10.18639/RABM.2019.955923
Agriculture and Allied Sciences
Sep 30, 2019
There are two major types of in situ bioremediation: intrinsic and enhanced. Both rely on natural processes to degrade contaminants with (enhanced) or without (intrinsic) amendments. In recent years, in situ bioremediation concepts have been applied in treating contaminated soil and groundwater. Removal rates and extent vary based on the contaminant of concern and site-specific characteristics. There are a number of factor/variables that affect the rate of removal such as contaminant and co-contaminant distribution as well as concentration; indigenous microbial populations and reaction kinetics; and parameters such as pH, moisture content, nutrient supply, and temperature. Many of these factors are a function of the site and the indigenous microbial community and, thus, are difficult to manipulate. Specific technologies may have the capacity to manipulate some variables and may be affected by other variables as well; these specific issues are discussed with each technology in the following sections.
10.18639/RABM.2019.883878
Cardiovascular Disease
Aug 30, 2019
Crocin (a water-soluble carotenoid) is the most abundant antioxidant among active constituents of Crocus sativus. Crocin has protective effects on brain, skeletal muscle, and kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury models via its antioxidant properties. The protective and anti-inflammatory effect of crocin against L-methionine-induced hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) in rats was evaluated. Thirty male albino rats were divided into three equal groups. Group I (control normal): rats fed ordinary diet without any treatment. Group II (L-methionine-induced HHcy): rats received L-methionine (1.7 g/kg body weight/day) orally for 8 weeks continuously. Group III (HHcy 1 crocin): rats received crocin in dose (50 mg/kg body weight/day, I.P.) for 4 weeks after induction of HHcy. The results obtained showed a significant increase in serum Hcy concentration and upregulation of NF-kβ gene expression in liver tissue and also in the gene expression level of TIMP-1, MMp-9, MCP-1, Caspase-3, and PPARα in heart tissues with significant downregulation of serum miRNA188 gene expression level in hyperhomocysteinemic (HHcy) rats. However, crocin treatment to HHcy induced in rats significantly improved all previous indicators to its normal ranges. The histopathological findings revealed that crocin treatment markedly reduced the HHcy-induced pathological changes and displayed marked improvement with normal histological architecture of the heart and brain tissues. These results suggested that crocin had a potentially ameliorating role with powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects on cardiac tissue, as revealed by suppression of proinflammatory mediators and secretion through inhibition of NF-kB signaling pathways, which may lead to upregulated miR-188 gene expression, suppress proapoptotic Caspase-3, and may protect from heart tissue injury against HHcy.
10.18639/RABM.2019.880561
Original Research Article
Aug 28, 2019
Obesity is a global epidemic. Obesity related comorbidities include hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, obstructive sleep apnea, and sudden death. Abdominal adiposity has been blamed for causing cardiovascular complications. The body roundness index (BRI) has been considered to be a superior anthropometric measure for abdominal adiposity. The aim of the study was to find the relationship of blood pressure in healthy individuals to BRI, waist circumference (WC), and waist to height Ratio (WHtR). It also tried to find out the relation of BRI to WC and WHtR. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 individuals aged between 18 and 60 years who were apparently healthy (not on any treatment or physical training) and willing to participate in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Parameters like height, weight, and WC were measured. BRI and WHtR were calculated. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. We observed that BRI was well correlated to the WC, body mass index (BMI), and WHtR. Both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure correlated well with BRI. BRI and WHtR, both are good parameters to evaluate the blood pressure of an individual.
10.18639/RABM.2019.881092
Agriculture and Allied Sciences
Aug 19, 2019
The clinical manifestations of acute herbicide self-poisoning have not been widely studied in India. The objective was to study the clinical profile of herbicide poisoning cases admitted in a medical college hospital located in a rural setting of Himachal Pradesh. The clinical records of all patients diagnosed with acute herbicide poisoning between January 1, 2017, and February 15, 2019, were analyzed retrospectively in this hospital-based cross-sectional study. During the study period, 20 patients were diagnosed with acute herbicide poisoning and are included in this study. There were 13 males. The mean age was 33.6 6 13.3 years. The herbicides ingested included 2,4-D (45%), paraquat (20%), glyphosate (10%), pendimethalin (10%), atrazine (5%), butachlor (5%), and metribuzin (5%). 2,4-D is the commonest acute herbicide self-poisoning in this region. It was observed that poisoning with herbicides is usually of mild toxicity except paraquat, which is associated with high mortality.
