Antibacterial Potential of Ximenia americana L. Olacaceae: Molecular Docking, Molecular Dynamics, and ADMET Prediction

Introduction:  The devastating effect of persistent and recurrent bacterial infections coupled with antibiotic resistance is a driving force for prospects into alternative antibacterial therapeutics to achieve treatment. This study investigates the antibacterial potential of Ximenia americana (XA) via molecular docking, molecular dynamics, and ADMET approach. Materials and methods: The ligands and target were downloaded from respective databases and docked using PyRx software followed by molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) with iMOD and CABflex 2.0 online servers then ADMET, drug likeness, lead likeness, and medicinal chemistry predictions of the top docked ligands using pkCSM and SwissADME online servers. Results: Stigmasterol exhibited the lowest binding affinity and inhibition constant respectively with all the targets; enoyl-acyl-carrier-protein reductase (-7.1 kcal/mol and 6.16 µM), Penicillin-binding Protein 2X (-8.8 kcal/mol and 0.35 µM), dihydrofolate reductase (-9.6 kcal/mol and 0.09 µM), dihydropteroate Synthase (-7.8 kcal/mol and 1.89 µM), UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyl transferase (-7.1 kcal/mol and 6.16 µM), and topoisomerase IV (-7.8 kcal/mol and 1.89 µM). The MDS showed several cluster displacements and residue fluctuations with the docked targets with higher residue fluctuations observed for enoyl-acyl-carrier-protein reductase (11.33 ?), Penicillin-binding Protein 2X (4.67 ?), dihydrofolate reductase (3.61 ?), dihydropteroate Synthase (4.97 ?), UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyl transferase (3.38 ?), and topoisomerase IV (4.35 ?). 4,4-Dimethylcyclohex-2-en-1-ol exhibited superior overall ADMET properties, oral bioavailability, drug-likeness, and medicinal chemistry. Conclusion: Conclusively, Stigmasterol and 4,4-Dimethylcyclohex-2-en-1-ol might be responsible for the antibacterial effect of XA. Although the latter showed better interaction with the target proteins, the former showed better ADMET properties, oral bioavailability, drug-likeness, and medicinal properties. However, improvement in these properties might enhance their antibacterial activity

Modelling Growth Kinetics of Klebsiella sp. FIRD 2 on TBT-Resistant Containing Lead

Tributyltin (TBT) is one of the most toxic substances ever deliberately introduced into the marine environment. The high toxicity of TBT has resulted in a wide range of adverse effects on biological systems ranging from bacteria to mammals and from the molecular to the community level. One of the most deleterious effects of TBT is imposex. The growth kinetics of TBT-Resistant Bacterium containing lead was studied. In this study various lead concentrations ranging from 1 to 100 mg/dm3 were used. Seven kinetic models (Teissier, Monod, Yano, Luong, Aiba, Webb, and Haldane,) were investigated and the accuracy of the fitted models were evaluated using statistical analysis such as coefficient of determination, adjusted coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square (RMSE). Aiba model was fitted to the experimental growth kinetics data and gave a very good fit with an R2 of 0.98 and RMSE of 0.0042 respectively. The calculated value for the Aiba constants such as maximal growth rate, half saturation constant and half inhibition constant rate symbolized by μmax, ks, and ki, were 0.038 hr-1, 0.38s mg/dm3 and 34.38 mg/dm3respectively. This is the first report of growth kinetics of TBT-Resistant bacterium by Klebsiella sp. FIRD 2 Containing lead.Keywords: Growth Kinetic models, Klebsiella sp. FIRD 2, lead, TBT-resistant bacteria

Use of innovative Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to minimise the rate of accidents in Nigerian construction sites

