Effects of Aqueous Extract of Moringa oleifera on Phenylhydrazine-induced Liver Toxicity in Wistar Rats

Moringa oleifera has been shown to have a variety of medicinal benefits, including hepatoprotective effects. Phenylhydrazine has been used to cause hepatotoxicity in experimental models. In this study, an aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera was used to evaluate the ameliorating properties of phenylhydrazine-induced liver damage by assessing liver enzymes and histoarchitecture employing twenty-five (25) mature Wistar rats were divided into five (5) groups. Group A received 1 ml distilled water, Group B received 50 mg/kg phenylhydrazine twice in 48 hours, Group C received 500 mg/kg body weight of Moringa oleifera aqueous extract for four (4) weeks, Group D received 50 mg/kg phenylhydrazine twice in 48 hours and 500 mg/kg body weight of Moringa oleifera aqueous extract for four (4) weeks, and Group E received 50 mg/kg of phenylhydrazine twice in forty-eight (48) hours and 70 mg/kg body weight of Silymarin for four (4) weeks.  After the administration of phenylhydrazine, significant increases (P<0.05) in the mean concentrations of liver enzymes (ALP, AST, ALT) and total protein were observed, whereas treatment with Moringa oleifera resulted in a reversal of those parameters to values comparable to the control and the standard drug - Silymarin. Overall, the results showed that Moringa oleifera aqueous extract had considerable hepatoprotective capability against phenylhydrazine-induced hepatotoxicity

APOE E4 is associated with impaired self-declared cognition but not disease risk or age of onset in Nigerians with Parkinson's disease

The relationship between APOE polymorphisms and Parkinson's disease (PD) in black Africans has not been previously investigated. We evaluated the association between APOE polymorphic variability and self-declared cognition in 1100 Nigerians with PD and 1097 age-matched healthy controls. Cognition in PD was assessed using the single item cognition question (item 1.1) of the MDS-UPDRS. APOE genotype and allele frequencies did not differ between PD and controls (p > 0.05). No allelic or genotypic association was observed between APOE and age at onset of PD. In PD, APOE ε4/ε4 conferred a two-fold risk of cognitive impairment compared to one or no ε4 (HR: 2.09 (95% CI: 1.13-3.89; p = 0.02)), while APOE ε2 was associated with modest protection against cognitive impairment (HR: 0.41 (95% CI 0.19-0.99, p = 0.02)). Of 773 PD with motor phenotype and APOE characterized, tremor-dominant (TD) phenotype predominated significantly in ε2 carriers (87/135, 64.4%) compared to 22.2% in persons with postural instability/gait difficulty (PIGD) (30/135) and 13.3% in indeterminate (ID) (18/135, 13.3%) (p = 0.037). Although the frequency of the TD phenotype was highest in homozygous ε2 carriers (85.7%), the distribution of motor phenotypes across the six genotypes did not differ significantly (p = 0.18). Altogether, our findings support previous studies in other ethnicities, implying a role for APOE ε4 and ε2 as risk and protective factors, respectively, for cognitive impairment in PD

Determinants of exclusive breastfeeding in Nigeria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exclusive breast feeding (EBF) has important protective effects on the survival of infants and decreases risk for many early-life diseases. The purpose of this study was to assess the factors associated with EBF in Nigeria.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data on 658 children less than 6 months of age were obtained from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2003. The 2003 NDHS was a multi-stage cluster sample survey of 7864 households. EBF rates were examined against a set of individual, household and community level variables using a backward stepwise multilevel logistic regression method.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The average EBF rate among infants younger than 6 months of age was 16.4% (95%CI: 12.6%-21.1%) but was only 7.1% in infants in their fifth month of age. After adjusting for potential confounders, multivariate analyses revealed that the odds of EBF were higher in rich (Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR) = 1.15, CI = 0.28-6.69) and middle level (AOR = 2.45, CI = 1.06-5.68) households than poor households. Increasing infant age was associated with significantly less EBF (AOR = 0.65, 95%CI: 0.51-0.82). Mothers who had four or more antenatal visits were significantly more likely to engage in EBF (AOR = 2.70, 95%CI = 1.04-7.01). Female infants were more likely to be exclusively breastfed than male infants (AOR = 2.13, 95%CI = 1.03-4.39). Mothers who lived in the North Central geopolitical region were significantly more likely to exclusively breastfeed their babies than those mothers who lived in other geopolitical regions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The EBF rate in Nigeria is low and falls well short of the expected levels needed to achieve a substantial reduction in child mortality. Antenatal care was strongly associated with an increased rate of EBF. Appropriate infant feeding practises are needed if Nigeria is to reach the child survival Millennium Development Goal of reducing infant mortality from about 100 deaths per 1000 live births to a target of 35 deaths per 1000 live births by the year 2015.</p

