Hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties of extract of Carmellia sinensis (black tea) in rats

Hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of water extracts of black tea (Camellia sinensis) were studied in sodium oxalate treated rats. Lipid peroxidation was induced in rats by administration of 100 mg/kgbody weight sodium oxalate. The protective effect of black tea was assessed by monitoring the serum and tissue levels of malondialdehyde, catalase activity, aspartate transaminase (AST) and alaninetransaminase (ALT) as well as serum vitamin C content in the normal, control and experimental rats after 10 and 20 days of tea administration. It was observed that tea administration lowers significantly (p<0.05) the serum and tissue levels of malondialdehyde, as well as AST and ALT activities in a dose dependent manner. The serum level of vitamin C and activity of catalase in the serum and tissues were however shown to be significantly elevated (p<0.05). After 10 days of administration of 200 mg/kg bodyweight of tea extract, serum level of malondialdehyde was  reduced from 47.855±1.050 to 32.186±0.882 nm/h, AST activity from 59±2.95 to 31±1.40 IU and ALT activity from 39±2.51 to 25±1.25 IU. Moreover, administration of 200 mg/Kg body weight of tea for 10 days caused an increase in serum catalase activity from 7 to 10% and serum vitamin C level was increased from 45.39±9.75 to 79.11±5.13 mg/100ml. In the tissues, the same trend was observed. The result also indicated that prolonged tea administration (for 20 days) significantly increased serum vitamin C level and the activity of catalase in both the serum, liver and the kidney (p<0.05). Also, the serum and tissue levels of  malondialdehyde and transaminase activities (AST and ALT) were significantly reduced (p<0.05)

Histological differenciation of the prenatal development of bovine kidney

A Histomorphological study was conducted on the kidney of 25 fetuses of the African zebu cattle collected from the Sokoto metropolitan abattoir, over a period of one month at different gestational ages. The approximate age of the fetuses was estimated from the crown vertebral rump length (CVRL) and samples were categorised into first, second and third trimester.  Out of the twenty five (25) fetuses at different gestational age used for the study, twelve (48%) were females while thirteen (527%) were males. 10(40%) fetuses belong to first trimester, 10(40%) belong to second trimester and 5(20%) belong to third trimesters of pregnancy respectively. The mean crown vertebrate-rump length (CVRL) ranged from 14.60 ± 2.0 cm at first trimester to 100.50 ± 3.0 cm at third trimester. Histological observation shows that the kidney appeared to have two zones via cortex and medulla right from first to third trimester. The development of renal tissues were found to be in succession, from the stage of mesenchyme cells, developing glomerulus and finally to fully developed glomerulus with advancement of gestational age among the three groups. The duct system also followed the same trend of development from immature to matured duct system. The cortex of the first trimester kidney was found to have numerous mesenchymal cells and connective tissues with few developing glomerulus. At second trimester few fully developed glomerulus were found, moderate number of mesenchyme cells and immature developing duct system. Numerous developed glomerulus and matured duct system with moderate developing glomerulus and connective tissue were seen at third trimester

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Effect of Banana Leaf Ash on Cement - Modified Lateritic Soil

Volume 7 Issue 6 (June 201

Variations in Facial Anthropometric Measurements among Major Ethnic Groups in Nigeria:A 3-Dimentional Stereophotogrammetry Analysis

Objectives: The aim of the study is to highlight variations in facial anthropometric measurements among the major ethnic groups in Nigeria using 3D photogrammetry. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in Lagos, Nigeria. Acquisition of 3D facial photographs was done using a Vectra H1 portable 3D photogrammetry imaging system. Descriptive analysis of collected data was done and a test of associations performed using independent samples t-test. The level of significance was set at &lt;.05. Results: The total number of participants in this study was 503. The study population was made up of 302 (60%) males and 201 (40%) females. Mean upper facial height among Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, and other ethnic groups were 68.93 ± 5.85, 70.18 ± 5.99, 63.79 ± 4.80, and 69.29 ± 5.95 mm respectively, while mean interpupillary distances were 66.99 ± 3.70, 67.34 ± 3.56, 66.73 ± 3.80, and 67.09 ± 3.72 mm respectively. A Tukey posthoc test revealed significant pairwise differences for upper facial height between the Yoruba and Hausa population with a mean difference of 5.15 mm (P &lt;.001, 95% CI 2.94-7.35) (P &lt;.001, 95% CI 2.94-7.35), and Hausa and Igbo population with a mean difference of 6.39 mm (P &lt;.001, 95% CI 3.75-9.03). Multivariate regression analysis confirmed the presence of significant inter-ethnic differences between Hausa ethnic group and the Yoruba ethnic group for midfacial height (P &lt;.001), upper lip height (P =.004), lower lip height (P =.003), total face height (P =.010), and orbital fissure width (P &lt;.001). Conclusion: The result of this study shows that distinct difference does exist in the facial anthropological measurements between the ethnicities included in this study especially in vertical facial measurements.</p