Effect Of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy On CD4 Count And Weight In AIDS Patients Seen At The UITH, Ilorin

To determine the response on treatment-naïve HIV/AIDS patients to the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) in terms of CD4 Count and Weight gain over a period of 2½ years. Patients with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were recruited under the Federal Government HighlyActiveAntiretroviral Therapy (HAART) programme at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital. The treatment regimen included Lamivudine, Starvudine and Nevirapine. The patients\' responses were evaluatedwith respect toCD4 count andweight over the period of treatment.The diagnosis ofHIV/AIDS wasmade on the basis of reactivitywith two different ELISAreagents, andCD4 countwas donewithDynalT4 Quantmethod. Theweights (kg.) of the patientswere taken atmonthly visit. The duration of treatment for the patients analysed ranged from 1 month to 14 months. Analysis of CD4 count was possible in 105 patients. The mean post treatment CD4 count and weight were significantly higher than the pre-treatment values (p < 0.001 and p < 1.01) respectively. There were significant positive correlations (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001) between increases in CD4 count and weight respectively, and duration of treatment. In eight (8) patients,CD4Count reduced or remained the same in spite of treatment. TheHAARTregime is associatedwith increase inCD4Count andweight gain.While increases in CD4 Count and weight correlated with duration of therapy, there was no correlation between CD4 Count increase andweight gain. Keywords: HIV/AIDS Antiretroviral Therapy CD4 Weight. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice Vol. 11 (4) 2008: pp. 312-31

Erectile dysfunction as a marker of impaired fasting blood glucose (IFG)

Diabetes mellitus (DM) type II is one of the systemic disorders most frequently associated with erectile dysfunction (ED). It has been estimated that as many as 75% of men with DM will be confronted with the problem in about 5 -10 years earlier than control. Equally, the incidence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is high and it has been shown that greater than 20% of the population has IGT, while only 10% of the population develops frank DM in their life time. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ED in both impaired fasting blood glucose (IFG) and early diabetes mellitus (DM) in a Nigerian tertiary diabetes treatment centre. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. A total of 420 subjects were recruited for the study by systematic random sampling method. Erectile function domain (ED) was assessed by a respondent self-rated &apos;one through five questions&apos; of the international index of erectile function (IIEF). Analysis was done using the glucose oxidase method. IFG was significantly associated with ED (p &lt; 0.05) as many (56.5%) of the subjects with IFG also had ED. Also, diabetes mellitus was significantly associated with (p &lt; 0.05) ED. IFG like IGT are not clinical entities, but rather risk categories for future diabetes with much earlier medical presentation such as ED. This finding has important clinical implications for primary care physicians asking questions about sexual health with a dysglycemic screening of ED group for a modification to prevent the disease progression

The Effect of Monoethylene Glycol on Calcium Carbonate Solubility at High Temperatures

Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society. This study presents the solubility of calcium carbonate in monoethylene glycol (MEG)/water solution at high temperatures and high MEG concentrations. The conditions simulate the water removal process during MEG regeneration. Solubility was measured by dissolution at equilibrium, and the thermodynamics of the dissolution process of calcium carbonate was also explored. The solubility of calcium carbonate decreased with increasing temperature up to 120 °C and showed a slight increase above 120 °C. The presence of MEG increased the activity coefficient of calcium carbonate and calcium ions with respect to temperature. The effect of MEG degradation on the solubility of calcium carbonate was also studied. At all temperatures studied (90 to 145 °C), MEG degraded in the presence of residual dissolved oxygen to produce acetate ions which complexed with calcium ions resulting in an increase in calcium solubility

Twin study of the heritability of recognition thresholds for sour and salty taste

Seventy-four pairs of monozygotic (identical) twins and 35 pairs of dizygotic (fraternal) twins provided recognition thresholds (modified Harris-Kalmus test) for the sourness of citric acid and the saltiness of sodium chloride during the Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, OH. Variance components (ACE) models were applied to the data: total variation = additive genetic (A) + common environment (C) + nonshared environment (E). The best-fit model of variation in recognition thresholds for sourness included an additive genetic factor, accounting for 53% of the variance, but no common environment component. This level of heritability, on par with that of sensitivity to the bitter compounds 6-n-propylthiouracil and phenylthiocarbamide, strongly suggests that genetic factors play a larger role than shared environment in determining individual differences in recognition thresholds for sourness. In contrast, the best-fit model for saltiness recognition included a common environment component, accounting for 22% of the variance in thresholds, but no additive component. This result suggests that environment plays a larger role than genetics in determining individual differences in recognition thresholds for saltiness