Chmp1 is Implicated in the Development of Pancreatic Tumor Via the Retinoic Acid Signaling Pathway

In the present study, we investigated the involvement of Chmp1 (Chromatin ModifyingProtein 1/Charged Multivesicular body Protein 1) in the development of mousepancreatic acinar tumor cell line. CRL 2151 cell line was transfected with Chmp1/CS2vector to compare growth, morphology and expression of Chmp1, p53 and pp53 (ser37) with control-transfected cells. CRL 2151 cells were treated with all-trans retinoicacid (ATRA) to compare growth, morphology and expression of Chmp1 and p53 withcontrol-treated cells. Strabismus was used as control. Results showed inhibition ofgrowth but no morphological change in transfected cells. Western blot analysis showedthat Chmp1 transfection upregulated the expression of p53, pp53 and Stbm temporarily.Treatment of cells with ATRA did not inhibit growth or show morphological change.However, Western blot analysis demonstrated the upregulation of Chmp1, p53 andStbm proteins. Microarray analysis of samples transfected with Chmp1 or treated withretinoic acid was done to determine if the same set of genes will be regulated. The proapoptoticgenes Bad and Bak are among the genes up-regulated. Cell division cycleprotein, Cdca7, was among the genes down-regulated. Results from Western blotanalysis confirmed the expression of Bad and Bak genes. Taken together, these resultssuggest that Chmp1 functions in the suppression of pancreatic tumor by the retinoicacid signaling pathway

Dietary Interventions Against Mammary Glands and Prostate Cancers

Dietary components modulate normal cellular functions and, in cancer cells, alter processes that lead to cancer and/or its progression. The change in the patterns of human food production and consumption over time has contributed to increasing risk for diseases including cancer. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are classes of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids in the human diet and are required for normal growth and development. Omega-3 and omega-6 fats are thought to be required in the ratio of 1:1 to 1:4 on which humans are thought to have evolved. However, the Western diet has greatly shifted from this ratio. The Western diet consists of high omega-6 and low omega-3 fat ratio as high as 50:1. Consumption of a diet high in omega-3 fat is associated with reduced risk for some cancers, whereas consumption of a diet high in omega-6 fat is associated with increased risk. We hypothesized that canola oil in the maternal diet or, regular walnut consumption, or fish oil in adult diet as sources of omega-3 fat to increase omega-3 fat and reduce omega-6 fat in the diet, might reduce the risk for breast and prostate cancers in the C3(1)TAg mouse. Consumption of high omega-3 diet from canola oil by mothers suppressed mammary gland tumorigenesis in the female offspring. Walnut consumption suppressed mammary gland tumorigenesis more than high omega-3 diet from canola oil, and high omega-3 diet from fish oil suppressed prostate tumorigenesis

Physicians management of sore throat in children in Benin City, Nigeria

Sorethroat is a common reason for presentation in primary paediatric care. Because only minority of cases of pharyngitis is caused by bacteria, physicians have been guided by various recommendations on the judicious use of antibiotics to avoid overprescription. In the absence of guidelines, the treatment approaches between physicians may differ. The management of children with sorethroat by physicians inBeninCity,Mid-WesternNigeriawas evaluated. The experience and practice of 25 paediatricians and 30 non paediatricians who routinely attend to children with sorethroat in Benin metropolis, Nigeria were evaluated with the aid of a self administered questionnaire. Information sought for included biodata, empirical antibiotic prescription. The choice of antibiotic and complications of pharyngitis encountered in practice. Majority of respondents 31(56.4 %) considered viruses as the commonest cause of pharyngitis. Despite this an equal proportion 31(56.4 %) treated children with sorethroat empirically with antibiotics. Of these, significantly more paediatricians 19(61.3%) than non paediatricians 12(38.7%) considered viruses the commonest cause of pharyngitis, P = 0.013. CI (0.10 0.63). Almost three quarter (72.7 %) of respondents examine the throat of the childrenwhile only 18.2%obtained throat swab formicrobiological analysis. The 24 doctorswho did not treat empiricallywould prescribe antibiotic if the patient has purulent pharyngeal exudates, fever and adenitis.Augmentin and cefuroximewere themost prescribed antibiotics. Alot of children served by these doctors receive antibiotic needlessly from empirical antibiotic treatment of pharyngitis.National guidelines on appropriate antibiotic use is needed to promote rational use of antibiotics and reduce antibiotic overuse.Keywords: Sore throat, streptococcal, antibiotic, physicians,Beni

