Sleep deprivation can be described as inadequate quantity or quality of sleep characterized by insufficient sleep duration, delayed sleep onset, and occurrence of napping episodes during the day. Sleep deprivation in animals and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in human was reported to be associated with increased oxidative stress. Glycyrrizha glabra (licorice) is a medicinal plant known to be a highly efficacious medicinal herb with several pharmacological effects. Hence, the aim of this study was to demonstrate whether or not licorice root extract will regulate the imbalance between the reactive oxygen species and production of antioxidant enzymes in the brain of sleep deprived rats. Twenty - five 6-week-old male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups to undergo sleep deprivation and recovery for 5 days each. Group I (Control): Group II: sleep deprivation (SD); Group III: sleep deprivation and recovery (SD+SR) all received distill water (10ml/kg) orally; Group IV: sleep deprivation and licorice (SD+Lic), Group V: sleep deprivation, recovery with licorice (SD+SR+Lic) both received licorice (150mg/kg) orally once daily. MDA concentration among rats in Groups II (51%), III (46.7%) and IV (31.3%) were significantly higher when compared with control. Rats in Group III (20.5%), Group IV (24.6%) and Group V (30.8%) showed increased significant change in GSH concentration when compared with Group II. The concentration of CAT among rats in Group II was significantly lower than those rats in Group III (43.8%), Group IV (53.8%) and Group V (72.9%). These results clearly show that sleep deprivation significantly affects the oxidative status of rats. In conclusion, licorice root extract has ameliorative effect on the imbalance between the reactive oxygen species and production of antioxidant enzymes in the brain of sleep deprived rats.
Sleep ; Sleep Deprivation ; Oxidative Stress, Rats

Iodine deficiency is regarded as the single most common cause of preventable mental impairment in communities with suboptimal intake of iodine. Universal Salt Iodization is the most effective and sustainable intervention strategy for prevention, control and elimination of iodine deficiency. Urinary iodine concentration is the biochemical indicator for assessing the iodine status of a population. This study was prompted by reports showing evidence of cretinism in Karimui-Nomane district in Simbu province. The major objectives were therefore to assess the availability of adequately iodized salt in households, the per capita discretionary intake of salt per day and the iodine status of school children (age 6–12 years) in Karimui-Nomane, the district of concern, and Sina Sina Yonggomugl, a comparison district in Simbu province. Iodine level was assessed in salt samples collected from randomly selected households in both districts. The head of each household completed a questionnaire on knowledge, attitudes and practices related to salt iodization. Urinary iodine concentrations were measured in spot urine samples collected from randomly selected 6 to 12 years old children from selected primary schools in the two districts. 82.4% and 63.8% of salt samples from Karimui-Nomane and Sina Sina Yonggomugl respectively were adequately iodized above the national standard of 30ppm. The mean per capita discretionary intake of salt in households in Karimui-Nomane district was 4.62 ± 0.42 g/day, and in Sina Sina Yonggomugl district was 6.0 ± 2.61g/day. At measured levels of iodization (mean iodine content 34.7ppm and 32.7ppm respectively), this amount of salt would provide the recommended intake of iodine (150ug/day). However, for children in Karimui-Nomane the median UIC was 17.5μg/L and the interquartile range (IQR) was 15.0 – 43.0μg/L. and in Sina Sina Yonggomugl, the median UIC was 57.5μg/L and the IQR was 26.3–103.0μg/L, indicating severe and mild iodine deficiency respectively. These apparently conflicting findings may be explained by the fact that only 34% of households in Karimui-Nomane and 72% of households in Sina Sina Yonggomugl had salt on the day of the survey. The results indicate that iodine deficiency is a significant public health problem in Karimui-Nomane and Sina Sina Yonggomugl districts in Simbu province, potentially because of lack of access to salt, rather than inadequate implementation of salt iodization. Further studies are needed to quantify access to salt for communities in areas that are not easily accessible like Karimui-Nomane district in Papua New Guinea and, if inadequate salt access is confirmed, to develop alternative or complementary strategies to salt iodization

Acetone, Hexane, Ethylacetate and Acetone / Hexane / Ethylacetate (50/30/20 v/v/v) extracts of Vernonia amygdalina leaves (Del, belonging to the family Asteraceae) were investigated for antimicrobial activities. Three different concentrations (100 mg/mL, 50 mg/mL and 25 mg/mL) of each extract were used against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Escherichia coli ATCC 25920 and Candida albicans. The disc diffusion method was used. Phytochemical screening and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis of constituents of the extracts were also carried out. Highest yield (14.25 %) after extraction was obtained for acetone extract followed by hexane extract (8.2 %), Acetone/Hexane/Ethylacetate extract (7.4 %) and ethylacetate (7.1 %) extract. Tannin, steroids, saponin, terpenoid, flavonoid, anthraquinones were present in each of the solvent extracts. Coumarin was present in both acetone and Acetone/Hexane/Ethylacetate extracts while glycosides were present only in the Acetone/Hexane/Ethylacetate extract. Protein was present in ethylacetate extract and absent in the other solvent extracts. The extracts revealed dose-dependent activities against all the test organisms. Highest range of inhibition zone (15.00 mm- 18.00 mm) was obtained for Acetone/Hexane/Ethylacetate extract at 25 mg/mL against the test organisms while lowest range of inhibition zone (7.00 mm- 10.00 mm) was obtained for acetone extract at 100 mg/mL. Various compounds (Oxalate, Phyrate, Epivernodalol, Vernodalol, Venonioside A, Vernonioside B, Vernodalin, Luteolin, Andrographolide, Andrographoside) were separated at different peak heights (mV) and at varying retention times from all the solvent extracts. The solvent extracts of Vernonia amygdalina can serve as good alternative to orthodox medicine in the treatment of infections associated with the three test organisms.

