Alteration in biochemical indices following administration of seafood (Thais coronata) extract

Seafood consumption has been a way of life to most people especially those that leave in riverine areas, because seafoods are known to contain many nutrients that are essential for healthy living. Consequently, this research therefore seeks to investigate the effect of these nutritive components of Thais coronata on biochemical indices of albino Wistar rats. Fourty five male albino Wister rats weighing between 180-220 g were assigned into 3 groups of fifteen rats each in metabolic cages and were given rat feed and drinking water ad libitum. Two test doses (low dose 7.0 mg protein/ml and  high dose 52 mg protein/ml) were selected  and  administered  to  two  groups  of  rats  orally  and  daily  for  six  weeks,  while  a third group of rats served as the control, n = 15. At the expiration of the feeding period, blood samples were obtained from all the rats via cardiac puncture for the analysis of the various biochemical indices. Both the low and high doses of the extract produced significant increases in HDLc (P<0.001) compared with control. k (P<0.001), HCO3- (P<0.01) and Ca2+ (P<0.001) were also significantly increased in the  extract treated groups. The extract groups had significant reductions in ALT (P<0.001), ALP (P<0.001), Na+ (P<0.001) and Cl- (P<0.001) compared with control. Also Tc (P<0.001), TG (P<0.001), LDL (P<0.001) and VLDLc (P<0.001) were significantly decreased in the extract treated group. In conclusion seafood consumption is of immense benefit to health because it serves to regulate the lipid profile, electrolytes and enzyme concentrations in blood. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.58078

Mineral Matter in Nigerian Coals and Tar Sand and Their Implications in Binary Blend Formulation and Co-Carbonisation

In blend simulation for metallurgical applications, the knowledge of the type and amount of mineral matter in coal and other additives, as well as their derivatives as a result of combustion is important in assessing the coke quality and blast furnace efficiency. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) techniques were used in assessing the mineral matter contents and oxides produced up on combustion of the following Nigerian coals: Afuze (AFZ), Garin-Maiganga (GMG), Lamza (LMZ), Shankodi-Jangwa (SKJ), and Chikila (CHK) in addition to a tar sand from Ondo (OTS). Coal samples from Afuze (AFZ) and Chikila (CHK) were found to contain quartz, hematite, and anhydride as the dominant minerals. The Garin-Maiganga coal sample (GMG) was found to contain quartz, magnetite, anhydride, and magnesite. Quartz and hematite were dominant in Lamza coal (LMZ), while Shankodi-Jangwa coal (SKJ) is associated with dolomite and quartz. The bitumen was found to contain quartz, kaolinite, and rutile. The XRF analysis revealed the presence of sixteen elemental oxides: the most abundant being silicon dioxide, ferric oxide, aluminium oxide, sulphur trioxide, calcium oxide, and titanium oxide. Amongst the coal samples, CHK, AFZ and GMG coals have low acidic/basic and basic/acidic ratios, which indicate that cokes originating from them may form the least slag with the best blast furnace efficiency

Alcohol Use and its Associated Factors among Residents of an Urban Community in Plateau State Nigeria

Background:According to the World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol use contributes about 2.3 million deaths globally and accounts for 3.8% of global mortality. Nigeria ranks as the leading country in alcohol consumption in Africa. In view of this, this study was conducted to assess the level of alcohol use and its associated factors among residents of an urban community in Plateau state, Nigeria.Methodology: A cross sectional study carried outnbsp among 212 adult residents of AngwanRukuba community of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau Statenbsp using quantitative method of data collection.nbsp Epi info statistical software version 7.0 was used for data analysis with adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence intervalused in the study while a p-value of le 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Result: The average age of the respondents in this study was 28.2plusmn10.4 years with majority being 30 years and below. More of the respondents 142(60.8%) were current consumers of alcoholic drinks with harmful level of alcohol intake found to be 32.0%.Sex, quantity of drinks adjudged as normal in one sitting and age of onset of alcohol use were found to significantly predict harmful intake of alcohol containing drinks in the study.Conclusion: A relatively high level of alcohol use was found in this study with a corresponding level of harmful use. Sex, age of onset of alcohol use and quantity of drinks adjudged as normal in a sitting were significant contributors to harmful alcohol use.nbs

Using decoction of some vitamin C enriched plants for the management of COVID-19 in Jos, Nigeria: A case report