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders in sub-Saharan Africa: a pilot study in Cameroon

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The disease burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is highest in sub-Saharan Africa but there are few studies on the associated neurocognitive disorders in this region. The objectives of this study were to determine whether Western neuropsychological (NP) methods are appropriate for use in Cameroon, and to evaluate cognitive function in a sample of HIV-infected adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used a battery of 19 NP measures in a cross-sectional study with 44 HIV+ adults and 44 demographically matched HIV- controls, to explore the validity of these NP measures in Cameroon, and evaluate the effect of viral infection on seven cognitive ability domains.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this pilot study, the global mean z-score on the NP battery showed worse overall cognition in the HIV+ individuals. Significantly lower performance was seen in the HIV+ sample on tests of executive function, speed of information processing, working memory, and psychomotor speed. HIV+ participants with AIDS performed worse than those with less advanced HIV disease.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Similar to findings in Western cohorts, our results in Cameroon suggest that HIV infection, particularly in advanced stages, is associated with worse performance on standardized, Western neurocognitive tests. The tests used here appear to be promising for studying NeuroAIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.</p

Epidemiology of neurodegenerative diseases in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

BACKGROUND:Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are experiencing rapid transitions with increased life expectancy. As a result the burden of age-related conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases might be increasing. We conducted a systematic review of published studies on common neurodegenerative diseases, and HIV-related neurocognitive impairment in SSA, in order to identify research gaps and inform prevention and control solutions. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE via PubMed, 'Banque de Donnees de Sante Publique' and the database of the 'Institut d'Epidemiologie Neurologique et de Neurologie Tropicale' from inception to February 2013 for published original studies from SSA on neurodegenerative diseases and HIV-related neurocognitive impairment. Screening and data extraction were conducted by two investigators. Bibliographies and citations of eligible studies were investigated. RESULTS: In all 144 publications reporting on dementia (n=49 publications, mainly Alzheimer disease), Parkinsonism (PD, n=20), HIV-related neurocognitive impairment (n=47), Huntington disease (HD, n=19), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, n=15), cerebellar degeneration (n=4) and Lewy body dementia (n=1). Of these studies, largely based on prevalent cases from retrospective data on urban populations, half originated from Nigeria and South Africa. The prevalence of dementia (Alzheimer disease) varied between <1% and 10.1% (0.7% and 5.6%) in population-based studies and from <1% to 47.8% in hospital-based studies. Incidence of dementia (Alzheimer disease) ranged from 8.7 to 21.8/1000/year (9.5 to 11.1), and major risk factors were advanced age and female sex. HIV-related neurocognitive impairment's prevalence (all from hospital-based studies) ranged from <1% to 80%. Population-based prevalence of PD and ALS varied from 10 to 235/100,000, and from 5 to 15/100,000 respectively while that for Huntington disease was 3.5/100,000. Equivalent figures for hospital based studies were the following: PD (0.41 to 7.2%), ALS (0.2 to 8.0/1000), and HD (0.2/100,000 to 46.0/100,000). CONCLUSIONS: The body of literature on neurodegenerative disorders in SSA is large with regard to dementia and HIV-related neurocognitive disorders but limited for other neurodegenerative disorders. Shortcomings include few population-based studies, heterogeneous diagnostic criteria and uneven representation of countries on the continent. There are important knowledge gaps that need urgent action, in order to prepare the sub-continent for the anticipated local surge in neurodegenerative diseases

Spent Hemp as an Animal Feed and Vertical Price Transmission in US Hemp Value-Added Supply Chain

