Cholic acid resistance and the adherence ability of Bifidobacterium pseudocaenulatum G4

The adherence capacity of Bifidobacterium longum BB536 and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4 on HT-29 human epithelium cell line with the presence of cholic acid were assessed. B. longum BB536 showed a higher adhesion level on HT-29 human epithelium cell line compared to B. psudocatenulatumG4. However, in the presence of physiological concentration (0.094 and 0.94 ìM) of cholic acid, the adhesion level of Bifidobacterium strains dropped between 5 and 55% respectively, depending on pH, time and strain. The adaptation of Bifidobacterium strains to cholic acid was shown to be increasedwith time. It was concluded that the acquisition of cholic acid resistance by those Bifidobacterium strains promoted changes in the adhesion ability on HT-29 human epithelium cell line

Experimental evaluation of anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive and antipyretic activities of clove oil inmice

Background: Clove oil of Eugenia caryophyllata (Myrtaceae) is a light yellowish fluid obtained from dried flower buds. Clove oil is used traditionally to relieve toothache.Aim: The aim of the present work was to study the anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive and antipyretic potential of clove oil in mice.Methods: Analgesic activity was examined using acetic-acid-induced abdominal constrictions and the hot plate test. Carrageenan-induced paw edema and brewer’s-yeast-induced pyrexia were used to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity and the antipyretic effects, respectively. The oil was administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) at a dose of 33 mg/kg body weight and the effects were compared with reference drugs.Results: In the antinociceptive test, mice treated with clove oil exhibited significantly decreased acetic-acidinducedwrithing movements by a maximum of 87.7% (p<0.01) compared with a decrease of 77.7% (p<0.01) in response to aspirin injection (100 mg/kg, intraperitoneal, i.p.). Similarly, in the hot plate test, clove oil significantly increased the reaction latency to pain after 60 min by 82.3% (p<0.05) compared with morphine value of 91.7% (p<0.01). In addition, clove oil and indomethacin produced anti-inflammatory effects, as demonstrated by respectively 50.6% (p<0.05) and 70.4% (p<0.01) inhibition of mouse paw edema induced by carrageenan. Furthermore, clove oil significantly attenuated the hyperthermia induced by yeast at ΔT-max by 2.7oC (p<0.001), and time of peak effects was 30-180 min compared with a paracetamol value ΔT-max of 3.2oC (p<0.001). The estimated i.p. LD50 of clove oil was 161.9 mg/kg. Phytochemical screening of the oil showed the presence of eugenol.Conclusion: The present findings demonstrate the potential pharmacological properties of clove oil and provide further a support for its reported use in folk medicine.Keywords: Eugenia caryophyllata; clove oil; eugenol; antinociceptive; anti-inflammatory; antipyretic; mic

Effects of vitamin D supplementation on endothelial function:a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials

Background: In addition to regulating calcium homoeostasis and bone health, vitamin D influences vascular and metabolic processes including endothelial function (EF) and insulin signalling. This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials (RCTs) were conducted to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on EF and to examine whether the effect size was modified by health status, study duration, dose, route of vitamin D administration, vitamin D status (baseline and post-intervention), body mass index (BMI), age and type of vitamin D.  Methods: We searched the Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library and Scopus databases from inception until March 2015 for studies meeting the following criteria: (1) RCT with adult participants, (2) vitamin D administration alone, (3) studies that quantified EF using commonly applied methods including ultrasound, plethysmography, applanation tonometry and laser Doppler.  Results: Sixteen articles reporting data for 1177 participants were included. Study duration ranged from 4 to 52 weeks. The effect of vitamin D on EF was not significant (SMD: 0.08, 95 % CI −0.06, 0.22, p = 0.28). Subgroup analysis showed a significant improvement of EF in diabetic subjects (SMD: 0.31, 95 % CI 0.05, 0.57, p = 0.02). A non-significant trend was found for diastolic blood pressure (β = 0.02; p = 0.07) and BMI (β = 0.05; p = 0.06).  Conclusions: Vitamin D supplementation did not improve EF. The significant effect of vitamin D in diabetics and a tendency for an association with BMI may indicate a role of excess adiposity and insulin resistance in modulating the effects of vitamin D on vascular function. This remains to be tested in future studies

Treated Rhizophora mucronata tannin as a corrosion inhibitor in chloride solution

Treated Rhizopora mucronata tannin (RMT) as a corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel and copper in oil and gas facilities was investigated. Corrosion rate of carbon-steel and copper in 3wt% NaCl solution by RMT was studied using chemical (weight loss method) and spectroscopic (FTIR) techniques at various temperatures in the ranges of 26–90C. The weight loss data was compared to the electrochemical by the application of Faraday’s law for the conversion of corrosion rate data from one system to another. The inhibitive efficiency of RMT was compared with commercial inhibitor sodium benzotriazole (BTA-S). The best concentration of RMT was 20% (w/v), increase in concentration of RMT decreased the corrosion rate and increased the inhibitive efficiency. Increase in temperature increased the corrosion rate and decreased the inhibitive efficiency but, the rate of corrosion was mild with RMT. The FTIR result shows the presence of hydroxyl group, aromatic group, esters and the substituted benzene group indicating the purity of the tannin. The trend of RMT was similar to that of BTA-S, but its inhibitive efficiency for carbon-steel was poor (6%) compared to RMT (59%). BTA-S was efficient for copper (76%) compared to RMT (74%) at 40% (w/v) and 20% (w/v) concentration respectively. RMT was efficient even at low concentration therefore, the use of RMT as a cost effective and environmentally friendly corrosion inhibiting agent for carbon steel and copper is herein proposed

