Short-term therapy with rosiglitatzone, a PPAR-¿ agonist improves metabolic profile and vascular function in non-obese lean wistar rats

A number of preclinical and clinical studies have reported blood-pressure-lowering benefits of thiazolidinediones in diabetic subjects and animal models of diabetes. This study was designed to further elucidate vascular effects of rosiglitazone, on healthy nonobese, lean animals. Adult male Wistar rats were randomized and assigned to control and rosiglitazone-treated groups and were dosed daily with either vehicle or rosiglitazone (10 mg kg(−1) day(−1)) by oral gavage for 5 days. Compared with control group, rosiglitazone treatment significantly reduced plasma levels of triglycerides (>240%) and nonesterified free fatty acids (>268%) (both, P < 0.001). There were no changes in vascular contractility to KCl or noradrenaline between two groups. However, rosiglitazone therapy improved carbamylcholine-induced vasorelaxation (93 ± 3 % versus control 78 ± 2, P < 0.01) an effect which was abolished by L-NAME. There was no difference in sodium nitroprusside-induced vasorelaxation between the control and rosiglitazone-treated animals. These results indicate that short-term rosiglitazone therapy improves both metabolic profile and vascular function in lean rats. The vascular effect of rosiglitazone appears to be mediated by alteration in NO production possibly by activation of endothelial PPARγ. This increased NO production together with improved lipid profile may explain mechanism(s) of blood-pressure-lowering effects of thiazolidinediones on both human and experimental animals

Effect of diet-induced obesity on protein expression in insulin signalling pathways of skeletal muscle in male Wistar rats

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of diet-induced obesity is increasing globally, and posing significant health problems for millions of people worldwide. Diet-induced obesity is a major contributor to the global pandemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The reduced ability of muscle tissue to regulate glucose homeostasis plays a major role in the development and prognosis of type 2 diabetes. In this study, an animal model of diet-induced obesity was used to elucidate changes in skeletal muscle insulin signaling in obesity-induced diabetes. METHODS: Adult male Wistar rats were randomized and assigned to either a control group or to a test group. Controls were fed a standard laboratory pellet diet (chow-fed), while the test group had free access to a highly palatable diet (diet-fed). After 8 weeks, the diet-fed animals were subdivided into three subgroups and their diets were altered as follows: diet-to-chow, diet-fed with addition of fenofibrate given by oral gavage for a further 7 weeks, or diet-fed with vehicle given by oral gavage for a further 7 weeks, respectively. RESULTS: Untreated diet-fed animals had a significantly higher body weight and metabolic profile than the control chow-fed animals. Intramuscular triacylglyceride levels in the untreated obese animals were significantly higher than those in the control chow-fed group. Expression of protein kinase C beta, phosphatidylinositol 3, Shc, insulin receptor substrate 1, ERK1/2, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase was significantly increased by dietary obesity, while that of insulin receptor beta, insulin receptor substrate 1, and protein kinase B (Akt) were not affected by obesity. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that diet-induced obesity affects insulin signaling mechanisms, leading to insulin resistance in muscle

Relationship between levels of inflammatory cytokines in the genital tract and CD4+ cell counts in women with acute HIV-1 infection.

Inflammatory responses at mucosal surfaces after human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transmission may influence disease outcome. We evaluated levels of interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, IL-8, IL-10, and IL-12 in genital tract and plasma specimens from 44 women with acute HIV infection and 29 HIV-negative control women (13 of whom were women in the acute HIV infection cohort who had preinfection samples available for analysis). Women with acute HIV infection had significantly elevated levels of IL-6, IL-10, and IL-12 in genital tract specimens and elevated levels of IL-1beta, IL-8, and IL-10 in plasma specimens, compared with HIV-negative control women. Levels of IL-1beta, IL-6, and IL-8 in cervicovaginal specimens from women with acute HIV infection showed a significant inverse correlation with systemic CD4(+) cell counts, suggesting that mucosal inflammation is associated with low CD4(+) cell counts during acute HIV infection

