The fiduciary duties of agents / Nor Sa' Adah Abd. Rahman

Sorretirres a person may not be able to act for himself. He may suddenly fall ill and be unable to walk, in which case he may enlist the help of another to my medicine for him. A houseowner who wishes to sell his home may require the help of a broker to sell his house for him. In such cases the person who acts for another is called an 'agent' and the person for whom or on whose behalf he acts is called the 'principal'. Agency therefore is the relationship which subsists between the principal and the agent who has been authorised to act for him or represent him in dealing with others. The relationship of principal and agent is a very conunon one in the modern day msiness world. The word Agency in a general way signifies the relationship that arises when one party uses another party to accomplish some purpose. There are three parties in an agency relationship, that is the party who authorizes another to do sorre business, the authorized party and the party with whom the msiness is transacted. The role and function of an agent is primarily to bring his principal and third party are brought into a contractual relationship he drops out. The agent does not become a party to the final arrangement. As in the case of Plantation Agency Sdn. Bhd. V Hi. Ari'ffin2 the court held that an agent is not personally liable in contract made by his principa

What is a normal blood glucose?

Glucose is the key metabolic substrate for tissue energy production. In the perinatal period the mother supplies glucose to the fetus and for most of the gestational period the normal lower limit of fetal glucose concentration is around 3 mmol/L. Just after birth, for the first few hours of life in a normal term neonate appropriate for gestational age, blood glucose levels can range between 1.4 mmol/L and 6.2 mmol/L but by about 72 h of age fasting blood glucose levels reach normal infant, child and adult values (3.5-5.5 mmol/L). Normal blood glucose levels are maintained within this narrow range by factors which control glucose production and glucose utilisation. The key hormones which regulate glucose homoeostasis include insulin, glucagon, epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol and growth hormone. Pathological states that affect either glucose production or utilisation will lead to hypoglycaemia. Although hypoglycaemia is a common biochemical finding in children (especially in the newborn) it is not possible to define by a single (or a range of) blood glucose value/s. It can be defined as the concentration of glucose in the blood or plasma at which the individual demonstrates a unique response to the abnormal milieu caused by the inadequate delivery of glucose to a target organ (eg, the brain). Hypoglycaemia should therefore be considered as a continuum and the blood glucose level should be interpreted within the clinical scenario and with respect to the counter-regulatory hormonal responses and intermediate metabolites

Nutritive potential and utilization of super worm (Zophobas morio) meal in the diet of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) juvenile

Super worm meal (SWM) was evaluated to investigate the effect of partial or total replacement of fish meal (FM) in diets for tilapia juvenile, Oreochromis niloticus. Triplicate groups of fish with average initial body weight (5.57 ± 0.15 g) were fed each with 5 isonitrogeneous (32% crude protein) diets formulated to include 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% (diets 1 – 5, respectively) of FM substituted with SWM. After eight weeks of feeding trials, fish fed with diet 2 and 3 revealed the highest values for live weight gain, specific growth rates, better feed conversion ratio as well as protein efficiency ratio compared to the others. Survival range was 100% in all the treatments. However, fish fed to diet 5 exhibited lower growth than those fed others diets. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in the moisture, protein, lipid and ash content in the whole body composition. These results clearly indicate that up to 25% of FM protein in fish diet can be replaced by SWM without any adverse effect on feed utilization and body composition. A decrease in weight gain and other growth associated parameters was observed with higher replacement.Key words: Feed utilization, growth performance, insect based diet, Oreochromis niloticus, super worm meal, Zophobas morio

Storage Stabilisation of Albumin-Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles by Lyoprotectants

