Nutritional Factors Associated with Anaemia in Pregnant Women in Northern Nigeria

This study was conducted to assess the relative contribution of iron, folate, and B12 deficiency to anaemia in pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa. In total, 146 pregnant women, who attended two antenatal clinics in Gombe, Nigeria, were recruited into the study. The majority (54%) of the women were in the third trimester. Blood samples were obtained for determination of haematocrit and for measurement of serum iron, total iron-binding capacity, ferritin, folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine. Malaria was present in 15 (9.4%) women. Based on a haemoglobin value of <105 g/L, 44 (30%) women were classified as anaemic. The major contributing factor to anaemia was iron deficiency based on the serum concentration of ferritin (<10 ng/mL). The mean homocysteine concentration for all subjects was 14.1 μmol/L, and homocysteine concentrations were inversely correlated with concentrations of folate and vitamin B12. The serum homocysteine increased markedly at serum vitamin B12 levels below 250 pmol/L. The most common cause of anaemia in the pregnant women in northern Nigeria was iron deficiency, and the elevated concentrations of homocysteine were most likely due to both their marginal folate and vitamin B12 status

Lipid Profiles and trans Fatty Acids in Serum Phospholipids of Semi-nomadic Fulani in Northern Nigeria

The Fulani are semi-nomadic pastoralists of West Africa whose diet, culture, and economy are centred on cattle. Previous studies have shown that the Fulani of northern Nigeria derive 50% of their total calories from fat and 30% of their calories from milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter oil that contain significant amounts of trans fatty acids (TFAs), primarily vaccenic acid, which raise total serum cholesterol and low-density lipoproteincholesterol (LDL-C), and lower high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C). The study was conducted to know how the consumption of relatively large amounts of dairy products by adult Fulani affected the TFA content of their serum phospholipids. Blood samples were collected from 22 male and 29 female Fulani, aged 35-60 years, who were living in rural areas of Gombe state in northeastern Nigeria. The total serum phospholipid fraction was isolated, and its fatty acid composition was determined. Surprisingly, vaccenic acid was not detected, and three other TFAs\u201418:1-t6, 18:1-t9, and 18:2-t9,t12\u2014together accounted for only 0.16% of the total fatty acid. The mean serum total cholesterol, LDL-C, and triglyceride concentrations of the subjects were within the normal range for populations in developed countries; however, at 32 mg/dL, the mean serum HDL-C concentration of the Fulani males was slightly below the lower limit of the reference range. No correlations were observed between the total TFA percentage or that of the three individual TFAs and any of the parameters of the serum lipid profile. These findings indicate that, with respect to TFAs at least, the fatty acid pattern of the serum phospholipids of Fulani pastoralists does not reflect the high TFA content of their traditional diet. Despite the consumption of rumenic acid-rich dairy products, for unknown reasons, the semi-nomadic Fulani manage to maintain a low level of TFAs in their blood and a relatively healthful serum lipid profile. While the mechanism that accounts for this disconnect between the consumption of TFAs by Fulani pastoralists and the proportion of TFAs in their serum phospholipids is obscure, possibilities include discrimination against rumenic acid during the process of triglyceride synthesis and chylomicron synthesis in the intestine and the preferential oxidation of TFAs by Fulani the people compared to other ethnic groups

Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease and Diet of Urban and Rural Dwellers in Northern Nigeria

Over the last 30 years, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including stroke and myocardial infarction, have increased in developing countries. Serum lipids and diet of the Fulani, a rural Nigerian population, were previously studied. Despite their consumption of a diet rich in saturated fat, the overall blood lipid profiles of Fulani men and women are generally favourable. However, Fulani males in the same study had mean serum levels of homocysteine, an emerging risk factor for CVD, that exceeded the upper limit of the homocysteine reference range. The authors were interested in knowing if these findings in the Fulani nomads were representative of the biochemical parameters of CVD risk in other ethnic groups in the same region of Nigeria. To address this question, the nutrient content of diets of 55 men, aged 20-75 years, and 77 women, aged 20-70 years, who were inhabitants of a large urban centre in northern Nigeria, was assessed, and their serum levels of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and homocysteine were determined. These data were compared with those of the same rural Fulani population studied previously. Urban subjects consumed more calories than rural subjects (men: 2,061 vs 1,691 kcal; women: 1,833 vs 1,505 kcal) and had a significantly higher mean body mass index (BMI) and percentage of body fat than rural subjects. Both urban males and females had carbohydrate intakes that were greater than those of Fulani pastoralists (men: 56% vs 33% total calories; women: 51% vs 38% total calories), but had a significantly lower dietary intake of total fat and saturated fat (men: 36% vs 51% of total calories; women: 40% vs 51% of total calories). With the exception of HDL-cholesterol levels, which were significantly lower in the rural population, the blood lipid profiles of rural subjects were more favourable compared to those of urban subjects. Both urban and rural males had homocysteine levels above the upper limit of the reference range for healthy adults (urban males-12.7\u3bcmol/L; rural males-15.2 \u3bcmol/L). The dietary intakes of folate and vitamin B12 were lower for rural Fulani subjects, and this was reflected in their significantly lower serum concentrations of these two vitamins. Results of this study suggest that, although the lipid profiles of urban and rural men and women in northern Nigeria indicate a relatively low risk for CVD, their elevated serum homocysteine levels are a cause for concern. The high homocysteine levels among rural men and women could be explained in part at least by their marginal status with respect to folate and vitamin B12

Nutritional Factors Associated with Anaemia in Pregnant Women in Northern Nigeria