ENTREPRENEURSHIP BOTANY: A PANACEA FOR CURBING THE RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

Entrepreneurship botany, an emerging interdisciplinary field that integrates botanical science with entrepreneurial innovation, offers a sustainable solution to the escalating rate of unemployment in Nigeria. With the country's vast biodiversity and rich repository of economic plants, entrepreneurial engagement in botanical resources presents untapped opportunities for value addition, enterprise development, and job creation. This paper explores how entrepreneurial botanists can leverage indigenous and high-value plants such as Moringa oleifera, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Zingiber officinale, and Azadirachta indica to stimulate employment across multiple sectors, including agriculture, processing, marketing, and export. By promoting value chains and encouraging small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurship in botany can contribute to rural industrialization, youth empowerment, and economic diversification. The study underscores the need for supportive policies, capacity building, and investment in plant-based innovation systems to unlock the full potential of this sector. It concludes that entrepreneurship botany is not only a viable tool for curbing unemployment but also a strategic pathway toward achieving inclusive and sustainable development in Nigeria

Long COVID and its effects on the cardiovascular system: a literature review

A significant cardiac burden exists post COVID-19. This is evident by persistent chest pain, palpitations, dyspnea, exertional fatigue, presence of new-onset heart failure or arrhythmia. Persistent COVID-19 symptoms in the cardiovascular system may be caused by a combination of processes that either increase inflammation or tamper with the autonomic nervous system. The inflammation can be caused by viral load persistence leading to tissue damage. The presence of cytokines and chemokines results in a state of hyper inflammation, immune exhaustion, organ damage during the infectious state and post-viral autoimmunity. The current review aims to discuss the risk factors, pathophysiology and treatment of the protracted form of COVID-19 in relation to the cardiovascular system

Biochar Applications to the Remediation of Lead and Polychlorinated Biphenyl Contaminated Water

This study investigated the performance of biochar materials as adsorbents to remove Pb and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) in aqueous solutions. Batch adsorption and column experiment packed with biochar and geomaterials (pumice) in 1:1 volume ratio was evaluated to address the efficacy of biochar in removing Pb while only batch adsorption was employed for PCB removal with biochar materials. Overall, PT biochars performed the best (42–53 mg g−1) followed by BE biochars (10–32 mg g−1) and AB biochars (17–27 mg g−1) while high temperature biochars were favored in terms of maximum Pb adsorption capacity. Column Pb breakthrough showed similar results, with PT biochars being greatest in retardation factor (39–130.8) compared to AB biochars (10–54.9) and BE biochars (8–42). Low temperature biochars, however, were favored in removing PCB and AB400 was the most effective (63 % removal). Oxygen-containing functional groups and volatile compounds in the biochar materials were the key factors in affecting Pb and PCB removal from water. This study suggests that a mixed adsorbent containing high pyrolysis biochar (e.g., PT) and low pyrolysis biochar (e.g., AB) is likely to be effective in removing Pb and PCB simultaneously from aqueous solutions

Comparative study of Leachate Characterization: Implication for Sustainable Environmental Management

Understanding the sources of environmental stressors, the role of geology, climate and technology would provide a guide to solving the problems posed by such stressor. The study examine the sources of wastes in Ikhueniro open dumpsite located in Benin city, Nigeria and characterize the leachate emanating from it. This will assist in adequate design of managerial scheme to tackle the menace posed by it while putting into consideration the role of geology, climate and technology. The key objectives are to carry out field study, characterize wastes in the dumpsite and collect raw leachate emanating from the wastes heap in order to determine its chemistry with established scientific techniques. The results obtained show a pH value of 7.7, BOD5/COD of 0.66mg/L and ammonia value of 64mg/L shows that the dumpsite is in a young stage which is \u3e 0.5mg/L. The value of 3500mg/L of COD indicate that leachate in current study cannot be discharged into the environment unless treated. By comparison with previous studies, it was observed that climate, geology and technology are key factors influencing the prevalence of leachate in an environment. It is recommended that dumpsites should be well designed to collect raw leachate from source and treat before discharging into environment. It is further recommended that improving solid waste management through grassroots education and public awareness of the consequences of environmental mismanagement through media houses and social forums as well as funding of research geared towards specific wastes management should be adopted