This thesis comprises of two articles covering spent hemp\u27s prospects as an animal feed and the price interaction across the hemp commodity value-added supply chain. The first article uses a comparative analysis tool to analyze the potential of spent hemp as an animal feed or feed ingredient based on its yield, nutritional composition and market price. This comparative advantage analysis revealed that spent hemp is competitive based on its rich essential nutritional content, comparatively high yield per acre, and low market price. Furthermore, with the increasing drought conditions, production cost and market price of alfalfa hay, spent hemp may fill in as a supplement or alternative that could bridge the forage hay gap in the US animal feed industry. The second article employs an autoregressive distributed lag, investigates the price relationship across three stages of the hemp value chain, and applies the error correction model to determine the response of different stages in the value chain in the event of market turbulence. The result of this model suggests that hemp biomass and crude cannabidiol (CBD) oil prices adjusted symmetrically with each other while the refined cannabidiol hemp oil adjusted asymmetrically with the incidence of negative shocks in other phases of the value chain. This implies that the refined cannabidiol (CBD) hemp oil market price is more stable in the incidence of unpleasant shock along the hemp value-added supply chain

Poor compliance with lifestyle modifications and related factors in hypertension

Background: Lifestyle modification (LSM) is the first step in the management of hypertension, and it has good outcomes. These outcomes can only be achieved with good compliance. However, the level of compliance with LSM is not established in our setting. Hence, we sought to determine the level of compliance with LSM, and the related factors in hypertensive patients.Methods: This was a cross - sectional study of hypertensive patients in a tertiary health centre. An intervieweradministered questionnaire was used to obtain data on socio - demographic variables, and assess the practice of seven aspects of LSM. Compliance with each LSM, and the different LSM assessed were determined. Chi square test was used to determine associations, and p values = 0.05 were significant.Results: There were 254 respondents with a median age of 63 years, and 104(40.9%) were males. Compliance with each LSM was regular exercises 12.1%; salt restriction 26.4%; increased intake of fruits 21.3% and vegetables 13.4%; low fat diet 31.1%; cessation of smoking&nbsp; 96.6%; and alcohol moderation 87.4%. Generally, sixty – eight (26.8%) had good compliance, while 186 (73.2%) had poor compliance. The association of gender, educational status, and duration of hypertension gave p values of 0.009, 0.006, and 0.00 respectively.Conclusion: Compliance with LSM is poor among hypertensive patients. Regular physical exercise, increased intake of vegetables and fruits were the least practiced. Low educational status, long history of hypertension, and male gender are the related factors. Measures to address these factors should be initiated

Improving the choice of higer order univariate kernels throught bias reduction technique

Within the last two decades, higher order univariate kernels have been under focus with respect to its importance in examining the concept of curve fitting. This paper has taken this direction by examining some basic properties of the univariate kernels in assessing and improving the choice of kernels. The minimum efficiency of the selected kernels is 82% at order 6. The global error diminishes as the order of h increases, and it is highest between orders 2 and 6, and beyond order 12 the global error seems to level off. Depending on the tolerance limit specified for the MISE and the percentage efficiency permitted, the extent of bias reduction required, can be monitored. Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 26 (3) 2003: pp. 19-2

Production of Biocomposite from Parinari Polyandra Fruit Shell Using Waste Low Density Polyethylene as Matrix

Enormous wastes that are continuously being generated from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film sachet water have remained an environmental challenge in Nigeria. These might require urgent action due to the non-biodegradability of LDPE.&nbsp; Biocomposite samples were produced using waste LDPE sachets and Parinari polyandra shells, where filler sizes (0.420 mm, 0.841mm) and filler loading (10%, 20%) were varied. In this study, a melt mixer was designed and fabricated for the production of bio composite samples. Biocomposite samples were characterized using tensile tests, compression test, flexural and impact strength test, water absorption test, biodegradability, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy tests. Viscosity of the bio composite mix was a major constrain in the design of the melt mixer. The results revealed that the optimum value of tensile strength was obtained with particle size 0.42mm at a 10% filler to matrix loading which produced a Young’s modulus of 320.321 N/mm2. Higher particle size and filler loading elicited a higher value for compressive strength based on a force at peak value of 27552.500 N. Flexural, impact and tensile strength decreased with increasing filler loading and particle size, while increased immersion time gave increased percentage of water absorbed