Knowledge, use and sensory evaluation of red palm oil Ogi by caregivers in Makurdi, Nigeria

Vitamin A deficiency is one of the major public health challenges in many developing countries affecting mainly children under 5 years of age and contributes to severity of life-threatening infections such as diarrhoea and measles. Over the years, several effective strategies have been adopted to combat vitamin A deficiency with the attendant challenge of sustainability. Food-based approaches based on vitamin A-rich, locally available food sources are considered sustainable and could help in filling this gap. The use of red palm oil among other locally available pro-vitamin A foodstuffs is recommended for incorporation into complementary foods given to children under 5 years of age by health workers in Nigeria. This study was conducted to ascertain the level of awareness, use and sensory evaluation of red palm oil ogi (a cereal-based porridge) by caregivers of under-fives within Makurdi, Nigeria. Data were obtained through a cross-sectional survey and two focus group discussions. The survey involved 100 respondents that were purposively sampled from three well patronized health facilities rendering post-natal services in Makurdi. The results of the survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The focus group discussions involved 17 members in two separate groups and responses were sorted and summarized. The results show that though caregivers consider red palm oil as a taboo-free cooking ingredient, knowledge on its use in ogi was low (11%). However, some caregivers were willing to adopt red palm oil ogi provided the method of preparation is demonstrated and presents no adverse effects on the child. Ogi prepared with 5 and 10% red palm oil (w/v) scored 6.8 and 6.6 for maize, 5.9 and 6.0 for millet, respectively for overall acceptability on a 9-point Hedonic scale while ogi without red palm oil was the most acceptable. This study has identified low awareness in the use of red palm oil ogi among caregivers of under-fives in Makurdi; ignorance about red palm oil’s nutritional benefits and  appropriate preparation methods as well as actual concentration of red palm oil to be employed as some of the critical gaps in the use of red palm oil ogi in alleviating the burden of vitamin A deficiency among children under 5 years of age in Makurdi, Nigeria.Key words: Knowledge, Red palm oil, Og

Computer-mediated communication use among adolescents and its implication for psychological need satisfaction

Online self-disclosure and online communication are two communication behaviours that, on the basis of prior research and theory, would appear to be related both to one another and to psychological need satisfaction. This study explored these relationships among a sample of 190 secondary school students drawn from a district in Malaysia. Respondents completed a questionnaire battery, which included measures of online self-disclosure, online communication and psychological need satisfaction. Quantitative data were then entered and analysed via Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results demonstrated that adolescents disclosed more during same-sex interaction than opposite-sex interaction. The findings also showed a positive relationship between online communication and same-sex disclosure for adolescent girls, but not necessarily for boys. Hierarchical regression analyses confirmed that for male and female adolescents, same-sex disclosure, opposite-sex disclosure and online communication were found to be predictive of adolescents' experiences of psychological need satisfaction in online friendships. No interaction effect was found between online self-disclosure and online communication on psychological need satisfaction. The contribution of this study is two-fold. First, currently, little research exists examining the association between online self-disclosure, online communication and psychological need satisfaction in a single published study. Second, we extend previous research with a more nuanced understanding of psychological need satisfaction embedded in the context of CMC

Nanoflake NiMoO4 based smart supercapacitor for intelligent power balance monitoring.