Economic Diversification of Nigeria and Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (SME) Development (2000-2017)

The broad objective of this paper is to assess the extent of relationship between economic diversification of Nigeria and SME development. Specifically, this paper seeks to ascertain the extent of relationship between new business development in Nigeria and technical skills acquisition by Nigerians. Expo-facto research design was adopted for the study, a panel data of 2000-2017 was used for the study, the augumented Dickey Fuller root test was used to test the stationarity of the data, while the analysis of the data was done using regression analysis. The findings revealed that there is a relationship between new business development in Nigeria and technical skills acquisition by Nigerians since (R2=0.93, R-2=0.89, F=49.65). The researcher therefore concluded that economic diversification of Nigeria impacts SME development. It was against this backdrop that the researchers recommended that the Nigerian government should strive towards an improvement of the credit available to SME’s and the Nigerian government should enactment and implement policies that would help curb the inflation rate in Nigeria as it affects the performance of SME’s Keywords: Economic Diversification, SME Development, New business Development, Technical Skill Acquisition. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-14-03 Publication date:May 31st 201

Organizational Trust and Employee Performance of Selected Bottling Companies in South-South, Nigeria

Nigerian economy slipped into recession from last quarter of 2015 to first quarter of 2017 showing negative GDP growth of -0.36%,-2.06%,-2.34% and -1.3% for the 4 quarters of 2016 respectively. 2017 GDP figures were -1.3%,0.55%,1.4% and 2.6% for 4 quarters of 2017 showing gradual exit from recession from 2nd quarter of 2017 even though the realities on ground still portrayed  a recessed economy. Massive retrenchment of workers, low output of goods and services with high accompanying prices and rising inflation came with recession. Despite the harsh economic conditions, the food and beverage sub-sector of manufacturing which includes bottling companies showed growth both in market and production capacities of  53.7% in 2015, 60.3% in 2016 and 62.2% in 2017.This phenomenon motivated the researchers to explore the human element contribution to the growth  by examining the effect of organizational trust on employee performance of selected bottling companies in South-South, Nigeria. The study was anchored on Thorndike (1935) Social Exchange Theory. The research gap emerged from industry gap as none of the reviewed works was on food and beverage firms including bottling companies. Also, geographical and methodological gap emerged. The study used survey research design. Data were analysed using one way ANOVA. The study found out that there is a significant effect of participatory decision making on employee innovation since cumulative F value of (997.73) was obtained and the p-value (0.00&lt;0.05). The study concluded that there is a significant effect of organizational trust on employee performance. The work confirms the validity of the Social Exchange Theory. For the practitioner, employees should be allowed in participative decision making to enhance the growth of the company. Respondent apathy was a limitation which was overcome by persuasion. Keywords: Organizational Trust, Employee Performance, Participatory Decision Making, Employee Innovation

Work-Life Balance and Performance of Female Medical Practitioners of Federal Government owned Medical Centres in Edo State, Nigeria

The broad objective of this paper is to determine the effect of work-life balance on performance of female medical practitioners of federal government owned medical centres in Edo state. Specifically, this study seeks to ascertain the effect of employee support on the commitment of married female medical practitioners of university of Benin teaching hospital and Irrua specialist teaching hospital. Survey research design was adopted for the study, a sample size of two hundred and eighty (280) was used for the study, Krejcie and Morgan, (1970) sampling technique was used for the study, the data collection tool employed by the researchers was the questionnaire, while the analysis of the data was done using the linear regression analysis. The findings revealed that employee support impacts the commitment of married female medical practitioners of university of Benin teaching hospital and Irrua specialist teaching hospital, Edo state since (F = 964.986; R2 = 0.836; P &lt;.05). The researchers therefore concluded that work-life balance impacts employee performance of the institutions in focus. Based on the foregoing, the researchers recommended the enactment of favourable work-life balance policies by the institutions in focus and the approval of emergency leave for female (married) medical practitioners of the institutions in focus because of their role in the family