Experimental studies on spinal cord regeneration are focusing on the windows of opportunity to im... more Experimental studies on spinal cord regeneration are focusing on the windows of opportunity to improve spinal cord microenvironment via spinal-centric repair pathways. One pathway of particular interest is the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway which plays a vital role in axonal guidance, synaptic assembly and function, neuronal survival and connectivity after spinal cord trauma to induce repair. Upregulation of β-catenin expression is often taken as evidence of regeneration mechanisms through the Wnt/ β-catenin pathway. However, these studies may not have optimised the staining protocol for β-catenin to enable accurate detection of the protein. Given possible issues with the background or endogenous tissue autofluorescence, there is a need to optimise the protocol further to allow better visualisation of β-catenin. So far, there are no studies which report optimising spinal cord tissues for β-catenin to reduce autofluorescence, and as β-catenin is widely used in spinal cord injury (S...
ABSTRACT Despite intense preclinical research focusing on developing potential strategies of miti... more ABSTRACT Despite intense preclinical research focusing on developing potential strategies of mitigating spinal cord injury (SCI), SCI still results in permanent, debilitating symptoms for which there are currently no effective pharmacological interventions to improve the recovery of the fine ultrastructure of the spinal cord. Spirulina platensis is thought to have potential neuroprotective effects. We have previously demonstrated its protective potential on the lesioned corticospinal tracts and behavioral recovery. In this study, spirulina, known for its neuroprotective properties was used to further explore its protective effects on spinal cord gray matter ultrastructural. Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were used and divided into sham group (laminectomy without SCI), control group (SCI without S. platensis), and S. platensis group (SCI + 180 mg/kg S. platensis). All animals were anesthetized via intramuscular injection. A partial crush injury was induced at the level of T12. The rats were humanely sacrificed for 28 days postinjury for ultrastructural study. There were significant mean differences with respect to pairwise comparisons between the ultrastructural grading score of neuronal perikarya of control and the S. platensis following injury at day 28, which correlates with the functional locomotor recovery at this timepoint in our previous study. The group supplemented with spirulina, thus, revealed a better improvement in the fine ultrastructure of the spinal cord gray matter when compared to the control group thereby suggesting neuroprotective potentials of spirulina in mitigating the effects of spinal cord injury and inducing functional recovery.
It has been shown that animal spinal cord compression (using methods such as clips, balloons, spi... more It has been shown that animal spinal cord compression (using methods such as clips, balloons, spinal cord strapping, or calibrated forceps) mimics the persistent spinal canal occlusion that is common in human spinal cord injury (SCI). These methods can be used to investigate the effects of compression or to know the optimal timing of decompression (as duration of compression can affect the outcome of pathology) in acute SCI. Compression models involve prolonged cord compression and are distinct from contusion models, which apply only transient force to inflict an acute injury to the spinal cord. While the use of forceps to compress the spinal cord is a common choice due to it being inexpensive, it has not been critically assessed against the other methods to determine whether it is the best method to use. To date, there is no available review specifically focused on the current compression methods of inducing SCI in rats; thus, we performed a systematic and comprehensive publication...
Advertising is a prominent feature of modern business operations. One could encounter advertising... more Advertising is a prominent feature of modern business operations. One could encounter advertising messages, while watching TV, reading magazines, listening to the radio, surfing the internet or even simply working down the street, as advertising has a stimulating influence on purchasing behavior of the consumers. Empirical evidence has proven that advertising increases sales revenue of firms. Advertising provides a platform for firms to create awareness about their products or services and how consumers could make the best out of such products. This study evaluated the effectiveness of advertising expenses on the sales revenue and profitability of selected food and beverages firms in Nigeria. This study was based on secondary data collected for advertising expenditures, sales revenue and profit of food and beverages companies listed in the Nigerian Stock Exchange over the period of 2000 to 2012 from the annual report and accounts of the firms under study. Among the objectives of the...
