Comparative study on the minerals composition of the flesh of red and yellow fruits of Terminalia catappa L.

The analyses of mineral composition of red and yellow fruits varieties of Terminalia catappa using standard analytical apparatus, reagents and procedures gave the following results on dry weight basis: K (1980.20mg and 1809mg), Na (17.82mg and 17.33mg), Ca (143.47mg and 143.30mg), Mg (40.39mg and 48.50mg), P (13.20mg and 13.20mg), Fe (5.50mg and 3.98mg), Cu (0.25mg and 0.43mg), Mn (3.09mg and 1.02mg), S (70.50mg and 50.47mg) and Zn (1.28mg and 1.42mg) for red and yellow fruits respectively. On the other hand Cd, Cr, Co and Pb were not detected on both fruits which indicate that both fruits are safer for human consumption. Therefore, from these results it can be recommended that red and yellow fruits of T.catappa l. are good sources of K, Mg Mn, Na, Ca, Cu, Fe and S but poor sources of P and Zn.Key words: composition, fruits, minerals, Terminal catappa

Sonographic Dimension of Fetal Nuchal Translucency in Kano Metropolis: A single Center Study

Background: Nuchal Translucency Thickness (NTT) is a hypo-echoic region of subcutaneous fluid accumulation in the posterior neck region at the  level of the cervical spine between the skin and soft tissues and is mostly found at 11–13 weeks of fetal gestation. It is visualised with a mid-sagittal  ultrasound view of the fetus in a neutral position. The NTT provides a risk assessment for chromosomal abnormalities which has been used as a  marker of possible fetal abnormalities. Hence, the justification to conduct the present study. Aim: To establish the mean fetal nuchal translucency thickness with corresponding gestational age (GA) and to assess the correlation between  Crown Rump Length (CRL), GA, and NTT among apparently healthy pregnant women. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 apparently normal consenting pregnant women in their late first trimester in the  Radiology department of Muhammad Abdullahi Wase Teaching Hospital, Kano from February 2021 to May 2021. Ultrasonographic measurements of  the crown-rump length (CRL), gestational age (GA), and NTT were performed on pregnancies within 11 to 13 weeks of gestation. Their 2.5th,  25th, median and 97.5th percentiles of the NTT, GA, and CRL were determined using SPSS version 23 (IBM, 2017). Indicate correlation… as part of  the analysis. Results: Median NTT at 11-13+6 weeks of gestation was found as 3.0±0.10mm. The NT thickness increased with increasing CRL and gestational  week in the first trimester. The correlation coefficient between NTT and CRL as well as GA were 0.472 and 0.451, respectively. Conclusion: The  overall mean NTT in Kano fetuses was determined. These should be useful for first-trimester screening in ruling out potential fetal chromosomal  abnormalities in Kano, Nigeria

Ras p21 protein promotes survival and fiber outgrowth of cultured embryonic neurons

Although evidence obtained with the PC12 cell line has suggested a role for the ras oncogene proteins in the signal transduction of nerve growth factor-mediated fiber outgrowth, little is known about the signal transduction mechanisms involved in the neuronal response to neurotrophic factors in nontransformed cells. We report here that the oncogene protein T24-ras, when introduced into the cytoplasm of freshly dissociated chick embryonic neurons, promotes the in vitro survival and neurite outgrowth of nerve growth factor-responsive dorsal root ganglion neurons, brain-derived neurotrophic factor-responsive nodose ganglion neurons, and ciliary neuronotrophic factor-responsive ciliary ganglion neurons. The proto-oncogene product c-Ha-ras also promotes neuronal survival, albeit less strongly. No effect could be observed with truncated counterparts of T24-ras and c-Ha-ras lacking the 23 C-terminal amino acids including the membrane-anchoring, palmityl-accepting cysteine. These results suggest a generalized involvement of ras or ras-like proteins in the intracellular signal transduction pathway for neurotrophic factors

Coiffure

La coiffure des femmes est le signe le plus évident de leur appartenance à un groupe, groupe pouvant se situer à l’échelle de la fraction (Aït Hadiddou) de la tribu (Aït Morrhad) de la confédération (Aït ‘Atta). La plupart des femmes berbères, du versant sud du Haut Atlas central aux palmeraies du sud marocain, ajoutent à leur coiffure, pour la façonner, des postiches ou des artifices. Ces accessoires de leur parure se présentent sous deux formes différentes :1. Des brins de laine noire brute..

