bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Early Impairment of Right Ventricular Morphology and Function in Transthyretin-Related Cardiac Amyloidosis
Authors: Licordari Roberto , Minutoli Fabio , Recupero Antonino , Campisi Mariapaola , Donato Rocco , Mazzeo Anna , Dattilo Giuseppe , Baldari Sergio , Vita Giuseppe , Zito Concetta , Di Bella Gianluca
Published: May 2021

Background:

Our study aimed to evaluate right ventricular (RV) morphology and strain (S) in the early stage of familial transthyretin (TTR) cardiac amyloidosis (CA).

Methods and Results:

Thirty-seven patients with transthyretin mutation underwent 99mTc-3,3-diphosphono-1,2 propanodicarboxylic acid (99mTc-DPD) scans and/or cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) to identify TTR CA. Each patient underwent echocardiography to quantify RV dimensions, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP), longitudinal (L) strain of the RV free wall, left ventricular (LV) septal thickness (ST), ejection fraction, E/E', LV global (G) L, radial (R), and circumferential (C) S. 99mTc-DPD and CMR revealed the accumulation in 22 of 37 patients (CA group) and no accumulation in 15 patients (no-CA group). Left ventricular (LV) septal thickness (ST) was higher (P < 0.0001) while LV ejection fraction and E/E' were lower (P < 0.05) in the CA group than the no-CA group. LV-global longitudinal strain (LS) was lower (P < 0.0001) in the CA-group than the no CA-group, whereas LV-global circumferential strain and LV-global radial strain were similar. The CA group showed higher values of RV dimensions (P < 0.05) and sPAP (0.02) and a lower (P = 0.002) TAPSE. Globally, RV-LS was lower (P = 0.005) in the CA group than the no-CA group. Basal and mid segments of the RV free wall showed a lower LS in the CA group than the no-CA group (P < 0.01), while apical S was similar between groups.

Conclusions:

RV deformation, particularly in basal and mid segments, is early impaired in CA.
Acute Pulmonary Embolism and Thrombus Entrapped in the Patent Foramen Ovale in a Patient with COVID-19
Authors: Hayek Ahmad , Flagiello Michele , Aubry Matthieu , Bochaton Thomas
Published: May 2021

A 61-year-old patient presented for syncope and a 1-week history of fever. He was diagnosed with a COVID-19 infection without pulmonary injury associated with an intermediate-risk bilateral pulmonary embolism. Computed tomographic scan and transesophageal echography were performed confirming a mobile in-transit embolus, originating from the right cavities and extending to the right ventricle through the patent foramen ovale. The patient underwent a surgical embolectomy without complications. COVID-19 was found to be the only current risk factor in our patient. This could warrant consideration of extending thromboprophylaxis indication to COVID-19 patients with certain criteria even without hospitalization indication or pulmonary injury.
Childhood Glaucoma – A Review of Basics
Authors: Parija Sucheta , Sen Saswati
Published: May 2021

Childhood glaucoma is a rare disease associated with significant pressure related visual loss and ocular comorbidity. It consists of a heterogeneous group of diseases which can be classified based on etiopathogenesis and morphology. Global incidence of childhood glaucoma accounts for 2%–6% of blindness in children. Although glaucoma in children is rare compared to adults yet the burden of blindness is significant. Hence, early diagnosis and treatment is of paramount importance to save vision. The classical triad of signs is blepharospasm, epiphora, and photophobia which may be missed in the infants unless corneal edema and buphthalmos manifests. Attention to these minute details makes detection of the disease possible even by the primary treating physician. Unlike adult glaucoma, the cupping in these cases is reversible. Therefore, the diagnosis and classification of the disease plays an important role in deciding the treatment protocol. Treatment for childhood glaucoma is primarily surgical management and requires a long-term follow-up. The prognosis is better if the disease is diagnosed and treated earlier. In developing countries delay in diagnosis, availability of limited surgical expertise, frequent follow-up and lifetime rehabilitation adds to the stress on parents and burden to the community. Relevant data regarding congenital glaucoma were researched on by the qualified ophthalmologists through Google Search, Bing, and Opera Mimi search engines from PubMed, Scopus, and Copernicus indexed journals. Emphasis was given on including hand searched articles after going through the hard copies of certain articles and the appropriate references have been cited in the text. This article highlights the epidemiology, classification, genetics and current management of this disease with emphasis on future strategies and planning to reduce the rate of avoidable blindness in children due to glaucoma.
An Approach Toward Cutaneous Granulomatous Lesion
Authors: Mukherjee Mala , Bhunia Deblina , Era Nikhil , Mukherjee Shatavisa
Published: May 2021

Background:

Granulomatous disorders of the skin are commonly encountered and pose a diagnostic challenge due to its diverse etiology with several histological patterns. Granulomatous diseases of skin comprise a large family sharing the common histological finding as of granuloma formation. The various histological types of granulomas can be identified on the basis of the constituent cells and other changes within the granulomas. However, significant overlap exists in histopathological findings of different granulomatous reactions. Thus, morphology alone is seldom specific and cannot be used as a diagnostic tool for the identification of specific diseases. A keen understanding of the manifestations, workup, and subsequent treatment of both infectious and noninfectious cutaneous granulomatous lesion is essential for every practicing clinician and dermatopathologist.