Experimental studies on spinal cord regeneration are focusing on the windows of opportunity to im... more Experimental studies on spinal cord regeneration are focusing on the windows of opportunity to improve spinal cord microenvironment via spinal-centric repair pathways. One pathway of particular interest is the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway which plays a vital role in axonal guidance, synaptic assembly and function, neuronal survival and connectivity after spinal cord trauma to induce repair. Upregulation of β-catenin expression is often taken as evidence of regeneration mechanisms through the Wnt/ β-catenin pathway. However, these studies may not have optimised the staining protocol for β-catenin to enable accurate detection of the protein. Given possible issues with the background or endogenous tissue autofluorescence, there is a need to optimise the protocol further to allow better visualisation of β-catenin. So far, there are no studies which report optimising spinal cord tissues for β-catenin to reduce autofluorescence, and as β-catenin is widely used in spinal cord injury (S...
ABSTRACT Despite intense preclinical research focusing on developing potential strategies of miti... more ABSTRACT Despite intense preclinical research focusing on developing potential strategies of mitigating spinal cord injury (SCI), SCI still results in permanent, debilitating symptoms for which there are currently no effective pharmacological interventions to improve the recovery of the fine ultrastructure of the spinal cord. Spirulina platensis is thought to have potential neuroprotective effects. We have previously demonstrated its protective potential on the lesioned corticospinal tracts and behavioral recovery. In this study, spirulina, known for its neuroprotective properties was used to further explore its protective effects on spinal cord gray matter ultrastructural. Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were used and divided into sham group (laminectomy without SCI), control group (SCI without S. platensis), and S. platensis group (SCI + 180 mg/kg S. platensis). All animals were anesthetized via intramuscular injection. A partial crush injury was induced at the level of T12. The rats were humanely sacrificed for 28 days postinjury for ultrastructural study. There were significant mean differences with respect to pairwise comparisons between the ultrastructural grading score of neuronal perikarya of control and the S. platensis following injury at day 28, which correlates with the functional locomotor recovery at this timepoint in our previous study. The group supplemented with spirulina, thus, revealed a better improvement in the fine ultrastructure of the spinal cord gray matter when compared to the control group thereby suggesting neuroprotective potentials of spirulina in mitigating the effects of spinal cord injury and inducing functional recovery.
It has been shown that animal spinal cord compression (using methods such as clips, balloons, spi... more It has been shown that animal spinal cord compression (using methods such as clips, balloons, spinal cord strapping, or calibrated forceps) mimics the persistent spinal canal occlusion that is common in human spinal cord injury (SCI). These methods can be used to investigate the effects of compression or to know the optimal timing of decompression (as duration of compression can affect the outcome of pathology) in acute SCI. Compression models involve prolonged cord compression and are distinct from contusion models, which apply only transient force to inflict an acute injury to the spinal cord. While the use of forceps to compress the spinal cord is a common choice due to it being inexpensive, it has not been critically assessed against the other methods to determine whether it is the best method to use. To date, there is no available review specifically focused on the current compression methods of inducing SCI in rats; thus, we performed a systematic and comprehensive publication...
Advertising is a prominent feature of modern business operations. One could encounter advertising... more Advertising is a prominent feature of modern business operations. One could encounter advertising messages, while watching TV, reading magazines, listening to the radio, surfing the internet or even simply working down the street, as advertising has a stimulating influence on purchasing behavior of the consumers. Empirical evidence has proven that advertising increases sales revenue of firms. Advertising provides a platform for firms to create awareness about their products or services and how consumers could make the best out of such products. This study evaluated the effectiveness of advertising expenses on the sales revenue and profitability of selected food and beverages firms in Nigeria. This study was based on secondary data collected for advertising expenditures, sales revenue and profit of food and beverages companies listed in the Nigerian Stock Exchange over the period of 2000 to 2012 from the annual report and accounts of the firms under study. Among the objectives of the...
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