Relationship between body composition and musculoskeletal fitness in Nigerian children

Background and Objective: Substantial evidence indicates that high level of obesity assessed by body mass index (BMI) could affect the motor performance, musculoskeletal fitness and wellbeing of the youths. This study investigated the relationship between the BMI and musculoskeletal fitness in a cross-sectional sample of school children in Ado-Ekiti, Southwest Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Body weight, height and three components of musculoskeletal fitness (sit and reach, sit-ups and standing broad jump) were measured in 1229 school children (boys = 483, girls = 746, ages: 9-13 years). Body mass index was computed to classify participants into underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese categories. Results: Significantly low inverse correlation was observed between BMI and standing broad jump (SBJ) (r = -0.196, p<0.01), while underweight individuals were likely to perform poorly in sit and reach (OR = 0.98, CI = 0.97, 1.00), but had greater likelihood of performing well in sit-ups (OR = 1.01, CI = 0.99, 1.03) and standing broad jump (OR = 1.03, CI = 1.01, 1.06) test. Being overweight was associated with a poor sit and reach (OR = 0.99, CI = 0.92, 1.06) and standing broad jump (OR = 0.96, CI = 0.94, 0.98) performances, but greater propensity of sit-up (OR = 1.00, CI = 0.93, 1.08) performance. Obese participants were significantly associated with poor sit and reach (OR = 0.83, CI = 0.74, 0.91) and standing broad jump (OR = 0.94, CI = 0.92, 0.96), but greater likelihood of significant sit-ups (OR = 1.22, CI = 1.12, 1.33) compared to normal individuals’ performance. Conclusion: There was a significant negative relationship between the BMI and standing broad jump in Nigerian children and adolescents. Both underweight, overweight and obese participants performed poorly in either flexibility, sit-ups or SBJ test, obese individuals being mostly affected. Musculoskeletal fitness could serve as a pointer of possible health risks for both malnourished and excessively weighty youths

Comparison of the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 9-13 year-old children from two countries using CDC and IOTF reference charts

Background and Objectives: The epidemic of obesity is frequently prevailing, certainly among pediatric inhabitants and could be influenced by environmental and heritable factors. So, the aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 9-13 year old children from Nigeria and South Africa using the criteria of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) for obesity classification chart based on age and gender-specific BMI cut-off points. Materials and Methods: Anthropometric measurements were taken using standardised protocol and used to estimate body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) in 1361 South African and 1229 Nigeria school children aged 9-13 year old. Height, body weight, BMI and WHtR were examined for Nigerian and South African school children according to sample size and age category. The BMI for age was used to classify the children according to weight categories and by gender, after which the obesity prevalence using the BMI Category for cut-off points chart was performed by age and countries. Results: The results showed that 1.1% (IOTF) and 9.9% (CDC) of Nigerian children were overweight. Corresponding data for South African children were 1.8% (IOTF) and 10.0% (CDC). Obesity estimates for Nigerian and South African children slightly varied for IOTF classification (1.1, 0.7%), but were similar when CDC classification was used (5.1%). In contrast, the CDC standard indicated strikingly lower incidence of underweight among the South African (4.9%) and Nigerian (4.8%) children. Conclusion: The lack of consistency in body weight classification using CDC and IOTF chart raises the question as to the right classification to use to evaluate weight abnormalities in children and adolescents. The choice of cut-off point in assessing overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence should be based on reliable judgment as this could undermine the integrity of epidemiological research data

PARTICIPATION IN LEISURE-TIME ACTIVITIES AND THE BODY MASS INDEX OF STUDENTS IN A TERTIARY INSTITUTION IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

