Nzekwe Chidimma MaryAnn   and Onuorah Samuel Chinedu   

Boreholes water in Emene, Enugu State, were analyzed seasonally to determine the variations in their bacteriological quality. The total bacteria and coliforms were isolated using membrane filters. The total bacteria and coliforms, Shigella, Klebsiella, Enterobacter and Enterococci populations varied during both seasons. Total bacterial loads of the water in the dry season were between 12MPN and 272MPN/100mL, total coliforms, 0MPN to 120MPN/100mL, faecal coliforms, 0MPN to 28MPN/100mL, Enterococcus spp, 0MPN to 19MPN/100mL, E. coli, 0cfu to 12cfu/mL, Klebsiella spp, 0cfu to 18cfu/mL, Enterobacter spp, 0cfu to 41cfu/mL and Shigella spp, 0cfu to 53cfu/mL. The total bacterial populations were between 34cfu to 272cfu/mL, total coliforms, 0MPN to 142MPN/100mL, faecal coliforms, 0MPN to 38MPN/100mL, Enterococcus spp, 0MPN to 12MPN/100mL, E.coli, 0cfu to 15cfu/mL, Klebsiella spp, 0cfu to 20cfu/mL, Enterobacter spp, 0cfu to 32cfu/mL and Shigella spp, 0cfu to 28cfu/mL. Shigella spp were predominant while Enterococcus spp had the least frequency of occurrence during both seasons. Antibiotic sensitivity test showed that chloramphenicol would be efficacious in the elimination of illnesses associated with the bacteria isolated from the selected boreholes since all the organisms were sensitive to it. The boreholes water studied should therefore be adequately treated to render them potable.

Papa Mady Sy   Nicolas Anton   Sidy Mouhamed Dieng   Alphonse Rodrigue Djiboune   Louis Augustin Diaga Diouf   Boucar Ndong   Gora Mbaye   Thierry Vandamme   and Mounibé Diarra   

The objective of this study focused is understanding the mechanisms involved in the stabilization of water/oil interfaces by solid nanoparticles (NPs). Magnesium oxide and magnesium hydroxide of different sizes and in different electrolytes concentrations were studied and compared, at a model water/cyclohexane interface, in a drop tensiometer. Gradual interfacial adsorption of NPs, initially dispersed in water, were followed by tensiometry. Indeed, the model interface was maintained and observed in a drop tensiometer, analyzed through the axisymetrical drop shape analysis (ADSA), in order to determine the interfacial properties. Owing to the direct relationship between Pickering emulsion (emulsions stabilized by solid nanoparticles) stability and the interfacial properties of these layers, different nanoparticulate systems were compared, magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)₂) NPs, magnesium oxide (MgO) NPs, with different size. In addition, the concentration of electrolytes (NaCl) in the bulk phase was shown to induce a partial NPs aggregation (so-called NPs flocs), with an important incidence on the interfacial layer stability. Dynamic interfacial tension data will be analyzed using the classical Ward and Tordai model. Dynamic surface tension measurements revealed a sharp decrease of interfacial tension with MgO NPs and Mg(OH)₂ NPs without NaCl. For the flocs of nanoparticles aggregated that forms obtained with the presence of NaCl 2mM, a slow decrease of interfacial tension was observed unlike individual nanoparticles.

Nikoloz Zhgenti   Otar Bibilashvili   George Burjanadze   Mariam Shengelia   and Nana Koshoridze   

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder, following Alzheimer's disease, impacting approximately 1% of individuals aged 60 and older. It is characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the SNpc, resulting in both motor and non-motor symptoms. Current treatments are limited, and PD's molecular basis involves alpha-synuclein aggregation, ubiquitination dysregulation, and oxidative stress. Nicotine, found in tobacco, has been associated with reduced PD risk in epidemiological studies and shown neuroprotective effects in animal models. However, its impact on oxidative stress remains unclear. A study involving 160 albino laboratory mice investigated nicotine's effects in an MPTP-induced PD model. The mice were divided into four groups: control, nicotine, MPTP, and MPTP + nicotine. The study assessed behavioral tests, dopamine levels in the SNpc, and antioxidant system activity. Nicotine improved motor function, increased dopamine levels, and reduced oxidative stress markers in the PD model. Importantly, it selectively enhanced the activity of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase, and catalase, in PD-affected mice without affecting healthy animals. Nicotine demonstrates neuroprotective effects in an MPTP-induced PD model, ameliorating motor deficits, increasing dopamine levels, and reducing oxidative stress. It enhances the activity of key antioxidant enzymes in the substantia nigra, suggesting potential therapeutic avenues for PD treatment. However, further research is needed, including human studies and a deeper understanding of nicotine's impact on oxidative stress. These results contribute to our understanding of PD pathogenesis and offer insights into novel therapeutic approaches for this debilitating disorder. They also raise questions about the differential effects of nicotine in healthy individuals and those with PD, highlighting the need for targeted interventions in neurodegenerative diseases.

Azudiugwu Obianuju Sabina   George-Okafor Uzoamaka   and Onuorah Samuel Chinedu   

Ready-to-eat fishes have been associated with aflatoxin-producing fungi which are of public health concern, hence this study on the evaluation of thermal stability of aflatoxins recovered from fungi isolated from dried fishes. Five dried fish samples were cultured on Sabouraud dextose agar and identified phenotypically. The fungal isolates were Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium ventricosum. The isolates were assayed for aflatoxins both qualitatively and quantitatively using high performance thin layer chromatography under the ultraviolet light at a wavelength of 365nm. Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus fumigates significantly (P<0.05) produced aflatoxin B1 at higher concentrations than Fusarium ventricosum. Aspergillus fumigatus was the only isolate that produced aflatoxins B2 and G1. Aflatoxin G2 was not produced by any of the fungal isolates. The aflatoxins produced by the isolates were subjected to heat treatment at 121℃ for 30 minutes to determine their thermal stability. There was a marked reduction in aflatoxin B1 from Aspergillus fumigatus after heat treatment. The study showed that aflatoxin B1 produced by the fungal isolates was thermostable at high temperature of 121℃ while aflatoxins B2 and G1 were thermolabile. Dried fishes should therefore not be consumed raw. Contamination of dried fishes by fungi should also be minimized through hygienic handling.

Audray Vodounou   Euloge Sènan Adjou   Kowiou Aboudou   Fréjuce M. Kplaïssa   Edwige Dahouenon Ahoussi   Daniel Chougourou   Akadiri Yessoufou   Lamine Baba-Moussa   and Dominique C. K. Sohounhloue   

The present study aims to valorize the neglected and underutilized fruits of Chrysophyllum albidum in vinegar production through enzyme catalysis and acetic bioconversion. To do this, Chrysophyllum albidum juice was extracted from ripe fruits by using a pectinolytic enzyme (Pectinex Ultra SP-L) at a concentration of 1ml.kg-1. The extracted juice was first subjected to alcoholic fermentation using yeast strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in anaerobic conditions, and secondly to an acetic fermentation using strains of Acetobacter spp. isolated from unpasteurized cider vinegar. Results obtained indicated that the use of the pectinolytic enzyme significantly improves (p<5%) the yield of juice extraction. The highest extraction yield (89.21%) is obtained with an incubation temperature of 60°C for 120 minutes. The monitoring of kinetic parameters during the fermentation processes indicated a significant variation (p<5%) of the pH, the acidity, the density and the Brix of the musts during the bioprocesses. Vinegars produced had a pH of 3.83±0.12 and a relatively low acetic acid content (5.17±0.23 %), characteristic of vinegars for food use, in accordance with European standards. The production of vinegar from Chrysophyllum albidum fruit, using fast, less expensive and easily applicable processes, presents a very interesting solution to reduce postharvest losses, and could make available on national and international markets, a new bioproduct with high added value.

Saroj Prasad Shah   Akhil Bansal   Siddhant Gautam   Kaushal Kumar Gupta   Rina Das   and Dinesh Kumar Mehta   

Aim: The publication deals with the prevalence of hemoglobinopathies among patients diagnosed with thalassemia based on High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) characteristics. We also compared the current study results to other published studies. Hemoglobinopathies, which can be quantitative (such as thalassemia syndrome) or qualitative (such as sickle cell disease), are a major public health concern in India (variant hemoglobinopathies). Every year, 10,000 infants are born in India with thalassemia major, accounting for 10% of all such children globally. According to the Thalassemia International Federation, around 0.2 million thalassemia major cases are alive and undergoing regular treatment globally. HPLC is regarded as a sensitive and specific method for detecting hemoglobin A2 (HbA2) levels greater than 3.5%, which is used to diagnose beta thalassemia trait (BTT). This study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital, where laboratory test reports of patients, who were diagnosed with thalassemia utilizing HPLC test from January 2022 to December 2022 were studied and analyzed. The age categories of 21 to 30 years were discovered to have the highest prevalence of beta-thalassemia features (36.9%), followed by 31 to 40 years (13.8%) and 11 to 20 years (11.3%). The data was displayed in the following formats: mean (average), median, standard deviation (SD), lowest and maximum range. HbF varied from more than 0.08 to 40.0, HbA2 from 1.5 to 27, and HbA0 from 52.5 to 95.5. The results of this investigation demonstrated the prevalence and range of hemoglobinopathies and thalassemia in patients. The coexistence of thalassemia and other hemoglobin variants was discovered to be frequent.

S. Vijayalakshmi   and A. Mohankumar   

Dental illness is a foremost health problem upsetting childhood, and this action severely causes sickness which is caused by emerging pathogen Lactobacillusacidophilus. So plaque samples were collected from diverse dental clinics around Tirupur Dt. In this study, 20 MDR isolates were isolated and identified by biochemical analysis. Additionally, the decay pathogen Lactobacillus acidophilus was assayed against Levofloxacin, Moxifloxacin, Clindamycin, Vancomycin, Ampicillin, Chloramphenicol, Tetracycline and Novobiocin. Among these strains 0%, 0%, 26%, 34%, 22%, 2%, 16%, 16% and 6% were found to exhibit resistance to four groups of antibiotics. Currently, the extension of resistance to contemporary antimicrobials has demand to search for innovative anti-therapeutic agent. Moreover, several studies mostly deal with marine sponge to explore the therapeutic drug and this potential role in the manufacture of metabolites is becoming a driving area for exploring a rich source of novel compounds that are of prospective interest to mankind for diagnosis of tooth decay. Different concentration of sponge 50μg, 100μg, and 150μg were prepared with DMSO, and well diffusion assay was used. The result indicated that the maximum and minimum inhibition of 22 mm and 16 mm was observed against the isolate LAVG07 and LAVG08. This research proved that the marine sponge extract shows the prominent antimicrobial activity against decay causing organism and it may be broadcast to be a successful approach to come to blow promising multi challenging clinical drugs in the future.