Materials and Methods:

A 2-year retrospective study involved all the skin biopsies. Detailed clinical and histopathological features were analyzed and were categorized according to the type of granuloma. Special stains were used in few cases for diagnostic purposes. Cases were reviewed and analyzed.

Results:

In histopathological subtyping, tuberculoid granuloma was the most common type and the most common etiology was leprosy. Others were cutaneous tuberculosis, foreign body granulomas, fungal lesions, cutaneous leishmaniasis, and granuloma annulare.

Conclusion:

Histopathology when combined with special stain can serve as a gold standard investigation for diagnosis, categorization, and clinicopathological correlation in such cases.
Comparative Evaluation of Macular Thickness Following Uneventful Phacoemulsification and Small Incision Cataract Surgery
Authors: Savarkar Mohammad , Usha M. S. , Taank Priya , Singh Shalendra , Khurana Rolli
Published: May 2021

Backgrounds:

To compare the change in central macular thickness (CMT) using optical coherence tomography (OCT) in subjects undergoing uneventful phacoemulsification and small incision cataract Surgeries (SICS).

Methods:

In this prospective observational study, patients undergoing uneventful cataract surgery were subdivided into two groups. Forty-five patients who underwent SICS were included in Group S (n = 45) whereas patients undergoing uneventful phacoemulsification were included in Group P (n = 50). Findings of slit-lamp examination, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and fundus examination were recorded for all cases on the first postoperative day as well as 6 weeks after surgery. CMT of participants was determined using spectral-domain OCT preoperatively and at 6 weeks' postoperatively.

Results:

Overall three patients had postoperative cystoid macular edema, one case in Group P and two cases in Group S. 98%of patients in Group P and 95.5% of patients in Group S achieved BCVA of 6/9 or more. In Group S, a significant difference was observed between preoperative and postoperative central subfield mean thickness (P < 0.01). In Group P preoperative and 6th week, postoperative mean macular thickness showed a significant difference (P ≤ 0.03) only in the superior outer subfield. On comparing the change in CMT in the Group P with Group S, a significant difference was noted with markedly lesser chances of subclinical macular edema in the Group P.

Conclusion:

Although the increase in mean macular thickness postoperatively did not affect the final visual outcome in both the groups, Subclinical change in Group P was significantly lesser than that in Group S.
The Need of Modifying Current Undergraduate Curriculum in Pathology Subject from Student's Perspective
Authors: Yadav Vandna , Kumar Vinod , Shrimal Rimjhim , Deshmukh Abhay Vilas
Published: May 2021

Background:

The main goals of second professional MBBS pathology teaching are to provide a framework for the description of disease and to provide students with knowledge of the functional and structural changes in disease in order that clinical signs and symptoms are often understood and interpreted.

Aims:

It was a cross-sectional, descriptive study which aimed to find out the importance of pathology subject in MBBS curriculum as well as to assess the students perception regarding subject understanding, teaching methodology, and assessment criteria.

Materials and Methods:

Two hundred and sixteen students of 2nd MBBS who had already completed 1st year and were about to appear in the university examination in the year 2020 were included. An extensive questionnaire was prepared regarding 2nd year pathology teaching. The feedback from the students was obtained and analyzed the SPSS software version 17.0.

Results:

30.05% students found pathology subject as an interesting, 46.75% found it to be lengthy, whereas remaining (13.80%) found it as not only interesting but also lengthy as well and 9.4% found it boring and difficult. 70.8% students were able to apply the knowledge gained in the 1st year while studying pathology. 76.7% students responded that knowledge gained in pathology helped them in clinical postings. 53.2% students opined that combination of teaching methods helped them for better understanding of subject. Written and viva voce examination was helpful for 74.14% and 79.62%, respectively, to evaluate them.

Conclusion:

Our study has emphasized the importance of pathology as a subject for understanding the clinical subject. As competency-based curriculum is starting from 2019 batch and onward, this elaborative study can act as a baseline to get access to the effectiveness of new curriculum in coming years.
Cytological Study of Breast Lesions with Histopathological Correlation
Authors: Gore Sarita Balasaheb , Shivaji D. Birare , Sandhya B. Narwade , Dinesh V. Swami
Published: May 2021

Introduction:

Breast disease is the most common and ranks first among malignant tumors affecting females in many parts of the world. Timely and accurate diagnosis of a breast lump is lifesaving. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a simple, safe, inexpensive method with wide acceptance and used as a first-line diagnostic procedure for diagnosis of breast lesions.

Aim:

The aim of the study was to diagnose any palpable lump of the breast in females by cytology and correlate with histopathology wherever possible.

Setting and Design:

This was a retrospective and prospective descriptive study carried out in the pathology department at our institute.

Materials and Methods:

This study was done for 2 years. FNAC of breast lesions was done, processed routinely, and stained with Papanicolaou stain. Histopathological correlation was done wherever possible on Tru-cut biopsies, excisional biopsies, and surgical specimens received.

Statistical Analysis:

The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were calculated.