10.18639/RABM.2019.881123
Original Research Article
Aug 18, 2019
As obesity is a multifactorial characteristic, identifying genetic risk factors can help to prevent obesity prevalence. In 2007, FTO (fat mass and obesity associated) gene was identified according to genome-wide association study. Several studies revealed that FTO polymorphisms are responsible for the risk of obesity. The primary objective of our study was assessment of FTO rs9939609 and rs9926289 polymorphisms as risk factors of obesity in part of the Iranian population. In our case–control study, 62 patients with obesity and 75 controls were selected according to their BMI (obese: BMI 30 kg/m2 and control: BMI: 18.5-24.9 kg/m2). Blood samples were collected from individuals for biochemical parameters assessment and genotyping analysis. After genotyping by high resolution melting (HRM) technique, the odds ratio was used to examine the relationship between the risk factors and the disease; 95% of confidence interval was used for these calculations. The difference in the age, FBS, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and BMI between individuals with obesity and the control group was significant. The analysis of rs9939609 FTO gene showed significant association between the AA1TA genotype and TT according to the dominant model. No association was observed for genotypes of the FTO rs9926289 polymorphism. In addition, there was no significant correlation of biochemical parameters and dominant model genotypes of rs9939609 polymorphisms. Our study suggests that FTO rs9939609 polymorphisms appear to be associated with obesity in part of the Iranian population. AA1TA genotype of rs9939609 polymorphism is a risk factor of obesity. However, further examination should be carried out on large populations.
10.18639/RABM.2019.895463
Toxicology and Pharmacology
Aug 09, 2019
Raw cucumber (Cucumis sativus) fruit juice contains substances that have health-benefit potentials. Fibrinogen is produced in the liver cells. Highest concentrations of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) are found in the liver, heart, and skeletal muscle, and alanine transaminase (ALT) is a liver enzyme. Overdose of amoxicillin, an antibiotic, can lead to hemolysis, hepatotoxicity, and inflammation. This study was therefore designed to determine the use of raw cucumber (C. sativus) fruit juice as a possible first-aid antidote in druginduced toxicity. Fifteen rabbits of the same gender weighing 0.9-1.4 kg were used for the study. They were divided into three groups of five rabbits each as follows: Group A—five control rabbits; Group B—five rabbits, given 30.0 mg/kgBW subcutaneous injection of amoxicillin every 24 h for seven days and was followed by 30 mL raw cucumber fruit juice supplementation for 14 days; Group C— five rabbits, given 30.0 mg/kgBW subcutaneous injection of amoxicillin every 24 h and raw cucumber fruit juice supplementation for 14 days simultaneously. Plasma LDH, ALT, and fibrinogen were determined in the rabbits by spectrophotometry. There was a significant increase in plasma ALT and LDH and a significant decrease in fibrinogen following amoxicillin overdose compared with the results obtained from the basal samples and the control rabbits. These abnormalities were reversed when raw cucumber fruit juice was administered to the experimental rabbits initially overdosed with amoxicillin (p 0.05). There was a significant increase in the plasma value of LDH in the rabbits when they were supplemented with raw cucumber fruit juice following amoxicillin overdose and when the rabbits were coadministered with raw cucumber fruit juice and amoxicillin overdose compared with their basal samples (p 0.05). There was no significant difference in the plasma value of ALT and fibrinogen when the rabbits were coadministered with raw cucumber fruit juice (p 0.05). This study showed an increase in plasma ALT and LDH, and a decrease in fibrinogen following the administration of subcutaneous injection of amoxicillin; however, these abnormalities were reversed when the rabbits were administered 30 mL of raw cucumber fruit juice. Raw cucumber fruit juice could be applied as first-aid antidote in drug induced toxicity.
