Determinants of pre-lacteal feeding practices in urban and rural Nigeria; a population-based cross-sectional study using the 2013 Nigeria demographic and health survey data.

Background: Prelacteal feeding (PLF) is a barrier to exclusive breast feeding.

Objective: To determine factors associated with PLF in rural and urban Nigeria.

Methods: We utilized data from the 2013 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey.

The role of metabolomics in tuberculosis treatment research.

Despite the fact that tuberculosis (TB) is a curable disease, it still results in approximately 1.8 million deaths annually. Various inadequacies in the current TB treatment strategies are major contributors to this high disease prevalence, including the long duration of therapy, the severe side effects associated with TB drugs, treatment failure due to drug resistance, post-treatment disease relapse, and HIV co-infection.

Asymmetric dimethylarginine and symmetric dimethylarginine prospectively relates to carotid wall thickening in black men: the SABPA study.

The relationship of both asymmetric (ADMA) and symmetric (SDMA) dimethylarginine with carotid wall thickness is inconclusive especially among black populations. We aimed to compare carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) and dimethylarginine levels in 75 black and 91 white men at baseline and after a 3-year follow-up, and to investigate associations of percentage change in cIMT with percentage change in dimethylarginine levels (ADMA and SDMA). Plasma levels of ADMA and SDMA were determined with a liquid chromatography mass spectrometry method and B-mode ultrasonography was used to determine the cIMT at baseline and follow-up.

Bacterial species and mycotoxin contamination associated with locust bean, melon and their fermented products in south-western Nigeria.

The microbiological safety of spontaneously fermented foods is not always guaranteed due to the undefined fermenting microbial consortium and processing materials. In this study, two commonly consumed traditional condiments (iru and ogiri) and their respective raw seeds (locust bean and melon) purchased from markets in south-western Nigeria were assessed for bacterial diversity and mycotoxin contamination using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), respectively. Two hundred isolates obtained from the raw seeds and condiments clustered into 10 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and spanned 3 phyla, 10 genera, 14 species and 2 sub-species.

Erythropoietin prevents the effect of chronic restraint stress on the number of hippocampal CA3c dendritic terminals-relation to expression of genes involved in synaptic plasticity, angiogenesis, inflammation, and oxidative stress in male rats.

Stress-induced allostatic load affects a variety of biological processes including synaptic plasticity, angiogenesis, oxidative stress, and inflammation in the brain, especially in the hippocampus. Erythropoietin (EPO) is a pleiotropic cytokine that has shown promising neuroprotective effects. Recombinant human EPO is currently highlighted as a new candidate treatment for cognitive impairment in neuropsychiatric disorders.

Prevalence of potentially serious drug-drug interactions among South African elderly private health sector patients using the Mimica Matanović/Vlahović-Palčevski protocol.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of potentially serious drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and their relationship with gender and age, among elderly in South Africa.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using pharmaceutical claims data for 2013, for a total of 103 420 medical scheme beneficiaries' ≥65 years. All medications dispensed within one calendar month where the days' supply of medication dispensed overlapped, were grouped as one prescription.

H NMR spectral identification of medication in cerebrospinal fluid of pediatric meningitis.

Exploratory metabolomics studies of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H NMR) spectroscopy, hold major potential application in neurodiagnostics. Such studies, however, rely upon established databases of known metabolites. Here we address the 'unknowns' in the H NMR spectra of CSF from treated pediatric meningitis cases.

A diagnostic biomarker profile for fibromyalgia syndrome based on an NMR metabolomics study of selected patients and controls.

Background: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic pain syndrome. A plausible pathogenesis of the disease is uncertain and the pursuit of measurable biomarkers for objective identification of affected individuals is a continuing endeavour in FMS research. Our objective was to perform an explorative metabolomics study (1) to elucidate the global urinary metabolite profile of patients suffering from FMS, and (2) to explore the potential of this metabolite information to augment existing medical practice in diagnosing the disease.

Probiotic treatment protects against the pro-depressant-like effect of high-fat diet in Flinders Sensitive Line rats.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is highly associated with dysmetabolic conditions, such as obesity and diabetes mellitus type 2, and the gut microbiota may interact with both disease entities. We have previously shown that a high-fat diet (HFD) exacerbated depressive-like behaviour uniquely in Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rats that inherently present with an increased level of depressive-like behaviour compared with Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) rats. We therefore investigated whether multispecies probiotics possessed anti-depressant-like effect in FSL rats or protected against the pro-depressant-like effect of HFD.

Change in renin, cardiovascular and inflammatory markers over three years in a black and white population: the SABPA study.

Background: To investigate if percentage change (%∆) in renin over a 3 year follow-up is associated with %∆ in cardiovascular and inflammatory markers in a low renin bi-ethnic group.

Methods: Blood pressure, active renin, C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 levels of 73 black and 81 white teachers were measured at baseline and after 3 years.

Results: In the black group, %∆ renin was inversely associated with %∆ systolic blood pressure (β = -0.

Amyloid fibril systems reduce, stabilize and deliver bioavailable nanosized iron.

Iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) is a major global public health problem. A sustainable and cost-effective strategy to reduce IDA is iron fortification of foods, but the most bioavailable fortificants cause adverse organoleptic changes in foods. Iron nanoparticles are a promising solution in food matrices, although their tendency to oxidize and rapidly aggregate in solution severely limits their use in fortification.

A molecular analysis of the gene in Caucasian South Africans with Parkinson's disease.

Background: The molecular basis of Parkinson's disease in South African population groups remains elusive. To date, substitutions in the gene are the most common large-effect genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease. The primary objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of substitutions in South Africans with idiopathic Parkinson's disease.

