Potassium levels in a range of foods and drinks consumed in Mauritius

Potassium is an essential mineral nutrient, and high potassium intake is associated with lower mortality risk. Thus people are advised to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables which are natural sources of potassium. Since potassium is readily excreted by people with normal kidney function, and based on estimates of the generally low potassium intakes in European and North American populations, no Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) has been set. However, certain groups of people, such as those with renal failure, are at risk of hyperkalemia and people with chronic kidney disease, and on dialysis are advised to restrict their intake of potassium. To help patients, a number of websites, such as and publications, such as provide the potassium levels in different foods. While these sources are very useful and much of the information is freely available on the web, there is a dearth of information about foods that are eaten in certain parts of the world, such as in the Republic of Mauritius. The aim of this pilot study was therefore to measure the potassium levels in a sample of drinks and plant foods that are commonly consumed in the island Republic of Mauritius

Transverse fingernail curvature in adults: a quantitative evaluation and the influence of gender, age, and hand size and dominance.

The nail plate's convex shape in both the longitudinal and transverse directions is thought to contribute to its mechanical rigidity, and overcurvature can be a symptom of local and/or systemic disorders. Although a number of methods to measure the longitudinal nail curvature have been proposed, evaluation of the transverse nail curvature has been largely limited to visual estimation of overcurved nail plates. The aim of this study was therefore to measure the transverse curvature of healthy adult fingernail plates and thereby provide a baseline range for 'normal curved' nail plates. In addition, the influence of gender, age, hand size and hand dominance on the transverse fingernail curvature was investigated. The transverse fingernail curvature in 92 men and 90 women (aged 21-90 years) was measured using a set of radius gauges, and the nail plate curvature was expressed as the radius of a circle whose curve most closely approximated that of the nail plate. ANOVA was used to investigate the influence of digit nature on curvature, whereas general linear model was used to assess the influence of gender, age, and hand length, breadth and dominance on transverse nail curvature. Subsequently, the influence of hand dominance and age was further examined by paired t-test and ANOVA, respectively. In this study, baseline values for the transverse nailplate curvature of the thumb, index, middle, ring and little fingers are presented. The thumbnail is the flattest, followed jointly by the index and middle fingernails, then the ring fingernail and finally the little fingernail. Transverse nail curvature is influenced by a person's gender, age, hand dominance and hand width, but not by hand length. Thus, nails are flatter in the dominant hand, in men, in older individuals and in those with wider hands

Measurements of trans-onychial water loss (TOWL) using Aquaflux

The aim of the study was to develop a protocol for TOWL measurement using the Aquaflux and determine inter-day, inter-finger and inter-hand variabilities in TOWL in one subject, if any. Subsequently, the influence of nail varnish application and removal, filing and hydration of the nail plate on TOWL was determined

Sodium lauryl sulphate/ultrasound combination for transcutaneous vaccine delivery: effect of changing sodium lauryl sulphate concentration on antigen permeation, cavitation and skin damage

Low frequency ultrasound in combination with Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS), a known transdermal chemical enhancer has been found to enhance delivery of molecules through the skin. In this abstract, we report the effects of changing SLS concentration on cavitation, protein permeation through the skin and skin damage

An investigation into the adjuvanticity and immunogenicity of zein microspheres being researched as drug and vaccine carriers.

We have determined whether zein microspheres could act as vaccine adjuvants i.e. increase the immune responses to co-administered immunogens. Ovalbumin (model antigen)-loaded zein microspheres, blank zein microspheres and ovalbumin solution were intramuscularly administered to mice and the sera antibody levels were determined by ELISA. Another group of mice was orally dosed with blank zein microspheres, and serum and faecal antibody levels were determined. As expected, negligible antibody titres were obtained with the ovalbumin solution. Surprisingly, intramuscular administrations of blank zein microspheres elicited high levels of serum IgG which bound to the ovalbumin antigen coated on ELISA microtitre plates. This indicated that anti-zein antibodies had been elicited by blank zein microspheres and that these antibodies were cross-reacting with ovalbumin antigen coated onto ELISA plates. Such cross-reactivity inhibited the determination of the adjuvant activity of zein microspheres, if any. Additional ELISA assays, where zein was used as the coating antigen, confirmed the generation of anti-zein antibodies by blank zein microspheres i.e. zein microspheres were immunogenic following intramuscular administration. Upon oral administration of blank zein microspheres, serum IgG levels remained low but intestinal IgA levels increased following booster doses i.e. systemic tolerance, but not mucosal tolerance, to oral zein particles was achieved. Zein microspheres were immunogenic when administered intramuscularly and orally