Emilia Sonchifolia Extract as Green Corrosion Inhibitor for Mild Steel in Acid Medium using Weight Loss Method

The effect of naturally occurring Emilia Sonchifolia (ES) was investigated as corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in 1.0M H2SO4 using gravimetric measurement at 30oC and 60oC. The extract was found to retard corrosion rate of Mild steel. The inhibition efficiency (IE %) increased with increase in concentration of the ES extract up to 74.77% at 1.0 M. Increase in temperature increased the corrosion rate in the absence and presence of inhibitor but decreased the inhibition efficiency. ES was found to obey Langmuir adsorption isotherm and Kinetic-Thermodynamic Model of        El-Awady et al. at all the concentrations and temperatures studied. Phenomenon of physical adsorption is proposed from the activation parameters obtained. Thermodynamic parameters reveal that the adsorption process is spontaneous. Keywords: Emilia sonchifolia, corrosion, inhibitors, mild steel, acid, weight los

Evaluation of sesamum gum as an excipient in matrix tablets

In developing countries modern medicines are often beyond the affordability of the majority of the population. This is due to the reliance on expensive imported raw materials despite the abundance of natural resources which could provide an equivalent or even an improved function. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of sesamum gum (SG) extracted from the leaves of Sesamum radiatum (readily cultivated in sub-Saharan Africa) as a matrix former. Directly compressed matrix tablets were prepared from the extract and compared with similar matrices of HPMC (K4M) using theophylline as a model water soluble drug. The compaction, swelling, erosion and drug release from the matrices were studied in deionized water, 0.1 N HCl (pH 1.2) and phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) using USP apparatus II. The data from the swelling, erosion and drug release studies were also fitted into the respective mathematical models. Results showed that the matrices underwent a combination of swelling and erosion, with the swelling action being controlled by the rate of hydration in the medium. SG also controlled the release of theophylline similar to the HPMC and therefore may have use as an alternative excipient in regions where Sesamum radiatum can be easily cultivated

Climate change and socio-economic development in Botswana

No Abstract. Global Journal of Environmental Science Vol. 6 (2) 2007: pp. 107-11

The Politics of United Nations Arms Control and Terrorism in the Contemporary International System

States and other organised terrorist non-state actors are emboldened by ratification and verification lacuna in arms control agreements leading to their unabated violation of arms acquisition. This is aggravated too, by the weak enforcement mechanism for the control of arms proliferation in the global system. This paper x-rayed the politics of United Nations arms control and terrorism in the contemporary International system. The appropriation of Kenneth Waltz's (1979) State-centric realism theory was aptly deployed to underpin the arguments. Waltz's realist thought argues that the highest goal for a state is its existential perpetuation, hence, the need for pro security posture, and less of moral principle in the anarchic International system is underscored. The paper sees the emergence and continuity of terrorism as consequences of state pursuance of hegemonic status in the context of national interests and security even as it identified some pitfalls of the UN's efforts towards arms control. With logical sequence of data from secondary sources, content analyses were used to analyze the data. It was found that the most critical impediment to arms control, is the politics surrounding compliance and the focus on profiteering which the big5 state actors and private arm manufacturers are complicit and culpable. The paper therefore recommended among other things that to effectively control arms and terrorists spread, the UN should appropriate manufacturers license under its purview of supervision and escalate its watchdog role over the supply chain of weaponry from the point of manufacture to the end user

Evaluation of Some Fowl Pox, Gumboro and Newcastle Disease Vaccines Marketed in Nigeria

