In vitro evaluation of combination effects of doxorubicin with methylxanthine fractions isolated from Bancha and Pu-erh teas against breast cancer cells

Background: In the present study we investigated the combination effects of anthracycline antibiotic, doxorubicin, with methylxanthine fractions isolated from Bancha and Pu-erh tea leaves, against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines.Methods: Neutral red uptake assay was used for assessment of cytotoxicity effects and fractional effect analysis and combination index for evaluation of the combination effects.Results: Doxorubicin was used in varying concentrations by a double dilution method, whereas the methylxanthine fractions were in fixed concentrations – 100, 200, 400 or 600 μg/ml. Results have shown that methylxanthine fraction isolated from Bancha has synergic effects with doxorubicin, while methylxanthines from Pu-erh displayed antagonistic effects.Conclusions: Тhe obtained results lead us to suspect, that even minor differences in the composition of natural products can lead to significant differences in the biological activity of the product

Hypolipidemic and Antioxidant Activity of Camel Milk on Poloxamer-Induced Hyperlipidemia in Rats

Background: Hyperlipidemia has been implicated as the major risk factor of cardiovascular diseases. The current hypothesis suggests oxidative stress as an underlying mechanism through which hyperlipidemia provoke degenerative diseases. The aim of this study is to investigate the ameliorative and antioxidant effect of camel milk on poloxamer 407 (P407) induced hyperlipidemia in albino rats. Methods: Thirty male wistar rats were subdivided into six groups (Group 1-6) with each containing five animals (n=5). Group 1 served as normal control, while Groups 2-6 were induced with Poloxamer 407 intra peritoneally twice a week for three weeks. Group 2 served as hyperlipidemic untreated, group 3 was co-administered with atorvastatin tablet 20mg/kg orally and groups 4, 5 and 6 were co-administered with camel milk at a dose of 250mg/kg, 500mg/kg and 1000mg/kg respectively via oral route. After three weeks, blood samples determination of Total cholesterol (TC), Triglyceride(TG), High Density Lipoprotein (LDL), Low Density Lipoprotein(LDL), Malondialdhyde (MDA), Catalase(CAT) Superoxide Dismutase(SOD) and Gluthatione Peroxidase(GPx) were carried out. Results: Total cholesterol was significantly (p< 0.05) decreased in group treated with camel milk at 1000mg/kg (174.68 ±46.92 mg/dl), treatment with camel milk doses 250mg/kg(63.57±6.34mg/dl), 500mg/kg (45.07±3.13mg/dl), 1000mg/kg (91.38±5.52mg/dl) significantly (p<0.05) reduced high triglyceride level induced by P407. Camel milk treated group at dose 250mg/kg showed significant increase in HDL (208.72±7.88 mg/dl), while camel milk treated groups 250mg/kg and 1000mg/kg showed significant decrease in LDL; (214.15±21.72mg/dl) and (114.75±42.83mg/dl) respectively. Camel milk significantly (p<0.05) increase in the level of SOD at 250mg/kg and 500mg/kg (9.25±0.51 U/ml and 11.04± 1.14 U/ml) respectively, however, there was no significant (p>0.05) effect on CAT. There was also no significant difference in MDA between all camel milk treated groups and the normal control group. Conclusion: These findings highlight the ameliorative potentials of camel milk in P407 induced hyperlipidemia and oxidative stress of albino rats

Optimized Artificial Neural Network Using Differential Evolution for Prediction of RF Power in VHF/UHF TV and GSM 900 Bands for Cognitive Radio Networks

