The Anti-obesity Effect of Allium cepa L. leaves on High Fat Diet Induced Obesity in Male Wistar Rats

BackgroundOver the years, there has been research on the anti-obesity effect of the Allium cepa bulb, but a dearth of research was carried out on the leaves, which is consumed as vegetable salad and soup, hence this study was proposed.ObjectiveThis study aims at investigating the effect of A. cepa leaves on high fat diet (HFD) induced obesity in male Wistar rats.MethodsTwenty-eight male Wistar rats were divided into four groups with seven rats each. Apart from Group 1 (normal control which received normal pelleted diet), obesity was induced in 21 rats of Group 2 to 4 with HFD. Group 2, the obese control was administered with 100% HFD, while the diet for group 3 and 4 was supplemented with 10% and 20% A. cepa powdered leaves, respectively, for 28 days.ResultsIn the rats treated with 10% and 20% A. cepa, body weight, fat mass, blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, aspartate amino transferase, alanine amino transferase, creatinine and urea levels were reduced significantly (P < 0.05) in comparison with the obese control group. The liver of the rats treated with 10% and 20% A. cepa leaves revealed small and few amounts of fat deposits in comparison with the obese control group, which revealed numerous and large deposits of fat. The kidney of the rats treated with 10% and 20% A. cepa leaves showed moderate and mild inflammation, respectively, in comparison with the obese control group which showed acute inflammation. The leaves of A. cepa had antioxidant properties and the presence of volatile compounds with anti-obesity properties in A. cepa were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).ConclusionA. cepa leaves had weight-loss effect in that it decreased body weight, fat mass, glucose and lipid levels including fat deposits in the liver.     

Evaluation of the anti-candidal activity of methanolic leaf extract of cleistopholis patens (fam. Annonaceae) on candida species isolated from stage II HIV patients

BackgroundCandida species (sp) is implicated in causing opportunistic disseminated mycotic complications in stage II HIV patients. Cleistopholis patens is a West African medicinal tree reported to have significant antifungal activity against C. albicans.ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine the anti-candidal activity of methanolic leaf extract of Cleistopholis patens against Candida species isolated from stage II HIV patients.MethodsThe minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extract and Nystatin®® was determined by agar dilution method. The killing rate studies of the plant extract and Nystatin® were also determined.ResultsThe extract had activity against all Candida isolates, with the MIC against the five isolates ranging from 6.0 – 9.8 mg/ml. Nystatin® also demonstrated plausible activity against the isolates with MICs ranging from 0.3125 — 25 mg/ml. Candida albicans strain 2 was the most sensitive to both extract and Nystatin® with MIC values of 6 and 0.3125 mg/ml respectively. Candida krusei was the least sensitive with MIC values of 9.8 and 25 mg/ml for the extract and Nystatin® respectively. The killing rate values for the extract ranged from −0.029 to −0.091 min⁻¹ and that of Nystatin® ranged from −0.076 to −0.112¹⁶ min⁻¹.ConclusionsThe results indicate that the methanolic extract of Cleistopholis patens is a promising clinical alternative besides Nystatin® in the treatment of infections caused by Candida species in stage II HIV patients.     

The Impact of Deep Sternal Wound Infection on Mortality and Resource Utilization: A Population-based Study

Background

Recent national infection control efforts have been directed at reducing postsurgical infection rates, related morbidity, and cost. We sought to evaluate population-level rates of deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) after cardiac surgery, associated mortality, and resource use compared to patients undergoing cardiac surgery without postoperative DSWI relative to historical trends.

Methods

We analyzed the MarketScan ^® Commercial Claims Databases from 2009 to 2013 to identify adult patients who developed DSWI after open cardiac surgery. Patients with and without DSWI were compared. The outcomes of interest included 30-day, 90-day, and 1-year in-hospital mortality. Utilization outcomes, including total hospital days and inpatient costs, were calculated in the time period from the index cardiac surgery through 90 days after DSWI diagnosis.

Results

In this cohort, 176,537 patients underwent one or more cardiac surgery procedures. DSWI occurred in 2835 (1.6 %) patients. One-year mortality for patients with DSWI was 10.7 versus 2.5 % (P < 0.001) in patients without DSWI. Mean hospital days in patients with DSWI were 33 versus 9 days for patients without DSWI (P < 0.001). Mean cost for patients with DSWI was greater than 2.5 times that of patients without DSWI ($211,478 vs $82,089, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Treatment of DSWI results in substantial morbidity, mortality, and excess cost for treating facilities. The rates of DSWI have not decreased dramatically over the last 10–20 years. Thus, more attention needs to be focused toward understanding treatment variation that exists in patients diagnosed with DSWI.

     

Assessment of HIV/AIDS awareness and changes in sexual practices among secondary school students in Nsukka environment

This study is aimed at assessing the awareness of HIV/AIDS and changes in sexual behaviour among the Nigerian teens. Two hundred and fifty secondary school students were interviewed. Only 5% of the respondents were able to state the full meaning of HIV or AIDS. A minority (28%) believed that HIV was real while the majority (72%) believed that HIV infects whites only. Forty-eight percent of them have changed their sexual practices owing to the AIDS menace. A small percentage, 12%, believed that HIV/AIDS could kill. The study revealed low awareness of HIV/AIDS as well as misconception about the infection, especially in non-urbanized cities of Nigeria.     