Results:

Among 304 cases, 229 were benign and 75 were malignant on cytology. Out of this, 79 cases underwent histopathological examination, in which 32 were benign and 47 were malignant cases. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of the present study were 79.16%, 96.77%, 97.73%, 75%, and 86.08% respectively.

Conclusion:

The FNAC is an important preliminary diagnostic test in palpable breast lumps and the results show a high degree of correlation with a final histopathological report.
A Study on Knowledge and Practices Regarding Swachh Bharat Mission Among Urban Population of Agartala city, North East India
Authors: Datta Anjan , Somani Aman , Karmakar Nabarun , Nag Kaushik
Published: May 2021

Background:

Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is a cleanliness mission by the Government of India with an aim to provide adequate facilities for safe water supply, sanitation hygiene, and waste disposal at community level. The present study aimed to assess knowledge and practices regarding water, sanitation hygiene, and waste disposal and the key components of SBM in an urban community of Agartala city and find out their associated factors.

Methods:

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 people from randomly selected families living in the south zone of Agartala Municipal Corporation, Tripura, on June and July 2018. A predesigned, pretested interview schedule was used as the study tool, and data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. A quantitative research was followed by three focused group discussions to have an in-depth idea.

Results:

Majority of the study participants showed good knowledge (59%) but poor practice (39%) regarding water, sanitation hygiene, and solid waste disposal. In this study, occupation (P = 0.012) and socioeconomic status (P = 0.003) were shown to have statistically significant association with knowledge of the participants.

Conclusion:

Poor practice by majority of the participants and inconsistent involvement by municipality department in solid waste disposal were found as the major concerns even though good knowledge regarding SBM was found in this study among the respondents.
Prevalence and Predictors of Disarticulation Resection of the Mandibles in a Nigerian Subpopulation
Authors: Edetanlen Ekaniyere Benlance , Saheeb Birch Dauda
Published: May 2021

Background:

Few studies are reported in the literature about the prevalence of disarticulation resection of the mandible, but little is known about the risk factors. This study is aimed at determining the prevalence and risk factors of disarticulation resection of the mandible.

Patients and Methods:

This was a retrospective study design for patients that had surgical resections of the mandible from January 2010 to July 2020 at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of a tertiary health facility in Nigeria. Collected data from the patients' case-notes were age, gender, level of education, place of residence, occupation, employment status, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, type of lesion, and type of resection performed. In the univariate analysis, the Chi-square test was used for analysis, while the binary logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. All statistics were performed with SPSS version 21 (IBM Corps, Armonk, New York, USA). A value of P < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results:

A total number of 189 patients who presented for mandibular resections ranged in age from 13 to 75 years with a mean age of 41.4 ± 14.9 years. There were more males (63.5%) than females (36.5%) with M: F ratio of 1.7:1. More than half of the patients had disarticulation resection of the mandible, giving a prevalence of 64.0%. Alcohol consumption (P = 0.01) and the type of lesion (P = 0.00) were significantly associated with the prevalence of disarticulation resection of the mandibles. Only the type of lesion added to the predictive power of the risk factors (P = 0.03). The odontogenic keratocyst was 0.12 more likely to result in disarticulation resection of mandible than solid ameloblastoma.

Conclusion:

The prevalence of disarticulation resection of the mandible was 64.0%. The type of lesion in the mandible was a significant risk factor of the high prevalence of its disarticulation resection.
Oral Health Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavior of Primary School Teachers of Tehran, Iran
Authors: Shojaei Roya Khalili , Ghasemi Mahmood
Published: May 2021

Introduction:

Schools are the valuable place for promotion of oral health, and primary school teachers have a unique position to influence oral hygiene practices in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of primary school teachers of Tehran, Iran.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted among 195 primary school teachers of Tehran, Iran. The multiple-choice questionnaire regarding dental disease prevention is comprised of ten questions on knowledge, seven on practice, and five on attitude. Distribution of individuals in terms of variables was expressed as numbers and percentages, and a logistic regression test was used to investigate the relationship between variables.

Results:

61.6% of the primary school teachers in Tehran had good knowledge on oral health, but their attitude, especially about their role in teaching oral health, is very unfavorable. Teachers with higher education and participation in continuing educational courses had a positive effect on their performance.

Conclusion:

All teachers should be trained at regular intervals, given the importance of oral health and raising awareness about improving oral health for their students.
Radiological examinations of the anatomy of the inferior turbinate using digital volume tomography (DVT)
Authors: Balbach L. , Trinkel V. , Guldner C. , Bien S. , Teymoortash A. , Werner J.A. , Bremke M.
Published: May 2021

