Acute effects of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces on postprandial blood pressure, vascular function, blood lipids, biomarkers of insulin resistance and inflammation in humans

The acute impact of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces (HSC) extract on postprandial vascular function and other cardiometabolic risk factors have not been studied previously. This study investigated the acute impact of HSC extract consumption on blood pressure (BP), vascular function and other cardiometabolic risk markers. Twenty-five men with 1% to 10% cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk (determined by QRISK 2) were randomised to consume either 250 mL of the aqueous extract of HSC or water with breakfast in a randomised, controlled, single-blinded, 2-meal cross-over study (ClinicalTrials.gov, NTC02165553) with a two weeks washout period between study days. BP was measured at baseline and hourly for 4 h. Flow mediated dilatation (FMD) of the branchial artery was measured at baseline, 2 and 4 h post intervention drink consumption. Acute consumption of aqueous extract of HSC caused a significant increase in % FMD ( < 0.001), a non-significant decrease in systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP); non-significant increase in urinary and plasma nitric oxide (NOx) and reduced response of serum glucose, plasma insulin, serum triacylglycerol and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels; significant ( = 0.026) improvement in the area under systemic antioxidant response curve (0 to 2 h); no significant changes in arterial stiffness following the acute consumption of the extract of HSC. Gallic acid, 4-O-methylgallic acid, 3-O-methylgallic acid and hippuric acid reached a maximum plasma concentration at 1 to 2 h post consumption of the extract of HSC. The extract of HSC improved postprandial vascular function and may be a useful dietary strategy to reduce endothelial dysfunction and CVD risk, although this requires confirmation

Comparative yield and characterization of flavonoids from the stem back and root of Blighia sapida

Flavonoids represent a wide spread group of water soluble phenolic derivatives, known for their medicinal effect. This paper is focused on identifying the functional groups present in flavonoids of Blighia sapida stem bark and root sample. The percentage yield was higher with methanol extract of the stem bark compared to the root. The GC-MS of methanol extract shows carboxylic acid which might be attributed to presence of lipids. The isolation of flavonoids by TLC and the FITR revealed the functional group –OH, C=O,CH which are majorly responsible for the medicinal effect.Keywords: Blighia sapida, characterization, comparative yield, Flavonoids, methanol extrac

Comparative Effect of Concentration and Exposure Time on Corrosion Inhibition of Alkaloids and Tannins Extracts of Jatropha Curcas and Parkia Biglobosa on Mild Steel in Acidic Media

Comparative corrosion inhibition of mild steel in 0.5 H2­SO4 by the total alkaloids and tannins extracted from Parkia biglobosa seed bark and Jatropha curcas stem bark was investigated using gravimetric method at 300C. Results showed that these phytocompounds inhibit the corrosion process of mild steel in the test solution and the inhibition efficiency depends on the concentration of the alkaloids and tannins as well as the exposure time. Their adsorption was found to obey the Temkin and Langmuir adsorption isotherms and this suggested that the inhibitor molecules have been spontaneously adsorbed onto the surface of mild steel through a physical adsorption mechanism. The inhibition efficiency is markedly higher in addition of alkaloid extracts when compared with that of tannins extracts.  The inhibition efficiency increased with an increase of inhibitor concentration but decreased with exposure time. Keywords: Corrosion, Inhibition, Mild steel, Alkaloids, Tannin

Nutrient intake, digestibility and growth performance of yankasa sheep fed varying proportions of ficus polita and Pennisetum pedicellatum supplemented with wheat-offal

The nutrient intake, digestibility and growth performance of Yankasa sheep was evaluated on 16 Yankasa rams of approximately 1 - 11/2 years old with average initial weight of 25kg. Ficus polita was fed with Pennisetum pedicellatum at different proportions of 100:0 (F. polita: P. pedicellatum) 0:100, 60: 40, and 40:60 constituting diets 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Each animal was supplemented with wheat offal at the rate of 1% body weight per head per day. The total basal feed intake (DM basis) was highly significant (P &lt;0.01) which increased with decrease in the inclusion levels of Ficus polita in the diets. Animals fed diet 1 (100% FP) recorded the least total basal feed intake of 676.76g/day, while those on the 100% PP diet obtained the highest value of 1280.94g/day. Daily dry matter intake (DDMI) values of 959.95, 1564.14, 114.28 and 1307.58g/day were obtained for animals fed diets 1,2,3, and 4 respectively, indicating that the DDMI also followed similar trend as the total basal feed intake. Other nutrients intake including crude protein intake (89.42-129.06g/day), crude fibre (209.78-391.46g/day) and nitrogen free extract (5 11.91-743.16g/day) followed similar pattern as DDMI. However, the intake of ether extract was highest (P&lt;0.01) for animals on treatment 4 (40% FP/60%PP) (40.7g/day) and lowest for those on treatment 1 (100% FP) (25.99g/day). Water intake was not significant (P&gt;0.05) across the treatments. The result of the daily weight gain showed significantly (P&lt;0.05) higher values (47.57g/day) for animals fed diet 4 (40% FP/60% PP), while those on diet 1 (100% FF) recorded the least (26.14g/day). Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) result showed significant difference (P&lt; 0.05) across the treatments, with animals in treatment 4 (40% FP/60%PP) having best FCR (27.48) while those fed diet 2 had the lowest (38.69), indicating that animals on diet 4 utilized their diets more efficiently compared to others. The result of nutrients digestibility showed that Crude Protein Digestibility (CPD) showed significant difference (P&lt; 0.05), with animals on diet 1 (100% FP) having the least (44.29%) and highest for those on the other treatments. Feed cost per kg gain was least for animals fed diet 4 (N17.66), and high for animals on diet 1 (N32.13). It was concluded that feeding various levels of Ficus polita and Pennisetum pedicellatum supplemented with wheat offal to Yankasa sheep improved total dry matter intake which gave rise to daily weight gain of the animals and reduced feed cost per kg gain especially for animals feed diet 4 (40%FPL/60% PPG).Key words: Digestibility, Ficus polita, growth, nutrient intake, Pennisetum pedicellatum, wheat-offal, Yankasa shee