A supercapacitor is well recognized as one of emerging energy sources for powering electronic devices in our daily life. Although various kind of supercapacitors have been designed and demonstrated, their market aspect could become advanced if the utilisation of other physicochemical properties (e.g. optical) is incorporated in the electrode. Herein, we present an electrochromic supercapacitor (smart supercapacitor) based on a nanoflake NiMoO4 thin film which is fabricated using a facile and well-controlled successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique. The polycrystalline nanoflake NiMoO4 electrode exhibits a large electrochemically active surface area of ~ 96.3 cm2. Its nanoporous architecture provides an easy pathway for the intercalation and de-intercalation of ions. The nanoflake NiMoO4 electrode is dark-brown in the charged state and becomes transparent in the discharged state with a high optical modulation of 57%. The electrode shows a high specific capacity of 1853 Fg–1 at a current rate of 1 Ag–1 with a good coloration efficiency of 31.44 cm2/C. Dynamic visual information is obtained when the electrode is charged at different potentials, reflecting the level of energy storage in the device. The device retains 65% capacity after 2500 charge-discharge cycles compared with its initial capacity. The excellent performance of the nanoflake NiMoO4 based smart supercapacitor is associated with the synergetic effect of nanoporous morphology with a large electrochemically active surface area and desired chemical composition for redox reaction

Influence of operating temperature on Li2ZnTi3O8 anode performance and high-rate charging activity of Li-ion battery

The temperature-dependent performance of a Li2ZnTi3O8 (LZTO) anode and the ultrafast-charging activity of a Li-ion battery were investigated. The LZTO anode operates at different temperatures between − 5 and 55 °C and in this work its sustainability is discussed in terms of storage performance. It delivered a discharge capacity of 181.3 mA h g−1 at 25 °C, which increased to 227.3 mA h g−1 at 40 °C and 131.2 mA h g−1 at − 5 °C. The variation in the discharge capacity with temperature is associated with the reaction kinetics and the change in internal resistance. It showed a capacity retention of 64% and a coulombic efficiency of 98% over 500 cycles. Exhibiting a discharge capacity of 107 mA h g−1, the LZTO anode was sustainable over 100 charge-discharge cycles at an ultra-high charging rate of 10 Ag−1. The reaction kinetics estimated from a cyclic voltammetry analysis at high scan rates revealed a capacitive-type storage mechanism

Self-assembled nanostructured CuCo2 O4 for electrochemical energy storage and the oxygen evolution reaction via morphology engineering

CuCo2O4 films with different morphologies of either mesoporous nanosheets, cubic, compact‐granular, or agglomerated embossing structures are fabricated via a hydrothermal growth technique using various solvents, and their bifunctional activities, electrochemical energy storage and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for water splitting catalysis in strong alkaline KOH media, are investigated. It is observed that the solvents play an important role in setting the surface morphology and size of the crystallites by controlling nucleation and growth rate. An optimized mesoporous CuCo2O4 nanosheet electrode shows a high specific capacitance of 1658 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 with excellent restoring capability of ≈99% at 2 A g−1 and superior energy density of 132.64 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 0.72 kW kg−1. The CuCo2O4 electrode also exhibits excellent endurance performance with capacity retention of 90% and coulombic efficiency of ≈99% after 5000 charge/discharge cycles. The best OER activity is obtained from the CuCo2O4 nanosheet sample with the lowest overpotential of ≈290 mV at 20 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 117 mV dec−1. The superior bifunctional electrochemical activity of the mesoporous CuCo2O4 nanosheet is a result of electrochemically favorable 2D morphology, which leads to the formation of a very large electrochemically active surface area

Understanding computer-mediated communication attributes and life satisfaction from the perspectives of uses and gratifications and self-determination

Based on the theories of uses and gratifications, and self-determination, we examined a model linking computer-mediated communication (CMC) attributes to psychological need satisfaction in online friendships and to life satisfaction in a sample of school-aged adolescents (N = 1572). Our findings suggest direct links between media orientations (i.e., attitude toward online relationship formation and Internet habit strength) and psychological need satisfaction in online friendships. We also reported direct links between online communication, online self-disclosure and psychological need satisfaction in online friendships, and also a direct link between psychological need satisfaction in online friendships and life satisfaction. Despite these direct links, online communication and online self-disclosure significantly mediated the link between attitude toward online relationship formation and psychological need satisfaction in online friendships. In this pattern of links, both mediators were equally strong. Online communication and online self-disclosure also significantly mediated the link between Internet habit strength and psychological need satisfaction in online friendships. For this pattern of links, both mediators differed significantly in strength. Online communication emerged as a stronger mediator than online self-disclosure. Our findings suggest that CMC attributes may serve as a new social milieu for adolescent subjective well-being

