A Comparative Study of the Antibacterial Activity of Piliostigma reticulatum Bark Extract with Some Antibiotics

Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Piliostigma reticulatum, a herb widely used for the treatment of diarrhea in southwest Nigeria, was challenged with clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The ethanol extract exhibited the highest activity against the test organisms with zones of inhibition ranging from 16.0 – 20.0 mm, followed by the hot aqueous extract and the cold aqueous extracts, with zones of inhibition ranging between 8.0 – 10.0 mm and 4.0 – 7.0 mm respectively. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) ranged between 0.025 – 0.25% w/v and photochemical analysis showed that the plant possesses saponins, tanins, phenolics, phlobatinins and glycosides. A comparative analysis of the extract with some conventional antibiotics namely; Chloramphenicol, Ampicillin and Tetracycline showed that there was significant difference in the antibacterial activity of the bark extract and the antibiotic standard (P\u3c0.05)

Nociceptive neuropeptide increases and periorbital allodynia in a model of traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: This study tests the hypothesis that injury to the somatosensory cortex is associated with periorbital allodynia and increases in nociceptive neuropeptides in the brainstem in a mouse model of controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury. METHODS: Male C57BL/6 mice received either CCI or craniotomy-only followed by weekly periorbital von Frey (mechanical) sensory testing for up to 28 days post-injury. Mice receiving an incision only and naïve mice were included as control groups. Changes in calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP) within the brainstem were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Activation of ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule-1-labeled macrophages/microglia and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive astrocytes were evaluated using immunohistochemistry because of their potential involvement in nociceptor sensitization. RESULTS: Incision-only control mice showed no changes from baseline periorbital von Frey mechanical thresholds. CCI significantly reduced mean periorbital von Frey thresholds (periorbital allodynia) compared with baseline and craniotomy-only at each endpoint, analysis of variance P \u3c .0001. Craniotomy significantly reduced periorbital threshold at 14 days but not 7, 21, or 28 days compared with baseline threshold, P \u3c .01. CCI significantly increased SP immunoreactivity in the brainstem at 7 and 14 days but not 28 days compared with craniotomy-only and controls, P \u3c .001. CGRP levels in brainstem tissues were significantly increased in CCI groups compared with controls (incision-only and naïve mice) or craniotomy-only mice at each endpoint examined, P \u3c .0001. There was a significant correlation between CGRP and periorbital allodynia (P \u3c .0001, r = -0.65) but not for SP (r = 0.20). CCI significantly increased the number of macrophage/microglia in the injured cortex at each endpoint up to 28 days, although cell numbers declined over weeks post-injury, P \u3c .001. GFAP(+) immunoreactivity was significantly increased at 7 but not 14 or 28 days after CCI, P \u3c .001. Craniotomy resulted in transient periorbital allodynia accompanied by transient increases in SP, CGRP, and GFAP immunoreactivity compared with control mice. There was no increase in the number of macrophage/microglia cells compared with controls after craniotomy. CONCLUSION: Injury to the somatosensory cortex results in persistent periorbital allodynia and increases in brainstem nociceptive neuropeptides. Findings suggest that persistent allodynia and increased neuropeptides are maintained by mechanisms other than activation of macrophage/microglia or astrocyte in the injured somatosensory cortex

Anti-Corrosion and Passivation Potential of AA6063-Type Al-Mg-Si Alloy with Avogadro Natural Oil in HCl Solution

The electrochemical study of the passivation potential of AA6063-type Al-Mg-Si alloy in Avogadro Natural Oil/HCl Interface was studied using weight loss and potentiodynamic techniques. The result shows that the corrosion rate increases with an increase in exposure time but decrease as the concentration of inhibitor increases. The result of both weight loss and potentiodynamic show good agreement as can been seen that the inhibition efficiencies was found to increase as concentration of inhibitor increases. Equally the additive helps to retard the rate of corrosion and increase the polarization resistance thereby lowering the corrosion density of the system. The presence of the additive was also seen to affect both the cathodic and anodic half which shows that the inhibitor acts as a mixed-type inhibitor. The surface morphology of as-corroded samples assessed with scanning electron microscopy show that the attack was severely reduce in the presence of the Avogadro natural oil

Vibration under variable magnitude moving distributed masses of non-uniform Bernoulli-Euler beam resting on Pasternak elastic foundation

The dynamic response to variable magnitude moving distributed masses of simply supported non-uniform Bernoulli-Euler beam resting on Pasternak elastic foundation is investigated in this paper. The problem is governed by fourth-order partial differential equation with variable and singular coefficients. The main objective of this work is to obtain closed form solution to this class of dynamical problem. In order to obtain the solution, a technique based on the method of Galerkin with the series representation of Heaviside function is first used to reduce the equation to second order ordinary differential equations with variable coefficients. Thereafter the transformed equations are simplified using (i) The Laplace transformation technique in conjunction with convolution theory to obtain the solution for moving force problem and (ii) finite element analysis in conjunction with Newmark method to solve the analytically unsolvable moving mass problem because of the harmonic nature of the moving load. The finite element method is first used to solve the moving force problem and the solution is compared with the analytical solution of the moving force problem in order to validate the accuracy of the finite element method in solving the analytically unsolvable moving mass problem. The numerical solution using the finite element method is shown to compare favorably with the analytical solution of the moving force problem. The displacement response for moving distributed force and moving distributed mass models for the dynamical problem are calculated for various time t and presented in plotted curves