Cognitive radio (CR) technology has emerged as a promising solution to many wireless communication problems including spectrum scarcity and underutilization. The knowledge of Radio Frequency (RF) power (primary signals and/ or interfering signals plus noise) in the channels to be exploited by CR is of paramount importance, not just the existence or absence of primary users. If a channel is known to be noisy, even in the absence of primary users, using such channels will demand large quantities of radio resources (transmission power, bandwidth, etc) in order to deliver an acceptable quality of service to users. Computational Intelligence (CI) techniques can be applied to these scenarios to predict the required RF power in the available channels to achieve optimum Quality of Service (QoS). While most of the prediction schemes are based on the determination of spectrum holes, those designed for power prediction use known radio parameters such as signal to noise ratio (SNR), bandwidth, and bit error rate. Some of these parameters may not be available or known to cognitive users. In this paper, we developed a time domain based optimized Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model for the prediction of real world RF power within the GSM 900, Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) TV bands. The application of the models produced was found to increase the robustness of CR applications, specifically where the CR had no prior knowledge of the RF power related parameters. The models used implemented a novel and innovative initial weight optimization of the ANN’s through the use of differential evolutionary algorithms. This was found to enhance the accuracy and generalization of the approac

Optimized Neural Network Using Differential Evolutionary and Swarm Intelligence Optimization Algorithms for RF Power Prediction in Cognitive Radio Network: A Comparative study

Cognitive radio (CR) technology has emerged as a promising solution to many wireless communication problems including spectrum scarcity and underutilization. The a priory knowledge of Radio Frequency (RF) power (primary signals and/ or interfering signals plus noise) in the channels to be exploited by CR is of paramount importance. This will enable the selection of channel with less noise among idle (free) channels. Computational Intelligence (CI) techniques can be applied to these scenarios to predict the required RF power in the available channels to achieve optimum Quality of Service (QoS). In this paper, we developed a time domain based optimized Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model for the prediction of real world RF power within the GSM 900, Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) TV bands. The application of the models produced was found to increase the robustness of CR applications, specifically where the CR had no prior knowledge of the RF power related parameters such as signal to noise ratio, bandwidth and bit error rate. The models used, implemented a novel and innovative initial weight optimization of the ANN’s through the use of differential evolutionary and swarm intelligence algorithms. This was found to enhance the accuracy and generalization of the ANN model. For this problem, DE/best/1/bin was found to yield a better performance as compared with the other algorithms implemented

Assessment of Yield and Nutritional Qualities of Local and Improved Maize Varieties Cultivated in Wukari and Environement of the Nigerian Guinea Savanna Agro-Ecology

Two varieties of maize (quality protein and local) were cultivated and evaluated for nutritional qualities, agronomic traits performance and yield during the 2016 and 2017 cropping seasons at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Federal University Wukari. Wukari is situated on latitude 70 52’17.000N and longitude 90 46’40.300E. It falls within the guinea savannah of North-eastern Nigeria with the annual rainfall of 1058mm-1300mm and relative humidity dropping to about 15%, alongside an annual temperature of 280C and 300C. Its characteristic alfisol soil is clay enriched, with subsoil that has relatively high native fertility. Pollination was controlled in order to conserve the genetic purity of the two varieties. Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance (at p ≤ 0.05), using the 23rd edition of SPSS. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences among the varieties for grain yield, nutritional content, days to tasseling, days to silking, plant height at six weeks after planting, number of seed rows, number of nodes, seed length, hundred seed weight (g) and ear heights. Oba super 2 showed superiority (31.75g) over the local variety for seed yield (100 seed weight). Crude protein concentration in the two varieties varied significantly, with the local maize variety recording a higher value (7.21%)

Evaluation of the effect of co-administration of resveratrol and vitamin E on carbamazepine-induced oxidative stress in male adult wistar rats

