Systematic review and meta-analysis assessing the status of carotid intima-media thickness and lipid profiles in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Objectives: Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a measurement for subclinical atherosclerosis and has been associated with overall cardiovascular diseases, especially in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We aimed to assess the status of carotid health and lipid profile in T2DM.

Design: This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesised data published from clinical studies.

Terbium- and samarium-doped LiZrO perovskite materials as efficient and stable electrocatalysts for alkaline hydrogen evolution reactions.

The preparation of highly active, rare earth, non-platinum-based catalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) in alkaline solutions would be useful in realizing green hydrogen production technology. Perovskite oxides are generally regarded as low-active HER catalysts, owing to their unsuitable hydrogen adsorption and water dissociation. In this article, we report on the synthesis of LiZrO perovskites substituted with samarium and terbium cations at A-sites for the HER.

Seven-day, free-living, objectively-measured ambulatory activity: a data set from the Dikgale Health and Demographic Surveillance System site, Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Objectives: To investigate first, the level, distribution, patterns and prevalence of seven-day, objectively-measured physical activity (ambulation) in a rural health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) site in South Africa, across demographic, temporal and anthropometric measures, within a sample of adolescent and adult participants from a defined ethnic group. Second, to investigate the strength and direction of association between levels of adiposity and physical activity (ambulation).

Data Description: The data collected comprises anonymized, individual-level, seven-day pedometry data from a cross-sectional, conveniently sampled survey conducted in 2005-2007.

First Report of (Imamura, 1931) Filipjev and Schuurmans Stekhoven, 1941 Associated with Grass in South Africa.

associated with grass in South Africa was identified morphologically and molecularly. This population is characterized by a body length of 409 - 529 μm, a stylet length of 9.5 - 13 μm, a post-vulval uterine sac of 45 - 50 μm, and the characteristic tail bifurcated at the end with one prong longer than the other.

Highlighting the Importance of Characterization Techniques Employed in Adsorption Using Metal-Organic Frameworks for Water Treatment.

The accumulation of toxic heavy metal ions continues to be a global concern due to their adverse effects on the health of human beings and animals. Adsorption technology has always been a preferred method for the removal of these pollutants from wastewater due to its cost-effectiveness and simplicity. Hence, the development of highly efficient adsorbents as a result of the advent of novel materials with interesting structural properties remains to be the ultimate objective to improve the adsorption efficiencies of this method.

Objectively-measured step cadence and walking patterns in a rural African setting: a cross-sectional analysis.

Objectives: To investigate free-living, accelerometry-derived step cadence and walking strategy parameters in 263 adult women (19-56 years) within a rural African setting. Participants were categorised into weight groups: Under-to-Normal Weight (UW/NW: < 25 kg/m), Overweight-to-Obese (OW/OB: ≥ 25 kg/m). From the minute-by-minute uni-axial accelerometry data, outcomes describing physical activity intensity, step volume, step cadence and step bouts were extracted.

Achieving SDGs and addressing health emergencies in Africa: strengthening health promotion.

In 1986, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened the first Global Conference on Health Promotion held in Ottawa, Canada. This conference yielded the Ottawa Charter which defined health promotion as the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. A series of conferences followed and in 2005, WHO convened the Sixth Global Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, which yielded the Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion.

One-Step Hydrothermal Synthesis of Nitrogen-Doped Reduced Graphene Oxide/Hausmannite Manganese Oxide for Symmetric and Asymmetric Pseudocapacitors.

In this paper, the pseudocapacitive performance of nitrogen-doped and undoped reduced graphene oxidetetragonal hausmannite nanohybrids (N-rGO/MnO and rGO/MnO) synthesized using a one-pot hydrothermal method is reported. The nanohybrid electrode materials displayed exceptional electrochemical performance relative to their respective individual precursors (i.e.

Palladinized graphene oxide-MOF induced coupling of Volmer and Heyrovsky mechanisms, for the amplification of the electrocatalytic efficiency of hydrogen evolution reaction.

In this study, a nanocomposite of palladium supported graphene oxide (GO)/metal-organic framework (MOF) was prepared using electroless deposition of Pd on GO followed by impregnation method of Pd@GO and MOF. The prepared materials were characterized with various analytical techniques and their applications as HER electrocatalysts were evaluated using cyclic voltammetry (CV), Tafel plots, and turn over frequencies (TOFs). The HER results showed a radical increment of H production in the nanocomposite through the Volmer reaction together with Heyrovsky or Tafel mechanism.

