Toxicity, Growth And Survival Of Clarias Gariepinus Juveniles Exposed To Different Concentrations Of Crude Oil Fractions-Polluted Water

Studies were carried out on the toxicity, growth and survival of Clarias gariepinus juveniles exposed to different concentrations of oil-polluted water. Thirty-nine aerated aquaria (60 × 30 × 30 cm3), arranged in a 4 × 3 Complete Randomized Block Design were used for the study. Three oil types: the Bonny light crude oil (BLCO), the premium motor spirit (PMS) and kerosene (DPK) at oilconcentrations of 1.00, 1.50, 2.00 and2.50 ml L -1 were used in triplicates of 5 ml to contaminate 15L of dechlorinated tap water and 20 fingerlings o Clarias gariepinus (22 ± 0.24 g) exposed to it. A control treatment (0.00 ml L-1) of non-oil contamination was aso used in riplicates. A 96-hour toxicity phase in the oil-polluted water preceded a 42 days recovery phase. 38% crude proein dietwas fed to fish during exposure and recovery phases at 3% and 5% body weight per day respectively. Water temperature, pH, fish mortality and normalized biomass index (NBI) of each aquarium were monitored. The total organic nitrogen, soluble organic nitrogen and colloidal organic nitrogen in addition to soluble and adsorbed ammonia in the aquaria water and sediments were analyzed using standard methods. Results showed that the water temperature was 26 ± 2.04° C, pH was 6.50 ± 0.30 and fortnighty eed intake of fish increased between days 14 and 42. This increase, which corresponded wth the increase in the fortnightly weight gain, could be attributed to the reduction of stress caused during the 96-h toxicity phase. The increase in the soluble ammonium and the exchangeable ammonium concentrations o water correlated with the increase inthe concentrations (1.50 – 2.50 ml L-1) ofBLCO, PMS and DPK. Percent mortality of fsh reduced between days 14 and 42 irrespective o oil treatment while fish exposed to the control treatment had lower percent mortality than those exposed to the oil treatments. This trend was corroborated by the relatively higher NBI for the control during the exposure (-0.02) and recovery{0.08 (14 days), 0.08 (38 days) and 0.21 (42 days)} periods than those of oi treatments (-49.64 to-0.10). Keywords: Clarias gariepinus, Toxicity, Soluble ammonium, Feed intake, Weight gainAnimal Research International Vol. 3 (2) 2006 pp. 466-47

In-vivo antitrypanosomal effect and in-silico prediction of chronic toxicity of N-methylholaphyllamine in rats

Purpose: To determine the in-vivo anti-trypanosomal effect and sub-chronic toxicity of Nmethylholaphyllamine (MHA) isolated from H. africana against Trypanosoma brucei in rats and also to predict its toxicity by an in-silico method. Methods: Parasitemia was induced in rats with 1.5 x 105/mL trypanosomes and treatment commenced 5 days post-infection for 12 days. The rats were treated with MHA (3.5 μM/rat) for 5 days and with diminazene (3.5 mg/kg) for 2 days and were monitored every other day during and after treatment for the level of parasitemia and PCV. The chronic toxicity study was carried out with a 28-day sub-chronic toxicity cycle protocol while the toxicity was predicted in-silico with ProTox-II which is freely available on a web server. Results: MHA exhibited anti-trypanosomal effect in infected rats leading to the restoration of PCV to baseline values (≥ 40 %) on the 14th day and consequent disappearance of parasitemia on day 17 post-infection with no relapse. The slight changes in clinical observation, weight, feed consumption, clinical and histopathology of high-dose MHA rats were not significant (p < 0.05) and were not attributed to the treatment. Apart from MHA-induced immunotoxicity observed in in-silico prediction, no other predicted toxicities were significant; however, few undetected toxicities were found to be mediated by amine oxidase A, androgen and/or histamine, H1 receptors toxicophore fit. Conclusion: The high in-vivo antitrypanosomal effect and non-toxicity of MHA in this study further provide useful empirical data for lead optimization of MHA to combat sleeping sickness

