402 research outputs found
The expressed genes of Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) involved in the pine wilt disease severity
Evaluation of the Potency of Commercial and Locally Prepared Antibiotic Discs on Clinical Bacterial Isolates in Calabar, Nigeria
Antibiotic susceptibility discs are used for vitro susceptibility testing of antimicrobial agents to fast growing bacteria and fastidious species by agar diffusion method. It is a semi quantitative method. This study was designed to assess the efficacy of commercial antibiotic discs over in-house prepared discs. Identified clinical isolates were obtained in house in the Department of Medical Microbiology/Parasitology, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 7553) and Escherichia Coli (ATCC 25922) were obtained and used as controls. The antibiotics tested includes; Ciprofloxacin, Erythromycin, Amoxicillin, Gentamicin, Zinacef. These were obtained commercially from Pharmacy shops. The local antibiotic dics were prepared with Whatman filter paper number 3. The antibiotic susceptibility testing was done using Kirby-Bauer method. Out of the 40 clinical isolates tested, 15(37.5%) were Staphylococcus aureus while 10(12.5%) each were Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa respectively. Only 5 isolates of Proteus vulgaris were used. The susceptibility profile of isolates to the commonly used local antibiotic discs ranged between 66.7% to 100%, while the range for commercial discs was 53.3% to 86.7%. Locally prepared discs were found to be more effective than commercial discs. The high resistance rates (0.0% to 33.3%) of clinical isolates to the commercial discs may be attributed to prolong exposure to environmental factors such as heat, moisture, sunlight as well as humidity when transported to retailers and the final users. There is need for constant monitoring and quality controls of susceptibility testing in our laboratories for the production of quality results and efficient patient care. Antibiotic susceptibility discs can be prepared locally for routine laboratory use; this may indirectly reduce importation of commercial discs and the burden on foreign exchange
Innovative use of tourniquet in the management of an advanced abdominal pregnancy to achieve an unusually normal postoperative outcome: a case report
Mrs. UVG was an un-booked G3P1+1 petty trader, who presented with an obstetric ultrasound scan report, with an incidental diagnosis of abdominal pregnancy at 32 weeks of gestation with the placenta attached to the fundus of the uterus. Her admission packed cell volume was 24%. She had pre-operative preparation and 2 units of compatible blood were transfused to correct the anemia. Four additional units of compatible blood were made available before she was scheduled for an exploratory laparotomy at 33 weeks of gestation. A grossly normal male infant weighing 2.2 kg was delivered from the peritoneal cavity with Apgar scores of 2 at 1 minute and the same at 5 minutes. The placenta which was attached to the fundus of the uterus was removed manually completely after a tourniquet had been applied distal to the point of separation. Intra-operative blood loss was 1000 ml. The infant died 1 hour after delivery due to respiratory failure. Autopsy report revealed massive intracerebral hemorrhage and pulmonary hypoplasia. The post-operative period was uneventful and the decline in serum assay of β-human chorionic gonadotrophin postpartum was normal. She was discharged home on the 8th post-operative day and seen at the postnatal clinic twice at weekly intervals with normal serum assay of β-human chorionic gonadotrophin. Her 6 weeks postnatal visit was also uneventful
Brans-Dicke model constrained from Big Bang nucleosynthesis and magnitude redshift relations of Supernovae
The Brans-Dicke model with a variable cosmological term () has
been investigated with use of the coupling constant of .
Parameters inherent in this model are constrained from comparison between Big
Bang nucleosynthesis and the observed abundances. Furthermore, the magnitude
redshift () relations are studied for with and without another
constant cosmological term in a flat universe. Observational data of Type Ia
Supernovae are used in the redshift range of . It is found that our
model with energy density of the constant cosmological term with the value of
0.7 can explain the SNIa observations, though the model parameters are
insensitive to the relation.Comment: Submitted to A&A, 4 pages, 3 figure
Precise measurement of the solar neutrino day-night and seasonal variation in Super-Kamiokande-I
Non-singular Brans-Dicke cosmology with cosmological constant
We consider Brans-Dicke cosmology with cosmological constant with negative w
parameter and an arbitrary (in general non-vanishing) scale factor at the Big
Bang. The field equations describe the flat universe, current observational
values for Hubble constant H and deceleration parameter q play a role of
initial conditions. In order to solve field equations we adopt the approach of
Uehara and Kim (1982). They considered only positive values of w, hence our
solution is a new one and has not been described in their paper. Our main
result is that unlike the standard cosmology the scale factor may not vanish in
it's evolution back in time. In other words our model displays a cosmological
bounce and avoids the initial singularity. The formula for the scale factor,
leading to the bounce, is only valid for the dust-filled universe and hence
cannot be adequate for the hot stage in the early universe when the bounce
happens. So, the results of this paper are only qualitative in nature and must
be used to obtain initial values for the hot stage of the unverse when one
considers the evolution back in time.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur
Comparative effect of Citrus sinensis and carbimazole on serum T4, T3 and TSH levels
Background: There are previous independent reports on the anti-thyroid property of Citrus sinensis. This isoflavones and phenolic acid-rich natural agent is widely consumed as dietary supplement, thus the need to investigate its comparative effect with a standard anti-thyroid drug on T4, T3 and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels. Objective: To compare the effect of Citrus sinensis and carbimazole (CARB) on blood levels of thyroid hormones (T4 and T3) and TSH. Materials and Methods: Male wistar albino rats weighing 100–150 g were employed in this research. The rats were randomly assigned to four groups of seven rats per group. Group I served as control and were administered distilled water while groups II-IV were administered with 1500 mg/kg of Citrus sinensis (fresh orange juice; FOJ), 0.1 μg/g of levothyroxine (LVT) and 0.01 mg/g of CARB, respectively, per oral once daily for 28 days. The animals were sacrificed under chloroform anaesthesia and blood sample collected by cardiac puncture and processed by standard method to obtain serum. TSH, T4 and T3 were assayed with the serum using ARIA II automated radioimmunoassay instrument. Results: The results showed that TSH level was significantly (P < 0.05) decreased in LVT treated group compared with the FOJ group. T4 was significantly (P < 0.05) decreased in the FOJ and CARB groups compared with the control and LVT groups. LVT significantly increased T4 when compared with FOJ group. T3 was significantly (P < 0.05) decreased in the CARB group compared with the control. Conclusion: These findings suggest that FOJ alters thyroid hormones metabolism to reduce their serum levels with a compensatory elevations of TSH level in a direction similar to CARB.
Key words: Citrus sinensis, carbimazole, thyroid hormones, thyroid stimulating hormon
Measurement of the Flux and Zenith-Angle Distribution of Upward Throughgoing Muons by Super-Kamiokande
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