The rate at which obesity is increasing among tertiary institution students in Nigeria is alarming. Physical inactivity, consumption of energy-dense foods, and sitting down for long hours are some of the risk factors for obesity that have been commonly reported among them. To reduce the risk of obesity, participation in leisure-time activities (LTA) is essential. This study was therefore carried out to determine the extent to which tertiary institution students engage in LTA and the relationship this has with their body mass index (BMI). A correlational research was carried out among 220 students selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure from Ekiti State University (EKSU) Nigeria. A self-developed, validated questionnaire was used to collect the data on respondents’ demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements and frequency of participation in LTA. Spearman correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between participation in LTA and BMI. All inferences were made at 0.05 level of significance. The majority (80%) of the respondents had a moderate level of participation in LTA. Also, leisure-time reading (Mean=3.30, SD=1.3) and watching TV/ listening to the news (Mean=2.90, SD=1.4), were the most commonly performed LTA among respondents. Lower BMI was associated with the participation in LTA that is rigorous in nature, while higher BMI was associated with the LTA that is sedentary in nature. This study revealed that participating in LTA that is rigorous in nature helps to maintain a normal body mass index better than LTA that is sedentary in nature. The findings of this study will go a long way in providing useful information to the physical and health education teams on the differences in the influence of sedentary and rigorous LTAs on the health of tertiary institution students. This is likely to guide the planning of programmes to encourage tertiary institution students to engage more in LTAs that are more rigorous.  Article visualizations

Home management of malaria among caregivers of under-five children in Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria

Introduction: Home management of fever by caregivers is particularly relevant for ensuring effective care to under-five children in Sub-Saharan countries with high-transmission of malaria like Nigeria. Our study aimed to assess home management of fever among mothers and other caregivers of underfive children attending Federal Medical Centre in Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional hospital-based study was carried out. A systematic random sampling technique was used to recruit participants (mothers and other caregivers). A structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used. Clinical findings and malaria test were performed on children using standard methods. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 15. Results: Prevalence of home treatment of fever was 98.4%. Most of the caregivers bought antifever drugs from patent medicine shops and only 11.9 % of them got a prescription drug from pharmacies. Despite good knowledge about causes of malaria by caregivers (72.6%) and a prompt medical treatment within 24 h of fever onset (84.2%), many of their children were treated with only paracetamol (45%) and, therefore, they presented to the hospital febrile (61.8%), tachycardic (63.7%), and tachypnoic (83.9%). Almost all of the children were diagnosed with malaria (98%) associated with some types of complication such as convulsion (29.6%) and anaemia (52.7%). Chi square test showed a significant (P < 0.005) difference between treatment modality (inpatient versus outpatient) with regards to educational level, type of caregivers, place of domicile, use of antimalarial in combination with paracetamol, and presence of complications. Discussion and Conclusion: In our study, home management of malaria by caregivers of under-five children was ineffective. Indeed, the effectiveness of home management of malaria depends not only on the early diagnosis, but also on a prompt and appropriate treatment. Therefore, proper health education programmes on this disease should be implemented among caregivers of under-five children

Convection Enhanced Delivery in the Setting of High-Grade Gliomas

Development of effective treatments for high-grade glioma (HGG) is hampered by (1) the blood–brain barrier (BBB), (2) an infiltrative growth pattern, (3) rapid development of therapeutic resistance, and, in many cases, (4) dose-limiting toxicity due to systemic exposure. Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) has the potential to significantly limit systemic toxicity and increase therapeutic index by directly delivering homogenous drug concentrations to the site of disease. In this review, we present clinical experiences and preclinical developments of CED in the setting of high-grade gliomas

Defect-Induced Magnetism in Nonmagnetic Oxides: Basic Principles, Experimental Evidence, and Possible Devices with ZnO and TiO2

The magnetic moment and the magnetic order induced by localized defects, like vacancies, interstitials, and/or nonmagnetic (NM) ions, in a NM oxide atomic lattice are discussed. When the defect concentration is of the order of or larger than ≈3 at%, magnetic order at room temperature can appear. Herein, the theoretical basic principles needed to understand and compute this new magnetic phenomenon in solids are developed in detail. In particular, the main results of density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to estimate the magnetization and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) values. The main experimental evidences on this phenomenon are reviewed, especially magnetization, the element-specific XMCD, and transport properties in two selected oxides, ZnO and TiO2. Emphasis is given on the simplicity and efficiency ion irradiation methods have to trigger magnetic order in these oxides as well as a very sensitive method to characterize magnetic impurities. Two possible applications of this phenomenon are discussed, namely spin filtering at magnetic/NM interfaces in ZnO and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy triggered in TiO2 anatase microstructures. The existing literature on defect-induced magnetism in oxides is shortly reviewed, which provides further evidence on the robustness of this phenomenon in solids