The worldwide influence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic compelled the global health organizations to prioritize the situation over all other related community health issues. The lack of specific treatment modalities against COVID-19 is a major concern nowadays. Here is a case of a 44-year-old man of 176 cm height and 87 kg body weight, who took some powdered mixture equally composed of bitter kola, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, and turmeric sweetened with three teaspoons full of honey. All ingredients were dissolved in 100 ml hot water and taken three times a day during isolation as a positive COVID-19 patient and reversed all associated signs and symptoms after 7 days as confirmed with rapid diagnostic techniques (RDTs). This case revealed that homogenized herbal tea in Jos Nigeria possesses a potential therapeutic that could be a treatment protocol against COVID-19

Limits on WWgamma and WWZ Couplings from W Boson Pair Production

The results of a search for W boson pair production in pbar-p collisions at sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV with subsequent decay to emu, ee, and mumu channels are presented. Five candidate events are observed with an expected background of 3.1+-0.4 events for an integrated luminosity of approximately 97 pb^{-1}. Limits on the anomalous couplings are obtained from a maximum likelihood fit of the E_T spectra of the leptons in the candidate events. Assuming identical WWgamma and WWZ couplings, the 95 % C.L. limits are -0.62<Delta_kappa<0.77 (lambda = 0) and -0.53<lambda<0.56 (Delta_kappa = 0) for a form factor scale Lambda = 1.5 TeV.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Physical Review

Search for a Fourth Generation Charge -1/3 Quark via Flavor Changing Neutral Current Decay

We report on a search for pair production of a fourth generation charge -1/3 quark (b') in pbar p collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron using an integrated luminosity of 93 pb^-1. Both quarks are assumed to decay via flavor changing neutral currents (FCNC). The search uses the signatures gamma + 3 jets + mu-tag and 2 gamma + 2 jets. We see no significant excess of events over the expected background. We place an upper limit on the production cross section times branching fraction that is well below theoretical expectations for a b' quark decaying exclusively via FCNC for b' quark masses up to m(Z) + m(b).Comment: Eleven pages, two postscript figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Search for right-handed W bosons in top quark decay

We present a measurement of the fraction f+ of right-handed W bosons produced in top quark decays, based on a candidate sample of $t\bar{t}$ events in the lepton+jets decay mode. These data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 230pb^-1, collected by the DO detector at the Fermilab Tevatron $p\bar{p}$ Collider at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV. We use a constrained fit to reconstruct the kinematics of the $t\bar{t}$ and decay products, which allows for the measurement of the leptonic decay angle $\theta^*$ for each event. By comparing the $\cos\theta^*$ distribution from the data with those for the expected background and signal for various values of f+, we find f+=0.00+-0.13(stat)+-0.07(syst). This measurement is consistent with the standard model prediction of f+=3.6x10^-4.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review D Rapid Communications 7 pages, 3 figure

Search for Large Extra Dimensions in Dielectron and Diphoton Production

We report a search for effects of large extra spatial dimensions in ppbar collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.8 TeV with the DZero detector, using events containing a pair of electrons or photons. The data are in good agreement with the expected background and do not exhibit evidence for large extra dimensions. We set the most restrictive lower limits to date, at the 95% confidence level, on the effective Planck scale between 1.0 TeV and 1.4 TeV for several formalisms and numbers of extra dimensions.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Search for R-parity Violating Supersymmetry in Dimuon and Four-Jets Channel

We present results of a search for R-parity-violating decay of the neutralino chi_1^0, taken to be the Lightest Supersymmetric Particle. It is assumed that this decay proceeds through one of the lepton-number violating couplings lambda-prime_2jk (j=1,2; k=1,2,3). This search is based on 77.5 pb-1 of data, collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron in ppbar collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.8 TeV in 1992-1995.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Search for Electroweak Production of Single Top Quarks in ppbar Collisions

We present a search for electroweak production of single top quarks in the electron+jets and muon+jets decay channels. The measurements use ~90 pb^-1 of data from Run 1 of the Fermilab Tevatron collider, collected at 1.8 TeV with the DZero detector between 1992 and 1995. We use events that include a tagging muon, implying the presence of a b jet, to set an upper limit at the 95% confidence level on the cross section for the s-channel process ppbar->tb+X of 39 pb. The upper limit for the t-channel process ppbar->tqb+X is 58 pb.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures. This is the published versio