BACKGROUND: Since the last 120 years there were only few descriptions of the anatomical sizes of the inferior turbinate in the literature. On this background the current study should evaluate the radiological dimensions of the inferior turbinate and the septum using DVT. METHODS: The latest generation of the Accu-I-tomo was used. The data of 100 adult patients have been evaluated. RESULTS: The bony length was found to be 38.9 mm, the mucosal length 51.0 mm. The findings of the total mucosal thickness at different measuring points were between 8.1 mm and 10.9 mm, those of the bony thickness were between 0.9 mm and 2.3 mm and those of the bony height were between 3.9 mm and 20.8 mm. CONCLUSION: The results of this radiological study are able to point out the importance of preoperative anatomical evaluation of radiological images. The preoperative focus on the individual anatomy is very important because of the choice of an adequate surgical treatment. Today new radiological techniques can help to find out whether the reason for hypertrophied turbinates is caused by bone, mucosa or both. This knowledge enables a concerted treatment concept.
Revisiting Substrate Specificity Concept in Microbial Screening Methodologies for Fish Waste Management
Authors: Vakkachan Amala Panaparambil , Gopakumar Sumithra Thangalazhy , Janardhanan Reshma Kalarical , Nair Anusree Velappan , P. Sayooj , P. Vijayagopal
Published: May 2021

Microbial and enzymatic processing is an attractive area for production of valuable byproducts from fish waste. Functional screening methodologies for the purpose are still based on activities in non-specific substrates, and concept of substrate specificity is not yet validated. Therefore, reliability of using non-specific substrate for the purpose was checked. Results revealed the existence of a limited number of mutually inclusive positive isolates in non-specific and specific substrate based assays (13% for fish proteolysis and 22% for fish lipolysis), with no significant positive correlations (P>0.05). Further, using non-specific substrates in screening assays missed 57.1% and 53.33% of fish proteolytic and fish lipolytic microbes respectively, signifying the use of same substrates. Beyond methodological perspectives, the paper forms the first report on fish proteolytic activity of Bacillus tropicus, Bacillus vallismortis, Paenibacillus alvei, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus hominis. Similarly, fish oil hydrolyzing capacities of B. tropicus, Cronobacter sakazakii, P. alvei, Paenibacillus pinisoli, Pantoea stewartii, S. hominis and Staphylococcus caprae are recorded for the first time. Further, the paper points out 6 and 3 potential microbial species producing > 1 protease units/ml and >1 enzymatic index for fish proteolytic and lipolytic activities, without any optimization, warranting future use in fish waste management.
Long-term Exposure to Predation Threat Can Modulate the Expression of Sexually Selected Traits in Male Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)
Authors: Rahman Md. Moshiur , Biswas Prianka , Hossain Sazzad , Rahman Sheikh Mustafizur , Alsaqufi Ahmed Saud , Mahmud-Al-Hasan Md. , Hazra Prema , Rahman Md. Mostafizur , Asadujjaman Md.
Published: May 2021

The expression of sexual traits can be affected by different environmental factors among which predation may be particularly important life-history traits. This study investigated the effects of predation risk on courtship behavior, growth and sexual color patterns in male guppy (Poecilia reticulata). In the study, juvenile male guppies were randomly assigned to two treatments, namely T1 (predation threat) and T2 (no predation threat). The courtship performances were visually observed and recorded, while color patterns and morphological traits were measured by using the ImageJ software from the captured photos. The courtship behavioral trials revealed that predation threatened males performed significantly lower number of sigmoid displays than those of no-predation group. Further, the predation scared group had significantly shorter standard length, body area and a reduced number and area of orange spots than their counter group. However, the predation threat did not affect significantly the gonopodial thrusts, and black and iridescent color components (spot number and area). The reduction of costly traits (e.g. behavior, color patterns and body size) is common anti-predator response which presumably reduces predation risks. Male guppies are probably using this form of defence in response to the increased predation risk. The overall result suggests that growth and sexually selected trait expression are sensitive to predation risk and thereby aid in our understanding to predict the evolution of phenotypic variation in natural systems.
Geospatial Techniques Based Analysis on the Impact of Resettlement on Land Use and Land Cover Change in Esira District, Dawuro Zone, Ethiopia
Authors: Mamude Markos , Melka Girma Alemu , Genet Wondafrash
Published: May 2021

Resettlement program is considered as a response to tackle the problems of food insecurity, unproductive agriculture, and the ill-being of resettled community. However, large implementation of the program gives rise to socio-economic and environmental related issues particularly natural resource degradation, which causes land use and land cover (LULC) change in the study area. This study was carried out to analyze implication of resettlement on LULC change in Esira district by applying geospatial techniques. Accordingly, to achieve the intended objectives, three sets of Landsat images with different study period were used. Thus, five major LULC classes were identified using maximum likelihood supervised classification techniques. Post classification change detection technique was also used to identify land transformation from one LULC class to other classes. The finding of the study shows that, from 1990 to 2019, there was increment in settlement and cropland with respective values of 11.9% to 32%, and 21.7% to 28%. In expense of this, grassland, forest and bare land were decreased from 29.2% to 14.7%, 26.2% to 16.6% and 12.8% to 8.33%, respectively. Fragmented and unplanned resettlement program would result in natural resource depletion particularly deforestation. So, based on the findings, well-planned resettlement program and sensible land use system is recommended.
Breast cancer in Accra, Ghana
Authors: Quayson SE , Wiredu EK , Adjei DN , Anim JT
Published: May 2021