Testosterone-induced vasorelaxation in the rat mesenteric arterial bed is mediated predominantly via potassium channels

1. We have investigated the involvement of nitric oxide and K(+) channels in the vasorelaxant responses to physiologically-relevant concentrations of testosterone in the rat isolated mesenteric arterial bed. 2. Testosterone (100 pM – 10 μM) elicited concentration-dependent relaxations in the isolated mesenteric arterial bed (pEC(50)=9.47 (9.22 – 9.73, 95% CI), maximal relaxation, R(max)=62.8±2.0%, n=6). A nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 300 μM) or removal of the endothelium significantly inhibited maximal relaxations to testosterone (L-NAME: R(max)=51.4±1.1%, P<0.01, n=6; endothelium-denuded: R(max)=46.9±2.8%, P<0.001, n=5). 3. Raising the extracellular K(+) concentration to 30 and 60 mM, or pre-treatment with 300 μM tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBA), a calcium-activated K(+) channel inhibitor, abolished vasorelaxations induced by testosterone. A selective inhibitor of ATP-sensitive K(+) (K(ATP)) channels, glibenclamide (10 μM) and an inhibitor of voltage-sensitive K(+) (K(V)) channels, 4-aminopyridine (4-AP, 1 mM) did not affect testosterone-induced responses. Vasorelaxation to 1 μM testosterone was significantly (P<0.05) inhibited by 100 nM charybdotoxin (ChTx), an inhibitor of large conductance calcium-activated K(+) (BK(Ca)) channels (control: 63.3±9.9%, n=6; ChTx: 11.9±12.7%, n=3). 4. Neither the testosterone receptor antagonist, flutamide (10 μM) nor an aromatase inhibitor, aminoglutethimide (10 μM) inhibited testosterone-induced responses. 5. In conclusion, the present findings demonstrate, in the rat isolated mesenteric arterial bed, that testosterone causes acute vasorelaxations at physiologically relevant concentrations which are, in part, mediated via NO- and endothelium-dependent pathways. However, the activation of BK(Ca) channels plays a substantial role in testosterone-induced vasorelaxation

Characterisation of the vasorelaxant properties of the novel endocannabinoid N-arachidonoyl-dopamine (NADA)

1. We have investigated the vascular effects of N-arachidonoyl-dopamine (NADA), a novel endocannabinoid/vanilloid. NADA caused vasorelaxant effects comparable to those of anandamide in small mesenteric vessels (G3), the superior mesenteric artery (G0) and in the aorta. 2. In G3, addition of N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (300 μM) or the dopamine (D(1)) receptor antagonist (SCH23390, 1 μM) did not affect responses to NADA. In the presence of 60 mM KCl, after de-endothelialisation, or after K(+) channel inhibition with charybdotoxin (100 nM) and apamin (500 nM), relaxant responses to NADA were inhibited. 3. In G3, pretreatment with the vanilloid receptor (VR) agonist capsaicin (10 μM) or the VR antagonist capsazepine (10 μM) reduced vasorelaxation to NADA. 4. In G3, application of the CB(1) antagonist SR141716A at 1 μM but not 100 nM reduced the potency of NADA. Another CB(1) antagonist, AM251 (100 nM and 1 μM), did not affect vasorelaxation to NADA. After endothelial denudation, SR141716A (1 μM) did not reduce the responses further. A combination of capsaicin and SR141716A (1 μM) reduced vasorelaxation to NADA further than with capsaicin pretreatment alone. The novel endothelial cannabinoid (CB) receptor antagonist O-1918 opposed vasorelaxation to NADA in G3. 5. In the superior mesenteric artery (G0), vasorelaxation to NADA was not dependent on an intact endothelium and was not sensitive to O-1918, but was sensitive to capsaicin and SR141716A or AM251 (both 100 nM). 6. The results of the present study demonstrate for the first time that NADA is a potent vasorelaxant. In G3, the effects of NADA are mediated by stimulation of the VR and the novel endothelial CB receptor, while in G0, vasorelaxation is mediated through VR(1) and CB(1) receptors