Medicinal Plants in East and Central Africa: Challenges and Constraints

In East and Central Africa, medicnal and aromatic plants play an important role in the health of millions of people. Demand for medicinal plants is increasing as the population grows. Over-use of the medicinal and aromatic plants cause further economic, social and ecological deterioration. The traditional knowledge, uses and economic contribution of medicinal and aromatic plants to the rural economy in the region were studied. The direct and indirect effects of the human activities on this region are discussed. This paper also discusses challenges and constraints in relation to conservation. Strategies for enhancing the development of a medicnal and aromatic plants industry are suggestive

Ethnopharmacology of Medicinal Plants used in North Kordofan (Western Sudan)

Urban and rural people of North Kordofan (Western Sudan) inherited a rich traditional medicinal knowledge. The preservation and documentation of this knowledge is a matter of prime importance. This will not only provide recognition of this knowledge but will also help in conservation of such gradually vanishing endangered semi/arid plant species. The present paper provide ethnopharmacological information of 48 taxa distributed into 26 families. For each plant species listed, the botanical name, family, vernacular name, part used, uses/ailments treated, preparations/administrations, use (%) and locality are given. Among the major findings: Acacia nilotica ssp. nilotica as hypertensive; Balanites aegyptiaca for diabetes; Ceiba pentandra for relieve toothache; Geigeria alata for diabetes, cough, intestinal complaints and as antispasmodic; Guiera senegalensis for jaundice; Hibiscus sabdariffa in cases of hematuria and Justacia flava smeared on gingiva in cases of teeth pain

Antibacterial Activity of Francoeuria crispa, Pulicaria undulata, Ziziphus spina-christi and Cucurbita pepo Against Seven Standard Pathogenic Bacteria

The antibacterial potentials of the medicinal plants Francoeuria crispa (Forssk.) Cass., Pulicaria undulata (L.) Kostel, Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Desf. and Cucurbita pepo L. Ethanol, petroleum ether, ethyl Acetate, methanol and aqueous extracts, at a concentration of 100 mg/ml, were evaluated against selected bacterial strains: Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Bacillus subtilis (NCTC 8236), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Proteus vulgaris (ATCC 6380), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Salmonella para typhi B (0650) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 1312) using the Agar Diffusion Technique in vitro. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values were also determined for the most active plant extracts. Of all extracts the ethanolic extract of Pulicaria undulata was the most active, whereas, the aqueous extract of Ziziphus spina – christi stem bark was the most active of all aqueous extracts tested. The ethyl acetate extract of F. crispa showed activity against both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Most susceptible Gram-negative bacteria were E. coli and P. vulgaris and least susceptible was S. para typhi B. In Gram –positive bacteria, most and least susceptible were S. aureus and B. subtilis respectively. The lowest MIC values were \u3c3.125 and 6.25 μg/ml for the crude extracts of ethyl acetate of Pulicaria undulata and crude methanolic extract of Ziziphus spinachristi, respectively. These results provide promising baseline information for the potential use of these crude extracts in the treatment of bacterial infections

L’ impact des normes comptables internationales sur le coût du capital: Une revue systématique

La question de savoir si l’adoption des IFRS/IAS affecte le coût du capital  reste controversée. L’objectif de ce papier est d’identifier, présenter et analyser l’ensemble de la littérature sur ce sujet. L'adoption des normes comptables internationales a fait des gagnants et des perdants, plusieurs études font état d'une augmentation du coût du capital après l'application des normes, Ils montrent  que l'adoption des IFRS/IAS peut entraîner des changements importants dans les chiffres comptables en raison de la réparation des états financiers, ce qui entraîne une augmentation du taux d'endettement et une augmentation du coût du capital. Pour certains  l'adoption obligatoire des IFRS a engendré une  baisse du coût du capital  mais en fonction  des aspects institutionnels des pays et des  mécanismes d'application des entreprises, ce qui ne va pas en adéquation avec les attentes du normalisateur international, qui pour lui, les normes constituent en soi un garant de transparence. Cependant d’autres études  constatent qu'il existe un  lien négatif significatif entre les IFRS et le coût du capital indépendamment des facteurs institutionnels et culturels. Une grande partie de ces études a été réalisée dans des pays développés, avec des mécanismes d'application strictes et solides et une protection élevée des investisseurs

L’adoption des normes comptables internationales IFRS et fourchette du prix : Analyse et discussion