Joe D. Beckmann   Billie Schultz   and Brian J. Doyle   

Cytosolic sulfotransferases (SULTs) modify and regulate many endogenous and xenobiotic compounds. There are some disagreements regarding the binding pattern of their nucleotide (PAPS, PAP) and acceptor site ligands. Here we present an investigation of the homodimeric bovine phenol sulfotransferase (bSULT1A1) using several methods not dependent on catalytic turnover. Binding order was not determinable from intrinsic protein fluorescence changes in response to PAP(S), 7-hydroxycoumarin (7-HC) or pentachlorophenol (PCP). Equilibrium dialysis showed no binding of 7-HC to apo-bSULT1A1 up to 100 µM ligand, but inclusion of PAP induced biphasic binding of 7-HC. Isothermal titration calorimetry revealed exothermic half-sites binding of PAP to the dimeric protein. No binding of 7-HC to apo-SULT1A1 was detected, but SULT1A1:PAP also bound 7-HC at 0.5 per subunit. Differential scanning fluorimetry failed to show thermal stabilization of protein by excess 7-HC or PCP, whereas inclusion of PAP increased T _m dramatically. Susceptibility of bSULT1A1 to cleavage by chymotrypsin was not affected by excess 7-HC, but enzyme with PAP ± 7-HC resisted proteolysis. Excess 7-HC did not change protein cysteine reactivity with DTNB, whereas PAP impeded the fast phase of reaction attributable to C168. These observations indicate an ordered binding scheme for bSULT1A1. Testing other SULT ligand binding patterns with these methods is suggested.

Evelyn Maria   Meenu Yohannan   Harisuthan T   and Mathew John   

Background: Stroke is one of the major causes of mortality worldwide. Ischemic stroke occurs due to blood vessel blockage that limits blood supply to the brain. The present study aims to identify the serum proteins in terms of its lipid transportation function and the level of oxidative stress parameters. The study was done in human blood samples of ischemic stroke patients and healthy control participants. The sample size used was 26 in each group for oxidative stress study and 3 per group for mass spectrometric protein analysis. The study was designed as a comparative analysis of oxidative stress parameters between control and ischemic stroke. The in gel tryptic digestion followed by Liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) analysis was done to identify the differentially expressed serum proteins between control and stroke. Students t test was used for comparison between groups and p value less than 0.05 (p<.05) considered as significant. The study observed that the antioxidant parameters such as catalase and glutathione had lowered activity in ischemic stroke group compared to healthy control and malondialdehyde levels were higher in ischemic stroke compared to control. From the in gel tryptic digestion, we observed that proteins linked to lipid transport and inflammation had differential expression between stroke and control. The serum proteins which were differentially altered in 25 KDa region in electrophoretogram between control and stroke had functional association with lipid transportation process and stress associated inflammatory roles.

Nisha Khatik   

Green synthesis of nanoparticles has gained prominence in recent years as a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable approach. This green nanotechnology has diverse applications, and their potential impact on cellular processes needs to be thoroughly examined via nanomaterials. One of the major challenges in this field is the alleviation of oxidative damage, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity induced by nanoparticles. Lately, research is more focused on analyzing the epigenetic effects including DNA methylation and histone modifications mediated through the alteration in microRNA expression that is influenced by nanoparticles. Due to their physical and chemical properties, these nanomaterials are extremely suitable carriers of targeted modifications in gene regulatory systems. Delivery of silencing RNAs and artificial transcription factors built on nanoparticles for modulating gene expression has been extensively reported in recent years. Studies on various cell lines have confirmed the downstream effects of these changes in gene expression, as demonstrated by the significant alteration in expression of proteins functional in a multitude of pathways, such as those associated with oxidative stress, cytoskeletal proteins, molecular chaperones, proteins involved in energy metabolic processes, and apoptosis and tumor-related proteins. This reshuffling of molecular expression has also been corroborated by investigations at genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic levels. This chapter highlights the detailed mechanism of modulation of gene regulation and expression, and the cytological and molecular changes caused by these bionanomaterials. The toxicological aspects and biocompatibility impacts of these nanoparticles, which are of paramount importance while considering their biomedical and environmental applications, have also been outlined.

Amanda Hoff   Nigam Rath   John Lisko   Matthias Zeller   and Ganesaratnam K. Balendiran   

Background: Glutamate (Glu) is of great interest in biomedical research. It is considered a biomarker in diabetes, which may potentially contribute to the development of autism in genetically vulnerable human populations, and it is found in relation to advanced glycation end products (AGEs) [1]. Additionally, Glu plays an active role in the function of ligand-gated ion channel glutamate receptors, chloride channels capable of filtering glutamate, as well as Potassium (K⁺)-channel [2]. Glu attains α [3] and β [4] crystal forms and Cβ-CH₂ show asymmetric ¹H signal pattern in NMR spectra. Objectives: The current study was undertaken to understand the signal patterns of Cβ-CH₂ in Glu of the smallest dipeptide, Glycylglutamic Acid (GlyGlu), as well as the order, and planarity of the amide bond in the molecule. Materials and Methods: NMR spectra of GlyGlu were measured in D₂O to deduce ¹H and ¹³C chemical shifts and coupling constants. GlyGlu was crystallized from MeOH and the structure was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. Results: The sidechain of Glu in the dipeptide dissimilates the β form. The amino group of Gly (Glycine) is protonated and exhibits hydrogen bonding with the main chain carboxylate group of a symmetry-related Glu that is deprotonated in the crystal packing of GlyGlu. The deprotonated main chain carboxylate of Glu is also in hydrogen-bonding distance from the side chain carboxylic acid group that is in the protonated form of a symmetry-related Glu of the dipeptide. The Cβ-CH₂ geminal protons on the side chain of Glu have different chemical shifts and splitting pattern in ¹H NMR reflecting their dissymmetric environment. Conclusion: The results reported will be useful for monitoring changes that Glu and/or molecules in connection to Glu may undergo in in vivo, in situ, and in vitro conditions. This provides a valuable metric which will enable the examination of the metabolites relevant to the detection and diagnosis of disease or developmental conditions, as well as scrutinizing the effectiveness of treatment options.

Abiye A. Ibiene   Nelly C. Ekwuribe   Anwuli U. Osadebe   and Phillip O. Okerentugba   

This study looked to establish the proximate composition, mineral content, water absorption capacity, energy values and microbial load of the seeds of Moringa oleifera following processing. The study was carried out using standard physicochemical and microbiological techniques. Proximate analysis revealed that M. oleifera seed powder was rich in protein (34.39%) and fat (37.76%). The mean crude fibre, ash and carbohydrate values were 5.10%, 5.93% and 9.42% respectively while moisture was relatively low at 7.40%. The water absorption capacity, gross energy and metabolisable energy levels were determined as 428.01%, 509.67 Kcal/100g and 398.22 Kcal/100g respectively. The heavy metal levels were low to negligible but the calcium and phosphorus levels were somewhat high at 437.85 mg/kg and 525.10 mg/kg respectively with a ratio of 0.834. Counts of 1730 CFU/g and 121 CFU/g were obtained for total heterotrophic bacteria and total fungi. The fungi and bacteria obtained were Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus niger, Bacillus, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus and Micrococcus luteus. No coliforms were recorded. The results from this study established M. oleifera seed powder as a good source of energy, protein, fat, calcium and phosphorus amongst other minerals and nutrients. Its nutritional and mineral content support coagulation/ flocculation and use in livestock and aquaculture feed.

Kruthi B N   and Aliya Nusrath   

Background: Among the various risk factors for developing dyslipidemia and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), elevated Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) has been recognized as an independent and widely accepted risk factor for CVD. Therefore the objective of the study was to calculate LDL-C using various formulae and to compare the various formulae to calculate LDL-C with direct LDL-C measurement. Materials and methods: It was a retrospective observational study and study was conducted for a period of 3 Months. During this period, 400 consecutive serum samples were included, out of which 37 had TG value more than 400 mg/dl and were excluded from the study. Finally 363 samples data were included for analysis and data were obtained from the investigation ledger of clinical Biochemistry section and same sample Triglyceride, Total Cholesterol and High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol was used for calculating LDL-C using various formulae. Results: A total of 400 lipid profile reports were collected, of these, 37 reports had triglyceride level ≥ 400 mg/dl and hence 363 samples were included. There is no statistical difference between the direct LDL-C (131.64± 29.34mg/dl) and LDL-C level calculated by Friedewald formula (133.85±35.97mg/dl, p>0.05). There is a highly significant statistical difference between the direct LDL-C and the LDL-C level calculated using all other formulae (p=0.0001) Cordova and Cordova formula (88.06 ± 28.40mg/dl), Vujovic formula (80.44 ± 15.52mg/dl), Ahmadi formula (186.34 ± 63.26mg/dl), Anandaraja formula (92.46 ± 32.37mg/dl), Puavillai formula (88.54 ± 32.78mg/dl) and Hattori formula (77.45 ± 30.31mg/dl). Conclusion: The study established Friedewald formula as the most suitable method for calculating LDL-C in the absence of direct LDL-C measurement facilities. A large sample size and multicentric study is warranted to confirm which formula is most suitable for measuring the LDL-C in the absence of direct LDL-C measurement.

Moses Bali Emmanuel   Egwim Chidi Evans   Abdulkadir Abubakar   Liman Mubarak Labaran   Alex Victoria Ali   and Manya Zabe   

Lipases are a versatile class of enzymes owing to their ability to perform a specific range of biotransformations. Bacteria for lipase production were cultured on nutrient agar (NA) plates and identified using Gram Stain and biochemical tests. Screening for lipase producers was performed on NA media supplemented with 3% olive oil at 37 ℃. Seven bacteria were isolated and identified as Bacillus megaterium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis and Micrococcus luteus. Lipase production was carried using standard methods and the best lipase producer was purified and characterized. The lipase enzyme from K. pneumoniae had a yield of 18.8% and was purified 26.3 fold. The optimum pH for the partially purified lipase was determined to be 8 with maximum activity at 30 ℃. The lipase enzyme had affinity for substrates in the following order, olive oil > groundnut oil > palm oil and the activity of the enzyme was enhanced by metal ions in the following order, MgCl₂ > CaCl₂ > KCl whereas inhibitory effects were observed in the following order, CoCl₂ > HgCl₂ > CuSO₄ > FeCl₃. The lipase enzyme had V_max of 0.0006 U/Sec, K_m of 0.4960 mM and K_cat of 0.0125 S^-1.

