Lipid peroxidation and ascorbic acid levels in Nigeria children with acute falciparum malaria

This study was undertaken to establish data on the roles of lipid peroxidation and ascorbic acid in the pathology of malaria in Nigeria children. We measured the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of lipid peroxidation and ascorbic acid in the plasma of 406 parasitaemic and 212 non-parasitaemic Nigerian children. Lipid peroxidant levels were significantly higher in children with moderate and high parasitaemia (16.88 and 13.64 MDA μM/ml, respectively), than in non-parasitaemic controls (8.71 MDA μM/ml). Malaria infection resulted in significant reduction in ascorbic acid levels of children with moderate and high parasitaemia. The MDA and ascorbic acid levels of children with low parasitaemia were not significantly higher than the levels in non-parasitaemic controls. High levels of lipid peroxidation corresponded with low levels of ascorbic acid and this may be responsible for tissue damage associated with pathology of malaria in Nigerian children. Key Words: Lipid peroxidation, ascorbic, acid Nigerian children, falciparum malaria. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.3(10) 2004: 560-56

Variability in Frontotemporal Brain Structure: The Importance of Recruitment of African Americans in Neuroscience Research

BACKGROUND: Variation in brain structure is both genetically and environmentally influenced. The question about potential differences in brain anatomy across populations of differing race and ethnicity remains a controversial issue. There are few studies specifically examining racial or ethnic differences and also few studies that test for race-related differences in context of other neuropsychiatric research, possibly due to the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in clinical research. It is within this context that we conducted a secondary data analysis examining volumetric MRI data from healthy participants and compared the volumes of the amygdala, hippocampus, lateral ventricles, caudate nucleus, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and total cerebral volume between Caucasian and African-American participants. We discuss the importance of this finding in context of neuroimaging methodology, but also the need for improved recruitment of African Americans in clinical research and its broader implications for a better understanding of the neural basis of neuropsychiatric disorders. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This was a case control study in the setting of an academic medical center outpatient service. Participants consisted of 44 Caucasians and 33 ethnic minorities. The following volumetric data were obtained: amygdala, hippocampus, lateral ventricles, caudate nucleus, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and total cerebrum. Each participant completed a 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Our primary finding in analyses of brain subregions was that when compared to Caucasians, African Americans exhibited larger left OFC volumes (F (1,68) = 7.50, p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The biological implications of our findings are unclear as we do not know what factors may be contributing to these observed differences. However, this study raises several questions that have important implications for the future of neuropsychiatric research

The role of ascorbate peroxidase, guaiacol peroxidase, and polysaccharides in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) roots under postharvest physiological deterioration

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the role of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX), polysaccharides, and protein contents associated with the early events of postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD) in cassava roots. Increases in APX and GPX activity, as well as total protein contents occurred from 3 to 5 days of storage and were correlated with the delay of PPD. Cassava samples stained with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) highlighted the presence of starch and cellulose. Degradation of starch granules during PPD was also detected. Slight metachromatic reaction with toluidine blue is indicative of increasing of acidic polysaccharides and may play an important role in PPD delay. Principal component analysis (PCA) classified samples according to their levels of enzymatic activity based on the decision tree model which showed GPX and total protein amounts to be correlated with PPD. The Oriental (ORI) cultivar was more susceptible to PPD.This work was supported by PEC-PG ("Programa de Estudantes Convenio de Pos-Graduacao") coordinated by CAPES ("Coorde nacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior"). CNPq has provided a research fellowship to Marcelo Maraschin

Sex differences in the adult human brain:Evidence from 5216 UK Biobank participants

Sex differences in the human brain are of interest for many reasons: for example, there are sex differences in the observed prevalence of psychiatric disorders and in some psychological traits that brain differences might help to explain. We report the largest single-sample study of structural and functional sex differences in the human brain (2750 female, 2466 male participants; mean age 61.7 years, range 44–77 years). Males had higher raw volumes, raw surface areas, and white matter fractional anisotropy; females had higher raw cortical thickness and higher white matter tract complexity. There was considerable distributional overlap between the sexes. Subregional differences were not fully attributable to differences in total volume, total surface area, mean cortical thickness, or height. There was generally greater male variance across the raw structural measures. Functional connectome organization showed stronger connectivity for males in unimodal sensorimotor cortices, and stronger connectivity for females in the default mode network. This large-scale study provides a foundation for attempts to understand the causes and consequences of sex differences in adult brain structure and function

How Sleep and Burnout Interact in the Treatment of Poor Sleep

This thesis explores the interaction between sleep and burnout in the treatment of poor sleep. Sleep isvital for overall health and recovery from daily life demands, while stress is closely related to sleepdisruptions. Chronic insomnia can develop from sleep disturbances caused by stress. Burnout,characterized by emotional exhaustion, physical fatigue, and cognitive weariness, is a prevalentconsequence of chronic stress. Sleep quality is greatly influenced by various factors and has a significantimpact on overall well-being. This study investigates how sleep quality and burnout at baseline of ashort, student-led, group treatment, affect sleep quality as a treatment outcome. It hypothesizes thathigher stress and poorer sleep at baseline would predict unchanged or impaired sleep qualityimmediately after treatment, and that poor sleep and burnout would individually have a positiverelationship with sleep as a treatment outcome. The data for this study is obtained from a sleepintervention program conducted by students from the Master's Program in Clinical Psychology at UmeåUniversity in collaboration with Region Västerbotten. The participants completed questionnairesassessing their background information, stress levels, burnout, and sleep quality at baseline and aftertreatment. The findings showed no interaction effects between sleep and burnout but indicate thatpatients with poorer sleep at intake may not benefit from the treatment program whereas high burnoutdoes not affect the treatment outcome. The short, student-led, group treatment does not seem tobenefit people with severe sleep problems.

