Search

The global high prevalence of diabetes mellitus has resulted into the development of several oral hypoglycemic agents. However, these drugs have limited efficacy and harmful side effects, which call for the search for alternatives from natural sources. The inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 (DPP‐4) activity increases the level of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 and glucose‐dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, which in turn reduces hyperglycemia by activating insulin secretion and inhibiting glucagon secretion. Some studies have reported the in vitro DPP‐4 inhibitory potential of functional foods, but there is no repository of information on these reports. This article is an attempt to present in concise form, reports of functional foods with DPP‐4 inhibitory potentials in vitro. This will guide the use of these foods as well as in antidiabetic drug development.

BACKGROUND: It is unknown whether inequalities in under-5 mortality by wealth in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are growing or declining. METHODS: All Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 2002 and 2012 were used to measure under-5 mortality trends in 3 wealth tertiles. Two approaches were used to estimate changes in under-5 mortality: within-survey changes from all 54 countries and between-survey changes for 29 countries with repeated survey waves. The principal outcome measures include annual decline in mortality and the ratio of mortality between the poorest and least-poor wealth tertiles. RESULTS: Mortality information in 85 surveys from 929 224 households and 1 267 167 women living in 54 countries was used. In the subset of 29 countries with repeat surveys mortality declined annually by 4.36 3.36 and 2.06 deaths per 1000 live births among the poorest middle and least-poor tertiles respectively (P = .031 for difference). The mortality ratio declined from 1.68 to 1.48 during the study period (P = .006 for trend). In the complete set of 85 surveys the mortality ratio declined in 64 surveys (from 2.11 to 1.55) and increased in 21 surveys (from 1.58 to 1.88). Multivariate analyses suggest that convergence was associated with good governance (P

Epidemiological evidences indicate close association between inorganic arsenic exposure via drinking water and cardiovascular diseases. While the exact mechanism of this arsenic-mediated increase in cardiovascular risk factors remains enigmatic, epidemiological studies indicate a role for paraoxonase 1 (PON1) in cardiovascular diseases. To investigate the association between inorganic arsenic exposure and cardiovascular diseases, rats were exposed to sodium arsenite (trivalent; 50, 100, and 150 ppm As) and sodium arsenate (pentavalent; 100, 150, and 200 ppm As) in their drinking water for 12 weeks. PON1 activity towards paraoxon (PONase) and phenylacetate (AREase) in plasma, lipoproteins, hepatic, and brain microsomal fractions were determined. Inhibition of PONase and AREase in plasma and HDL characterized the effects of the two arsenicals. While the trivalent arsenite inhibited PONase by 33% (plasma) and 46% (HDL), respectively, the pentavalent arsenate inhibited the enzyme by 41 and 34%, respectively. AREase activity was inhibited by 52 and 48% by arsenite, whereas the inhibition amounted to 72 and 67%, respectively by arsenate. The pattern of inhibition in plasma and HDL indicates that arsenite induced a dose-dependent inhibition of PONase whereas arsenate induced a dose-dependent inhibition of AREase. In the VLDL + LDL, arsenate inhibited PONase and AREase while arsenite inhibited PONase. In the hepatic and brain microsomal fractions, only the PONase enzyme was inhibited by the two arsenicals. The inhibition was more pronounced in the hepatic microsomes where a 70% inhibition was observed at the highest dose of pentavalent arsenic. Microsomal cholesterol was increased by the two arsenicals resulting in increased cholesterol/phospholipid ratios. Our findings indicate that decreased PON1 activity observed in arsenic exposure may be an incipient biochemical event in the cardiovascular effects of arsenic. Modulation of PON1 activity by arsenic may also be mediated through changes in membrane fluidity brought about by changes in the concentration of cholesterol in the microsomes. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 154–162, 2016.

Deep macropores can be grown in classical aqueous HF electrolytes only at slow etching speeds, fast macropores can only be grown to modest depths (150 μm). The addition of acid acetic to the electrolyte can roughly double the etching speed of the macropores, enabling quick and easy etching of pore depths as deep as 520 μm, and potentially more, if wafers thicker than 550 μm would be used. The addition of carboxymethylcellulose sodium salt (CMC) to the electrolyte decreases the roughness of the pore walls significantly. It is successfully shown that electrolytes consisting of HF + acetic acid + CMC can be utilized to produce fast, deep, and smooth macropores simultaneously in n-type silicon, required for a multitude of potential applications. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

To determine the prevalence of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and its impact on the lives of women in Sekyidumasi, a rural Ghanaian community.A cross-sectional study of 200 women was performed using a questionnaire and pelvic examination to detect symptoms and signs of prolapse. Main outcome measures were the presence of POP and its impact on quality of life.Out of 174 women included in the study, 21 women (12.07%) had POP. Seventeen of these women (81%) were symptomatic, of which only 6 women (35.3%) had sought treatment because of financial constraints. The odds of prolapse increased with increasing parity (P=0.02) and age (P0.01). The main impacts of prolapse were on emotional well-being (52.4%), the women's relationship with their partner (46.2%), and sex life (25%).Only about one-third of women with symptomatic prolapse sought treatment because the cost of medical care outweighed the impact of the condition on their lives.