Purpose: To investigate the effect of lyoprotectants on the physical and storage stability of lyophilised bovine serum albumin-loaded chitosan/dextran sulphate (BSA-loaded CS/DS) nanoparticles.Methods: BSA-loaded CS/DS nanoparticles were prepared by ionic-gelation technique. The nanoparticles were harvested by ultra-centrifugation and then various lyoprotectants at different concentrations were added to the nanoparticles prior to lyophilisation at – 40 oC for 24 h. Particle sizeand distribution as well as zeta potential of the nanoparticles were measured by dynamic light scattering method. Entrapment efficiency and BSA retained in the nanoparticles matrices were determined spectrophotometrically at ëmax of 595 nm.Results: The results indicate that 0.5 %w/v trehalose was the most effective lyoprotectant and it essentially maintained the particle size of lyophilised BSA-loaded CS/DS nanoparticles which changed slightly from 188 ± 11 nm to 174 ± 14 nm during lyophilisation. Mannitol was also as effective as trehalose at 0.1 and 1.0 % w/v in stabilising the nanoparticles. The particle size of lyophilized nanoparticles increased moderately from 188 ± 11 nm to 234 ± 12 nm and 287 ± 18 nm at 0.1 and 1.0 % w/v, respectively. In contrast, the other lyoprotectants (inulin and histidine) did not show stabilizing effects. Moreover, trehalose also reduced the degree of particle aggregation from 329 ± 16 to 836 ± 21 nm upon storage for 24 h as compared to CS/DS nanoparticles without trehalose; from 438 ± 14 to1298 ± 18 (p < 0.05). The rate of BSA leakage from the nanoparticles containing trehalose was reduced from 92 to 42 % over a 11-day storage period compared with 99 to 0 % for CS/DS nanoparticles without trehalose.Conclusion: Trehalose (0.5 % w/v) is a promising lyoprotectant for storage stabilisation of BSA-loaded CS/DS nanoparticles.Keywords: Lyoprotectant, Chitosan, Nanoparticles, Trehalose, Bovine serum albumin, Ultracentrifugatio

Ethanolic extract of melgota (Macaranga postulata) for repellency, insecticidal activity against rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae)

Ethanolic extract of Melgota is used for repellency, insecticidal activity against rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae) with emphasis on chemical investigation. Fruits of Melgota (Macaranga postulata) wereextracted on different solvents as in ethanol, acetone, petroleum ether, distilled water and the extracts were concentrated and dried. The ethanol extracts of Melgota (M. postulata) of differentconcentrations were investigated for their repellency and insecticidal activity against S. oryzae. Average mortality percentage indicated that the extracts caused significant mortality and repellencyon the target insects and bioassays indicated that the toxic and repellent effect was proportional to the concentration and higher concentration has stronger effect. Observed mortality percentageincreased with increase in time intervals after treatment. Mortality percentage at 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, and 1.50 h after treatment (HAT) indicated that 4% solution showed the highest mortality (34.0%) in S.oryzae at 1.50 HAT compared to pediculus humanus. Mortality percentage showed parallel response to the level of concentration at different time intervals after treatment. 1% fruit extract of Melgota (M.postulata) showed the lowest repellency 9.84 % in case of rice weevil. On other side, 2% showed 12.76% and 4% showed 22.43% respectively. TLC of crude ethanol extract of Melgota (M. postulata)showed six distinct compounds at uv-visible light

Investigating the role of gut hormones in energy and glucose homeostasis

Obesity is associated with type-2 diabetes mellitus. Gut hormones are peptides secreted in response to nutrient intake that act to regulate food intake, energy and glucose homeostasis. Thus, alterations in gut hormone abundance and/or signalling can contribute to the development of the obese and T2DM phenotype. The incretin hormones glucagon-like peptide-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic hormone augment glucose-mediated insulin secretion. Peptide YY is released from the gut post-prandially and acts primarily as a satiety signal. Recently studies have highlighted a role for PYY in regulating glucose homeostasis, which to date remains partially understood. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 is involved in the biological inactivation of the incretins hence; DPP-4 inhibition is used to treat T2DM. DPP-4 also regulates PYY. Thus, DPP-4 inhibition may potentially impact on pancreatic PYY function and signalling and may alter the effects of the PYY system on glucose homeostasis. In addition, gut peptides have been identified as possible contributors to cases of hyperinsulinaemic-hypoglycaemia resulting from bariatric surgery. Therefore, this thesis aimed to (1) determine the contribution of pancreatic PYY deletion to the intra-islet PYY system; glucose homeostasis and body weight phenotype and (2) establish the impact of hyperinsulinism on DPP-4 and its gut hormone substrates. To address the first point, pancreatic-specific Pyy null mice were phenotyped for changes in the pancreatic endocrine system, followed by body weight and glucose metabolism, in vivo. Further investigations measuring gut hormone mRNA suggested the intra-islet system was contributing to the observed reduction in weight gain and hyperinsulinaemia. Finally, patients with congenital forms of HI were evaluated for PYY, the incretins and DPP-4. This study highlighted a role for DPP-4, PYY and GIP in mediating HI. In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates a role for gut hormones in energy and glucose homeostasis. Further work is required to understand the interaction of gut peptides on islet function

