In vitro antibacterial activity of Synclisa scabrida whole root extracts

Ethanolic, cold water and hot water extracts of the root of Synclisia scabrida were tested, by the agarwell diffusion and macro-broth methods, for activity against clinical and typed strains of Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus sp. and Bacillussubtilis. The ethanolic extract was bactericidal at the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against 8 of the 10 test organisms (MIC, 3.125 to 12.50 mg/ml and MBC, 3.125 to 25.00 mg/ml). The cold water extract was bactericidal against E. coli (clin) and B. subtilis ATCC 6051 strains and bacteriostatic against 5 others while the hot water extract was bacteriostatic against 2 of the organisms at MIC. Three column chromatographic fractions of the crude ethanolic extract, Fss-1, Fss-2, and Fss-3, were active against 5 to 8 of the 10 test bacterial strains. Fss-3 was bacteriostatic against the Proteus sp. (clin), which was not susceptible to the crude ethanolic extract. Conversely, the crude ethanolic extract was bactericidal against P. aeruginosa ATCC 10145 to which none of the fractions showed activity. Thus, the results justify the folklore application of extracts of S. scabrida in treatment of bacterialgastroenteritis among other diseases

User's guide for the Nimbus 7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) CELL-ALL tape

The SMMR instrument onboard the Nimbus-7 satellite has been in operation since October 1978. It provided global coverage of passive microwave observations at 6.6, 10.7, 18, 21, and 37 GHz. The oberved brightness temperature can be used to retrieve geophysical parameters, principally sea surface temperature, atmospheric water vapor and liquid water content over oceans, sea ice concentration, and snow cover over land. The SMME CELL-ALL Tape contains earth-located calibrated brightness temperature data which have been appropriately binned into cells of various grid sizes, allowing intercomparisons of observations made at different frequencies (with corresponding different footprint sizes). This user's guide describes the operation of the instrument, the flow of the data processing the calibration procedure, and the characteristics of the calibrated brightness temperatures and how they are binned. Detailed tape specifications and lists of available data are also provided

Towards Agile Scalability Engineering

Scalability engineering is currently not well integrated into agile development techniques. This paper extends agile development techniques so that scalability can be handled in an incremental and iterative development process. By scalability we mean the ability of a system to handle increasing workload. We propose the ScrumScale Method which includes scalability engineering in Scrum. This extension should also be applicable to other agile techniques. For scalability testing, we indicate how quality thresholds should be scaled up or down according to the degree of completeness of the product, test hardware, test software, test data and test workload. Using action research, we have conducted three pilots in three Norwegian software organizations. These three pilots have different architectures and operate in different markets yet have in common scalability challengespublishedVersio

Comparative Cost and Strength Analysis of Cement and Aggregate Replacement Materials

This research presents a comparative cost and strength analysis of cement and aggregate replacement materials which is aimed at reducing the cost of concrete production. Tests were performed to compare the strength and cost of seven various cement replacement materials(rice husk ash, groundnut husk ash, palm oil fuel ash, bone powder ash, acha husk ash and bambara groundnut shell ash); six aggregate replacement materials (palm kernel shell, quarrydust, crushed spent fire bricks, periwinkle shell, recycled concrete and recycled rubber  tyres) were used.Various concrete cubes of 100mm, 150mm and 225mm thickness were prepared using water/cement ratio of 0.35 and a mix design of 1:1.5:3 batching by weight was adopted. The cement and aggregate replacement materials were varied at different proportions and percentages during mixing. Samples were tested for 7, 14 and 28day strength. The following test were performed on cube samples for both physical and mechanical properties;  particle size distribution, slump test, consistency, setting time test, water absorption test, compressive strength and marshal stability test. The analysis of the results showed that bone ash cement replacement material had the highest 28day strength but the rice husk ash appears to be more promising due to its low cost and availability as well as high strength value. Compressive strength at 28 day of crushed spent fire brick aggregate as partial replacement material was higher than the conventional river sand. Periwinkle shell can only be used as light weight aggregate. The cost of using conventional aggregate can be reduced to about 30% when palm kernel shell and quarry dust are used as partial replacement for aggregate. This study suggests that; the cost of construction and concrete production can be reduced if cement and aggregate replacement materials are used

Fracture healing following high energy tibial trauma: Ilizarov versus Taylor Spatial Frame