Use of biomarkers in monitoring pollution status of urban rivers, Limpopo, South Africa.

This study investigated the use of enzymes and histology as potential biomarkers in Sand and Blood Rivers in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Physico-chemical parameters were analyzed at sites S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5 of the Sand River and sites B1 and B2 of the Blood River. Sites S1 and B1 were selected as the reference sites and located upstream of the Polokwane and Seshego wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) effluent discharge points, respectively.

Lithium inhibits NF-κB nuclear translocation and modulate inflammation profiles in Rift valley fever virus-infected Raw 264.7 macrophages.

Introduction: Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a zoonotic life-threatening viral infection endemic across sub-Saharan African countries and the Arabian Peninsula; however, there is a growing panic of its spread to non-endemic regions. This viral infection triggers a wide spectrum of symptoms that span from fibril illnesses to more severe symptoms such as haemorrhagic fever and encephalitis. These severe symptoms have been associated with dysregulated immune response propagated by the virulence factor, non-structural protein (NSs).

Improved Hydrogenation Kinetics of TiMn Alloy Coated with Palladium through Electroless Deposition.

The deterioration of hydrogen charging performances resulting from the surface chemical action of electrophilic gases such as CO is one of the prevailing drawbacks of TiMn materials. In this study, we report the effect of autocatalytic Pd deposition on the morphology, structure, and hydrogenation kinetics of TiMn alloy. Both the uncoated and Pd-coated materials were characterized using scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD).

In Vitro Evaluation of Anti-Rift Valley Fever Virus, Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of South African Medicinal Plant Extracts.

Rift valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne virus endemic to sub-Saharan African countries, and the first sporadic outbreaks outside Africa were reported in the Asia-Pacific region. There are no approved therapeutic agents available for RVFV; however, finding an effective antiviral agent against RVFV is important. This study aimed to evaluate the antiviral, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of medicinal plant extracts.

Instrumental Techniques for Characterization of Molybdenum Disulphide Nanostructures.

The excellent chemical and physical properties of materials (nanomaterials) with dimensions of less than 100 nm (nanometers) resulted in researchers and industrialists to have great interest in their discovery and applications in various systems/applications. As their sizes are reduced to nanoscale, these nanomaterials tend to possess exceptional properties differing from those of their bulk counterparts; hence, they have found applications in electronics and medicines. In order to apply them in those applications, there is a need to synthesise these nanomaterials and study their structural, optical, and electrochemical properties.

Climatic oscillations during the Mio/Pliocene epochs induced cladogenesis in the terrestrial snail genus Gittenedouardia (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Cerastidae) from South Africa.

In South Africa, the terrestrial snail genus Gittenedouardia is the most species-rich member of the Cerastidae, where it is primarily distributed in the highly fragmented Afrotemperate and Indian Ocean coastal belt (IOCB) forest biomes. Phylogenetic relationships and cladogenetic events within the genus remain unstudied. In this respect, we reconstructed a dated phylogeny for eight Gittenedouardia species, and two populations identified to genus level using a combined mitochondrial (16S rRNA and COI) DNA sequencing dataset analysed using Bayesian inference and Maximum Likelihood framework.

The Effect of Lithium on Inflammation-Associated Genes in Lipopolysaccharide-Activated Raw 264.7 Macrophages.

Lithium remains the preferred Food and Drug Administration- (FDA-) approved psychiatric drug for treatment of bipolar disorders since its medical establishment more than half a century ago. Recent studies revealed a promising role for lithium in the regulation of inflammation, oxidative stress, and neurodegeneration unclear about its exact mode of action. Thus, the intention of this study is to delineate the regulatory mechanisms of lithium on oxidative stress in lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) activated macrophages by evaluating its effects on nuclear factor-B (NF-B) activity and mRNA expression of multiple oxidative stress-related NF-B genes.

Synthesis and characterization of magnetic clay-based carboxymethyl cellulose-acrylic acid hydrogel nanocomposite for methylene blue dye removal from aqueous solution.

Carboxymethyl cellulose/poly(acrylic acid) (CMC-cl-pAA) hydrogel and its magnetic hydrogel nanocomposite (CMC-cl-pAA/FeO-C30B) were prepared via a free radical polymerization method and used as adsorbents for adsorption of methylene blue (MB) dye. The samples were characterized using Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer, high-resolution transmission electron microscope, and dynamic mechanical analysis. The adsorption performance of the prepared adsorbents was studied in a batch mode.

