Effects of micronutrients on oxidative stress in HIV positive patients taking highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in a tertiary health care facility in Kano, northwest Nigeria

The study examined the effects of micronutrients supplementation on oxidative stress markers in HIV positive patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), attending Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) Kano-Nigeria. Fifty four (54) HIV positive individuals already taking HAART were placed on a daily dose of a multivitamin supplement for a period of three months. Another 54 HIV positive subjects who were already on HAART served as the control group for the same period of time. Prior to the multivitamin supplementation, the baseline mean serum vitamin A, C, and E, selenium, zinc, malondehaldehyde (MDA), albumin, total protein, and CD4+ count values were established. With the exception of mean serum vitamin C, the mean serum values for the studied parameters after the supplementation period increased significantly (P<0.05) in the non supplemented group compared to their baseline values. The mean serum vitamin A, C, and E, Se, total protein and CD4+ count of the supplemented group increased significantly when compared to their baseline values. Mean serum MDA was significantly decreased (P<0.05) in the multivitamin supplemented group compared to their baseline. No significant difference (P<0.05) was seen in the mean serum vitamin C and albumin of the multivitamin supplemented group as compared to their baseline. The mean serum vitamins A, C, and E and the CD4+ count of the multivitamins supplemented subjects significantly increased (P<0.05) when compared to that of the non supplemented subjects. Mean serum selenium and zinc increased significantly (P<0.05) in the non supplemented subjects but not in the supplemented subjects. The serum thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs) in the form of malondialdehyde (MDA), for the supplemented subjects was found to reduce significantly (P<0.05) compared to that of the non supplemented subjects. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference between the supplemented and the non supplemented subjects in their serum total protein and albumin. Among the supplemented Subjects, vitamin A and C increased significantly (P<0.05) in the ARV treatment naïve sub group. Vitamin E, selenium and zinc increased significantly (P<0.05) in the ARV treated sub group, while MDA decreased significantly (P<0.05) in this sub group. Micronutrient supplementation was therefore shown to reduce oxidative stress in HIV positive patients on HAART and could possibly be very helpful as an adjunct in the treatment of this disease.Key Words: Antiretroviral, micronutrients, malondialdehyde, ART naïve, reactive oxygen species, supplementation

Proton-bound dimers of nitrogen heterocyclic molecules: Substituent effects on the structures and binding energies of homodimers of diazine, triazine, and fluoropyridine

The bonding energies of proton-bound homodimers BH+B were measured by ion mobilityequilibrium studies and calculated at the DFT B3LYP/6-311++G* * level, for a series of nitrogen heterocyclic molecules (B) with electron-withdrawing in-ring N and on-ring F substituents. The binding energies (ΔH°dissoc) of the proton-bound dimers (BH+B) vary significantly, from 29.7 to 18.1 kcal/mol, decreasing linearly with decreasing the proton affinity of the monomer (B). This trend differs significantly from the constant binding energies of most homodimers of other organic nitrogen and oxygen bases. The experimentally measured ΔH°dissoc for (1,3-diazine)2H+, i.e., (pyrimidine)2H+ and (3-F-pyridine)2H+ are 22.7 and 23.0 kcal/mol, respectively. The measured ΔH°dissoc for the pyrimidine ·+(3-F-pyridine) radical cation dimer (19.2 kcal/mol) is signifcantly lower than that of the proton-bound homodimers of pyrimidine and 3-F-pyridine, reflecting the stronger interaction in the ionic H-bond of the protonated dimers. The calculated binding energies for (1,2-diazine)2H+, (pyridine)2H+, (2-F-pyridine)2H+, (3-F-pyridine)2H+, (2,6-di-F-pyridine)2H+, (4-F-pyridine)2H+, (1,3-diazine)2H+, (1,4-diazine)2H+, (1,3,5-triazine)2H+, and (pentafluoropyridine)2H+ are 29.7, 24.9, 24.8, 23.3, 23.2, 23.0, 22.4, 21.9, 19.3, and 18.1 kcal/mol, respectively. The electron-withdrawing substituents form internal dipoles whose electrostatic interactions contribute to both the decreased proton affinities of (B) and the decreased binding energies of the protonated dimers BH+B. The bonding energies also vary with rotation about the hydrogen bond, and they decrease in rotamers where the internal dipoles of the components are aligned efficiently for inter-ring repulsion. For compounds substituted at the 3 or 4 (meta or para) positions, the lowest energy rotamers are T-shaped with the planes of the two rings rotated by 90° about the hydrogen bond, while the planar rotamers are weakened by repulsion between the ortho hydrogen atoms of the two rings. Conversely, inortho-substituted (1,2-diazine)2H+ and (2-F-pyridine)2H+, attractive interactions between the ortho (C–H) hydrogen atoms of one ring and the electronegative ortho atoms (N or F) of the other ring are stabilizing, and increase the protonated dimer binding energies by up to 4 kcal/mol. In all of the dimers, rotation about the hydrogen bond can involve a 2–4 kcal/mol barrier due to the relative energies of the rotamers

Composition and Distribution of Mosquito Vectors in a Peri-Urban Community Surrounding an Institution of Learning in Lafia Metropolis, Nasarawa State, Central Nigeria

