Ameliorative Effect of Aqueous Seed Extract of Citrullus Lanatus (Water Melon) on Liver Function Parameters and Markers of Oxidative Stress in Lead Treated Rats

Extensive and unmonitored use of lead in developing and industrialized countries is posing a serious threat to human health. Prolonged exposure of a sub-lethal dose of this toxicant is closely related to its accumulation in various soft tissues and its interference with bio elements that hamper several physiological processes. The study was designed to investigate the potential effect of aqueous seed extract of Citrullus lanatus on liver function parameters and oxidative stress markers. Forty healthy albino rats of both sexes were randomly divided into four groups: Group 1: Normal, Group 2 Lead untreated, dose 15mg/kg lead acetate. Group 3 and 4 were dosed 15mg/kg lead acetate and aqueous seed extract 50mg/kg and 100 mg/kg respectively for 21 days. The present study revealed that AST, ALT and ALP levels were significantly increased (P < 0.05) in lead induced untreated group compared to control. There was no observed difference in serum total proteins (P > 0.05) among all the groups but albumin, significantly decreased (P < 0.05) compared to control. Serum vitamin A and E concentration were shown to have decreased in lead untreated groups while Vitamin C level remained unchanged. The level of GSH and catalase activity increased in the treatment groups with decreased in MDA level. It is therefore suggested that aqueous seed extract of water melon might be rich in antioxidants, hence effective in preventing lipid peroxidation. Keywords: Antioxidants, Citrullus lanatus, Lead, Oxidative stress

Investigation of waste banana peels and radish leaves for their biofuels potential

This article is mainly based on the production of biodiesel and bioethanol from waste banana peels and radish leaves. The oily content from both the samples were converted to biodiesel by acid catalyzed and base catalyzed transesterification using methanol and ethanol. The biodiesel so obtained was subjected to analysis in accordance with the American Standard for Testing Materials (ASTM). The carbohydrates were extracted by distilled water and characterized by physical, chemical and biochemical methods. The carbohydrates were subjected to anaerobic fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce bioethanol which was confirmed by the preparation of UV active derivatives namely ethyl benzoate and ethyl salicylate. The highest % yield of fatty acid methyl ester and fatty acid ethyl ester was found to be 75% and 38%, respectively. The yield of bioethanol from banana peels and radish leaves was found to be 1.37% and 1.23%, respectively. KEY WORDS: Oil, Transesterification, Biodiesel, Carbohydrates, Fermentation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Bioethanol Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2015, 29(2), 239-245DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v29i2.

A Model of Dynamic Resource Allocation in Workflow Systems

Current collaborative work environments are characterized by dynamically changing organizational structures. Although there have been several efforts to refine work distribution, especially in workflow management, most literature assumes a static database approach which captures organizational roles, groups and hierarchies and implements a dynamic roles based agent assignment protocol. However, in practice only partial information may be available for organizational models, and in turn a large number of exceptions may emerge at the time of work assignment. In this paper we present an organizational model based on a policy based normative system. The model is based on a combination of an intentional logic of agency and a flexible, but computationally feasible, non-monotonic formalism (Defeasible Logic). Although this paper focuses on the model specification, the proposed approach to modelling agent societies provides a means of reasoning with partial and unpredictable information as is typical of organizational agents in workflow system

Flood Risk Management: Exploring the Impacts of the Community Rating System Program on Poverty and Income Inequality