The aim of this study was to look at the pattern of breast cancer over a period of five years and to compare the findings to similar studies done in the Department and elsewhere within the African sub-region. All breast cancers diagnosed in the Department of Pathology of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, over a 5-year period were compiled. The slides for the cases were retrieved and reviewed. Invasive ductal carcinomas were graded according to the Scarff-Bloom-Richardson’s grading system. The data were entered and analyzed using the EPI-Info microcomputer software (Version 3.5.1, 2008, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Atlanta). Breast cancer in Accra is mostly of the ductal type or its variants affecting relatively younger age groups. The mean age of incidence of cancer in Ghana is 48 years, and about 67% have lymph node metastases (at least Stage II or N1) and 74% are of high grade at the time of diagnoses. The percentage of male breast cancers in Ghana is 2.9% (2.0 - 3.75% within the West African sub-region) and is higher than what is reported in Western literature. The results of this study show that there has been no im-provement in the stage at which patients present with breast cancer in the past 30 years.Keywords: Breast cancer, cancer types, cancer grade, lymph node status, Accra
Hygiene practices among street food vendors in Tamale Metropolis
Authors: Danikuu F.M. , Baguo F.B. , Azipala O.
Published: May 2021

The transmission of food borne infections is on the increase in developing countries and has been linked to the environmental sanitation, personal and food hygiene level and practices in a community. The activities of food vendors can increase the chances of food contamination with pathogenic microorganisms and mycotoxins. The study was conducted to assess the food hygiene practices among street food vendors in the Tamale Metropolis. Structured questionnaires, interviews and field observations were used to assess the age, educational standard, knowledge, food hygiene practices and environmental sanitation of 150 randomly selected street food vendors in Tamale Metropolis from those who agreed to participate. The study noted that street food business in the Tamale Metropolis was women dominated (76%). Majority of vendors (78%) were aged 20-39 years. Public toilets (pit latrines) were accessible to all vending sites. Though high number of street food vendors had some form of formal education (66%) and knowledge of food hygiene (62.7%) certain practices associated with the services, such as not washing hands with soap (12%), serving cooked food with bare hands (38%) and low participation in medical examination (46.7%) are unacceptable. Street food vendors in Tamale Metropolis need regular health education on standard environmental, personal and food hygiene practices and strict enforcement of environmental and food hygiene regulations to keep street food save for consumers.Journal of Medical and Biomedical Sciences (2015) 4(3), 25-30Keywords: Street food, food hygiene practices, personal hygiene, food contamination
Modelling the Transitional Dynamics of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Strain
Authors: Alhassan A. , Nokoe K.S.
Published: May 2021

The World Health Organization’s targets of eliminating Tuberculosis (TB) by 2050 is challenged by the emergence and spread of drug resistance TB. However, the traditional mechanism of resistance is that of acquired resistance, whereby the mycobacterium Tuberculosis (MTB) strain develops mutations under selective pressure of insufficient drug therapy. These mutations have the tendency of changing the drug target protein, restricting the bacteria to the anti-TB agent. We propose a discrete state markov chain model with three disease states: Drug Susceptible (DS), Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) and Extra Drug Resistant (XDR) to further study the transitional dynamics of the MTB strain. The study made use of a retrospective data on resistant pattern to first line and second line anti TB drugs. The structural properties of the model established life expectancies of DS and MDR strains as well as the probability of first resistance of the DS strain. Key estimates were assessed by the bootstrapping procedure which converged in estimates to the actual data. If the experiment were repeated infinitely many times, in 95 out of 100, the interval 2.782 x 10-7 to 0.018 will contain the true probability of first mutation of the DS strain. A key contribution of this study is the revealing therapeutic cycle of the treatment regime of the TB disease based on the TB progression data which saw the period after the 20th cycle of the treatment being prominent in some key strain dynamics. These findings may also help explain further the pharmacodynamic properties of the "first line" anti-Tuberculosis drugs for enhance TB treatment. Journal of Medical and Biomedical Sciences (2016) 5(2), 13-23
High efflux pump activity and gene expression at baseline linked to poor tuberculosis treatment outcomes
Authors: Mazando S. , Zimudzi C. , Zimba M. , Sande S. , Gundidza M. , Mazorodze J.H. , Seepe P.M.M. , Pym A. , Mason P.
Published: May 2021

Phenotypic TB drug resistance, also known as drug tolerance, has been previously attributed to slowed bacterial growth in vivo. The increased activity and expression of efflux systems can lower the intracellular concentration of many antibiotics thus reducing their efficacy. We hypothesized that efflux pump activation and expression could be a risk factor for TB drug tolerance in patients initiated on treatment. Analyses of gene expression levels of six select efflux pumps associated with drug tolerance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its correlation with the cell’s ability to efflux ethidium bromide (a common efflux substrate) were assayed. Efflux pump gene expression differed significantly between the strains from treatment failures and treatment successes. Efflux of ethidium bromide by M. tuberculosis isolates revealed that isolates from treatment failures rapidly efflux ethidium bromide more than isolates from treatment successes or the H37Rv control strains. The efflux pumps efpA, jefA (Rv2459c), Rv1258c, p55 and mmpL7 may have a role in TB drug tolerance. Quantifying the expression levels of M. tuberculosis efflux pump genes may be a new method to diagnose clinically persistent tuberculosis. High efflux pump activity and expression at baseline can be associated with tuberculosis treatment failure even when the Mycobacterium tuberculosis does not have established resistance mutations.Journal of Medical and Biomedical Sciences (2017) 6(1), 8-17Keywords: drug resistance, Efflux, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, expression, treatment outcome
Effects of curcumin on sperm parameters abnormalities induced by morphine in rat
Authors: Roshankhah S.H. , Salahshoor M.R. , Aryanfar S. , Jalili F. , Sohrabil M. , Jalili C.
Published: May 2021