10.18639/RABM.2019.879443
Diabetes
Aug 03, 2019
Intestinal glucose absorption/inhibition activity by natural bioactive compounds is considered a new strategy for prevention/treatment of uncontrolled hyperglycemia and diabetes as well as chronic human metabolic disorders. This mini review provides scientific evidence of the contribution of natural bioactive nutrients to inhibit glucose absorption in the small bowel. Many studies were realized on intestinal glucose transport in vitro and on postprandial glucose levels in vivo. In this context, the main designated constituents are ()-catechin, ()-epicatechin, ()-epigallocatechin, epicatechingallate, tannic acid, resveratrol, and chlorogenic acid. The therapeutic approaches are to retard the absorption of glucose by inhibition of carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes such as intestinal glycosidases (α-amylase and α-glycosidase) and the inhibition of intestinal Na+-dependent glucose absorption mediated by reduced expression of glucose transporter (SGLT1). These studies revealed that natural bioactive compounds, as potential candidates, can be designed as natural products for the development of novel functional foods or nutraceuticals to relieve hyperglycemia/diabetes.
10.18639/ RABM.2019.877306
Original Research Article
Jul 31, 2019
Perinatal mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), for example, from amniotic membrane, have advantages over adult sources, such as bone marrow, in terms of ease of availability, cell naivety, tissue stem cell abundance, high capacity of proliferation, and less donor site morbidity, because it does not require invasive procedures. Natural polymer scaffolds, such as gelatin and alginate, are biocompatible. Combination of stem cells from amniotic membrane (hAMSCs) and gelatin or alginate as scaffold can be promising. However, cytotoxicity comparison of gelatin and alginate to hAMSCs has not been widely studied. This study was aimed to compare cytotoxicity of gelatin and alginate on hAMSCs in vitro. Isolation and culture were performed on hAMSCs of the healthy full-term pregnancy. In passage 4, Flow Cytometry CD90, CD105, and CD73 phenotype characterization was done. Colorimetric assay of 3-(4,5-dimethythiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) was performed to measure the cytotoxicity. There were three sample groups: (control group) hAMSCs with alpha-minimum essential medium (α-MEM) solution as control; (gelatin group) hAMSCs with gelatin; (alginate group) hAMSCs with alginate. Each group consisted of 12 samples. Flow cytometry of hAMSCs expressed 28.78% CD90, 36.95% CD105, and 44.41% CD73 surface markers. No sample depicted toxicity in either gelatin or alginate group, and this is indicated by the average percentage of living cells in gelatin 97.26% and in alginate 98.43%. No statistically significant difference (p0.057) of cytotoxicity was found between gelatin and alginate to hAMSCs. Gelatin and alginate were nontoxic to hAMSCs in vitro.
10.18639/RABM.2019.871388
Original Research Article
Jun 25, 2019
India is the epicenter of tropical fever diseases. Large numbers of cases are diagnosed with scrub typhus, leptospirosis, malaria, dengue, chikungunya, and enteric fever. Coinfections as an etiology of acute undifferentiated fever (AUF) have been recently recognized. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of coinfections in patients admitted with AUF in a tertiary-care hospital in the rural setting of Himachal Pradesh, India. Patients with coinfections as an etiology of AUF were the subjects of the study. The clinical records of patients diagnosed with confections between July 2018 and October 2018 were analyzed retrospectively in this hospital-based cross-sectional study. Standard protocol and guidelines were followed for the case definitions. Among total patients of 1005 with AUF, 14 (1.39%) patients were found to have coinfections. The most common coinfection was scrub typhus with leptospirosis and was diagnosed in seven (50%) patients. Other coinfections were scrub typhus with dengue in four (29%) and one patient each with scrub typhus and tubercular meningitis, scrub and influenza A (H1N1/2009) infection, and scrub and malaria (P. falciparum). Scrub typhus was the most common etiological diagnosis for the AUF and was observed in 159 (15.8%) patients. All the patients with coinfections had scrub typhus as the common infection. The prevalence of coinfections among scrub typhus patients constituted 8%. In tropical regions, coinfections are not very rare. High clinical suspicion for coinfections is required. Syndromic approach in the management is justified.