Flooding remains a major problem for the United States, causing numerous deaths and damaging countless properties. To reduce the impact of flooding on communities, the U.S. government established the Community Rating System (CRS) in 1990 to reduce flood damages by incentivizing communities to engage in flood risk management initiatives that surpass those required by the National Flood Insurance Program. In return, communities enjoy discounted flood insurance premiums. Despite the fact that the CRS raises concerns about the potential for unevenly distributed impacts across different income groups, no study has examined the equity implications of the CRS. This study thus investigates the possibility of unintended consequences of the CRS by answering the question: What is the effect of the CRS on poverty and income inequality? Understanding the impacts of the CRS on poverty and income inequality is useful in fully assessing the unintended consequences of the CRS. The study estimates four fixed-effects regression models using a panel data set of neighborhood-level observations from 1970 to 2010. The results indicate that median incomes are lower in CRS communities, but rise in floodplains. Also, the CRS attracts poor residents, but relocates them away from floodplains. Additionally, the CRS attracts top earners, including in floodplains. Finally, the CRS encourages income inequality, but discourages income inequality in floodplains. A better understanding of these unintended consequences of the CRS on poverty and income inequality can help to improve the design and performance of the CRS and, ultimately, increase community resilience to flood disasters

Desain Produk Jemuran Anti Hujan Menggunakan Metode Quality Function Deployment (Qfd)

Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk perancangan produk jemuran otomatis anti hujan dengan berfokus pada keinginan konsumen. Masalah yang terjadi pada masyarakat seperti anak kost seringnya pakaian yang dijemur terkena air hujan ketika ditinggalkan dari tempat tinggal karena tidak ada yang mengangkatnya, padahal ketika menjemur cuaca terang dan ketika ditinggalkan cuaca berubah menjadi hujan. Berdasarkan permasalahan tersebut akan dilakukan perancangan dan pengembangan produk jemuran otomatis dengan menggunakan metode QFD (Quality Function Deployment). Pengambilan data menggunakan sampel yang terdiri dari 68 responden yang terdiri anak kost di daerah Yogyakarta yang sering menjemur pakaian sendiri. Hasil analisa diketahui pengembangan produk yang perlu dilakukan adalah customer need ke 2 yaitu menutup otomatis yang masuk pada kategori A, sehingga sangat perlu dibutuhkan inovasi atau pengembangan agar sesuai keinginan konsumen dan tidak tertinggal dari produk kompetitor. Relasi antara customer requirement dan technical requirement dapat dilihat bahwa kepentingan terbesar terdapat pada kebutuhan teknis jenis bahan dengan nilai kepentingan 124,2, artinya untuk mendukung pengembangan pemenuhan customer needs yang ke 2, maka Perusahaan harus fokus pada kebutuhan teknis tersebut

Characterization of recombinant rat cathepsin B and nonglycosylated mutants expressed in yeast. New insights into the pH dependence of cathepsin B-catalyzed hydrolyses.

The cysteine proteinase rat cathepsin B was expressed in yeast in an active form and was found to be heterogeneously glycosylated at the consensus sequence for N-linked oligosaccharide substitution. Purified enzyme fractions containing the highest levels of glycosylation were shown to have reduced activity. A glycosylation minus mutant constructed by site-directed mutagenesis (by changing the Ser to Ala in the consensus sequence) was still secreted by the yeast and was shown to be functionally identical with purified rat liver cathepsin B. Recombinant cathepsin B was used to further characterize the pH dependence of cathepsin B-catalyzed hydrolyses using 7-amido-4-methylcoumarin (AMC) and p-nitroaniline (pNA) substrates with arginine as the P1, and either arginine or phenylalanine as the P2 residue. The AMC and pNA groups give insights into the leaving group binding site (P') of cathepsin B. These studies show for the first time that at least seven dissociable groups are involved in substrate binding and hydrolysis in cathepsin B activity. Two of these groups, with pKa values of 6.9 and 7.7 in the recombinant enzyme, are in the leaving group binding site and are most likely His110 and His111. The same groups in rat liver cathepsin B have higher pKa values than in recombinant cathepsin B, but have identical function in the two enzymes. Two other groups are probably the active site Cys29 and His199 with pKa values of 3.6 and 8.6, respectively. A group with a pKa of 5.1 interacts with substrates containing Arg at P2, and the group is most likely Glu245. The remaining two groups, one with a pKa of about 4.9 and the other about 5.3, are most likely carboxyl residues possibly interacting with Arg at P1 in the substrate. The possible candidates on the basis of the x-ray structure are Asp22, Asp69, Glu171, and Glu122, all found within a 13 A radius from the active site thiol of Cys29