Background: Carbamazepine (CBZ) as a drug used in the treatment of epilepsy and neuropathic pain has been shown to stimulate the effects of free radicals. Resveratrol, known as 3,5,4′-trihydroxystilbene, is found in grapes and other plant product. It effectively scavenges free radicals and other oxidants. Vitamin E is a lipid soluble antioxidant present in all cellular membranes. The present study assessed the combined effect of vitamin E and resveratrol on biomakers of carbamazepine- induced oxidative stress. Methods: Adult male Wistar rats (n = 25) were randomly allotted to five groups:  Group I (control) received distilled water; Group II received CBZ (50 mg/kg); Group III received CBZ (50 mg/kg) and vitamin E (200 mg/kg); Group IV received CBZ (50 mg/kg) and resveratrol (20mg/kg); Group V received CBZ (50 mg/kg) and the co-administration of vitamin E at 200 mg/kg and resveratrol at 20 mg/kg. Administration was done orally daily for 45 days, after which the animals were sacrificed and sera samples were used for biochemical analyses. The results show that treatment with CBZ significantly (p<0.01) increased malondyaldehyde (MDA) serum level and decreased the levels of oxidative stress bio-makers [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase(CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)] when compared to that of normal control. However, treatment with vitamin E (200mg/kg) and resveratrol (20mg/kg) significantly (p<0.01) reduced CBZinduced increase in serum MDA level and increased the level of oxidative stress bio-makers (SOD, CAT and GPx) in comparison to CBZ-treated group. The co-administration of vitamin E (200mg/kg) and resveratrol (20mg/kg) showed non-statistically significant increase in SOD, CAT and GPx and reduced serum MDA level in comparison to either vitamin E or resveratrol treated group. The results support that vitamin E 200mg/kg and resveratrol 20mg/kg or their combination ameliorates CBZ-induced oxidative stress in male Wistar rats. The effects of these antioxidants are considered to be related to their intrinsic ability to scavenge free radical

DETERMINANTS OF BROILER PRODUCTION AND ITS EFFECTS ON POVERTY STATUS AMONG CIVIL SERVANTS IN JOS METROPOLIS, PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA

The research was carried out to analyze broiler production as a sustainable tool in reducing poverty among civil servants in Plateau State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: determine the profitability of broiler production; evaluate the poverty status and the effect of broiler income on the poverty status of the civil servants; identify the socio-economic factors influencing the level of broiler production; and describe the constraints of broiler production. Data from 120 members of Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) who are civil servants, were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Majority of the civil servants that engaged in broiler farmers were women. Findings revealed that the influx of new entrants into broiler production in recent times was due to the ban on importation of frozen poultry product by the Federal Government of Nigeria which create high demand-supply gap. The civil servants’ broiler producers earned a profit margin of 58% and return on investment of ₦1.67 per Naira invested. This resulted into reduced FGT poverty indices. The level of broiler production were significantly determined by sex, level of education and experience at different level of probability. Likewise, the poverty status of the civil servants were significantly affected by salary and income from broiler production at 1 and 5 % levels of probability. Major constraints in broiler production were high cost of feed and vaccines. Government ban on importation of poultry meat is plausible and should be further imbibed by the Nigerian citizens to consume home grown poultry meat

The beneficial role of resveratrol on chlorpyrifos-induced cognitive impairment and lipid peroxidation biomarker in Swiss albino mice

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) has been associated with cognitive and psychomotor impairments in both humans and animals. This cognitive impairment has been linked to its enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generating capacity. Therefore, antioxidant treatment may provide a novel therapeutic window for the management of these related impairments. The aim of this work was to evaluate the beneficial role of resveratrol on chlorpyrifos-induced cognitive impairment and lipid peroxidation biomarker in Swiss albino mice. Swiss albino mice were divided into (6) six groups of five each (n=5). Group I served as the control and were administered olive oil (2 ml/kg), group II received carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) 10 mg/kg, group III received resveratrol 30 mg/kg, group IV received chlorpyrifos (CPF) 3 mg/kg, group V received CPF (3 mg/kg) after the oral administration of resveratrol (30 mg/kg) and group VI received Vitamin E (Vit E) 100 mg/kg All administrations were done by oral gavage for a duration of 21 days. Cognitive function was assessed using Y-maze,and Novel object recognition tests and oxidative stress was evaluated using oxidative biomarkers techniques.The results obtained showed that resveratrol at dose 30 mg/kg significantly(p<0.05) improved cognitive impairment and significantly decreased (p<0.05) malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration when compared with the control. In conclusion, 30mg/kg resveratrol suppressed memory impairment, decreased malondialdehyde levels, increased catalase activity, superoxide dismutase activity and glutathione levels in our chlorpyrifos-induced cognitive impairment mice model.Keywords: cognition, chlorpyrifos, resveratrol, memor