Is open theological education reducing barriers and increasing access to theological training? Has the use of digital technologies in accessing theological training deviated from or complied with the training criteria? This paper highlights the seminarians’ borderless access to theological education and its benefits. Several persons frowned on open education a few years ago, but from March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has seen many institutions adopting elearning. Is it a wake-up call for theological education? The study discovered that theological education without barriers enhances theological training, research writing, scholarship, and academic honesty. The accreditation criteria for open theological learning does not alter contents but ensures that the greater populace can access a high standard of delivery of theological training equal to the on-campus programmes.

Ransford k awuku-gyampoh

The global burden of metabolic disorders, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, necessitates innovative therapeutic strategies. SLU-PP-332, a synthetic agonist of estrogen-related receptor α (ERRα), has emerged as a promising exercise mimetic, demonstrating preclinical efficacy in enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and energy expenditure. This brief review synthesizes current knowledge on SLU-PP-332 and related ERRα agonists, highlighting their molecular mechanisms, preclinical outcomes, translational challenges, and ethical considerations. ERRα activation by SLU-PP-332 upregulates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α), driving fatty acid oxidation and mimicking exercise-induced metabolic adaptations. However, pan-ERR activity raises concerns about off-target effects such as cardiac hypertrophy and hepatotoxicity. Despite robust preclinical data, clinical translation remains hindered by the absence of human trials and undefined long-term safety. Future research must prioritize isoform-selective agonist design, rigorous clinical validation, and equitable access frameworks.

Mostafa eissa

Background and Objectives: The complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) can occur in some organs, such as the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. Stroke, one of such complications, is increasing every year. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for stroke among T2DM patients in Qatar. Methods: This was a secondary post hoc analysis of collected data from our previous study titled “Association of Vitamin D deficiency with dyslipidemia, glycemic control, and microalbuminuria in patients with T2DM in Qatar.” Results: The prevalence of stroke among our patients was 3.8%. A comparison between stroke and no-stroke groups showed a significant association between stroke and other diseases, namely, chronic kidney diseases (CKD) (p=0.007), coronary artery disease (CAD) (p=0.010), peripheral vascular disease (PVD) (p<0.001), retinopathy (p=0.044), prolonged duration of diabetes mellitus (DM) (p=0.041), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (p=0.006), and a high serum creatinine level (p=0.003). In the multivariate analysis, we identified the following variables as independent risk factors for stroke in patients with T2DM: male gender, CKD, CAD, PVD, high HbA1c, a high creatinine level, and prolonged duration of DM. Conclusion: The prevalence of stroke among T2DM patients in Qatar was around 3.8%. The main risk factors were male gender, CKD, CAD, PVD, high HbA1c, prolonged duration of DM, and a high level of creatinine.

Karishma

The research into plant is used to search for new agents with pharmacological activities. This study seeks to evaluate the effects of the palm leaf methanolic extract against nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, and weight loss induced by chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin in a rat’s model. Five groups of rats (n= 4 in each group) were treated with or without doxorubicin (3.0 mg/kg/day, ip) and with palm leaf methanolic extract (400 mg/kg/day or 1200 mg/kg/day, po), followed by evaluation of renal and hepatic biochemical markers. The findings obtained indicated that palm leaf methanolic extract exerts protective effects against doxorubicin-induced nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. Doxorubicin significantly elevated renal function markers, namely creatinine, uric acid and urea, however, these biomarkers remained within normal levels after treatment with palm leaf methanolic extract (400 mg/kg/day) as compared to the control group. Treating the rats with doxorubicin and palm leaf methanolic extract at doses 400 mg/kg/day and 1200 mg/kg/day, counteracts the doxorubicin-induced elevation of serum creatinine and uric acid compared to the doxorubicin group. Doxorubicin also significantly increased hepatic function tests namely alanine and aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and bilirubin as compared to the control group. In addition, treating the rats with palm leaf methanolic extract doses and doxorubicin caused a significant decrease in the serum levels of hepatic markers compared to the doxorubicin group. Doxorubicin treatment resulted in a weight loss of 34.1%, the weight loss caused by doxorubicin was prevented by treating the rats with the extract at 1200 mg/kg/day as compared to their baseline body weight. Thus, the results of the current study suggest that the active constituents present in the palm leaf methanolic extract have a protective effect against hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity and weight loss-induced by doxorubicin.

Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of thermal processing techniques on the nutrient and antinutrient contents of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) flours. The pigeon pea seeds were sorted, cleaned and divided into five equal lots of 0.5kg each. Four lots of pigeon pea seeds were processed into blanched, boiled, roasted, and autoclaved pigeon pea flours, while the fifth lot was processed raw and used as control. The raw and thermally processed samples obtained were analysed for nutrient and antinutrient composition using standard methods. The proximate composition of the samples showed that the flours had a range of 8.61 - 11.46 % moisture, 21.13 - 23.94 % crude protein, 1.26 - 1.68 % fat, 5.12 – 6.10 % crude fibre, 1.74 – 2.97 % ash, 55.56 – 60.41 % carbohydrate and 333.45 - 342.75 kJ/100g energy, respectively. The mineral composition showed that the flours contained 86.24 – 144.72 mg/100g calcium, 137.80 – 170.33 mg/100g magnesium, 125.86 - 156.76 mg/100g potassium, 66.66 – 95.62 mg/100g sodium, 4.38 – 6.64 mg/100g iron and 130.27 – 178.29 mg/100g phosphorus, respectively. The vitamin content of the flours were 3.09 - 4.33 mg/100g ascorbic acid, 0.05 - 0.17 mg/100g thiamine, 0.03 - 0.21 mg/100g riboflavin, 0.13 - 0.28 mg/100g niacin, 3.21 - 6.25 mg/100g vitamin A and 1.10 - 2.70 mg/100g vitamin E, respectively. The antinutrient composition of the flours also showed that the levels of trypsin inhibitor, tannin, phytate, oxalate, saponin and haemagglutinin ranged from, 2.30 – 5.61 Tiu/mg, 0.81 – 1.5mg/100g, 1.12 - 4.18mg/100g, 0.48-4.01 mg/100g, 1.28 – 3.66 mg/100g and 1.30 – 7.44 Hiu/g, respectively. Therefore, the study showed that thermally processed pigeon pea flours could be used as nutrient dense ingredients in the preparation of a wide range of foods for children, adolescents and aged adults especially in developing countries where the problems of protein-energy malnutrition and micronutrients deficiencies are prevalent than the raw sample.

Okechukwu obed chukwuemeka

In April 2020, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested immediate withdrawal of all prescription and over the counter ranitidine products. Ranitidine recalled due to the presence of unacceptable level of carcinogenic substance N-nitosodimethylamine (NDMA). Several pharmaceutical manufacturers have issued ranitidine product recalls including brand and generic ranitidine. FDA alerts patients to stop using ranitidine and advised to talk with their health care professional about alternative treatments. In Libya, limited studies have been conducted to address people awareness and knowledge in this regard. The objective of this study was to assess people's awareness and behavior towards ranitidine recall and related issues. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Zawia city for two months. Online questionnaire was distributed to 300 participants. Descriptive statistics analysis using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 26.0 was used. The study found that more than half of the participants and their family member were likely to utilize ranitidine inappropriately. They seem to consume ranitidine more often without medical consultation. The findings also showed that 82.5% of the participants that were using ranitidine obtained the drug from pharmacies after the date of announcing ranitidine withdrawal from the market by FDA. Furthermore, the vast majority of the participants were poorly informed or even they had no information about ranitidine toxicity and their perception of the dangers of continue use of this drug is limited. The participants argued that pharmacists do not provide slightly information about dispensed ranitidine. In conclusion, all results reported as benefits of the participants in the study whereas the participant's perception and awareness increased when a brief notification regarding the reason of ranitidine toxicity was provided.

Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the landscape of supply chain management, offering unprecedented opportunities for optimization, efficiency, and innovation. This white paper explores the various applications of AI in supply chain operations, highlighting its potential to revolutionize the way businesses manage inventory, logistics, demand forecasting, and more. Through real-world examples and case studies, we demonstrate how AI-driven technologies are reshaping traditional supply chain practices and driving competitive advantage in today's dynamic marketplace.