Introduction: The optimal treatment of high energy tibial fractures remains controversial and a challenging orthopaedic problem. The role of external fi xators for all these tibial fractures has been shown to be crucial. Methods: A fi ve-year consecutive series was reviewed retrospectively, identifying two treatment groups: Ilizarov and Taylor Spatial Frame (TSF; Smith & Nephew, Memphis, TN, US). Fracture healing time was the primary outcome measure. Results: A total of 112 patients (85 Ilizarov, 37 TSF) were identifi ed for the review with a mean age of 45 years. This was higher in women (57 years) than in men (41 years). There was no signifi cant difference between frame types (p=0.83). The median healing time was 163 days in both groups. There was no signifi cant difference in healing time between smokers and non-smokers (180 vs 165 days respectively, p=0.07), open or closed fractures (p=0.13) or age and healing time (Spearman's r=0.12, p=0.18). There was no incidence of non-union or re-fracture following frame removal in either group. Conclusions: Despite the assumption of the rigid construct of the TSF, the median time to union was similar to that of the Ilizarov frame and the TSF therefore can play a signifi cant role in complex tibial fractures

Sonographic evaluation of the spleen among sickle cell disease patients in a teaching hospital in Nigeria

Background: Regional variations in size and parenchyma echo-texture of the spleen among sickle cell disease (SCD) patients have been documented in various publications. The objectives of this study were to assess the size and parenchyma echo-texture of the spleen of SCD patients and ascertain the relationship of age, height and weight with the spleen sizes.Methods: This was a cross sectional study involving 103 each of SCD and age matched control subjects. Aloka ST- 550 -3500 ultrasound machine with 3.5 and 5 MHz convex transducers was used to scan the subjects over a 15 months period (September, 2012 to November, 2013). The age, height and weight of each subject were recorded.Results: The spleen sizes of SCD patients were generally larger than those of the controls (p < 0.05). Abnormal spleen parenchyma of varied appearances was found among the SCD subjects. There were negative correlations between mean spleen sizes and height, weight and age in SCD patients but positive correlations were found between them in the controls.Conclusion: Routine sonographic assessment of spleen size and echo-texture is useful in the management of SCD patients.Key words: sickle cell disease, sonography, spleen morphology, patient management, Nigerian population

Ferromagnetic properties of Zn1-xMnxO epitaxial thin films

We report on ferromagnetic characteristics of Zn1-xMnxO (x=0.1 and 0.3) thin films grown on Al2O3(00.1) substrates using laser molecular-beam epitaxy. By increasing the Mn content, the films exhibited increases in both the c-axis lattice constant and fundamental band gap energy. The Curie temperature obtained from temperature-dependent magnetization curves was 45 K for the film with x=0.3, depending on the Mn composition in the films. The remanent magnetization and coercive field of Zn0.9Mn0.1O at 5 K were 0.9 emu/g and 300 Oe, respectively. For Zn0.7Mn0.3O, the remanent magnetization at 5 K increased to 3.4 emu/g. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.open11509532sciescopu

Some Behavioural Responses Of Limicolaria aurora Exposed To Gramoxone

The effects of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 % of combined oral and dermal single-application of 0.1 M concentration of gramoxone (contact herbicide, paraquat chloride) on Limicolaria aurora were determined and compared with control using Amaranthus sp. as bait. Responses were measured through normal feeding and crawling, head retraction into the shell, swelling, excessive mucus secretion, lack of response to mechanical stimuli (mortality). Results showed no effects on controls. Snails exposed to gramoxone fed less as contamination increased. Gramoxone is molluscicidal, it can also result in behaviour–modifying observations in snails which are non-target organisms in the ecosystem. Key words: African giant land snail, gramoxone, ecotoxicology. Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences Vol.19(1&2) 2004: 82-8

Differentiation Therapy Targeting the β-Catenin/CBP Interaction in Pancreatic Cancer.

BACKGROUND:Although canonical Wnt signaling is known to promote tumorigenesis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a cancer driven principally by mutant K-Ras, the detailed molecular mechanisms by which the Wnt effector β-catenin regulates such tumorigenesis are largely unknown. We have previously demonstrated that β-catenin's differential usage of the Kat3 transcriptional coactivator cyclic AMP-response element binding protein-binding protein (CBP) over its highly homologous coactivator p300 increases self-renewal and suppresses differentiation in other types of cancer. AIM/METHODS:To investigate Wnt-mediated carcinogenesis in PDAC, we have used the specific small molecule CBP/β-catenin antagonist, ICG-001, which our lab identified and has extensively characterized, to examine its effects in human pancreatic cancer cells and in both an orthotopic mouse model and a human patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model of PDAC. RESULTS/CONCLUSION:We report for the first time that K-Ras activation increases the CBP/β-catenin interaction in pancreatic cancer; and that ICG-001 specific antagonism of the CBP/β-catenin interaction sensitizes pancreatic cancer cells and tumors to gemcitabine treatment. These effects were associated with increases in the expression of let-7a microRNA; suppression of K-Ras and survivin; and the elimination of drug-resistant cancer stem/tumor-initiating cells