Biosciences

Sixteen (16) yearling West African Dwarf Sheep were used to assess body weight gain, feed intake and haematological indices as influenced by the four dietary treatments. The average weight gain of sheep fed supplemental diets were 2.70±0.09kg in Gliricidia sepium, 2.80±0.09kg in Moringa oleifera and 3.15±0.45kg in Gliricidia sepium + Moringa oleifera compared to 1.57±0.10kg for sheep fed basal diet only. The average weight gains in sheep fed supplemental diets were significantly (P<0.05) higher than sheep fed only the basal diets. The linear body measurement gain such as heart girth gain were 11.00±1.73cm in Gliricidia sepium, 8.67±2.08cm in Moringa oleifera, 13.34±1.04cm in Gliricidia sepium + Moringa oleifera compared to 8.33±0.58cm for sheep fed basal diet only. The heart girth gains of sheep fed supplemental diets were significantly (P<0.05) higher than sheep fed basal diets only. The height at whither gains were 8.55±4.04cm in Gliricidia sepium, 9.00±4.36cm in Moringa oleifera, 9.00±1.00cm in Gliricidia sepium + Moringa oleifera compared to 6.33±1.53cm for sheep fed Panicum+cassava peels only. The height whither gains of sheep fed supplemental diets were significantly (P<0.05) higher than sheep fed control diets. The body length gains were 8.00±1.73cm in Gliricidia sepium, 10.00±3.61cm in Moringa oleifera, 10.66±3.06cm in Gliricidia sepium + Moringa oleifera compared to 11.66±5.13cm for sheep fed basal diet only. The body length gains in sheep fed supplemental diets were significantly (P<0.05) higher than sheep fed basal diets. The haematological parameters such as packed cell volume (31.50 – 32.50 %), red blood cells (9.85 – 10.17 X106mm-1), haemoglobin concentration (9.97 – 10.07g 100mm-1), Erythocyte sedimentation rate (0.62 – 0.34), mean Corpuscular haemoglobin (0.99 – 1.08 pg), mean corpuscular volume (3.15 – 3.29µm3), Eosinophils (3.00 – 4.25%), Basophils (0.50 – 1.00 %), Monocytes (6.50 – 8.75%), Lymphocyte (60.00 – 65.25%), Neutrophils (21.25 – 31.25%) of animals fed supplemental diets were significantly (P<0.05) higher than animals fed Panicum-cassava peels ration. From all indications, sheep fed supplemental diets had better growth performance and were haematological stable than sheep fed basal diet only.

In order to identify the presence of gastrointestinal parasitic infection, and to determine the impact of some factors such as age, sex, location (rural and urban) and nutritional habits of children and also the occupation of their parents, this cross sectional study was carried out on 132 stool samples of primary school children in Okwelle, Onuimo (rural) and Owerri municipal(urban), Imo State, Nigeria. Using direct wet mount techniques(using physiological saline and lugol’ iodine) to process the samples (faeces), 74(56.1) out of 132 samples collected were found positive for various gastrointestinal parasites with E. histolytica accounting 36.4%, Ascaris lumbricoides10%, Trichuris trichuria and Hookworm7.6%, Gardia intestinalis 4.5% and Strongyloides stercolaris 3.0% respectively. Cases of polyparasitism were also detected but no pupil had more than two parasite species. Infection was higher in male (64.8%) than female (44.1%), people living in the rural areas (58.5%) than those in the urban centers (48.0%), lower age group (76%) than higher age group (45%). It is concluded that sanitary measures and de- worming programs be conducted in primary schools especially those in rural areas to decrease the rate of intestinal parasite infection.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a term applied to a variety of clinical conditions ranging from asymptomatic presence of bacteria in the urine to severe infection of the kidney with resultant sepsis. UTI is defined also as the growth of a known bacterial pathogen more than 10000 cfu/ml in association with a positive dipstick or urinalysis. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a serious health problem affecting millions of people each year. Infections of the urinary tract are the second most common type of infection in the body. These are one of the most common bacterial infections affecting humans throughout their life span. Most of urinary tract infections are caused by gram-negative bacteria like Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp., Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter and Serratia. 90% of UTI cases are caused by gram-negative bacteria while only 10% of the cases are caused by gram-positive bacteria. Bacterial pathogens have evolved numerous defense mechanisms against antimicrobial agents; hence resistance to old and newly produced drugs is on the rise. The phenomenon of antibiotic resistance exhibited by the pathogenic microorganisms has led to the need for screening of several medicinal plants for their potential antimicrobial activity. The present study was conducted to identify the uropathogens based on morphological and biochemical characteristics and to study the antimicrobial effect of drugs, medicinal plant extracts and essential oils against uropathogens.