Kalpak

In view of the on-going global debate about the economics curriculum and its teaching, this paper explores how the faculty responsible for teaching introductory economics at a South African university understand learning and teaching of their subject. We have adopted a qualitative research approach, phenomenography, to complement what we already know from mainstream literature on undergraduate economics education, predominantly published by academic econ- omists using a quantitative methodology. After a phenomenographic analysis of interview data with lecturers and tutors, six conceptions of teaching introductory economics (Economics 1) emerged: (I) team collaboration to implement the economics curriculum; (II) a thorough knowledge of the content; (III) implementing the curriculum in order for students to pass as- sessment; (IV) helping students learn key economics concepts and representations to facilitate learning; (V) engaging students through their real-life economics context to acquire economic knowledge; and (VI) helping students think like economists. These are discussed first in relation to the implications for student learning and second, in a broader context of higher education discourses and educational development

Dr emmanuel ojo

Cet article montre l’analyse des erreurs dans l’enseignement/apprentissage du Français Langue Étrangère au Ghana. Il a pour objectif principal d’analyser les erreurs commises en production écrite par les étudiants de Français Langue Étrangère (FLE) à l’Université du Ghana. Le corpus a été constitué du lexique de 100 apprenants. Les instruments de collecte des données ont été les questionnaires et les rédactions/compositions. Ces derniers ont été rédigés par les étudiants des niveaux 300 et 400. Etant donné la nature de l’étude, l’approche quantitative et l’approche qualitative ont été utilisées comme mode d’investigation. L’approche qualitative porte sur le modèle de l’analyse des erreurs proposé par Corder (1967) et l’approche quantitative met en évidence des données observables et quantifiables. Les principales erreurs rencontrées dans les productions écrites des étudiants ont été celles de la morphosyntaxe. Ces erreurs commises ont été analysés. Les recommandations de notre étude ont pour but d’améliorer la production écrite en Français Langue Étrangère.

Assanvo

A 25-year-old male presented with vaguely painful and pruritic vesicles and bullae on the oral cavity, abdomen, and superior limbs with symmetrical dissemination, which appeared over the past 3 weeks. No clinical history of importance. The physical examination showed a pallid and prostrated patient, with arterial hypertension (190/110); with several symmetrical dermal vesicles and bullae located on the abdomen and superior limbs (Fig. 1) and on the oral cavity varying from 1.5mm to 4 cm. No lymphadenopathy and sigs of arthritis were identified. Laboratory tests revealed a complete blood cell count with hemoglobin levels of 10.5 g/dL (12.7–15.7 g/DL), leukocytes of 2956/mm3 (4.3–10.7 × 103), and platelet count of 120,000/mm3 (150–350 × 103). Urinalysis shown proteinuria, hematuria, and leukocyturia. The direct Coombs assay, anti-nuclear antibodies, anti-double-stranded DNA, and anti-histone were positive. Histopathological analysis reported subepidermal discontinuity associated with neutrophilic infiltrate and direct immunofluorescence was positive for IgG, staining the basement membrane. Elisa was positive for antibodies against type VII collagen. The diagnosis was bullous systemic lupus erythematosus (BSLE) and he was treated successful with rituximab due to poor response to steroid use.

Karishma

Abstract: This study was conducted on two groups of broiler , the first consists of 4 replicates of 10 birds and the second of 10 birds as each bird is a replicate in individual cages. The first group were reared on floor during the entire period ,while the second was reared in cages during the period from 2-7 weeks of age. All birds received the same ration with 2859 Kcal/ kg ME and 22% CP as a starter ration, 2995 Kcal/kg ME and 19.19% CP as a finisher ration. The results showed that cage birds had a significantly (P≤0.01) higher body weight , total and daily weight gain at all ages , significantly(P≤0.01) higher total and daily feed and protein consumption , at 2- 4 , 0-4 weeks , feed and protein conversion ratio at 4- 7, 0- 7 weeks. Also cage birds showed a significantly better growth rate at 2- 4 , 0- 7 weeks and less dressing percentage, higher wing percentage while other carcass parts did not differ significantly. The cage birds showed better economic efficiency by 27% comparing to floor birds.

Rafea mohammedtaher khulel

Experimental and numerical investigation have been done to evaluate the aluminum agglomerate size in AP/HTPB/Aluminum propellants and compared it with burning rate results. Bimodal AP particle size distribution is considered in the present work. The effect of aluminum size, aluminum content, fine AP size, fine AP/binder ratio and coarse AP size in aluminum ignition, accumulation and agglomerate formation during combustion, typically in their ranges, are focused. The burning rates were found to be higher for the propellants with lower fine AP/binder ratio. The agglomerate sizes for the propellants with 10 % Al was found to be higher than those with 15 and 18 % aluminum. Observing the agglomerate sizes and the burning rate trends, it can be concluded that the agglomerate sizes vary inversely as the burning rates.

Boopathy govindarajan

Customers shopping behaviors have altered because of technological advancement and widespread of internet access. The rise in online sales presents both opportunities and challenges for many e-commerce companies. To successfully increase the customers’ purchase intention, it is important to implement persuasion marketing strategies especially in the online environment, together with other traditional marketing techniques available. The goal of this study is to determine which technique, between Scarcity Tactics and Liking Tactics, has more impact on customers’ Purchase Intention. Zalora Indonesia, as one of the leaders in fashion, beauty, home and lifestyle e-commerce, is chosen to be the research object. Scarcity Tactics and Liking Tactics are the independent variables used in this study, with customers’ Purchase Intention as the dependent variable. Quantitative method using a causal strategy, with an online questionnaire has been delivered to 120 Zalora Indonesia buyers. According to the findings of this research, customers who buy online have the tendency to do purchases when Zalora Indonesia uses Scarcity Tactics and Liking Tactics in its marketing approach. Scarcity Tactics, however, has more influence on online Purchase Intention, whereas Liking Tactics has a promising but insignificant impact. Both Scarcity Tactics and Liking Tactics show influences in customers’ Purchase Intention as much as 60.2%.

L

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has remained one of the greatest treatment modalities of the spectrum of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease over the past few years due to its high efficacy and minimal invasiveness. The most common cause of stent failure is stenting under-expansion, which complicates PCI. Thus, it is tremendously important to perform PCI relying on the precise measurement of the size of the coronary artery obtained with the help of intracoronary imaging. There is limited data on the size of coronary arteries as measured by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in India and specifically in southern India. This study, conducted between January 2022 and March 2023, aimed to estimate the coronary artery dimensions, which can serve as a guide to PCI when intracoronary imaging is not available Methods: A sample size of 165 patients with proven coronary artery disease undergoing IVUSguided PCI during acute or chronic coronary syndrome were recruited, and coronary arterydimensions were measured in this research work. The mean arterial size and predictors of the arteries were reviewed. Results: A total of 165 patients with 590 coronary artery segments were recruited: the mean left main (LM), external elastic membrane (EEM) diameter, and cross-sectional area (CSA) were 4.92 ± 0.41 mm and 17.83 ± 2.88 mm2 proximal left anterior descending (LAD) artery, 3.75 ± 0.32 mm and 13.74 ± 2.45 mm2 the mid-LAD 3.42 + 0.28 mm and 10.65 + 2.08 mm2 the distal LAD 2.94 + 0.31 mm and 7.98 + 2.07 mm2 the proximal left circumflex artery (LCX) 3.62 ± 0.32 mm and 11.67 ± 2.36mm2, the distal LCX 2.91 ± 0. 33 mm and 8.98 ± 2.22mm2 the proximal right coronary artery (RCA) 4.17 ± 0.41 mm and 14.82 ± 2.78 mm2 the mid-RCA 3.85 ± 0.36 mm and 12.94 ± 2.44 mm2, the distal RCA 3.43 ± 0.30 mm and 11.08 ± 2.05 mm2, respectively. The predictor of most epicardial coronary arteries is body surface area (BSA) with positive linear correlation. Conclusions: Measurements of the coronary arteries obtained were comparable to the previous data on coronary artery size of Southeast Asia and Caucasian populations using IVUS. BSA is an independent predictor for the majority of epicardial coronary arteries with a positive linear relationship. Male gender and hypertension also positively correlate with larger coronary artery dimensions, while dyslipidemia leads to smaller coronary artery sizes. Neither diabetes nor smoking influences coronary artery size in the current study. Finally, the quantification of the size of the coronary artery will help the clinician to have a reference dimension in instances where there is no intravascular imaging available.

Karishma

This research aims to evaluate the optimization of network security forensic tools on virtual router (VR) traffic. The methodology used includes the selection of several forensic tools on the Windows operating system such as Wireshark, Windump, and Network Miner, with testing in a virtual network environment. Testing, includes simulating various attack scenarios to assess the effectiveness of threat detection, performance of forensic tools, and impact on network performance. The main results show that the tools have varying detection capabilities with variations in resource usage and impact on network latency. Network traffic has been successfully recorded using the Win-dump tool in the static-forensics method, the Wireshark tool and Network Miner in the live-forensics method. The evaluation results of the meta-router network forensic recording tool recommend Win-dump as a recording tool that does not burden the Windows operating system with memory usage of 1696 kb while the Wireshark and Network Miner applications are recorded at more than 20MB. Based on this research, the static forensic method which have been built with meta-router objects can be used by investigators to detect cyber attacks. Proper selection and configuration of forensic tools is critical to achieving a balance between security and network performance, and specific adjustments to network requirements can increase the effectiveness of threat detection and mitigation.

Firmansyah yasin

CoronaVirus’ is a hard hit on both Millennial consumers and marketers. It forced consumers and marketers to do the usual activities of buying and selling differently. Panic buying and herd mentality was widely noticed among millennials. Their unusual buying behavior which reflects behavior during a crisis is highly influenced by environmental stimuli. From this study, it is found that there has been a significant buying behavioral shift of global millennials in emerging markets (BRIC – Brazil, Russia, India, China; CIVETS – Columbia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa). It is evident that the initial marketing attempts of marketers failed during COVID-19 due to the lack of understanding of the significance of environmental and marketing stimuli in consumers’ purchase decisions. This study brings out the various positive substantial changes brought about through internetization in marketing goods and services to millennial customers during the pandemic. The pandemic enabled a rapid digital revolution in buying and selling using digital/online platforms. The study suggests the application of the Black Box Model by marketers in marketing and selling decisions. The Internet has been the most important tool used by customers and sellers to access what they need. This study is useful to marketers and upcoming entrepreneurs to understand that it is the consumer’s buying behavior that triggers and pushes marketers to sell differently.

Sridevi

The wind tunnel experimental study has been carried out on a double delta wing of different geometrical configurations such as 80°/45°, 75°/45° and 70°/45° sweep angles given as Model I, Model II and Model III with various freestream velocities from 10 to 40 m/s with a step of 10 m/s in Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai, Low Speed Wind tunnel (HITSLSWT). The experiment is conducted for the measurement of lift and drag forces using single component force balance. The investigation was done to look into the effects of changing the double delta wing's leading edge sweep angles. Three differentmodels have been tested at various angles of attack ranging from0° to +16° and 0° to −16° with 4° and four different freestream velocities based on the delta wing’s chord. It is observed that the influence of variation of leading edge sweep angles affects the performance of aerodynamic characteristics of themodel. The increase in angle in attack with increased velocity gives better aerodynamic performance. This paper provides good insight into the aerodynamic force measurement of double delta wing and the low-speed performance of the models.

Boopathy govindarajan

Pendidikan agama Islam sebagai upaya mengembangkan, mendorong serta membimbing peserta didik hidup lebih dinamis dengan berdasarkan nilai-nilai agama islam dan terbentuk pribadi peserta didik insane kamil. Rumusan dalam dalam peneltian ini: 1) Bagaimana peran PAI dalam pembinaan kesehatan mental siswa di SDN Sekarputih 1 Tegalampel Bondowoso? 2) Bagaimana peran PAI dalam pembinaan kesehatan pikiran/intelektual siswa di SDN Sekarputih 1 Tegalampel Bondowoso? Metode penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif deskriptif dan jenis penelitian studi kasus. Metode pengumpulan data dengan metode observasi, metode wawancara dan metode dokumentasi. Sedangkan analisis data menggunakan model analisis interaktif Milles, Huberman dan Saldana dengan tiga Langkah dalam proses analisis data yaitu: kondensasi data, penyajian data dan penarikan kesimpulan. Untuk memeriksa keabsahan data ini, menggunakan tehnik triangulasi yaitu triangulasi tehnik, triangulasi metode dan triangulasi data. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian ini dapat disimpulkan: (1) Peran PAI dalam pembinaan kesehatan mental siswa di SDN Sekarputih 1 Tegalampel Bondowoso yaitu: (a) Agama sebagai pembimbing dalam kehidupan peserta didik. (b) Agama sebagai penolong dalam menghadapi kesulitan untuk memecahakan masalah yang di alami siswa. (c) Agama sebagai penentram bathin. (2) Peran PAI dalam pembinaan kesehatan intelektual/kesehatan pikiran di SDN Sekarputih 1 Tegalampel Bondowoso yaitu: (a) Guru membimbing peserta didik secara akademis di dalam sekolah maupun di luar sekolah. (b) Kajian-kajian keagamaan oleh guru PAI sebelum atau sesudah mata pelajaran dimulai. (c) Membudayakan siswa untuh silaturrahim kerumah guru. (d) Bimbingan secara intelektual kepada dengan teori-teori keagamaan yang memadai, agar siswa tidak sekuler dalam berperilaku sehari-hari.

Educare: journal of primary education

Kepatuhan terhadap terapi farmakologi merupakan kunci utama pengobatan penyakit diabetes, tetapi belum mendapat perhatian penuh oleh para klinisi. Beberapa systematic review faktor kepatuhan telah dilakukan di beberapa kawasan negara. Namun, tidak menampilkan studi dari Indonesia. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk meninjau secara sistematis faktor-faktor yang dapat memengaruhi kepatuhan minum obat diabetes melitus (DM) di Indonesia. Systematic literature review dilakukan melalui pencarian pada database jurnal Nasional (Garuda dan Sinta) dan Internasional (PubMed dan Science Direct). Penelitian yang sesuai dengan kriteria inklusi dan dipublikasikan pada Januari 2011 – Desember 2020. Kualitas penelitian dinilai menggunakan panduan SQAT. Metode pelaporan penelitian menggunakan pedoman PRISMA. Faktor kepatuhan diklasifikasikan berdasarkan domain faktor kepatuhan menurut World Health Organization (WHO). Sebanyak 370 artikel ilmiah penelitian dari database Garuda (n=36); Science Direct (n= 108); PubMed (n= 18); Sinta (n= 208). 341 artikel penelitian dieksklusi, 29 artikel skrining full text, dan 16 artikel penelitian memenuhi kriteria inklusi untuk dianalisis. Faktor yang memengaruhi kepatuhan minum obat diabetes adalah faktor sosial dan ekonomi (penghasilan, tingkat pendidikan, dan pekerjaan), faktor tenaga dan sistem kesehatan (tenaga kesehatan), faktor terapi pasien (jumlah obat diabetes, frekuensi minum obat, dan produk obat), faktor penyakit pasien (kadar gula darah, durasi penyakit), faktor pasien (jenis kelamin, faktor emosional, dukungan sosial, tingkat pengetahuan, dan kepuasan pengobatan), dan faktor pengelolaan penyakit (konseling dan edukasi farmasi). Faktor yang memengaruhi kepatuhan minum obat DM di Indonesia sangat beragam, dan multi faktor. Faktor tersebut dapat berfungsi sebagai target intervensi yang relevan. Para klinisi perlu mempertimbangkan penyesuaian frekuensi minum obat dan pemberian dukungan sosial kepada pasien DM.

Much ilham novalisa aji wibowo

Abstract Cigarette smoking has been linked to health challenges of global concern. This study determined Body Mass Index (BMI), serum cotinine and C-reactive protein levels of smokers. Forty-five smokers and forty-five aged-matched non-smokers were recruited into the study. Informed consents were obtained from the participants. Ethical consideration was granted by Cross River State Ministry of Health. Blood samples were collected by standard phlebotomy. Smokers were categorized based on Smoking Pack Years (SPY) into light, moderate and heavy smokers. Serum cotinine and C-reactive protein levels were determined by spectrophotometry. Height and weights were measured and BMI calculated. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. Student’s t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation were utilized for comparison, results were considered significant at p<0.05. There was no significant difference (p=0.103) between the mean age of smokers and non-smokers. Mean BMI of smokers was significantly lower (p=0.015) than that of non-smokers. Mean Serum cotinine and C-reactive protein of smokers were significantly higher (p=0.001) than those of non-smokers. Mean age, serum cotinine and C-reactive protein levels vary significantly (p<0.05) among the smokers categorized based on SPY. BMI did not vary significantly (p=0.269) among the groups. A correlation between age and serum cotinine was negative (r=-0.359, p=0.016), and that between age and SPY was negative (r=-0.348, p=0.019). Correlations between cotinine and C-reactive protein and between cotinine and SPY were positive (r=0.928, p=0.001) and (r=0.947, p=0.001) respectively. A correlation between C-reactive protein and SPY was positive (r=0.957, p=0.001). The study had shown that C-reactive protein increases with cotinine levels and smoking pack years in smokers.

Eworo raymond