EVALUATION OF HYPOGLYCAEMIC, HYPOLIPIDAEMIC AND NON TOXIC EFFECT OF HYDRO-METHANOLIC EXTRACTS OF ZIZIPHUS MAURITIANA, ZIZIPHUS SPINA CHRISTI FRUIT AND GLIBENCLAMIDE ON ALLOXAN INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

The use of plant products in the management of diabetes has gained ground in pharmacotherapy. It becomes imperative to evaluate the antidiabetic effects of fruit extracts of Ziziphus mauritiana (HMZM), Ziziphus spina christi (HMZS) and Glibenclamide on blood glucose, total protein, albumin and lipid profile in alloxan induced diabetic rats. 68 albino rats weighing 70 - 130g were used in this study. 26 rats were used for acute toxicities of Ziziphus mauritiana and Ziziphus spina christi. 42 rats of 7 groups of 6 rats each were used to test antidiabetic effects of Ziziphus mauritiana and Ziziphus spina christi plant extracts. Group 1 served as the negative control, groups 2-7 were intraperitoneally administered 360mg/kg of alloxan in normal saline respectively. Group 2 served as positive control, groups 3 and 4; 5 and 6 were respectively administered daily dose of 200 and 400mg/kg of HMZM and HMZS, group 7 was administered 0.21mg/kg of glibenclamide. Results showed Ziziphus mauritiana and Ziziphus spina christi non toxic at dose of 5000mg/kg. 48 hours after alloxan administration, blood glucose levels were found to be significantly higher (P&lt;0.05) in groups 2-7 compared to group 1, thus confirming induction of diabetes. In groups 3-7, on 7th and 14th days of administration of extracts and Glibenclamide, there was a significantly lower (p&lt;0.05) serum glucose, triacylglycerol, High density Lipoprotein, Low density lipoprotein and significantly higher (P &gt; 0.05) serum level of total protein and albumin compared to group 2. The results obtained showed a significantly lower (P &lt; 0.05) serum level of glucose. The effects of HMZMand HMZS fruit extracts on blood glucose, total protein, albumin and lipid profile was dose dependent. Conclusively, this study has demonstrated the antidiabetic effects of HMZM and HMZS with HMZS having a more pronounced effect on Blood glucose and lipid profile. Keywords: Antidiabetic, Blood glucose, lipid profile, Glibenclamide, Ziziphus mauritiana, Ziziphus spina Christi

A statistical data selection approach for short-term load forecasting using optimized ANFIS

Volume of the forecasting data and good data analysis are the key factors that influence the accuracy of forecasting algorithm because it depends on data identification and model parameters. This paper focuses on data selection approach for short-term load forecasting. It involves formulating data selection algorithm to identify factors (variables) that influence energy demand at utility level. Correlation Analysis (CA) and Hypothesis Test (HT) are used in the selection, where Wavelet Transform (WT) is applied to bridge the gap between the forecasting variables. This results to three groups of data; data without CA, HT and WT, data with CA, HT but without WT and data with CA, HT and WT. An optimized adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) using Cuckoo Search Algorithm (CS) is used to conduct the forecasting. The essence is to reduce the computational difficulty associated with the gradient descent (GD) algorithm in traditional ANFIS. With the three data groups, it is observed that CHW data can give satisfactory results more than the NCNHNW and NCNHW data. Also the numerical results shows that CHW data selection approach can give a MAPE of 0.63 against the bench-mark approach with MAPE of 3.55. This indicates that it is good practice to select the actual data and process it before the forecasting

Diabetic Retinopathy Detection Using Local Extrema Quantized Haralick Features with Long Short-Term Memory Network

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading diseases affecting eyes. Lack of early detection and treatment can lead to total blindness of the diseased eyes. Recently, numerous researchers have attempted producing automatic diabetic retinopathy detection techniques to supplement diagnosis and early treatment of diabetic retinopathy symptoms. In this manuscript, a new approach has been proposed. The proposed approach utilizes the feature extracted from the fundus image using a local extrema information with quantized Haralick features. The quantized features encode not only the textural Haralick features but also exploit the multiresolution information of numerous symptoms in diabetic retinopathy. Long Short-Term Memory network together with local extrema pattern provides a probabilistic approach to analyze each segment of the image with higher precision which helps to suppress false positive occurrences. The proposed approach analyzes the retina vasculature and hard-exudate symptoms of diabetic retinopathy on two different public datasets. The experimental results evaluated using performance matrices such as specificity, accuracy, and sensitivity reveal promising indices. Similarly, comparison with the related state-of-the-art researches highlights the validity of the proposed method. The proposed approach performs better than most of the researches used for comparison