Gas Discharge Visualization (GDV) is a promising real-time non-invasive technique for diagnosing the health of an individual and identifying any potential disorders in their early stages. In this paper, we give a detailed description of the theory behind the GDV technique and the GDV-grams (images of fingertips) that could present unique signature patterns characteristic of specific health disorders. We then present two computational models, developed in our earlier work, to analyze the GDV-grams and illustrate the results from pilot studies obtained using these models. The two models studied are: (i) A quadrant-based visualization and computational model to assess the functional state of human organs and organ systems and its application to Autistic children and (ii) A clustering model to analyze English language anxiety in non-native speakers. The results from the pilot studies have been very encouraging. We conjecture that GDV will be a valuable tool for Medical Biometrics to identify as well as confirm the presence of health disorders at an early stage.

Biological responses of cells to visible and near IR laser radiation occur due to physical and / or chemical changes in photo acceptor molecules, component of respiratory chains in mitochondria. As result of the photo excitation of electronic states, the follows of physical and /or chemical changes can occurs alteration of redox properties and acceleration of electron transfer, changes in biochemical activity due to local transient heating of chromospheres. Different reaction channels can be activated to achieve the photo biological macro effects. The aim of the study was: 1- to evaluate the effect of low level laser therapy (LLLT) on increasing the response of immune system by stimulating the lymph nodules action in order to inhabit cancer cells activity which leads to decrease the tumor size in diseased mice without using drugs. 2-to verify the effect of Low Level Laser (LLL) on the lymph nodules bio stimulation in case of disease by using different duration times with at the same area in each irradiation with the same power densities.

ABSTRACT Teratogenicity is the ability to cause developmental anomalies in fetus. Substances with teratogenicity effects can damage the DNA of a developing foetus. They may cause abnormal development of a limb malformation of an organ and the effects for the developing fetus can vary depending on the teratogen. Chicken eggs are used as a model system to test Bhavana panjankula thailam for its Teratogenic effect. Bhavana panjankula thailam is one of the Siddha drugs indicated for karuppachudu (a type of pitha disorder affecting uterus), urinary tract infections, dry skin and constipation. In this study five concentrations of drug Bhavana panjankula thailam were injected into the chicken embryos. Cadmium is used as a positive control in the same concentrations which affects limb deformities of the organ. 1:1 ratio of cadmium and drug were injected into the embryo for scrutinize the effect of drug. At the 12th day of incubation the eggs were dissected out and detect the malformation in the embryo. The results suggested that the lowest concentrations cof drug treated embryo has no malformation and highest concentrations of drug treated embryo has malformed like heart and other organs are distorted. The DNA was isolated from embryos of chick and run in agarose gel electrophoresis to confirm the DNA damage. cOCT4 and cGATA4 genes which is responsible for chick embryogenesis. GATA and OCT family of transcriptional regulatory proteins, GATA-4 and OCT-4 thought to be involved in the regulation of cardio genesis and gut development. Functions for these factors are known in the heart, but relatively little is implicit concerning their possible roles in the regulation of gut-specific gene expression. In this study, we analyzed the expression of cGATA-4, and cOCT4. Further gene expression studies will be carried out for further authentication of teratogenic effect at gene level. Though the Bhavana panjankula thailam was shown teratogenic effect at the higher dose. So detailed animal studies and clinical trials should be carried out for apposite remedy. KEYWORDS: Teratogenicity, bhavana panjankula thailam, chick embryo, DNA damage.