Resolving information asymmetry issues between investors and managers is one of the primary goals of adopting IFRS. Disclosure of financial information facilitate the comparability of financial statements and reduce information asymmetries On the other hand, the application of IFRS is inevitably dependent on the nature of the institutional and cultural environments of the countries where companies operate and where individuals make accounting decisions. Investors are interested in knowing if information asymmetry problems are reduced after IFRS/IAS adoption, which help them to make more effective investment decisions. The price range is used as an indicator of information asymmetry. The goal of this paper is to identify, present and analyze all the literature review and to answer the following question: What is the impact of the adoption of international accounting standards on the price band as a measure of information asymmetry? We have analyzed all the scientific research dealing with this variable as a measurement criterion and the results of this study are consistent with the expectations of the international standard-setter, according to which IFRS represent a real means for decreasing information asymmetry, which contributes to the efficient and cost-effective functioning of the market by guaranteeing a high level of transparency and comparability of financial reporting. However, the majority of studies analyzing the impact of international accounting standards on the price range are carried out in developed countries with strong economies, which leads us to the following question: do IFRS also reduce information asymmetry in emerging countries or is this benefit only available in developed countries?   Classification JEL: P43, F5.   Paper type: Theoretical ResearchParmi les objectifs primordiaux de l’adoption des IFRS est de résoudre le problème d’asymétrie d’information entre gérants et investisseurs, cependant la comparabilité internationale des états financiers selon les IFRS ne peut être obtenue que si les normes sont interprétées et appliquées de manière cohérente dans tous les pays. En revanche, l'application des IFRS dépend inéluctablement de la nature des environnements institutionnels et culturels des pays dans lesquels les entreprises opèrent et dans lesquels les individus prennent des décisions comptables. Les investisseurs souhaitent savoir si les problèmes d'asymétrie d’information sont réduits après l'adoption des IFRS/IAS, une réduction qui leur permettra de prendre des décisions d'investissement plus efficaces. La fourchette du prix est utilisée comme indicateur de l'asymétrie d'information. L’objectif de ce papier est d’identifier, présenter et analyser l’ensemble de la littérature sur ce sujet et de répondre à la question : Quel est l’impact de l’adoption des normes comptables internationales sur la fourchette du prix en tant qu’élément de mesure de l’asymétrie d’information ? Nous avons analysé l’ensemble des recherches scientifiques traitant cette variable comme critère de mesure et les résultats de cette étude sont cohérents avec les attentes du normalisateur international, selon lequel les IFRS représentent un véritable moyen pour la réduction de l’asymétrie d’information, ce qui contribue au fonctionnement efficace et rentable du marché en garantissant un haut niveau de transparence et de comparabilité du reporting financier. Cependant, la majorité des études analysant l’impact des normes comptables internationales sur la fourchette du prix sont réalisés dans des pays développés ayant des économies solides, ce qui nous amène au questionnement suivant : les IFRS réduisent-ils également l’asymétrie d’information dans les pays émergents ou cet avantage est-il uniquement réservé aux pays développés ?     Classification JEL: P43, F5.   Type de l’article : Article théoriqu

The impact of environmental noise generated from ports: outcome of MESP project

Ports are characterized by several complex operations. Accordingly, the analysis of noise results is complicated due to the presence in the same area of diverse sound from ships, trade and also from industrial and shipyards activities aswell as auxiliary services producing negative effects on natural ecosystem and the urban population. The ENPI CBC MED project Managing the Environmental Sustainability of Ports for a durable development (MESP) addressed the pollution reduction from port activities through the implementation of a multidisciplinary approach in air, noise andwater sectors, encompassing technological, regulatory and administrative solutions to ensure natural and urban sustainability and high level of life quality in surrounding territories. To prevent a heterogeneous development, the \u201cstatus quo\u201d of ports in Northern and Southern Shores of the Mediterranean Sea was analyzed and a guideline on methodologies, good practices and measurement assessment, adaptable and transferable in different port contexts was elaborated. To assess the procedures, validation tests have been carried out to different real cases. In noise sector pilot projects in the ports of Patras, Greece, and Tripoli, Lebanon, have been implemented. Due to the dissimilar scenarios, in terms of orography, facilities and activities, different noise mitigation actions and interventions were consequently accomplished

Co-designing an Embodied e-Coach With Older Adults: The Tangible Coach Journey

This article describes a tangible interface for an e-coach, co-designed in four countries to meet older adults' needs and expectations. The aim of this device is to coach the user by giving recommendations, personalized tasks and to build empathy through vocal, visual, and physical interaction. Through our co-design process, we collected insights that helped identifying requirements for the physical design, the interaction design and the privacy and data control. In the first phase, we collected users' needs and expectations through several workshops. Requirements were then transformed into three design concepts that were rated and commented by our target users. The final design was implemented and tested in three countries. We discussed the results and the open challenges for the design of physical e-coaches for older adults. To encourage further developments in this field, we released the research outputs of this design process in an open-source repository

Phytochemical Analysis of the Essential Oil from Aerial parts of Pulicaria undulata (L.) Kostel from Sudan

The yield of steam distillation of aerial parts of Pulicaria undulata essential oil (2.5%); and its chemical constituents were determined. The Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometery (GC/MS) technique was used for the analysis of the oil. Several oil components were identified based upon comparison of their mass spectral data with those of reference compounds published in literature or stored in a computer library. The oil was characterized by the high content of the oxygenated monoterpenes which constituted 68.28 % in which (+)-carvotanacetone (55.87 %) was the major constituent. Pulicaria undulata oil was characterized by the presence of many components which could have numerous applications in food, pharmaceutical and perfume industries

Cubically cage-shaped mesoporous ordered silica for simultaneous visual detection and removal of uranium ions from contaminated seawater

A dual-function organic-inorganic mesoporous structure is reported for naked-eye detection and removal of uranyl ions from an aqueous environment. The mesoporous sensor/adsorbent is fabricated via direct template synthesis of highly ordered silica monolith (HOM) starting from a quaternary microemulsion liquid crystalline phase. The produced HOM is subjected to further modifications through growing an organic probe, omega chrome black blue G (OCBBG), in the cavities and on the outer surface of the silica structure. The spectral response for [HOM-OCBBG → U(VI)] complex shows a maximum reflectance at λmax = 548 nm within 1 min response time (tR); the LOD is close to 9.1 μg/L while the LOQ approaches 30.4 μg/L, and this corresponds to the range of concentration where the signal is linear against U(VI) concentration (i.e., 5-1000 μg/L) at pH 3.4 with standard deviation (SD) of 0.079 (RSD% = 11.7 at n = 10). Experiments and DFT calculations indicate the existence of strong binding energy between the organic probe and uranyl ions forming a complex with blue color that can be detected by naked eyes even at low uranium concentrations. With regard to the radioactive remediation, the new mesoporous sensor/captor is able to reach a maximum capacity of 95 mg/g within a few minutes of the sorption process. The synthesized material can be regenerated using simple leaching and re-used several times without a significant decrease in capacity. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.