Comparative studies on Khaya. A. Juss (Meliaceae) in Nigeria

Comparative phytochemical, microscopical and chemomicroscopical studies were carried out on the genus Khaya with the aim of obtaining useful characters for the identification and delimitation of species boundaries. Tannins and saponins were present in all the species while phenols were detected in all except K. grandifoliola. Protein and anthraquinones were present in the bark of all the species. Carbohydrate is present in all the species except in the bark of K. ivoriensis. Flavonoids and phlobatannins were absent in all the taxa. Microscopical examination of the powdered bark revealed different types and shapes of lignified sclereids, abundant distribution of prismatic calcium oxalate crystals, druses, lignified cork-cells, fibres, medullary rays and parenchyma cells which may contain starch grain

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the therapy of anaplastic thyroid cancer

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is often incurable so new therapeutic approaches are needed. Tyrosine kinases inhibitors (such as imanitib, sunitinib or sorafenib) are under evaluation for the treatment of ATC. Other vascular disrupting agents, such as combretastatin A4 phosphate, and antiangiogenic agents, such as aplidin, PTK787/ZK222584 and human VEGF monoclonal antibodies (bevacizumab, cetuximab), have been evaluated. Small-molecule adenosine triphosphate competitive inhibitors directed intracellularly at EGFRs tyrosine kinase, such as erlotinib or gefitinib, are also studied. Furthermore, new molecules have been shown to be active against ATC, such as CLM94 and CLM3. However, more research is needed to finally identify therapies able to control and to cure this disease

A Review and Analysis of Man-Nature Relationship in Mulla Sadra's Philosophy

In Mulla Sadra's philosophical system, human being enjoys a specific stance. He is the only contingent being with existential degrees corresponding and conforming to existential degrees and worlds. Mulla Sadra's environmental philosophy can be regarded as based on the principles and rules founding the system, including fundamentality and gradation of existence, particularly the principles of substantial motion and union of the knower and the known, as well as the stages of creation of soul and its relation with body. Such a philosophy can help us to provide ways to explain the relationship between man and nature, according to which environmental crises occurred to the nature can be managed. In the philosophical system of transcendent theosophy, nature is the manifestation and disclosure of a being continually influencing it in its creation and duration, endowed with knowledge, apprehension and consciousness according to its share in the being, and represents the hidden interior and exterior aspects of reality of existence. Therefore, man's interaction with nature as a living thing is totally different from that which is defined in environmental philosophy based on West's philosophy, which believes in an existential unity between man and nature. The present paper seeks to explain and analyze the meaning of man and nature in Mulla Sadra's philosophy and elaborate on their interrelation

Combined soft and skeletal tissue modelling of normal and dysmorphic midface postnatal development

BACKGROUND: Midface hypoplasia as exemplified by Treacher Collins Syndrome (TCS) can impair appearance and function. Reconstruction involves multiple invasive surgeries with variable long-term outcomes. This study aims to describe normal and dysmorphic midface postnatal development through combined modelling of skeletal and soft tissues and to develop a surgical evaluation tool. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Midface skeletal and soft tissue surfaces were extracted from computed tomography scans of 52 control and 14 TCS children, then analysed using dense surface modelling. The model was used to describe midface growth, morphology, and asymmetry, then evaluate postoperative outcomes. RESULTS: Parameters responsible for the greatest variation in midface size and shape showed differences between TCS and controls with close alignment between skeletal and soft tissue models. TCS children exhibited midface dysmorphology and hypoplasia when compared with controls. Asymmetry was also significantly higher in TCS midfaces. Combined modelling was used to evaluate the impact of surgery in one TCS individual who showed normalisation immediately after surgery but reversion towards TCS dysmorphology after 1 year. CONCLUSION: This is the first quantitative analysis of postnatal midface development using combined modelling of skeletal and soft tissues. We also provide an approach for evaluation of surgical outcomes, laying the foundations for future development of a preoperative planning tool

Anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects of the methanolic extract of Bombax buonopozense leaves in rats and mice

Methanolic extract of Bombax buonopozense was evaluated for possible anti-nociceptive, antiinflammatory and anti-pyretic activities in mice and rats. Acetic acid-induced abdominal constriction test in mice and formalin test in rats were used to investigate the antinociceptive effect of the extract. Studies were carried out on yeast-induced pyrexia and egg albumin-induced anti-inflammatory activity in rats. The extract produced a significant decrease in acetic acid-induced writhing in mice and inhibition of late phase of the formalin pain test in rats. The methanolic extract of B. buonopozense leaf also produced a potent antipyretic effect and significant inhibition of egg  albumin-induced antiinflammatory activity in rats. The result suggests that B. buonopozense contains biologically active substances with potential values for the treatment of fever, painful and inflammatory conditions.Keywords: Bombax buonopozense; analgesic, inflammation, pyrexia

Histopathological and Biochemical evaluations of the antidotal efficacy of Nigella sativa oil on organophosphate induced hepato-toxicity

Objective: The study was designed to investigate the effects of continuous exposure of dichlorvos (DDVP) on hepatic function and hepatic histomorphology, with the possible antidotal efficacy of Nigella sativa oil (NSO).Methods: Twenty four Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups, with each group comprising of six rats. The groups were labelled as Sunflower oil (SFO), DDVP, DDVP+NSO and NSO. After 14 days of treatments, blood samples were collected, centrifuged and levels of ALP (Alkaline phosphatase), ALT (Alanine aminotransferase), AST (Aspartate aminotransferase) and GGT (γ-glutamyl-transferase) concentrations were estimated in the serum. The livers were removed and prepared for histopathological examinations and evaluation.Results: The findings of the study shows significant increase in the serum concentration of ALT, ALP, AST and GGT with a marked distortion in the hepatic architecture in rats administered with DDVP. However, Nigella sativa oil (NSO) was observed to ameliorate the levels of impairment in the assessed hepatic function parameters and relatively restoration in the hepatic architecture in DDVP+NSO treated animals when compared to the control and group administered with DDVPonly.Conclusion: The study concludes that impaired liver functions and histomorphological tissue distortions observed in the experimental rats following DDVP exposure were ameliorated following theadministration of NSO.Keywords: Nigella sativa, dichlorvos, antidotal effect, hepatotoxicity, liver function tes

Plasmid profile of Escherichia coli 0157:H7 from apparently healthy animals

One hundred samples from healthy animals were screened for the presence of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli 0157: H7 and 17 were positive for EHEC 0157:H7 after confirmation using serology kits. Antibiotic susceptibility patterns showed the isolates to be highly susceptible to the various antibiotics screened with a few showing multiple antibiotic resistance. The plasmid profiles revealed that 8/17 (47%) of the animal isolates harboured detectable plasmids ranging in size from 0.564 kb to >23 kb. Key words: Escherichia coli, EHEC, animals, plasmid profile. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.2(9) 2003: 322-32

Probing CP Violation with and without Momentum Reconstruction at the LHC

We study the potential to observe CP-violating effects in SUSY cascade decay chains at the LHC. We consider squark and gluino production followed by subsequent decays into neutralinos with a three-body leptonic decay in the final step. Asymmetries composed by triple products of momenta of the final state particles are sensitive to CP-violating effects. Due to large boosts these asymmetries can be difficult to observe at a hadron collider. We show that using all available kinematic information one can reconstruct the decay chains on an event-by-event basis even in the case of 3-body decays, neutrinos and LSPs in the final state. We also discuss the most important experimental effects like major backgrounds and momentum smearing due to finite detector resolution. We show that with 300 fb$^{-1}$ of collected data, CP violation may be discovered at the LHC for a wide range of the phase of the bino mass parameter $M_1$.Comment: Version accepted for publication in JHEP. Clarifications added on the assumptions used for plots. New references adde