Differential modulation of bradykinin-induced relaxation of endothelin-1 and phenylephrine contractions of rat aorta by antioxidants

AIM: We tested the hypothesis that bradykinin (BK)-induced relaxation of phenylephrine (PE) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) contractions can be differentially modulated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). METHODS: Aortic rings isolated from Sprague-Dawley rats were used for the study. The contribution of ROS to PE (1 x 10(-9)-1 x 10(-5) mol/L)- and ET-1 (1 x 10(-10)-1 x 10(-8) mol/L)-induced contractions and the influence of ROS in BK (1 x 10(-9)-1 x 10(-5) mol/L) relaxation of PE (1 x 10(-7) mol/L) or ET-1 (1 x 10(-9) mol/L)-induced tension was evaluated in the aorta in the presence or absence of the following antioxidants: catalase (CAT, 300 U/mL), superoxide dismutase (SOD, 300 U/mL), and vitamin C (1 x 10(-4) mol/L). Results: Tension generated by ET-1 (1 x 10(-9) mol/L) or PE (1 x 10(-7) mol/L) was differentially relaxed by BK (1 x 10(-5) mol/L), producing a maximal relaxation of 75%+/-5% and 35+/-4%, respectively. The BK (1 x 10(-5) mol/L)-induced relaxation of PE (1 x 10(-7) mol/L) tension was significantly enhanced from 35%+/-4% (control) to 56%+/-9%, 60%+/-5%, and 49%+/-6% by SOD, CAT, and vitamin C, respectively (P<0.05, n=8). However, the relaxation of ET-1 (1 x 10(-9) mol/L) tension was significantly attenuated from 75%+/-5% (control) to 37%+/-9%, 63%+/-4%, and 39%+/-7% by SOD, CAT, and vitamin C, respectively (P<0.05, n=8). On the other hand, CAT had no effect on PE-induced tension, while SOD enhanced PE-induced tension (36%, P<0.05, n=10) and vitamin C attenuated (66%, P<0.05, n=8) the tension induced by PE. By contrast, SOD or vitamin C had no effect, but CAT attenuated (44%, P<0.05, n=9) the tension induced by ET-1. CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated that O2(-) and H2O2 differentially modulate BK relaxation in an agonist-specific manner. O2(-) attenuates BK-induced relaxation of PE contraction, but contributes to the relaxation of ET-1 contraction. O2(-) seems to inhibit PE contraction, while H2O2 contributes to ET-1-induced contraction. Thus, ROS differentially modulate vascular tone depending on the vasoactive agent that is used to generate the tone.     

Laparoscopy in developing countries in the management of patients with an acute abdomen.

Surgeons in developing countries see a need to improve diagnosis and decision making in patients with an acute abdomen. Without the benefit of diagnostic aids such as computers and high-resolution ultrasonography, the rate of unnecessary laparotomy is often unacceptably high. The laparoscope is usually available in a developing country and its use easily acquired. Using laparoscopy in doubtful situations the unnecessary laparotomy rate was significantly reduced from 14.0 to 6 per cent (P < 0.05). Laparoscopy achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 86 per cent and prevented unnecessary laparotomy in 57 per cent of those in whom it was used.     

Intussusception in infants and older children: a comparison

The clinical features and operative findings in 37 infants and 29 older children with intussusception seen over a 10-year period were compared and contrasted. While most of the children presented acutely, 28% of older children had chronic intussusception compared with 5% in infants. Only about a third of all children had the four classical features of abdominal pain, vomiting, abdominal mass and bloody stool; the rest had two or three of the above features. Pain and palpable abdominal mass were more common features in older children while abdominal distension, constipation and diarrhoea were more prominent in infants. Fifty-four per cent of intussusceptions in infants were entero-colic while in older children 69% were colonic. All the intussusceptions in infants were idiopathic while in 14% of older children there were predisposing causes. Resection for gangrene/perforation was required in 30% of infants compared with 7% of older children.     

Perception of voluntary screening for paediatric HIV and response to post-test counselling by Nigerian parents

Nigeria may be taken to represent countries with an evolving HIV/AIDS epidemic. With particular reference to paediatric HIV, the voluntary testing of young children and their parents may provide an important entry point for the institution of control measures. However, there is a paucity of knowledge about how individuals perceive voluntary testing. This knowledge is important to the development of guidelines for counselling. To reduce this gap, 258 parents of hospitalized children (> 1 month to 15 years of age) were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. In addition, to complement the data, four examples of seropositive mother's responses during post-test counselling are presented and analyzed. In the survey, 223 (86%) parents were HIV/AIDS aware but only 88 (39%) of these parents could describe one or more route(s) of transmission and none described vertical transmission. Among the respondents, 153 (62%) of 248 would consent to the screening of self, and 195 (85%) of 230 to the screening of a hospitalized child if based on his/her clinical condition. Perceptions of good health and lack of exposure, and despair owing to lack of a specific treatment, were the common reasons for refusing consent. These represent some of the issues which would need to be addressed to increase the acceptance of voluntary testing. The fear of a break up of families with seropositive mothers but seronegative fathers was a major concern expressed during post-test counselling. HIV-discordance among couples may be frequent and should be considered in the formulation of policies on counselling and voluntary testing.