Relation of gallbladder function and Helicobacter pylori infection to gastric mucosa inflammation in patients with symptomatic cholecystolithiasis

Background. Inflammatory alterations of the gastric mucosa are commonly caused by Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection in patients with symptomatic gallstone disease. However, the additional pathogenetic role of an impaired gallbladder function leading to an increased alkaline duodenogastric reflux is controversially discussed. Aim:To investigate the relation of gallbladder function and Hp infection to gastric mucosa inflammation in patients with symptomatic gallstones prior to cholecystectomy. Patients: Seventy-three patients with symptomatic gallstones were studied by endoscopy and Hp testing. Methods: Gastritis classification was performed according to the updated Sydney System and gallbladder function was determined by total lipid concentration of gallbladder bile collected during mainly laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Results: Fifteen patients revealed no, 39 patients mild, and 19 moderate to marked gastritis. No significant differences for bile salts, phospholipids, cholesterol, or total lipids in gallbladder bile were found between these three groups of patients. However, while only 1 out of 54 (< 2%) patients with mild or no gastritis was found histologically positive for Hp, this infection could be detected in 14 (74%) out of 19 patients with moderate to marked gastritis. Conclusion: Moderate to marked gastric mucosa inflammation in gallstone patients is mainly caused by Hp infection, whereas gallbladder function is not related to the degree of gastritis. Thus, an increased alkaline duodenogastric reflux in gallstone patients seems to be of limited pathophysiological relevance. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

Self-assembled two-dimensional copper oxide nanosheet bundles as an efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst for water splitting applications

A high activity of a two-dimensional (2D) copper oxide (CuO) electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is presented. The CuO electrode self-assembles on a stainless steel substrate via chemical bath deposition at 80 °C in a mixed solution of CuSO4 and NH4OH, followed by air annealing treatment, and shows a 2D nanosheet bundle-type morphology. The OER performance is studied in a 1 M KOH solution. The OER starts to occur at about 1.48 V versus the RHE (η = 250 mV) with a Tafel slope of 59 mV dec−1 in a 1 M KOH solution. The overpotential (η) of 350 mV at 10 mA cm−2 is among the lowest compared with other copper-based materials. The catalyst can deliver a stable current density of >10 mA cm−2 for more than 10 hours. This superior OER activity is due to its adequately exposed OER-favorable 2D morphology and the optimized electronic properties resulting from the thermal treatment

Sulforaphane Improves Abnormal Lipid Metabolism via Both ERS-Dependent XBP1/ACC &SCD1 and ERS-Independent SREBP/FAS Pathways

Scope: To investigate the effect of sulforaphane (SFN) on the abnormal lipid metabolism and underlying mechanisms.  Methods and results: Models with abnormal lipid metabolism were established both in rats and human hepatocytes. Hepatic steatosis was detected by H&E and oil red O staining. The structure of endoplasmic reticulum was visualized by transmission electron microscopy. The expressions of X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1), protein kinase-like ER kinase (PERK), sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP1c) and lipogenic enzymes were determined by real-time PCR and western blot analysis. SFN lowered the content of triglyceride and cholesterol. SFN alleviated the swelling of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and decreased the perimeter of ER. SFN significantly decreased the expressions of acetyl CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1), stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) and fatty acid synthase. SFN inhibited SREBP1c by blocking the PERK. Meanwhile, SFN suppressed ACC1 and SCD1 via blocking the formation of splicing-type XBP1. The key roles of XBP1 and SREBP1c in SFN-reduced lipid droplets were confirmed by a timed sequence of measurement according to time points.  Conclusion: SFN improved abnormal lipid metabolism via both ER stress -dependent and -independent pathways