Vector surveillance is very key in solving mosquito-borne health problems in Nigeria. To this end, the composition and distribution of mosquito vectors in a peri-urban community surrounding an institution of learning in Lafia metropolis, Nasarawa State, Central Nigeria was carried out between December 2016 and June 2017. The Prokopack Aspirator was used to collect indoor resting mosquitoes between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. from 30 randomly selected houses. Mosquitoes collected were knocked down and transferred into a well labelled petri-dish and taken to the laboratory for processing. A total of 664 mosquitoes were collected which spread across Culex quinquefasciatus 572 (86.14%), Anopheles gambiae 88 (13.25%) and Aedes aegypti 4 (0.60%). The abundance of mosquitoes in relation to seasons, species, sex, abdominal conditions as well as transmission indices across seasons significantly varied (P 0.05). The inhabitants of the area should ensure that all drainages flow through so as to reduce mosquito breeding grounds. Also, members of the community should always protect themselves by sleeping under insecticide treated bed nets

Anti-trypanosomal Activity of Bufonidae (Toad) Venom Crude Extract on Trypanosoma brucei brucei in Swiss Mice

Trypanosomiasis afflicts about 6 ~ 7 million people globally and to a large extent impedes livestock production in Africa. Naturally, trypanosomal parasites undergo genetic mutation and have developed resistance over a wide range of therapies. The utilization of animals and plants products has presented therapeutic potential for identifying novel anti-trypanosomal drugs. This study evaluated toad venom for anti-trypanosomal potency invivo in Swiss mice. Toads were collected from July to August 2019. The acute oral toxicity and biochemical characterization of the toad venom were determined. The experimental mice were administered various doses (130 mg/kg, 173 mg/kg and 217 mg/kg) of the toad venom crude extract and 0.75 mg/mL of Diamizan Plus standard drug for the treatment of trypanosomiasis, once daily for 3 days. The in-vivo anti-trypanosomal activity was evaluated by a curative test, after infecting the mice with Trypanosoma brucei brucei. The pre-patent period was 72 hours before treatment commenced. The overall results showed that trypanosomal load was highest in the control group while the group treated with Diamizan drug had the least trypanosomal load. As such, the mean trypanosomal load in relation to treatments showed a very high significant difference (P0.05) across treatment groups. The over 50% reduction in the trypanosomal load in the 130 mg/kg group in comparison with the control group brings to bare the anti-trypanosomal potency of the toad venom. The anti-trypanosomal activity demonstrated by the toad venom has provided basis for development of new therapeutic agents from different toad species. The study recommends further studies (both in-vivo and invitro) followed by the characterization of the active compounds present in the toad venom responsible for the anti-tyrpanosomal activity observed alongside the management and conservation of these species

SLIM Ultrahigh Resolution Ion Mobility Spectrometry Separations of Isotopologues and Isotopomers Reveal Mobility Shifts due to Mass Distribution Changes

We report on separations of ion isotopologues and isotopomers using ultrahigh-resolution traveling wave-based Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulations with serpentine ultralong path and extended routing ion mobility spectrometry coupled to mass spectrometry (SLIM SUPER IMS-MS). Mobility separations of ions from the naturally occurring ion isotopic envelopes (e.g., [M], [M+1], [M+2], ... ions) showed the first and second isotopic peaks (i.e., [M+1] and [M+2]) for various tetraalkylammonium ions could be resolved from their respective monoisotopic ion peak ([M]) after SLIM SUPER IMS with resolving powers of ∼400–600. Similar separations were obtained for other compounds (e.g., tetrapeptide ions). Greater separation was obtained using argon versus helium drift gas, as expected from the greater reduced mass contribution to ion mobility described by the Mason–Schamp relationship. To more directly explore the role of isotopic substitutions, we studied a mixture of specific isotopically substituted (15N, 13C, and 2H) protonated arginine isotopologues. While the separations in nitrogen were primarily due to their reduced mass differences, similar to the naturally occurring isotopologues, their separations in helium, where higher resolving powers could also be achieved, revealed distinct additional relative mobility shifts. These shifts appeared correlated, after correction for the reduced mass contribution, with changes in the ion center of mass due to the different locations of heavy atom substitutions. The origin of these apparent mass distribution-induced mobility shifts was then further explored using a mixture of Iodoacetyl Tandem Mass Tag (iodoTMT) isotopomers (i.e., each having the same exact mass, but with different isotopic substitution sites). Again, the observed mobility shifts appeared correlated with changes in the ion center of mass leading to multiple monoisotopic mobilities being observed for some isotopomers (up to a ∼0.04% difference in mobility). These mobility shifts thus appear to reflect details of the ion structure, derived from the changes due to ion rotation impacting collision frequency or momentum transfer, and highlight the potential for new approaches for ion structural characterization

SOME NEW ADJUSTED RIDGE ESTIMATORS OF LINEAR REGRESSION MODEL

The ridge estimator for handling multicollinearity problem in linear regression model requires the use the biasing parameter. In this paper, some new adjusted ridge parameters which do not require the biasing parameter are proposed. The performances of the proposed Adjusted Ridge Estimators are compared with a recently proposed Adjusted Ridge Estimator, Generalized Ridge Regression Estimator (GRRE), Ordinary Ridge Regression Estimator (ORRE) and Ordinary Least Square estimator (OLSE) via Monte Carlo study by counting the number of times each estimator has smallest Mean Square Error (MSE) in ten thousand (10,000) replications. The proposed Adjusted Ridge Estimator is most efficient especially when multicollinearity is severe and the error variance is high

Evaluation of the Effects of Various Additives on the Acceptability of Kilishi

(Tropical Journal of Animal Science: 2003, 6(2): 97-102