Garima Dukariya   and Anil Kumar   

Chitinases are a group of hydrolytic enzymes catalysing degradation of chitin, the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature. Chitin is an essential structural component of most fungi cell walls, and exoskeleton of insects and crustaceans. Chitinases are synthesized in wide variety of organisms including plants, vertebrates, invertebrates, microbes (bacteria and fungi) and viruses. They perform various functions in different organisms depending upon the requirement of organisms like defense against pathogens and nutritional purpose. Nowadays chitinolytic enzymes have attracted global attention because of their different biotechnological and biomedical applications due to their hydrolytic activity on chitin and thus several chitinases have been reported and characterized. They are used mainly for biodegradation of chitin into beneficial compounds. These compounds have been illustrated to enhance human health through their antimicrobial, antioxidant, antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties. Chitinases have also been exploited for bio-control of phytopathogens and insects. Apart from these, the crucial use of chitinases in present time is in management of chitinous waste thus they have the potential to become essential tools in future green application. The present review focuses on the occurrence and varied distribution of chitinases. Here we also took a closer look at recent applications of chitinase in various fields.

Okonkwo   Chioma Joy   Belonwu Donatus Chuka   Monago-Ighorodje C. Comfort   Okonkwo Chinedu Joseph   Oforibo   and Esther Clement   

Background: Lead is a persistent heavy metal which has been found to be a multi-organ toxicant. In recent times, plants containing natural compounds with both chelating and antioxidant activities are considered as promising candidates for managing lead toxicity. Objectives: The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the ameliorative potentials of aqueous extracts of Jatropha curcas (JC) leaves and Hibiscus sabdariffa (HS) calyces against renal toxicity resulting from lead acetate exposure. Materials and Methods: Ten groups of male Wistar rats were taken: The first and second groups represented the normal and lead acetate (PbA) (50mg/kg b.w) control groups respectively while groups 3 and 4 were given 100mg/kg JC and 200 mg/kg JC respectively. Groups 5 and 6 received 250 mg/kg HS and 500 mg/kg HS respectively. Groups 7-10 were given PbA (50mg/kg) and 100mg/kg JC, 200 mg/kg JC, 250mg/kg HS, 500mg/kg HS respectively. Rats were orally administered their relevant doses for 28 days. Blood samples were collected from heart puncture at the end of the experiment (28 days) for renal function analysis. Result: Serum creatinine and urea concentrations were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the lead acetate group compared to the normal control. The renal morphology of the lead-exposed rats also revealed the degeneration and necrosis in tubules and swelling in the glomerulus. The significant increase in renal markers and morphological alterations after lead toxicity induction were moderately normalized by the administration of aqueous extracts of Jatropha curcas and Hibiscus sabdariffa. Conclusions: Results demonstrated moderate beneficial effects of J. curcas and H. sabdariffa treatment in managing Pb-induced tissue damage in the kidney.

Iwu C. C.   Akwukwaegbu P. I.   and Ikewuchi C. C.   

Effect of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius leaf extract on selected renal parameters and hematological indices of carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) induced toxic rats was investigated using standard analytical methods. Forty-two (42) wistar rats weighing 91-185g was used for this study. The rats were divided into 7 groups of 6 rats each and allowed to acclimatize for one week with food and water ad libitum. Carbon tetrachloride was prepared in the ratio of 1:5 (v:v) in olive oil and administered subcutaneously at 0.17 mL/kg body weight on the first day after acclimatization. Group I received normal feed and water only, group II received CCl₄ only, group III received olive oil only, groups IV, V and VI received 50 mg/kgbw, 75 mg/kgbw and 100 mg/kgbw oral dose of C. aconitifolius respectively in addition to CCl₄ while group VII received vitamin C plus CCl₄. After oral administration for twenty-one days, the rats were painlessly sacrificed; plasma and blood were collected for renal and hematological analyses respectively. Results showed that CCl₄ increased Ca, Na, K and decreased RBC, PCV, Hb and platelet number of rats induced, however oral administration of C. aconitifolius significantly decreased; Ca and Na at 50 mg/kgbw, K in a dose-dependent pattern and significantly increased RBC, PCV, Hb and platelet number at all doses. This study has shown that the leaf extract of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius had a dose-dependent positive effect on the hematological indices as well as the potential to ameliorate kidney parameters of CCl₄ treated wistar rats at the given concentrations.

Mahalaxmi S Petimani   Prabhakar Adake   and Abhilash Aditya   

Objective: To evaluate the antidepressant activity of methanolic extract of Dolichos Biflorus seeds in Swiss albino mice. Methodology: A total of 72(n=72) Swiss albino male mice were used in the study. They were divided into 12 groups of six mice in each. First six groups were evaluated by Tail Suspension Test (TST) and remaining by Forced Swim Test (FST). First group of mice (control) received normal saline 10mg/kg, second group (standard) received Imipramine 10mg/kg and third, fourth, fifth and sixth groups (test) respectively received methanolic extract of Dolichos Biflorus seeds (MEDB) 100mg/kg, 200mg/kg, 300mg/kg and 400mg/kg dose orally for 30 days. They were evaluated for antidepressant activity using TST after 60 minutes of drug administration on 30^th day. Duration of immobility was noted for six minutes for each mouse in all groups. Similarly, remaining six groups (7^th to 12^th) received the same drugs and evaluated for antidepressant activity using FST after 60 minutes of drug administration. Results: Results were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test followed by Dunnet's test for comparison between groups. The immobility periods were expressed in mean±SD. The immobility period in TST were 245±9.7, 80±7.8, 216.4±4.9, 225.3±2.3, 198.4±3.2 and 185.4±2.7 seconds respectively for control, standard and four test groups (100/200/300/400mg/kg). Similarly, immobility periods of 139.33±7.9, 71.66±4.9, 54.7±2.9, 58±5.2, 126.2±7.9 and 113.4±2.8 seconds were noted for FST for remaining six groups of mice. In TST, test drug MEDB in all the doses (50/100/200/300/400mg/day) failed to show statistically significant antidepressant action when compared to control group (p>0.05). Whereas, in FST, MEDB in a dose of 200mg/kg has shown statistically significant (p<0.05) antidepressant action when compared to control. Conclusion: Present study shown methanolic extract of Dolichos Biflorus seeds (MEDB) has significant antidepressant activity at the dose of 200mg/kg in FST model of depression in mice.

Koua Kadio Brou Donald   Irié-N’guessan Amenan Geneviève   Effo Kouakou Etienne   Kouakou Sylvain Landry   Ayoman Thierry Lenoir djadji   Tetchi Achille Fabrice   and Yapi Houphouët Felix   

Aim of study: Inflammation was associated with many diseases in humans. Crinum species have a considerable medicinal reputation as potent folkloric remedies. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of aqueous and hydroethanolic extracts of Crinum scillifolium bulbs in in vivo models. Materials and methods: The anti-inflammatory effect of Crinum scillifolium extracts was also evaluated in carrageenan-induced paw edema models and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels was measured. Two doses 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight for each extract, were tested. The results obtained were compared with those of the standard drug (Diclofenac at 25 mg/kg body weight) and those of the control (normal saline). Results: The results showed a highly significant decrease in the edema size (p < 0.01) and significant decrease in CRP values (p < 0.01) compared to control group when the animals were treated with diclofenac at 25 mg/kg, and 200 mg/kg of aqueous and hydroethanolic extracts. Conclusion: The study suggests that the extracts possess enough potential to reduce inflammation on rat model and directs the importance of further research and development of novel anti-inflammatory agents.

Shilpashree YD   Aliya Nusrath   and Namitha Devegowda   

Background and objectives: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most commonly encountered diseases by the healthcare professionals. Knowledge about diabetes can assist in early detection and can reduce the incidence of complication. The present study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of rural school children regarding diabetes mellitus and to identify the areas of gap in the knowledge of diabetes among these children. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional questionnaire based study was conducted. Pretested questionnaire was used to assess the gap in knowledge of diabetes. The questionnaire was administered to all the high school children who consented, from the schools in and around B G Nagara. Data was tabulated and analysed using excel sheet. Results: A total of 302 students participated in the study. In this study, high school children had "General knowledge about diabetes" scores of 54.3%, "Knowledge of life style and non-medical measures" scores of 50.33%, "Knowledge of clinical symptoms and complications" scores of 47.35%, and "Knowledge of monitoring and treatment of diabetes" scores of 22.18%. Conclusion: The high school children in this study had fair awareness of diabetes in certain aspects, even though there were many gaps in other areas of knowledge. The awareness of high school children about the disease can be of great help to reduce the risk of developing diabetes and its related complications in future.

M. Khodari   E. M. Rabie   and A. A. Shamroukh   

Carbon Paste Electrode Modified by silica gel /MWCNTs was manufactured and used for the electrochemical determination of Ascorbic acid (AA) in acetate buffer (pH=5.0) using cyclic, linear sweep voltammetry and square wave voltammetry(CV, LSV, and SWV). The results illustrated that the carbon paste modified electrode give a good response for an electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of AA. The electrochemical oxidation of AA at modified carbon paste electrode was diffusion-controlled and irreversible, using the optimum conditions to achieve the lower detection limit 1.07 × 10^-8M, good reproducibility, and high stability. This method has been applied to the determination of AA in orange and lemon fruits, and the recoveries were from 96% to 102%.

V. U. Bindu   A. A. Shanty   and P. V. Mohanan   

Chitosan-metal oxide composites, chitosan- Fe₃O₄ (CSM) and chitosan-ZnO (CSZ) were synthesized and intended as suitable supports for immobilization of starch hydrolyzing enzyme, α-amylase. Here α-amylase was chosen as the enzyme to immobilize on these supports due to its wide implementation in industrial applications. The immobilized enzyme, CSZE showed better immobilization yield of 76%, whereas CSME provides high speed and easy separation from the reaction system due to its magnetic property. The quality of the immobilized α-amylases was demonstrated and assessed based on its activity and stability. The immobilized enzymes with higher Ed values provide them more stability towards denaturation compared to free enzyme. At 50℃ the thermodynamic parameters such as ∆H^º, ∆G^º and ∆S^º for thermal deactivation of free enzyme were evaluated as 104.29, 12.83 and -0.28 KJ mol^-1 respectively and are found to be higher in case of both immobilized enzymes. The Km values for CSME and CSZE are 0.65 and 0.5mg/mL respectively, which are higher than that of free enzyme (0.45mg/mL). The Vmax of free enzyme is decreased from 34.48μmol mg^-1 min^-1 to 16.39(CSME) and 23.81 (CSZE) μmol mg^-1 min^-1 as a result of immobilization. The immobilized enzymes have exhibited better storage stability over 6 months and retained more than 50% of their initial activities after 10 cycles of reuses.

