Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Non Saponifiable Lipids from Dieffenbachia picta (Lodd.) Schott. Leaves and Identification of a Lanostane Triterpenoid

Dieffenbachia picta (Lodd.) Schott, mostly used as ornamental plant, has not been thoroughly investigated for its medicinal properties due largely to the presence of oxalic acid deposited as crystals of calcium oxalate on parts of the plant especially the leaves. The present study however was aimed at providing an in-vitro evidence for the potential radical inhibitory activity of isolates obtained from n - hexane fraction of D. picta leaf found to have antioxidant properties in our previous study. Isolation of compounds was achieved by gradient elution column chromatographic technique. Ultra Violet/visible (UV), Infrared (IR) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR-1D and 2D) spectroscopic techniques were used for structural elucidation. Molecular mass was ascertained by low and high resolution Electron Impact (EI/EI-HR) mass spectrometry. Gas chromatography (GC) and gas – chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to characterize the lipid component.  Free radical scavenging activity of the isolates was assessed using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) method and butylated hydroxylanisole (BHA) was used as standard. Structures were proposed for the non saponifiable lipids as Tetradecyloctadecyl behenate (DP1) and 1~chlorotritriacontane (DP2) while phytol (31.44%), isopropyl palmitate (14.91%), isopropyl stearate (8.61%) were the major constituents of the oil (DP3). A lanostane triterpenoid 11β, 19-epoxy-Lanostan-3β-ol was also identified in the oil. DP1 and DP3 exhibited significant antioxidant activity with IC50 (μM) values of 43.5± 0.53 and 25.43±0.06 respectively comparable to the standard. The results of the present study indicated that D. picta is rich in antioxidant metabolites despite the presence of toxic calcium oxalate crystals. Keywords: Tetradecyloctadecyl behenate; phytol; 11β, 19-epoxy-Lanostan-3β-ol; 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical; Dieffenbachia pict

Classical and Variant Approaches to Synthesis of N-Mannich Bases of Phenyl Hydroxyl Ketones, Their Characterization, Urease Inhibition and Antioxidant Activities

In continuation of our synthesis and investigation of bioactivities of Mannich bases, synthesized N - Mannich bases were evaluated for their urease inhibition and antioxidant properties. Characterization was achieved by Ultraviolet/visible (UV), Infrared (IR), Nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR) and Mass spectrophotometries. Elemental analysis, optical rotation (OR) and circular dichroism (CD) measurement also confirmed and provided information about the structure of these compounds. Synthesis of novel 2-hydroxy-1,2,3-triphenyl-3-(phenylamino) propan-1-one, 2-hydroxy-1,2-diphenyl-3-(phenylamino) propan-1-one, 2-hydroxy-3-(2-hydroxyethylamino)-1,2,3-triphenylpropan-1-one and  2-hydroxy-1,2,3-triphenyl-3-(p-tolylamino)propan-1-one are newly reported along with 3-(2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)ethylideneamino)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1-(2,4,6-trimethoxy phenyl) propan-1-one prepared by a variant approach involving use of tertiary amine. Jack bean Urease was used for Urease inhibition assay while in vitro antioxidant screening of the compounds was carried out using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH).  IC50 values obtained showed that the compounds showed significant activities as urease inhibitors and antioxidants when compared with Thiourea, Ascorbic acid and Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) used as standards in the two assays. Kinetics of inhibition of H. pylori urease by 1-Phenylaminomethyl-naphthalen-2-ol (GK1) and 2-(3-Phenylaminopropionyloxy)-benzoic acid (GK5) indicated that enzyme activity decreased as concentration of test compound increased. The IC50 value of 14.5 ± 0.71 mM (GK1)  and 14.3± 0.32 (GK5) indicated better activity when compared to thiourea (21.6 ± 0.12) used as standard. Keywords: Benzoin; tertiary amine; urease; thiourea; antioxidant; butylated hydroxyanisol

