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Liposomes: A targeted drug delivery system- A review
Full text linkLiposomes are a novel drug delivery system (NDDS), which are vesicular structures consisting of hydrated bilalyers which form spontaneously whenphospholipids are dispersed in water. They are simple microscopic vesicles in which an aqueous volume is entirely enclosed by a membrane composed of lipid bilayers. Novel drug delivery system aims to deliver the drug at a rate directed by the needs of the body during the period of treatment, and channel the active entity to the siteof action. It has been a study interest in the development of a NDDS. Liposomes are colloidal spheres of cholesterol non-toxic surfactants, sphingolipids, glycolipids, long chain fatty acids and even membrane proteins and drug molecules or it is also called vesicular system. It is differ in size, composition and charge. It is a drug carrier loaded with great variety of molecules such as small drug molecules, proteins, nucleotides and even plasmids. Few drugs are also formulated as liposomes to improve their therapeutic index. Consequently a number of vesicular drug delivery systems such as liposomes, niosomes, transfersomes, and pharmacosomes were developed. The focus of this review is to the various method of preparation, characterization of liposomes, advantages and applications etc
The comparison of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder and Traits in mothers of 4 -11 years children having OCD Vs control group
Full text linkObjectives: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)   begins in childhood and adolescence and progresses along with aging .This survy is conducted to compare temperament and character and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) and OCPD traits in parents of children with OCD and parents of healthy controls.Materials and Methods: In each group, 30 patients were studied. There were 11 boys (%36.7) in the study group (children with obsessive compulsive disorder), and 12 ones in control group (%40.0). In case group, four mothers (%13.3) had obsessive compulsive personality disorder, while the frequency in control group was one (%3.3) and the frequency difference was not considered statistically significant. There was also a case of borderline personality disorder in mothers of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder, but those in control group were not diagnosed with this disorder which showed thta there was still no significant difference between the two groups. No other personality disorders (including mixed personality disorder or NOS)  was detected in two groups.Results:The results indicated that the frequency of preoccupation with details was %46.7 in the case group (children with obsessive-compulsive disorder), and %10.0 in the control group that means no significant difference between the two groups (0.002). The frequency of perfectionism was %43.3 in the treatment group and %20.0 in the control group which again had no significant difference (0.052).Conclusions: The existence of the some symptomsof OCPD according to SCID in parents of children withOCD in comparison to parents of healthy children confirm the necessity of considering the role of personality factors in familial OCD.The results of this study showed that the four dimensions of temperament based on TCI-125 and triple dimensions of attitudes between mothers in the two groups was not statistically different
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in lower extremity amputations – a gigantic health-care problem or a false alarm?
Full text linkObjectives: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) poses not only an increasingly serious health-care problem but also a notoriously gigantic public issue. We aimed to evaluate whether MRSA infection is a significant negative predictive factor for amputation healing and morbidity, in comparison to non-MRSA infections.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study of all the lower extremity amputations during the 25-month study period to examine the influence of MRSA and non-MRSA infection on clinical outcome. Results were compared between MRSA- and non-MRSA-infected patients using Fisher’s exact test.Results: During the two-year period, 171 patients underwent lower limb amputations for acute or chronic limb ischemia. Sixteen (9.3%) had documented wound infection; including 10 MRSA (62.5%), 2 methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (12.5%), 2 Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12.5%), 1 coagulase-negative staphylococci (6.2%) and 1 enterococcus (6.2%). Patients with MRSA and non-MRSA infections were well matched in demographics, indication & level of amputation, duration of operation, American Society of Anesthetists (ASA) grades, and wound classification (p<0.05).   There was no death or morbidity observed within 30 day post-operative period in all groups within the study. Over a 28 months median follow-up (range 16-50 months), an overall survival of 93% was observed. Twelve patients (7%) died including one in MRSA group and 11 in no infection group. Conclusion: MRSA infection does not adversely affect the clinical outcome in patients undergoing lower extremity amputations. Regardless of presence of MRSA bacteria; common infection control measures, thorough wound debridement, careful wound surveillance and judicial administration of antibiotics should be routinely applied to all patients
