Quantitative Vascular Casting of the Post-Ischemic Hydronephrotic Kidney

The renal microvasculature (afferent arteriole) and glomeruli were examined and quantitated by two methods in the post-ischemic hydronephrotic (PIH) kidney. The methods used were: 1) an in vivo examination and 2) controlled perfusion-fixation, quantitative vascular casting examined by scanning electron microscopy. The second method was also applied to the vasculature of the contralateral, functional kidney. The goals of the study were to: 1) validate the quantitative vascular casting method by comparing PIH renal microvascular data from the casting method with in vivo values and 2) determine the extent of microvascular dimensional difference of the PIH kidney from its contralateral functional counterpart. It was determined that the casting values were consistent with the data obtained from the in vivo examination of the afferent arteriole and glomeruli. This finding provides further support for the quantitative renal microvascular casting technique. Using that technique it was determined that the dimensions of the microvasculature and glomeruli of the PIH kidney were severely (and significantly, p\u3c0.05) reduced compared to its functional mate. Since these PIH vessels show a significant decrement in size, vascular reactivity and functional data based on the PIH vessels should be looked at cautiously. The vasculature and glomeruli of the PIH kidney might not be totally normal, however structurally, the glomeruli do not appear to be dramatically altered

Bone metabolic responses to low energy availability achieved by diet or exercise in active eumenorrheic women

Purpose: We aimed to explore the effects of low energy availability (EA)[15 kcal·kg lean body mass (LBM)−1·d−1] achieved by diet or exercise on bone turnover markers in active, eumenorrheic women. Methods: By using a crossover design, ten eumenorrheic women (VO2 peak: 48.1 ± 3.3 ml·kg−1·min−1) completed all three, 3-day conditions in a randomised order: controlled EA (CON; 45 kcal·kgLBM−1·d−1), low EA through dietary energy restriction (D-RES; 15 kcal·kgLBM−1·d−1) and low EA through increasing exercise energy expenditure (E-RES; 15 kcal·kgLBM−1·d−1), during the follicular phase of three menstrual cycles. In CON, D-RES and E-RES, participants consumed diets providing 45, 15 and 45 kcal·kgLBM−1·d−1. In E-RES only, participants completed supervised running sessions (129 ± 10 min·d−1) at 70% of their VO2 peak that resulted in an exercise energy expenditure of 30 kcal·kg LBM−1·d−1. Blood samples were collected at baseline (BASE) and at the end of the 3-day period (D6) and analysed for bone turnover markers (β-CTX and P1NP), markers of calcium metabolism (PTH, albumin-adjusted Ca, Mg and PO4) and hormones (IGF-1, T3, insulin, leptin and 17β-oestradiol). Results: In D-RES, P1NP concentrations at D6 decreased by 17% (BASE: 54.8 ± 12.7 μg·L−1, D6: 45.2 ± 9.3 μg·L−1, P < 0.001, d = 0.91) and were lower than D6 concentrations in CON (D6: 52.5 ± 11.9 μg·L−1, P = 0.001). P1NP did not change significantly in E-RES (BASE: 55.3 ± 14.4 μg·L−1, D6: 50.9 ± 15.8 μg·L−1, P = 0.14). β-CTX concentrations did not change following D-RES (BASE: 0.48 ± 0.18 μg·L−1, D6: 0.55 ± 0.17 μg·L−1) or E-RES (BASE: 0.47 ± 0.24 μg·L−1, D6: 0.49 ± 0.18 μg·L−1) (condition × time interaction effect, P = 0.17). There were no significant differences in P1NP (P = 0.25) or β-CTX (P = 0.13) responses between D-RES and E-RES. Both conditions resulted in reductions in IGF-1 (−13% and − 23% from BASE in D-RES and E-RES, both P < 0.01) and leptin (−59% and − 61% from BASE in D-RES and E-RES, both P < 0.001); T3 decreased in D-RES only (−15% from BASE, P = 0.002) and PO4 concentrations decreased in E-RES only (−9%, P = 0.03). Conclusions: Low EA achieved through dietary energy restriction resulted in a significant decrease in bone formation but no change in bone resorption, whereas low EA achieved through exercise energy expenditure did not significantly influence bone metabolism. Both low EA conditions elicited significant and similar changes in hormone concentrations

Seroprevalence of human parainfluenza virus type 2 infection among children (1-5years) in Zaria, Kaduna state, Nnigeria

Serological survey was carried out to determine the level of Human Parainfluenza virus type 2 (HPIV-2) IgG antibodies in children aged 1-5 years. Blood samples were collected from 379 children who met the selection criteria in selected hospitals in Zaria. Serum IgG antibody level for Human Parainfluenza virus type 2 was measured using commercial ELISA Kits obtained from VIRION-SERION ELISA Classic GmbH Germany. Of the total number of 379 samples, 176 (46.4%) were seropositive for parainfluenza virus type 2 antibody. There is statistical significance between age and seropositivity. Highest seropositivity (69.0%) was seen in the sera of those in age group 4- 5 yearss and lowest seropositivity (23.2%) in age group 0 – 1 year (X2 = 38.734; P.value 0.05). There was no association between the presence of cough and catarrh/running nose with seropositivity (P >0.05). The results also showed that there was no association between the presence of sickle cell disease and parental smoking with seropositivity (P >0.05). Preventive programs against HPIV – 2 infection should be promoted especially in younger children and research why reinfection occurs even in the presence of neutralizing antibodies should be undertaken