Pyocolpos with imperforate hymen during early childhood presented with urine retention and bouts of intestinal obstruction

An imperforate hymen is not a rare condition in female newborns, but is often ignored in a genital examination by doctors. We report an unusual case of a 2 years old Sudanese girl with an imperforate hymen and pyocolpos presented with urine retention and intermittent bouts of intestinalobstruction. To our knowledge, this is a first case of female child with  pyocolpos to be documented in Sudan literature. Keywords: Hydrocolpos, urinary ascites, hymenotomy

Antibacterial activity of some wild medicinal plants collected from western Mediterranean coast, Egypt: Natural alternatives for infectious disease treatment

Traditional medicine has a key role in health care worldwide. Obtaining scientific information about the efficacy and safety of the wild plants grown in western Mediterranean coast of Egypt is one of our research goals. In this study, 10 wild plants namely Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, Blackiella aellen, Arthrocnemon glaucum, Atriplex halimus, Thymelaea hirsute, Carduus getulus, Nicotiana glauca, Alhagi maurorum, Atractylis carduus and Echinops spinosissimus were collected from El-Hammam, Burg El Arab and Bahig regions located along the Western Mediterranean coast of Egypt. Hexane and methanol extracts of fresh aerial parts of the plants were screened in vitro for antimicrobial activity against 15 Gram positive and negative pathogenic bacteria. Both methanol and hexane plant extracts showed strong antibacterial activity against at least two pathogenic microorganisms tested. However, hexane extracts generally showed lower activity against microorganisms compared to methanol extracts. The microorganisms’ susceptibility to different extracts did not correlate with the susceptibility or resistance to a particular antibiotic. The results of this study thus support the medical usage of the studied plants and suggest that some of these plants possess antimicrobial properties that can be used to cure infectious diseases.Key words: Egyptian wild plants, antagonism, biological control, phytochemicals, multi-drug resistant

miR-181a regulates multiple pathways in hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) constitute a class of small non-coding RNAs that play essential roles in a variety of biological processes including apoptosis, proliferation and differentiation. Altered expression of miRNAs in head and neck cancer has been reported, but the consequences of aberrant expression of specific miRNAs on cancer pathways remain vague. Therefore, it is important to identify and elucidate pathways that may be regulated by specific miRNAs in this disease. miR-181a was up-regulated in head and neck versus normal tissues, thus pathway analysis was performed to profile the changes in the activities of ten signaling pathways relevant to cancer influenced by down-regulation of miR-181a. Expression of four pathway reporters were significantly increased (p53/DNA damage, TGFβ, MAPK/ERK and MAPK/JNK), while expression of two pathway reporters were decreased (Wnt and NFkB) upon miR-181a down-regulation. Notch, Myc/Max, hypoxia and cell cycle/pRB-E2F pathways were not significantly affected by miR-181a down-regulation. This study provides insight into the understanding of miRNA regulation on major cancer pathways.Key words: MicroRNA, head and neck cancer, miR-181a, pathway analysis, luciferase assay, FaDu cell line, transfection, qRT-PCR

Alterations in the lipid profile and liver enzymes of rats treated with monosodium glutamate

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of monosodium glutamate on the liver and lipid profile of eighteen adult male Wistar rats as measured by biochemical parameters. The rats received monosodium glutamate at dose rate of 0, 0.5 and 1.0g per day for 28 days. There was significant increase (P<0.05) in aminotransferases i.e. alanine and aspartate aminotransferases as well as increase in total plasma cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol most obvious at higher dose of 1.0g of monosodium glutamate. Though there was decrease in plasma protein concentration, triglyceride and high density lipoprotein cholesterol which was not statistically significant, therefore monosodium glutamate has both hepatotoxic and dyslipidaemia effects due to its alterations in both aminotransferase activities and lipid profile, hence monosodium glutamate though a flavor enhancer food additive but it must be carefully used in food preparation due to it alterations in both the liver enzymes and the lipid profile.Keywords: Adult rats, dyslipidaemia, flavor enhancer, hepatotoxic, monosodium glutamat