Annual Research & Review in Biology

Aim: The purpose of this case report is to present a non-surgical treatment of a non-vital immature upper central incisor with a large periapical abscess within 8 months of follow-up.

Methods and Materials: A traumatic case was presented in which a paste of calcium hydroxide and iodoform (Metapex®) was placed in the root canal of an immature permanent tooth with a large periapical abscess. Affected teeth were radiographically evaluated periodically over 8 months after paste insertion. At the end of 8 months, this case showed persistent root growth and apexification with no evidence of periapical radiolucency. After that, a normal root canal treatment was performed.

Conclusion: In this clinical case, calcium hydroxide and iodoform paste (Metapex®) was found to induce apical closure radiographically and clinically. At 8 months, the periapical abscess was shown to have healed with continued root growth.

Mining is an activity that involves the use of chemicals and results in unsustainable and dangerous conditions for the miners, their families, the community and the surrounding ecosystem. This study was done to assess metallic contamination of soils and sediments in the Bétaré-Oya gold artisanal mine district, East-Cameroon. A total of thirty (30) samples of exploited soils, control soils and sediments were taken from the mining sites of Lom, Mbal and Mali. The concentrations of heavy metals and metalloids (Fe, Sr, Cu, As, Pb and Zn) were determined by Inductive Plasma Ionisation Source Atomic Emission Spectrometry. The results show that in the sediments metals such as: As (1.82), Cu (24.22), Pb (18.04) and Zn (65.69) have average concentrations slightly higher than the UCC and Average Shale reference values. In the exploited soil As (1.93), Cu (16.86) and Zn (96.22) have average concentrations slightly higher than the UCC and Average Shale reference values.While in the cotrol soils only As (1.62) and Zn (59.72) shows an average concentration slightly above the UCC reference values. The average concentrations of the different heavy metals and metalloids were then used to calculate the intensity of contamination in soils and sediments.  The results of this calculation indicate that the Enrichment Factor (EF) of As, Sr, Zn and Pb indicate an extremely high enrichment in these elements. The geo-accumulation Index (Igeo) (22.85-25), the Contamination (CF) (1.47), the low values of the ecological risk indices suggest a low potential ecological risk and Pollution load index (PLI) (0.67) indicates extreme contamination with these elements in the soils and sediments. However, only As indicates a slight contamination (class 1) in soils and sediments. Gold panning activities and untreated mine tailings discharges would be considered as the main sources of sediment and soil pollution in Bétaré-Oya.

In this article, the corrosion inhibition of steel DIN 2391 St 37-4 in acidic medium 5% H₂SO₄ with and without the presence of eco inhibitors of leaf (Petroselinum Sativum) was examined. Inhibitory properties of parsley leaves (Petroselinum Sativum) on steel DIN 2391 St 37-4 were examined by potentiodynamic polarization - Tafel extrapolation, and FTIR method in order to categorize the oxide layer. The test was performed in static medium and with stirring at 600 rpm. By Tafel extrapolation based on changes in corrosion potential, the inhibitor behaves as mixed. Increasing the concentration of inhibitors increases the efficiency of inhibition. Corrosion processes are inhibited by adsorption of organic matter on the surface of steel DIN 2391 St 37-4, forming a film. The obtained results indicate that parsley leaf (Petroselinum Sativum) is an effective eco inhibitor for the tested steel in 5% sulfuric acid.

Aims: Poor air quality can compromise the health and recovery of patients and even compromise the quality of life and productivity of health professionals, affecting the speed of recovery of patients and allowing the occurrence of nosocomial infections. The present work evaluated the microbiological quality of ambient air in Basic Health Units (BHU), determining the degree of microbiological safety for the population served.

Study Design:  This study was conducted with triplicate evaluation of samples of ambient air.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in the city of Januária, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, between March 2016 and July 2016.

Methodology: Environmental air samples were collected in five BHU in the urban area of the city, evaluating the contamination by aerophilic mesophilic microorganisms, enterobacteria, molds and yeasts, using the simple sedimentation technique in a Petri dish.

Results: It was verified the presence of mesophilic aerobic bacteria and molds and yeasts in amounts higher than the recommendation used as a parameter for this study, indicating that the hygienic-sanitary conditions in the evaluated BHU are not adequate.

Conclusion: The presence of Enterobacteriaceae in some evaluated sites suggests the possibility of the presence of pathogenic microorganisms, which may pose risks to the health of the population.

