Advances in BioScience
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Morphological Survey of the Fruits of the Cultivated (Solanum lycopersicum Linn.) and Wild (Solanum pimpinellifolium Miller) Tomatoes in Ile-Ife, Nigeria
Get PDFThe last few years have recorded an increase in the forms of the cultivated tomato fruits available in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The morphological survey of the fruits of the cultivated garden tomato Solanum lycopersicum Linn. and its wild relative, Solanum pimpinellifolium Miller was carried out with the aim of documenting the various forms available on the basis of their different shapes and sizes. The qualitative morphological characters observed were, fruit colour and shape while the quantitative data taken were, the number of ribs present on the fruits, length and diameter of fruits. In this study, thirty-one (31) fruit forms were reported for the cultivated species based on the differences in shapes, presence or absence of ribs on fruits, number of ribs and colour of fruits. The shapes observed in Solanum lycopersicum were ellipsoid, spheroid, obovate, oblate, rhomboidal, elongate and clavate while the shape for Solanum pimpinellifolium was consistently round. The colours observed for Solanum lycopersicum were red, red with yellow patches, and yellowish-red while colour in S. pimpinellifolium was consistently red. Number of ribs on the fruits of the cultivated species ranged from 0–12 while rib was absent in the wild species. Noteworthy, were the fruit forms with beak-like protrusions at the apices of the cultivated species. The length-to-diameter ratio of fruits of the cultivated species was a reliable parameter for differentiating the elongated fruit forms from the other forms in the cultivated species
Eosinophiluria in relation to Pyelonephritis in Women
Get PDFIn the present study of outpatient settings, pyelonephritis was diagnosed by the history and physical examination and supported by urinalysis results. After a clinco-pathological confirmation of pyelonephritis in 100 female patients in the age group between 18-55 years were selected. The urine samples were subjected for routine urine analysis and urine sediment was stained with Wright-Giemsa stain. A total of 13% of these patients had eosinophils in urine. Eosinophiluria is defined as the presence of more than 1% eosinophils in urinary sediment under the microscope. Eosinophiluria proved to be good predictors of pyelonephritis, however, it is not specific. Positive test for pyuria of moderate to severe were seen in all (100%) of the cases. Microscopic hematuria was seen in 18% cases. We have found that Wright-Giemsa stain results show consistent results and eosinophils were more easily recognized. Demographic data collected were age, weight, gravidity, and parity. The gestational age of diagnosis was recorded
Analysis of oilseed of Halophytic species: Atriplex griffithii, Haloxylon ammodendron, Salicornia europaea, Salsola yazdiana
Get PDFSeeds of Atriplex griffithii, Haloxylon ammodendron, Salicornia europaea and Salsola yazdiana were analyzed to determine their potential as sources of edible oil. The quantity of total oil varied from 13.8% in Atriplex griffithii to 20.9% in H. ammodendron. The proportion of unsaturated fatty acids were higher (62-73.8%), with the highest values of α-linoleic acid (18.6%), linoleic acid (28.6%) and oleic acid (19.7%) in the seeds of A. griffithii, H. ammodendron and S. europaea, respectively. Results of physicochemical evaluation of the extracted oils ranged as follows: iodine values, 99.8-106.5 (g I2/100 g); saponification value, 188-283 (mg KOH/1g of oil); peroxide value, 9-13 (meq/kg) and refractive index, 1.4750- 1.4761. Amongst these oilseeds, S. europaea (containing 73.8% unsaturated fatty acids but not erucic acid) was the highest in quality for human consumption followed by H. ammodendron
New Record of the Genus Porphyridium purpureum from Kurdistan
Get PDFThe present work deals with the rare species and seldom in occurrence and distribution. It is terrestrial, freshwater unicellular red algae Porphyridium purpureum (Bory de Saint-Vincent) Drew, K.M. & Ross, R. (1965). Species and ecological information of the area are given in context. This genus is a new record to Kurdistan. This algae was observed and collected from Gali-Ali Beg Valley mountain area on rocks within Erbil province, Iraqi Kurdistan region, on several occasions from the moist shaded area on rocks during the spring season. Information's on taxonomic status, morphological characteristic with reproduction features and habitats of this species as a new record to Kurdistan were reported
Cross-sectional study of parasitic causes of diarrhea in patients visiting a university hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Get PDFDiarrhea is considered a global health problem and a major mortality cause in children less than 5 years of age. Infectious diarrhea is usually associated with morbidity in the form of intestinal dysfunction and malnutrition. One of the major causes of diarrhea is intestinal parasitic infections. In this study, we investigate the parasitic causes of diarrhea in patients visiting King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia during 2014. A total of 627 stool samples was received during 2014 at the Parasitology lab for stool analysis. Samples were analyzed using the formalin-ethyl acetate concentration technique and a direct smear was performed for all diarrheic samples. A thick smear was prepared from all diarrheic specimens and permanently stained with a modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining procedure to look for the presence of Cryptosporidium. Four hundred and eighty (76.6%) specimens were negative for intestinal parasites and 88 (14%) non-diarrheic specimens were positive for intestinal parasites. Fifty-nine (9.4%) specimens were diarrheic and 30 of them had intestinal parasites. The most frequent parasites seen in diarrheic samples were Giardia lamblia (28.8%) and Entamoeba histolytica (10.2%). Cryptosporidium was found in only 2 (3.4%) diarrheic specimens. The Results of this work recommend the establishment of a high standard sewage system to provide a better quality of life
Mutagenic Effects of Sodium Azide on the Quality of Maize Seeds
Get PDFThis project was conducted to determine the mutagenic effects of sodium azide on the quality of maize seed. Maize seeds were treated at six different concentrations of sodium azide namely; 0.00mM, 0.01mM, 0.02mM, 0.03mM, 0.04mM and 0.05mM. The seeds that were treated were of two varieties namely; Sammaz 18 and Sammaz 20. The result obtained showed that sodium azide was effective in causing mutagenic change in the quality of maize seeds in terms of growth rate and seed size. Significant differences (P<0.05) were observed in all the two varieties with respect to some of the traits studied and nutritional compositions studied. The number of days to 50% flowering and Nitrogen-free extract (%) increased significantly with an increase in concentrations of sodium azide. Chlorophyll-deficient mutants were observed in treatments 0.02mM, 0.03mM and 0.04mM which were striata and light green in colour. Dwarfed mutant was also recorded in treatment 0.04mM of Sammaz 20 maize variety. The project was carried out to find out the effectiveness of sodium azide on the mutagenesis of maize seeds, seed weight of mutant maize plant, nutrient content of the mutant maize plant and the morphological features of the mutant maize plant. I recommend that chemical mutagens like sodium azide to produce improved seed varieties like of maize plants that will meet the present global and national food need
Effect of Experimental Phenylketonuria on the Bone of Pregnant Mothers and their young during Perinatal Life and after Delivered Newborn of Albino Rats
Get PDFPhenylketonuria (PKU) is a genetic disorder that is characterized by an inability of the body to utilize the essential amino acid, phenylalanine. The disease results from a deficiency in phenylalanine hydroxylase, the enzyme catalyzing the conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine. Although, this inborn error of metabolism was among the first in humans to be understood biochemically and genetically, little is known about the mechanisms involved in the pathology of PKU during neonatal development. Elevated concentrations of plasma phenylalanine were induced in pregnant rats by oral administration of 50mg/100g body weight alpha-methylphenylalanine plus phenylalanine supplementation at a dosage of 60mg/100g body weight two times daily after the 6th day of onset of gestation till 14 & 16 days of gestation as well as at parturition. Treatment with alpha-methylphenylalanine/ phenylalanine resulted in a significant decrease of accumulated body weight gain during pregnancy as well as exhibited marked growth retardation of prenatal fetuses and delivered newborn. The growth retarded fetuses was manifested by decreased body weight, malformed both fore- & hindlimb, oedematous skin & superficial hematomas widely spread in different parts of the body. Ossification of bones was greatly altered. Skeletal abnormalities restricted mainly in skull, sternebrae, lumbar, caudal vertebrae and distal phalanx of both fore- & hindlimb. Histological examination of femoral bone revealed varieties of histopathological abnormalities which illustrated and discussed. These results suggested that exposure of the fetus to high plasma concentrations of phenylalanine cause deformities of bone