Papa Mady SY   Sidy Mouhamed Dieng   Louis Augustin Diaga Diouf   Alphonse Rodrigue Djiboune   Mamadou Soumboundou   Boucar Ndong   Ousseynou Diop   El Hadji Amadou Lamine Bathily   Gora Mbaye, Marthe Diouf   Mamadou Mbodj   and Mounibé Diarra   

Pickering emulsions are systems without surfactants, stabilized by solid particles. These emulsions are experiencing a renewed interest, on the one hand, because it is preferable to limit the use of synthetic surfactants for toxicological and environmental reasons and, on the other hand, the need to make new formulations in order to control the drug release patterns by encapsulation or controlled release. Thus, we were interested in the formulation and evaluation of W / O Pickering emulsions stabilized by particles of magnesium oxide with tramadol hydrochloride in the internal phase. The Bancroft rule served as a model for the formulation. The emulsification was carried out by progressively adding an aqueous phase dispersed in an oil-dispersing phase using a turbo rotor stator mixer. The stability of these emulsions was studied using several parameters (droplet size, pH, viscosity, conductivity...) and the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the active ingredient by UV-visible spectrophotometry. The results obtained showed that the dye test and the conductivity measurement confirmed the W / O nature of these emulsions. Some parameters such as droplet size, pH and viscosity were strongly influenced by the amounts of Magnesium oxide particles and the active ingredient. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the active ingredient confirmed the presence of tramadol in the internal aqueous phase. Thus, we have succeeded in developing a stable W / O Pickering emulsion with magnesium oxide particles. In addition, we were able to encapsulate tramadol in the dispersed aqueous phase.

Namitha Vijay   

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), a glucose intolerance state during pregnancy is a strong predictor of post-partum prediabetes and one of the risk factors for overt type 2 diabetes (T₂DM). Magnesium a trace element influences the cell's response to insulin and decreased levels of magnesium are related to insulin resistance and T₂DM. Several literatures are available on effects of magnesium on T₂DM with dearth in research regarding the impact of magnesium on GDM. In this backdrop our present study was designed to determine serum magnesium level in women with and without GDM. A cross sectional case control study was conducted at Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital. The total numbers of subjects were 90, divided into two groups, Group I- 45 pregnant women with Gestational diabetes mellitus as cases, Group II- 45 pregnant women without GDM as controls. Blood samples were drawn under aseptic precautions from study subjects. Serum magnesium levels were determined by commercially available Calmagite kit method. The mean serum magnesium level was found to be significantly lower in group I subjects when compared to group II subjects with the p value <0.0001. To conclude, results of our study demonstrated that hypomagnesaemia an underlying factor in determining disrupted glucose metabolism in pregnant women and magnesium supplementation might help patients with GDM to control their metabolic profile and pregnancy outcomes.

Droucoula Guillaume Cyril   Tra Bi Irié Otis   Miezan Bile Aka Patrice   Kouakou Sylvain Landry   Bla Kouakou Brice   and Yapi Houphouët Félix   

This study was undertaken to determine vitamins A, D and E composition of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Trema guineensis and effect of supplementation of these extracts on serum concentrations of these vitamins. Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Trema guineensis were obtained by decoction and maceration of leaves powder, respectively. Then, they were administered to animals at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight against a control group treated with distilled water for two weeks. Composition of vitamins in extracts and serum concentrations of vitamins A, D and E were performed by HPLC. Results showed that Trema guineensis extracts contained high concentrations of vitamins A, D and E. Thus, vitamins A and D serum concentrations were weakly influenced while that of vitamin E increased strongly during administration of Trema guineensis extracts. This study therefore showed that extracts of Trema guineensis had vitamins A, D and E and a beneficial effect on serum concentrations of these vitamins.

Florence Ezewanyi Ogwutum   Augustine Amadikwa Uwakwe   Mathew Owhonda Wegwu   and Justice Obinna Osuoha   

Anti-sickling activity of Elaeis guineensis jacq flowers was investigated to determine the capability of the plant to inhibit the polymerization of sickle cell hemoglobin, maintain membrane osmotic fragility and recover the Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ ratio. Spectrophotometric technique was employed to determine the rate of sodium metabisulphite provoked HbSS erythrocytes polymerization. The profile for HbSS erythrocytes polymerization of test and control specimens demonstrated growing level of polymerization at three investigational concentrations (20mg/ml, 40mg/ml and 60mg/ml) while (80mg/ml, 100mg/ml, 120mg/ml) concentrations of the extracts showed pronounced anti-sickling activity through inhibition of HbSS gelation. The estimation of mean corpuscular fragility (MCF), which is the concentration of saline causing 50% hemolysis of the erythrocytes, revealed that the plant extract decreased the MCF values of the HbSS erythrocytes at all concentrations in comparison to the control. The Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ investigation revealed an increase in the test groups when compared to the control. The aqueous extracts of Elaeis guineensis jacq flowers demonstrated towering potency in altering the polymerization of sickle cell hemoglobin at increased concentration, enhancement in Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ ratio and maintaining erythrocyte membrane integrity.

Himanshu Kharkwal   H.C. Joshi   and K.P. Singh   

The present study includes preparation, fabrication and characterization of GO, GO coated PCTE and Egg membrane respectively. Characterization of GO was done by UV-Visible spectrophotometery, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Different membranes i.e. PCTE (Polycarbonate track etch membrane) and egg membrane are used for the coating of graphene oxide. The egg membrane was isolated from the egg shell by dipping the egg in 8% HCl solution. These membrane i.e. PCTE and egg membrane were then fabricated with graphene oxide by drop casting method and vacuum filtration. The coated membrane was then characterized by different imaging technique such as FE-SEM, Inverted microscopy, FT-IR, and EDX. Based on the characterization best suited method for coating was determined and we found vacuum filtration method as the best method for coating. The simple (non-coated) and GO coated membrane of Egg and PCTE were then used for checking the potential gradient across the membrane by using digital multimeter and from this we came to conclusion that the potential gradient across the GO coated PCTE membrane is highest and lowest potential is of GO coated Egg membrane. Above all we found that GO coated egg membrane is highly beneficial and cost effective as compared to artificial membranes.

Chinedu J. Okonkwo   Idongesit E. Archibong   Chioma J. Okereke   Justice O. Osuoha   and Uche C. Njoku   

Organic pesticides concentrations in tissues of Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus (catfish) and Liza falcipinis (mullet) sampled from Ogbakiri River, Niger Delta, Nigeria were investigated to find out the extent of pesticide contamination in the river and its possible health implication on human consumption assessed. Pesticides were analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). The concentration of pesticides ranged from 0.0010±0.0001 to 0.0095±0.0002 µg/l and 0.0007±0.0001 to 0.0110±0.0002µg/g in water and sediments, respectively. Similarly, pesticides concentration in fish tissues ranged from 0.0002±0.0001 to 0.0185±0.0002µg/g and 0.0003±0.0001 to 0.0098±0.0002µg/g in liver and muscle respectively. Moreso, to assess health risk concerns, the measure concentrations of pesticide residues were compared with regulatory benchmarks. Risk hazard estimates of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes, Chlordanes, hexachlorobenzene in the studied fishes showed no potential adverse effect to human consumption at the observed concentrations. The cancer risk was also evaluated according to the guideline as stipulated by USEPA and was within acceptable risk range of 10^-4. Thus exposed populations are not at cancer risk through consumption of fish from this river.

Md. Abdul Hakim   

Estimation of ideal body weight in human samples in a fine located geographic level is vital for effective health promotion programmes, provision of better health services and population-specific health planning and management. Lack of nutritional knowledge and information gap on various health and nutritional tools negatively impacts the ability of local and national agencies to manage serious health issues and related risks in the community. A solution to this challenge would be to develop a method that simulates reliable statistics on assessing the ideal body weight of human populations. This paper provides a significant appraisal of the biophysical methodologies for estimating ideal body weight to mitigate health-related problems of populations at geographical limited areas. There is no procedure in this multidisciplinary area in estimating ideal body weights of human samples in health physics and biostatistics. The dietician is often at bay in the route ahead of perfect dieting to hold up nutritional soundness of the sample at a population in a community. The aim of this current study is making a dot over these ongoing perils simulating a biophysical modeling to be used in prescribing a confounding free diet. The study findings are the equations (7), (8) and (9) in different health plight regarding to age groups in human population can be an outstanding mathematical modeling as a dieting tool in nutritional physics applicable to the study on health and nutritional research and in the branch of biostatistics. Also it can be a uniquely functional biophysical modeling in the branch of health pedagogy in nutritional epidemiology.

Chayanika Goswami   Manikandan Jayraman   Tamizhmathi Bakthavachalam   Guneswar Sethi   and Ramadas Krishna   

The proteins produced by the saliva and salivary glands of blood sucking arthropods play a vital role in transmission of the infected parasite to host and interfere the parasitic life cycle. The structure prediction of D7r1 and its active site leads to inhibition of hemostasis and inflammation in the host. D7r1 is a member of D7-related (D7r) salivary gland proteins that interferes various aspects of host physiology. Considering the significance of a protein, three dimensional structure of D7r1 model was generated by homology modeling and validated by PROCHECK, ERRAT, Verify-3D, RAMPAGE and Q mean server. The predicted structure has 96.9% of residues in the most favored region of the Ramachandran plot. The sequence and structural alignment between D7r1 and template 2PQL reveals that similar active site residues such as Ile42, Arg43, Tyr45, His56, Met57, Val60, Phe131, and Met156 involved in binding pocket formation. Further, a molecular dynamics simulation study was performed to reveal the prolonged stability of D7r1 protein. The essential dynamics which include PCA and FEL analysis were used to evaluate the conformational stability of D7r1. This combined molecular dynamics simulation and essential dynamics were used to provide comprehensive information of D7r1 and its active site prediction gain insights into the development of novel lead molecules for disrupting host-seeking behavior of mosquitoes.

