Investigating asthma comorbidities: a systematic scoping review protocol

Chief Scientist’s Office of the Scottish Government and Asthma UK as part of the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research (AUK-AC-2012–01). BN is supported by the Farr Institute and Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research

Building a recruitment database for asthma trials: a conceptual framework for the creation of the UK Database of Asthma Research Volunteers

Funded by Asthma UK as part of the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research (AUK-AC-2012-01). In addition, BN, IS, CS and AS acknowledge the support of the Farr Institute, which is funded by the MRC and its consortium of funders

Evaluation of risk caused by intake of trace metal through consumption of Pleurotus tuber-regium collected around automobile village in Abia State

ABSTRACT. The bioaccumulation of trace metals in mushrooms poses a health risk to consumers. Despite the fact that mushroom eating has been linked to numerous health advantages, little attention has been paid to the relative health risks associated with trace metal build-up in this nutritional source in Nigeria. Pb, Cd, Fe, Hg and As in Pleurotus tuber-regium collected from mechanic workshops in Umuahia were analysed and the associated health risks for the consumers were evaluated. The trace metal contents in the mushroom and its substrates showed a descending order of Fe > Pb > Cd > As > Hg. The heavy metals concentration ranges in fruity body of the Pleurotus tuber-regium were Fe (62.16-98.17 mg kg-1), Pb (0.18-1.21 mg kg-1), Cd (0.05-0.34 mg kg-1), As (0.25-0.51 mg kg-1) and Hg (0.009-0.021 mg kg-1). The estimation of weekly intake values was lower than PTWIs of mushroom species except for Fe. According to the THQ and the HI calculations for trace metal contents in the mushrooms, mercury did not pose any risk on human health; whereas the other determined trace metals gave THQ values of 1 < THQ < 10 and showed the possibility of long-term risk.                     KEY WORDS: Trace metals. Mushroom, Estimated weekly intake, Target hazard quotient, Bioaccumulation   Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2021, 35(2), 229-241. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v35i2.

Profile of European adults interested in internet-based personalized nutrition: The Food4Me Study

Purpose Personalised intervention may have greater potential for reducing the global burden of non-communicable diseases and for promoting better health and wellbeing across the life-span than the conventional “one size fits all” approach. However, the characteristics of individuals interested in personalised nutrition (PN) are unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of European adults interested in taking part in an internet-based PN study. Methods Individuals from seven European countries (UK, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Greece and Poland) were invited to participate in the study via the Food4Me website (http://www.food4me.org). Two screening questionnaires were used to collect data on socio-demographic, anthropometric and health characteristics as well as dietary intakes. Results A total of 5662 individuals expressed an interest in the study (mean age 40 ± 12.7; range 15-87 years). Of these 64.6% were female and 96.9% were Caucasian. Overall, 12.9% were smokers and 46.8% reported the presence of a clinically diagnosed disease. Furthermore, 46.9% were overweight or obese and 34.9% were sedentary during leisure time. Assessment of dietary intakes showed that 54.3% of individuals reported consuming at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day, 45.9% consumed more than 3 servings of wholegrains and 37.2% limited their salt intake to less than 5.75g per day. Conclusions Our data indicate that individuals volunteering to participate in an internet-based PN study are broadly representative of the European adult population, most of whom had adequate nutrient intakes but who could benefit from improved dietary choices and greater physical activity. Future use of internet-based PN approaches is thus relevant to a wide target audience

Machine learning-derived phenotypic trajectories of asthma and allergy in children and adolescents: protocol for a systematic review

Introduction Development of asthma and allergies in childhood/adolescence commonly follows a sequential progression termed the ‘atopic march’. Recent reports indicate, however, that these diseases are composed of multiple distinct phenotypes, with possibly differential trajectories. We aim to synthesise the current literature in the field of machine learning-based trajectory studies of asthma/allergies in children and adolescents, summarising the frequency, characteristics and associated risk factors and outcomes of identified trajectories and indicating potential directions for subsequent research in replicability, pathophysiology, risk stratification and personalised management. Furthermore, methodological approaches and quality will be critically appraised, highlighting trends, limitations and future perspectives. Methods and analyses 10 databases (CAB Direct, CINAHL, Embase, Google Scholar, PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, WHO Global Index Medicus and WorldCat Dissertations and Theses) will be searched for observational studies (including conference abstracts and grey literature) from the last 10 years (2013–2023) without restriction by language. Screening, data extraction and assessment of quality and risk of bias (using a custom-developed tool) will be performed independently in pairs. The characteristics of the derived trajectories will be narratively synthesised, tabulated and visualised in figures. Risk factors and outcomes associated with the trajectories will be summarised and pooled estimates from comparable numerical data produced through random-effects meta-analysis. Methodological approaches will be narratively synthesised and presented in tabulated form and figure to visualise trends. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not warranted as no patient-level data will be used. The findings will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal

Exogenous sex steroid hormones and asthma in females:protocol for a population-based retrospective cohort study using a UK primary care database

This work was supported by Asthma UK, grant number: AUK-IG-2016-346. BIN, INS, CRS and AS were in addition support by the Farr Institute and Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research. BIN acknowledges the support of Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and the Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Machine learning-derived asthma and allergy trajectories in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction Numerous studies have characterised trajectories of asthma and allergy in children using machine learning, but with different techniques and mixed findings. The present work aimed to summarise the evidence and critically appraise the methodology. Methods 10 databases were searched. Screening, data extraction and quality assessment were performed in pairs. Trajectory characteristics were tabulated and visualised. Associated risk factor and outcome estimates were pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis. Results 89 studies were included. Early-onset (infancy) persistent, mid-onset (∼2–5 years) persistent, early-onset early-resolving (within ∼2 years) and early-onset mid-resolving (by ∼3–6 years) wheezing and eczema, respectively, were the most commonly identified disease trajectories. Intermediate/transient trajectories were rare. Male sex was associated with a higher risk of most wheezing trajectories and possibly with early-resolving eczema, while being slightly protective against mid-onset persistent eczema. Parental disease/genetic markers were associated with persistent trajectories of wheezing and eczema, respectively. Prenatal (and less so postnatal) tobacco smoke exposure was associated with most wheezing trajectories, as were lower respiratory tract infections in infancy (particularly with the early-onset resolving patterns). Most studies (69%) were of low methodological quality (particularly in modelling approaches and reporting). Few studies investigated allergic multimorbidity, allergic rhinitis and food allergy. Conclusions Childhood asthma/wheezing and eczema can be characterised by a few relatively consistent trajectories, with some actionable risk factors such as pre-/postnatal smoke exposure. Improved computational methodology is warranted to better assess generalisability and elucidate the validity of intermediate/transient trajectories. Likewise, allergic multimorbidity and trajectories of allergic rhinitis and food allergy need to be further elucidated

Urinary Tract Infection in Okada village: Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern

The antimicrobial sensitivity pattern of bacterial isolates from suspected urinary tract infection (UTI) patients at Igbinedion University Teaching Hospital was carried out from November 2004 to November 2005 using the disc diffusion method. The subjects were made up of 330 (60%) males and 220 (40%) females. The commonest isolates were Escherichia coli (51.2%), Staphylococcus aureus (27.3%), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (12.8%) respectively. Both methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and methicillin sensitive (MSSA) S. aureus were isolated in the study. The isolates were highly sensitive to ofloxacin but low to moderately sensitive to gentimicin, tobramycin, nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, nitrofurantoin, and cefuroxine. The MSSA isolates were highly sensitive to ciprofloxaxin and ofloxacin while the MRSA were sensitive to ofloxacin. In addition, the isolates showed multi-drug resistance