10.18639/RABM.2019.869429
Tuberculosis
Jun 23, 2019
Tuberculosis (TB) is a well-known disease state caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The disease accounts for about 1.5 million deaths worldwide and is transmitted from person to person by the inhalation of respiratory droplets. The progression of tuberculosis from the latent phase to its active form has been reported to be associated with reduced immunity and occurs in about 10% of tuberculosis-infected population. Trace elements play a vital role in the maintenance of the immune system in humans, and therefore their concentration in the serum is important in the management of TB patients. The primary objective of this study was therefore to assess the serum concentrations of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and manganese (Mn) in tuberculosis patients and compare the results obtained against apparently healthy subjects as well as to compare the concentrations of trace element levels in TB patients already on antituberculosis drugs against those not yet exposed to antituberculosis drugs. A total of 62 TB patients were selected, and their blood samples were collected while controls were taken from 20 apparently healthy individuals. The results obtained showed that the serum concentration of the trace elements Zn and Cu was significantly lower and higher for Mn (1.58±1.09 mg/l, 1.17±0.16 mg/l and 0.78±0.11 mg/l, respectively) in the control than in tuberculosis patients (2.59±1.79 mg/l, 1.64±0.47 mg/l, and 0.25±0.35 mg/l). However, those on drugs had higher Zn and Cu levels than those not on drugs. It was therefore concluded and recommended that further studies should be carried out to ascertain the mechanism of action of antituberculosis drugs and their specific effects on serum trace elements of immunological significance, to improve the care for tuberculosis patients.
10.18639/RABM.2019.874345
Microbiology and Immunology
Jun 20, 2019
Overuse and misuse of different antibiotics are considered as one of the main causes of antibiotics accumulation in the environment, most commonly used antibiotics are semimetabolized and excreted by humans to the environment. Studies reported that antibiotic usage exceeds 100,000 tons per year, and this amount may be shocking. However, in fact, the persistence of antibiotic compounds may be more dangerous than the used amount, so it is necessary to develop new methods for elimination of these new pollutants from the environment, especially from water. In this paper, we highlight new and more efficient methods used for removing antibiotic residues (AR) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The new techniques are Fe3O4/red mud nanoparticles, 3D hierarchical porous-structured biochar aerogels, calcined layered double hydroxides, co-doped UiO-66 nanoparticles, Cu@TiO2 hybrids, bioelectrochemical systems, and aerobic granulation process. Most of these methods showed good performance in removing AR and ARGs that ranged from 85% to 95%. These percentages are consider very efficient compared with traditional wastewater treatment methods.
10.18639/RABM.2019.869903
Original Research Article
Jun 05, 2019
A fast and specific reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was used for the immediate identification of flavonoids (gallic acid, rutin, quercetin, ascorbic acid, and kaempferol) in the leaves extract of Mangrove (Rhizophora apiculata). The R. apiculata has lots of valuable medicinal properties including antiallergic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiviral, antioxidant, vascular antitumor activity, and enzyme inhibition; however, the activity of antioxidant is perhaps the greatest studied property attributed to flavonoids. Magnetic stirrer was used for the pretreatment process of sample with methanol by using a temperature of 50°C for 40 min, followed by separation on column size 250 mm 4.6 mm (5 μm) Hypersil Gold C18 (Thermo Electron Corporation) with water–methanol–acetonitrile (45:40:15 v/v/v) containing acetic acid 1.0% as a mobile phase. Moreover, 254-nm wavelength was used to detect the extract. The standard retention times (Rt) of gallic acid, rutin, ascorbic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol were found to be 2.610, 2.875, 3.150, 5.789, and 8.983, respectively. The existence of gallic acid, rutin, ascorbic acid, kaempferol, and quercetin in Mangrove leaves extract was found matching according to the standard retention time. In Mangrove leaves, gallic acid was found to have the retention time at 2.538, rutin at 2.873, quercetin at 5.796, and kaempferol at 8.976. However, the ascorbic acid was not identified. The amount of rutin, gallic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol was calculated by using the assay formula. In Mangrove leaves, the amount of gallic acid, rutin, quercetin, and kaempferol is 3.024, 5.485, 5.144, and 8.361%, respectively.
