Histomorphological study of hepatic lobules of adult Wistar rats administered with aqueous extracts of leaves of cassia singueana.

OBJECTIVES: Cassia singueana is widely used in northern Nigeria as an herb for the treatment of enamors ailments. Nevertheless the toxicity of the herb on liver architecture; the hepatic lobule and body weight is yet to be authenticated. METHODS: A total of 24 male Wistar rats with an average weight of 150 g were randomly placed into four groups. Each group consisted of 6 rats. Group A served as the control group while groups B, C and D were given 150, 300, and 450 mg of Cassia singueana leaves extract respectively for 14 days. The animals were weighed before, during and after the treatment phase subsequently, they were sacrificed and the liver tissues were processed and stained using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain, Masson's and Trichrome Stain, Gordon and Sweet's Stain, and Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS)Stain. RESULTS: There was no significant change in the animal's body weight of in all the groups when compared to the control group. Our histology result showed that Cassia singueana induced vascular lesion and hepatocytes degeneration putatively though mechanism of cell death (apoptosis and necrosis). It was also found that Cassia singueana has no toxic effect on the reticular fibers of the liver. High dose of Cassia singueana was found to induce the deposition of PAS positive materials in hepatocytes. CONCLUSIONS: The Cassia singueana leaves extract induce hepatocyte degeneration and vascular lesion in the hepatic lobules of the wistar rats, without affecting the animals' body weight.

DIMASS: A Delaunay-Inspired, Hybrid Approach to a Team of Agents Search Strategy.

This article describes an approach for multiagent search planning for a team of agents. A team of UAVs tasked to conduct a forest fire search was selected as the use case, although solutions are applicable to other domains. Fixed-path (e.g., parallel track) methods for multiagent search can produce predictable and structured paths, with the main limitation being poor management of agents' resources and limited adaptability (i.e., based on predefined geometric paths, e.g., parallel track, expanding square, etc.). On the other hand, pseudorandom methods allow agents to generate well-separated paths; but methods can be computationally expensive and can result in a lack of coordination of agents' activities. We present a hybrid solution that exploits the complementary strengths of fixed-pattern and pseudorandom methods, i.e., an approach that is resource-efficient, predictable, adaptable, and scalable. Our approach evolved from the Delaunay triangulation of systematically selected waypoints to allocate agents to explore a specific region while optimizing a given set of mission constraints. We implement our approach in a simulation environment, comparing the performance of the proposed algorithm with fixed-path and pseudorandom baselines. Results proved agents' resource utilization, predictability, scalability, and adaptability of the developed path. We also demonstrate the proposed algorithm's application on real UAVs.

Removal of acetylsalicylate and methyl-theobromine from aqueous environment using nano-photocatalyst WO3-TiO2 @g-C3N4 composite.

Highly efficient, visible light-driven and a novel ternary hybrid photocatalyst WO3-TiO2-g-C3N4 with robust stabilities and versatile properties has been synthesized through facile hydrothermal method. This study considers the photo-degradation of aspirin (acetylsalicylate) and caffeine (methyl-theobromine) via photocatalysts (WO3, WO3/TiO2, and WO3/TiO2/g-C3N4 (WTCN) composite) under visible-light irradiation. The SEM and TEM images show the formation of WO3 nanoparticles with orthorhombic structure and average particle size of 65 nm. The photocatalyst WTCN composite possesses higher-catalytic activity when compared to that of WO3 and WO3/TiO2 for degradation of aspirin and caffeine. The incorporation of g-C3N4 in WO3/TiO2 composite exhibited significant influence on the photocatalytic performance for both pollutants. Excellent photocatalytic performance of WTCN composite was observed owing to hydroxyl radical (OH) and superoxide radical (O2-) as main active species. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of WTCN composite can be attributed to following three reasons: (1) extended visible-light absorption; (2) extended surface area; (3) efficient charge-separation due to synergistic effects between g- and WO3/TiO2 composite. The removal efficiency of aspirin and caffeine (Methyl theobromine) could be achieved as much as 98% and 97% for acetylsalicylate and methyl-theobromine using WTCN composite material, respectively. This study could provide new insights into the synthesis of novel WO3-based materials for environmental and energy applications.

Biodiesel production potential from fat fraction of municipal waste in Makkah.

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), millions of Muslims come to perform Pilgrimage every year. Around one million ton of municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated in Makkah city annually. The collected MSW is disposed of in the landfills without any treatment or energy recovery. As a result, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contamination of the soil and water bodies along with leachate and odors are occurring in waste disposal vicinities. The composition of MSW shows that food waste is the largest waste stream (up to 51%) of the total generated MSW. About 13% of the food waste consists of fat content that is equivalent to about 64 thousand tons per year. This study aims to estimate the production potential of biodiesel first time in Makkah city from fat/oil fractions of MSW and highlight its economic and environmental benefits. It has been estimated that 62.53, 117.15 and 6.38 thousand tons of biodiesel, meat and bone meal (MBM) and glycerol respectively could be produced in 2014. A total electricity potential of 852 Gigawatt hour (GWh) from all three sources based on their energy contents, Higher Heating Value (HHV) of 40.17, 18.33 and 19 MJ/kg, was estimated for 2014 that will increase up to 1777 GWh in 2050. The cumulative net savings from landfill waste diversion (256 to 533 million Saudi Riyal (SAR)), carbon credits (46 to 96 million SAR), fuel savings (146 to 303 million SAR) and electricity generation (273 to 569 million SAR) have a potential to add a total net revenue of 611 to 1274 million SAR every year to the Saudi economy, from 2014 to 2050 respectively. However, further studies including real-time data about annual slaughtering activities and the amount of waste generation and its management are critical to decide optimum waste management practices based on life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) methodologies.

