Blocking leukocyte influx and function to prevent chronic lung disease of prematurity

Inflammation is strongly linked to the pathogenesis of chronic lung disease of prematurity (CLD). Premature gas-breathing of ambient or supplemental oxygen in a host with relatively deficient and poorly inducible antioxidant defenses may itself be injurious, and further amplified by mechanical stretch injury in the surfactant-insufficient lung.1 Cellular injury provokes an inflammatory response.Since inflammation is often detected at birth in the lungs of newborns who later develop CLD,2 it has been an attractive strategy to abrogate inflammation, but the arsenal is limited. Glucocorticoids have been widely used but are acknowledged to be potentially harmful to neurologic and somatic development, and are not recommended outside controlled trials.3 The number that benefit is comparable to the number harmed, according to meta-analysis.4 More specific blockade of harmful inflammation could overcome this obstacle. Examination of the inflammatory pathways that initiate and propagate lung injury and subsequent abnormal development points to promising new strategies that may one day be tailored to individual patients.     

Antidiabetic potentials of the methanol leaf extract of Oxytenanthera abyssinica

Oxytenathera abyssinica is used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in folklore medicine in Nigeria. In this study, we evaluated its antidiabetic activity in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. Diabetes was induced in the mice by a single intraperitoneal injection of alloxan monohydrate and the fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels measured with blood from the tail snip at 0, 1, 3 and 6 h. The activity was compared with reference drug, glibenclamide (2 mg/kg) and negative control. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was evaluated by loading glucose to rats at the dose of 2,000 mg/kg and checking their FBG at 0, 60 and 180 min. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 1, 1- diphenyl-2- hydrazyl (DPPH) photometric assay. The extract and the reference drug caused a significant (P?<?0.02–P?<?0.002) time and dose dependent decrease in the FBG levels of the mice when compared to the negative control; the extract (500 mg/kg) reduced FBG by 38.0 % at the 6th hr as against 45.6 % by glibenclamide. In OGTT the extract caused a time dependent decrease in the blood glucose level up to 33.3 % at 180 min at the dose of 300 mg/kg. The extract also caused a concentration dependent increase in antioxidant activity having 91 % increase and 1.95 total antioxidant activities at a concentration of 400 μg/ml. Extract of Oxythenanthera abyssinica showed significant antidiabetic activity.     

Clinical and parasitological aspects of onchocercal skin diseases in Nigeria

An assessment of onchocercal skin disease (OSD) conducted in 38 rural communities in the Imo River Basin, Nigeria, between March 1999 and September 2000, showed that depigmentation (DPM) was the most prevalent lesion in persons with skin microfilariae (mf) (26.3%), followed by chronic papular onchodermatitis (CPOD) (18.1%) and acute papular onchodermatitis (APOD) (15.5%). There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in sex-related prevalence of OSD. While CPOD, lichenified onchodermatitis (LOD) and DPM were more prevalent in subjects over 30 years old, APOD was associated more with those aged less than 30 years. OSD occurred with concomitant itching in nearly 50% of subjects. The geometric mean intensity of infection was 13 mf/mg per skin snip.     

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance compatible physical model of the left ventricle for multi-modality characterization of wall motion and hemodynamics

Background

The development of clinically applicable fluid-structure interaction (FSI) models of the left heart is inherently challenging when using in vivo cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) data for validation, due to the lack of a well-controlled system where detailed measurements of the ventricular wall motion and flow field are available a priori. The purpose of this study was to (a) develop a clinically relevant, CMR-compatible left heart physical model; and (b) compare the left ventricular (LV) volume reconstructions and hemodynamic data obtained using CMR to laboratory-based experimental modalities.

Methods

The LV was constructed from optically clear flexible silicone rubber. The geometry was based off a healthy patient’s LV geometry during peak systole. The LV phantom was attached to a left heart simulator consisting of an aorta, atrium, and systemic resistance and compliance elements. Experiments were conducted for heart rate of 70 bpm. Wall motion measurements were obtained using high speed stereo-photogrammetry (SP) and cine-CMR, while flow field measurements were obtained using digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) and phase-contrast magnetic resonance (PC-CMR).

Results

The model reproduced physiologically accurate hemodynamics (aortic pressure = 120/80 mmHg; cardiac output = 3.5 L/min). DPIV and PC-CMR results of the center plane flow within the ventricle matched, both qualitatively and quantitatively, with flow from the atrium into the LV having a velocity of about 1.15 m/s for both modalities. The normalized LV volume through the cardiac cycle computed from CMR data matched closely to that from SP. The mean difference between CMR and SP was 5.5 ± 3.7 %.

Conclusions

The model presented here can thus be used for the purposes of: (a) acquiring CMR data for validation of FSI simulations, (b) determining accuracy of cine-CMR reconstruction methods, and (c) conducting investigations of the effects of altering anatomical variables on LV function under normal and disease conditions.     