The construction industry has experienced several challenges in the area of health and safety. This has resulted in high accident and fatalities incidence specifically within the Nigerian construction industry and sites and thus have an effect on construction projects. In an effort to improve construction processes, the application of innovative wireless communication technology such as the Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology can be employed to minimise accident and improve health and safety on construction sites. The study aimed to assess the use of innovative radio frequency identification technology (RFID) in minimising accidents in Nigerian construction sites. A well-structured questionnaire was used to assess health and safety practice, rate of occurrence of accident & fatalities on construction sites and also construction site safety as well as on the use of the RFID wireless technology on site. A total of 45 questionnaires were distributed to various construction companies and sites in Nigeria. Out of the45 distributed questionnaires, 34 were returned and used for the analysis with return rate of 75.5%. The data obtained was analysed using relative importance index (RII) in order to determine the relationship between the influencing factors of various respondent. Furthermore, the RFID is an innovative wireless communication technology which if implemented on site can reduce lots of fatalities and improve productivity by providing solutions and remedy to health and safety problems and also providing workers on site with potential occurrence of existing danger on construction site. However, there is need to integrate such modern technology in construction so as to address many challenges within the industry as well as reducing frequent causes of fatalities and accidents on sites

Isolation and Molecular Characterisation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Degrading Bacteria from Petrochemical Contaminated Soil

Because of their ubiquitous nature, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely dispersed in the environment as a result of both natural and human processes. One of the ways to deal with the harmful effects of these chemicals is through the use of microorganisms capable of degrading the pollutants. A petrochemical contaminated site was searched for these microbes. Eleven bacterial strains were obtained in this work using the culture enrichment technique on Bushnell Hass medium supplemented with (naphthalene, anthracene, and phenanthrene) as the only source of energy. Enumeration utilizing the spread-plate technique and liquid media were used to examine the PAH breakdown capacities of bacterial strains. The isolates were identified using standard methods of morphological and biochemical identifications. Furthermore, 16sRNA was utilized in order to classify the isolates at molecular level. The presence of PAHs degrading genes was also analysed in the isolates. Four isolates (G1, G2, G5, and G6) out of a total of eleven were able to tolerate and degrade the test PAH's up to 600 mg/l in liquid media. Isolate G1 showed the highest growth during screening followed by G6 while there were no differences between the other two isolates as demonstrated by an increase in their optical densities after 120 hours of incubation. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and molecular phylogenetic analysis, the isolate was identified as Pseudomonas stutzeri, Stenetrophomonas sp, Pseudomonas lactis, and Achromobacterxylosoxidans with the accession numbers OM039162, OM52851, OM52852, and OM52853 respectively. Fragments of 350 bp, 350 bp, and 867 bp for ring hydroxylating dioxygenase (RHD), hydratase-aldolase, and catechol 2, 3-dioxygenase were obtained from partial PCR amplification of catabolic genes, demonstrating the presence of a PAH degradation pathway in the organisms. These isolates have great potential for application in the bioremediation of PAHs-contaminated sites

L’ETHIQUE EN MATIERE DE SANTE ENTRE ANTINOMIES, LIBERTE DE CHOIX ET DIFFICULTE DU QUOTIDIEN

The progressive increase of biotechnology, of more and more sophisticated and customized drugs, springs from a real requirement of citizens or instead from an offer coming from different corporations? Ethics in health care is everyday more contradictory, permeated by antinomies, freedom of choice, inequalities and problems connected to everyday life

Prevalence and Biofilm-forming Potentials of Bacterial Uropathogens Among Primary School Pupils in Yola North, Adamawa State

This investigation aimed to determine the prevalence and biofilm-forming potentials of bacterial uropathogenic among primary school pupils in Yola North, Adamawa State. A total of 120 clean mid-stream urine samples were collected from apparently healthy children to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolated pathogen by the Kirby and Bauer disc diffusion method while the biofilm-forming potential by the standard methods. The result showed 26 % of the samples had significant bacteria growth with the Gram-negative as the highest. The infectivity pattern among the age group showed 8-10 had the highest infectivity percentage (35%) followed by 5-7 and 11-13 with 22.5% and 20% respectively. Six bacteria pathogens were isolated which are E. coli (41.9%) which is the most prevalent isolate followed by Staphylococcus aureus (29.0%), Pseudomonas sp. (9.7%), Klebsiella sp. (9.7%), Enterobacter sp. (6.5%), Proteus sp. (3.3%). The antibiotic sensitivity test showed an alarming resistance level to nearly all the tested antibiotics showing multi-drug resistant strains. The Biofilm-forming potentials depict E. coli with the strongest potential followed by S. aureus. A high occurrence of asymptomatic UTIs and antimicrobial resistance observed poses a public health concern. Thus, routine diagnostic exercise is recommended for early detection and prompt treatment of the pathogens

