Electrolytic Evaluation of Nicotine Treated Rats

This work assessed the effects of electrolyte in rats treated with nicotine diet. A total of thirty (30) rats weighing 80-190g were randomly assigned into two groups of fifteen (15) each. Group A was fed with normal rat chow and acted as the control group while group B received 0.5ml of concentrated nicotine dissolved in 200ml of distilled water mixed with 100g of animal feed. They were fed for 28 days and had free access to drinking water. The results revealed that Sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+) and Chloride (Cl-) were significantly higher (P<0.001) when compared with the control group, while the bio-carbonate (HCO3-) was lower. This result is suggestive that nicotine consumption is capable of changing the ionic composition of the body. Key words: Wistar rat, Nicotine, Electrolyti

Nicotine Consumption and its Effect on Fecal Composition and Moisture Loss in Albino Rats.

This research assessed nicotine consumption and its effect on fecal composition and moisture loss in albino rats. Thirty albino rats weighing between 80-190g were assigned into 2 groups of (15 each). Group A were fed normal rat chow, group B were fed nicotine diet comprising 5ml of concentrated nicotine dissolved in 200ml of water and mixed with 100g of animal feed. Both groups were fed for 28 days and had free access to drinking water. The results revealed a significant (P<0.001) decrease in water intake in the tobacco fed group when compared to the control with no significant (P>0.05) difference in food intake among the groups. Fecal weight of the tobacco group was not significantly different from the control. Keywords: Nicotine, Fecal, Composition, Moisture loss, Albino rat

Accessment of the Kidney in Ginger Treated Wistar Rats

Ginger, botanically known as Zingerber offinale is an underground stem or rhizome which is known to have originated from Asia and have been reported to have a number of medicinal properties which is used in the treatment of many ailments such as arthritis, painful menstrual periods, nausea etc. It is also used as a common specie in food and bakery industries. The effect of ethanolic extract of ginger on the kidney of male wistar rats was studied due to the availability and medicinal uses of ginger. Twenty five (25) adult Wistar rats weighing 125-200g were divided into five groups. Group A animals served as the control and were served with distilled water , B served as vehicle control groups and received olive oil.  The animals in groups C, D and E served as experimental groups, and received 100mg/kg, 250mg/kg and 500mg/kg body weight of the ethanolic extract of Zingiber officinale respectively. The animals received the extract for 14 days and were sacrificed 24 hours after the last administration and the kidney was routinely processed histologically. The study shows enlargement of Bowman’s space, disintegration of glomerular cells and dilation of the tubular lumen with shrinkage of tubular luminal cells when compared to the control group, which progressively increased as the duration of intake of Zinger officinlae increased. Therefore, Zingerber officinale should be used with caution because it may have deleterious effects on the liver cells at high doses. Keywords: Assessment, Ginger, Treatment, Kidney, Wistar ra

Extract of Ginger (Zingiber Officinale) on the Histology of the Spleen Using Adult Male Rats

Usage of botanical medicine is ancient and plant chemicals are still the backbone of our pharmacopoeia because more than 50% of drugs used in Western pharmacopoeia are isolated from herbs or derived from modification of chemicals first found in plants. Zingiber officinale is one of the most widely used herbs and food flavouring agent and commonly known as ginger. This study was done to evaluate the possible histological effect(s) of ethanolic extract of Zingiber offinale on the liver of adult male albino rats. Twenty five (25) adult wistar rats weighing between 125-200g were divided into five groups of five (5) rats each. Group C, D and E served as experimental groups while group A and B served as the control groups. Group C was administered a dose of 100mg/kg of the extract, group D was given oral dose of 250mg/kg of the extract while group E was given oral dose of 500mg/kg of Zingiber officinale extract. Administration of extract lasted for fourteen days at the end of which the animals were sacrificed using chloroform-inhalation method. The spleen was harvested as tissue samples from sacrificed animals for pathological examination using routine histological procedure and stained with the haematoxylin and eosin stains. Histological examinations of spleen showed that after treatment with low and medium doses (100, 250mg/kg) the ginger extract produced little damaging effects on the spleen histology, indicating moderate lymphoid hyperplasia in the splenic cells. But at higher dosage (500mg/kg), reactive lymphoid hyperplasia in the splenic cells was extensive. Therefore, Zingerber officinale should be used with caution because it may have harmful effects on the spleen cells at high doses. Keywords: Ginger, Histology, Ethanolic extract, Spleen, Wistar rat