Application of Firefly Optimization Algorithm to the Design and Characterization of Helmholtz Coils for Magnetic Field Sensor Calibration

This paper presents the application of Firefly Optimization Algorithm (FOA) to the design and characterization of Helmholtz coils to create homogenous magnetic field needed for calibrating magnetic field sensors and used for other experiments. Magnetometer is used to monitor and record the earth’s magnetic field data at the geomagnetic observatory. Earth’s magnetic field data from ground-based magnetometer observatories are important for studying geomagnetic storm. The absence of earth’s magnetic field data observatories results in a complex mysterious phenomenon of geomagnetic storm and remains as unexplained one. Fluxgate magnetometer is contributing to the ongoing extensive research work dedicated to the explanation of some of the complex phenomena related to geomagnetic storm and solar terrestrial system. In order to examine magnetic field sensing of a fluxgate sensor, a large area with uniform magnetic field is required. The advantage of having a large area is to allow easy access of the sensor during magnetic field measurements. A laboratory design and characterization of high quality Helmholtz coils is a better choice when Helmholtz coil with larger areas that are available in the market are very expensiv

Hepatitis B testing and treatment in HIV patients in The Gambia - compliance with international guidelines and clinical outcomes

Background Compliance with WHO guidelines on HBV screening and treatment in HIV-coinfected patients is often challenging in resource limited countries and has been poorly assessed in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Between 2015 and 2016, we assessed physician’s compliance with WHO guidelines on HIV-HBV coinfection in the largest HIV clinic in The Gambia, and the hepatic outcomes in HIV-HBV coinfected patients as compared to randomly selected HIV-monoinfected controls. Results 870 HIV-infected patients regularly seen in this clinic agreed to participate in our study. Only 187 (21.5%, 95% CI 18.8–24.3) had previously been screened for HBsAg, 23 (12.3%, 95% CI 8.0–17.9) were positive of whom none had liver assessment and only 6 (26.1%) had received Tenofovir. Our HBV testing intervention was accepted by all participants and found 94/870 (10.8%, 95% CI 8.8–13.1) positive, 78 of whom underwent full liver assessment along with 40 HBsAg-negative controls. At the time of liver assessment, 61/78 (78.2%) HIV-HBV coinfected patients received ART with 7 (11.5%) on Tenofovir and 54 (88.5%) on Lamivudine alone. HIV-HBV coinfected patients had higher APRI score compared to controls (0.58 vs 0.42, p = 0.002). HBV DNA was detectable in 52/53 (98.1%) coinfected patients with 14/53 (26.4%) having HBV DNA >20,000 IU/L. 10/12 (83.3%) had at least one detectable 3TC-associated HBV resistance, which tended to be associated with increase in liver fibrosis after adjusting for age and sex (p = 0.05). Conclusions Compliance with HBV testing and treatment guidelines is poor in this Gambian HIV programme putting coinfected patients at risk of liver complications. However, the excellent uptake of HBV screening and linkage to care in our study suggests feasible improvements

Assessment of Entrepreneurial Education and Diversity Management: a Gateway to Sustainable Development in Nigeria

The study assessed the contributions of entrepreneurship Education course in enhancing management/ entrepreneurial skills of informal entrepreneurs and diversity management. Informal entrepreneurs are those who passed through the technical/vocational schools and have certificates with which they are carrying out their entrepreneurship as a result of the fact that they are not able to move forward academically. Two research questions guided the study. The population, which was used as the sample for the study because of its small size, was 41 informal entrepreneurs in Delta North Senatorial District of Delta State. The instruments for data collection were a 140 item questionnaire. The mean was used for data analysis. Results showed that the entrepreneurship knowledge given to these informal entrepreneurs were adequate but are not re-enforced and some of the trade areas get less of what they are supposed to get. Attention also should be given to the technical aspect. The informal entrepreneurs in their fields of business have seen the entrepreneurship education as very important. Based on these, recommendations were made