Ocimum gratissimum Ameliorates Gentamicin-Induced Kidney Injury but Decreases Creatinine Clearance Following Sub-Chronic Administration in Rats

The effects of aqueous extract of Ocimum gratissimum leaf (AOGL) on the renal function of rats with gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity were investigated. This study involved the use of forty five (45) adult male Wistar rats (housed in separate metabolic cages) such that graded doses of OAGL were administered to the experimental groups (p.o.) for 28 days after exposure to gentamicin toxicity (100 mg/kg i.p.) for 1 week. At the end of the study, comparisons of some indices of renal function as well as antioxidant status (GSH and TBARS) were made between the control, toxic and AOGL-treated groups at P < 0.05. The result showed that gentamicin treatment caused significant increase (P < .05) in urine output, urea, creatinine, total protein, relative kidney weight, and TBARS, as well as significant decrease (P < .05) in urine creatinine and GSH levels. Post-treatment with graded doses of AOGL caused significant increase in food consumption, GSH, urine, and plasma creatinine, as well as significant decrease (P < .05) in relative kidney weight, TBARS, and urine total protein. There was an appreciable difference in the kidney histology of the AOGL-treated groups when compared with the toxic control. Hence, the extract has therapeutic potential in the management of gentamicin-induced kidney injury, although a risk profile of renal dysfunction is not unlikely from 28 days of administration as evident by the decrease in creatinine clearance

Spectrum of heart diseases in a new cardiac service in Nigeria: An echocardiographic study of 1441 subjects in Abeokuta

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Echocardiography is a non-invasive, relatively cheap and useful imaging technique for the evaluation of cardiac diseases. The procedure has reliable levels of accuracy.</p> <p>Echocardiography commenced at the Federal medical centre Abeokuta on September 9, 2005.</p> <p>The aim of this study is to report our experience with the procedure, and to define the clinical cases seen in our setting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected data. Echocardiography was performed using Aloka SSD 1,100 echocardiograph equipped with 2.5–5.0 MHz transducer</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During the period of 18 months under review (September 2005–February 2007), 1629 procedures were performed. The reports of 188 echocardiograms were excluded due to poor echo-window, repeated procedure or incomplete report. 1441 reports were reviewed for demographic parameter, indications for the procedure and the main echocardiographic diagnoses.</p> <p>The mean age of the 1441 individuals studied was 54 +/- 14.3 years (15–90). There were 744 men and 697 women. Eight hundred and seventeen subjects (56.7%) had hypertensive heart disease, 53 subjects (3.7%) had rheumatic heart disease while 44(3.0%) had dilated cardiomyopathy. Pericardial diseases, cor-pulmonale, ischaemic heart disease, congenital heart diseases, diabetic heart disease, thyroid heart disease, sickle cell cardiopathy were present in 26(1.8%), 23(1.6%), 9(0.6%), 6(0.4%), 6(0.4%), 6(0.4%), 1(0.1%), and 1(0.1%) respectively. Four hundred and forty nine (31.2%) subjects had normal study.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Hypertensive heart disease was found to be the most prevalent cardiac condition in this study. The relatively frequent diagnoses of rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathies and pericardial diseases reflect the impact of infections and infestations on the cardiovascular health of adult Nigerians.</p> <p>We suggest that prevention and treatment of cardiac diseases in our setting should among other things focus on blood pressure control and early treatment of infections causing heart diseases.</p

Energy Security and the Green Growth Agenda in Africa: Exploring Trade-offs and Synergies

The paper examines the effect of the green growth agenda on energy security in Africa using a longitudinal data for the period 1996-2013. The study captures energy security using two basic measures; an aspect sees it as provision of environmentally sustainable energy and alternately in terms of availability/accessibility of energy. Our result shows that the effect of the green growth strategies in ensuring energy security is negligible. On the other hand, consistent with the energy ladder hypothesis, income plays a major influence on energy security in Africa. The study suggests the need to strengthen the institutional arrangement in ensuring the green growth strategies in terms of energy investment and adherence to strict environmental regulation are adequately execute