H. C. Joshi   K. P. Singh   Abhishek Tomar   and Prashant Singh   

The uses of biosensors for sensitive and specific detection of various analytes are of great importance, and its success is often dictated by the nature of the detection element (the specific ligand) and the choice of target analytes. The conventional agriculture caused considerable impacts on soils and waters. It is important to change certain agricultural managements to environmental cleaner techniques. The sustainable agriculture has pointed many approaches and techniques to reduce environmental impact. One of those strategies is the utilization of the soil microbiota to induce plant growth, control of plant diseases and biodegradation of xenobiotic compounds. Studies on the relationship between roots and microbiota are essential to achieve agricultural applications. These studies indicate that one of the most abundant microorganisms in the rhizosphere (area around the roots) is fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. They have been considered as an alternative to agrochemicals for controlling plant diseases and increasing plant development. In the present study gold coated polycarbonate membrane of pore size 100 nm was used. The coated membrane carries carboxylic, thiol and hydroxyl groups. Carboxylic groups are being activated by treating the coated nanoporous membrane with the NHS-EDC linker for the binding of antibodies against the pathogen (fluorescent Pseudomonas) to be detected. After the activation of the membrane, antibodies (which are generated against the fluorescent Pseudomonas) were immobilized over the membrane in the humid chamber. After leaving it for an hour, unbound antibodies were washed by Phosphate buffer Saline. The remaining sites on membrane were then blocked by the Bovine serum albumin. The membrane was then subjected for the detection of pathogen by the electrochemical immunosensor by observing the change in the impedance value. The characterization of such membrane was done by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and Thermo gravimetric Analyzer (TGA).

Serge D. Kone   Francis A. Yapo   Goue Gnahoue   and Felix H. Yapi   

Severe hepatic insufficiency caused by a toxic is a strong danger to the individual survival. Zinc and vitamin D are micronutrients involved in the prevention of several diseases. Our study was to evaluate the potential preventive effects of these micronutrients in hepatic toxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) in rats. One hundred and fourteen (114) male rats were divided into 19 lots of 6 male rats each according to their body weight. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) was used to induce hepatic toxicity in rats. The rats were treated respectively with 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg of zinc and 6, 12 and 24μg/kg of Vitamin D and also with the combination of zinc and Vitamin D at the same concentrations. There was a significant increase in serum of ALT, AST without changing Total Protein level in the serum of rats treated with CCl₄ compared to rats in the control lots. However, Zinc and Vitamin D supplementation caused a significant decrease in serum of ALT and AST activity without changing Total Protein concentration in the serum of rats. This study revealed that that zinc combined with Vitamin D could be a good protection against hepatic toxicity induced by chemicals.

A.G. Thivyah Prabha   

Aims & Objectives: To measure Microalbuminuria and hs-CRP in obese and non-obese male hypertensive patients and control groups and to correlate their levels with various stages of hypertension and different grades of hypertensive retinal changes. Men have higher prevalence of hypertension (29.4%) than women (26.5%)[1] Materials & Methods: The study was conducted among 60 normotensive individuals and 60 hypertensive individuals over a period of 6 months on OPD basis. All individuals were males in the age group of 40-60 years. Blood samples were collected and estimation of plasma glucose, urea, creatinine, lipid profile, hs- CRP and Urinary microalbumin were done. Results: The mean value of microalbuminuria and hs- CRP were higher among obese hypertensives than obese controls and were statistically significant. The changes in the mean value of microalbuminuria and hs-CRP within the different stages of hypertension were highly significant. Similarly the correlation of microalbuminuria and hs-CRP within the different grades of hypertensive retinal changes were highly significant. Conclusion: The serum level of hs-CRP and urinary microalbuminuria were elevated in hypertensive patients. The increase of both hs- CRP and microalbuminuria were significantly higher in obese hypertensives than non-obese hypertensives. Microalbuminuria & hs CRP levels correlate with various grades of hypertensive retinal changes.

Victor Rodin   Alexander Ponomarev   Maxim Gerasimov   and Leonid Gurevich   

Xenon is a perspective gas for creation of oxygen free environment for different applications of biomaterials. To use xenon in suspensions and products properly it is necessary to know the molecular mechanisms of its interactions with water and cells. This work reports the study of bacterial suspensions of Escherichia coli in the presence of xenon using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The work studied how the spin-lattice relaxation times of water protons in suspension change under xenon conditions. Xenon is able to form clathrate hydrates with water molecules at a temperature above the melting point of ice. The work studied NMR relaxation times which reflect the rotation freedom of water molecules in suspension. Lower relaxation times indicate reduced rotational freedom of water. Single exponential behavior of spin-lattice relaxation of protons in the suspensions of microorganisms has been registered. A recovery of longitudinal magnetization in cell suspensions with xenon clathrates has been characterized by two peaks in T₁-distribution. Fast relaxing T₁-component was related to the intracellular water and depended on the amount of xenon clathrates. The obtained results elucidate how the NMR method can monitor the process of clathrate formation and how the xenon atoms and hydrates interact with cells.

Miezan Bilé Aka Patrice   Koffi Allali Eugene   BY Philemon   Okpekon Aboua Timothée   and Yapi Houphouët Felix   

The problems of resistance of pathogenic bacteria to the common antibiotics in hospitals and the high costs of the treatments of pathologies caused by those resistant bacteria have brought about innovation in the search for alternative treatments: plants. The purpose of this study is to assess the antibacterial activities of the aqueous and hydroethanilic extracts from the leaves of the Erythrococca anomala on the in vitro growth of six multiresistant bacterial strains: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli Klebsiella pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, isolated from patients. The results of the studies showed that the aqueous extract, more active than the hydroethanolic extract, contains Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) which vary between 0.78 mg/mL and 12.5 whereas the minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) vary between 0.78 mg/mL and 25 mg/mL. Concerning the hydroethanolic extract, the MICs and the MBCs, vary between 3.125 mg/mL and 25 mg/mL each. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus are more susceptible because they need 0.78 mg/mL and 1.56 mg/mL respectively before they are completely inhibited by the aqueous extract. Compared with the Ciprofloxacin, a pure molecule, those extracts have clearly better antibacterial activity. That may justify why those leaves are used in traditional areas as anti-infective treatment. Erythrocacca anomala is a glimmer of hope for the treatment of infectious diseases in Côte d'Ivoire.

Tatiana V. Veselova   Vladimir A. Veselovsky   and Natalie V. Obroucheva   

Time-dependent aftereffect induced by γ-radiation in dry pea seeds at non-lethal 0.19-10 Gy doses is considered. By using phosphorescence at room temperature (RTP), seed lot was fractionated to strong and weak seeds producing normal and abnormal seedlings, respectively, and to dead seeds. After 0.19 Gy γ-radiation, strong seeds transformed to weak seeds during two months, whereas seeds after 7-10 Gy became weak during 2-4 days that was accompanied by doubling glucose content and decreasing seed hydration. This indicated non-enzymatic hydrolysis of carbohydrates apparently caused by γ-induced activation of water molecules. At 7-10 Gy, an unexpected back transition of weak seeds to "improved" seeds occurred, producing normal seedlings. This "improvement" is due to glucose decrease to strong- seed level presumably via reaction between free glucose carbonyl and protein amino group. "Improvement" is transient; these seeds gradually die apparently due to end products of amino-carbonyl reaction (Amadori-Maillard products). Therefore, two effects of indirect non-target action of γ-radiation on dry seeds at low doses were suggested: non-enzymatic hydrolysis of carbohydrates and then amino-carbonyl reaction. They result at first in transition of strong to weak seeds and then of weak to "improved" seeds, response time being dependent on γ-radiation dose.

Kouadio N. Joseph   Kra K. A. Sevérin   and Niamké L. Sébastien   

This study was to assess the physiological impact of boiled and baked soybean Dockounou on Wistar rats wealthy after feed them with these diets. For this, 15 strains Wistar rats aged 50 ± 3 days and with average weight between 55 and 60 g were fed with different diets. Biochemical parameters of their serum and weight of organs (liver and kidney) were performed at the end of experiment. The glycemia content registered in serum was 0.74 ± 0.13g/L and 0.74 ± 0.11g/L for boiled and baked soybean Dockounou, respectively. That of cholesterol was 0.91 ±0.16g/L and 0.86 ±0.15g/L and HDL was 0.65 ± 0.069g/L and 0.62 ± 0.05g/L for the same diets respectively. Any pathological, dysfunction and physiological abnormalities were not identified as far as concern rat's serum and organs. Thereby, any significant difference at 5% level was registered between the control diet results and those of soybean Dockounou. Thus, the consumption of boiled and baked Dockounou is benefit for Wistar rats' health and also these feed can be advised as a good diet for their use in laboratory.

Burjanadze George   Shengelia Mariam   Dachanidze Natalia   Koshoridze Marine   Menabde Ketevan   Tsagareli Sulkhan   and Koshoridze Nana   

For the last few decades, aggression has been linked to various modifications in cellular metabolic pathways. It has also been shown that patients undergoing extended creatine (Cr) treatment display increased aggressiveness. However, molecular mechanisms underlying a correlation between the two phenomena have not been sufficiently identified. To gain a deeper understanding of the changes resulting from supplementation of Cr into non-aggressive animals, we compared some behavioral and biochemical characteristics of Cr-treated and originally non-aggressive individuals with those of naturally non-aggressive and naturally aggressive groups. In this paper we show that extended supplementation of creatine into non-aggressive animals modifies the number of exploratory characteristics and fear-related reactions. In addition, it also changes several biochemical properties in the hippocampus among rats, by significantly reducing the content of Ca²⁺ions. This could be the result of Cr's direct influence on the NMDA-receptor and its functional inhibition. In conclusion, behavioral and biochemical parameters of non-aggressive individuals display changes under extended supplementation of creatine, which could provide a significant insight into formation of aggression-related behaviors and processes.

Nino Kvitsinadze   Elene Davitashvili   Maka Koshoridze   Ketevan Chubinidze   Nana Koshoridze   Mzia Goguadze   Omar Tsintsadze   Guram Karazanashvili   and Revaz Solomonia   

Galactose-specific lectins are proteins with multifunctional properties, modulate cancerogenesis multistep process, and induce the remarkable generation of intracellular hydrogen peroxide. In this data we aim to investigate the effects of galactose-specific lectins isolated from the microsomal fraction of prostate post-operation tissues with different diagnosis in vitro model experiments (bovine liver tissue cells) on some aspects of peroxidation processes as one of the causes of tumor genesis. The beta-galactose-specific lectins were isolated from the microsomal fraction of prostate tissues with different diagnosis: benign prostate hyperplasia with low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (BPH/LGPIN), high grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN), atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH) and adenocarcinoma (PC). The molecular weight (60kDa) of lectins found to be similar, but their biological effects are different. The lectin from BPH/LGPIN tissue microsomes did not change the amount of malondyaldehyde (MDA), while the lectin from HGPIN, AAH and PC tissue microsomes induced increasing production of MDA. The lectins from all sources increase the amount of H₂O₂ in time-dependent manner. These effects are mediated by galactose binding domain of the lectins as are completely abolished by the inclusion of galactose. We proposed that one of the reasons of the revealed changes in the biological properties of lectins induced by alteration in the lectin's carbohydrate moiety structure. There is evidence that the changes of biological properties of prostate galactose-specific lectins are functionally related to development of the metabolic changes during prostate pathogenesis. In view of endoplasmic reticulum in many ways involved in carcinogenesis, we proposed the possible way, the released galactose-specific lectins from damaged microsomes enhances further transformation of prostate tissue by induction of MDA production and generation of free H₂O₂.