Development of an Ontology-Based Personalised E-Learning Recommender System

E-learning has become an active field of research with a lot of investment towards web-based delivery of personalised learning contents to learners. Some issues of e-learning arise from the heterogeneity and interoperability of learning content to suit learner’s style and preferences in order to improve the e-learning environment. Hence, this paper developed an ontology-based personalised recommender system that is needed to recommend suitable learning contents to learners using collaborative filtering and ontology. A pre-test is carried out for users in order to segment them in learning categories to suit their skill level. The learning contents are structured using ontology; and collaborative filtering is used to collects preferences from many users and then recommending the highest rated contents to users. The system is implemented using JAVA programming language with Structured Query Language (MySQL) as database management system. Performance evaluation of the system is carried out using survey and standard metrics such as precision, recall and F1-Measrure. The results from the two performance evaluation models showed that the system is suitable for recommending the required learning contents to learners

Las Vegas visitor demographics: Be careful what you wish for

Targeting the correct customer is one of the most important components to owning and running a successful company. To have a great product that is marketed to the wrong customer, will result in lost profits and missed opportunities. Over the last 20 years Las Vegas has seen two drastic changes in its target customer and visitor demographics. By the late 1980’s gaming revenue in Las Vegas was down as other areas in the country started to legalize gambling. In an attempt to stimulate visitor numbers the city was reinvented in the image of Disney. Themed hotels such as the Luxor and Excalibur emerged allowing Las Vegas to market itself as a place for adults to gamble while their children played at theme parks such as the one built by the MGM Grand. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current visitor demographics of the Las Vegas market, to determine whether or not these customers are the best type of customers to maximize hotel profits

Effects of Canola and Corn Oil Mimetic on Jurkat Cells

BACKGROUND: The Western diet is high in omega-6 fatty acids and low in omega-3 fatty acids. Canola oil contains a healthier omega 3 to omega 6 ratio than corn oil. Jurkat T leukemia cells were treated with free fatty acids mixtures in ratios mimicking that found in commercially available canola oil (7% α-linolenic, 30% linoleic, 54% oleic) or corn oil (59% linoleic, 24% oleic) to determine the cell survival or cell death and changes in expression levels of inflammatory cytokines and receptors following oil treatment. METHODS: Fatty acid uptake was assessed by gas chromatography. Cell survival and cell death were evaluated by cell cycle analyses, propidium-iodide staining, trypan blue exclusion and phosphatidylserine externalization. mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines and receptors were assessed by RT-PCR. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the lipid profiles of the cells after treatment. Differential action of the oils on inflammatory molecules, following treatment at non-cytotoxic levels, indicated that canola oil mimetic was anti-inflammatory whereas corn oil mimetic was pro-inflammatory. SIGNIFICANCE: These results indicate that use of canola oil in the diet instead of corn oil might be beneficial for diseases promoted by inflammation

Phytochemical Composition and Comparative Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activities of the Juice Extract of Citrus Aurantifolia and its Silver Nanoparticles

Background: Citrus aurantifolia juice has been useful for the treatment of various infections and green synthesis of silver nanoparticle using lime juice may offer added advantages.Objective: The phytochemical composition and comparative evaluation of antimicrobial activities of the crude juice extract and biosynthesized Silver nanoparticle (SNPs) from Citrus aurantifolia juice was investigated.Materials and methods: Phytochemical, antimicrobial evaluation (agar well diffusion) and biosynthesis of SNPs was done using Crude extract of Citrus aurantifolia. The SNPs were characterized by colour changes, spectroscopy and Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy.Results: The juice extract contained bioactive compounds such as flavonoids (710mg/100g), tannins (525mg/100g), phenols (65mg/100g) and terpenes (56mg/100g). Changes in colour, UV-Vis Spectroscopy at 300-550nm ranges and FTIR revealed the functional groups present in the biosynthesized SNPs. The crude extract and SNPs exhibited varying antimicrobial activities against some selected pathogens including Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 19615, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 10031, Bacillus sp, Actinobacillus sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The crude extract has more antibacterial potential against the tested pathogens than the biosynthesized SNPs. The crude extract also had higher antimicrobial activities against Streptococcus pyogenes which were resistant to ciprofloxacin. The result revealed that the crude extract was more effective than the SNPs produced and the Minimum Inhibitory concentration (MIC) also showed increasing activities with an increase in the concentration of the juice extract and SNPs.Conclusion: Crude extract of Citrus aurantifolia contain bioactive compound with potent antimicrobial potential and the extract was more effective than the biosythesized SNPs.Keywords: Citrus aurantifolia juice, Silver nanoparticle, phytochemical, antimicrobial activities, minimum inhibitory concentration

