1. Comparison of Antımicrobial Activity of Methanol and Ethanol Extracts of Abelmoschus Moschatus Dry Flowers

   Türkan Kutlu, Işıl Yıldırım, Sevda Kırbağ

   Abstract: Today, many antimicrobial studies are made from herbal products. Plants products have been shown to inhibit the growth of pathogenic microorganisms. A number of these agents appear to have structures andmodes of action that are distinct from those of the antibiotics in current use, suggesting that cross resistance with agents already in use may be minimal. Abelmosclus moscchatus is in family Malvaceae. Abelmoschus moschatus leaves and seeds are considered as valuable traditional medicine. In this study; was aimed to compare the antimicrobial activity of methanol and ethanol extracts of Abelmoschus moschatus dry flowers. We used the following microorganisms in this study: Staphylococcus aureus COWAN 1, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Candida albicans FMC 17. Plant samples 2/10 (g.mL^-1) ratio were extracted with methanol and ethanol. Microorganisms were grown in culture medium. Antimicrobial activity was determined by disk diffusion method. In this study, the methanolic extract had a comparable activity against the standard; while E.coli showed identical activity against the standard, the other species being of higheractivity than the standard. Ethanolic extracts showed lower antimicrobial activity according to extracted obtained with methanol. They showed lower activity values exceptfor S. aureus.

   Keywords: Antimicrobial Activity, Abelmoschus Moscchatus.

   Pages: 123 – 127 | Full PDF Paper

2. Microstrip Patch Antenna − Designing at 2.4 GHz Frequency

   Muhammad Aamir Afridi

   Abstract: A simple microstrip patch antenna consists of metallic patch and ground between which is a dielectric medium called the substrate. Microstrip patch antennas are used for communication purposes especially in military and civil applications. In this paper a simple microstrip patch antenna is designed in CST Microwave Studio at a resonant frequency of 2.4 GHz. The gain of the designed antenna is 8.27 dB and VSWR of 1.18.

   Keywords: VSWR, radiation pattern, beamwidth, directivity, gain.

   Pages: 128 – 132 | Full PDF Paper

3. The Impact of Oil Contamination on Soil Ecosystem

   H. Kh. Khalilova

   Abstract: The laboratory analyses have revealed increased concentrations of total petroleum hydrocarbons, polyaromatc hydrocarbons, asphaltenes and heavy metals in soil samples collected from different parts in the territory of the Absheron oil fields. Soil pollution reaches 1,5m depth in the majority of samples. The results of microbiological studies carried out to evaluate the effect of toxic discharges on soil biological properties showed that long-term anthropogenic impact has significantly reduced the self-purification capacity of oil contaminated soils in the Absheron industrial region.

   Keywords: Absheron peninsula, hydrocarbons, soil contamination, microorganisms, heavy metals.

   Pages: 133 – 139 | Full PDF Paper

4. Comparison Between Analytical Results of ICP Techniques for the Determination of Arsenic in Water Matrices

   Ricardo Crubellati, Liliana González, Hugo Achear, Daniela Cirello

   Abstract: In this paper, a comparison between two different analytical methods is described for arsenic determination. Water samples were directly determined for arsenic using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Data from the study demonstrate differences in the accuracy of the analytical results depending on the As level concentration. Uncertainty plays an important role in this study.

   Keywords: Arsenic, Analytical Chemistry, ICP-OES, ICP-MS, Environmental analysis.

   Pages: 140 – 143 | Full PDF Paper