Opioids are the most potent and effective analgesics available and have become accepted as appropriate treatment for acute, cancer and non-cancer. Morphine, which is commonly used for the treatment of severe pain, gastrointestinal tract and kidneys. Curcumin petals consist of, glycosides, flavonoids, and anthocyanin. The study aims at evaluating curcumin effect and morphine on sperm parameters, testis tissue and serum testosterone level in rat. In this experimental study, 48 male rats with 28 weeks of age and limited weight of 270 to 300g were selected. They were divided into eight groups of 6, untreated control group; morphine – treated group (20 mg/kg/day); curcumin -treated groups (10, 30, 60 mg/kg/day); and morphine and curcumin treated group intraperitoneal administration for successive 28 days. After 24hours animals were killed. Sperm motility was measured using WHO protocols. The sperm parameter such as motility, sperm count, morphology, seminiferous tubules diameter, weight testis, and serum testosterone level were analyzed (oneway ANOVA). Curcumin (10, 30 and 60 mg/kg) significantly increased mean percentage of sperm motility, count, testis weight, and serum testosterone level compared to control group (p<0.05). Testosterone level decreased significantly in rats treated with morphine. Co-administration of curcumin to morphine-treated rats improved the histopathological alterations induced by morphine in testis and increased the sperm count. Curcumin has a very strong antioxidant effects at applied doses and it can probably be used as an antioxidant and food supplement in reproductive disorders.Journal of Medical and Biomedical Sciences (2017) 6(2), 1-10
Nutrient Intake, Physical Activity and Nutritional Status Among Second Cycle Students in Tamale, Ghana
Authors: Dapare P. P. M. , Adams Y. , Djabuni E. K. , Osei I. , Shittu S. O.
Published: May 2021

The issues of nutrition and dietary habits are timely because nutrition plays an important role among the external factors that may impact the health of an individual. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of nutrient intake and physical activity on nutritional status of second cycle students within the Tamale Metropolis, Ghana. This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted from February, 2015 to April, 2015 where a total of 200 students, comprising both male (49.5%) and female (50.5%) students were conveniently selected from two schools; a day school (44%) and a boarding school (56%). A questionnaire containing closed ended and open ended questions were developed to cover socio-demographic characteristics, anthropometric measures, physical activity and nutrients intake. The mean age of the participants was 17.78±1.7 years. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in this study were 6% (BMI), 28% (WHR) and 1% (BMI), 10% (WHR) respectively. The prevalence of underweight and high physical activity was higher in males (p=0.0017 and p=0.0027 respectively) whiles the prevalence of overweight, obesity and low physical activity were higher in females (p=<0.0001, p=0.0023 and p=<0.0001 respectively). The mean total daily energy intake of the study population was 4177±7569 Kcal/day. Males significantly consumed more calories (p=0.0189), carbohydrates (p=0.0401), proteins (p=0.0282) and iron (p=0.035) than females. Prevalence of overweight and high physical activity were higher in day students (p=<0.0001 and p=0.0014 respectively) whiles prevalence of overweight and low physical activity were found in boarding students (p=0.0257 and p=<0.0001). This study brings to bare the increasing prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity in adolescents, hence the dual burden of under nutrition and over nutrition. It brings to light the higher prevalence of overweight and obesity among female adolescents as a consequence of reduced physical activity. The study also reveals the nutritional deficiencies coupled with reduced physical activity in boarding school students as well as the unhealthy eating habits of day school students.Journal of Medical and Biomedical Sciences (2017) 6(2), 25- 37
The effects of National Health Insurance Scheme on equity and quality of diabetes care in secondary healthcare facilities in SouthWest Nigeria
Authors: Saka S. A. , Fajemirokun O. T.
Published: May 2021

There have been concerns about the influence of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) on equity and quality of diabetes care in many healthcare settings. This study aimed to assess the effects of NHIS onequity and quality of diabetes care (DC) in Nigeria. A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out among 110 (insured n=42, uninsured=68) consenting type 2-diabetics. Diabetic outpatients on oral hypoglycemic drugs, with at least 4 clinic visits prior to the time of the study were consecutively selected at two NHIS accredited public hospitals in Southwest, Nigeria. Patients’ perceptions of equity and quality of DC were assessed using a validated 27 items questionnaire. The medical care and pharmaceutical care in diabetes were independently assessed using medical chart review and a direct observation of dispensing pharmacists’ activities respectively. Chi-squared test was used to determine associations between variables. Majority (61.8%) of the study participants were uninsured. Females (50.9%) were more than the males (49.1%), 40.0% had post-secondary qualifications. The mean ages for the insured and uninsured were 52.02±11.6 and 58.97± 9.3years respectively. The insured and the uninsured differ in their perceptions of drug availability (p<0.001). The pharmacists’ counselling time (p<0.001) differs between the groups. The quality of medical care provided to the diabetics was generally low. The NHIS did not influence the quality of DC, though it may have engendered inequity in pharmaceutical care in the facilities.Journal of Medical and Biomedical Sciences (2018) 7(1), 11 - 21
Restructuring Macroeconomic Policy for Sustainable Development in Nigeria
Authors: Okoh John Onuwa
Published: May 2021

