Archives-November 2011

The oxidation of pyrazinamide in acidic media is carried out using potassium permanganate as a oxiding agent. The reaction was monitored using UV-Visible spectrophotometer at 525 nm. It was found to be first order with respect to oxidant,, fractional order with respect to hydrogen ion concentration and first order with respect to substrate. The thermodynamic parameters (were determinied . The average (?G^#) was found to be 87.91 KJ/mol. The values ?S^# was found to be -0.1888 KJ/mole and energy of activation was found to be 31.36 KJ/mole.  A suitable mechanism is proposed based on the experimental conditions.

Worldwide data clearly indicate that radon contributes a major proportion to background radiation. Interest in radon gas and its short-lived decay daughters is real because of the possible link between sustained exposure to radon gas and the development of lung cancer. In Ghana, research data on radon concentration in various parts of the country have been obtained for more than a decade. Our recent research includes indoor radon level measurements in the district of Dome in the Dome-Kwabenya constituency. In this District, radon concentrations varying from 278Bq/m3 to 749Bq/m3 have been measured. These values translate to annual effective dose range of 8.42 to 22.41mSv per year. Our calculations, using the BEIR III model, lead to the prediction of a lung cancer risk of 2.03 x 10-5 to 4.06 x 10-5 for various age groups. In this Paper, we compare our recent data with previous data from our laboratory. We conclude that the radon factor in calculations of background radiation in Ghana is real. Therefore, serious effort must be made to bring all results together for the establishment of a national data base and reference level for the country.

This paper discusses public policy making in Tanzania. Using documentary analysis, it attempts to find out whether the problems that were observed by Goran Hyden in1984 have so far been solved by policy makers. A point of reference is made to the fact that Hyden’s observation was made during the time in which Tanzania was under state controlled economy. With the country’s adoption of liberalization policies which Ndumbaro (1994) describes as the era of power shift in policy making from the state to donors, it is imperative to see whether this has affected policy making in the country. The paper concludes that although donors’ influence in policy making has continued to increase, there is no significant improvement in addressing policy-making problems that were noted by Hyden. Most of the policies continue to be made without adequate information, in which also the past does not seem to be of great use in shaping new policies. As a result, policy makers continue to be driven by a desire to do everything at the same time, which in turn increases the burden to policy implementers.

The marine micro organisms are the store house of a wide variety of biologically active products. Among the vast population of microorganisms which include algae, bacteria, actinomycetes etc., marine fungi are considered as the most useful microorganisms in biotechnology field. The marine environment conditions the micro flora to generate metabolites that have antimicrobial qualities as a self- defending mechanism. The objective of this paper was to isolate the Zinc resistant fungal strains from marine samples like wood , seashore sand , sea water and wooden boat and identify the isolated cultures morphologically till the genus level. The antimicrobial compounds were extracted using different organic solvents and their antibacterial activity was cheked on the selected pathogenic bacteria at different varying concentration. A confirmatory test was performed for each test organism in their selective media. The fungal cultures were found to belong to the genus Aspergillus, Mucor and Fusarium. The extracts of hexane and chloroform on mucor showed very good activity on E.coli while average activity on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia and least activity in S. aureus cultures was found.

Caralluma atteunata extract have been reported to have antihyperglycemic effect. White albino rats were rendered diabetic by intraperitoneal administration of alloxan (120 mg/kg body weight). Oral administration of ethanolic extract of Caralluma atteunata 500 mg/kg body wt was given orally for 30 days. Experimental results showed that, alloxan significantly elevated the blood sugar level whereas treatment with ethanolic extract of Caralluma atteunata (500 mg/kg body wt.) depressed the alloxan induced high blood sugar level and also it shows the marked changes in the level of Insulin, Hemoglobin, Glycosylated hemoglobin, urea, protein, Hexokinase, Pyruvate kinase, Glucose-6-phophatase, Fructose 1, 6 biphosphatase and glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase. This study strongly suggests that the ethanolic extract of Caralluma atteunata attributed its prominent hypoglycemic activity on experimental diabetic rats through suppression of gluconeogenesis and stimulation of glucose oxidation using the pentose phosphate pathway.

The anti MRSA properties of mango seed kernel ethanol extract (MKE) were investigated. The MKE was separated by reverse phase HPLC with acetonitrile linear gradient and also identified by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Mass Spectroscopy (MS) and Infrared (IR) for structural characterization of antimicrobial tannin compounds. It showed significant activity against Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at the MIC of 0.03mg/ml. These results indicated that the active component of the MKE was a type of complex Tannin.

Single crystals of L-arginine monohydrate of reasonable size and excellent quality were grown by the solution growth method. The powder XRD of the samples suggested no significant change in the unit cell dimensions and the presence of any extra phase. The structural analysis can be useful in the clarification of the role of hydrogen bonds in crystals exhibiting non-linear optical properties. The dielectric studies shows the the governance of various polarization mechanisms. The mechanical response of the crystal has been studied using Vickers microhardness technique.

We are very happy to announce that from 30th November 2011, Dr.Dilip Mali has joined the team of Elixir Editorial Advisory Board. He will carry a special responsibility for dealing with manuscripts based on Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr.Dilip Mali is currently working at Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering., Ethiopian Institute of Technology-Mekelle, Ethiopia. The appointment of Dr.Dilip Mali as member Editorial Advisory Board strengthens the links and will make it easier for prospective authors to establish contact with the journal. Please send any expressions of interest to chiefeditor@elixirjournal.org. Sincerely Editor-in-Chief

We are very happy to announce that from 30th November 2011, Dr.P.Suresh has joined the team of Elixir Editorial Advisory Board. He will carry a special responsibility for dealing with manuscripts based on Computer Science. Dr.P.Suresh is currently working at Department of Computer Science, Salem Sowdeswari College [Govt. Aided] ,Salem – 636 010, Tamilnadu, India. The appointment of Dr.P.Suresh as member Editorial Advisory Board strengthens the links and will make it easier for prospective authors to establish contact with the journal. Please send any expressions of interest to chiefeditor@elixirjournal.org. Sincerely Editor-in-Chief

We are very happy to announce that from 16th November 2011, Dr.Santosh Singh Bais has joined the team of Elixir Editorial Advisory Board. He will carry a special responsibility for dealing with manuscripts based on Commerce & Management. Dr.Santosh Singh Bais is currently working at Department of Commerce & Management Govt. First Grade College Chincholi - 585307, Gulbarga(Dt), Karnataka State, India. The appointment of Dr.Santosh Singh Bais as member Editorial Advisory Board strengthens the links and will make it easier for prospective authors to establish contact with the journal. Please send any expressions of interest to chiefeditor@elixirjournal.org. Sincerely Editor-in-Chief