Limited information on drug use indicates that medicines are not optimally used. Inadequate knowledge of medication uses may lead to overuse of medicines or patient non-compliance with a medicine regimen, and result in serious outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess the patients’ knowledge on dispensed medications in pharmacy at Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH). This was a descriptive cross-sectional study utilizing a self-administered questionnaire adapted from the WHO “Guide to Good Prescribing Practical Manual”. The questionnaire sought to elicit major classes of medicines prescribed, knowledge of patients on indications, how to use the medicines, precautions and possible adverse events. A total of 130 patients from PMGH participated in this study. Although majority of patients (94.6%) knew the instructions on the use of the dispensed medicines in terms of route of administration, dosage and frequency of usage; only 74.6% of them knew the duration of medicines use. Further, 19.2% of participants did not know the indications for which their medicines were prescribed. Knowledge on adverse effects was also significantly low i.e 34.7%. Lack of understanding of warnings and precautions was rated at 42.3%. These figures may contribute to poor patient compliance and cause possible harm to the patients. The results demonstrated lack of adequate information given to patients on their prescribed medicines. It is recommended that prescribers be re-trained on the importance of giving adequate information on medications given to patients, particularly to patients with low educational background.

The aim of this study was to identify factors that affect the dental service delivery in a dental clinic from the context of Papua New Guinean dental providers and to make practical recommendations to improve dental service delivery. This qualitative descriptive study used individual interviews with seven dental providers to identify the factors that were affecting quality dental service delivery in a dental clinic in Papua New Guinea. The factors influencing the quality of dental service fell into three categories and 8 themes. The categories were environmental factors with themes of resources and facilities, leadership and management, partnership development and collaboration; provider-related factors with themes provider competence, provider motivation and satisfaction; and required measures with the themes of a new dental clinic building, renovation of the main clinic area and organizational structure. Quality dental service is achieved when there is a supportive working environment with availability of (new) physical amenities and dental resources, and proper management and organizational structures with supportive visionary leadership. This would encourage teamwork and partnership development internally within the dental team and externally with its stakeholders. Furthermore, it would increase staff motivation and satisfaction internally and partnership development internally within the dental staff and externally with its stakeholders. Consider creating a new dental clinic. Develop a contract between the University and the Hospital to resolve the property ownership issues. Create a clear organizational structure and improve management interaction with clinical staff so that management is supportive. Improve the quality of dental supplies and create an efficient material ordering system. Ensure fairness to staff and respect to procedures are compliantly maintained to encourage teamwork. Reward clinical staff for mentoring and teaching dental students. Create access to continuing professional development for the clinical staff.

Isolated progressive macrodactyly belongs to a heterogeneous group of congenital overgrowth syndromes, resulting in enlargement of all tissues localized to the terminal portions (fingers or toes) of a limb. The aim of this case report is to create further awareness among physicians on this rare clinical entity and present a short review of the literature. We present the case of a 10-year-old Nigerian girl with a history of progressive overgrowth of left thumb since birth. The patient‟s facies and body habitus were normal without hemihypertrophy. Anthropometric measurements of the child‟s hands, revealed an overgrowth of the left thumb compared with the right. The child had no café-au-lait spots or any other skin lesions. The radiograph of the hands revealed increase in size of both soft tissue and phalangeal bones (enlongated and broadened) of the left thumb. A diagnosis of isolated progressive left thumb macrodactyly was made and the patient was referred to the orthopaedic surgeon for surgical intervention. The child and her parents suffered psychological distress. Isolated progressive macrodactyly is very rare but it is cosmetically displeasing to the child, resulting in psychological distress.

