OBJECTIVE To investigate haematological variations and iron related changes in the serum of participants in a 1600 kilometre ultramarathon run. PARTICIPANTS Seven male and two female participants in a 1600 km foot race. METHODS Blood samples were obtained from the participants before, after four and 11 days of running, and at the end of the event. Samples were analysed by standard methods f...

A univentricle with parallel pulmonary and systemic circulations is inherently inefficient because mixing of pulmonary and systemic venous return occurs. Thus a cavopulmonary anastomosis is used as a staged palliative procedure to reduce volume overload in patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease. On the basis of oxygen uptake and consumption, an equation was derived that related cardiac...

Air is made up of enormous number microorganisms mainly fungi and bacteria spores. Their estimation important as an indication cleanliness any particular environment. The present study was carried out to assess in indoor air the Applied Microbiology laboratory Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Prepared plates Sabouraud Dextrose agar (SDA), Nutrient (NA), Blood were exposed for ten minutes cultur...

Surfactant protein A (SP-A) regulates a variety of immune cell functions. We determined the ability of SP-A derived from normal and asthmatic subjects to modulate the inflammatory response elicited by Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a pathogen known to exacerbate asthma. Fourteen asthmatic and 10 normal control subjects underwent bronchoscopy with airway brushing and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Total ...

OBJECTIVE The inflammatory process plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular complications in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). YKL-40/chitinase 3-like protein 1 is a novel biomarker of systemic inflammation. This study aimed to investigate whether carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), a useful marker for early atherosclerosis, is associated with serum Y...

We compared the rise in nasal airway resistance (NAR) provoked by topical application of substance P (SP) and of methacholine (MCH) in seventeen patients suffering from rhinitis and fourteen control subjects. Challenges with SP or MCH were separated by a week or more. NAR was measured by posterior rhinomanometry before and 10 min after intranasal administration of SP (10-40 nmol) or MCH (3-12 m...

Beside neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, secondary surfactant deficiency may occur in patients with mature lungs. Recent studies revealed quantitative and qualitative changes of lung surfactant in pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) concerning the total phospholipids content in BAL fluid, alterations in surfactant phospholipids classes and a large-to-small aggregates ratio. Reduced expression...

White rot fungi are good lignin degraders and have the potential to be used in industry. In the present work, Phellinus sp., Daedalea sp., Trametes versicolor and Pycnoporus coccineus were selected due to their relatively high ligninolytic enzyme activity, and grown on Acacia mangium wood chips under solid state fermentation. Results obtained showed that manganese peroxidase produced is far mor...

BACKGROUND Genetic and developmental disruption of surfactant protein B (SP-B) expression causes neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). OBJECTIVES To assess developmental and genetic regulation of SP-B expression in vivo. METHODS To evaluate in vivo developmental regulation of SP-B, we used immunoblotting to compare frequency of detection of mature and pro-SP-B peptides in developmen...