Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oils from the rhizomes of Cyperus papyrus L. grown in South Africa

Essential oils hydrodistilled from the rhizomes of Cyperus papyrus L. growing wild in two localities (KwaDlangezwa and Richard’s Bay) of uMhlathuze City, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa has been studied. The major components of KwaDlangezwa oil were caryophyllene oxide (12.7%), cyperene (10.2%) and 1,8-cineole (8.4%). The oil of Richard’s Bay comprised mainly of caryophyllene oxide (24.4%), humulene epoxide II (13.2%), aristolene (9.1%) and aromadendrene epoxide II (7.3%). The antibacterial activity of the oils was assayed using agar-disc diffusion and broth-microdilution methods. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) revealed that the oil samples inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 3983 and ATCC 6538), with MIC of 1.25 and 0.31 mg/mL for each oil. Streptococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212; MIC of 1.25 and 0.6 mg/mL, respectively) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 4983; MIC of 1.25 mg/mL for both oils). Only the Richard Bay oil showed activity against Bacillus cereus and Bacillus pumilus with MIC of 1.25mg/mL, respectively

Analysis of Smart Grid Interoperability

The energy grid is currently undergoing a historical change of state from the traditional structure where a utility owns the generation, transmission and distribution services into an integrated smart grid in a monopolistic market which introduce consumers as active players in managing and controlling the power. This report provides an analysis of the methods applicable to smart grid interoperability tests. A systematic approach for developing smart grid interoperability tests was adopted by analyzing a house and an industries looking at the analysis of their active power. This analysis of active power gives the exact idea to know the range of maximum permissible loads that can be connected to their relevant bus bars. This paper presents the change in the value of Active Power with varying load angle in context with small signal analysis using wind, solar and generator (grid). The result obtained showed that, consumers can then choose the cheapest energy to be consumed

A high performance liquid chromatographic assay of Mefloquine in saliva after a single oral dose in healthy adult Africans

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mefloquine-artesunate is a formulation of artemisinin based combination therapy (ACT) recommended by the World Health Organization and historically the first ACT used clinically. The use of ACT demands constant monitoring of therapeutic efficacies and drug levels, in order to ensure that optimum drug exposure is achieved and detect reduced susceptibility to these drugs. Quantification of anti-malarial drugs in biological fluids other than blood would provide a more readily applicable method of therapeutic drug monitoring in developing endemic countries. Efforts in this study were devoted to the development of a simple, field applicable, non-invasive method for assay of mefloquine in saliva.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A high performance liquid chromatographic method with UV detection at 220 nm for assaying mefloquine in saliva was developed and validated by comparing mefloquine concentrations in saliva and plasma samples from four healthy volunteers who received single oral dose of mefloquine. Verapamil was used as internal standard. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a Hypersil ODS column.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Extraction recoveries of mefloquine in plasma or saliva were 76-86% or 83-93% respectively. Limit of quantification of mefloquine was 20 ng/ml. Agreement between salivary and plasma mefloquine concentrations was satisfactory (r = 0.88, <it>p </it>< 0.001). Saliva:plasma concentrations ratio was 0.42.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Disposition of mefloquine in saliva paralleled that in plasma, making salivary quantification of mefloquine potentially useful in therapeutic drug monitoring.</p

Deep-Ultraviolet Laser Ablation for Biomolecular Analysis

New sampling and ionization techniques were developed using a deep-ultraviolet (DUV) laser at 193 nm wavelength for analysis of large biomolecules. A micrometer spatial resolution DUV laser ablation and capture system was constructed to sample tissue biomolecules. The spot size measurements of the focused beam showed that subcellular spots with ca. 2 μm diameter can be readily achieved with this wavelength. To demonstrate the extraction of tissue biomolecules with the DUV laser, regions of tissue sections were ablated and captured for offline proteomic and genomic analysis. The proteomic studies revealed that the tissue proteins were ejected without fragmentation and that this wavelength is about four times more efficient at extracting proteins from tissue as compared to the mid-infrared 2940 nm wavelength. Similarly, the genomic analysis of the ablated and captured tissue showed that the DNA molecules remained intact following ablation. The DUV laser was also coupled with electrospray ionization for online mass spectrometry of large biomolecules. Peptides, proteins and tissue samples were ablated with the 193 nm laser and the resulting sample plume was post-ionized with electrospray. The resulting mass spectra showed intact analyte ions without indication of photodissociation. The 193 nm laser was also used to photochemically modify amino acid side chains of proteins in the electrospray ion source. A solution of protein and hydrogen peroxide was electrosprayed at the mass spectrometer inlet and the spray was irradiated with the laser to create hydroxyl radicals that subsequently oxidized the biomolecules in the electrospray. Oxidized protein peaks were observed in the acquired mass spectra. This new technique offers a general method to rapidly perform photochemical reactions in the spray at \u3c 1 μs time scales and can potentially be coupled with tandem mass spectrometry for structural analysis of proteins. Overall, these results demonstrate that the 193 nm wavelength laser can be utilized as a high precision sampling and ionization tool xii for biomolecular analysis without damage to the analytes. The sampling resolution achievable with this wavelength makes it a promising tool for single cell biochemical analysis

A comparative study of United States downtown population and household growth patterns (2010-2017)

Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only.Many small and midsized cities in America are making efforts to revitalize their downtowns. However, the evaluation of their revitalization efforts has not been given much attention unlike larger urban communities. The objective of this paper is to identify successful small and midsized cities, explore the reasons for their success, and draw lessons that can aid less successful downtowns within this size. 16 cities were selected as case studies from the four US Census regions with a focus on their history and downtown revitalization process. The evaluation is addressed from socio-economic perspectives, and a comparative analysis of some key indicators of evaluating successful revitalization efforts. The result showed that, no downtown is the same in structure or problems faced but there is an opportunity for these smaller and midsized cities to learn from each other and adopt successful approaches used in other cities to help rejuvenate their own downtowns.Thesis (M.U.R.P.)Department of Urban Plannin