Evaluation of the wound healing potential of Protea madiensis Oliv leaf extract in rats

Protea madiensis Oliv. is a flowering shrub which grows in south eastern Nigeria. Liquids extracted from its leaves are applied on wounds to promote healing. To investigate the effect of P. madiensis on wound healing, its methanol extract was applied topically on excision wounds daily. During the experimental period, the rate of contraction, epithelialisation and histology of the wounds were studied. Also, in vitro antibacterial study, 1,1-diphenyl-2-hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay and phytochemical analysis were performed using P. madiensis extract. Wound contraction and epithelialisation were significantly (p < 0.05) faster in the P. madiensis treated rats compared to the control rats. On day 14 post wounding, wound sections of the extract treated rats showed more collagen fibers, more fibroblasts and fewer inflammatory cells compared to the control. At 5, 10 and 20 mg/ml concentrations, P. madiensis inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis. The extract at 100 μg/ml showed 60.4% DPPH scavenging activity. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids and glycosides in the extract. In conclusion, the extract of P. madiensis significantly enhanced wound contraction, epithelialisation, fibroblast proliferation and collagen deposition thus authenticating the claim of its efficacy in traditional wound care.Key words: Protea madiensis, excision wounds, antioxidant, fibroblasts, antibacterial

Enhancement of mobile scissor lifting system for windy environments

This paper focuses on the enhancement of mobile scissor lifting system for windy environments. This study was necessitated in order to address the lack of support arm problem on the mobile scissor lifting system for the strong wind environment such as Minna in Niger State Nigeria. The outstation broadcasting operations in Minna metropolis are usually challenging during windy days as wind often affects the stability and efficiency of the outstation broad-casting platforms. This research employs electronic control circuit to control mechanical hydraulic actuated scissor lifting system in response to variations in wind speed. The mechanical components were designed using solidworks software. The control unit was remodeled using Proteus 8.0 software with the code written in Arduino integrated development environment (IDE). The model simulation results for both electronic and mechanical system reveal the possibility of achieving system stability with the resultant signal fidelity in outstation telecommunication broad-cast within windy areas. The experiment result shows that the system was capable of lifting the telecommunication platform 2 meters high within 20 seconds considering the load range of 500 to 1000 kg. An overload alert mechanism was incorporated to signal the operators of excessive loading. Then, the system automatically deploys its support arms to counter the attendant consequences of the strong wind thereby restoring the stability of the mobile scissor lift. Therefore, the authors conclude that the enhanced mobile scissor lifting system would be deployed in the windy environment for the maximum attainment of stability objectives while physical model from this design should be subsequently fabricated in the near future