Blood lead, calcium, and phosphorus in women with preeclampsia in Edo State, Nigeria

The authors investigated the effect of blood lead (BPb) and its relationship with calcium and phosphorus in the development of preeclampsia in Nigeria. Blood samples were collected from 59 preclamptics, 150 normal pregnant, and 122 nonpregnant women. Blood lead and serum Ca and P were determined. Blood lead was significantly higher (p < .001), whereas serum Ca and P were significantly lower (p < .001) in preclamptics than in normal pregnant women (60.2 ± 12.8 vs 26.3 ± 8.0 μg/dL for Pb, 1.39 ± 0.33 vs 2.03 ± 0.22 mmol/L for Ca, and 0.76 ± 0.10 vs 0.99 ± 0.13 mmol/L for P, respectively). There was significant increase (p < .05) in BPb and decreases (p < .01) in serum Ca and P in pregnant women than in nonpregnant women (35.7 ± 18.0 vs 13.1 ± 6.4 μg/dL for Pb, 1.85 ± 0.33 vs 2.33 ± 0.20 mmol/L for Ca, and 0.93 ± 0.38 vs 1.24 ± 0.26 mmol/L for P). Also, BPb was negatively correlated with serum Ca and, P, and positively correlated with systolic and diastolic blood pressures in pregnancy (r = -.804 for Ca, r = -.728 for P, r = .908 for SBP, and r = .842 for DBP) and preeclampsia (p < .01). It appears that increase in blood lead, which parallels decreases in serum calcium and phosphorus, may be related to the development and progression of preeclampsia in this environment.     

Temporal adaptation in the testes of rat administered single dose Momordica charantia for three interrupted spermatogenic cycles: Cytometric quantification

Introduction

Although unrelenting attempts have been made during the past five decades in understanding the three-dimensional morphology of the rats’ testis and the organizational arrangements of the seminiferous tubules, the findings have remained ambiguous relating the structure to its function.

Objective

This article investigates the effects of Momordica charantia (MC) on the testes of Sprague–Dawley (S–D) rats using stereological tools.

Methodology

A total of 50 male S–D rats, weighing 110–214 g were allocated randomly into three main groups I to III. Groups I and II were further divided into 10 subgroups of five rats. The duration of 6, 8, 16, 24, and 32 weeks of extract treatment represented 5 subgroups in Group I. While 8, 16, 24, and 32 weeks were 4 subgroups in Group II. Groups I and II received daily oral doses of 50 mg/100 g body weight of MC seed extract for the respective duration. Group III, (control) rats were fed an equal volume of physiological saline. The animals were sacrificed at the end of the experimental period and the testes were processed for cytometry. Stereological parameters estimated include: Testicular volume and weight, tubular diameter, cross sectional area of seminiferous tubules, number of profiles per unit area, length density and numerical density of the seminiferous tubules.

Result

Histomorphometric quantification showed a duration dependent decrease in the mean testicular volume and weight, seminiferous tubular diameter and cross sectional area of tubules; but an increase in the number of profiles per unit area, length density and numerical density of the seminiferous tubules. Those animals investigated for reversibility showed an appreciable recovery at discontinuation of the extract as testicular values compared similarly to their control counterpart.

Conclusion

The Cytometric data support a time-related deleterious effect on the testes of S–D rats treated with Momordica charantia seed extract.     

Effect of peer tutoring on social adjustment among English learners with hearing impairments in special primary schools

Background/Objective:Different studies have shown the prevalence of high level of social adjustment among English learners with hearing impairment. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of peer tutoring as a social adjustment intervention among English learners with hearing impairment in special primary schools in Enugu State, Nigeria.Method:The area of the study was Enugu State. The study adopted a pre-test–post-test quasi experimental research design. The population of the study comprised 30 pupils with language hearing impairment. There was no sampling because the population size was small and manageable. The instrument for data collection was a social adjustment scale with reliability coefficient of 0.88. After the experiment, the experimental group were taught using peer tutoring teaching strategy while the control group were taught with conventional teaching method. Analysis of covariance was used to test the formulated hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance.Results:Results showed that peer tutoring teaching strategy significantly increased social adjustment of pupils with language hearing impairment. Gender did not significantly influence social adjustment of pupils with language hearing impairment. The interaction effect of teaching strategies and gender on social adjustment of pupils with language hearing impairment was not significant.Conclusion:Peer tutoring can be used to alleviate social adjustment problem of pupils with language hearing impairment. The implications of the results for curriculum innovation were highlighted.     

Fixed‐dose combination therapy‐based protocol compared with free pill combination protocol: Results of a cluster randomized trial

Fixed‐dose combination (FDC) therapy is recommended for hypertension management in Nigeria based on randomized trials at the individual level. This cluster‐randomized trial evaluates effectiveness and safety of a treatment protocol that used two‐drug FDC therapy as the second and third steps for hypertension control compared with a protocol that used free pill combinations. From January 2021 to June 2021, 60 primary healthcare centers in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria were randomized to a protocol using FDC therapy as second and third steps compared with a protocol that used the same medications in free pill combination therapy for these steps. Eligible patients were adults (≥18 years) with hypertension. The primary outcome was the odds of a patient being controlled at their last visit between baseline to 6‐month follow‐up in the FDC group compared to the free pill group. 4427 patients (mean [SD] age: 49.0 [12.4] years, 70.5% female) were registered with mean (SD) baseline systolic/diastolic blood pressure 155 (20.6)/96 (13.1) mm Hg. Baseline characteristics of groups were similar. After 6‐months, hypertension control rate improved in the two treatment protocols, but there were no differences between the groups after adjustment (FDC = 53.9% versus free pill combination = 47.9%, cluster‐adjusted p = .29). Adverse events were similarly low (<1%) in both groups. Both protocols improved hypertension control rates at 6‐months in comparison to baseline, though no differences were observed between groups. Further work is needed to determine if upfront FDC therapy is more effective and efficient to improve hypertension control rates.