Probiotic treatment reduces depressive-like behaviour in rats independently of diet.

The gut microbiota has recently emerged as an important regulator of brain physiology and behaviour in animals, and ingestion of certain bacteria (probiotics) therefore appear to be a potential treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). However, some conceptual and mechanistical aspects need further elucidation. We therefore aimed at investigating whether the habitual diet may interact with the effect of probiotics on depression-related behaviour and further examined some potentially involved mechanisms underlying the microbe-mediated behavioural effects.

Clinicians guide for cue-based transition to oral feeding in preterm infants: An easy-to-use clinical guide.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: This article aims to provide evidence to guide multidisciplinary clinical practitioners towards successful initiation and long-term maintenance of oral feeding in preterm infants, directed by the individual infant maturity.

Method: A comprehensive review of primary research, explorative work, existing guidelines, and evidence-based opinions regarding the transition to oral feeding in preterm infants was studied to compile this document.

Results: Current clinical hospital practices are described and challenged and the principles of cue-based feeding are explored.

Lactate Shuttles in Neuroenergetics-Homeostasis, Allostasis and Beyond.

Understanding brain energy metabolism-neuroenergetics-is becoming increasingly important as it can be identified repeatedly as the source of neurological perturbations. Within the scientific community we are seeing a shift in paradigms from the traditional neurocentric view to that of a more dynamic, integrated one where astrocytes are no longer considered as being just supportive, and activated microglia have a profound influence. Lactate is emerging as the "good guy," contrasting its classical "bad guy" position in the now superseded medical literature.

Metabolomics variable selection and classification in the presence of observations below the detection limit using an extension of ERp.

Background: ERp is a variable selection and classification method for metabolomics data. ERp uses minimized classification error rates, based on data from a control and experimental group, to test the null hypothesis of no difference between the distributions of variables over the two groups. If the associated p-values are significant they indicate discriminatory variables (i.

Chemical Composition, but Not Specific Surface Area, Affects Calcium Retention of Nanostructured Calcium Compounds in Growing Rats.

Low dietary calcium intake and bioavailability may adversely affect bone health. Reducing the size of calcium compounds increases their specific surface area (SSA, expressed as m/g) and may increase calcium dissolution and bioavailability. We investigated the influence of SSA and chemical composition on the bioavailability of calcium and compared in vitro calcium dissolution with in vivo absorption.

Medication administration errors and related deviations from safe practice: an observational study.

Aims And Objectives: To determine the incidence of medication administration errors, medication administration-related deviations from safe practice as well as factors associated with these errors in medical and surgical units of public hospitals in the Gauteng Province of South Africa.

Background: Several studies have been published on the incidence of medication administration errors, but only a few have studied the incidence of medication administration-related deviations from safe practice. Context-specific research on the incidence of medication administration errors and associated factors (patient acuity, bed occupancy, staffing levels, medication administrators' qualifications, dose calculation skills, level of hospital, unit type, medication administration route and interruptions) within the continent of Africa is lacking.

Metabolomics biomarkers for tuberculosis diagnostics: current status and future objectives.

Numerous studies have contributed to our current understanding of the complex biology of pulmonary tuberculosis and subsequently provided solutions to its control or eradication. Metabolomics, a newcomer to the Omics research domain, has significantly contributed to this understanding by identifying biomarkers originating from the disease-associated metabolome adaptations of both the microbe and host. These biomarkers have shed light on previously unknown disease mechanisms, many of which have been implemented toward the development of improved diagnostic strategies.

The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project.

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.

Isolation and characterisation of crude oil sludge degrading bacteria.

Background: The use of microorganisms in remediating environmental contaminants such as crude oil sludge has become a promising technique owing to its economy and the fact it is environmentally friendly. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as the major components of oil sludge, are hydrophobic and recalcitrant. An important way of enhancing the rate of PAH desorption is to compost crude oil sludge by incorporating commercial surfactants, thereby making them available for microbial degradation.

Contribution towards a Metabolite Profile of the Detoxification of Benzoic Acid through Glycine Conjugation: An Intervention Study.

Benzoic acid is widely used as a preservative in food products and is detoxified in humans through glycine conjugation. Different viewpoints prevail on the physiological significance of the glycine conjugation reaction and concerns have been raised on potential public health consequences following uncontrolled benzoic acid ingestion. We performed a metabolomics study which used commercial benzoic acid containing flavored water as vehicle for designed interventions, and report here on the controlled consumption of the benzoic acid by 21 cases across 6 time points for a total of 126 time points.

The α2C-adrenoceptor antagonist, ORM-10921, exerts antidepressant-like effects in the Flinders Sensitive Line rat.

Depression involves deficits in monoaminergic neurotransmission. Differential roles for α2A, B and C subtypes of the α2-adrenoceptor (AR) are evident, with selective α2C-AR antagonists purported to have antidepressant and procognitive properties. However, this has not been demonstrated in a genetic animal model of depression.

Inappropriate medicine prescribing in older South Africans: A cross-sectional analysis of medicine claims data.

Background: Prescribing for older patients is a well-recognised problem, and inappropriate items are prescribed frequently. Several tools and criteria are available to promote rational prescribing in older patients.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIPs) in older South African patients.

Amelioration of iron mine soils with biosolids: Effects on plant tissue metal content and earthworms.

The achievement of environmentally sound and economically feasible disposal strategies for biosolids is a major issue in the wastewater treatment industry around the world, including Swaziland. Currently, an iron ore mine site, which is located within a wildlife sanctuary, is being considered as a suitable place where controlled disposal of biosolids may be practiced. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of urban biosolids on iron mine soils with regard to plant metal content and ecotoxicological effects on earthworms.