Rivers State University of Science and Technology

About: Rivers State University of Science and Technology is a education organization based out in Port Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Threatened species. The organization has 1826 authors who have published 1833 publications receiving 15183 citations.

Antidiabetic and Antioxidant Effects of the Polyherbal Drug Glucoblock and Glibenclamide in Type 2 Diabetic Rats

Abstract: The increased prevalence of diabetes, and the huge disease burden on patients has led to an increase in the use of complementary and alternative medicine in diabetes treatment and management. Aim: This study evaluates the antidiabetic and antioxidant effects of the polyherbal capsule glucoblock and glibenclamide in type 2 diabetic rats. Methodology: A total of 35 male Wistar albino rats weighing between 120-220 g were used for this study. The rats were placed on high fat diet, and diabetes induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of freshly prepared streptozotocin (STZ) (45 mg/kg body Wt). Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was determined using the glucose oxidase method. Fasting plasma insulin (FPI), total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels were quantitatively determined by a rat-specific sandwich-enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Insulin resistance (IR) was determined using the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) method. Oxidative stress index (OSI) was determined by the ratio of TOS to TAS. Phytochemical analysis was also done on the herbal capsule. Results: Mean FPG levels were significantly lower (p˂0.05) in all groups, compared to the diabetic control. Mean FPG level was significantly higher (p˂0.05) in the combination group, but showed no significant difference (p>0.05) in the glibenclamide group, and glucoblock group, compared to the negative control. HOMA-IR was significantly higher (p<0.05) in the diabetic control compared to the negative control and treatment groups. The combination group had significantly higher (p˂0.05) HOMA-IR values, whereas the individual treatment groups showed no significant difference (p>0.05) when compared to the negative control. TOS was significantly higher (p<0.05) in the diabetic control compared to the negative control and treatment groups. The treatment groups showed no significant difference (p>0.05) in TOS, compared to the negative control. There was significantly lower (p˂0.05) TAS levels in the diabetic and treatment groups, compared to the negative control. OSI values were significantly lower (p˂0.05) in all groups when compared to the diabetic control. Also, OSI values were significantly higher (p˂0.05) in the treatment groups compared to the negative control. SOD was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the diabetic control compared to the negative control and treatment groups. The treatment groups showed no significant difference (p>0.05) in SOD levels, compared to the negative control. Conclusion: Increase in total oxidant status and oxidative stress depleted antioxidant parameters. The polyherbal capsule glucoblock was effective when used alone and produced equipotent effect to the treatment with glibenclamide. However, the combination treatment did not fare better. Antioxidant therapy should be used together with antidiabetics in the management of diabetes, and care should be taken in the use herb-drug combinations.

Assessment of Some Heavy Metal Content of Dried Crayfish Sold in Creek Road Market, Borokiri, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract: Heavy metals are elements that contaminate seafood and make them harmful to human health when present in quantities that are higher than the permissible limit. This study was conducted to determine some heavy metals such as lead and mercury contained in dried crayfish gotten from three different locations (Oron, Ataba and Nembe town in Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Bayelsa State respectively) and sold in the Creek Road Market, Borokiri, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The dried crayfish samples were purchased randomly from marketers in the market. 5g of the dried crayfish samples with its different organs (Gills, muscle tissues) were ground into powdered form and digested with HNO3 using standard procedures and analysed for lead and mercury using the micro plasma atomic emission spectrophotometric analyser. The results showed that Lead content in the dried crayfish from Oron, Ataba and Nembe were 0.140 ± 0.014 mg/kg, 0.040 ± 0.014 mg/kg and 0.016 ± 0.002 mg/kg respectively while for Mercury content, Oron crayfish contained 5.136 ± 0.017 mg/kg, Ataba 3.744 ± 0.017 mg/kg and Nembe 3.948 ± 0.023mg/kg. The mean values in the three different crayfish samples were significantly different (p<0.05). This result shows that the lead content present in the dried crayfish are within the permissible limit of 1 mg/kg as indicated by FAO hence safe for consumption purposes with no expected form of toxicity and health implication to consumers whereas for mercury content, the level was found to be above the permissible limit.

A scale-dependent ‘functional’ assessment of the concept of endemism

Abstract: Whether a species can be defined as ‘endemic’ or not is very controversial in theoretical terms, because the concepts of ‘endemism’ and ‘area of endemism’ remain much debated among scientists. We propose that it is necessary to consider the body size scale of an organism and the breadth of its distributional range if we want to define a given species as ‘endemic’ or not. Thus, for instance, Madagascar can be an appropriate area of endemism for animals as large and vagile as the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox), but it is much too large to be considered an ecologically appropriate ‘area of endemism’ for small-sized frogs with limited dispersal abilities. Instead, for these small species it is ecologically more appropriate to consider given forest regions within Madagascar as ‘areas of endemism’. Therefore, we propose a five-step approach in order to define whether a given species can be considered endemic or not within a set of potential candidate species, and we offer a suite of practical examples (African squirrels, African Artiodactyla and a family of freshwater turtles from the Americas) to elucidate the designated concept. We define the new concept presented herein as ‘scale-dependent functional endemism’. The new concept has the benefits of including the ‘ecological characteristics’ of the target species in the concept of ‘endemism’ and being easily repeated, because it is based on rather objective criteria.

Leveraging on the genomics and immunopathology of SARS-CoV-2 for vaccines development: prospects and challenges.

Abstract: The incidence and case-fatality rates (CFRs) of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, the etiological agent for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), have been rising unabated. Even though the entire world has been implementing infection prevention and control measures, the pandemic continues to spread. It has been widely accepted that preventive vaccination strategies are the public health measures for countering this pandemic. This study critically reviews the latest scientific advancement in genomics, replication pattern, pathogenesis, and immunopathology of SARS-CoV-2 infection and how these concepts could be used in the development of vaccines. We also offer a detailed discussion on the anticipated potency, efficacy, safety, and pharmaco-economic issues that are and will be associated with candidate COVID-19 vaccines.

Spectral Efficiency Analysis of GSM Networks in South-South Nigeria

Abstract: In this paper, the technique of multiplicity was used to analyse GSM network capacity in Nigeria. An evaluation of Enhanced stochastic knapsack was used as an approach for resource sharing in multiservice by adopting the Erlang Loss Model in analyzing the SMS capacity. The offered traffic that is Lost Traffic based was used to dimension the system resources. To actualize this work, measurements were conducted in Benin City and Port Harcourt to determine the best signal characterization of the southern part of Nigeria. Based on the measurement data, a model was developed to predict the traffic intensity of the region. Comparisons were carried out on the different types of frequency hopping and the variant DFH based power was applied in improving the spectral efficiency of the network. The results showed that the spectral efficiency increased, as the number of cell per cluster decreased. The optimal value of the number of cell in the cluster caused reduced interference, since the reduced interference could allow the users to achieve higher rates.