This paper examined the impact of restructuring macroeconomic policy for sustainable development in Nigeria. The paper examines the various efforts aimed at restructuring macroeconomics policy in Nigeria. These efforts were captured in the SAP of 1986, NEEDS of 2004, the Transformation Agenda of 2011 and the ERGP of 2016. The paper adopted content analysis method of qualitative research given the peculiarity of the subject matter. There were documented evidence that during the aforementioned periods, the economy showed signs of growth and development. Despite the gains of the reforms, Nigeria is still grappling with economic growth and development issues-unemployment, poverty and rising cost of living. This paper however recommends that there should be continuity in programmes and policies of government. Programmes and policies should not change with regime change. There should be a deliberate and conscious effort on the part of government and policy makers to design programmes and policies that are people oriented, home grown and have the capacity to promote and sustainable growth and development.
Combating the Scourge of Security Challenges in Nigeria through Religious Education for Sustainable National Development
Authors: Okobia Faith Nkem
Published: May 2021

Insecurity is the cankerworm that is eating deep into the fabric of this nation. It is a national problem with certain destructive tendencies, hence the need for the enthronement of religious education to save the nation from destruction. Religion, which teaches morality, plays a vital role in the social lives of individuals and society at large. This is because it deals with values, behaviours and attitude exhibited and encouraged by members of the society which enhances national development. Therefore, religion is essential for curbing insecurity because security challenge is always accompanied with tension and  anxiety which hinder development. The paper revealed that insecurity is the product of moral decadence in the society, because lack of moral values in the lives of individuals lead to all the vices that result to insecurity in Nigeria. Therefore, government should lay more emphasis on the teaching of religious education at all levels of education in order to inculcate good morals into the youths, curb insecurity in the society and enhance national development. Employment opportunities should be created so as to eradicate poverty, since a hungry man is an angry man.

Keywords: Security Challenges, Religious Education, Sustainable National Development
Reseña del libro: “Editando genes: recorta, pega y colorea Las maravillosas herramientas CRISPR”
Authors: Méndez Pfeiffer Pablo Alan
Published: May 2021

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Aproximación a la medición de la percepción de riesgo en la acuacultura de Sonora, México
Authors: Araiza-Sánchez L.M. , Valenzuela-Valenzuela A. , Laborín-Alvarez J.F. , Ortega-García J. , Borbón-Morales C.G. , Rueda-Puente E.O.
Published: May 2021

La producción de camarón en acuacultura presenta riesgos naturales asociados; embate de epizootias, precios internacionales bajos, y una fuerte competencia internacional. Son causas relevantes que han impactado en la disminución de la rentabilidad de las unidades productoras de camarón. Este análisis aborda otro aspecto que, eventualmente afecta su desempeño. Tales son las formas en las cuales los productores de camarón, su equipo de administradores y técnicos, toman las decisiones, y cómo estos afrontan los riesgos inherentes a esta actividad. Producto de heurísticos del pensamiento, sesgos cognitivos y la racionalidad limitada de los individuos, en ámbitos de información incompleta, inadecuada o desfasada, la toma de decisiones de estos agentes económicos, está matizada con el reto de mantener la unidad económica en funcionamiento. Con el objetivo de distinguir las formas de pensamiento que afectan a los tomadores de decisiones y encontrar un instrumento que permita medir la percepción del riesgo, se realiza una revisión sistemática, que explora las vertientes teóricas y sus hallazgos sobre el afrontamiento ante el riesgo extremo. La Teoría Prospectiva de Kahneman y Tversky (1979), es el punto de partida para establecer un parámetro claro de que esos heurísticos inherentes a la racionalidad humana.
MPEG-SCORM: proposta de ontologia de metadados interoperáveis entre Televisão Digital e aplicações para o Ensino a Distância
Authors: Dos Santos Marcelo Correia , Iano Yuzo
Published: May 2021

A convergência entre as mídias digitais propõe uma integração entre as TIC, focadas no domínio do multimídia (sob a responsabilidade do MPEG, Moving Picture Experts Group, constituindo o subcomitê ISO / IEC JTC1 SC29), e as TICE, (TIC para a Educação, geridas pelo subcomitê ISO / IEC JTC1 SC36), destacando-se os padrões MPEG, empregados na forma de conteúdo e metadados para o multimídia, e as TICE, aplicadas à Educação a Distância, ou e-Learning (o aprendizado eletrônico). Neste sentido, coloca-se a problemática de desenvolver uma correspondência interoperável de bases normativas, atingindo assim uma proposta inovadora na convergência entre as mídias digitais e as aplicações para e-Learning, essencialmente multimídia. Para este fim, propõe-se criar e aplicar uma ontologia de metadados interoperáveis para web, TV digital e extensões para dispositivos móveis, baseada na integração entre os padrões de metadados MPEG-21 e SCORM, empregando a linguagem XPath.
Methods for evaluating the quality of information on health websites: Systematic Review (2001-2014)
Authors: Paolucci Rodolfo , Neto André Pereira
Published: May 2021