Filling a blank on the map: 60 years of fisheries in Equatorial Guinea

Despite a scarcity of pertinent information, it has been possible to reconstruct time series of marine fisheries catches for Equatorial Guinea from 1950 to 2010 using per capita fish consumption and population numbers for small-scale fisheries, catch rates and number of vessels for industrial fisheries and discard rates to estimate the discarded bycatch. Small-scale fisheries, industrial large-scale fisheries, domestic and legal and illegal foreign fisheries and their discards are all included. Total catches were estimated at 2.7 million tonnes over the time period considered, of which 653 000 t were caught domestically compared to 187 000 t reported by FAO. This shows that fisheries have more importance for Equatorial Guinea's food security than the official data suggest. In contrast to what is suggested by official figures, fisheries were shown to be strongly impacted by civil and political unrest; notably, they declined overall because of civil and political conflicts, socio-demographic dynamics, and a growing role of the newly discovered oil resources, which directly and indirectly threaten the food security of the people of Equatorial Guinea

Room-temperature ferromagnetism in graphite driven by 2D networks of point defects

Ferromagnetism in carbon-based materials is appealing for both applications and fundamental science purposes because carbon is a light and bio-compatible material that contains only s and p electrons in contrast to traditional ferromagnets based on 3d or 4f electrons. Here we demonstrate direct evidence for ferromagnetic order locally at defect structures in highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) with magnetic force microscopy and in bulk magnetization measurements at room temperature. Magnetic impurities have been excluded as the origin of the magnetic signal after careful analysis supporting an intrinsic magnetic behavior of carbon. The observed ferromagnetism has been attributed to originate from unpaired electron spins localized at grain boundaries of HOPG. Grain boundaries form two-dimensional arrays of point defects, where their spacing depends on the mutual orientation of two grains. Depending on the distance between these point defects, scanning tunneling spectroscopy of grain boundaries showed two intense split localized states for small distances between defects (< 4 nm) and one localized state at the Fermi level for large distances between defects (> 4 nm).Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure

Coastal Observations of Weather Features in Senegal during the AMMA SOP-3 Period

During 15 August through 30 September 2006, ground and aircraft measurements were obtained from a multi-national group of students and scientists in Senegal. Key measurements were aimed at investigating and understanding precipitation processes, thermodynamic and dynamic environmental conditions, cloud, aerosol and microphysical processes and spaceborne sensors (TRMM, CloudSat/Calipso) validation. Ground and aircraft instruments include: ground based polarimetric radar, disdrometer measurements, a course and a high-density rain gauge network, surface chemical measurements, a 10 m flux tower, broadband IR, solar and microwave measurements, rawinsonde and radiosonde measurements, FA-20 dropsonde, in situ microphysics and cloud radar measurements. Highlights during SOP3 include ground and aircraft measurements of squall lines, African Easterly Waves (AEWs), Saharan Air Layer advances into Senegal, and aircraft measurements of AEWs -- including the perturbation that became Hurricane Isaac

Position Statement on Atopic Dermatitis in Sub-Saharan Africa:current status and roadmap

The first International Society of Atopic Dermatitis (ISAD) global meeting dedicated to atopic dermatitis (AD) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was held in Geneva, Switzerland in April 2019. A total of 30 participants were present at the meeting, including those from 17 SSA countries, representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Foundation for Dermatology (IFD) (a committee of the International League of Dermatological Societies, ILDS www.ilds.org), the Fondation pour la Dermatite Atopique, as well as specialists in telemedicine, artificial intelligence and therapeutic patient education (TPE)

Some clues for correcting the tagging database of tropical tunas

Conventional “spaghetti” tags have been used for a long time in Tropical Atlantic Ocean and have been collected by ICCAT secretary with the collaboration of scientists and fishermen. Despite, careful examination of the information provided at release and at recapture some errors may persist into the ICCAT tagging data base. The aim of this short note is to highlight some types of errors existing in the tagging data bases for tropical tunas and to suggest potential clues for corrections