. These deduced points prove that the Abu Roash/F member can be an abundant hydrocarbon
reservoir. This member in the Silah field appears to be a promising hydrocarbon reservoir because
it matches the petrophysical parameters of the investigated zones and others in the northwestern
Desert. This suggests that there may be reservoir continuity and similarity.
Invasion of insects to crops and plants causes serious economic loss. The first thinking by farmers is using chemical insecticides to protect the crops. A chemical insecticide is also defined as a chemical substance that is treated singly or mixed with other substances for the purpose of killing, preventing, removing, or reducing pest damage in the field of control. A successful pesticide must have several conditions, such as the effectiveness against the target pest, ease of use, economical, its residues are within safe limits, do not affect human health and beneficial organisms, and have no damage to the soil and beneficial organisms present in it. Pesticides are divided according to the type of pest, chemical composition, nature of the preparation, method of use, method of entry of the pesticide into the body of the insect, and method of effect of the pesticide. The continual dumping of these toxic substances into the environment is among the most troubling effects of anthropogenic activity. Such pollutant residue release affects the natural environment, which has an impact on all the ecological and physiological processes of life forms. Also, the human immunological system, cardiovascular system, reproductive system, and nervous system can all be affected by these pollutants. Microorganisms are ecofriendly, effective, and cheap strategy for pollutant removal. Special microorganisms have the ability to degrade pesticide residues to nontoxic forms. In this chapter, the insecticide bioremediation strategies by different microorganisms, mechanisms, and factors controlling the degradation process will be discussed.
