Chemical equivalence assessment of three brands of carbamazepine tablets and their anticonvulsant outcome on electrically-induced seizures in chicks

Assay for content of active ingredients is a critical test of drug quality; failure to meet up the standard for content of active ingredients will result to sub therapeutic quantities. Three brands (A, B and C) of carbamazepine were assayed to determine their chemical equivalence as well as their anticonvulsant activities. This was aimed at determining the possible relation between the chemical equivalence of the brands and their anticonvulsant outcomes. The brands were randomly selected from Community Pharmacies in Zaria, Kaduna State, and assayed for chemical equivalence to establish weight uniformity and identity; percentage content of active ingredients, using UV spectrophotometric analysis. Similarly all the brands were evaluated for anticonvulsant activity using maximal electroshock seizure model in chicks at doses of 20, 10 and 5 mg/kg. All the brands passed weight uniformity test as none of the tablets deviated from the mean by more than 7.5%. Similarly, their melting points were found to conform to standard average melting point (191oC) according to B.P. official monograph. However, the content of the active ingredients for Brands B and C did not conform to official standard of 95-105% while brand A conformed. Thus, the percentage contents for brands A, B and C were 99.49%, 76.02% and 87.59% respectively. Also, all the brands at the tested doses offered protection against seizures, ranging from 70-100%; but Brand C at 5 mg/kg offered only 40% quantal protection. The three brands of carbamazepine tablets were not chemically equivalent and their chemical equivalence indices could not be said to be the determinant of anticonvulsant effect.Key words: carbamazepine, anticonvulsant and chemical equivalenc

Nutritive values, Mineral and Antioxidant properties of Pistia stratiotes (Water lettuce)

Proximate, mineral and antioxidant composition of the leaf and root samples of Pistia stratiotes were estimated using standard methods. The samples show appreciable levels of moisture (4.50±0.50%and 4.50±0.10%), crude fibre (17.50±0.87% and 20.50±1.80%), crude lipid (2.17±0.29% and 1.83±0.29%), crude protein (6.96±0.13% and 3.18±0.14%), ash (35.20±1.56% and 44.50±0.50%) and carbohydrate (38.20±2.08% and 30.00±1.46%) respectively. The minerals determined were sodium (373.00±0.50mg/100g and 113.00±0.06mg100/g), potassium (3283.00±0.76mg100/g and 1750.00±0.50mg100/g), phosphorus (336.00±0.10mg/100g and 313.00±0.03mg/100g), calcium (230.00±0.01mg/100g and 230.00±0.03mg/100g) and magnesium (370.00±0.03mg/100g and 230.00±0.03mg/100g) respectively. The antioxidant estimated are vitamin A (480.0±1.50mg/100g and1050.00±1.50mg/100g), vitamin C (560.00±0.20mg/100g and 3130.00±0.31mg/100g) and vitamin E (8260.00±3.00mg/100g and 3060±1.83mg100/g) respectively. The results show that the leaf and root portions of P.stratiotes have potential nutritional uses and the leaf parts have significant (P<0.05) high values of mineral element and antioxidant than that of the root samples.Keywords: Pistia stratiotes, mineral elements, proximate analysis, antioxidant

In-silico Investigation of the Interaction between Beta-class Glutathione S-Transferase and Five Antibiotics, namely; Ampicillin, Tetracycline, Chloramphenicol, Ciprofloxacin and Cephalexin

Glutathione s-transferases(GSTs) are enzymes involved in the conjugation and deactivation of various xenobiotics including drugs. Thisin-silico study was undertaken in order to investigate the interaction between beta-class glutathione s-transferase and five selected antibiotics, namely; ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin and cephalexin using molecular docking study. RaptorX server was used to predict the amino acids involved at the binding sitewhile molecular docking study was employed in order to investigate the binding interactions.RaptorX predicted several amino acids which were different from the ones observed in molecular docking because of the variability in the substrate binding site of GSTs however, all the amino acids predicted by RaptorX were also found to be involved in the GSH binding.Lys107, Phe109, Ser110, Leu113, Trp114, His115 and Arg123, Leu168 were the amino acids involved in the binding of various antibiotics to the substrate binding site of the protein while Ala9, Cys10, Leu32, Tyr51, Val52, Pro53, Glu65 and Ala66were involved in the binding of the co-substrate GSH to the binding site of the protein. The results indicated that all the antibiotics showed a good binding affinity with the beta class GST and are therefore capable of deactivating the drugs. With these, finding a beta class GST inhibitors alongside antibiotics during a treatment of diseases will be of beneficial in the current fight against antibiotic resistance