Agdud

M. Morin-Barde Ce mot est signalé dans les vocabulaires berbères sous la forme suivante : agdud, pl. igduden, ou igdad, groupe, troupe, foule (Jordan. Dictionnaire berbère-français, dialectes tachelhaït, 1934).agdud, pl. igudad, foule d’un jour de fête (Mercier. Vocabulaire beraber, 1937).agdud, groupe bruyant, qui parle fort (Dallet. Dictionnaire kabyle-français, 1982, p. 249). Agdud désigne plus particulièrement, en pays de montagne beraber, une importante manifestation réunissant les popul..

Clinical outcomes following surgical management of brain abscess in a tertiary care centre: retrospective analysis of 56 cases

Background: Despite the advent of newer antibiotics and surgical strategies, the overall outcome and quality of life issues in Brain Abscess (BA) patients remain a continuous challenge for the neurosurgical community.Methods: Fifty-six patients with BA are analyzed retrospectively, that treated between January 2014 and June 2019, according to age, the clinical symptoms, etiologic factors, infecting organisms, prognostic factors, localization, diagnostic and treatment methods and outcome.Results: In acute cases, common clinical features were headache, fever, vomiting, focal deficit and seizure. In chronic abscesses, common clinical features were mild to moderate headache and progressive focal deficit. In 12(21.42%) patients had adjacent localized sinus, middle ear infection. In 27(48.21%) patients no primary source of infection was identified, predisposing factors included post neurosurgery (8.92%), post penetrating injury (3.57%), and congenital heart disease, infective endocarditis, sinusitis. The frontal lobe involved in 28.5% cases, temporal lobe and cerebellum are next to be involved. Burr hole aspiration in 29(51.78%) cases, a craniotomy was done in 15(26.78%) cases. Pus culture was negative in 36 (64.28%) cases. Mortality was noted in 2(3.57%) cases. Complete resolution of the abscess with complete recovery of preoperative neuro-deficit was seen in 71.42% cases and recovery with major neuro-deficit was observed in 16.07% cases. The best outcome was seen with a better Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) on admission.Conclusions: BA, when surgery is required, should be done on an emergency basis. BA treated with burr hole aspiration shows excellent clinical and radiological response. A craniotomy is required in selected cases and is a primary procedure in cerebellar, postoperative and posttraumatic abscesses. Broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy should be administered for a period of minimum 6 weeks to prevent relapse

PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CO-CRYSTALS OF DIACEREIN

Diacerein, anti-inflammatory drug used in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Being a BCS class II drug, it has poor solubility, dissolution rate and other physicochemical properties. Thus the aim of present study was to prepare co-crystals of diacerein to improve solubility, dissolution rate. The diacerein co-crystals were prepared using urea and tartaric acid as conformer by Solvent drop grinding method. The diacerein co-crystals were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FT-IR spectroscopy (FT-IR), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The co-crystals were evaluated for solubility, dissolution rate and other physicochemical properties and compared with commercial diacern sample. The co-crystals exhibit the difference in the size and shape of crystals. The FT-IR spectra of diacerein co-crystals showed slightly different in the characteristic peaks compared to commercial diacerein sample. DSC data indicate the decrease in the melting endotherm of co-crystals compare to diacerein. The co-crystals with urea showed increase and intense peak and co-crystals with tartaric acid showed decreased number of peaks compared to commercial diacerein. The co-crystals of diacerein formulated in to the Tablet and evaluated for tablet properties. The tablet formulation showed improved tablet characteristics as well as dissolution rate compared to commercial diacerein

Priprava i vrednovanje biorazgradljivih implantata s kontroliranim oslobađanjem za postoperativnu primjenu

