Faculty of Applied Science and Technology
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/874
2024-03-29T11:16:00ZEFFECTIVENESS OF BAOBAB-PEARL MILLET BLEND ON BONE MINERAL DENSITY OF WOMEN AGED 40-65 YEARS IN KITUI COUNTY, KENYA
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1970
EFFECTIVENESS OF BAOBAB-PEARL MILLET BLEND ON BONE MINERAL DENSITY OF WOMEN AGED 40-65 YEARS IN KITUI COUNTY, KENYA
Immaculate, Kieti
Osteoporosis is a condition marked by low bone mass and bone tissue loss, which makes a person weak and frail. Osteoporosis, one of the most incapacitating diseases of older people, increases the risk of bone fractures, notably in the hip, spine, and wrist. Women over the age of 45 occupy a third of the hospital beds, on average. 24.3% of Kenyans are estimated to have osteoporosis. The main objective of the study will be to establish the nutrient content of baobab fortified pearl millet flour and assess its impact on bone health among women aged 40-65 years and with osteoporosis at Kitui East sub county, Kitui County. The study will adopt an experimental interventional trial study design. The sample size will be 93 female osteoporotic patients. Bone Mineral Density (BMD) data will be obtained by performing DEXA scan Absorptiometry tests on the women to get their Standard Deviation (SD) levels whereby a SD of 2.5 and above will be considered normal. Baobab dry fruit pulp, pearl millet and baobab fortified pearl millet flour will be analyzed for the nutrient content of selected nutrients of importance to bone health. Calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, copper, vitamin C and zinc will be analyzed. The interventional trials on women with osteoporosis will make use of two formulations of pearl millet flour supplemented with baobab. Data on the study sample's nutritional status, physical activity level, and health-related characteristics will be gathered using a standardized questionnaire. With the exception of the nutritional status data, which will be entered and analyzed using the Nutri-survey computer package, data from the structured questionnaire will be entered and analyzed using SPSS version 19 software. Bone mineral density, the nutritional value of baobab-fortified pearl millet flour, and respondents' nutritional status will all be interpreted using World Health Organization (WHO) cutoff values. Chi-square (x 2 ) will be used to establish the associations between categorical data on BMD and Body mass Index (BMI). Persons Correlation (r) will be done to establish the association between continuous data. Data will be generated into means, frequencies and percentages and grouped into tables, charts and graphs. A p value of (p< 0.05) will be considered significant. Since many scientific researches has shown that majority of women don’t consume adequate bone health nutrients such as calcium in their diets, there is need of developing a nutrition intervention product which can provide the required bone health nutrients to prevent and manage osteoporosis
2024-03-01T00:00:00ZTOXICOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SODIUM METABISULFITE AND MITIGATION OF ITS EFFECTS BY STANDARDIZED Ginkgo biloba EXTRACT (EGb-761) IN A MOUSE MODEL
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1969
TOXICOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SODIUM METABISULFITE AND MITIGATION OF ITS EFFECTS BY STANDARDIZED Ginkgo biloba EXTRACT (EGb-761) IN A MOUSE MODEL
Wairimu, Nancy
Sodium metabisulfite (SMB), is a biocide and antioxidant agent generally used as a preservative in food and beverage industries, but can oxidize to harmful sulfite radicals. A standardized Ginkgo biloba (EGb-761) is well characterized, with 24% flavone glycosides (primarily quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin) and 6% terpene lactones (2.8-3.4% ginkgolides A, B and C, and 2.6-3.2% bilobalide). Notably, Ginkgolide B and bilobalide account for about 0.8% and 3% of the total extract, respectively. EGb-761 has demonstrated potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, beneficial for the treatment of toxicants and diseases that exhibit oxidative stress and inflammation. The present study sought to investigate the putative ameliorative effects of EGb-761 against SMB-induced toxicity in mice. Thirty-two male Swiss white mice were randomized into control, SMB-treated, SMB + EGb-761-treated and EGb-761-treated groups. EGb-761 (100mg/kg/day) and SMB (98mg/kg/day) were administered by gastric gavage for 40 days. Body and relative organ weight, haematological profile, serum electrolytes and lipid profile, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), IL-10, nitric oxide (NO),tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced (GSH) levels and organ damage and pathology have been estimated. Oral administration of EGb-761 restored SMB-induced decrease in body weight and prevented SMB-induced thrombocytopenia, leukocytosis and anaemia. Further, EGb-761-treatment protected against SMB-induced liver and kidney injury depicted by decreased serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, creatinine, urea, uric acid and albumin. Furthermore, EGb-761 treatment attenuated SMB-driven dyslipidemia and metabolic acidosis. Besides, EGb-761 supplementation abrogated SMB-driven oxidative stress as depicted by stabilized GSH levels in the brain, liver, kidney, spleen, heart and lungs. SMB induced a significant increase of tissue levels of MDA, NO, IFN-γ and TNF-α were abrogated by EGb-761 treatment. Histopathological analysis revealed that exposure to SMB resulted in liver and kidney damage. It was noted that EGb-761 nullified those adverse pathological lesions. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that oral administration of standardized Ginkgo bilobaattenuated SMB-induced alteration of hematological parameters, metabolic acidosis, inflammatory responses, oxidative stress and organ damage. These findings provide a novel approach that can be optimized for preventing or treating exposure due to SMB toxicity
2023-11-01T00:00:00ZPUTATIVE EFFECTS OF CYANOCOBALAMIN IN THE REGULATION OF INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES, OXIDATIVE STRESS AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL EVENTS DURING SEVERE STAGE OF HUMAN AFRICAN TRYPANOSOMIASIS
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1964