Fitting the Phenomenological MSSM

We perform a global Bayesian fit of the phenomenological minimal supersymmetric standard model (pMSSM) to current indirect collider and dark matter data. The pMSSM contains the most relevant 25 weak-scale MSSM parameters, which are simultaneously fit using `nested sampling' Monte Carlo techniques in more than 15 years of CPU time. We calculate the Bayesian evidence for the pMSSM and constrain its parameters and observables in the context of two widely different, but reasonable, priors to determine which inferences are robust. We make inferences about sparticle masses, the sign of the $\mu$ parameter, the amount of fine tuning, dark matter properties and the prospects for direct dark matter detection without assuming a restrictive high-scale supersymmetry breaking model. We find the inferred lightest CP-even Higgs boson mass as an example of an approximately prior independent observable. This analysis constitutes the first statistically convergent pMSSM global fit to all current data.Comment: Added references, paragraph on fine-tunin

Effect of Administration of Aqueous Suspension of Ricinus communis Seeds on Serum Estrogen and Progesterone in Female Albino Rats

In this study, twenty seven (27) female albino rats were used in the determination of contraceptive effect of oral administration of aqueous suspension of Ricinus communis seed. Estrogen and progesterone levels of these rats were analysed using electrochemiluminescent method. The result revealed estrogenic property of the aqueous suspension of R. communis seed, which is partly attributed to the anticonceptive effect of the seeds. The estrogenic activity was high with 107×10-2mg/kg dose administered after 48hours and 7 days respectively, indicating some degree of dose-dependency. In addition, alteration of estrogen/progesterone balance as indicated by this study may be responsible for the contraceptive effect of aqueous suspension of R. communis seed. Keywords: Contraceptive effect, Estrogen, Estrogenic activity, Progesterone, Ricinus communi

Effect of Period and Storage Conditions on Essential Oil Yield And Composition of Eucalyptus Citriodora Leaves

Fresh eucalyptus citriodora leaves were harvested and kept under shade and sun for a period of four weeks. The effect of storage conditions and period of storage on the oil yield, oil composition and extraction pattern of the oil were investigated. It was observed that for the leave kept under sun there was significant decrease in the oil yield from 0.38% in the 1st week to 0.11% in the 4th week. However, for leaves kept under shade the oil yield slightly decreased from about 0.40% in the 1st week to 0.36% in the 4th week. The results further revealed that the storage condition and period of storage had no effect on the extraction pattern of the oil with about 72% of the oil extracted within 40 minutes of extraction time after induction period of 24 minutes. Two mathematical model equations were developed for the prediction of oil yield as a function of storage time for both conditions. The models predicted that for leaves stored in the shade and sun the expected oil yield would be 34.5% and 1% respectively. Physiochemical analysis of the oils revealed that the properties of the oil were not affected by both the period and condition of storage except the colour which changed from pale yellow to light brown. These results imply that the leaves should best be kept under shade before production in order to preserve its oil content and physiochemical properties

Behavioral Characteristics of Photovoltaic Cell with Different Irradiation in Matlab/Simulink/Simscape Environment

Photovoltaic technology is one of the fastest growing energy among the different type of renewable energies that are available for electricity generation. This is due to the availability of the natural sun rise, and the non polluted energy that is free from emission of carbon dioxide (CO2). This paper presents a typical modeling of photovoltaic cell under different irradiations level, in order to monitor the behavior of the (Voltage-Current) V-I and (Power-Voltage) P-V characteristics. The simulation of the proposed model was performed in MATLAB/SIMULINK and Simscape environment. Single diode model of the PV system was presented in the mathematical modeling of the proposed system. Simulation results of different I-V and P-V characteristics were also presented. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n7p5

Qualitative And Quantitative Phytochemical Screening Ofcola Nuts (Cola Nitida And Cola Acuminata)

