Consumption of Coconut Oil (Cocos Nucifera ) on Sperm Parameters of Adult Albino Wistar Rats

This study was aimed at assessing the possible effects coconut oil could have on the sperm parameters of albino rats. Twenty adult male Wistar rats randomly divided into four (4) groups of five rats each were investigated. The control group received normal saline and experimental groups; Low Dose (LD), Moderate Dose (MD) and High Dose (HD) received coconut oil extract of 0.5ml/kg b.w, 1.1ml/kg b.w and 2.2ml/kg b.w respectively for fourteen days via orogastric tube. On day 14 of the experiment, the rats were euthanized under chloroform vapour and sacrificed and testes excised. There was an insignificant decrease (p<0.05) in mean testicular weight of the treated rats; LD (1.14±0.05), MD (1.16±0.05) and HD (1.12±0.06) groups compared to the control rats (1.20±0.04). Sperm count was increased significantly (p<0.05) in the animals administered with coconut oil; LD (39.72±0.28x106/ml), MD (46.76±1.46x106/ml), HD (68.18±0.39x106/ml) in comparison with animals in the control group (35.28±0.34x106/ml). Sperm motility increased significantly (p<0.05) in animals of the HD group (55.00±1.58%) compared to what was observed in rats found in LD (37.60±0.81%) and MD groups (45.00±0.84%). The HD group recorded (85.00±0.71%) sperm viability, a significant increase (p<0.05) compared to that of the control group (75.60±0.93%). Sperms with normal morphology were significantly increased (p<0.05) in LD (75.60±0.68%), MD (76.00±1.87%) and HD (87.20±0.86%) compared to the control group (69.00±1.22%). Coconut oil has no deleterious effect on the sperm parameters and can lead to enhanced spermatogenesis. Keywords: Cocos nucifera, sperm parameters, coconut oil DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/9-14-06 Publication date:July 31st 201

Gonadal Histo-Morphology and Antifertility Effects of Bonny Light Crude Oil in Male Rats

The study investigated the antifertility effects of ingestion of Bonny Light Crude Oil (BLCO) at a dose of 0.5, 1.5 2.5 and 3.5ml/kg body weight in adult male rats following oral administration for 60days. The animals were sacrificed, the epididymal spermatozoa expressed out and a homogenate made for semen analysis. The testes were removed for histological processing. The sperm count was significantly reduced (21.80±0.57, 19.00±0.85, 16.20±0.00 and 12.90±0.99 million/ml respectively) when compared to their corresponding control groups 26.30±1.27, 25.50±0.71, 26.70±2.69, and 25.60±0.57 million/ml) at P?0.05. Degenerative and necrotic changes of cells in the seminiferous tubules and interstitium  was observed in the histology of the testes. BLCO has adverse effects on male reproductive system. This may imply possible antifertility for male rats exposed to BLCO ingestion. Keywords: Bonny light crude oil, testes, antifertility, male ra

Effect of Combined Leaf Extracts of Vernonia amygdalina (Bitter Leaf) and Gongronema latifolium (Utazi) on the Pancreatic beta-Cells of Streptozotocin- Induced Diabetic Rats

The study evaluated the effect of combined extracts of Vernonia amygdalina (VA) and Gongronema latifolium (GL) on the pancreas of streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic Wistar rats. Thirty-two (32) albino rats were divided equally into 4 groups. Groups A and B which served as normal (NC) and diabetic (DC) controls respectively, received placebo treatment. The diabetic test groups C and D were respectively treated with combined extracts of VA and GL (200mg/kg b. w., p. o.) and insulin, (humulin 5 IU/kg, s.c.) for 28 days. Thereafter, the animals were sacrificed and blood and pancreas were collected for serum glucose and histological evaluation, respectively. Changes in animal weight were also measured within the period. From the results it was revealed that both the combined extracts and humulin significantly increased the animals’ body weight (p<0.05) from -10.5% reduction in the DC, to 7.6% and 8.9% respectively. In the same order, serum glucose significantly decreased (p<0.05) by 12.49% and 14.96% after the 28-day treatment compared to DC. The extent of reversal of hyperglycemia in the extract treated animals compared well with the insulin treated group. The biochemical results were corroborated with results of histological evaluations: The pancreatic β-cells of DC animals which were distorted and degenerated with shrunken cell mass as against prominent islet cells with normal exocrine pancreas of NC animals became rapidly proliferated upon intervention with the combined extracts, suggesting a possible regeneration of the islet cells. On the otherhand, intervention with humulin did not produce observable differences in the cyto-architecture of the pancreatic islets compared to the diabetic control, confirming an extra-pancreatic mechanism of insulin

Ovarian profile of Wistar rats treated with Theobroa cacao extract.