Data on Traditional Medicine Practice (TMP) in population with access to modern medicine is not clear, though, it has gained huge popularity in all regions of developing countries over decades. This research was conducted to investigate the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of people using Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees as a medical herb and the effects of the crude extracts on some microbial isolates. Quantitative-based cross-sectional survey was carried out on 100 participants around Auta-Baleifi and Bingham University communities through the use of structured questionnaires. Data collected from the participants were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The plant species leaves were collected, washed and extracted by boiling, soaking and macerating using distilled water. The crude extracts were tested for its antimicrobial activities on Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus using ciprofloxacin as the control.  From the result of the KAP analysis, majority (36%) of the participants were between 19-28 years old, followed by 29 – 38 years (32%) and only 5% were 59 years and above . 91% of the participants have good knowledge of traditional medicine, while only 9% were not aware of the practice , 32.0% of the participant claimed that the use of traditional medicine preparation had no adverse effects as compared to modern medicine,, while larger percentage (68%), do not agree that traditional medicine is safer than modern medicine., 36% of the participants claimed to have used A. paniculata, a traditional herb, for one medicinal purpose or the other, while 54% said they have never used it, but may considered using it in future,. The population in Auta-baleifi and Bingham University communities has good knowledge with high acceptability of the use of traditional medicine. Although the result of the antimicrobial showed that the crude extracts of A. paniculata had no clear zone of inhibition against the test organisms, but the plant have demonstrated effective used in traditional medicine against symptoms very similar to that of malaria.

This study focused on the documentation of wild macrofungi species used by village communities living around Mpanga Forest in Mpigi District, Central Uganda. In order to determine the variability of knowledge and the modes of use of macrofungi by the local communities, a total of 100 people, distributed in 4 villages (Kalagala, Nakigudde, Mpambire, and Lwanga) including 25 people in each, were interviewed following a semi-structured survey. The information focused on vernacular names, different species of macrofungi used, different categories of uses (food, medicinal, commercial, mythical, and traditional beliefs), Seasonality, habitat, preservation, and preparation methods. The diversity of macrofungi was assessed by combining visits in Mpanga forest and ethnomycological surveys. Ethnomycological indices such as Total Use Value (TUV), Diversity Index (DI), Pielou Regularity Index (EI), and Sorensen's K test were calculated to analyze the use differences between the 4 village communities. To determine the influence of age, gender and literacy level on the mycological knowledge held by village communities, one-way ANOVA and t-tests were used. The field collections associated with the ethnomycological surveys made it possible to identify a total of 35 species useful for the local communities among which, 29 are edible, 14 are medicinal, 5 are used for income and 4 are used for mythical and traditional beliefs. Due to their higher total use value (TUV>1), species such as Leucoagaricus rubrotinctus (Ggudu), Termitomyces sp.1 (Bubbala) and Termitomyces sp.2 (Nakyebowa) are the most exploited by local communities. The study revealed that ethnomycological knowledge is held by a minority of respondents (IE<0.5) within each village community, a consistency homogeneity of this knowledge within this minority (DI<DImax/2), but high variability in the use of macrofungi between village communities as indicated by TUV values ​​and Sorensen's K test. The study also shown that the distribution of mycological knowledge of local communities was significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by gender, age and level of education. The results of this study provided information that could, in the future, be used in the domestication of wild macrofungi species and in mycomedecine to contribute to food security and improve public health care.

An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of natural antioxidants (black pepper, green tea, roselle and their combinations) on meat quality of broiler chickens. A total of 270 1 - day old Arbor Acre broiler chicks were randomly distributed into nine treatments of three replicates each (10 birds in each replicate) in a 2 x 5 factorial arrangement for 2 inclusion levels (0.5g and 1.0g per kg of feed) of natural antioxidants (Control (CT), Green tea (GT), Roselle (RS), Black pepper (BP) and combination (CM) of the 3 antioxidants). At the end of the feeding trial (at 8 weeks), nine birds per treatment were immobilized, slaughtered, dressed, weighed and cut into primal cuts. The growth (initial and final body weight gain, average daily feed intake and weight gain, and feed conversion) and blood assay (haematology and serum biochemistry) of the birds were monitored while the breast and thigh meat cuts were subjected to physico-chemical and sensory analysis. The result indicated that, among examined natural antioxidants, BP improved the bird’s live weight. High Density Lipoprotein value was highest (p<0.05) in control and closely followed by birds on GT, CM, BP and RS. The lowest blood (p<0.05) cholesterol was recorded in RS which was closely followed by GT and CM. Carcass evaluation showed that birds fed BP had better (p<0.05) live weight (2.05kg) and highest acceptability (p<0.05) for organoleptic properties. The breast meat weight was also highest (p<0.05) in BP. It was concluded that the natural antioxidants increased live weight, improved performance and reduced abdominal fat. RS reduced blood cholesterol while RS, CM (GT + RS + BP) inclusion improved serum total protein of broiler chickens. Inclusion of natural antioxidant in the diets of broiler is hereby advocated for achieving optimum broilers performance and meat quality.

