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This study investigated the physiological and stress indices of scavenging chickens in LAFARGE and Dangote cement factories located at Ewekoro and Ibese, respectively and respective adjourning communities of Ogun State, Nigeria. One hundred adult scavenging chickens comprising of 25 from each location were used. The birds were caught at night on their perch and kept in furnished cages till the next morning. Data were collected on their rectal temperature, pulse rate, and respiratory rate. Also 5 mL blood was collected through the wing vein of each chicken. Highest (p < 0.05) pulse rate (215.64 beat/minute) and respiratory rate (19.90 breath/minute) were recorded among the chickens at LAFARGE area. Highest (p < 0.05) packed cell volume (28.06%), hemoglobin (4.01 g/dL), monocyte (4.28%) and glucose (256.53 g/dL) were recorded among ones at Ibese (Dangote). White blood cell (6488.89 × 103µL) was highest (p < 0.05) in chickens at Ewekoro (LAFARGE). The study concluded that cement factories infringe on health status of scavenging chickens in the domains. Effective environmental mitigation programme should be put in place for enhanced welfare of the birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Albendazolum (ABZ) is a BCS class II drug. It has challenging biopharmaceutical properties, which include poor solubility and dissolution rate. These properties have laid the ground for developing a supersaturated self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (S-SNEDDS) to form oil-in-water nanoemulsion in situ to improve the oral bioavailability of ABZ. Based on the ABZ solubility, emulsifying ability, and stability after dispersion in an aqueous phase, an optimal self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) consisting of oleic acid, TweenVR 20, and PEG 600 (X:Y:Z, w/w) was identified, having 10% (w/w) hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) E15 lv as its precipitation inhibitor. The optimized system possessed a small mean globule size value (89.2 nm), good dispersion properties (polydispersity index (PDI): 0.278), and preserved the supersaturated state of ABZ. S-SNEDDS was transformed into solid supersaturated self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SS-SNEDDS) using microcrystalline cellulose as a solid material. The developed S-SNEDDS were characterized for globule size, pH, turbidity, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and flow properties. The data obtained from the results suggest that this S-SNEDDS formulation can enhance the solubility and oral bioavailability of ABZ for appropriate clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we carried out a comparative study on two cost and time effective methods of encapsulating silver nanoparticles (AgNP) in dipalmitoyl-phosphatidyl choline (DPPC)/cholesterol-based liposome to enhance nanoparticle cytotoxicity, and evaluated the effect of this on a blood cell line (THP1 monocytes) often involved in uptake of nanoparticles during human exposure. DLS and Zeta potential analyses over a 6-months period showed the extruded Lipo-AgNP (Ex-Lipo-AgNP) exhibited more stable characteristics when compared with the probe-sonicated Lipo-AgNP (PB-Lipo-AgNP). SEM microscopy indicated agglomeration of the PB-Lipo-AgNP which was not observed in Ex-Lipo-AgNP. Ex-Lipo-AgNP also exhibited higher temperature-dependent stability with 35.3% reduction in size from 20 °C to 37 °C while PB-Lipo-AgNP was less stable exhibiting 55% size reduction over same temperature range and 6 h period. Load release study over 24 h showed controlled release from Ex-Lipo-AgNP while the PB-Lipo-AgNP exhibited burst release at pH 4 and 6.5. Interestingly, it was found that Ex-Lipo-AgNP induced significantly higher cytotoxicity on THP1 cell line after 24 h exposure compared with control unexposed cells, uncoated AgNP and PB-Lipo-AgNP exposed cells at the same concentration. Thus, we report here that liposomal encapsulation of AgNP by extrusion produces a stable nanocapsule with enhanced cytotoxicity, thus preventing overreliance on high AgNP concentration to achieve desired toxicity for in vitro and possible in vivo applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]