A simple and rapid method for blood collection from walking catfish, Clarias batrachus (Linneaus, 1758)

Blood is collected from experimental animals for a wide range of scientific purposes including; hematology, clinical biochemistry parameters, immunology, studies in bacteriology, parasitology and investigations in reproductive performance and health. The number of methods employed to collect blood from fish include; the puncture of caudal vein, dorsal aorta or cardiac vessels and the severance of the caudal vein. Unfortunately, all these procedures are practically found to be slow and stressful to Clarias batrachus, including the popular caudal vein approach, likely due to the small size of caudal veins relative to the size of the species. In line with the universal ethical recommendations for taking blood from small research animals, we propose an alternative one-operator approach for C. batrachus that is simple, rapid and without the need to sacrifice the fish as with other methods. This procedure targets the dorsal aorta (a relatively larger blood vessel) in a sedated fish, punctured by inserting a needle directly from the anterior part of the anal fin about 2-5 mm behind the genital papilla, to draw the desired amount of blood. The technique is a one-operator procedure not requiring the help of an assistant or any special equipment to restrain the fish. The operation of the protocol is unique since it permits the continuous collection of blood from the same experimental fish over a varied time course and reduces the need for a large number of replicate animals. The advantages of the proposed protocol are also highlighted and discussed in detail

Persistent hypertension up to one year postpartum among women with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy in a low-resource setting:A prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDPs) are associated with lifelong cardiovascular disease risk. Persistent postpartum hypertension in HDPs could suggest progression to chronic hypertension. This phenomenon has not been well examined in low- and middle-income countries (LIMCs), and most previous follow-ups typically last for maximally six weeks postpartum. We assessed the prevalence of persistent hypertension up to one year in women with HDPs in a low resource setting and determined associated risk factors. METHODOLOGY: A prospective cohort study of women conducted at eight tertiary health care facilities in seven states of Nigeria. Four hundred and ten women with any HDP were enrolled within 24 hours of delivery and followed up at intervals until one year postpartum. Descriptive statistics were performed to express the participants’ characteristics. Univariable and multivariable logistic regressions were conducted to identify associated risk factors. RESULTS: Of the 410 women enrolled, 278 were followed up to one year after delivery (follow-up rate 68%). Among women diagnosed with gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, 22.3% (95% CI; 8.3–36.3) and 62.1% (95% CI; 52.5–71.9), respectively, had persistent hypertension at six months and this remained similar at one year 22.3% (95% CI; 5.6–54.4) and 61.2% (95% CI; 40.6–77.8). Maternal age and body mass index were significant risk factors for persistent hypertension at one year [aORs = 1.07/year (95% CI; 1.02–1.13) and 1.06/kg/m(2) (95% CI; 1.01–1.10)], respectively. CONCLUSION: This study showed a substantial prevalence of persistent hypertension beyond puerperium. Health systems in LMICs need to be organized to anticipate and maintain postpartum monitoring until blood pressure is normalized, or women referred or discharged to family physicians as appropriate. In particular, attention should be given to women who are obese, and or of higher maternal age

Metabolic syndrome following hypertensive disorders in pregnancy in a low-resource setting:A cohort study

Objectives: Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDPs) are associated with risk of future metabolic syndrome. Despite the huge burden of HDPs in sub-Saharan Africa, this association has not been adequately studied in this population. Study design: This was a prospective cohort study on pregnant women recruited between August 2017 - April 2018 and followed up to one year after their deliveries and evaluated for presence of metabolic syndrome at delivery, nine weeks, six months and one year. Main outcome measures: Prevalence of metabolic syndrome Results: A total of 488 pregnant women were included: 410 and 78 with HDPs and normotensive, respectively. None of the normotensive had metabolic syndrome until one year (1.7% = 1 out of 59 observations), while among those with HDPs were 17.4% (71 of 407), 8.7% (23 of 263), 4.7% (11 of 232) and 6.1% (17 of 278), at delivery, nine weeks, six months and one year postpartum, respectively. High BMI and blood pressure were the drivers of metabolic syndrome in this population. The incidence rate in HDPs versus normotensive at one year were, respectively, 57.5/1000 persons’ year (95%CI; 35.8 – 92.6) and 16.9/1000 persons’ years (95%CI; 2.4-118.3), with incidence rate ratio of 3.4/1000 person's years. Only parity significantly predicted the presence of metabolic syndrome at one year [(aOR= 3.26/delivery (95%CI; 1.21-8.79)]. Conclusion: HDPs were associated with a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome up to one year postpartum. Women with HDPs should be routinely screened for metabolic syndrome within the first year postpartum to reduce cardiometabolic risks.</p