Koffi A. Jeanne   Bla K. Brice   Silué K. Dieudonné   Tuo Karim   and Yapi H. Félix   

Malaria disease is a pathology which occurs as a result of the oxidative stress. Three plants of the Ivorian pharmacopoeia are particularly used in the traditional medicine for the treatment of malaria in Côte d'Ivoire. They are Cochlospermum planchonii (Placo), Pericopsis laxiflora (Laper) and Harungana madagascariensis (Madhar).The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant activity of the aqueous and methanolic extracts of three medicinal plants of Côte d'Ivoire. The quantitative measurement of total flavonoids gave the following results: Laper (560.80 mg QE/g ± 7.40), Madhar (352.50 mg QE/g ± 9.46) and Placo (314.20 mg QE/g ± 4.41). The total polyphenols were more concentrated in Laper (262.50 mg GAE/g ± 9.47) and Placo (203.20 mg GAE/g ± 2.21). Noticeable zinc content was found in Laper (13.56 ppm) and Placo (11.40 ppm) against 3.43 ppm in Madhar. The radical scavenging activity by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and antiradical power measurement by ABTS (2,2' azino bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) assay have showed good activity for Laper (IC₅₀ = 7.50 μg/mL) and placo (IC₅₀ = 8.01 μg/mL). The standard antioxidant compound (quercetin) gave an IC₅₀ = 4.00 μg/mL. This study suggested that the high content of total flavonoids, total phenols and minerals in these plants could partly justify the therapeutic use of at least two of the three plants.

Kouame Yao Yves   Okpekon Aboua Timothée   Niamketchi Gilles Léonce   Gbassi Komenan Gildas   and Yapi Houphouët Félix   

This study aims to evaluate antioxidant activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Xylopia villosa stem bark. The quantitative study of polyphenols showed that ethanolic extract (75.00 ± 3.82 g/L EqAG) contains more than the aqueous extract (55.83 ± 1.67 g/L EqAG). It is the same for the quantitative analysis of total flavonoids where ethanolic extract (135.00 ± 1.44 g/L EqQ) contains more than the aqueous extract (115.00 ± 6.61 g/L EqQ). The antioxidant activity in vitro showed that the extracts neutralize DPPH and ABTS + ^° with enhanced activity of the ethanolic extract. The ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Xylopia villosa causing 50% inhibition (IC50) of the DPPH radical gave concentrations of 10.50 ± 0.24 and 24.50 ± 0.18 mcg / ml respectively for ethanol extract and aqueous extract. On the reduction of radical ABTS + ^°, aqueous extract caused a reduction of the radical cation ABTS + 7.82 ± 0.17 micromol TE / L while the ethanol extract reduced by 10.52 ± 0.27 micromol TE / L. Evaluation of antioxidant activity in vivo of xylopia villosa revealed that this is the ethanol extract (9.17 ± 0.48 mmol / L TBA-MDA) which offset the concentration of TBA-MDA adduct more than the aqueous extract (22.67 ± 0.33 mmol / L TBA-MDA). Concerning the total antioxidant activity, ethanolic extract reduced iron III to Iron II more than aqueous extract. After this study, it appears that the ethanolic extract has better antioxidant activity in vitro and in vivo that the aqueous extract.

T. Sivakumar   T. Shankar   V. Thangapandian   and S. Mahendran   

The soil samples were collected from Western Ghats. It was processed as per microbiological procedure. The observations in terms of morphological, physiological, biochemical and genetical were made for identifications of selected exopolysaccharides producing bacteria. The selected isolate was confirmed as Klebsiella pneumoniae by 16S rRNA sequences. It was taken up for further studies to ascertain the various cultural conditions for exopolysaccharide production. The EPS (exopolysaccharides) producing ability was evaluated by nutritional defined media. The data obtained reveals that the pH, temperature, carbon, nitrogen, aminoacids surfactants, metal ions conditions had the most significant influences. Among the various nutritional sources of interactive effects the maximum EPS production was recorded at pH 7.00 (1.58 ± 0.0096), Temperature at 37℃ , Jaggery (1.37 ± 0.003), Tryptone (1.56 ± 0.012), Ferric chloride (1.98 ± 0.02), Glutamine (2.13 ± 0.067), Polyethylene glycol (0.79 ± 0.043).

Nema A. Elhaj   and Nabiela M. ElBagir   

This study is designed to investigate the effect of feeding the whole bulb (mesocarp) of Hyphaene thebaica fruit, as 3% of the diet, on lipid profile in Diet-induced hypercholesterolemic Wistar albino rats. Various dietary rations were prepared by addition of H. thepaica, to assess their impact on the serum triglycerides, total cholesterol and its fractions the LDL-C, HDL-C and VLDL-C in normal and induced hypercholestrolemic rats. The rats were divided into four groups and fed for three-weeks as follows: Group 1 fed basal rat diet, group 2 fed the basal rat diet mixed with H. thebaica, group 3 fed high fat diet (the basal rat diet mixed with, calculated amount of, egg yolk to formulate a diet of 1% cholesterol) and group 4 fed the high fat diet mixed with H. thebaica. By the end of the experiment a significant (P=0.03) increase in serum triglycerides and the VLDL-C was observed in groups (3 and 4) compared to the control group. Also the level of LDL-C increased significantly (P=0.04) in group 3 but decreased numerically in group 4. Moreover, the lowest level of the total cholesterol was recorded in group 2 compared to the other groups. However, feeding H. thebaica when mixed with high fat in the diet, resulted in significantly (P=0.02) decreased HDL-C levels. In conclusion this study suggested that H. thebaica contains active ingredients that can manipulate blood lipids and can protect from an increase of the bad cholesterol in the blood, even if a high fat diet is consumed. The present experiment also showed that, the increase of serum triglycerides and VLDL-C levels due to feeding high fat diet in group 3, was augmented by adding H. thebaica to the diet in group 4, so the study of the fatty acid composition of these lipid fractions is recommended.

B.G. Majumder   and Utpal Ch. De   

The functioning of native protein has been discussed briefly. Disruption in native protein with misfolding in its structure due to infection or otherwise has also been discussed .The physical characteristics of prion- a variety of protein responsible for number of both degenerative and non-degenerative diseases have been detailed here from the view point of protein vibration due to external stimuli. Attempts have been taken to focus on the effects of charge groups on the surface of both folded and misfolded protein. Suggestion for application of magnetic materials which may be able to create potential barrier in controlling the chain process of infectious prions and other similar proteins have also been discussed basing on the frequencies of vibration of protein and also on the vibration energy thus evaluated.

Sarangam Majumdar   

Many biological phenomena about quorum sensing in bacteria are driven by experimentally and mathematically in the last few decades. Symbiosis, virulence etc. are the major area in which these theoretical models work well. But no specific origin was established so far which can explain quorum sensing itself. This weakly nonlocal fluid dynamical model of bacterial communication system introduces a pancake model which involves the intrinsic noise of the system to explain the origin of quorum sensing. The internal structure of quorum sensing analogues to Zeldovich model and origin of internal noise in this mechanism is responsible for quorum sensing.

Armen T. Karapetyan   Margarita A. Torosyan   and Yurik S. Babayan   

Despite of the existence in literature of large number of reports the binding modes of mitoxantrone (MTX) with DNA must be subject to refinement. Moreover there is no any report yet on interaction of MTX with Z-DNA. Here we present results of circular dichroism (CD) studies on MTX binding to salt driven left-handed conformation of poly(dG- dC). It was shown, that in contrast with classical intercalating ligands (ethidium bromide, acridine orange etc.) that bind with B-form DNA and obstacle B-Z transition at high concentrations of NaCl MTX interferes B-Z transition, but does not prevent the transitions process, thus suggest the semi intercalating (partial stacking) mode of MTX interaction with Z-form of DNA.

Anuj Aggarwal   Richard Tessadri   and Bernd Grohe   

We have studied the ability of urinary molecules in altering the precipitation of kidney stone-related calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) crystals and correlated the resulting morphologies with those of idiopathic COM kidney stones. We found that weakly acidic but highly glycosylated polyelectrolytes (Tamm Horsfall protein (THP), fetuinA, hyaluronic acid) do not significantly affect crystallization, and that THP and fetuinA show the tendency to aggregate in the presence of nascent crystals. It is proposed that highly glycosylated polyelectrolytes encapsulate nascent urinary crystals, prevent their aggregation, and thus act supportive in crystal excretion. Strong effects on crystallization were observed in the presence of the highly acidic molecules osteopontin (OPN), citrate, and the non-urinary glycosaminoglycans heparin and dextran sulfate. OPN formed non-structured concretions comparable with those found in the core of stones, while citrate formed platelets closely resembling crystal shapes found in the mantle region. However, it is unclear how the columnar growth in the mantle takes place. It is assumed that changing polyelectrolyte compilations/concentrations affect stone forming processes (e.g. equilibria, enhanced self-assembly), perhaps resulting in these structures. We have indeed shown that peptides can induce the formation of such structures. Moreover, heparin and dextran sulfate inhibited COM formation; implicating that these molecules could assist OPN, citrate but also THP in preventing stone formation.

Mohammad Taghi Taghizadeh   and Reza Abdollahi   

Carrageenan as an abundant natural carbohydrate could be used as a representative material instead of synthetic polymers. In this work, the degradation of κ-Carrageenan by means of ultrasound irradiation at a frequency of 24 kHz and its combination with heterogeneous Titanium dioxide, followed by a photocatalytic process was investigated. The scission of carrageenan chains induced by a high intensity field of ultrasonic irradiation; result in various molecular weights of carrageenan. The low molecular weight species of carrageenan have biological and pharmaceutical uses that only should be obtained from the degradation method. The ultrasound power not only led to enhanced turbulence and liquid streaming, but also increased the active surface area. Therefore, TiO₂ sonophotocatalysis was carried out faster than sonolysis and sonocatalysis processes. The influence of the basic operational parameters such as, ultrasound power and amount of TiO₂ on the degradation rate of carrageenan was also studied. The results revealed that the extent of sonolytic degradation was increased with increasing of ultrasound power (in the range 30–80 W) and at higher catalyst concentration, the degradation rate in the solution soared. The degraded carrageenans were characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC).

Subhomoi Borkotoky   Chetan Kumar Meena   Aswathy Soman   and Ayaluru Murali   

LGP2, a member of retinoic acid inducible gene–I like receptors (RLR), encoded by the gene DHX58 in human induces antiviral response against many RNA viruses. The LGP2 shares a considerable similarity to the amino acid sequence of Hef Helicase Domain, the helicase domain of RIG-I-like protein helicase-associated endonuclease (Hef), which is involved in RNA binding. Earlier studies suggest that RLR contains a conserved C-terminal domain (CTD), which is responsible for the binding specificity to the viral RNAs and C-terminal domain of LGP2 also takes part in RNA binding. The present study is aimed to explore the interactions of LGP2 and RNA, thereby finding the crucial residues for the interaction, with the help of in-silico tools. The predicted crucial residues were validated by docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies as well as by fitting the model on a LGP2 density map. Our results in this study suggest that the residues in the helicase domain of LGP2 are crucial for RNA binding and it is positioned around the groove region of LGP2. Though earlier experimental studies identified the RNA binding residues, but our in silico binding studies with the full length LGP2 predicted some additional residues that can be valuable

Peeyush Yadav   G. G. Kaushik   and Sonali Sharma   

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate association between thyroid dysfunction, lipid profile and glycated hemoglobin in type 2 diabetic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study has been conducted on 100 diagnosed patients of Diabetes Mellitus Type – II and 100 healthy subjects of either sex of similar age group admitted or attending outpatient department of Jawahar Lal Nehru Hospital, Ajmer. Venous blood sample were withdrawn and assayed for thyroid function such as FT₄, FT₃, T₃, T₄, TSH and other biochemical investigation such as FPG, HbA_1c and lipid profile. Statistical analysis was carried out using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 12.0 for windows). Independent t test was used to compare quantitative data in groups. RESULTS: There is a marked Dyslipidemia with characteristic increase in the levels of Total Cholesterol, TG, VLDL-C, and LDL-C whereas the level of HDL-C decreases in Diabetic patients. Out of 100 Diabetic patients 34 have Thyroid Dysfunction out of which 26 have Hypothyroidism and 8 have Hyperthyroidism. The increase in the value of Serum Total Cholesterol, Triglyceride, LDL-C, VLDL-C and decrease in HDL –C level was observed statistically Highly Significant (p<0.0001) in Hypothyroid Diabetic subjects and Non – Significant (p=0.1072) in Hyperthyroid Diabetic subjects when compared with Euthyroid Diabetic subjects. CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that screening of thyroid dysfunction in type 2 diabetic patients is necessary because in Type 2 diabetics the prevalence of Hypothyroidism was higher with a significant increase in the levels of Total Cholesterol, Triglyceride and LDL - C while the levels of HDL – C decreases.

Tindibale L. Edward   M. S. K. Kirui   Josiah O. Omolo   Richard G. Ngumbu   Peter M. Odhiambo   and Kamweru Paul K.    

The sun emits ultraviolet radiation in form of ultraviolet-A (UV-A), ultraviolet-B (UV-B), and ultraviolet-C (UV-C) bands. Ultraviolet light has the potential to boost vitamin D₂ production in mushrooms which human bodies cannot synthesize. The ergosterol in mushrooms, a component of fungal cell membranes which serves the same function as cholesterol in animal cells, can be converted into vitamin D₂ by exposure to controlled ultraviolet light. However mushrooms are conventionally grown in the dark, necessitating artificial ultraviolet irradiation. This study investigated the effects of UV-A (365nm) and UV-C (254nm) light exposure time during mushrooms growth, on the concentration of vitamin D₂ in oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus species) after harvest. Mushrooms samples exposure times were varied from 10-60 minutes per day at intervals of 10 minutes, and irradiation done for three days. UV spectroscopy was used to determine the amounts of Vitamin D₂. It was found that the absorbance of vitamin D₂ for UV-A light ranged from 0.18-0.49 for the 10-60 minutes of irradiation respectively, while for UV-C light the vitamin D₂ content absorbance was 0.38-0.81 for the 10-60 minutes of irradiation respectively. There was a linear relationship between time of irradiation and absorbance vitamin D₂ content up to 50 minutes for UV-A and 40 minutes for UV-C.

Getnet Melese Meheretu   Dana Cialla   and J. Popp   

The main purpose of this study is to detect di erent ecologically harmful substances in aqueous solutions using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) as a tool. Therefore, assigning the vibrational modes is essential to identify the substances. SERS using silver nanoparticles was used to obtain reproducible intense signals for detection of molecules in aqueous solutions. The study extends the use of thiol layers for attracting molecules onto the silver surface. Optimization for SERS measurements during scanning was made by scanning di erent points per line and different lines per image. The dependence of SERS intensity on scan speed had been demonstrated using descriptive gures. The spectra in pure solid forms and aqueous solutions of the carbamezapine (CBZ) sample helped for assigning which band belongs to which bond in the compound.

Felicia Flora   

Atorvastatin is the more potent drug to treat the hyperlipidemia patients. Unfortunately this drug has got hepatotoxicity and hence the patients on statin treatment have to be monitored for Liver function test frequently. This study is used to find the hepatotoxic effect of atorvastatin in hyperlipidemic patients. This study is planning to do the following biochemical parameters. Glucose ,Urea ,Creatinine , Uric Acid , Sodium , Potassium Chloride , Bicarbonate , Cholesterol , High Density Lipoprotein , Triglycerides , Ratio , Total Bilirubin , Serum Glutamic Pyruvate Transaminase , Alkaline Phosphatase , Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase , Total Protein , Albumin Globulin.

Prem Prakash Srivastava   Rajesh Dayal   Anita Bhatnagar   Shipra Chowdhary   Akhilesh Kumar Yadav   and Wazir Singh Lakra   

Various dietary fats were used to assess their impact on the fatty acid profile of snakehead murrel, saul (Channa striatus). The saul grow-out (av. wt. 27.36 ± 0.09 to 32.54 ± 0.41 g) were fed for 12-weeks with seven experimental diets (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6 and a control, F7 of natural foodstuffs, NATFO). F1 (L3HUF) contains 0.5% n-3 fatty acid & 7.5 % saturated oil; F2 (H3HUF) contains 1.0% n-3 fatty acid & 7.0% saturated oil; F3 (MUSOL) contains 8.0% mustard oil; F4 (LINOL) contains 8.0% linseed oil; F5 (MIXOL) contains 4.0% mustard oil and 4.0 % linseed oil; F6 (SATOL) contains 8.0 % saturated oil. The muscle polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) contents varied with different dietary lipids level which impacted on deposition of fatty acid in flesh. The muscle unsaturated fatty acids, including Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n3, DHA) and Eicosapentanoic Acid {C20:5n-3, EPA), levels, were comparatively higher in MIXOL diet followed by H3HUF than in the other diets, indicating selective deposition of various fatty acids in each feeding trial. It was concluded that dietary fats in the diet has role in the carcass composition of fatty acid profile in Channa striatus and the MIXOL (contains mustard oil and linseed oil: 1:1 w/w) could be safely used for better deposition of beneficial healthy fatty acids like EPA and DHA. The addition of mustard oil and linseed oil in the diet are comparative better if we look towards economizing the cost of the brood-stock feed in comparison to the addition of pure fatty acids in the fish diets.

B. Kaboudin   M. R. Faghihi   F. Mohammadi   and T. Yokomatsu   

C₂-symmetric N, N-bis(phosphinomethyl) amines have been synthesized and their interaction with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated using fluorescence quenching technique. The fluorescence quenching of BSA during its binding to C₂-symmetric N, N-bis(phosphinomethyl) amines molecules indicated the occurrence of energy transfer between ligand and protein. The experimental results showed that the formation of aminophosphinic acid-BSA complex and non-radiative energy transferring result in the fluorescence quenching. The binding parameters including binding constant KA and the corresponding thermodynamic parameters were calculated at different temperatures. The thermodynamic investigation showed that the binding process of the C₂-symmetric N,N-bis(phosphinomethyl) amines molecules to BSA was a spontaneous molecular interaction procedure in which Gibbs free energy decreased and entropy increased. The hydrophobic interaction force plays a major role in stabilizing of the C₂-symmetric N, N-bis(phosphinomethyl) amine-BSA complex. The synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy was used to study the effect of the C₂-symmetric N, N-bis(phosphinomethyl) amine on the conformation of BSA. The results obtained from synchronous fluorescence spectra showed that the C₂-symmetric N, N-bis(phosphinomethyl) amines did not cause considerable conformational changes in BSA.

Desissa Yadata   

Hotosynthesis can be influenced directly by the concentration of chlorophyll and hence detection of such important pigment is the central point of the work under study. The objective of the work is determination of the concentration of leaf pigments particularly chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. UV-Visible spectrophotometer is used to determine the absorbance of leaf samples obtained from three different plant species Shiferaw, Casmir and avocado; three replicate samples has been considered in each plant species. The samples collected in each species were preserved at -200℃ and dark area. The sample preserved under such a condition is weighed i.e.; 2g of each fresh leaf sample considered and crashed in 80% acetone and the extract was filtered with what man filter paper No42. After the dilution of the extract the absorbance was determined for chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b at 663nm and 649nm respectively. From the absorbance data; the corresponding concentration determined. According to the calculation concentration of chl a in shiferaw is 0.136mg/Kg in Casmir 0.229mg/Kg and 0.1144 mg/Kg in avocado. The concentration of chlorophyll b in avocado is 0.108mg/kg in shiferaw, 0.214mg/Kg and 0.102 mg/Kg in Casmir leaf sample. The concentration of chlorophyll a is greater than chlorophyll b which coincides with the fact that the abundance of chlorophyll a is greater than the chlorophyll b in most land trees.