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Saturate hydraulic conductivity, water stable aggregates and soil organic matter in a sandy-loam soil in Ikwuano lga of Abia state

A study was carried out along a toposequence in Ikwuano LGA. of Abia state to evaluate changes in saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) and percent water stable aggregates (WSA%). Five points: crest (A), upper slope (B), middle slope(C),lower slope (D) and Valley bottom (E), along the toposequence with an average distance of about 150m apart were delineated and samples for soil analysis collected from two depths (0-15cm and 15-30cm) using core samplers and auger. Samples were collected from each topo-unit at the respective depths in triplicate. Samples were analyzed for soil properties like; Ksat, WSA (%) and percent organic carbon (OC %), Data from the analysis were subjected to ANOVA using a split plot in RCBD. Results indicated that for both slope positions, WSA, Ksat and OC were significantly different with depth (P≤ 0.01). These properties also varied significantly (

Growth performance and nutrient utilization of Clarias gariepinus fed with different dietary levels of processed cassava leaves

The growth performance of Clarias gariepinus fed with different dietary levels of processed cassava leaves and their nutrient utilized were studied for a period of 24 weeks. One hundred and forty four experimental Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) with 0.75±0.20 g mean weight and 3.9±0.31 cm mean total length were collected from Aqua-fish Consult, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria. Eighteen rectangular plastic tanks were used for this study. Green cassava leaves (Manihot esculenta) were collected from a farm in Uda, Igbo-Eze North of Enugu State. The leaves were soaked for 36 h and sun-dried for one week to reduce the presence of cyanogenic glycosides. The dried leaves were ground into fine powder and analyzed for proximate composition. The experimental design used was Complete Randomized Block Design (CRBD) consisting of 18 treatments. Triplicate culture tanks in treated (L25-L100), and control groups (L0 and Ac) were stocked with eight fingerlings per square meter, respectively. The cost benefit of C. gariepinus fingerlings was estimated using weight gain and specific growth rate against management and construction cost. Weight gain, specific growth rate (SGR), feed efficiency (FE) and total length (TL) of catfish in different treatments were plotted against water chemistry parameters. This trail was conducted to access the possibility of replacing maize (Zea mays) with varying levels of whole cassava leaf meal in the diet of C. gariepinus catfish. Five isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets were formulated to contain 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% cassava leaves to replace equal weight of maize meal. Internationally made fish feed (coppens) was also used as a control feed. All the diets were fed to catfish (C. gariepinus) fingerlings in replicate for 24 weeks. The results revealed that optimum requirement of cassava leaves level in the formulation of practical diets for improved growth of C. gariepinus was 25%.Keywords: Growth performance, nutrient utilization, Clarias gariepinu, cassava leave

A Haemophilus sp. dominates the microbiota of sputum from UK adults with non-severe community acquired pneumonia and chronic lung disease

The demographics and comorbidities of patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) vary enormously but stratified treatment is difficult because aetiological studies have failed to comprehensively identify the pathogens. Our aim was to describe the bacterial microbiota of CAP and relate these to clinical characteristics in order to inform future trials of treatment stratified by co-morbidity. CAP patients were prospectively recruited at two UK hospitals. We used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to identify the dominant bacteria in sputum and compositional data analysis to determine associations with patient characteristics. We analysed sputum samples from 77 patients and found a Streptococcus sp. and a Haemophilus sp. were the most relatively abundant pathogens. The Haemophilus sp. was more likely to be dominant in patients with pre-existing lung disease, and its relative abundance was associated with qPCR levels of Haemophilus influenzae. The most abundant Streptococcus sp. was associated with qPCR levels of Streptococcus pneumoniae but dominance could not be predicted from clinical characteristics. These data suggest chronic lung disease influences the microbiota of sputum in patients with CAP. This finding could inform a trial of stratifying empirical CAP antibiotics to target Haemophilus spp. in addition to Streptococcus spp. in those with chronic lung disease