Energy Security, Trade and Transition to Green Economy in Africa

Environmental challenges have enhanced renewed focus on the need to drive the economy in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner; therefore resulting to the emergence of the concept of green economy (GE). In driving the economy towards a green growth path, the pattern of trade and security of energy will play a vital role. Energy (renewable) has been identified as one of the 6 sectors that would provide trade opportunities for export markets in the transition towards a GE, particularly for developing economies, Africa inclusive. This can be done through use of appropriate policies and trade remedies geared towards enhancing the infrastructural and technological capacities of these countries towards the exchange of environmentally friendly goods and services. Through the export of renewable energy such as solar, wind, biofuels, given their abundant supply in Africa; energy security would be achieved with transition to a greener growth path as against a “brown” or (“dirty”) growth. From the foregoing, this study explores the components of trade-offs and synergies in relation to trade and security of energy in Africa in the wake of the need for the continent to switch to GE using a sample of 43 selected African countries (2006-2013). The data engaged are sourced from the World Development Indicators. Some important findings and their policy implications are documented in the stud

Energy Security, Trade and Transition to Green Economy in Africa

Environmental challenges have enhanced renewed focus on the need to drive the economy in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner; therefore resulting to the emergence of the concept of green economy. In driving the economy towards a green growth path, the pattern of trade and security of energy will play a vital role. Energy (renewable) has been identified as one of the 6 sectors that would provide trade opportunities for export markets in the transition towards a green economy, particularly for developing economies, Africa inclusive. This can be done through use of appropriate policies and trade remedies geared towards enhancing the infrastructural and technological capacities of these countries towards the exchange of environmentally friendly goods and services. Through the export of renewable energy such as solar, wind, biofuels, given their abundant supply in Africa; energy security would be achieved with transition to a greener growth path as against a “brown” or (“dirty”) growth. From the foregoing, this study explores the components of trade-offs and synergies in relation to trade and security of energy in Africa in the wake of the need for the continent to switch to green economy using a sample of 43 selected African countries (2006-2013). The data engaged are sourced from the World Development Indicators. Some important findings and their policy implications are documented in the study. Keywords: Energy security; Green economy; Sustainable development; International trade, JEL Classifications: F18, Q2

Human Capital, Institutions and Innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study examined the impact of human capital and institutions on innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and clearly highlighted the relevance of the human factor in determining innovation outcomes in the Sub-Saharan African region. Using the system generalized method of moments, coupled with some descriptive analyses, it was found out that human capital, as well as an enabling institutional environment, affects innovation outcomes in SSA. On the contrary, innovation outcomes in the region did not benefit from foreign investment. The study, therefore, recommends that human capital capacity be cultivated and given the enabling environment to contribute to innovation outcomes. This is expected to attract innovation-centred investments into the regio

Optimization and Isothermal Studies of Antibiotics Mixture Biosorption From Wastewater Using Palm Kernel, Chrysophyllum albidum, and Coconut Shells Biocomposite

The presence of persistent pharmaceutical products in water bodies is a significant problem that obstructs wastewater reuse. This study investigated the adsorption process for removing the recalcitrant antibiotics, including tetracycline (TC), ampicillin (AMP), and amoxicillin (AMOX) from an aqueous solution using a composite biosorbent made from a mixture of palm kernel shell (PKS), Chrysophyllum albidum (CAS), and coconut shell (CS). Simplex centroid design in the Design of Expert (12.0.1.0) was applied to optimize the percentage composition (20-55%) of the composite biosorbent precursor and to remove TC-AMP-AMOX mixtures from the aqueous solution in a batch study. The equilibrium data were fitted to 12 isotherm models and analyzed statistically. The maximum adsorption capacity of 9.12 mg/g, 8.66 mg/g, and 7.11 mg/g was achieved for TC, AMP, and AMOX, respectively, using the biocomposite biosorbent with an optimal mixture of 55% PKS, 20% CAS, and 25% CS. The adsorption behavior of TC, AMP, and AMOX was well-described by the Langmuir/Elovich isotherm (R2=1.000), Hill-DeBoer (R2=0.9953), and Freundlich/ Halsey (R2=0.9898) models, respectively. The obtained results showed that the biocomposite PKS-CAS-CS leverages the individual adsorptive capacity of each constituent to enhance the adsorption process. Moreover, the composite biosorbent demonstrated excellent potential for removing recalcitrant pharmaceuticals from wastewater effectively

Amelioration of Cadmium-Induced Nephropathy using Polyphenol-rich Extract of Vernonia amygdalina (Del.) Leaves in Rat Model