Biodegradable implants of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride for post operative site delivery were prepared using glyceryl monostearate and different concentrations of polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) glycerol and Tween 80 as erosion enhancers by compression and molding technique. Formulations were subjected to in vitro drug release by the USP dissolution method, while promising formulations were subjected to in vitro drug release by the agar gel method and also to stability studies. It was observed that glyceryl monostearate formed hydrophobic matrix and delayed the drug delivery. Antibiotic release profile was controlled by using different combinations of erosion enhancers. The formulation prepared by compression method showed more delayed release as compared to formulations prepared by molding method.Biorazgradljivi implantati ciprofloksacin hidroklorida za postoperativnu primjenu pripravljeni su pomoću gliceril monostearata (GMS) i različitih koncentracija polietilen glikola (PEG 6000), glicerola i Tween 80 kao promotora erozije metodom kompresije i lijevanja. Oslobađanje ljekovite tvari iz pripravaka praćeno je in vitro prema USP metodi. Pripravci koji su dali dobre rezultate ispitani su i in vitro metodom s agarom te su podvrgnuti testovima stabilnosti. Primijećeno je da gliceril monostearat tvori hidrofobni matriks i usporava oslobađanje lijeka. Koristeći različite kombinacije promotora erozije postignuto je kontrolirano oslobađanje antibiotika. Oslobađanje iz implantata dobivenih metodom kompresije sporije je od implantata dobivenih metodom lijevanja

Distribution and abundance of freshwater snails in Warwade Dam, Dutse, Northern Nigeria

Preliminary investigation in August, 2017 reported the presence of Lymnaea natalensis, Bellamya unicolor, Melanoides tuberculata and Bulinus globosus in order of increasing abundance and distribution in Warwade dam, Dutse, Jigawa State, Nigeria. A follow up study was carried out from April to October, 2019 to reveal further details on the abundance and distribution of freshwater snails in relation to some physiochemical factors of the dam. Four sampling sites; human activity, vegetation cover, lentic and lotic were selected for the study along the bank of the dam. Freshwater snails were collected using long handled scoop net with mesh 0.2mm complemented by hand picking methods in the four sampling sites. Water samples from the sampling sites were analyzed in the laboratory using standard procedures. A total of 2,027 of freshwater snails belonging to ten species were identified. Bulinus globosus 12(0.6%) and Lymnaea natalensis 12(0.6%) had the lowest abundance and distribution while Melanoides tuberculata 1553(76.6%) had the highest. Snail abundance was highest in site characterized by human activities (670) followed by vegetation (482), lotic (442) and lentic (433) waters. Most of the physico-chemical factors measured appeared to favour the growth and survival of fresh water snails. pH (p = 0.01), water current (p = <0.01) and magnesium ion concentration (p = < 0.01) varied significantly across the four sites. Only calcium ion concentration was significantly associated with snail abundance (p = 0.04). Snail abundance showed weak positive relationship with water temperature, color, turbidity and concentration of magnesium ion. The dam habours about ten species of freshwater snails in different abundance and distribution with M. tuberculata being the most abundant throughout the period of investigation. The dominance of M. tuberculata over other species particularly those of medical and veterinary importance could have positive implication for their control in the dam

The placenta protects the fetal circulation from anxiety-driven elevations in maternal serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays crucial roles in brain function. Numerous studies report alterations in BDNF levels in human serum in various neurological conditions, including mood disorders such as depression. However, little is known about BDNF levels in the blood during pregnancy. We asked whether maternal depression and/or anxiety during pregnancy were associated with altered serum BDNF levels in mothers (n = 251) and their new-born infants (n = 212). As prenatal exposure to maternal mood disorders significantly increases the risk of neurological conditions in later life, we also examined the possibility of placental BDNF transfer by developing a new mouse model. We found no association between maternal symptoms of depression and either maternal or infant cord blood serum BDNF. However, maternal symptoms of anxiety correlated with significantly raised maternal serum BDNF exclusively in mothers of boys (r = 0.281; P = 0.005; n = 99). Serum BDNF was significantly lower in male infants than female infants but neither correlated with maternal anxiety symptoms. Consistent with this observation, we found no evidence for BDNF transfer across the placenta. We conclude that the placenta protects the developing fetus from maternal changes in serum BDNF that could otherwise have adverse consequences for fetal development