Poly(3-aminobenzoic acid) Decorated with Cobalt Zeolitic Benzimidazolate Framework for Electrochemical Production of Clean Hydrogen.

A novel composite of poly(3-aminobenzoic acid) (PABA) and a cobalt zeolitic benzimidazolate framework (CoZIF) has been studied for the production of hydrogen through the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The structural characteristics and successful synthesis of PABA, CoZIF and the PABA/CoZIF composite were confirmed and investigated using different techniques. Probing-ray diffraction for phase analysis revealed that the composite showed a decrease and shift in peak intensities, confirming the incorporation of CoZIF on the PABA backbone via in situ polymerization, with an improvement in the crystalline phase of the polymer.

Descriptive epidemiology of objectively-measured, free-living sleep parameters in a rural African setting.

Objectives: To investigate the descriptive nature of objectively-measured, free-living sleep quantity and quality, and the relationship to adiposity, in a rural African setting in 145 adults (≥ 40 years, female: n = 104, male: n = 41). Wrist-mounted, triaxial accelerometry data was collected over 9 days. Measures of sleep quantity and quality, and physical activity were extracted from valid minute-by-minute data.

In-vitro analysis of free radical scavenging activities and suppression of LPS-induced ROS production in macrophage cells by Solanum sisymbriifolium extracts.

The current study aims to evaluate the antioxidant, cytotoxicity activities and suppression of LPS-induced oxidative stress production and characterization of phytochemicals in Solanum sisymbriifolium leaf extracts. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging activity of the leaves of S. sisymbriifolium extracted with solvents of various polarities viz.

Influence of Magnetic Nanoparticles on Modified Polypyrrole/-Phenylediamine for Adsorption of Cr(VI) from Aqueous Solution.

A novel, modified polypyrrole/-phenylediamine (PPy-PD) composite, decorated with magnetite (FeO) nanoparticles, and prepared via an in-situ oxidative polymerisation, was investigated. The PPy-PD/FeO nanocomposite was employed for the removal of highly toxic oxyanion hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) from an aqueous solution. The structure and successful formation of the PPy-PD/FeO nanocomposite was confirmed and investigated using various techniques.

Objectively-measured physical activity patterns and longitudinal weight category status in a rural setting.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between longitudinal weight-change and objectively-measured physical activity (PA) in a rural African setting in 143 adults (≥ 30 years), using data from two cross-sectional surveys, separated by approximately 10 years. Participants were categorised into three weight-change groups (Weight-loss: ≥ 25 kg m→ < 25 kg m; Weight-gain: < 25 kg m→ ≥ 25 kg m; Weight-stability: remained < 25 kg m or ≥ 25 kg m). Daily ambulation and activity energy expenditure (AEE), measured in the 2005-2007 health survey, was examined across the weight-change groups.

Deriving objectively-measured sedentary indices from free-living accelerometry data in rural and urban African settings: a cost effective approach.

Objectives: To investigate the agreement between two data reduction approaches for detecting sedentary breaks from uni-axial accelerometry data collected in human participants. Free-living, uni-axial accelerometer data (n = 318) were examined for sedentary breaks using two different methods (Healy-Matthews; MAH/UFFE). The data were cleaned and reduced using MAH/UFFE Analyzer software and custom Microsoft Excel macro's, such that the average daily sedentary break number were calculated for each data record, for both methods.

Microwave-assisted green synthesis of xanthan gum grafted diethylamino ethyl methacrylate: An efficient adsorption of hexavalent chromium.

We report the development of a novel graft copolymer, diethylamino ethyl methacrylate grafted xanthan gum (mwXG-g-DEAEMA), by microwave heating. The synthesized graft copolymer was used for potential application of Cr(VI) adsorption. The structure, thermal stability and morphologies of XG and mwXG-g-DEAEMA were characterized to verify the adsorbent formed under optimized reaction conditions.

Enzyme activity and histological analysis of Clarias gariepinus fed on Imbrasia belina meal used for partial replacement of fishmeal.

An experiment was carried out to assess the effect of replacing fishmeal with mopane worm meal in the diet of Clarias gariepinus. Juvenile C. gariepinus weighing 67.