PUTATIVE EFFECTS OF CYANOCOBALAMIN IN THE REGULATION OF INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES, OXIDATIVE STRESS AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL EVENTS DURING SEVERE STAGE OF HUMAN AFRICAN TRYPANOSOMIASIS
Oula, James
Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a neglected tropical disease caused by T. b. rhodesiense and T. b. gambiense, with tsetse fly (Glossina spp) being the known vector. T. b. rhodesiense causes acute form of HAT in Africa. The severe late stage of the disease is characterized by infiltration of the brain through the blood brain barrier (BBB) as well as overwhelming inflammation and oxidative stress. Treatment of HAT is reliant on the stage of the disease and melarsoprol remains the drug of choice for treatment of late-stage HAT despite the fact that it causes post-treatment reactive encephalopathy (PTRE). It therefore implies that, new treatment strategies that control the breach of the BBB as well as inflammatory reactions and oxidative stress may benefit those on treatment. This study utilized cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), a well characterized anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant molecule to determine its effects on T. b. rhodesiense-driven deleterious events. Therefore, the objective was to determine the effects of cyanocobalamin in the regulation of immune response during T. b. rhodesiense infection. Mice were randomly assigned into four groups each containing 8 mice; with group one being the control. Group two was infected with 5.0 x 104 KETRI 2537 T.b.rhodesiense; group three was supplemented with 8mg/kg of vitamin B12 for two weeks before infection. For group four, administration of vitamin B12 was started 4 days post infection (dpi). The general health of the mice was assessed using rapid murine coma and behavior scale (RMCBS), while parasiteamia was determined microscopically. At 42 dpi, the mice were sacrificed to obtain blood, tissues and organs for various analyses. The statistical analysis was done by GraphPad Prism software package. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the treatment groups with controls, Tukey’s post-hoc test for internal comparisons and Log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test for survival analysis. The results were given as a mean ±SEM with the level of significance set at P <0.05.The results showed that vitamin B12 enhanced the survival rate of T.b.rhodesiense infected mice independent of parasitemia of antilog 8.7 organism/ml and prevented T.b.rhodesiense-induced disruption of the BBB. Notably, T.b.rhodesiense-induced hematological alteration leading to microcytic hypochromic anemia and leukocytosis was nullified in mice administered with vitamin B12. T.b.rhodesiens-induced dyslipidemia was reversed by vitamin B12. T.b.rhodesiense-induced elevation of the liver alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, urea, uric acid and creatinine for kidney damage markers were attenuated by vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 blocked T.b.rhodesiense-driven rise in pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IFN-γ), nitric oxide (NO) and malonaldehyde (MDA). T.b.rhodesiense-induced depletion of glutathione (GSH) levels were attenuated in the presence of vitamin B12 in the brain, spleen and liver tissues; a clear indication of the anti oxidant activity of vitamin B12. The histological analysis of the brain and liver confirmed T.b.rhodesiense-driven damage of these vital organs; which was ameliorated by vitamin B12. In conclusion, treatment with vitamin B12 potentially protects against various pathological events associated with severe late-stage HAT and presents a great opportunity for further scrutiny to develop an adjunct therapy for severe late-stage HAT.
2023-11-01T00:00:00ZEVALUATION OF THE ACCURACY AND REPRODUCIBILITY OF THE PLANNING ISOCENTRE USING AUTOMATIC AND MANUAL COUCH MOVEMENTS
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1962
EVALUATION OF THE ACCURACY AND REPRODUCIBILITY OF THE PLANNING ISOCENTRE USING AUTOMATIC AND MANUAL COUCH MOVEMENTS
MOGIRE, NAOMI
The present study delves into the subject of analyzing the accuracy and reproducibility of the planned isocenter using automatic and manual couch movements, a pivotal issue within the broader context of radiotherapy. This research was driven by the compelling need to ascertain the deviation from the tumor isocenter during the delivery of radiation to cancerous cells and check whether they are within the acceptable clinical tolerance using the AAPM TG-142 protocol. The methodology adopted for this study was hinged on the analysis of the distances between the treatment isocenter from the planned isocenter. The research process involved a detailed collection of shifts using RANDO phantom from three regions of the body (head and neck, thoracic, and pelvic regions) using both automatic and manual couch movements. Sixty shifts; twenty for each region were recorded from where the distances were calculated. The distances offered a more objective evaluation of the accuracy of both couch movements as opposed to the shifts in coordinates. Moreover, the data was analyzed using MS Excel functions that ensured a comprehensive exploration of the topic and an in-depth understanding of the findings. It was found that automatic couch movements were more accurate in reproducing the planned isocenter as compared to manual couch movement techniques. In addition, the present study records a relatively high shift from the planned isocenter for the thoracic region. Only 20% and 17% of the shifts were within the acceptable limits for automatic and manual couch movement respectively compared to the pelvic, head and neck regions whose shifts tolerance was above 70% for both couch movements These results have far-reaching implications for radiation dose delivery as slight deviations from the planned isocenter could potentially lead to an important under dose to the target, which could lead to tumor recurrence and an excessive dosage to healthy tissue, which could have serious repercussions to normal tissues. In conclusion, the findings from this research not only fill a critical gap in the existing literature but also could potentially influence clinical practices and guidelines in the use of couch movements during treatment planning. Future research endeavors could build upon these findings, thereby paving the way for more comprehensive studies in this field.
2023-11-01T00:00:00Z