Functional properties of amylopectin and amylose fractions isolated from bambarra groundnut (Voandzeia subterranean) starch

Bambarra groundnut starch was fractionated into amylose and amylopectin fractions, and chemical modifications, through oxidation and acetylation, was applied to the amylose fraction. Percentage yield of amylose and amylopectin were 75% and 11% respectively. Proximate analysis revealed that percentage protein, ash, crude fibre and crude fat were below 1%. Swelling capacity and solubility of all the samples increased with increasing temperature. Water and oil absorption capacity revealed that hydrophobic tendency was greater than hydrophilic potentials. Gel forming capacity increased with increase in concentration of the samples and least gelation concentration was minimal in amylopectin fraction. Initial pasting temperature of native amylose reduced from 70oC to 60oC and 65oC following oxidation and acetylation, respectively. Among the samples, highest pasting temperature was recorded in native amylopectin and values for peak viscosity during heating (Pv), hot paste viscosity at 95oC (Hv), viscosity after 30 min holding at 95oC (Hv30), cold paste viscosity (Cv), set back (SB) and breakdown (BD) were maximal in native amylose. Key words: Bambarra groundnut, amylose, amylopectin, modifications. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.3(8) 2004: 399-40

Toxicological Response of Poecilia reticulata, Hyla species and Culex species to Leachates from Olusosun Landfill, Lagos State, Nigeria

The effect of leachate samples from Olushosun dumpsite in Ojota, Lagos on the toxicological response of Poecilia reticulata, Hyla and Culex species was investigated using acute and chronic toxicity tests. Physicochemical parameters were analysed in the leachate prior to toxicological assessment against test animals. Computed results showed that pH 7.62 while the acute toxicity assay of leachate sample against test animals revealed a 96hr LC50 of 71.53ml/L, 58.34ml/L and 60.643ml/L for Poecilia, Hyla and Culex species respectively. On the basis of the 96hr LC50 values, the leachate was found to be more toxic against Hyla than Poecilia. The exposure of the Poecilia and Hyla species to sub-lethal concentrations (1/10th of 96hrs LC50) of leachate revealed varied biochemical responses over a 28 day period. The activity of Catalase, Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Glutathione-S-Transferase (GST) showed significant increase (p<0.05) when compared to control in Hyla while the activity of GSH, SOD and CAT showed significant increase (p<0.05) when compared to control in Poecilia sp. Results from this study showed that leachate can induce adverse environmental effect on organisms. The acute and chronic toxicological response of the test animals could be incorporated into risk assessment of dumpsite leachate, design and management of landfill sites

Retrieval and Representation of Nucleotide Sequence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cystathionine Gamma-Lyase (CYS3) Gene in Five Formats

Educational programmes all over the world are facing increasing pressure to integrate information technology in the curriculum. Knowledge of bioinformatics is at infancy in Nigeria it is therefore imperative to develop and build the capacity for high-throughput determination and  computational analysis of the nucleotide base sequences of the genomes of organisms. The present communication navigated the ENTREZ Web page and downloaded sequences of Cystathionine gamma- lyase gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The sequence is then represented in the five best known database formats namely Plain, FASTA, EMBL, GCG and Genebank thereby making it more visible and available for other research applications such as comparative genomic analysis, evolutionary studies, searching for and identification of regulatory elements and scanning for mutations. The present study highlights data retrieval and representation. Data retrieval is important as it provides the opportunity to engage in data mining for discovery, a convenient alternative to traditional wet  laboratories, providing biological insights, and proficiency to access and use the vast repository of computational and webbased resources which are the most available information in the world today.Keywords: Nucleotide, Database, Genome, GenBank

Determination of the level of some heavy metals in water collected from two pollution - prone irrigation areas around Kano Metropolis