The major objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of HCV infection among selected patients admitted in the medical wards in Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH). This hospital based cross-sectional study was carried out in 2012 and 2013. Patients were selected after their routine clinical examination by the clinical consultant during ward round. About 3ml of blood was obtained from the blood already collected for routine laboratory tests. The plasma obtained from each blood sample was stored at – 20 C till required for analysis. The Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Commercial Kit for qualitative detection of IgM-class antibodies to HCV in human plasma was used for analysis of the plasma samples. Three recommended cut-off points and criteria (Positive, Negative and Borderline) were used for the qualitative interpretation of the results. Appropriate ethical approval and permission were obtained from the various authorities including the Medical Research Advisory Committee (MRAC), National Department of Health (NDOH) PNG. Informed consent was also obtained from the 117 patients selected for this study. The mean age of all the patients was 36.0 ± 13.9 years and their age range was 14 to 63 years. Of the 117 plasma samples 16 (13.7%) were positive for HCV IgM, 11 (9.4%) were borderline and 90 (76.9%7) were negative for HCV IgM. The clinical diagnosis for admission of the 16 patients with positive HCV IgM included 5 (31.3%) with cardiovascular disorders (CVD), 3 (18.7%) with pneumonia, 3 (18.7%) with hepatic liver disease, 2 (12.5%) with HIV and 3 (18.7%) with TB-meningitis. Of the 5 patients with CVD two of them had Rheumatic heart disease with mitral regurgitation. The data obtained in this hospital based study revealed the extent of HCV infection among patients admitted in PMGH with different medical diagnosis. It can be considered as baseline data for healthcare providers to have a first glance at the extent of HCV prevalence among the patients in Port Moresby General Hospital and to a limited extent among the general population in Port Moresby.

Gender, age and ethnic differences in pain perception have been reported in clinical and experimental research. However, it is not known whether cold and ischemia-induced pain models can explain ethnic-related variability in pain perception. The current study was designed to investigate the effect of ethnicity on pain perception in healthy Nigerians and to assess whether the variability in pain perception is dependent on the circulating level of β-Endorphin. One hundred and sixty healthy volunteers were randomly selected from the four main ethnic groups (Fulani, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) in Nigeria. There were 40 volunteers per group. The selected individuals were informed on what they should expect during the study after which their informed consents were requested. Questionnaires were used to obtain the socio-demographic and biodata of each of the consented volunteers. Cold, ischemia and cold+ischemia- induced pains were administered, after which the pain threshold and tolerance were estimated by monitoring the time (seconds) taken for pain to occur and the point at which the subject can no longer withstand the pain. Our results show that Igbo ethnic group has significantly lower threshold in cold-induced pain and significantly higher threshold/tolerance in ischemia-induced pain. No significant difference in pain threshold of all the four ethnic groups during cold+ischemia-induced pain. However, the pain tolerance was significantly higher in Igbo ethnic group when compared with Hausa, Fulani and Yoruba ethnic groups. In addition, the pain tolerance significantly decreased in Hausa and Yoruba compared to Fulani ethnic group, while the pain tolerance was significantly higher in Yoruba ethnic group compared with Hausa ethnic group. Also, the circulating β-Endorphin decreases in all the subjects. The present study demonstrates that ethnicity causes variability in pain perception and this is accompanied with alteration in circulating level of β-Endorphin

To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of fixed dose combination of curcumin and piperine in osteoarthritis (OA), a non-randomized, open labeled, non-comparative, single-centric, and post marketing surveillance (PMS) study was conducted in 166 osteoarthritic patients (73 men and 93 women, mean age: 54.5 ± 12.45 years). Each patient was administered a combination of curcumin 500 mg and piperine 5 mg twice daily for 12 weeks. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) was used as a tool to assess the efficacy of the fixe dose combination during the 12 weeks therapy. At the end of 12 weeks of therapy, WOMAC score improved significantly (p<0.0001) from 65.82 ± 18.10 to 25.12 ± 21.26. Also a significant reduction (p<0.0001) was found in scores for pain, stiffness and physical function from 15.03 ± 3.74 to 5.83 ± 4.42, 5.43 ± 1.95 to 1.52 ± 1.56 and 45.57 ± 13.72 to 17.76 ± 16.23 respectively at the end of 12 weeks. Combination of Curcumin and Piperine was effective and safe for the management of osteoarthritis in Indian patients.

Dental professionals are subjected to noise from dental equipment and instruments throughout the day at work. Although most of the individual instruments have sound emission below the safety level stated by Occupation safety and health administration (OSHA), running of multiple instruments in close proximity for long hours and over several years causes hearing loss in dental professionals. Changes such as irritability, constriction of blood vessels, increase in heart rate and blood pressure, tinnitus and decreased hearing sensitivity is associated with exposure to high levels of noise. Cumulative effect of excess noise can lead to damage to the cochlea causing irreversible damage to hearing. Dentists begin to show reduction in hearing to high frequency sound at 4000 to 6000 Hz but remain unaware of the problem till 28% of hearing loss has occurred. Dental professionals working in a dental school set-up are at an increased risk for noise induced hearing loss due to the proximity to pre-clinical, clinical and laboratory equipment during their work day. Dental students and professionals should be educated about these hazards and advised to use preventive measures to reduce disability. Employees should be informed of the potential for hearing loss and protocols should be in place to make such working environments safer.