Mathew Folaranmi OLANIYAN   

Patients confirmed to be seropositive for human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection by Western blot technique attending Baptist Medical Centre, Saki, Oyo state-Nigeria were studied; including 30 males; 30 females; 20HIV mono-infected, 20HIV-HBV co-infected, 20HIV-HCV co-infected subjects aged 16 to 65 years. Age and sex matched apparently healthy HIV, HCV and HBV seronegative, subjects (N=50) consisting of 25 (50%) males and 25 (50%) females were recruited as controls. Plasma ALT, AST and Total Bile Acids were determined in the subjects biochemically by spectrophotometry. Antibody to hepatitis C virus and surface antigen to hepatitis B virus was determined in the subjects immunochemically by ELISA. The result obtained showed a significantly higher mean value of plasma ALT, AST and Total Bile Acids in HIV patients co-infected with hepatitis B or C virus than the values obtained in the control subjects(p<0.01). There was a significantly higher mean value of AST in the HIV mono-infected than the result obtained from the control subjects with p<0.01. There was a significantly higher mean plasma value of ALT in HIV patients co-infected with hepatitis B or C virus compared with the HIV mono-infected patients with p<0.01. None of the patients was found to have triple infection. Finally there was no significant difference in the degree of severity of hepatitis B or C or liver disorder in the immunosuppressed HIV patients co-infected with HBV compared with the HIV patients co-infected with HCV considering the alterations in the plasma level of the biochemical parameters.

Lebedeva Natalya  Malkova Elena  Syrbu Sergey  Gubarev Yury  and Nikitin Dmitry  

In the present work interaction of the cationic and anionic porphyrins with bovine serum albumin in aqueous solutions with different pH has been studied. For strongly associated porphyrin study was conducted in a mixed solvent containing 0.19 M DMF, which shifted the associative equilibrium towards monomerization. It was found that the complexation of porphyrins with protein is possible due to p - p interaction between aromatic amino acid residues and p-system of porphyrin, hydrogen bonds between the peripheral substituents of porphyrins with amino acid residues of the protein, and in the case of sodium salt of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (4-carboxymethylenoxyphenyl) porphyrin, ammonium salt of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (4-sulfophenyl) porphyrin and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (4-N-methylpyridyl) porphyrin tetra iodide interaction of amino acid residues of the protein to the reaction center of the porphyrin. It was determined that the complexation constants of studied porphyrins with protein are depends on the nature of the porphyrins peripheral substitution and does not depend on pH.

M.S. Hossen   A.H.M.M. Reza   S.F. Rakhi   and Z. Hossain   

Effects of different types of lipids enriched supplemental diets containing 1% docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), 1% Phospholipids, 5% Cod liver oil and 1% Cod liver oil and live feed (Tubificid worms) on growth indices and survival of Colisa fasciatus fry were observed. The experiment was conducted in triplicates with a control for 50 days following randomized complete block design (RCBD). The water quality parameters were monitored and found to be within suitable range for freshwater aquaculture. After ending the trial period, significant variations (P<0.05) were observed on the survival and specific growth rate of fry among all the treatments. These results indicate that there are significant variations among different lipids on performance of fry and DHA showed the highest performance regarding growth indices and survival (in close proximity to live feed) among all the biofunctional lipids as an ingredient of supplemental diet.

Oberemok Volodymyr   Nyadar Palmah   Zaytsev Oleksii   Levchenko Nataliya   Shiyntum Honore   and Omelchenko Olexandr   

The paper focuses on the pioneer evaluation of the possible side effects of a novel preparation against phyllophagous insects, DNA insecticides, on some biochemical parameters (concentration of glucose and activity of alkaline phosphatase) of wheat sprouts (Triticum aestivum L.). Our results show that the application of DNA insecticide based on single-stranded DNA fragment from RING domain of IAP-3 gene of gypsy moth multicapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus results in significant difference in the decreased level of glucose and activity of alkaline phosphatase in wheat sprouts in comparison with the control after treatment on the second day of the experiment. However, the effect becomes significantly unnoticeable after one week when compared with the control. No significant difference in the dried biomass was found between wheat sprouts from the control and the experimental groups after the treatment on the seventh day and after three weeks on the Hoagland’s substrate. Obtained results generally show that agricultural plants are able to overcome the misbalance in the concentration of glucose and activity of alkaline phosphatase caused by the DNA insecticides and emphasize good potential in harmlessness of DNA insecticides that could be used to control phyllophagous insects without substantial side effects on the crop.

T. Shankar   P. Thangamathi   and R. Rama , T. Sivakumar   

A Saccharomyces cerevisiae MK was isolated from toddy sample. The effect of different production parameters such as pH, temperature, incubation time, carbon source, nitrogen source (organic and inorganic), inoculum concentrations, sucrose concentrations, metal ions, surfactants, amino acids, buffers, agricultural residues and agricultural residue concentration on invertase production by the isolated Saccharomyces cerevisiae MK strain were studied. The enzyme production was assayed in submerged fermentation (SmF). Maximum invertase activity was found at pH 6, 30℃, 48 hours, sucrose, yeast extract (organic nitrogen), ammonium chloride (inorganic nitrogen), 2% inoculum concentration, 2% sucrose concentration, calcium chloride, poly ethylene glycol, methionine, citrate buffer, orange peel-4%. A higher titre of invertase enzyme activity (0.48 ± 0.011 IU/ml) was obtained in the optimized production medium.

Siva Sankar.K Veda V Ramineni Kaiser Jamil and Deepak Bhatnagar 

Lead (Pb²⁺) a common pollutant and known toxicant, and other various anti cancer drugs such as 5-fluorouracil bind to DNA competitively. Their efficacy as anti cancer drugs was brought by their mechanism of involvement with DNA and their interactive geometries. In this perspective we have designed CD spectral studies to investigate the interference of Pb²⁺ with DNA-Drug interaction geometries. The change in elliptical intensities at around 260 nm to 280 nm and 245 nm shows the conformational changes in B-form of DNA. Amplitude changes observed with in B-form indicates the hairpin formation which is an intra-molecular variant of the B-form. Calf thymus DNA with 42% of G-C content has tendency towards hairpin transitions. In this study we have found that hairpin transitions might be involved in mechanism of Pb²⁺ interference with 5-fluorouracil induced structural changes.

Margarita V. Karanova 

Interpretation of phylogenesis in the light of comparative biochemistry is currently still limited. Adaptive changes in the concentration of the FAA in response to the decrease in temperature are one of the essential features of poikilothermic animals living in areas with large temperature difference. It is purpose of this review to reveal the hierarchy of certain biochemical sign, namely the FAA that underlie of differences in invertebrate and vertebrate poikilotherms and in the process of evolution begin to discover themselves only at low temperatures. The review summarizes literature and author information about evolutionary development of adaptive FAA responses of poikilothermic animals, at different levels of phylogenesis, as a result of the seasonal drop in temperature to negative or zero values. It is concluded that the non-specific accumulation of proteinogenic amino acids, characteristic for many invertebrates, is replaced in the vertebrates animals by the accumulation of new participants in the mechanisms of the low temperatures adaptation, which is a nonproteinogenic sulphoamino acid, taurine, and in the brain it is РЕА and phosphoamine acid, РS.

A. W. Beckwith 

We investigate electro-mechanical contributions to the low frequency dielectric response of biological cells in colloidal suspension. Prior simulations of biological cells in colloidal suspension yield maximum dielectric constant values about 10³ in magnitude as the frequency of applied electric fields drops below the kHz range. Experimentally measured relative dielectric values in yeast cells, on the other hand, have maximal values up to 10⁷-10⁸. We consider both electrical and mechanical energy stored in cellular suspension and show that low frequency mechanical contributions can give rise to dielectric constant values of this magnitude.

Sarangam  Majumdar 

In this presentation the hydro dynamical condition of quorum sensing in the biofilm growth is investigated using convection diffusion reaction equation and analyzed environmental condition. It is used to analyze the influence of hydrodynamics and structural heterogeneities on mass transfer in this quorum sensing mechanism. The future direction of stochastic model of quorum sensing in bacteria is given.

Natalia Dachanidze George Burjanadze Zurab Kuchukashvili Ketevan Menabde and Nana Koshoridze 

We studied the functionality of the antioxidant system in laboratory rat cardiac muscle cells and blood under psycho-emotional stress. It was found that 40-day isolation and violation of diurnal cycle among the animals were accompanied by the intensification of lipid per oxidation process shown by a rise in the quantity of one of the primary and final products of this process – diene conjugates and thiobarbituric acid active compounds, including malonedialdehydes and marked with a reduced activity of antioxidant system enzymes, such as catalase and superoxide dismutase activity. Based on the results, we pro-posed that psychological stress is one of the factors contributing to the development of various cardiac diseases.

Mohammad Taghi Taghizadeh Narges Sabouri and Babak Ghanbarzadeh 

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) / starch (S) /Carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) composite films were prepared from PVA, three different loading of CMC and soluble starch aqueous suspensions by casting method in the presence of plasticize containing glycerol. The effects of the CMC addition on the some physical properties of the resulted blend films were investigated. Tensile tests demonstrated positive results from mechanochemical treatment. With the addition of 20% CMC was an increase in the tensile strength and percentage elongation at break. The thermal properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/Starch(S)/Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) blends were investigated by thermogravimetry (TGA) and derivative thermogravimetry (DTG). At least four degradation distinct stages were identified in the PVA/S/CMC blends by means of using TGA, being assigned to the mass loss due to the plasticizer leaching, and to the degradation of the starch, CMC and PVA fractions. The thermal stability of PVA/S/CMC blends is higher than that of PVA/S suggesting that the addition of CMC improved the thermal stability of PVA/S blend. The SEM (Scanning electron microscopy) indicates morphological structure of the polyvinyl alcohol/starch films in the different percent of CMC.

Emad Y. Moawad 

The aim of this study is to introduce the restrictions of recent disclosures of Nuclear Transmutations (NT), cancer and their overlap occurring in biological entities due to natural or human-caused background agents. This approach involves the experimental proof that elemental transmutations were occurring and regulated in living organisms by the level of radiation to which those organisms have been exposed. The accelerated deactivation of reactor Cs-137 isotope has been verified showing a significantly higher influence upon the spontaneous decay characteristics in growing the biological cells. The effect of NT of Manganese into stable rare isotope Iron (Fe⁵⁷) in the presence of gamma-ray source by means of Mössbauer spectroscopy was carried out in growing bacterial cultures in heavy-hydrous (D₂O) sugar- salt nutrient medium deficient in Iron and contains Manganese. During growing, the replication of DNA, aberrant alterations of gene expression along with cell cycle arrest has been confirmed. NT is a matter of energy balances; under the natural background radiation the low growth energy (E_G) of the biological cell allows the safe elemental transmutations only. While the exposure to long term effects at low doses of radiation alters gene expression that influences cell cycle to be arrested, increasing the cell growth energy that allows the harmful and the lethal transmutations besides to the formation of different kinds of cancerous tumors. Thus, as cancer is a disease of inappropriate cell proliferation, NT within the biological cell is a biomarker for cancer detection. All agents - but not only radiation - that lead to the increase in E_G of the biological cell are considered cancer causes regulate the NT within the biological cell that contributes to cell proliferation disruption.