Evaluation of the biological activity of novel monocationic fluoroaryl-2,2’-bichalcophenes and their analogues

Warda A Hussin,1,2,*,† Mohamed A Ismail,1,3,* Abdullah M Alzahrani,1 Wael M El-Sayed,1,4 1King Faisal University, College of Science, Departments of Chemistry and Biological Sciences, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia; 2Al-Azhr University, Faculty of Science, Department of Botany and Microbiology, Cairo, Egypt; 3Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt; 4University of Ain Shams, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt *These authors contributed equally to this work †Warda A Hussin passed away on May 21, 2014 Abstract: A series of bichalcophene fluorobenzamidines 5a–e was synthesized from the corresponding mononitriles 4a–e via a direct reaction with lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide LiN(TMS)2 followed by de-protection with ethanolic HCl (gas). Bichalcophene fluorobenzonitriles 4a–e were prepared adopting a Stille coupling reaction between the bromo compounds 3a–c and 2-(tri-n-butylstannyl)furan or analogues. As an approach to drug discovery, the structure–antimutagenicity relationship of novel fluoroarylbichalcophenes was examined using the Ames Salmonella/microsomal assay. At nontoxic concentrations (10 and 20 µM), all derivatives alone or in combination with sodium azide (NaN3; 2 µg/plate) or benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P; 20 µM) in the presence of S9 mix were not mutagenic. The fluoroaryl derivatives significantly reduced the NaN3-induced and B[a]P-induced mutagenicity under pre-exposure and co-exposure conditions. The recorded antimutagenic activity of fluoroaryl derivatives varied depending on the kind of mutagen and the exposure regimen. Monocationic fluoroarylbichalcophenes were superior to the corresponding mononitriles in reducing B[a]P-induced mutagenicity. Nevertheless, mononitriles were more active against NaN3, especially at low concentrations and under pre-exposure treatments. The antimutagenic activity was congruent with a high antioxidant activity that could promote the DNA repair system. The fluorine substitution changed the antimutagenic signature of bichalcophenes. Some of these compounds could be selected for further anticancer studies. Keywords: fluoroaryl-2,2’-bichalcophenes, stille coupling, Salmonella typhimurium, sodium azide, benzo[a]pyrene, antimutagenicit

Ensuring food availability in the household: evidences from rural area of North-East Malaysia

Household food insecurity is increasingly being recognised as a serious public health concern in Malaysia. While starvation seldom occurs in this country, children and adultsdo go hungry andchronic mildundernutrition occurs when financialresources are low. The problem of food insecurity can be broadly defined as limited, inadequate or insecure access by individuals and households to sufficient, safe, nutritious and personally acceptable foods to meet their dietary requirements for a healthy life. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between food insecurity and nutritional outcome among preschool children in a rural district and examine how low-income families meet their food and nutrition needs. In this cross-sectional study, weight and height / length were measured in a sample of mothers and children from 296 selected households. Questionnaires were used to collect socio-economic and other related information. The validated Radimer / Cornell Food Insecurity instrument was utilised to assess food security. Hunger and food insecurity was reported by 54% (n=159) of the mothers surveyed, which include 21% (n=62) individual (mother) food insecure and 21% (n=62) child hunger. Among food insecure households with children; 70.4% reported that at times they could not afford to feed their children with balanced meals, 35.2% of the children were not eating enough and 34.6% of the children reported ever getting hungry as the family could not afford to provide enough food. This study also revealed that the mothersplayprime roles in ensuring foodsecurity andnutrition status oftheir household members by practising some coping strategies. Although foods were spared for the children, the quality of the food is insufficient to meet the recommended needs. This study suggests that food insecurity is one possible reason that may contribute to poor growth and development of young children in the study area

A Dijkstra’s Mobile Web Application Engine for Generating Integrated Light Rail Transit Route

In the capital city of Malaysia, Integrated Light Rail Transit (LRT) System is one of the most importance public transportation as it connects some key districts to historical, interesting places, business areas and shopping malls are concentrated. The train services are running independently but have interchanges to integrate from one different LRT lines to the others. These interchanges could cause traveler a troublesome when they are choosing incorrect destination station especially on different LRT lines which contribute to time consuming and high costing. In previous research we are implemented the mobile web application using rules based algorithm where the destination-oriented routes need to be dynamically generated by determining the nearest station according to the specific places. Currently, our research is focusing on Dijkstra’s algorithms to provide more effective and intelligent shortest path system to provide the solution for traveler to reach the desired destination. In this paper, we discuss the results from our Dijkstra’s application prototype