Malaria and treatment: Herbal antimalarials as alternative to conventional medicine
Full text linkFor decades, malaria treatment has been championed by conventional medicine through chemotherapy. This was evident until the late 20th century when problems of treatment failure were observed as a result of the emergence of plasmodium parasite resistance. In addition, the safety of some of these drugs could not be guaranteed as were found to be toxic and produce adverse effect. In search for solutions to the challenges of chemotherapy enveloped the emergence of herbal medicine as possible alternatives. Today herbal medicine is appreciated worldwide for the treatment of so many diseases and malaria. This paper reviews the current status of malaria and its management with references to treatment by chemotherapy. It also enumerates the pitfalls of conventional medicine which laid the foundation of herbal medicine on malaria treatment. Key herbal antimalarial plants and studies of their efficacy and safety are cited. In addition to their safety, some herbals plants were shown in some studies to be effective against resistant parasite strains. In conclusion, emphases on the contributions of herbal treatments in the management of malaria are outlined with possible suggestion to ensure quality using good manufacturing practices for a better management of malaria in the future
Ethnobotany of raffia palm (Raphia hookeri), productivity assessment and characterization of raffia palm oil from the Niger Delta, Nigeria
Full text linkRaffia palm (Raphia sp) occurs abundantly in the wild in the freshwater zone of the Niger Delta, Nigeria. This study was carried out to assess the use, biomass productivity and characterization of raffia palm oil. Ripe raffia palm fruits were sampled from the three core Niger Delta States (Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers). The oil was extracted using mechanical method and was characterized. Results show that the relative density of the oil was 0.8700 – 0.9039, free fatty acid (FFA) content of 1.13% (Delta), 6.92% (Bayelsa) and 9.74% (Rivers), acidity value of 2.26% in Delta state, 13.94% in Bayelsa state and 19.48% in Rivers state (P<0.05), iodine value of 26.79% was recorded in the raffia palm oil from Rivers state, 28.60% from Bayelsa and 31.10% from Delta state. The peroxide value of the raffia oil was 5.58 mg KOH/g (Rivers state), 7.22 mg/KOH/g (Delta state) and 7.68mg/KOH/g (Bayelsa state) (P<0.05). The saponification number was 25.16 mgKOH/g in the oil from Bayelsa, 32.72 mgKOH/g from Delta and 213.18 mgKOH/g for Rivers state (P<0.05). The parameters fairly fell within the Nigerian standard for vegetable oil. The wild palm has a biomass productivity of 933 trees/ha in Bayelsa and Delta states and 1066 trees/ha in Rivers, but the apparent differences was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Raffia palm is currently underutilized by indigenous people for building construction, production of brooms, basket, ropes and constriction of fish, crab and turtle traps. Edible insect larva is obtained from the palm. Palm wine and locally fermented gin are the major uses of raffia palm. We conclude that raffia palm can be utilized as second generation biofuel feed stock to mitigate food versus fuel conflicts
Preliminary Phytochemical Screening and In Vitro Antioxidant Activity of Ethanolic Extract of Musa Acuminata Linn. Flowers
Full text linkMedicinal plants are used in the Ayurvedic and Unani System of medicine besides use of many plants in the folk remedies. Medicinal plants are used in different countries as sources of many potent and powerful medicines. The intake of antioxidants present in food is an important health-protecting factor. Herbal compounds known by ancient medicine are of growing interest in the domain of prevention of diseases. The present study was evaluated phytochemical constituents and antioxidant activity on Musa acuminata Linn. flowers by using 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method. The preliminary phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of phenols, steroids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins and glycosides. The ethanolic extract of banana flowers was showed potent antioxidant activity which was determined. The flower extract of banana showed the antioxidant activity due to the presence of polyphenols and flavonoids constituents
Alternative pre-treatment of raw molasses by metal complexing agents for citric acid productivity by Aspergillus niger
Full text linkThe present study deals with the pre-treatment of sugar cane molasses for the enhanced production of citric acid by Aspergillus niger NG-4. For this purpose, the acids and metal complexing agents were added in the molasses medium, alternatively prior to heating at 90°C for 1 h. Among them, the maximum amount of citric acid (53.2 g/l) was produced when the ratio between H2SO4+K4Fe(CN)6 was maintained at 1.0:250 for the pre-treatment of cane molasses which is approximately 3.1 fold higher than the control (17.0 g/l citric acid). The kinetic parameters such as growth yield coefficients (Yp/s, Yp/x, Yx/s in g/g), volumetric rates (Qp, Qs, Qx in g/l/h) and specific substrate rates (qp, qs in g/g cells/h) of the research work were also undertaken. The value of Qp (0.134 g/l/h) is highly encouraging (p≤0.05)
