Sodium Nitrite Alone Protects the Brain o _i_ Microsomal Ca -ATPase Against Potassium Cyanide-induced Neurotoxicity In Rats

The effect of a short-term oral administration of potassium cyanide (KCN) (200 ppm in diet) with or without sodium nitrite (NaNO2) pretreatment on rat brain microsomal Ca2* ATPase was investigated. The specific activity value of the enzyme significantly decreased (p\u3c0.05) by 50% compared with control and by 63% for KCN-treated rats compared with KCN-treated rats pretreated with NaNO;,. There was no significant difference at the h = 0.05 level between the values obtained for the control and KCN-treated rats pretreated with NaNO,. These results show both that feeding lowers brain microsomal Ca2f-ATPase activity and that NaNO, has a protective role (antidote function) in that respect

Evaluation and Mapping of Evapotranspiration in Forest-Savanna Transition Zone of Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria

Evapotranspiration's impact on crop production, determined by water consumption in plants, varies across locations due to surface and climate differences. Traditional ground-based methods for measurement fall short in capturing these variations. In order to address this, the study evaluated and mapped the evapotranspiration in the forest-savanna transition zone of Ogun State, South-western Nigeria using a geo-informatics approach. Over six years, 12 Landsat images were collected, representing dry and wet seasons. These images were used to estimate the Normalized Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI), indicating vegetation density, and compute evapotranspiration values across the area. During the dry season, NDVI ranged from -0.326 to 0.376, and during the wet season, it ranged from -0.435 to 0.780, showing higher vegetation cover in the wet season. Evapotranspiration values varied across different regions. In Abeokuta South, Abeokuta North, and Odeda Local Government Areas, values ranged from 2.83 to 6.37 mm/day, 0.12 to 2.64 mm/day, and 3.12 to 5.44 mm/day, respectively, influenced by varying vegetation characteristics. The geo-informatics approach offered a realistic representation and spatial understanding of evapotranspiration, proving cost-effective and accessible. In conclusion, the study recommends the geo-informatics approach for evapotranspiration measurement due to its ability to consider spatial characteristics. This understanding is essential for effective water resource management and crop planning in the Forest-Savanna transition zone of Nigeria

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Improved functionalization of oleic acid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can providemultiple benefits for biomedical applications in aqueous environments such asmagnetic separation or magnetic resonance imaging. To increase the colloidal stability and allow subsequent reactions, the introduction of hydrophilic functional groups onto the particles’ surface is essential. During this process, the original coating is exchanged by preferably covalently bonded ligands such as trialkoxysilanes. The duration of the silane exchange reaction, which commonly takes more than 24 h, is an important drawback for this approach. In this paper, we present a novel method, which introduces ultrasonication as an energy source to dramatically accelerate this process, resulting in high-quality waterdispersible nanoparticles around 10 nmin size. To prove the generic character, different functional groups were introduced on the surface including polyethylene glycol chains, carboxylic acid, amine, and thiol groups. Their colloidal stability in various aqueous buffer solutions as well as human plasma and serum was investigated to allow implementation in biomedical and sensing applications.status: publishe

Activities of Archachatina (Calachatina) marginata heamolymph enzymes: clues to terrestrial snails\' salt intolerance

The effect of sodium and chloride salts on the activity of some enzymes, namely, rhodanese and 3–mercaptopyruvate sulphur transferase, arginase, acid phosphatase, β-glucosidase and cellulase in the haemolymph of the giant African snail (Archachatina marginata) were investigated. This is an attempt to providing scientific reasoning(s) for the traditional belief that terrestrial snails cannot tolerate a saline environment. Only acid phosphatase, β-glucosidase and cellulase activities were affected by this treatment while rhodanese, 3-mercaptopyruvate sulphur transferase and arginase activities were slightly affected. The former enzymes are known to be involved in energy metabolism while the latter play secondary roles such as detoxification and urea metabolism. Keywords: Archachatina, heamolymph, rhodanese, 3-mercaptopyruvate sulphur transferase, arginase, β-glucosidase, cellulose, salt toxicityInternational Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences Vol. 2 (1) 2008 pp. 66-7

Valuing Agricultural Externalities: Nitrogen Surplus in the Dairy Sector on the Island of Ireland

Negative agricultural externalities that accompany dairy production activities are not usually accounted for in the market place since they are not priced. To be able to manage an externality however, it is important that it is measured. Using a hyperbolic environmental technology distance function, we estimate the farm-specific abatement costs (shadow price) of nitrogen pollution in the island of Ireland's (Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) dairy sector. The methodology, unlike the output/input distance functions, allows for asymmetric treatments of production outputs (desirable and undesirable outputs). We also analyse the farm level nitrogen pollution costs ratio and its determinants. The analyses are based on farm-level panel data from the Teagasc National Farm Survey(NFS) and the Northern Ireland Farm Business Survey (FBS). The results of our estimation showed that it will cost about 93,552 and 28,149 per farm to fully abate nitrogen surplus for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland respectively. We found a reasonable degree of variation in the spectrum of abatement costs across the dairy farms with a relative increase observed over the years. The results will provide quantitative information on farmers costs of reducing nitrogen pollution. This will be of relevance in designing future agri-environmental policies Acknowledgement : This study is funded by Teagasc under the Walsh fellowship programme. The authors thank Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Northern Ireland for providing technical supports. We also thank the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), Policy and Economics Division, Northern Ireland and Teagasc for providing access to dat