Effect Of Aspartame And Sucrose On Some Biochemical And Haematological Parameters In Wistar Albino Rats

Effect of aspartame and sucrose on some biochemical and haematological parameters in wistar albino rats was studied. Sixteen rats were randomly assigned into four study groups. The rats in group 1, received a placebo of 5.0ml distilled water via gastric intubation. The animals in groups 2 through 4 were treated with 100mg aspartame/kg, 100mg sucrose/kg, or a combination of 100mg aspartame/kg + 100mg sucrose/kg, respectively, in a total volume of 5.0ml vehicle. The experiment lasted for 30days. One day after the final exposure, the animals were euthanized by inhalation of overdose of chloroform. Blood was collected by cardiac puncture into EDTA sterilized sample bottles. Protein free blood was prepared and used for the analysis of glucose while whole blood was used for hemoglobin andhematocrit analysis; serum was prepared by centrifugation and used for serum total protein levels. The brain of each rat was also harvested and processed into whole homogenate and used for the analysis of brain tryptophan and phenylalanine levels. The results showed that consumption of aspartame and sucrose inhibited protein and leukocytes synthesis, resulting in anemia, and bone marrow hypoplasia, and DNA dysfunction. The results also showed that aspartame and sucrose consumption inhibited hexokinase, resulting in inhibition of glucose uptake by hepatic tissues, leading to hypoglycemia, which has been linked with aggressive and violent behaviours, diverse personality, and psychiatric disorders such as neuroses, panic attacks, agoraphobia and schizophrenic episodes as well as neuronal disorders. The alterations had led to changes in behaviours including aggressive and violent behaviours .those foods seemed greatly to increase their restless and destructive behaviour of susceptible individuals

Assessment of degradation equivalent operating time for aircraft gas turbine engines

This paper presents a novel method for quantifying the effect of ambient, environmental and operating conditions on the progression of degradation in aircraft gas turbines based on the measured engine and environmental parameters. The proposed equivalent operating time (EOT) model considers the degradation modes of fouling, erosion, and blade-tip wear due to creep strain, and expresses the actual degradation rate over the engine clock time relative to a pre-defined reference condition. In this work, the effects of changing environmental and engine operating conditions on the EOT for the core engine booster compressor and the high-pressure turbine were assessed by performance simulation with an engine model. The application to a single and multiple flight scenarios showed that, compared to the actual engine clock time, the EOT provides a clear description of component degradation, prediction of remaining useful life, and sufficient margin for maintenance action to be planned and performed before functional failure

Iodine Status of School-Aged Children in Urue Offong/Oruko Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State

Objective: This study was designed to determine the prevalence of iodine deficiency of school aged children in Urue Offong Oruko local government area of Akwa Ibom State using recommended quantifiable indicators. Subject and Methods: A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 1800 school children aged 6-9 years in Urue Offong/Oruko Local Government area of Akwa Ibom State in January, 2011. The children were selected through simple random sampling technique. The prevalence of goitre was assessed clinically using the standard palpation method. Urinary iodine excretion (UIE) levels of 300 study subjects, selected through systematic random sampling, were analyzed by the wet digestion method to determine urinary level of iodine. Results: A total goitre rate of 8.3% was found with no ignificant gender difference (p>0.05). The median UIE was 187.5μg/L. About 67% of the population had UIE value consistent with adequate intake (UIE>100μg/L) while 13% had a UIE value less than 50 μg/L. Iodine content of 900 salt samples tested with spot-testing kit revealed 96.1% with adequate iodine content of ≥15 ppm. Conclusion: The finding of 8.3% of total goitre rate but with no evidence of current iodine deficiency (median UIE 187.5 μg/L) indicates that the Urue Offong/Oruko Local Government is in the transition phase from iodinedeficient to iodine-sufficient. Key words: Iodine status, Goiter, Urinary iodine, IDD, School- aged childre

Comparative Study of the Proximate and Dietary Fibre Compositions of Some Leafy Vegetables Commonly Consumed in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria

Objective: The objective of this study was to carry out a comparative proximate and dietary fibre analysis of some leafy vegetables commonly consumed in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria. Methodology: The selected vegetables were Ugu leaf (Telfairia occidentalis), Water leaf (Talinum triangulare), Bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina), Scent leaf (Ocimum gratissimum) and Green leaf (Spinacia oleracea). These leaves were harvested from the University school farms of University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom, Rivers State University and Delta State University to represent the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The samples were analyzed for proximate composition and dietary fibres using standard methods. Results: Moisture, ash, fat, crude protein, crude fibre and carbohydrate contents of the leafy vegetables ranged from 70.95-92.11%, 1.90-5.18%, 0.07-1.47%, 1.54-8.78%, 1.90-7.89% and 1.42-10.54%, respectively. Total dietary and insoluble fibres of the vegetables grown in Niger Delta regions of Nigeria ranged from 4.10-23.12%. Dietary fibre of pumpkin leaves grown in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states as well as scent leaf from Rivers state were significantly (p<0.05) higher than vegetables from other states. Conclusion: The result of this study therefore reveals that the proximate composition and dietary fibre content of the vegetables were significantly (p<0.05) affected by the locations in which they were harvested

Scalable synthesis of (R,R)-N,N-dibenzyl-2-fluorocyclohexan-1-amine with CsF under hydrogen bonding phase-transfer catalysis

Hydrogen bonding phase-transfer catalysis offers a convenient solution to activate safe and economical metal alkali fluorides for enantioselective nucleophilic fluorination. Herein, we demonstrate the scalability of this protocol with the fluorination of 200 g of racemic trans-N,N-dibenzyl-2-bromocyclohexan-1-amine in a mechanically stirred 1 L glass reactor using 0.5 mol % of a bis-urea organocatalyst. In these experiments, full conversions were obtained for high mixing intensities (impeller average shear rate >10 000 s–1; maximum energy dissipation per unit of mass >300 W/kg). The thermal safety of the reaction was assessed by differential scanning calorimetry and reaction calorimetry, assigning the reaction to Stoessel’s critical class 3

Teachers and science curriculum materials: where we are and where we need to go

Teaching and Teacher Learning (ICLON