This study aimed to assess the effect of natural antioxidants on storage time, physical and chemical properties of egg. A total of 200 laying ISA brown birds were distributed into eight dietary groups, each dietary group with 25 birds (5 birds per replicate). They were fed with roselle, black pepper, green tea, combine (roselle + black pepper + green tea) at 0.5 g/kg and 1.0 g/kg in basal diet respectively and a control feed. At the end of eight (8) weeks of feeding trial, twelve eggs were collected from each dietary group (six eggs per dietary group were analyzed for the internal and external properties while the remaining six were stored). Data collected include; Egg shape index, egg weight, shell thickness, membrane weight, yolk index, haugh unit, meat and blood spot, yolk colour, lipid profile, lipid peroxidation and proximate analysis. Data generated were subjected to Analysis of variance using the General Linear Model for factorial within a completely randomized design. The natural antioxidants significantly (P<0.05) improves the proximate composition of the poultry eggs. Both Green tea and Black pepper have significant effect (P<0.05) on the yolk percentage. Black pepper increases (P<0.05) the Haugh unit while it shows to be lower (P>0.05) in the combination of the antioxidants. The inclusion levels of the natural antioxidants on the internal and external quality of egg reveals that there were no significant (P>0.05) differences in the two inclusion level of 0.5 g/kg and 1.0 g/kg of feed but they have numerically higher values in the external parameters and internal parameters. Eggs stored for 4 weeks had the lowest value (P>0.05) for the proximate and lipid profiles, though there are no significant (P>0.05) differences in their values. The fresh eggs show high moisture content (P<0.05) but the value for nitrogen free extract is low (P>0.05) in the fresh eggs. The natural antioxidants improved significantly (P<0.05) the proximate composition of the poultry eggs, with the green tea having the highest value (P<0.05) for Moisture contents and CP, black pepper the highest (P<0.05) for CP Based on the result obtained from this study, the natural antioxidants (black pepper, green tea and roselle) in layers’ diet shows significant effects on the physical qualities of egg and the yolk color was also preferred with the inclusion of the natural antioxidants compared to the control. The chemical properties also deteriorate with the storage time. Natural antioxidants are hereby recommended for better and improved chemical qualities of eggs.

To create life, the first step should logically be the formation of the condensed system that defines a cell. If the original contents were dispersed widely, then those components would require condensation. Absent the needed condensation forces, those prime substances would have remained scattered, with no particular proclivity to form a cell. Energy is needed for the above-described process. Without energy for the splitting of water molecules, EZ cannot build. The required energy comes from light. Particularly effective, we found, is infrared light. The impacted water is presumably its EZ fraction, whose crystal-like structure allows for information-storage capability. Ordinary liquid water has no such capability: its randomly oriented, rapidly fluctuating molecules would be expected to show no capacity for retention of information. EZ water, on the other hand, seems practically “designed” to carry information.

In recent years, some organism species are appearing popularly in the tobacco in Cao Bang province, Vietnam, and caused severe damage to the tobacco yield and quality such as budworm (Helicoverpa assulta Guene), aphid (Myzus persicea Sulzer), and powdery mildew (Erysiphe cichoracearum D.C). To manage them effectively, forecasting and controlling insect pests play an important role in tobacco cultivation. The predictive model was built base on the Skybit, Fuzzy, and Degree-days model to forecast and give suitable control methods for major insect pests in tobacco. This model is run on Excel software and calculated by an IF function for the growth of the organism. Result of the model predicted accurately the tobacco budworm, aphids, and powdery mildew damaging tobacco in Cao Bang in April 2022. Based on the results of prediction, we give proper control methods for each insect pests, preventing the quick growth and development of the organism species in the field, reducing the use of pesticides, and increasing the income of the growers. This model has also applied to forecast other pests in the tobacco in Vietnam. To increase the quality of the prediction, the model will continue to be perfected and completed in the coming years based on the practice field.