To study surgical site infection and effect of antibiotic pro phylaxis in mesh repair of inguinal hernia. Comparative study. Department of Surgery, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Hospital, Jamshoro/Hyderabad from March 2011 to July 2013. One hundred diagnosed cases of inguinal hernia were studied selected through non-probability purposive sampling according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patients were divided into two groups; Group I. mesh repair with antibiotic prophylaxis (n=50) and Group II. Mesh repair without antibiotic prophylaxis (n=50). Antibiotic prophylaxis was given 60 minutes before surgical procedure. Surgical procedure was conducted by a consultant general surgeon or senior registrar. The surgical site infection (SSI) was defined as wound infection that developed within thirty days of surgery. Data was analyzed on SPSS version 21.0. The continuous and categorical variables were analyzed by student`s t-test and chi-square test respectively. The significant p-value was taken at ? 0.05. The mean +/- S.D of study population of both groups was noted as 39+/- 10.4 and 41.5+/- 11.0 years (p=0.09). All the subjects were male with age range of 20-60 years. The frequency of surgical site infection (SSI) in group I (antibiotic prophylaxis) was 6% (n=3) compared to group II (without antibiotic prophylaxis) was 22% (n=11) with highly significant p-value (p=0.001). Statistically significant differences were noted for the complications like; serous discharge, seroma, erythema and stitch abscess. The surgical site infection in mesh repair open inguinal hernia was higher in present study than internationally reported incidence. The antibiotic prophylaxis reduces morbidity in mesh repair open inguinal hernia.

Anthropogenic activities such as pesticide use, coal-burning, and manufacturing introduce harmful substances that have high resistance to degradation by abiotic and biotic factors, and as such persist in the environment. They build up in the environment when decomposers are unable to break them down. Plants and fish take up these substances which are then transferred along the food chain until they reach the highest tropic level. These substances are collectively known as Persistent bioaccumulative toxic substances (PBTs). They typically accumulate in fatty tissues of humans and other species and are slowly metabolized, often increasing in concentration within the food chain. PBTs have been linked to a range of adverse effects in humans, including nervous system disorders, reproductive and developmental problems, cancer, gene mutation, alteration of sexual characteristics and other hormonal functions.

This study was aimed to evaluate the synergistic antibacterial activity of the mangrove species Avicina marina and Rhyzophora apiculata leaf extracts tested with the non mangrove South Indian medicinal plants, Terminalia chebula, Punica granatum, and Vitis vinifera seed extracts against the multi drug resistant (MDR) bacterial isolates of clinical origine. The antibacerial synergistic activity of the chosen plant extracts were studied by agar well diffustion method. Compared to the single plant extracts, the antibacterial activity expressed by the combination of the Mangrove leaf extracts with the non mangrove medicinal plants seed extracts found to be greater due to the synergism . We recomond the T.chebula seed extract , which can be given / taken along with the mangrove plant leaf material to treat the ailments / drug resistant bacterial infections. We also suggest that the traditional medicine system can adapt the practice of giving the combination of the discrete plant materials / extracts to treat the bacterial infections especially to treat the drug resistant infections to achieve the success in their system of medical practice.

The presence of phosphorus in plant material is abundant while the soil phosphorus availability is limited for plants due to their quick transformation to the insoluble form. There are many soil micro-organisms which could enhance the solubility of insoluble phosphate in soils and make it available for plant growth. This study investigates the coexistence of phosphate solubilizing bacteria in the rhizosphere soil of sorghum bicolor pre-inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)Glomus sp. The rhizosphere soil sample was collected and the phosphate solubilizing bacteria was enumerated followed by screening for their efficiency to solubilize the insoluble phosphate using pikovskaya’s medium. Based on the solubilization index five bacterial isolates were chosen for further study. All the five phosphate solubilizing bacteria were subjected to morphological and various biochemical tests and were identified as Acinetobacter sp, Bacillus sp, Pseudomonas fluorescence, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Micrococcus sp. The maximum solubilization index was shown by Bacillus sp (1.75cm) followed by Micrococcus sp (1.75cm) on 6th day of incubation and the total soluble inorganic phosphorus production was estimated caloriemetrically which showed the maximum production by Bacillus sp (186 µg/ml) followed by Micrococcus sp (184µg/ml) on 6th day of incubation. The five PSB isolates were associated with the drop in pH with the production of soluble inorganic phosphorus.