Attitude of Teachers and School Variables in Secondary Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria

This study examined some school variables and teachers’ attitude to work for effective teaching. Descriptive survey design was used for the study. The respondents were 216 teachers which were randomly selected from 90 secondary schools. An Instrument, Teachers’ Attitude to Teaching Inventory (TATI), comprising 30 items, was used to collect data. The TATI elicited information on different aspects of teaching including presentation, assessment and use of instructional materials. The study was guided by two hypotheses. Data collected were analysed using Analysis of variance Pearson-r, t-test and percentages. The results from ANOVA showed that there was a significant difference in the attitude of different subject teachers to teaching of Science, Art and Social Science to (F2,214 = 3.0, p<0.05).  Furthermore, the results showed that there was a significant relationship between teachers’ attitude to teaching and age (r = 0.0535, p<0.05), sex (r=0.343, p<0.05), and teaching subjects (r = 0.194, p<0.05). The study concluded that teachers’ attitude to teaching was not favourable and this attitude was influenced largely by age and sex. Keywords: Teachers’ Attitude, School Variables, Effective Teaching

Health insurance and the financial implications of sickle cell disease among parents of affected children attending a tertiary facility in Lagos, south-west Nigeria

Introduction: there is a paucity of data on the financial implications of sickle cell disease on households of affected children and their use of health insurance in Nigeria. This study assessed the awareness of health insurance, patterns of health service utilization and financial implications of sickle cell disease among children seeking care at a tertiary facility in Nigeria. Methods: a structured questionnaire was administered to parents of 314 children with sickle cell disease attending the pediatric hematology unit of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital between May and December 2019. Results: mean age of the children was 91.5 ± 43.1 months. M:F was 1.17:1. 45.5% of households earned above NGN 150,000 (USD 417) monthly. 71.3% of the parents had heard of health insurance but only 20.7% were enrolled in a health insurance scheme. Awareness of health insurance was significantly associated with social class (p=0.000) and monthly household income (p=0.000). 60.8% of the parents preferred pre-facility treatment. Social class (p=0.01) and monthly household income (p=0.001) were significantly associated with home treatment. Time on admission ranged from 2-18 days with an average of 4.31 days. Average cost of hospitalization was USD 148 ± USD 14.2 and total cost of care incurred was USD 20,787. Neither age of child (p=0.857), estimated household income (p=0.863) nor social class (p=0.397) was associated with cost of care. Conclusion: a high cost of care was observed in our study population underscoring the need for increased awareness and access to health insurance for households of children with sickle cell disease

Delayed referral and treatment of paediatric cancer in Nigeria: Time to stop blaming the victim

Background: Caregiver delay in presentation has been cited as a major contributor to poor prognosis of paediatric cancers in low-middle income countries like Nigeria. This study explored the time duration between onset of symptoms and presentation to healthcare facilities, diagnosis, and referral for specialist care. Methods: Data were compiled from caregivers of newly registered children at a teaching hospital in Nigeria. Sociodemographic and clinical history of the child were taken. Type of cancer, date of diagnosis, centre where the diagnosis was made, treatment start date, and duration of symptoms until treatment were elicited from consenting caregivers and documented. Results: Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia was the most prevalent cancer type among the patients. The mean time from first symptom to presentation was 15 weeks and from presentation at any health care facility to specialist referral and diagnosis was 38 and 39 weeks, respectively. Time from diagnosis to treatment was a mean of 8 weeks (range: 1 to 27 weeks) Conclusion: Delayed presentation has become a commonly cited factor for poor cancer outcomes in Nigeria and may often inaccurately assign blame to the patient/caregivers. The results of this study point to delayed detection, delayed diagnosis and delayed referral for specialist care, as more accurate contributors to late-stage presentation and consequently worse outcomes of paediatric cancers in Nigeria. Strengthening of community and primary level healthcare professionals’ understanding of paediatric cancers, establishment of simple detection algorithms and national implementation of efficient referral protocols will potentially reduce delays in specialist attention and improve outcomes