Food Expenditure Patterns Among Urban Households In Ibadan Southwest Local Government Area, Oyo State

This study examines food expenditure patterns among urban households in Ibadan South West Local Government Area of Oyo State. The primary data used for the study were obtained through structured questionnaire using random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics and least square regression model were used to analyse the data collected from respondents. Descriptive analysis showed that 82.5% of the household heads were males, 65% of them were married, and 55% fell within the age bracket of 30 and 39 years, while 65% were salary-earners. Most of the respondents (79.2%) had tertiary education and the average household size was found to be 5. Furthermore, 49.2% bought foodstuffs from the market for home consumption on a monthly basis and 52.5% spent less than N10, 000 monthly on food.  The result of the least square regression model showed that the age of respondents, level of education and occupation (salary-earner or self-employed) of the household head, as well as the household income were significantly influenced by household’s monthly food expenditure in the study area. The study recommends among other things enlightenment programmes that will    educate the urban dwellers on the  need to eat good quality and hygienic food.   &nbsp

Diverse inflammatory cytokines induce selectin ligand expression on murine CD4 T cells via p38α MAPK

Selectins are glycan-binding adhesion molecules that mediate the initial steps of leukocyte recognition of endothelium. Cytokines control numerous aspects of CD4 Th cell differentiation, but how cytokines control the induction of ligands for E- and P-selectin on Th cell subsets remains poorly understood. Among 20 cytokines that affect Th cell differentiation, we identified six that induce expression of selectin ligands on murine CD4 T cells above the low levels associated with TCR engagement: IL-12, IL-18, IL-27, IL-9, IL-25, and TGF-β1. Collectively, these six cytokines could potentially account for selectin ligand expression on all of the currently defined nonsessile Th cell lineages, including Th1, Th2, Th9, and Th17 cells, as well as regulatory T cells. Induction of selectin ligand expression by each of these six cytokines was almost completely inhibited by pharmacologic inhibition of p38 MAPK, but not other MAPKs, or by conditional genetic deletion of p38α MAPK. Analysis of the expression of key glycosyltransferase genes revealed that p38α signaling was selectively required for induction of Fut7 and Gcnt1 but not for the induction of St3gal4 or St3gal6. Constitutively active MKK6, an immediate upstream activator of p38 MAPK, induced selectin ligand expression equivalent to that of cytokines, and this induction was completely dependent on the expression of p38α. Our results identify the repertoire of cytokines responsible for selectin ligand induction on CD4 T cells and provide a mechanistic link between Th cell development and T cell migration

Analysis on corrosion resistant of electrodeposited ternary Co-W-P alloy

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.The interest in the electrodeposition of tungsten-rich binary and ternary alloys has increased in recent years due to their unique combination of electrical, tribological, electro-erosion and magnetic properties. A novel ternary alloy of Cobalt-Tungsten-Phosphorus (Co-W-P) for electroplating and operational parameters were proposed and optimised to give the best corrosion resistance. The development of a stable bath with relatively low pH levels and the use of complexing agents to stabilise it is critical to obtaining good quality films to increase its lifetime. The surface methodology and response were used as optimisation tools. The baths used for achieving this league without complexing agents were unstable. Analysis of the microstructure of the composite particle evaluates the 3D surface luminance structure and the profile structure of the electrodepositions of corrosion resistant of Co-W-P Alloy. Transverse-sectional views of the specimens were extracted and analysed, and the surface roughness, waviness profile, and Gaussian filter of the structures Co-W-P alloy were observed. Good quality Co-W-P alloy films were obtained using an electrochemical bath with the complexing agent. The coatings showed good adhesion on gloss. The characterisation of alloy morphology was performed using spectrometer fluorescence,Power Spectrum Density (PSD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The excellent operating conditions for obtaining this film were a current density of 6 mA/cm 2 and pH 4.0

Theoretical and Experimental Inhibitive Properties of Mild Steel in HCl by Ethanolic Extract of Boscia senegalensis

The experimental aspect of the corrosion inhibition potentials of Boscia senegalensis was carried out using gravimetric and linear polarization techniques techniques as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), whereas the theoretical aspect was done by using the Density functional theory (DFT) calculations to performed and model the electronic structures of some extract constituents, including Physiosorptive interactions with the Fe surface. The analyses of the experimental results showed that the inhibition efficiency increased with increase in concentration of the inhibitor and decreased with increase in temperature. The efficiency of the extract in HCl (70%).  Thermodynamic parameters revealed that the adsorption of extract onto the metal surface was spontaneous, exothermic and supported the Physical adsorption process. FTIR results showed that the inhibition mechanism was by absorption process, through the functional groups present in the extract and that of the inhibited. Surface morphology also revealed that corrosion product confirmed the protection offered by the extract on the surface of the metal immersed in the acid media. The data obtained were fitted into various adsorption isotherms though the Freundlich isotherm was found to be best fit. Keywords: Inhibition, density functional theory, corrosion, boscia senegalensis