Industrial effluents discharged into the environment pose a serious threat to our agricultural products and health. In view of this, levels of some heavy metals, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, Co, Ag, Fe and Mn were determined in water samples collected from two pollution prone areas around Kano (Sharada and Bompai industrial estates) and control site (Thomas Dam, Dambatta). The levels of the heavy metals were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The results obtained show that the mean values of all heavy metals (with the exception of Zn) in water samples from the polluted areas studied were significantly higher than in the control site (P < 0.05). These mean values have also exceeded the acceptable limits. Key words: Heavy metals, Pollution, Kano, Environmen

Specific psychiatric moridity among diabetics at a Nigerian General Hospital

Background: In Nigeria, with a rising incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM), there are no controlled studies of specific psychiatric morbidity among sufferers.Objective: To assess the prevalence of specific psychiatric disorders and general cognitive impairment in patients with diabetes mellitus.Method: Using Wing’s Present State Examination and the Mini-Mental State Examination, we assessed the prevalence of specific psychiatric disorders and cognitive impairment among 100DM patients attending an out-patient clinic, in comparison with a matched non-clinic sample; and examined the relationship between psychiatric morbidity andclinical variables.Results: They were predominantly males (66%), mean age 43.0 years, mean duration of illness, 7.7 years and in low level occupations. Only 11 of the patients had sexual dysfunction (11%) and psychiatric symptoms (31%). Psychiatric diagnosis (ICD-10) were, generalised anxiety (6%) and mild depressive disorder (4%). Two had subjective memory disturbance. Insulin-dependent patients had significantly more widespread psychiatric symptoms than the non-insulin dependent. Psychiatric symptomatology was significantly associated with low occupational status, duration of illness and sexual dysfunction.Conclusion: Health education, subsidising the cost of treatment, and physicians’ sensitivity to the emotional condition of patients, will help to relieve psychic distress and make for more adequate management

Study on the conformation of insulin by solvent perturbation and ultraviolet spectroscopy

This study attempted to gain an insight of the conformation of insulin using solvent perturbation and ultraviolet spectroscopy. The effects of two solvents, mercaptoethanol and sucrose on the absorption spectrum of Insulin were studied; changes in ionic strength and pH were used to  identify the position of amino acid chromophores. The effect on the absorption spectrum of movement from a non-polar to a polar  environment indicates that tyrosine and phenylalanine reside on the surface of insulin protein. The results show that pH resolved spectral behavior of Insulin in the neighborhood of 290 nm is determined  predominantly by the ionization of imidazole – NH+ of histidine. The results, however, do not rule out the possible contribution of the phenol hydroxyl of tyrosine in the spectral behavior. © 2013 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Insulin conformation, solvent perturbation, ultraviolet spectroscopy

PTCH-1 and MDM2 expression in ameloblastoma from a West African sub-population: Implication for chemotherapeutics

Introduction: Ameloblastoma is a slow growing, painless odontogenic swelling which can attain sizes that result in severe deformities of thecraniofacial complex. It is the most commonly encountered odontogenic tumor in Nigeria. Surgical intervention is currently the method of treatment; however identification of altered molecular pathways may inform  chemotherapeutic potential. The Protein Patched homolog 1 (PTCH-1)is overexpressed in ameloblastoma. Also, mutation in the MDM2 gene can reduce the tumor suppressor function of p53 and promote ameloblastoma growth. No study however has characterized the molecular profile of African cases of ameloblastoma with a view to developing chemotherapeutic alternatives. The objective was to characterize the PTCH-1 genetic profile of Ameloblastoma in Nigerian patients as a first step in investigating its potential for chemotherapeutic intervention.Methods: Twenty-eight FFPE blocks of ameloblastoma cases from Nigerian patients were prepared for antibody processing to PTCH-1 (Polyclonal  Anti-PTCH antibody ab39266) and MDM2 (Monoclonal Anti-MDM2 antibody (2A10) ab16895). Cytoplasmic brown staining was considered as positive for PTCH while nuclear staining was positive for MDM2.Results: Moderate and strong expressions for PTCH in ameloblast and stellate reticulum were 78.6% and 60.7% respectively. Only 3 (10.7%) cases expressed MDM2.Conclusion: The importance of our study is that it supports, in theory, anti-PTCH/SHH chemotherapeutics for Nigerian ameloblastoma cases andalso infers the possible additional use of anti-p53 agents