The quality of live commercial fowl pox (FP), Gumboro disease (GD) and Newcastle disease (ND) vaccines manufactured by four laboratories and on sale in Nigeria were tested. One of the nine vaccines yielded Aspergillus sp., two Salmonella sp. and three Escherichia coli when grown on culture media. All the four ND vaccines and one of the three FP vaccines tested contained the recommended virus titre. None of the two GD vaccines tested contained the recommended virus titre. Two of the three FP vaccines were able to protect 100% of vaccinated chicks challenged with a virulent FP virus. All chicks vaccinated orally (PO) or intramuscularly (IM) with Two of the three vaccines had pox lesions when challenged while only 17% of chicks had pox lesions following IM vaccination with one of the three FP vaccines. Two weeks post vaccination (PV) only 17% and 33% of the chicks vaccinated with two of the three GD vaccines had precipitin antibodies (PAb) in their sera while 100% of the chicks vaccinated with one of the three GD vaccines had PAb. All the three GD vaccines caused reduction in body weight gain and atrophy of the bursa of Fabricius when administered at one or 10 times the normal dose. The haemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody titre of ND vaccinated chicks was highest two weeks PV and in chicks vaccinated intraocularly with 10 times the normal dose. Only 50%, 56% and 78% of chicks vaccinated with three ND vaccines were protected when challenged with a local virulent ND virus. Live viral vaccines are therefore possible sources of bacterial and fungal infections for poultry in Nigeria. Some commercial vaccines contain low virus titres, are poorly immunogenic or pathogenic even at recommended dose therefore are unable to protect all vaccinated chicks when exposed to virulent viruses. The aforementioned factors are some of the likely causes of outbreaks of FP, GD and ND in vaccinated flocks in Nigeria. There is the need to routinely reassess the quality of all commercial poultry vaccines and maintain their quality by proper handling, transportation and storage. Vaccines should also to be properly administered by poultry farmers.Keywords: Safety, Poultry vaccines, Potency

ATHEROGENIC POTENTIALS OF SOME NIGERIAN MEALS

The atherogenic potentials of peeled grated cocoyam (Xanthosoma maffafa scot) "ekpang nkukwo", pounded yam (Discorea spp) with plain soup "afia efere", and plantain porridge (Musa paradisiaca) "iwuk ukom" meals were investigated. The three meals were fed to three different groups of albino rats of Wistar strain for a period of twenty eight days. A fourth group which served as control was feed with normal rat pellet. The mean total plasma cholesterol level in the pounded yam with plain soup fed group was significantly lower (P< 0.05) when compared to the control and peeled grated cocoyam fed groups. The mean total plasma triglyceride (MTPTG) level in the pounded yam with plain soup fed group was significantly lower (P< 0.05) when compared to the control group. However the MTPTG level in the peeled grated cocoyam and plantain porridge fed groups were comparable to control. The mean HDL-cholesterol level in the peeled grated cocoyam and plantain fed groups were comparable control. The mean LDL-cholesterol level in the peeled grated cocoyam and plantain porridge fed groups was significantly lower (P<0.05) than the control group. The LDL-cholesterol and VLDL-cholesterol in the pounded yam with plain soup fed group was significantly lower (P<0.05) when compared to control. These findings suggest low atherogenic potentials of the pounded yam with plain soup meal compared to the peeled grated cocoyam and plantain porridge meals

In vivo Micro-CT Analysis of Bone Remodeling in a Rat Calvarial Defect Model

The rodent calvarial defect model is commonly used to investigate bone regeneration and wound healing. This study presents a micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) methodology for measuring the bone mineral content (BMC) in a rat calvarial defect and validates it by estimating its precision error. Two defect models were implemented. A single 6 mm diameter defect was created in 20 rats, which were imaged in vivo for longitudinal experiments. Three 5 mm diameter defects were created in three additional rats, which were repeatedly imaged ex vivo to determine precision. Four control rats and four rats treated with bone morphogenetic protein were imaged at 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks post-surgery. Scan parameters were 80 kVp, 0.45 mA and 180 mAs. Images were reconstructed with an isotropic resolution of 45 microm. At 6 weeks, the BMC in control animals (4.37 +/- 0.66 mg) was significantly lower (p \u3c 0.05) than that in treated rats (11.29 +/- 1.01 mg). Linear regression between the BMC and bone fractional area, from 20 rats, showed a strong correlation (r(2) = 0.70, p \u3c 0.0001), indicating that the BMC can be used, in place of previous destructive analysis techniques, to characterize bone growth. The high precision (2.5%) of the micro-CT methodology indicates its utility in detecting small BMC changes in animals