Sulfur excretion as influenced by copious water-drinking with meals

Thesis (B.S.)--University of Illinois, 1911.Typescript

An evaluation of a single group experiment with a unit of science taught by the whole method

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Load Carriage Distance Run and Pushups Tests: No Body Mass Bias and Occupationally Relevant

Recent research has demonstrated body mass (M) bias in military physical fi tness tests favoring lighter, not just leaner, service members. Mathematical modeling predicts that a distance run carrying a backpack of 30 lbs would eliminate M-bias. The purpose of this study was to empirically test this prediction for the U.S. Army push-ups and 2-mile run tests. Two tests were performed for both events for each of 56 university Reserve Offi cer Training Corps male cadets: with (loaded) and without backpack (unloaded). Results indicated signifi cant M-bias in the unloaded and no M-bias in the loaded condition for both events. Allometrically scaled scores for both events were worse in the loaded vs. unloaded conditions, supporting a hypothesis not previously tested. The loaded push-ups and 2-mile run appear to remove M-bias and are probably more occupationally relevant as military personnel are often expected to carry external loads

Thyroid autoimmunity and early pregnancy loss in Jos, Nigeria

Background: Early pregnancy loss is a challenging experience for both the patient and the physician; it is unfortunately a common complication of human gestation. Early pregnancy loss is defined as the termination of pregnancy before 20 weeks of gestation or with a fetal weight of <500 g. Immunological disorders have been attributed to early pregnancy loss in addition to chromosomal abnormalities. Thyroid autoimmunity is one of the immunological causes of early pregnancy loss that has been poorly studied in sub‑Saharan Africa.Objective: This study was aimed at determining the relationship between early pregnancy loss and thyroid autoimmunity in Jos, North‑Central Nigeria.Patients and Methods: This was a case‑control study involving 44 women with a current history of miscarriage at an average gestational age of 11.57 ± 4.3 weeks (cases) and 44 pregnant women with previous history of delivery with no history of miscarriage(s) at a mean gestational age of 17.9 ± 4.9 weeks (controls). Serum thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) and thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) were assayed by Electro‑chemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) using Cobas e411 auto analyzer (by Roche). The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0.Results: TgAb was neither present in the cases nor in the control group. The prevalence for TPOAb was 11.4% for the cases and 4.5% for the controls. The difference in proportion was not statistically significant (P = 0.434).Conclusion: There was no statistically significant relationship between thyroid autoimmunity and early pregnancy loss.Keywords: Autoimmunity; pregnancy loss; thyroi

Assessment of iron Parameters and Transient Elastography (FibroScan) Pattern amongPatients with Chronic Viral Hepatitis Infection in Jos, Nigeria

Background:The long-termeffect of excess iron deposition in the liver include fibrosis and cirrhosis which may progress to hepatocellular carcinoma. We assessed iron parameters among patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C infection (CVHBI; CVHCI) to determineif any correlation existed with the degree of fibrosis in the liver. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on 186 patients, made up of 132 patients withCVHBI and 54 patients with CVHCI. Serum ferritin and C-reactive protein were done by ELISA, serum iron and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) by colorimetric technique while transferrin saturation (Tsat) was calculated using serum iron and TIBC values. Liver fibrosis was assessed using fibroscan.Obtained data wereanalysed using SPSS version 20 and p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.  Results: The mean values for serum ferritin, iron, TIBC and Tsat were 218.1±325.6µg/L, 25.1±22.8µmol/L, 71.13 ± 35.92µmol/L and 45.2 ± 49.9% respectively. There were no significant differences in iron parameters between patients with CVHBI and CVHCI. Elevated serum ferritin was found in 15.2% and 20.4% of CHBVI and CHCVI patients respectively; while an elevated Tsat was seen in 22.7% and 24.1% of CHBVI and CHCVI patients respectively. Using a combination of elevated serum ferritin and Tsat, the prevalence of iron overload was found to be1.6%. Fibroscan scores did not differ significantly between patients with orwithout elevated iron parameters. Conclusion:Chronic viral hepatitis infection is associated elevated iron parameters though withminimal effect on liver fibrosis. Conflict of interest: Ni

Modification of WHO diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes: implications for classification of hyperglycemia in pregnancy

Background: Low and medium income countries (LMICs) especially in sub-Saharan Africa face unique challenges in screening and diagnosing hyperglycaemia in pregnancy. The implications of applying the 2013 WHO modifications for assessing hyperglycaemia in pregnancy in low resource settings are not known. We evaluated the significance of these recent changes in classification of hyperglycaemia among pregnant Nigerian women.Methods: We reviewed the records of Oral glucose tolerance test conducted on 600 pregnant women at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) between July 2012 and June 2016. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 18 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Test for association was done using Fisher’s exact test. P < 0.05 was set as the level of significance.Results: The results show that 15.9%, 20.2% and 15.7% of the women had GDM according to WHO (1999), IADPSG and WHO (2013) diagnostic criteria respectively while 4.8% of the women had DM in pregnancy by WHO 2013 criteria. Overall, 30.2% and 23.9% of women who were classified as GDM by WHO 1999 criteria and IADPSG criteria respectively were qualified to be classified as DM in pregnancy according to the WHO 2013 criteria.Conclusions: The recent Modifications by the WHO 2013 guideline for classifying hyperglycemia in pregnancy may create non-uniform interpretation of OGTT. The confusion in classifying hyperglycemia among pregnant women referred between health centres may become more pronounced. There is an urgent need for a streamlined globally acceptable approach to assessing and classifying hyperglycemia in pregnant women

