Exploring the Phytochemical Properties of Prosopis africana Plants and Assessing their Antimicrobial Potential Against Selected Clinical Strains

Natural products continue to play a significant role in drug discovery and development, and plants are recognised as a reservoir of myriads of active antimicrobial natural products. Prosopis africana plants obtained from Bauchi were explored in the research to ascertain the bioactive components present in the plant parts. About one hundred (100 g) grams of ground samples of the root, stem bark, and leaves of the plant were extracted (maceration method) using n-hexane, diethyl ether, ethyl acetate, acetone, and methanol sequentially in order of increasing polarity. The percentage yields for the crude extracts of the root, stembark, and leaves were 7.0, 6.0, and 4.0%, respectively, while those of acetone, ethyl acetate, diethyl ether, and hexane also showed significant variations. The presence of alkaloid, tannin, flavonoid, saponin, terpene, cardiac glycoside, starch, resin, phlobatannin, and phenol in the phytochemical test is an indicator of the great attributes of the plant's parts on microorganisms. This was further confirmed on strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albican using agar healthy diffusion techniques. The antimicrobial results show a higher zone of inhibition at concentrations of 400 mg/ml compared to 200 mg/ml, 100 mg/mL, and 50 mg/ml of the extract concentration. It is therefore concluded that with the global quest to search for new antibacterial active components that arose as a result of multiple drug resistances, the plant parts (root, stembark, and leaves) of Prosopis africana can provide an alternative source of such bioactive compounds, thereby mitigating the increase in drug resistance among species of bacteria

Effect of Diesel Fuel Blend on Flame and Emission Characteristics of Used Engine Oil as Heating Fuel Using Swirl Waste Oil Burner

Highly viscous fuels present combustion challenges due to poor atomization and consequent inefficient air-fuel mixture, however, due to the demand for cheap heating fuels; burner design and fuel properties are continually optimized to enhance their combustion and emission performance. In this study, used engine oil was drained from the sump of a compression ignition engine; the oil was pre-treated to remove particulate matter, water and ferromagnetic materials. The oil samples were then blended with diesel fuel at different volumetric proportions and were characterized according to ASTM standard. The fuel samples were then combusted using atomizing swirl waste oil burner; flame temperature and flame size were measured using infrared thermometer and direct photography respectively. The burner was then mounted to a combustion chamber and the emission gases and flue gas temperatures were measured using a flue gas analyser and digital thermometer respectively. It was revealed that increasing diesel fuel blend decreases the density and viscosity of the fuel samples. All the blended fuel samples were found to form a homogenous mixture and generated flame temperature higher than the unblended oil sample (B0), B20 generated the highest flame temperature of 1400 °C with flame size of 340 × 210 mm and the lowest carbon monoxide (CO) emission of 0.49 %, unburned hydrocarbon (HC) of 249 ppm and the highest carbon dioxide (CO2) of 12.87 % levels. In view of this, diesel fuel can be used as a good blending candidate to used engine oil to improve flame temperature and decrease emission levels in swirl waste oil burners

Setting a Nigeria national malaria operational research agenda: the process

Abstract Background Employing malaria operational research (MOR) findings in planning national malaria control programmes is gaining increased attention. The malaria control foci are diverse, resources are limited; therefore, agreeing on priority areas is critical. Hitherto, the process of prioritising MOR questions in Nigeria has been limited to few stakeholders. In support of the National Malaria Elimination Programme’s (NMEP) effort at setting a MOR agenda, the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (NFELTP) in collaboration with NMEP conducted preliminary exploratory study to identify key malaria research gaps and needs, and provide data to inform setting a robust national MOR agenda. The process of generating data is presented in this paper. Methods A twelve-member task-team comprising NFELTP, university researchers and NMEP officers was commissioned. Following an inaugural meeting the task-team developed a framework of activities and held five planning meetings, conducted five-week online and self-administered paper-based surveys, key informant interview (KII), two-day desk review workshop, seven-day qualitative data analysis, ten-day result and five-day report writing workshops. Paired group members conducted the interviews across six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Abridged study report was used for a two-day MOR setting agenda stakeholders’ workshop. Results A structured framework, study protocol and data collection instruments were developed and submitted for ethical approval. The instruments included survey questionnaire for detailed information on researchers and other stakeholders’ experience with MOR, the gaps and needs in thematic MOR areas; KII and Delphi guides. After an initial scoping review, primary data were collected from purposively selected survey participants using mixed methods: - online survey (n = 100), self-administered paper-based survey (n = 85), KII (n = 40), desk review workshop (n = 22) and Delphi interviews (n = 8). Comprehensive lists of research gaps/bottlenecks and needs were generated for each thematic area in malaria control. These were used at a two-day national MOR setting stakeholder workshop (n = 54) to guide the development of national MOR agenda document. Conclusions A systematic approach involving broad stakeholder engagement provided data and evidence-based information for development of a robust national MOR agenda. The processes involved are recommended for use in malaria endemic settings

Additional file 1: of Setting a Nigeria national malaria operational research agenda: the process

List of Reviewed Documents from the National Malaria Elimination Programme (available at www.nmcp.gov.ng/archives , accessed 2016 October 7). (DOCX 29 kb

Additional file 2: of Setting a Nigeria national malaria operational research agenda: the process

Nigeria National Malaria Operational Research Agenda Online Survey questionnaire. (DOC 144 kb

Additional file 3: of Setting a Nigeria national malaria operational research agenda: the process

Nigeria National Malaria Operational Research Agenda Key Informant Interview Guide. (PDF 44 kb