International Journal of Scientific Research in Biological Sciences
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Factors Affecting Medication Adherence among Patients on Concomitant Tuberculosis and Antiretroviral Therapy in Kogi State Nigeria
Get PDFNon-adherence to antiretroviral (ARV) medications as well as drugs used to treat tuberculosis (TB) can lead to manifestations of drug-resistant strains of mycobacterium tuberculosis. This study aimed at assessing the level of medication adherence and its determinants among patients living with HIV/AIDS and TB co-morbidity. A well structured questionnaire for the study of ART and anti TB medication adherence and its determinants was designed and the validity of the questionnaires was assessed through in-depth discussion with experienced consultants working in the ARD/TB clinic of the Federal Medical Center, Lokoja. Primary outcome measure was medication adherence, while secondary outcome measures were health literacy of patients and patient relation with their healthcare providers. Data was extracted from completed questionnaires, coded and entered into the Microsoft excel sheet for statistical analysis using SPSS 16.0 A total of 450 patients that participated in the study were on antiretroviral and only 60 (13.3%) of them were co-infected with both HIV and tuberculosis and are on both ARV and TB medications. Majority of the respondents were male (63.3%) and are above 45 years of age. About 23 of the patients were said to be single, 20 patients were married, and 8 of them were divorced/separated while 17 of them were widowed. About 81.7% of the respondents have one form of education or the other. Less than half of the respondents have a source of income. 23 persons (38.3%) reported never to have missed their ARV’s while only 18 persons (30%) reported never to have missed their tuberculosis medications. About 8 patients (13.3%) for ARV’s and 10 patients (16.7%) for anti-TB reported ‘forgetfulness’ as the reason for missing their medications. Majority of the patients (31.7% for ARV’s and 18.3% for anti-TB) reported that experiencing side effects was the reason for missing their medications. Also most of the patients (11.7% for ARV’s and 20.0% for anti TB) said the reason they missed their medications was because they did not have money to transport themselves to the health facility.
 
Diversity and abundance of ladybird beetles in selected agricultural fields of Sivakasi in relation to weather factors
Get PDFThe coccinellidae are a significant group of beetles from both as biological control agent and in their diversity and adaptation to a number of differing habitats. The coccinellid beetles are considered to be a great economic importance in agro-ecosystem through their successful role in the biological control of many injurious insect. From a realistic point of view, the family includes many important predators of insect pests such as aphids and scales. In the present study the assemblages of coccinellid beetles in various agricultural environments are studied and the biodiversity of ladybird beetles was correlated with weather parameters. The objectives of the present study were to explore the predatory ladybeetle fauna of Sivakasi, to estimate the species richness, species evenness and species dominance of coccinellids in the agro-ecosystem.
 
Green synthesis of iron, copper and silver nanoparticles and their antibacterial activity on animal pathogens – A Comparative study
Get PDFPrevalence of antibiotic resistance in the animal pathogens is posing a threat to the treatment of various veterinary diseases like anthrax, brucellosis, gastritis caused by Bacillus anthracis, Brucella and Staphylococcus aureus. Antibiotic resistant bacteria may spread from animals to humans through various veterinary products. Challenges in the area of antibiotic resistance are met not only by combined drug therapy and the use of novel antimicrobial agents, but also the use of nanomedicine is offering an alternative to treat drug resistant pathogens. Nanoparticle research is currently an area of intense scientific research due to their unique properties like smaller size, penetrating ability into the cell and diversified applications in fields like biomedicine, agriculture, information technology. Since nanoparticles serve as potent antimicrobial agents, the present study mainly focuses on evaluating the efficacy of Iron, Copper and Silver nanoparticles as antimicrobial agents on animal pathogens. Green synthesis of nanoparticles from plant sources is the most emerging method as compared to the chemical and physical methods as it is less time consuming, cost effective and eco- friendly. Neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf extract was used to synthesis the Iron, Copper and Silver nanoparticles and were further characterized using techniques like UV-Vis Spectroscopy and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy). The synthesized nanoparticles were tested for antibacterial activity using well-diffusion assay against Escherichia coli (E.coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) isolates obtained from P. V. Narsimha Rao State Veterinary University. Antibacterial study reveals that Silver nanoparticles synthesized using Neem leaf extract show significant antibacterial effect when compared to Iron and Copper nanoparticles.
 
Screening and Isolation of Antibiotic producing Microorganisms from Soil
Get PDFDiverse microorganisms are known to produce a wide variety of Antibiotics as secondary metabolites that are being developed and are used in treating various infections in humans, animals and plants. Microorganism has always been the primary source for production of antibiotics and still continues to maintain its significance. Antibiotics are produced by several group of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes. Abuse of antibiotics in various fields resulted in development of resistance in various bacteria which is a major threat in today’s scenario. Hence the screening of various antibiotics with effective antimicrobial activity is still continuing though thousands are available in today’s market. The present study was undertaken to screen various organisms from different sources for their antimicrobial activity. Samples were screened by crowded plate technique. Out of 10 samples screened only one soil sample from rhizosphere region has shown zone of inhibition. The organism was purified and tested for antimicrobial activity against E.coli sps, Pseudomonas sps, Bacillus, Klebsiella and Staphylococcus sps. The organism showed zone of inhibition only on gram positive bacteria. However maximum zone was observed with staphylococcus alone. Bacillus did not show significant inhibition. Further tests are being done to know the sensitivity of various staphylococcal strains of different origin with isolate.
 
A Study on Cabbage (Brassica oleracea)Peroxidase Activityusing three medicinal plant leaf extracts
Get PDFPeroxidases are a group of antioxidant enzymes which are widely distributed in nature and have been important both in plants and animals for variousphysiological processes. These enzymes utilize a wide variety of substrates to bring about the redox reactions. In the present study, peroxidase was partially purified from cabbage. In view of the diverse roles catalyzed by this enzyme, it was of interest to identify novel regulators of enzyme activity. Thus the activity of the enzyme was assayed in the presence and absence of three medicinal plant leaf extracts of Azadirachta indica(Neem), Ocimum tenuiflorum (Tulsi).and Murraya koenigii (Curry Leaves). These three leaf extracts are known for their medicinal properties and have been used in treating chronic diseases. Studies conducted revealed that all the plant leaf extracts inhibited the activity of peroxidase to a significant extent. Further studies need to be conducted to ascertain the significance of peroxidase inhibition
 
Extraction, Separation and Determination of Carotenoid content in Vegetables and Fruits
Get PDFCarotenoids are a class of phytonutrients having important antioxidant, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory benefits. Some carotenoids are converted by body to Vitamin A which is essential for vision, growth and proper development. Animals cannot synthesize carotenoids themselves and they have to get it in their diet through vegetables and fruits. The present study aims at providing public health awareness by measuring the levels of carotenoids in various fruits and vegetables and suggesting the best sources of these nutrients for their regular consumption. The isolation, estimation and separation of the compounds were based on solvent extraction, colorimetric and TLC methods. The experimental results here provide the amount of carotenes and xanthophylls (carotenoids) in the descending order as Carrots (Daucus carota) having 17.6mg/100g, Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) 4.4mg/100g, Orange (Citrus sinenis) 1.8mg/100g, Red capsicum ( Capsicum annuum) 1.44mg/100g, Yellow capsicum (Capsicum annuum) 1.32mg/100g, Muskmelon (Cucumis memo)1.32mg/100g, Papaya (Carica papaya) 1.08mg/100g and Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatus) 0.6mg/100g. The presented data indicates that Carrots are rich source and Sweet Potatoes are poor source of carotenoids from vegetables and fruits that were chosen for the study and provide useful information for human consumption.
 