A study was carried out to evaluate the phytochemical constituent ofaqueous and methanol nut extracts of Colanitida and Colaacuminata. The phytochemical screening which involves both the qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed the presence of secondary metabolites; alkaloid, tannins, glycoside, steroids and saponins glycoside with higher contain in methanol and aqueous extracts. The saponins content is higher in the aqueous extract  and not detected in the methanol extract of the two species. Flavonoids expressed strong presence in methanol extract of C.nitida and not detected in the aqueous extract as well as the aqueous and methanol extracts of C. acuminata. For cardiac glycoside and volatile oil, they show moderate and trace presence in the methanol and aqueous extracts respectively. Anteraquinones are not detected in all the extracts of the two species. The quantitative result shows that, there were significant differences (p<0.05) in glycoside, tannins, saponins and alkaloid content of C. acuminata compared to C.nitida, withC. acuminata having the highest percentage of alkaloid (1.00%) while C. nitidahad (0.80%) alkaloid content,C. acuminatahad (0.80%) saponins, with C. nitida having (0.40%), more over the tanninscontent of C. acuminatawas higher (0.89%) compared to C. nitidawith (0.77%) while the glycoside content of C. acuminatawas (0.53%) and that of C. nitida was (0.43%). The results as indicated above disclose the scientific basis for the traditional uses of cola nut. Finally, the study  recommend the isolation of these metabolites using highly purify methods in other  to obtain their maximum therapeutic potentials. Keywords:Colanitida, Cola acuminate,Qualitative and Quantitative PhytochemicalScreening

Knowledge, sources of information, and risk factors for sexually transmitted infections among secondary school youth in Zaria, Northern Nigeria

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are responsible for a variety of health problems especially among the youth who engage in risky sexual behavior. There are few studies that describe STIs among the youths in Northern Nigeria. The objective of the study was to assess knowledge of STIs and risk factors among secondary school youth. Materials and Methods: This was a cross‑sectional study in which structured, self‑administered questionnaire was used to collect data on socio‑demographics, knowledge on STIs, and risk factors. Three senior secondary schools were purposively selected for the study. Results: A total of 1765 youths aged 10‑30 years with mean age of 16.9 ± 2.0 years participated in the study. 1371 (77.7%) and 394 (22.3%) were respectively Muslim and Christian. Mean age at first sexual intercourse was 16.7 ± 2.0 years.A majority (67.6%) of them heard about STIs; sources of information of STIs were school lessons 23.6%, mass media 23.3%, and health magazines 19.2%, respectively. Generally, knowledge on STIs was good as 75.4% of respondents knew how the disease is transmitted. This knowledge was significantly associated with class of student, place of treatment, and religious teaching (χ2 = 9.6, P = 0.047, χ2 = 22.1, P = 0.035 and 42.6, P = 0.001, respectively). Mean knowledge score was 0.698 ± 0.01. A majority of respondents were engaged in risky sexual behavior as only 16.2% use condom as a preventive measure. Eleven percent reported ever having an STI in the past and majority (52.8%) go to government hospital for treatment of acquired STI. 56% of the youth had two or more boy/girl friends and 30% had sexual relationships. Conclusion: It was concluded that secondary school youth had good knowledge about STIs; however, the opposite is true when it comes to preventive practice (use of condom). Interventions such as periodic publicity awareness and school seminars focusing on STI preventions are needed to control the disease among the youth

Control of a coupled tank system using PI controller with advanced control methods

The liquid level control in tanks and flow control between cascaded or coupled tanks are the basic control problems exist in process industries nowadays. Liquids are to be pumped, stored or mixed in tanks for various types of chemical processes and all these require essential control and regulation of flow and liquid level. In this paper, different types of tuning methods are proposed for Proportional-Integral (PI) controller and are further improved with integration of Advanced Process Control (APC) method such as feedforward and gain scheduling to essentially control the liquid level in Tank 2 of a coupled tank system. The MATLAB/Simulink tools are used to design PI controller using pole-placement, Ciancone, Cohen Coon and modified Ziegler-Nichols tuning method with Cohen Coon tuning method found to have a better performance. Advanced process control such as feedforward-plus-PI, Gain Scheduling (GS) based PI, Internal Model Control (IMC) based PI, feedforward-plus-GS-based PI and feedforward-plus-IMC-based PI controllers are further tested as improvement version to further compare the significance of the advanced process control outcomes hence GS-PI, improved GI-base PI-plus FF found to have better performance. The GS method is built over five operating points to approximate the system’s nonlinearity and is eventually combined with feedforward control to yield a much better performance