The Internet is a major source of health information, but the poor quality of the information has been criticized for decades. We looked at methods for assessing the quality of health information, updating the findings of the first systematic review from 2002. We searched 9 Health Sciences, Information Sciences, and multidisciplinary databases for studies. We identified 7,718 studies and included 299. Annual publications increased from 9 (2001) to 53 (2013), with 89% from developed countries. We identified 20 areas of knowledge. Six tools have been used worldwide, but 43% of the studies did not use any of them. The methodological framework of criteria from the first review has been the same. The authors were the evaluators in 80% of the studies. This field of evaluation is expanding. No instrument simultaneously covers the evaluation criteria. There is still a need for a methodology involving experts and users and evidence-based indicators of accuracy.
Determination of medium lethal dose (LD50) and acute toxicity of formulation Cytoreg®, an ionic mixture of strong and weak acids
Authors: De Jesus Rosa , Fernández Nelson Vicuña- , Osorio Andrés , Martucci David , Pozo Lewis , García A Carlos , Jimenez William
Published: May 2021

A series of toxicological and pharmacological tests were started in the bioterium of the University of Los Andes, in order to evaluate a new formulation for therapeutic purposes. The present work reports the results found regarding the LD50 and the acute toxicity of this formulation produced by Cytorex of Venezuela, S.A. The new formulation supplied in liquid form, containing a variety of acid atoms whose conjugated bases have different electrical charges. It constitutes an ion transport complex of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions in high concentrations that help regulate mitochondrial and cellular metabolism and utilizes the inorganic fluoride ion (HF) as the main active compound, as referred to by the supplier. All the concentrations described in this work are referred to hydrofluoric acid (HF), which is the active compound of the formulation. Conventional pharmacological methods were used and it was found that the average lethal dose in rats resulted in 44.83 mg/Kg, and of 0.82ml/Kg. At the concentration of minimum dose of 0,49 mL/Kg of weight, the surviving animals did not present apparent macroscopic lesions at necropsy.
Effects of dietary starch levels on growth, feed utilization, glucose and lipid metabolism in non-transgenic and transgenic juvenile common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)
Authors: Guo Wei , Fu Lele , Wu Yunya , Liu Haokun , Yang Yunxia , Hu Wei , Xie Shougi
Published: May 2021

This experiment investigated the effects of dietary starch on growth performance, feed utilization, glucose and lipid metabolism of non-transgenic and growth hormone (GH) transgenic juvenile common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.). Transgenic common carp (TG fish) and non-transgenic (NT fish) were fed diets with five starch levels (0, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%). After 41 days, TG fish showed higher growth and feed utilization at low-starch diets, while similar growth, lower feeding rate (FR) and slightly higher feed efficiency (FE) was observed at high-starch diets. Lower plasma glucose level and hepatic glycogen content were observed in TG fish, which could be related to the higher glycolysis (high gene expression of hexokinase (hk), p < 0.01) and gluconeogenesis (high gene expression of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (fbpase), p < 0.01; glucose-6-phosphatase (g6pase), p < 0.01) of TG fish. Compared to NT fish, weakened fat synthesis (lower gene expression of fatty-acid synthase (fas), p <0.01; acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (acc1), p < 0.01; acyl-CoA desaturase 1 (scd1), p = 0.011) and enhanced fatty acid oxidation (high gene expression of hormone-sensitive lipase (hsl), p =0.01; carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1a (cpt-1a), p < 0.01), led to the decrease of body lipid content in TG fish. On the other hand, with increased dietary starch, increased body lipid and hepatic glycogen contents were observed in both TG and NT fish, suggesting that high dietary starch levels promoted glycolysis, fat synthesis and inhibited gluconeogenesis, fatty acid β-oxidation. Overall, TG fish showed higher growth performance at low starch diets, and higher ability of glycolysis, fatty acid oxidation and lower lipid synthesis than the NT fish.
QUANTIFICATION OF THE HORIZONTAL STERILIZATION CYCLE GRAPHIC OF PALM OIL AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO OIL LOSSES IN EMPTY BUNCH AND CONDENSATE
Authors: Purwanto Heri
Published: May 2021

Sterilization process is one of the keys to success in a Palm Oil Mill. In conventional palm oil mills that use horizontal serilization, the fruit is heated in a closed vessel using pressurized steam at a pressure of 40 psi and a temperature of 140oC. The performance parameters that determine the success of the process in intermediate sterilization are pressure, temperature and time as well as steam requirements. This study aims to determine the correlation between the area under sterilization graph represent the measurement of time and pressure from every cycle of sterilization to oil losses in the condensate and empty bunch. The results show that the higher the sterilization graph area which represents pressure and time, the higher the percentage of oil losses in condensate water and the lower the oil losses in empty bunches.