AIM: To determine the effects of polyphenol-rich extract of the leaves of Vernonia amygdalina (PEVA) in rats with Cd-induced nephropathy.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty five male Wistar rats were divided into five groups as follows; Group 1 received distilled water throughout the period of study. Group 2 received 5 mg/kg body weight of cadmium (Cd), in the form of CdSO4, for five consecutive days via intraperitoneal route. Groups 3, 4 and 5 were pretreated with Cd as group 2 and thereafter received oral treatment of PEVA for 4 weeks at 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg body weight, respectively.RESULTS: Exposure to Cd toxicity significantly induced deleterious alterations in plasma and urine levels of creatinine, urea and glucose as well as creatinine and urea clearance (p &lt; 0.05) in the rat model. There was a significant disturbance in the antioxidant system as revealed by the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) and reduced glutathione (GSH) (p &lt; 0.05) in the kidney tissue of the rats. With marked improvements in renal histoarchitecture, PEVA treatment showed a duration and non dose-dependent ameliorative potential. CONCLUSION: PEVA treatment reversed the compromise of renal function that was induced by Cd toxicity in rat model

Serospatial epidemiology of zoonotic Coxiella burnetii in a cross section of cattle and small ruminants in northern Nigeria

The persistent and highly transmissible Coxiella burnetii is a neglected infection that negatively affects reproductive parameters of livestock. It is also of zoonotic importance and has been reported to cause devastating human infections globally. Domestic ruminants represent the most frequent source of human infection. Data from Nigeria are very few and outdated. There is a significant gap in up-to-date information on the exposure, spatial distribution and risk factors of infection of this important disease. The exposure to C. burnetii was determined using sensitive serological assays in cattle and small ruminants. A total of 538 animals made up of 268 cattle and 270 small ruminants were sampled from three northern Nigerian states. The proportion of cattle sampled that were seropositive from the study locations were: Kwara 14/90 (15.6%; 95% CI: 8.8–24.7); Plateau 10/106 (9.43%; 95% CI: 4.6–16.7) and Borno 4/72 (5.56%; 95% CI: 1.5–13.6) states. Lower seroprevalence was recorded among the small ruminants sampled, with positives recorded from sheep and goat sampled from only Kwara state 6/184 (3.3%; 95% CI: 1.2–7.0); while none of the small ruminants sampled from Plateau were seropositive. The results of the bivariate analysis showed that none of the tested independent variables (village, age group, sex, breed of cattle, presence of ticks, reproductive status, and management system) were statistically significant factors associated with seropositivity of cattle for antibodies to C. burnetii. Stakeholders involved in animal husbandry should be duly educated on proper disposal of birth products as well as bodily fluids in order to reduce environmental contamination, persistence and human infection

Phytochemical and in vitro antioxidant assessment of Yoyo bitters

In this paper, herbal bitters are widely used due to their numerous acclaimed health benefits in many Nigerian homes; however, many have not been subjected to scientific scrutiny. The aim of this study was to determine the phytochemical composition and antioxidant capacity of a non-alcoholic polyherbal formulation, Yoyo bitters, towards validating its broad pharmacological claims. The phytochemical components of Yoyo bitters were ascertained by phytochemical screening assays and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antioxidant activity was investigated in vitro using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) scavenging activity, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Qualitative phytochemical analysis of Yoyo bitters showed the presence of saponins, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides and anthocyanins. The total phenols, flavonoids, flavanols, tannins and carotenoids content were 14.741 ±0.64 mg GAE/ml, 0.152 ±0.01 mg RE/ml, 0.437 ±0.02 mg RE/ml, 0.368 ±0.04 mg TAE/ml and 0.016 ±0.00 mg CAE/ml respectively. GC-MS chromatogram revealed the presence of forty-three (43) phytochemical compounds with D-allose (41.81%), 1,6-anhydro-beta-D-glucofuranose (24.15%), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (8.02%) and Z-6-pentadecen-1-ol acetate (3.50%) as the most abundant constituents. Yoyo bitters demonstrated effective antioxidant activity against DPPH and H2O2 with IC50 values of 0.492 mg/ml and 0.629 mg/ml respectively compared to ascorbic acid of 0.161 mg/ml and 0.130 mg/ml respectively. Total antioxidant capacity and ferric reducing antioxidant power of Yoyo bitters were 0.432 mg AAE/ml and 2.236 mg AAE/ml respectively. This study validates the antioxidant capacity of Yoyo bitters and provides chemical basis for its acclaimed pharmacological actions