An Investigation of Soil micro faunal diversity in chemical effluents contaminated soil versus normal soil at A. B. N. Seal College Campus, Cooch Behar, West Bengal
Get PDFA B N Seal College, Cooch Behar is a 131 years old premier general Degree College of West Bengal. Since it is in Government premises, therefore there is not much alteration of soil type over here. Chemistry Department has its 47 years old glory. So, it is obvious that chemical effluents which are going directly into soil will be contaminated since the time of establishment of this Department. In this paper an attempts are undertaken to make a comparative analysis of Soil micro faunal diversity in chemical effluents contaminated soil versus normal soil at A. B. N. Seal College Campus, Cooch Behar, West Bengal. Here not only surface soil is considered but also different depth of the soil is also giving much importance as a parameter. All microscopical analyses are being done under 400X magnification with photographic attachment. Micro arthropod, mites and ants diversity in terms of number and species are varied from control site to experimental sites. Large number degenerated nematode eggs are found in upper surface of the experimental sites. Lesion nematodes were found in all the depths of the investigated soil. Depth below 6 to 12 inches, presence cysts of nematodes indicates adverse environmental condition for their sustainability
 
Study on soil analysis in ponds in the Sabang block areas, West Bengal, India
Get PDFBacteria live in fresh water, soil, air and sea water. Bacteria have different nature in different zone. Thus periphyton bacteria has different characteristic in different zone. But I discussed in my topic soil analysis in fresh water ponds in Sabang block areas. I have done the experiment about one year in Sabang block areas. Soil collected by the bucket. This collected soil is collected from five ponds (Ghat pond, Dhara pond, Majari pond, Nandan pond & Masanta pond) in Sabang block areas. There were two types of pond present Control pond and Experimental pond. In this pond was added the semidried cow dank. In this experiment we are followed the some methods. The pond bottom soil was analyzed for nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium following the standard methods of AOAC (1980). In all the experimental ponds before treatment however, after treatment the nitrogen level increased considerable. Phosphorus plays significant role in enhancing the productivity of pond. Potassium is not limiting factor and is not necessary to increase production
 
Urban Herpetofauna: A Case Study in Ujjain City of Central India
Get PDFThis paper presents a herpetofaunal inventory of the urban city of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh along with major threats existing in the study area, snake-human conflict and conservation steps taken. Herpetofaunal population in degraded while urban habitat is essential for their long term conservation measures. A total of 39 species of reptiles and amphibians representing 15 families were detected with special account of Argyrogena fasciolata, Wallophis brachyurus, Lycodon aulicus, Ptyas mucosa, Xenochrophis piscator, and Lygosoma lineatum. Snakes were the most collected reptilian species, while Amphibians comprised the little group of the sample. Reptile Conservation & Research Centre is established in the city by Sarpa Anusandhan Sangthan to minimize the snake-human conflict and to educate and familiarise people with them
 
Optimization of Process Variables for the Production of Virgin Coconut Oil from Selected Cocos Nucifera Varieties under Fresh-Dry Method
Get PDFVirgin Coconut Oil (VCO) was prepared from four coconut varieties viz., West Coast Tall, Arasampatti Tall, Deejay and Tiptur Tall. The Fresh-Dry methodology was optimized by three common variable parameters like temperature viz., 30±1ºC, 35±1ºC, 40±1º C, 45±1ºC, Drying intervals viz., 24hrs, 36hrs, 48 hrs, 60hrs and fruit maturity like 10, 11, 12 and 13 month old coconuts was taken to estimate the yielding efficiency of VCO .The yielding efficiencies are calculated from the four Coconut varieties by comparing the total percentage of Oil extracted from Soxhlet method. Among the four, the maximum yielding efficiency 95.33% was obtained in WCT Coconuts drying with 45º C. In the second process variable, where the maximum yield efficiency was showed that is 93.06% with 48 hrs drying. The third process variable showed the same maximum value of 93.06% as in second process variable by employing 12 month old coconuts The coconut varieties are taken in this research study, showed different yield composition of fatty acid profile especially the lauric acid percentage, which was registered maximum that is 51.20% at “WCT Coconuts” and in other coconut varieties such as AT, DJ and TT Coconuts were noted as 50.10%, 49.23% and 48.55% respectively.