Effectiveness of Surf Therapy for Children with Disabilities

Background: Few researchers have examined the effects of surf programs on children with disabilities. Due to previous research findings, surfing is being used, as the focus of physical activity intervention due to its numerous health and therapeutic benefits. Objective/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of an eight-week surfing intervention on various physical fitness measures in 71 children with disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder, down syndrome, global developmental delays, and cerebral palsy. The study also sought to compare the differences in overall fitness levels between the surf therapy group and an unstructured pool playgroup. Researchers predicted significant differences in the surf therapy group. Methods: The assessment procedure consisted of pre and post physical fitness measures selected from the Brockport Physical Fitness Test in two groups: surfing (n=71) and an unstructured aquatic program (n=20). Results: The results demonstrated significant improvements in core strength (p = 0.00), upper body strength (p = 0.00), flexibility (p = 0.01) and cardiorespiratory endurance (p = 0.00) in the surfing group. However, there were no significant differences in overall fitness levels between the surfing and unstructured pool playgroups. Body composition measurements on the surfing group demonstrated a significant reduction in total body fat % (p = 0.016) and fat free mass (p = 0.008) and a significant improvement in bone mineral density (p = 0.004) pre to post surf therapy. Conclusions: This research demonstrated the effectiveness and physiological benefits of surf therapy for children with selected disabilities

Comparative Biodiversity Assessment of Weed Species in Monocropping Plantations of University of Ilorin, Nigeria

The present study investigates the weed species diversity in four plantations of university of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria using quadrat method. The survey revealed two major life cycles (annual and perennial) and recorded a total of 88 weed species belonging to 32 families. Four species (Azadirachta indica, Daniellia oliveri, Desmodium tortuosum, and Tridax procumbens) were common in all the surveyed plantations while the family Fabaceae was the most dominant. The abundant weed species analysis showed a high importance value index and were more adapted to the plantations. Diversity analysis revealed high species richness in the sugarcane plantation. The non-canopy nature of the plantation, soil structure as well as ability to coexist with many other species may underscore the reasons for this pattern of diversity. The evenness and similarity indices between and across the plantations were generally low, thus, indicating varying diversity. As a result of the recorded variation in weed composition between and across the plantations, the study has provided an insight on the pattern of weed diversity in the studied plantations. The study recommended that the most abundant weed species populations be checked for the plantations to thrive. Finally, there is an urgent need to conserve weed species that are not only rare in abundance but also showed great social and economic values

Molecular Characterization of Potential Crop Pathogens Associated with Weeds as Endophytes in Uniilorin Plantations, Nigeria