Identification and determination of antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria Isolated from Septic Wounds
Get PDFWound infection is a global cause of morbidity and mortality across all wound types. Therefore, efficient diagnosis and treatment of wound infection are essential. This study was carried out to identify the pathogenic bacteria in infected wounds of the patient’s attending Sebha city hospitals (Libya) and to determine their resistance profile to the most common antibiotics used in therapy. A total of sixty wound swab specimens were collected and cultured, of which 39 samples showed bacterial growth. Three different species of bacteria were isolated. Staphylococcus aureus 21 (53.9%) were the most common organisms followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa 10 (25.6%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis 8 (20.5%). The antibiotic susceptibility test of the bacterial isolate was performed by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Results showed that 90.5% of the Staphylococcus aureus isolates were resistant to vancomycin, 61.9% to tetracycline, 57.1% to amoxicillin, 52.4 % to methicillin, 42.9 to erythromycin and 23.8% to streptomycin. 87.5% of the Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates were resistant to vancomycin, 75% to methicillin, 62.5% to tetracycline, 50% to streptomycin 37.5% to amoxicillin, and erythromycin. All the Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin and highly resistant 90-100% to other antibiotics tested Amoxicillin, Nalidixic acid, Streptomycin, and Tetracycline. The high rate of multiple antibiotic resistance was observed in all bacterial species recovered
Awareness about osteoporosis among university students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Get PDFOsteoporosis is a global public health problem. It is estimated that about 9.0 million osteoporotic fractures occurred in the year 2000 and that many were due to osteoporosis. Awareness about osteoporosis and factors contributing to it is of great benefit and is a major public health challenge. The objective of this study is the level of awareness about osteoporosis among university students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Questionnaires were distributed among university students to assess their osteoporosis knowledge level. One hundred questionnaires were collected and the osteoporosis knowledge level was assessed. SPSS was used to analyze the data. Over three-quarters of participating students (77%) have a high level of knowledge about osteoporosis. There is a statistically significant positive correlation between the level of osteoporosis knowledge and the length of study at KAU and the marital status (p=<0.01). Furthermore, there is a statistically significant negative correlation between the level of osteoporosis knowledge and economic status. Raising knowledge about osteoporosis is an important and effective tool in preventing osteoporosis
Is Toxoplasma gondii IgG seropositivity a predisposing factor for infertility?
Get PDFToxoplasmosis is a disease caused by an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Approximately one-third of the world population is infected with this parasite. Several studies have examined the causes of human infertility in the Middle East. A high proportion of secondary infertility and a great contribution of the female factor was the major finding in most of these studies. In this study, we aim to explore the relationship between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and female infertile patients. Serum samples from 83 female patients visiting the infertility clinic and 57 normal prim gravid females attending the ANC clinic were collected during the year 2014. Serum samples were analyzed for anti-Toxoplasma IgG by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) technology. Patients visiting the infertility clinic, aged from 18-40 years (x=29.7) while normal prim gravid females attending the ANC clinic aged from 18-38 (x=26.1). Of the 83 samples collected from patients visiting the infertility clinic, 15 samples were positive for anti-Toxoplasma IgG while only 2 samples (out of 57) collected from normal prim gravid females attending the ANC clinic were positive. There was a statistically significant correlation between positive anti-Toxoplasma IgG and infertility (p<0.01). We suggest considering the presence of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies in serum of young females as an indicator for possible future infertility