Long stay patients in a psychiatric hospital in Lagos, Nigeria

Objective: In the face of recently introduced government health reform and the dwindling number of available beds for acutely ill patients, a cross sectional study was carried out on long-stay patients at the 100 years old psychiatric hospital Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria with a view to discharging most of them. Method: Necessary consent was obtained from the Hospital Research and Ethical Committee. All the long-stay patients were evaluated with a specially designed proforma to elicit socio-demographic, clinical and long-stay variables. Further more, each of them had clinical assessment to make diagnosis in accordance with ICD - 10 and finally, the subjects were also assessed with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Results: Fifty-one (51) subjects; that is, occupying 10.7% of the hospital functional beds fulfilled the criteria of long-stay. They included 36 (70.6%) males and 15(24.4%) females. The mean age was 47.3±16.5 years with age range of 18-92 years. The average length of stay was 11.4±15.0 years and range of 0.5 to 57 years; with significant gender difference (males higher than females) (t =3.51,

Pattern of Urine Toxicology Screening in a Lagos Psychiatric Hospital

Toxicology screening has clinical and forensic applications in evaluating severe or life-threatening symptoms in patients presenting with signs and symptoms suggestive of intoxication or overdose. In both acute psychiatric and medical settings, urine toxicology has been found helpful in detection of substances of abuse. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of substance use as detected by urine toxicology screening amongst patients at a psychiatric facility in Lagos Nigeria. A Total of 1555 subjects made up of males (1480) and females (75) were screened using the one step multi-6 drug test panel immunoassay for qualitative detection of Methadone, Methamphetamine, Benzodiazepine, Cocaine, Morphine and Tetrahydrocannabinol. 927 (59.6%) subjects were positive with one or more drugs passing the concentration cut off. Tetrahydrocannabinol (42.3%) and Benzodiazepine (49%) were found to be predominant in the population studied. This study shows the most common psychoactive substance used in this environment is cannabis and also, the significant agreement between clinical diagnosis and urine toxicology screening.Keywords: Urine screening, Toxicology, Substance use, clinical diagnosi

Knowledge and use of emergency contraception by medical doctors on internship in a tertiary healthcare facility in Nigeria

Context: Emergency contraception (EC) is widely used to prevent unwanted pregnancy and it is largely adopted in many countries as over the counter drug to improve access.Aims: To determine and compare the correct knowledge, attitude and current use of EC among newly graduated medical doctors (MDs).Settings and Design: A cross.sectional study conducted among 255 newly graduated MDs at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: A pretested self.administered questionnaire was used to obtain data from consenting participants.Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable analyses were performed, and statistical significance was set at 0.05. Statistical Package for Social Science version 15.0 (Chicago, IL, USA) software was used.Results: The mean age of the respondents was 27.2 years (standard deviation = 2.1). The commonest indication for emergency contraceptive use mentioned was rape.96.5%. About 70% support EC in Nigeria, while about a quarter (26.9%) routinely counsel women about ECP use. About 21% of respondents currently use EC. Logistic regression analysis revealed significant results for gender [odds ratio (OR) =3.64; 95% confidence interval (CI) OR = 1.31.10.01), religion (OR = 0.26; 95% CI OR =  0.11.0.630) and marital status (OR = 0.19; 95% CI = 0.07.0.56). Conclusion: The correct knowledge and professional disposition toward EC as a form of contraception is low. We recommend that in.service training  should focus more on EC to improve the quality of their knowledge and  attitude towards it.Key words: Emergency contraception, knowledge, Medical Doctor, Nigeri