عادة ما تحدث أمراض المحاصيل عن طريق لقاح من مسببات الأمراض التي قد توجد على عوائل بديلة أو حشائش مثل عائل نباتي داخلي. عادة ما تمنح هذه العوائل النباتية الداخلية ، مسببات الأمراض ، بعض السمات المفيدة لهذه الأعشاب أو المضيفات البديلة من الحماية ضد العواشب ، ومقاومة الأمراض ، وتحمل الإجهاد لإنتاج مركبات الايض الثانوية. لذلك أجريت هذه الدراسة لعزل مسببات الأمراض المحتملة التي توجد كعوائل نباتية داخلية في أنواع الادغال في مزارع جامعة إيلورين. جمعت الأوراق الخضراء عديمة الأعراض من 10 أنواع من الادغال عبر المزارع ، وتم معالجتها لعزل الفطريات من العائل النباتي الداخلي. تم تنقية العزلات إلى مستنبتات نقية واستخدمت في التعريف الجزيئي باستخدام منطقة المباعد المنسوخة الداخلية (ITS) للحمض النووي الريبوسومي. كشف التحليل الوراثي للتسلسل الفطري باستخدام برنامج MEGA عن 9 أجناس فطرية تنتمي إلى 13 نوعًا ، مع وجود أنواع في الأجناس Curvularia و Epicoccum و Daldinia في أكثر من نوع واحد من الادغال ، بينما توجد أجناس أخرى مثل Alternaria و Fusarium و Chaetomium و Macrophomina و Arthrinium و Phomopsis في نوع واحد فقط من الادغال لكل منهما. تم عزل Daldinia eschscholtzii في هذه الدراسة باعتباره عائل نباتي داخلي من Loudetia arundinacea لأول مرة. هذا النبات متوفر بكثرة في نيجيريا وإفريقيا حيث يتم استخدامه بشكل رئيسي بتغطية السقوف بالقش وتغذية المواشي. يمثل هذا أيضًا أول فطريات في عائل نباتي داخلي من جنس Loudetia.. تمت مناقشة العلاقة المحتملة بين حدوث هذه الفطريات باعتبارها عائل نباتي داخلي ومسببات الأمراض. تمثل هذه الاكتشافات أول تحديد جزيئي واسع النطاق والعديد من التقارير الأولية عن عوائل نباتات داخلية من هذه الأنواع من الادغال. تمثل هذه النتائج أيضًا التسجيل الأولي لبعض هذه الفطريات في نيجيريا.Crop diseases are usually caused by inoculum of pathogens which might exist on alternate hosts or weeds as endophytes. These endophytes, cum pathogens, usually confer some beneficial attributes to these weeds or alternate hosts from protection against herbivores, disease resistance, stress tolerance to secondary metabolites production. This study was therefore carried out to isolate potential crop pathogens which exist as endophytes on weed species in the University of Ilorin plantations. Green asymptomatic leaves were collected from 10 weed species across the plantations, and processed for their endophytic fungi isolation. Isolates were purified into pure cultures and used for molecular identification using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA. Phylogenetic analysis of the fungal sequences using MEGA software revealed 9 fungal genera belonging to 13 species, with species in the genera Curvularia, Epicoccum and Daldinia occurring in more than one weed species, while other genera such as Alternaria, Fusarium, Chaetomium, Macrophomina, Arthrinium and Phomopsis occurred in just one weed species each. Daldinia eschscholtzii was isolated in this study as an endophyte from Loudetia arundinacea for the first time. This plant is very abundant in Nigeria and Africa where it is used majorly for thatching and feeding livestocks. This also represents the first endophytic fungi from the genus Loudetia. Potential relationship between the occurrences of these fungi as endophytes and as pathogens are discussed. These discoveries represent the first large-scale molecular identification and several first reports of endophytes from these weed species. These results also represent the first records of some of these fungi in Nigeria

National inventory of emergency departments in Singapore

Background: Emergency departments (EDs) are the basic units of emergency care. We performed a national inventory of all Singapore EDs and describe their characteristics and capabilities. Methods: Singapore EDs accessible to the general public 24/7 were surveyed using the National ED Inventories instrument ( http://www.emnet-nedi.org). ED staff members were asked about ED characteristics with reference to calendar year 2007. Results: Fourteen EDs participated (100% response). All EDs were located in hospitals, and most (92%) were independent departments. One was a psychiatric ED; the rest were general EDs. Among general EDs, all had a contiguous layout, with medical and surgical care provided in one area. All but two EDs saw both adults and children; one ED was adult-only, and the other saw only children. Six were in the public sector and seven in private health-care institutions, with public EDs seeing the majority (78%) of ED patients. Each private ED had an annual patient census of 60,000. They received 98% of ambulances and had an inpatient admission rate of 30%. Two public EDs reported being overcapacity; no private EDs did. For both public and private EDs, availability of consultant resources in EDs was high, while technological resources varied. Conclusion: Characteristics and capabilities of Singapore EDs varied and were largely dependent on whether they are in public or private hospitals. This initial inventory establishes a benchmark to further monitor the development of emergency care in Singapore

Frequency and predictors of the lupus low disease activity state in a multi-national and multi-ethnic cohort

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Research achievements in plant resistance to insect pests of cool season food legumes

Plant resistance to at least 17 field and storage insect pests of cool season food legumes has been identified. For the most part, this resistance was located in the primary gene pools of grain legumes via conventional laboratory, greenhouse, and field screening methods. The use of analytical techniques (i.e., capillary gas chromatography) to characterize plant chemicals that mediate the host selection behavior of pest insects offers promise as a new, more rapid way to differentiate between insect-resistant and susceptible plant material. Examples of research achievements in mechanisms of resistance and host-plant resistance within the context of integrated control programs are discussed. Accelerating the development and subsequent releases of insect-resistant cultivars to pulse farmers requires more involvement from interdisciplinary teams of plant breeders, entomologists, plant pathologists, plant chemists, molecular biologists, and other scientist