The study was aimed at determining the effect of aqueous extract of Theobroma cacao on the histology of the ovary of female albino wistar rat. Twenty-four (24) adult wistar female rats weighting about 100- 160g were used for this research work and were divided into three (3) groups of eight (8) animals each. Group A; control, Group B; low dose and Group C; high dose with eight (8) animals in each group. Control group received vital feed; the low dose group was administered 240mgkg body weight of Theobroma cacao extract and the high dose group was administered 500mgkg body weight of the test substance. Extract was given daily by oral gavage method for twenty-one (21) days. Twenty-four hours after the last administration, all animals in each group were sacrificed under chloroform anesthesia. The ovaries were harvested, weighed and fixed in 10% buffered formalin for histological studies. Results showed that following administration of extract of Theoboma cacao at these doses, an insignificant decrease in organ weight was observed. Histological observation showed few follicles as well as loss of the substance of granulose cell this could possibly suggest decrease in production of sex steroids in the ovary.Keywords: Theobroma Cacao, Ovary, Histolog

M2K: I. A Jovian mass planet around the M3V star HIP79431

Doppler observations from Keck Observatory reveal the presence of a planet with Msini of 2.1 Mjup orbiting the M3V star HIP79431. This is the sixth giant planet to be detected in Doppler surveys of M dwarfs and it is one of the most massive planets discovered around an M dwarf star. The planet has an orbital period of 111.7 days and an orbital eccentricity of 0.29. The host star is metal rich, with an estimated [Fe/H] = +0.4. This is the first planet to emerge from our new survey of 1600 M-to-K dwarf stars.Comment: 5 figure

Stable two-dimensional solitons in nonlinear lattices

We address the existence and stability of two-dimensional solitons in optical or matter-wave media, which are supported by purely nonlinear lattices in the form of a periodic array of cylinders with self-focusing nonlinearity, embedded into a linear material. We show that such lattices can stabilize two-dimensional solitons against collapse. We also found that stable multipoles and vortex solitons are also supported by the nonlinear lattices, provided that the nonlinearity exhibits saturation.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Optics Letter

The Spectral Signature of Dust Scattering and Polarization in the Near IR to Far UV. I. Optical Depth and Geometry Effects

Spectropolarimetry from the near IR to the far UV of light scattered by dust provides a valuable diagnostic of the dust composition, grain size distribution and spatial distribution. To facilitate the use of this diagnostic, we present detailed calculations of the intensity and polarization spectral signature of light scattered by optically thin and optically thick dust in various geometries. The polarized light radiative transfer calculations are carried out using the adding-doubling method for a plane-parallel slab, and are extended to an optically thick sphere by integrating over its surface. The calculations are for the Mathis, Rumple & Nordsieck Galactic dust model, and cover the range from 1 $\mu m$ to 500 \AA. We find that the wavelength dependence of the scattered light intensity provides a sensitive probe of the optical depth of the scattering medium, while the polarization wavelength dependence provides a probe of the grain scattering properties, which is practically independent of optical depth. We provide a detailed set of predictions, including polarization maps, which can be used to probe the properties of dust through imaging spectropolarimetry in the near IR to far UV of various Galactic and extragalactic objects. In a following paper we use the codes developed here to provide predictions for the dependence of the intensity and polarization on grain size distribution and composition.Comment: 29 pages + 21 figures, accepted for the Astrophysical Journal Supplement February 2000 issue. Some revision, mostly in the introduction and the conclusions, and a couple of correction

Methods For Creating XSEDE Compatible Clusters

The Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment has created a suite of software that is collectively known as the basic XSEDE-compatible cluster build. It has been distributed as a Rocks roll for some time. It is now available as individual RPM packages, so that it can be downloaded and installed in portions as appropriate on existing and working clusters. In this paper, we explain the concept of the XSEDE-compatible cluster and explain how to install individual components as RPMs through use of Puppet and the XSEDE compatible cluster YUM repository.This document was developed with support from National Science Foundation (NSF) grant OCI-1053575. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF

M2K: I. A Jupiter-Mass Planet Orbiting the M3V Star HIP 79431

Doppler observations from Keck Observatory reveal the presence of a planet with M sin i of 2.1 M_(Jup) orbiting the M3V star HIP 79431. This is the sixth giant planet to be detected in Doppler surveys of M dwarfs and it is one of the most massive planets discovered around an M dwarf star. The planet has an orbital period of 111.7 days and an orbital eccentricity of 0.29. The host star is metal rich, with an estimated [Fe/H] = +0.4. This is the first planet to emerge from our new survey of 1600 M-to-K dwarf stars

Assessment of iron oxide nanoparticle ecotoxicity on regeneration and homeostasis in the replacement model system Schmidtea mediterranea

Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs) are used in a number of applications, from food to cosmetics, from medical applications to magnetic storage. In spite of the 550 tons produced each year in Europe alone, no effective dose limit recommendations are established and the overall risks connected to IONs are still debated. The incorporation of IONs in daily life raises a concern about their effects on the environment, on living organisms, and on human health. In this study, we used freshwater planarians to assess the nanoecotoxicity of IONs. Planarians are free-living invertebrates known for their astonishing regenerative ability. Because of their sensitivity to toxicants, they are often used to determine the effects of toxic, genotoxic and carcinogenic environmental compounds with an approach in line with the 3Rs (Reduce, Refine, Replace) principle. Planarians were exposed to IONs at concentrations up to 1 mg/mL and their effects were evaluated at the behavioral, morphofunctional and molecular levels, with a special emphasis on the regeneration process. Our results indicate that IONs did not affect the stem cell population dynamics, nor did they induce substantial changes in either homeostatic or regenerating planarians. As positive controls, gold nanoparticles coated with the pro-apoptotic anti-cancer drug hexadecylmethylammonium bromide, silver nanoparticles and highly concentrated polystyrene nanoparticles were used. These all elicited toxic effects. Therefore, we conclude that IONs at environmental concentrations are safe for planarians, and that the planarian is a powerful model system that can replace vertebrate animal models in nanoecotoxicology research and for nanoecotoxicology studies