In order to investigate sex differences on the effects of inorganic mercury on antioxidant enzymes in different compartments, male and female albino rats were exposed to mercury (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5mg...

While electrochemical etching of small samples in the 1 cm region is relatively easy, this is not true for large areas, i.e. standard wafer sizes up to 300 mm. The paper outlines the specific demands and difficulties in some detail, discusses large area etching strategies and systems, in particular for very deep macropores, and presents and discusses various results from the large area etching system of the authors. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The past two decades have witnessed numerous attempts in developing countries at institutionalizing decentralization. Political leaders tended, before then, to believe that centralized planning was the key to economic growth and development. Ghana has not been excluded from this wave towards the transfer of power, competences, resources and functions from the centre to local levels of government. While Ghana has achieved significant political and administrative decentralization as well as decentralized planning, fiscal decentralization has been the unyielding component of the process. This paper examines the desirability, or otherwise, of fiscal decentralization in the context of funding arrangements. It uses the funding regime model as a basis for analysing how regulatory provisions, political and economic factors and practices, determine financial capacity of sub-national governments. Evidence in the paper leads to the conclusion that sub-national governments in Ghana do not support fiscal autonomy. They, instead, prefer being served and financed by the central government. Resume: Ces deux dernieres decennies, les pays en developpement ont mene plusieurs initiatives pour institutionnaliser la decentralisation. Auparavant, les hommes politiques avaient tendance a croire que la planification centralisee etait la cle de la croissance economique et du developpement. Le Ghana n’a pas ete en reste par rapport a cette vague de transfert de pouvoirs, competences, ressources et de fonctions du gouvernement central vers les collectivites territoriales. Bien que ce pays ait pu realiser une decentralisation significative dans les domaines politique, administratif et de la planification, il n’a pas encore reussi sa decentralisation budgetaire. Cet article analyse l’opportunite ou non de la decentralisation budgetaire dans le cadre d’un mecanisme de financement. L’article utilise le modele du regime de financement comme base d’analyse de la facon dont les dispositions reglementaires, ainsi que les facteurs et pratiques politiques et economiques, determinent la capacite financiere des collectivites territoriales. Il ressort de l’article que les collectivites territoriales du Ghana n’ont pas la capacite de gerer une autonomie financiere. Elles preferent, au contraire, etre servies et financees par le gouvernement central.

Si nanowires can incorporate large amounts of Li without fracturing and are thus prime candidates for anodes in Li ion batteries. Anodes made from Si nanowires offer a specific capacity per gram more then 10 times larger than the present graphite standard. It is shown how optimized Si nanowire arrays embedded in Cu can be produced in a relatively simple way employing macropore etching in Si followed by chemical etching and Cu galvanic deposition. First tests of these arrays in half-cells and batteries demonstrated a substantially increased capacity, small irreversible losses and cycle stability. In particular more than 60 charge/discharge cycles could be realized without loss of capacity. (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

During an investigation of the mite fauna in Lagos, Nigeria, the following mites, namely, Dermatophagoides, Blomia, Cheyletus and Mesostigmata species were isolated. Blomia species, a hitherto undocumented mite in Nigeria occurs to a marked extent in Nigerian houses. It was observed that location of houses seemed to affect the density and types of mites and that the majority of the houses were located in the damper suburbs of the city. It is suggested that in the prophylaxis of dust-induced allergic diseases maintainance of adequate housing conditions would be of epidemiological importance. Furthermore, in the prevention of the occupational hazard of dust-induced asthma, it is recommended that routine medical examination of prospective employees, particularly those in dust-associated industries, should include pre-employment allergic skin testing in order to ascertain sensitivity to industrial dusts.

Medical statistics is essential in the training of all categories of health workers and early involvement with the subject is advocated during the training of these health personnel. Four important areas of the application of statistical methods have been defined, namely, (1) the study of specific rates, (2) evaluation of clinical trial of drugs, (3) the assessment of factors affecting health or disease, and (4) the establishment of new avenues of medical research. Using examples from the training of the undergraduate medical student, the midwife and the family planning field health worker, different aspects of medical statistics should be emphasized at different levels of learning depending on the professional or academic needs of the trainee health worker.