Diagnostic challenges in critical care management of fluid and electrolyte disturbances in a poor-resource setting: a survey of critical care doctors

Background: To determine the challenges in diagnostic support for adequate fluid and electrolyte (F/E) management in a poor-resource critical care setting.Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted between March and May 2017 in one hundred and four (104) doctors practicing in four tertiary hospitals in North-central Nigeria. These doctors were currently working in Accidents and Emergency Units (A/E), Intensive care Units (ICU) and Children Emergency Units and have worked for at least two months prior to the study. They were given a structured questionnaire to fill and return. The questionnaire among other things, addressed laboratory-related factors that affect management of F/E disturbances.Results: Unavailability of some laboratory tests, inaccuracy of laboratory results, incomplete test results and delay in obtaining results, hampered F/E management in critical care according to more than 75% of the surveyed doctors. About sixty percent of the doctors reported a turnaround time (TAT) of ≥3 hours for electrolytes and most emergency biochemical tests (except urine dipstick and Blood gases). Also ≤25% of doctors responded that electrolytes and most emergency biochemical tests (except urine dipstick and Blood gases) were offered in the ICU/Emergency unit laboratories. Ten percent or less of doctors reported that electrolytes and the emergency biochemical test were available by Point of care testing (POCT).Conclusions: There is an urgent need for the managers of healthcare in LMICs to establish functional laboratories in ICUs, explore the use of POCT and build capacity for diagnostic critical care

Candidate markers for stratification and classification in rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune, inflammatory disease, characterized by synovitis in small- and medium-sized joints and, if not treated early and efficiently, joint damage, and destruction. RA is a heterogeneous disease with a plethora of treatment options. The pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) plays a central role in the pathogenesis of RA, and TNF inhibitors effectively repress inflammatory activity in RA. Currently, treatment decisions are primarily based on empirics and economic considerations. However, the considerable interpatient variability in response to treatment is a challenge. Markers for a more exact patient classification and stratification are lacking. The objective of this study was to identify markers in immune cell populations that distinguish RA patients from healthy donors with an emphasis on TNF signaling. We employed mass cytometry (CyTOF) with a panel of 13 phenotyping and 10 functional markers to explore signaling in unstimulated and TNF-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 20 newly diagnosed, untreated RA patients and 20 healthy donors. The resulting high-dimensional data were analyzed in three independent analysis pipelines, characterized by differences in both data clean-up, identification of cell subsets/clustering and statistical approaches. All three analysis pipelines identified p-p38, IkBa, p-cJun, p-NFkB, and CD86 in cells of both the innate arm (myeloid dendritic cells and classical monocytes) and the adaptive arm (memory CD4+ T cells) of the immune system as markers for differentiation between RA patients and healthy donors. Inclusion of the markers p-Akt and CD120b resulted in the correct classification of 18 of 20 RA patients and 17 of 20 healthy donors in regression modeling based on a combined model of basal and TNF-induced signal. Expression patterns in a set of functional markers and specific immune cell subsets were distinct in RA patients compared to healthy individuals. These signatures may support studies of disease pathogenesis, provide candidate markers for response, and non-response to TNF inhibitor treatment, and aid the identification of future therapeutic targets.publishedVersio

Copper(ii) Nitroaromatic Schiff Base Complexes: Synthesis, Biological Activity And Their Interaction With Dna And Albumins

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Copper(II) complexes of the Schiff base ligands 2-((5-nitrofuran-2-yl)methyleneamino)phenol (HL1) and 2-(4-nitrobenzylideneamino)phenol (HL2) were prepared and characterized using physicochemical and spectroscopic techniques. In these complexes the Schiff base ligands acted as a bidentate donor bound to Cu2+ through the oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the deprotonated form. The electron paramagnetic resonance spectra, carried out on [CuCl(L1)(phen)]center dot 0.5H(2)O and [CuCl(L2)(phen)]center dot 2H(2)O complexes, showed the presence of only mononuclear forms. The Cu2+ complexes and ligands were evaluated for their in vitro trypanocidal activity. The complex [CuCl(L1)(phen)]center dot 0.5H(2)O was more active than the free Schiff base and also presented a superior effect to benznidazole, the reference drug. The antiproliferative activity of the Schiff bases and Cu2+ complexes were evaluated for their effect on seven tumor cell lines and showed a cytostatic and in some cases a cytotoxic effect. These compounds also presented binding properties to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and moderate ability to quench the intrinsic fluorescence of albumins.2818797Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Fundacao Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)FIOCRUZConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq