Mimosa pudica Protects the Testes Against Cadmium-Induced Inflammation and Oligospermia: Potential Benefits in Treatment of Heavy Metal Toxicity.

Cadmium is a known environmental and industrial pollutant with an enormous tissue disrupting potential. Mimosa pudica (M. pudica) is a creeping annual or perennial herb known to possess anti asthmatic, anti-epileptic, anti-tumour, anti-fertility, aphrodisiac, analgesic, anti-depressant, sedative, emetic properties and a strong radical scavenging activity. This research was aimed at investigating the ameliorative effects of M. pudica on cadmium-induced testicular damage in adult male Sprague Dawley rats. Twenty adult Sprague Dawley rats were employed in the study. They were divided into 4 groups (A-D) of 5 rats each, and toxicity was induced by administering 0.4 mg/ml cadmium chloride through drinking water to groups B-D for 21days. M. pudica extract was administered orally at 250 and 500 mg/kg to groups C and D. Animals in Groups C and D showed remarkable histological improvements in testicular tissue and markedly reduced damages when compared with group B.The active sperm motility of group B (6.00 ±â€¯1.00%) was significantly (p = 0.0001) decreased compared to that of the groups A (15.00 ±â€¯0.00%)) and C (13.00 ±â€¯1.22%). Sperm count analysis of group B (1.36 ±â€¯0.28 × 106/cc), C (4.18 ±â€¯0.81 × 106/cc) and D (2.54 ±â€¯1.13 × 106/cc) were significantly lower (p = <0.05) when compared with group A (12.78 ±â€¯0.92 × 106/cc), respectively. Sperm morphology of group A (70.00 ±â€¯3.16%), B (66.00 ±â€¯2.50), C (74.00 ±â€¯2.45%) and D (64.00 ±â€¯2.45%) recorded no significant difference. This study demonstrates that M. pudica has potential protective and restorative properties on the histoarchitecture of the testes of cadmium-treated rats.

Pandemic-related health behavior: repeat episodes of influenza-like illness related to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.

The Houston Health Department (HHD) in Texas tracks influenza-like illness (ILI) in the community through its Influenza Sentinel Surveillance Program, which began in 2008. After the influenza A(H1N1) pandemic (pH1N1) in 2009, investigators sought to assess the feasibility of this program as a non-traditional data source for tracking and monitoring care-seeking activities. Through the process of characterizing and describing patients who had 'return visits', or who were considered the heaviest ILI-related care-utilizers, the investigators sought to understand the strengths and limitations of this data source. Data used for this study were obtained from a multispecialty clinic in Houston, Texas between August 2008 and January 2011 across three phases: pre-pH1N1, pH1N1, and post-pH1N1. The data, which comprised of 4047 patient visits, yielded 150 return visits. We found an increase in the number of visits for ILI and proportion of return visits during the pandemic phase (pH1N1), as well as differences in the likelihood of a return visit between genders and age groups. More broadly, the findings of this study provide important considerations for future research and expose important gaps in using surveillance data to assess sick-role behaviors.