This study was conducted to assess the relative contribution of iron, folate, and B12 deficiency to anaemia in pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa. In total, 146 pregnant women, who attended two antenatal clinics in Gombe, Nigeria, were recruited into the study. The majority (54%) of the women were in the third trimester. Blood samples were obtained for determination of haematocrit and for measurement of serum iron, total iron-binding capacity, ferritin, folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine. Malaria was present in 15 (9.4%) women. Based on a haemoglobin value of &lt;105 g/L, 44 (30%) women were classified as anaemic. The major contributing factor to anaemia was iron deficiency based on the serum concentration of ferritin (&lt;10 ng/mL). The mean homocysteine concentration for all subjects was 14.1 \ub5mol/L, and homocysteine concentrations were inversely correlated with concentrations of folate and vitamin B12. The serum homocysteine increased markedly at serum vitamin B12 levels below 250 pmol/L. The most common cause of anaemia in the pregnant women in northern Nigeria was iron deficiency, and the elevated concentrations of homocysteine were most likely due to both their marginal folate and vitamin B12 status

International genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new primary biliary cirrhosis risk loci and targetable pathogenic pathways.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a classical autoimmune liver disease for which effective immunomodulatory therapy is lacking. Here we perform meta-analyses of discovery data sets from genome-wide association studies of European subjects (n=2,764 cases and 10,475 controls) followed by validation genotyping in an independent cohort (n=3,716 cases and 4,261 controls). We discover and validate six previously unknown risk loci for PBC (Pcombined<5 × 10(-8)) and used pathway analysis to identify JAK-STAT/IL12/IL27 signalling and cytokine-cytokine pathways, for which relevant therapies exist

Manganese-Iron Phosphate Nodules at the Groken Site, Gale Crater, Mars

The MSL Curiosity rover investigated dark, Mn-P-enriched nodules in shallow lacustrine/fluvial sediments at the Groken site in Glen Torridon, Gale Crater, Mars. Applying all relevant information from the rover, the nodules are interpreted as pseudomorphs after original crystals of vivianite, (Fe2+,Mn2+)3(PO4)2·8H2O, that cemented the sediment soon after deposition. The nodules appear to have flat faces and linear boundaries and stand above the surrounding siltstone. ChemCam LIBS (laser-induced breakdown spectrometry) shows that the nodules have MnO abundances approximately twenty times those of the surrounding siltstone matrix, contain little CaO, and have SiO2 and Al2O3 abundances similar to those of the siltstone. A deconvolution of APXS analyses of nodule-bearing targets, interpreted here as representing the nodules’ non-silicate components, shows high concentrations of MnO, P2O5, and FeO and a molar ratio P/Mn = 2. Visible to near-infrared reflectance of the nodules (by ChemCam passive and Mastcam multispectral) is dark and relatively flat, consistent with a mixture of host siltstone, hematite, and a dark spectrally bland material (like pyrolusite, MnO2). A drill sample at the site is shown to contain minimal nodule material, implying that analyses by the CheMin and SAM instruments do not constrain the nodules’ mineralogy or composition. The fact that the nodules contain P and Mn in a small molar integer ratio, P/Mn = 2, suggests that the nodules contained a stoichiometric Mn-phosphate mineral, in which Fe did (i.e., could) not substitute for Mn. The most likely such minerals are laueite and strunzite, (Fe2+,Mn2+)3(PO4)2·8H2O and –6H2O, respectively, which occur on Earth as alteration products of other Mn-bearing phosphates including vivianite. Vivianite is a common primary and diagenetic precipitate from low-oxygen, P-enriched waters. Calculated phase equilibria show Mn-bearing vivianite could be replaced by laueite or strunzite and then by hematite plus pyrolusite as the system became more oxidizing and acidic. These data suggest that the nodules originated as vivianite, forming as euhedral crystals in the sediment, enclosing sediment grains as they grew. After formation, the nodules were oxidized—first to laueite/strunzite yielding the diagnostic P/Mn ratio, and then to hematite plus an undefined Mn oxy-hydroxide (like pyrolusite). The limited occurrence of these Mn-Fe-P nodules, both in space and time (i.e., stratigraphic position), suggests a local control on their origin. By terrestrial analogies, it is possible that the nodules precipitated near a spring or seep of Mn-rich water, generated during alteration of olivine in the underlying sediments

Chaos in a periodically perturbed cstr

The occurrence of chaotic behavior is analyzed in a periodically perturbed dynamic nonisothermal CSTR with first-order exothermic chemical reaction A -• B and an Arrhenius expression for the rate constant. When sinusoidal forcing functions for the cooling-fluid temperature and the volumetric feed rate are applied to the unperturbed part of the system, period-doubling behavior leading to a strange attractor is observed as the amplitude of the perturbation in the cooling-fluid temperature is increased. Chaos and period-doubling are also verified through Fourier spectra analysis, adherence to the Feigenbaum Theory, and analysis of the Poincare return map. The basis for obtaining chaotic behavior in the reactor system is the Melnikov theory, which states that chaos can be obtained in a periodically perturbed system if the phase plot of the unperturbed system closely corresponds to that of a homoclinic orbit (a phase trajectory which contains the stable and unstable separatrices of a saddle). From linear stability analysis of the unperturbed reactor system along with certain geometric considerations, the range of parameter values is obtained wherein a homoclinic orbit is present. For parameter values close to this bifurcation, chaotic behavior is observed when periodic perturbation is applied to the cooling-fluid temperature and volumetric feed rate. © 1987, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved