Bio-Research Published December 2015 ISSN 1596-7409 Haematopoietic Effects of Ipomoea batatas (L) Lam. Leaf Extract on Male Wistar Rats

There are claims by traditional medicine practitioners that the leaves of Ipomoea batatas have haematinic effects and other folkloric usages in the treatment of ailments. Therefore the ethanol extract of the leaves of this plant was investigated to ascertain its effects on red blood cell, white blood cell, platelet counts and their differentials. Proximate, phytochemical and metal content analyses were also carried out on the powdered sample. Extraction was done by maceration, phytochemical, proximate and metal content analyses were carried out using standard procedures. Automated method was used to obtain the haematological indices of control and test rats. Increases in red blood cell count, haematocrit and haemoglobin were observed only at dose levels 1000 and 2500 mg/kg body weight of rats. Dose dependent reduction in lymphocyte counts and a significant reduction in mean platelet counts were observed. Proximate analysis revealed high moisture and crude protein content; phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of phytate, flavonoids, saponins, oxalate, tannins, total phenols, alkaloids and cardiac glycosides. The leaves of I. batatas contain high levels of magnesium, iron and potassium. Increases in red blood count, haematocrit and haemoglobin count infer haematopoietic effects; but reductions in lymphocytes could infer a negative effect on cellular immune response.Key words: Ipomoea batatas; red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, differentials, phytochemical

Dynamic Modelling of Building Envelope on Energy Usage

This study investigates the influence of the building envelope on the energy usage of a chosen building using the simulation program TRNSYS. The building located at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada is a small building retroffited as part of the Natural Resources Canada’s Prefabricated Exterior Energy Retrofit (PEER) project. The project\u27s aim is to develop prefabricated technologies to be used for retroffiting existing building envelopes of homes in Canada. The thermal resistance (RSI) of the existing walls were improved from 1.80 m2K/W to about 6.40 m2K/W after installation of the prefarbricated retrofit wall system. Analytical verification of the whole building performance simulation software is performed using a solitary heat transfer mechanism under simplified boundary conditions with known analytical solution. The warm-up period necessary to ensure heat is distributed in the building thermal mass at the start of the simulation is quantified. The thermal performance of the whole building envelope is quantified using the time-lag effect and decrement factor and energy requirement for heating and cooling

Toxicological and biochemical investigations in rats administered “kaun” (trona) a natural food additive used in Nigeria

Trona, a geological mineral, is often used as a natural food additive in many parts of Nigeria. This work was done to evaluate trona for metal content, acute toxicity and biochemical effects on vital organs such as the liver and the kidney. Consequently, graded doses of 10, 100, 1000, 1500 and 5000 mg trona per kg body weight were administered to determine their effects on body weight changes, relative organ weight, acute toxicity, liver and renal function indices and oxidative status of rats. Elemental analyses revealed the presence of high levels of sodium and iron, the presence of heavy metals such as cadmium, zinc and lead were also detected. There were losses in weights only at the 5000 mg/kg dose levels; relative liver and kidney weights were not affected. Acute toxicity tests recorded no mortality and no visible sign of toxicity. There were significant increases in ALT, AST and ALP activities at all dose levels except at the 10 mg/kg dose level. Liver MDA levels were significantly increased while catalase and SOD activities were significantly reduced in all the test rats compared with control. Kidney MDA levels were only affected at dose levels 5000 mg/kg; kidney SOD and catalase activities were not significantly affected. Creatinine, sodium and potassium levels were also not affected. These results show that trona may elicit toxic effects on the liver on prolonged administration, however no toxic effect was observed on the kidney within the duration of this study

Effects of Aqueous Extract of Moringa oleifera on Phenylhydrazine-induced Liver Toxicity in Wistar Rats

Moringa oleifera has been shown to have a variety of medicinal benefits, including hepatoprotective effects. Phenylhydrazine has been used to cause hepatotoxicity in experimental models. In this study, an aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera was used to evaluate the ameliorating properties of phenylhydrazine-induced liver damage by assessing liver enzymes and histoarchitecture employing twenty-five (25) mature Wistar rats were divided into five (5) groups. Group A received 1 ml distilled water, Group B received 50 mg/kg phenylhydrazine twice in 48 hours, Group C received 500 mg/kg body weight of Moringa oleifera aqueous extract for four (4) weeks, Group D received 50 mg/kg phenylhydrazine twice in 48 hours and 500 mg/kg body weight of Moringa oleifera aqueous extract for four (4) weeks, and Group E received 50 mg/kg of phenylhydrazine twice in forty-eight (48) hours and 70 mg/kg body weight of Silymarin for four (4) weeks.  After the administration of phenylhydrazine, significant increases (P<0.05) in the mean concentrations of liver enzymes (ALP, AST, ALT) and total protein were observed, whereas treatment with Moringa oleifera resulted in a reversal of those parameters to values comparable to the control and the standard drug - Silymarin. Overall, the results showed that Moringa oleifera aqueous extract had considerable hepatoprotective capability against phenylhydrazine-induced hepatotoxicity

Strategies in Rapid Genetic Diagnostics of Critically Ill Children:Experiences From a Dutch University Hospital

Background: Genetic disorders are a substantial cause of infant morbidity and mortality and are frequently suspected in neonatal intensive care units. Non-specific clinical presentation or limitations to physical examination can result in a plethora of genetic testing techniques, without clear strategies on test ordering. Here, we review our 2-years experiences of rapid genetic testing of NICU patients in order to provide such recommendations. Methods: We retrospectively included all patients admitted to the NICU who received clinical genetic consultation and genetic testing in our University hospital. We documented reasons for referral for genetic consultation, presenting phenotypes, differential diagnoses, genetic testing requested and their outcomes, as well as the consequences of each (rapid) genetic diagnostic approach. We calculated diagnostic yield and turnaround times (TATs). Results: Of 171 included infants that received genetic consultation 140 underwent genetic testing. As a result of testing as first tier, 13/14 patients received a genetic diagnosis from QF-PCR; 14/115 from SNP-array; 12/89 from NGS testing, of whom 4/46 were diagnosed with a small gene panel and 8/43 with a large OMIM-morbid based gene panel. Subsequent secondary or tertiary analysis and/or additional testing resulted in five more diagnoses. TATs ranged from 1 day (QF-PCR) to a median of 14 for NGS and SNP-array testing, with increasing TAT in particular when many consecutive tests were performed. Incidental findings were detected in 5/140 tested patients (3.6%). Conclusion: We recommend implementing a broad NGS gene panel in combination with CNV calling as the first tier of genetic testing for NICU patients given the often unspecific phenotypes of ill infants and the high yield of this large panel

Effect of leaves of Ipomoea batatas, (L) Lam, Telfairia occidentalis, Hook. F. and Jatropha tanjorensis, L. on plasma and tissues lipid profile of weanling albino rats

No Abstract.GJPAS Vol. 13 (4) 2007: pp.523-52

The Nigerian Capital Market and the Standard of Living: An Empirical Inquiry

The major engine of growth and development for any economy is the capital market which accommodates certain institutions for the creation, custodianship, distribution and exchange of financial assets and management of long-term liabilities. Hence, the extent to which a country’s economy has grown and developed can be explained by the degree of development of her capital market. The capital market is the pivot upon which any economy revolves, especially in its role of creating, mobilizing and rationing long-term funds for economic growth and development. Economic development often defined as a sustained increase in income per capital, has been one of the main objectives pursued by successive governments in Nigeria. This quest is understandable since it can improve the well-being of the poor and increase the welfare of all members of society. Thus, successive government in Nigeria has adopted several fiscal and monetary policies among which were debt rescheduling, privatization, and commercialization of government enterprises; and recently, the consolidation of the banking and insurance industry. In all these efforts, the capital market played a major role. This study is intended to empirically examine the impact of the Nigerian capital market performance on the standard of living in Nigeria. In pursuance of this, we constructed a model in which the dependent variable was Per Capital Income (the proxy for standard of living),while the explanatory variables were Market capitalization, All shares index Value of transactions, Volume of transactions and Number of listed companies (proxies for capital market performance). The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression model was used for the analysis of data collected. Multiple regression model was used with aid of Microfit Interactive Econometric Software Package. The results indicated that: Market Capitalization, Value of transaction, All-Shares Index and number of listed companies were positively related to and capable of influencing per capital income. The results have proved that the performance of the capital market impacts positively on the standard of living in Nigeria. The study has also revealed a high popularity problem as evidenced in the impact of volume of transactions on per capital income, and the high buy-hold attitude of Nigerian investors. However, it is important to note that the place of the capital market as a catalyst for Nigeria’s Socio-economic development will remain more significant in the years to come, as it helps to support national growth and development and invariably improved standard of living