Methanolic leaf extract of Ficus exasperata attenuates Arsenate–mediated hepatic and renal oxidative stress in rats

Objective: In furtherance of the scientific search for suitable antidotes for pro-oxidative toxicants which man is exposed to on daily basis, the study investigated the modulatory potential of Ficus exasperata leaf extract on arsenate-mediated hepatic and renal toxicity using rats as a model.Methodology: Twenty-eight rats were sorted into four groups containing seven rats each. Group A (control) received distilled water while 10 mg/kg bw of sodium arsenate was administered intraperitoneally to groups B, C and D to induce hepatic and renal damage. Group C and D were treated with oral administration of 100 mg/kg bw and 200 mg/kg bw of methanolic leaf extract of Ficus exasperata respectively for 14 days.Results: Arsenate significantly (P< 0.05) induced hepatic and renal damage characterized by elevated levels of serum urea, creatinine, uric acid, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Arsenate also caused decreased serum concentrations of albumin, globulin and total protein as well as significant depletion in antioxidant status (glutathione–S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in the liver and kidney of the rats. Administration of leaf extract of Ficus exasperata significantly (P<0.05) attenuated all these toxic effects by boosting antioxidants status and normalizing serum hepatic and renal markers.Conclusion: These results are indicative of the modulatory potential of Ficus exasperata leaf on liver and kidney dysfunction arising from oxidative damage.Keywords: Nephrotoxicity, Hepatotoxicity, Oxidative stress, Arsenate, Ficus exasperat

Comparative evaluation of genetic algorithm and memetic algorithm for optimal topology design of computer networks

Network topology design problem can be formulated as a combinatorial optimization problem. In this paper, a comparative evaluation of genetic algorithm and memetic algorithm is presented with a view to investigating their performance for network design problem. Results from various computation experiments reveal that MA is able to produce better results in term of quality but at a higher computation time. In addition, for a problem instance of small size such as 10-node network design problem GA can produce better solution but at a higher computational time.Keywords: Memetic Algorithm, Genetic Algorithm, local search, optimization, networ

Comparative assessment of immunogenicity of commercial Newcastle disease vaccines available in Nigeria

Newcastle disease (ND) is a major disease of poultry worldwide with significant economic importance and its major means of control is vaccination. However, there have been reports of recurring outbreaks in vaccinated flocks in Nigeria with various reasons adduced, including vaccine failure, particularly, of the imported varieties of vaccines. This therefore necessitated the assay of the immunogenicity of some commercially available ND-LaSota (ND-L) vaccines in Nigeria. Seven available brands of ND-L vaccines and 100 day-old broiler chicks of Arbor-Acres breed were used for the study. The broiler chicks were divided into 8 groups namely, A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H of 10-15 birds per group. A brand of vaccine was administered in drinking water at 7 and 30 days of age per group, while group H received no vaccine. All vaccines were imported except that of group F which was locally produced. Each vaccinated group was bled at 14, 21, 28, 44 and 51 days of age, serum samples were harvested and subjected to haemagglutination inhibition test for the detection of ND antibody titers. Data were analysed using analysis of variance and Duncan’s multiple range test. At 21, 28, 44 and 51 days of age, mean geometric titers (MGT) in Group F were 3.85 log2, 5.25 log2, 4.2 log2 and 5.75 log2, respectively, while the other groups had MGT ranges of 0.90 log2 (H)-3.10 log2 (G), 0.75 log2 (H)–4.5 log2 (G), 0.46 log2 (H) – 4.9 log2 (C) and 0.27 log2 (H)–4.91 log2 (G), respectively. Modal titres at these ages were 4, 8, 2 and 4, respectively, in Group B; 16, 32, 16 and 32, respectively in Group F; as well as, 2, 0, 0 and 0, respectively, in Group H. This study has shown that the locally produced ND-LaSota strain vaccine is more immunogenic than the imported brands