Modelling Growth Kinetics of <i>Klebsiella</i> sp. FIRD 2 on TBT-Resistant Containing Lead

Tributyltin (TBT) is one of the most toxic substances ever deliberately introduced into the marine environment. The high toxicity of TBT has resulted in a wide range of adverse effects on biological systems ranging from bacteria to mammals and from the molecular to the community level. One of the most deleterious effects of TBT is imposex. The growth kinetics of TBT-Resistant Bacterium containing lead was studied. In this study various lead concentrations ranging from 1 to 100 mg/dm3 were used. Seven kinetic models (Teissier, Monod, Yano, Luong, Aiba, Webb, and Haldane,) were investigated and the accuracy of the fitted models were evaluated using statistical analysis such as coefficient of determination, adjusted coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square (RMSE). Aiba model was fitted to the experimental growth kinetics data and gave a very good fit with an R2 of 0.98 and RMSE of 0.0042 respectively. The calculated value for the Aiba constants such as maximal growth rate, half saturation constant and half inhibition constant rate symbolized by μmax, ks, and ki, were 0.038 hr-1, 0.38s mg/dm3 and 34.38 mg/dm3respectively. This is the first report of growth kinetics of TBT-Resistant bacterium by Klebsiella sp. FIRD 2 Containing lead.Keywords: Growth Kinetic models, Klebsiella sp. FIRD 2, lead, TBT-resistant bacteria

Modified symbiotic organisms search optimization for automatic construction of convolutional neural network architectures

Convolutional Neural Networks (ConvNets) have demonstrated impressive capabilities in image classification; however, the manual creation of these models is a labor-intensive and time-consuming endeavor due to their inherent complexity. This research introduces an innovative approach to Convolutional Neural Network (ConvNet) architecture generation through the utilization of the Symbiotic Organism Search ConvNet (SOS_ConvNet) algorithm. Leveraging the Symbiotic Organism Search optimization technique, SOS_ConvNet evolves ConvNet architectures tailored for diverse image classification tasks. The algorithm's distinctive feature lies in its ability to perform non-numeric computations, rendering it adaptable to intricate deep learning problems. To assess the effectiveness of SOS_ConvNet, experiments were conducted on diverse datasets, including MNIST, Fashion-MNIST, CIFAR-10, and the Breast Cancer dataset. Comparative analysis against existing models showcased the superior performance of SOS_ConvNet in terms of accuracy, error rate, and parameter efficiency. Notably, on the MNIST dataset, SOS_ConvNet achieved an impressive 0.31 % error rate, while on Fashion-MNIST, it demonstrated a competitive 6.7 % error rate, coupled with unparalleled parameter efficiency of 0.24 million parameters. The model excelled on CIFAR-10 and BreakHis datasets, yielding accuracies of 82.78 % and 89.12 %, respectively. Remarkably, the algorithm achieves remarkable accuracy while maintaining moderate model size

Intelligent decision support systems for oil price forecasting

This research studies the application of hybrid algorithms for predicting the prices of crude oil. Brent crude oil price data and hybrid intelligent algorithm (time delay neural network, probabilistic neural network, and fuzzy logic) were used to build intelligent decision support systems for predicting crude oil prices. The proposed model was able to predict future crude oil prices from August 2013 to July 2014. Future prices can guide decision makers in economic planning and taking effective measures to tackle the negative impact of crude oil price volatility. Energy demand and supply projection can effectively be tackled with accurate forecasts of crude oil prices, which in turn can create stability in the oil market. The future crude oil prices predict by the intelligent decision support systems can be used by both government and international organizations related to crude oil such as organization of petroleum exporting countries (OPEC) for policy formulation in the next one year

Cloud computing platforms for delivering computer science and mathematics instructional course content to learners

The cloud computing can be considered as a major driver in innovations and transformations in teaching and learning. The research on cloud computing in education is on the increase and is attracting the attention of researchers. In this paper, we designed and developed an integrated cloud computing learning platform based on Unified Modelling Language for delivering course contents of computer science and mathematics courses to learners. The propose cloud learning framework has the potentials for improving ubiquitous and learner centred learning activities. Educators can find the propose cloud learning platform useful for improving learning outcomes and motivatio