Proximate composition and antimicrobial effect of Ocimum gratissimum on broiler gut microflora
Full text linkThe poultry industry is challenged by microbial infections, but the use of antibiotic growth promoters is restricted in many countries. This study is designed to assess the use of Ocimum gratissimum for the control of pathogenic gut microflora (E. coli and Salmonella sp). One hundred day old (ANAK 2000) commercial broilers were purchased and used for the experiment. The birds were brooded for seven days before random distribution to their respective treatments and replicates. Aqueous Ocimum gratissimum (0.11g/l) was administered to one set of 50 birds for 7 days (ocimum treatment), while the second sets of 50 birds which were not given the Ocimum extracts served as the control. Result show that the herb had a crude protein content of 4.56%, carbohydrate 13.40% and dry matter of 78.63%, but low in crude fibre (1.06%) and ash (1.21%). Prior to the administration of Ocimum extract the population of Salmonella was highest at the ileum (2.05 log cfu/g) followed by the crop (1.79 log cfu/g) and least at the caecum (1.77 log cfu/g). E. coli was highest at the ileum (2.05 log cfu/g), followed by the caecum (1.93 log cfu/g) and least at the crop (1.83 log cfu/g). Lactobacillus followed the pattern of E. coli but with different population, being highest at the ileum (1.95 log cfu/g) flowed by the caecum (1.90 log cfu/g) and least at the crop (1.79 log cfu/g). One week after the administration of Ocimum extracts to the chickens, the population of microbes in the gut decreased significantly (P<0.05) in relation to the control, suggesting the efficacy of Ocimum at reducing the population of enteric bacteria
In-vitro antibacterial effect of Ocimum gratissimum on Broiler gut microflora
Full text linkOcimum gratissimum Linn is a medicine herb that is used in tropical world particularly in Asia, Africa and South America. Because of the restrictions in the use of antibiotics in animal health, alternative drugs are being considered. This study was designed to assess the antibiotic activity of O. gratissimum for the control of gut microorganisms. Proximate and phytochemical analysis of the herb was carried. To 100 day old chicks, aqueous extract of the herb was administered to a set of 50 chicks (Ocimum treatment) but was not given to the second set (control). Antibiotic sensitivity testing of gut microbes (Salmonella and E. coli) isolated from the chicks was tested using 0.11 g/l dried O. gratissimum extract. In the control , the zone of inhibition (ZOI) of Salmonella was 13.2, 11.8 and 14.8mm at the crop, ileum and caecum respectively whereas in the Ocimum treatment, the ZOI were significantly higher (P<0.05)  being 15.0, 15.6 and 15.6 mm respectively. The pattern of sensitivity of Salmonella and E.coli was similar. The zone of inhibition was significantly wider in the chicks administered with Ocimum gratissimum extract compared to the control. Antibiotic activity of the herb may be due to the presence of phytochemicals particularly sapronins, alkaloids, flavonoids and tannins. We conclude by recommending the use of the plant for the control of pathogenic microbes of broilers
On norm preserving conditions for local automorphisms of commutative banach algebras
Full text linkThe history of commutative algebra first appeared in 1890 by David Hilbert which was then followed by Banach spaces in 1924 since localization reduces many problems of geometric special case into commutative algebra problems of local ring. So far, many studies on preserver problems have been focusing on linear preserver problems (LPPs) especially LPPs in matrix theory. Also in consideration has been the characterization of all linear transformation on given linear space of matrices that leave certain functions, subsets and relations invariant. Clearly, we also have spectrum preserver problem or transmission. Kadison and Sourour have also shown that the derivation of local derivation of Von Neumann algebra R are continous linear maps if it coincides with some derivation at each point in the algebra over C. We employ the concept of 2-local automorphisms introduced by Serml that if we let A be an algebra, then the transformation  is called a 2-local automorphism if for all x, y  A there is an automorphism (xy) of A for which x,y(x) and x,y(y). In this paper, we characterize commutativity of local automorphism of commutative Banach algebras, establish the norm preserver condition and determine the norms of locally inner automorphisms of commutative Banach algebras. We use Hahn-Banach extension theorems and the great ideas developed by Richard, and Sorour to develop the algebra of local automorphisms, then integrate it with norm preserver conditions of commutative Banach algebras. The results of this work have a great impact in explaining the theoritical aspects of quantum mechanics especially when determining the distance of physical quantities