10.18639/RABM.2019.869984
Agriculture and Allied Sciences
May 23, 2019
The contamination of soil by anthropogenic activities is of great concern in recent times. There is an urgent demand of reliable and eco-friendly approaches for remediation of this concern. The current techniques for heavy metal remediation from contaminated soil are costly, time consuming, and harmful for the environment. Toxicity of heavy metals can reduce plant growth, and a high level of presence of these heavy metals is a risk factor to human and plant health. Heavy metals neither biodegradable materials nor are created. They occur naturally in the earth crust, and they reach the environment by human activities. Organic compounds can be degraded, but metals cannot degrade, and therefore effective cleanup requires its immobilization to reduce or remove toxicity. Recently, research focuses on cost-effective technologies to clean polluted areas. Vermiremediation and phytoremediation are two such useful techniques. In these eco-friendly techniques of remediation, the target plants accumulate, volatilize the contaminants, or convert them into some nontoxic forms, thus remediating the soil.
10.18639/RABM.2019.858317
Original Research Article
Apr 03, 2019
The use of air conditioners (ACs) in homes has become a necessity in urban cities such as Lagos State. The rapid growth in the use of AC has been attributed majorly to protection from high thermal exposures. However, there have been controversies regarding physiological discomforts attributed to AC use. This study therefore seeks to elucidate the associations between AC use and some selected physical ailments using random samples from Lagos State. A structured questionnaire was administered to 200 randomly selected participants. The responses were scored, and the data were analyzed accordingly. The study showed that AC devices were mostly used in sitting room bedroom offices vehicles. The frequency of cold, fever, headache, and chest pain significantly (p 0.01) associate with the use of AC in both sitting room and bedroom. The prevalence of the associated ailments increased with increase in the AC contact duration (6 h) among AC users evaluated in the study. Most of the participants (70%) agreed that AC use brings thermal comfort and therefore is good to health. However, prolonged exposure in indoor AC environments increased the risk of physiological discomfort for the AC users in this study. The authors therefore suggest health workers to create awareness to educate AC users of the likely dangers with prolonged exposure.
10.18639/RABM.2019.770620
Original Research Article
Feb 20, 2019
Long-term/chronic insomnia occurs in patients for over one month; it can affect the functions of the immune system and responses, which may involve cytokines. The aim was to determine alterations of Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and IL-10 cytokines in long-term insomnia. Thirty-three long-term/chronic insomnia patients (male, 22; female, 11) aged 47-61 years were initially recruited. Seven of them who were infected with microbial agents were excluded from the study. Of the 26 free of infectious agents only 21 (female, 5; male, 16) were successfully monitored. Age-matched apparently healthy non-insomnia subjects (male, 25; female, 25) free of the infectious agents were recruited as control. Plasma TNF-alpha, IL-10, HBsAg, anti-HCV, and HIVp24 antigen were assayed by ELISA method while determination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was by Ziehl–Neelsen staining of sputum and Plasmodium spp. by thick blood Giemsa staining. Of the 33 insomnia patients initially recruited, 21.2% (7) were infected with microbial agents (Plasmodium spp., 6.1% (2); HCV, 3.0% (1); HBV, 6.1% (2); Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 3.0% (1); Plasmodium spp. + HBV, 3.0% (1); and HIVp24, 0). Twenty-one chronic insomnia patients were finally investigated on cytokines. There were significantly higher mean plasma values of TNF-alpha and IL-10 cytokines in chronic insomnia patients before treatment than the values obtained in the control subjects (p 0.05). The results also showed a significantly lower mean plasma value of TNF-alpha cytokine in chronic insomnia patients after treatment than the values obtained in the patients before treatment. There were no significant differences in the mean plasma values of IL-10 cytokines in chronic insomnia patients before and after treatment (p 0.05). There was a significant increase in plasma TNF-alpha and IL-10 cytokines in long-term insomnia patients before treatment while plasma TNF-alpha significantly decreased after treatment, and no significant difference was obtained in the plasma IL-10 before and after treatment. TNF-alpha could be a good investigative index of insomnia.