The analgesic effect of apelin-13 and its mechanism of action within the nitric oxide and serotonin pathways.

BACKGROUND: Apelin has various effects on a lot of systems such as central nervous system and cardiovascular system. This study investigated the possible analgesic effects of apelin-13 using the hot-plate and the tail-flick thermal analgesia tests in rats. We also evaluated the mechanism underlying the analgesic effects of apelin-13 by pretreating with Nw-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) or ondansetron. MATERIAL & METHODS: Forty male rats were used. The rats were randomly assigned to five groups according to the treatment received: Group I: Control; Group II: Morphine; Group III: Apelin-13; Group IV: Apelin-13+L-NAME; Group V: Apelin-13+Ondansetron. Acute thermal pain was modeled using the hot-plate and the tail-flick tests. RESULTS: During the hot-plate test, i.p. Morphine and apelin-13 administered at zero- and 30 min produced significantly greater analgesic effects compared to the control. When the nitric oxide pathway was inhibited by administration of L-NAME with apelin-13, the analgesic effect continued. When apelin-13 and ondansetron were co-administered, the analgesic effect of apelin-13 disappeared at zero- and 30 min. During the tail-flick test, at 30 min, significantly higher levels of analgesia were observed in both the morphine and apelin group (which did not differ from each other) compared to the control group. L-NAME co-administered with apelin-13 did not affect the degree of analgesia, but apelin-13 co-administered with ondansetron was associated with a greater reduction in analgesia compared to the other groups. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that apelin-13 exerts an analgesic effect; co-administration of apelin-13 and ondansetron inhibits antinociception, an effect apparently mediated by five-hydroxytryptamine-three (5-HT3) receptors. Hippokratia 2015; 19 (4): 319-323.

Combined usage of estrogen and melatonin restores bladder contractility and reduces kidney and bladder damage in ovariectomized and pinealectomized rat.

OBJECTIVE: The incidence of urinary bladder disturbances and renal structural changes and functional decline are found to increase with age. METHODS: We investigated the effect of melatonin treatment in addition to estrogen replacement therapy in pinealectomized (Px) and ovariectomized (Ovx) rats. 56 female Wistar rats were divided into seven groups, each containing eight animals: Sham, (Ovx), (Px), Px+Ovx, Px+Ovx receiving estrogen (Px+Ovx+E), Px+Ovx receiving melatonin (Px+Ovx+M) and Px+Ovx estrogen and melatonin supplemented (Px+Ovx+EM) group (EM group). We evaluated reduced glutathione (GSH) levels and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. The mean collagen fiber (CF)/smooth muscle (SM) ratio in the bladder wall and structure of the kidney were examined histolologically. We also recorded response of the bladder contractility to acetylcholine (Ach). RESULTS: Px and Ovx groups showed statistically significant reductions of antioxidant defenses, impaired Ach-evoked contraction, histological changes compared with the control group. Also, these changes were prominent in Px+Ovx group compared with all other groups. Both estrogen and melatonin reversed these changes however best restoration was observed in the EM group. CONCLUSIONS: Px performed in addition to Ovx led to a distinct increase in oxidative damage in bladder and renal tissue and deteriorate of the detrussor function. Either estradiol or melatonin replacement alone or in combination prevents significant alterations of tissue histology and bladder contractility following Ovx and Px. Thus, combination treatment appears to be the best method to restore both contractility and histomorphology of bladder and kidney tissues after Ovx and Px (Tab. 3, Fig. 4, Ref. 44).

The effect of melatonin on acetylsalicylic acid-induced kidney and testis damage.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute effect of high-dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) on kidney and testis, and the potential protective and therapeutic effects of melatonin on ASA-related pathology. A total of 40 rats were randomly divided into the following 5 groups (n = 8): group 1: control, not given any drug; group 2: only 200 mg/kg ASA was given; group 3: 5 mg/kg melatonin was given 45 min before administering 200 mg/kg ASA; group 4: 5 mg/kg melatonin was given 45 min after administering 200 mg/kg ASA; and group 5: only 5 mg/kg melatonin was given. The histopathological changes and the biochemical findings; such as malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), reduced glutathione (GSH), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) as well as serum creatinine (Cr) levels were evaluated. ASA significantly increased MDA levels in both kidney and testis, whereas it significantly decreased the values of SOD, CAT, GPX, and GSH in kidney and CAT levels in testis. Melatonin significantly decreased MDA levels in kidney and ameliorated it in testis, whereas it caused elevation in the levels of antioxidants. BUN and Cr levels were higher after ASA, whereas these levels were diminished after melatonin administration. The improvement obtained by melatonin on ASA-induced histological alterations was more prominent when it was used after ASA in kidney and before ASA in testis. In this study, we demonstrated the beneficial effect of melatonin on high-dose ASA-related pathology of kidney and testis for the first time.

[Dimethyl sulfoxide in the treatment of patients with inflammatory diseases of external and middle ear]. / Opyt primeneniia dimetilsulfoksida pri lechenii bolnykh s vospalitelnymi zabolevaniiami naruzhnogo i srednego ukha.

The combination of various drugs with midethyl sulfoxide (DS) solution has been tried in 49 patients with inflammation of the external ear and 10 patients with acute otitis media. It was found that DS solutions potentiate the effect of the drugs. A broad antibacterial and antimycotic spectrum, high transdermal, analgetic, antiinflammatory and potentiating potential in good side-effect profile made it possible to recommend DS for management of external and middle ear inflammation.