How Sleep and Burnout Interact in the Treatment of Poor Sleep

This thesis explores the interaction between sleep and burnout in the treatment of poor sleep. Sleep isvital for overall health and recovery from daily life demands, while stress is closely related to sleepdisruptions. Chronic insomnia can develop from sleep disturbances caused by stress. Burnout,characterized by emotional exhaustion, physical fatigue, and cognitive weariness, is a prevalentconsequence of chronic stress. Sleep quality is greatly influenced by various factors and has a significantimpact on overall well-being. This study investigates how sleep quality and burnout at baseline of ashort, student-led, group treatment, affect sleep quality as a treatment outcome. It hypothesizes thathigher stress and poorer sleep at baseline would predict unchanged or impaired sleep qualityimmediately after treatment, and that poor sleep and burnout would individually have a positiverelationship with sleep as a treatment outcome. The data for this study is obtained from a sleepintervention program conducted by students from the Master's Program in Clinical Psychology at UmeåUniversity in collaboration with Region Västerbotten. The participants completed questionnairesassessing their background information, stress levels, burnout, and sleep quality at baseline and aftertreatment. The findings showed no interaction effects between sleep and burnout but indicate thatpatients with poorer sleep at intake may not benefit from the treatment program whereas high burnoutdoes not affect the treatment outcome. The short, student-led, group treatment does not seem tobenefit people with severe sleep problems.

Work and leisure: A survey of leisure activities of industrial workers in Lagos

No Abstract

The Effect of Acute Plasmodium falciparum Infection on the levels of Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Ascorbic acid on Nigerian Children

The effect of acute plasmodium falciparum infection on the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and ascorbic acid (AA) were studied in 200 children infested with malaria between the ages of 0.5 - 5 years with a male to female ratio of 3:1. Healthy children (n = 200) matched for age and sex ratio served as control. MDA content was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in the plasma of malarias children (13.88 \ub1 1.02 \u3bcmol/m) compared to the control (8.71 \ub1 0.62 \u3bcmol/ml) However, AA level showed an opposite response: malarias children (87.41 \ub1 3.43 \u3bcmol/ml) and control (122.07 \ub1 6.36 \u3bcmol/ml). These results were also highly significant (P < 0.01). Also a negative correlation (r = -0.525) was observed between these two parameters in the malarias children against a positive correlation (r = 0.533) in the control. These opposite responses in the level of lipid peroxidation and ascorbic acid may in part account for the general tissue damage associated with the pathology of malaria. @JASE

The Effect of Acute Plasmodium falciparum Infection on the levels of Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Ascorbic acid on Nigerian Children

The effect of acute plasmodium falciparum infection on the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and ascorbic acid (AA) were studied in 200 children infested with malaria between the ages of 0.5 – 5 years with a male to female ratio of 3:1. Healthy children (n = 200) matched for age and sex ratio served as control. MDA content was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in the plasma of malarias children (13.88 ± 1.02 µmol/m&#8467;) compared to the control (8.71 + 0.62 mmol/m&#8467;). However, AA level showed an opposite response: malarias children (87.41 + 3.43 mmol/m&#8467;) and control (122.07 + 6.36 mmol/m&#8467;). These results were also highly significant (P < 0.01). Also a negative correlation (r = -0.525) was observed between these two parameters in the malarias children against a positive correlation (r = 0.533) in the control. These opposite responses in the level of lipid peroxidation and ascorbic acid may in part account for the general tissue damage associated with the pathology of malaria. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management Vol. 7(2) 2003:59-6

The Effect of Acute Plasmodium falciparum Infection on the levels of Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Ascorbic acid on Nigerian Children

The effect of acute plasmodium falciparum infection on the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and ascorbic acid (AA) were studied in 200 children infested with malaria between the ages of 0.5 - 5 years with a male to female ratio of 3:1. Healthy children (n = 200) matched for age and sex ratio served as control. MDA content was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in the plasma of malarias children (13.88 ± 1.02 µmol/m) compared to the control (8.71 + 0.62 mmol/ml) However, AA level showed an opposite response: malarias children (87.41 + 3.43 mmol/ml) and control (122.07 + 6.36 mmol/ml). These results were also highly significant (P < 0.01). Also a negative correlation (r = -0.525) was observed between these two parameters in the malarias children against a positive correlation (r = 0.533) in the control. These opposite responses in the level of lipid peroxidation and ascorbic acid may in part account for the general tissue damage associated with the pathology of malaria. @JASE