Open Access Repositories - maximizing and measuring research impact through university and research-funder open-access self-archiving mandates

No research institution can afford all the journals its researchers may need, so all articles are losing research impact (usage and citations) from would-be users whose institutions cannot afford paid access. Articles that are made “Open Access,” by self-archiving them on the web are cited twice as much, but only about 15 percent of articles are being spontaneously self-archived. The only institutions approaching 100 percent self-archiving are those that mandate it. Surveys show that majority of authors (95%) will comply with a self-archiving mandate

Biology of human respiratory syncytial virus: a review

Acute lower respiratory tract infection is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity in young children worldwide. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the single most important viral cause of lower respiratory tract infection during infancy and early childhood worldwide. Respiratory syncytial virus belongs to the Pneumovirinae subfamily of the Paramyxoviridae family of enveloped single stranded negative sense RNA viruses. The virus accounts for approximately 50% of all pneumonia and up to 90% of the reported cases of bronchiolitis in infancy. It is a common community–acquired respiratory pathogen without ethnic, socioeconomic, gender, age or geographic boundaries. Moreover, the epidemiological and ecological relationships between Human Respiratory syncytial virus, man and environment have aroused increasing interest in this viral, specie. The present review looks at the nature of this virus with the view to provide more information about its biology which may be useful to the present and future researchers

A 3D extinction map of the northern Galactic plane based on IPHAS photometry

This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. ©: 2014 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.We present a 3D map of extinction in the northern Galactic plane derived using photometry from the INT/WFC Photometric Hα Survey of the northern Galactic plane. The map has fine angular (~10 arcmin) and distance (100 pc) sampling allied to a significant depth (≳5 kpc). We construct the map using a method based on a hierarchical Bayesian model described in a previous article by Sale. In addition to mean extinction, we also measure differential extinction, which arises from the fractal nature of the interstellar medium, and show that it will be the dominant source of uncertainty in estimates of extinction to some arbitrary position. The method applied also furnishes us with photometric estimates of the distance, extinction, effective temperature, surface gravity, and mass for ~38 million stars. Both the extinction map and the catalogue of stellar parameters are made publicly available via http://www.iphas.org/extinction.Peer reviewe

Are there eco-metrics for fisheries?

Author Posting. © The Author, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B. V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Fisheries Research 77 (2006): 1-3, doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2005.11.003.Ecosystem based management of marine resources is a worthy ideal. At present, however, the science is unable to measure and relate the fundamental concepts of diversity, productivity and resilience required for management decisions. Further, we do not have legal or fiscal measures that would allow us to allocate these resources to reserves, fishing quotas or fish farms. A proper appreciation of these shortcomings is needed

SARA Separation and Determination of Concentration Levels of Some Heavy Metals in Organic Fractions of Nigerian Crude Oil

Nigerian Crude oil samples were obtained from Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC). The samples were subjected to column chromatography.  Sequential leaching method was used to separate the crude oil into four distinct fractions based on leaching of crude oil with different organic solvents and mixtures. Saturated fraction was extracted with hexane- cyclohexane (1:1v/v), aromatic fraction was extracted with hexane- toluene (7:3v/v), while resin was extracted with tetrachloromethane-trichloromethane (7:3v/v), and asphaltene was extracted with acetonitrile-methanol (1:1v/v). The fractions were digested using sulphuric acid, nitric acid and hydrochloric acid method followed by the detection of metals in the samples using AAS analysis. The elements analyzed were Pb, Cu, Cr, Fe and Ni. The result shows that Fe had the highest concentration while Ni had the least concentration. The concentration (ppm) levels of these elements in the crude oil fraction analyzed range from 0.1307 – 0.4107 for Pb, 0.1796 – 1.1250 for Cu, 2.7420 – 10.1903 for Cr, 11.2962 – 21.8084 for Fe, and 0.0464 – 0.5876 for Ni. It was obvious from this study and previous ones that Nigerian crude oil fractions have low metal content. However, despite their low concentrations they can still be detrimental to the refinery operations and the immediate environment, and therefore, should be removed before refining. Keywords: Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, Aromatic, Asphaltenes, Risens, Saturates, Heavy Metal

Pregnancy in the female athlete - Part 1: antenatal

As female participation in sport and exercise continues to increase, there is a strong likelihood that a strength and conditioning (S&C) coach will work with a pregnant athlete. High profile athletes such as Serena Williams and Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill have shown recently that it is not uncommon for female athletes to become mothers during their careers, rather than after they have retired. However, historically pregnancy was perceived as time spent away from sport and being active was wrongly associated with a high, unreasonable risk to the unborn foetus. The challenge for the S&C coach working with pregnant athletes is navigating the wide range of global recommendations that are often aimed at active or inactive individuals, but not at elite athletes. It is fundamental that any coach working with pregnant athletes is knowledgeable about the physiological and anatomical changes that occur throughout the trimesters, the nutritional demands of pregnancy, and its effect on weight management in order to appropriately facilitate athlete and foetal health during the antenatal period. Therefore, the aim of this initial review is to summarise current literature and provide key insights that promote best practice for practitioners working with pregnant athletes. The use of ‘women’ throughout this paper will refer to the general population and ‘sportswomen’ to the athletic population. ‘Antenatal’ refers to a pregnant woman before childbirth and the term ‘postnatal’ means after childbirth, something which will be covered in part 2 of this review series