Safety Evaluation of Potential Toxic Metals Exposure from Street Foods Consumed in Mid-West Nigeria

Objective. Street-vended foods offer numerous advantages to food security; nevertheless, the safety of street food should be considered. This study has investigated the level of potential toxic metal (Pb, Cd, Hg, Sb, Mn, and Al) contamination among street-vended foods in Benin City and Umunede. Methods. Twenty street food samples were purchased from vendors at bus stops. Metals were analyzed with atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The methods developed by the US EPA were employed to evaluate the potential health risk of toxic metals. Results. The concentrations of the toxic metals in mg/kg were in the range of Pb (0.014–1.37), Cd (0.00–0.00017), Hg (0.00–0.00014), Sb (0.00–0.021), Mn (0.00–0.012), and Al (0.00–0.22). All the toxic metals except Pb were below permissible limit set by WHO, EU, and USEPA. The daily intake, hazard quotient, and hazard index of all toxic metals except for Pb in some street foods were below the tolerable daily intake and threshold value of 1, indicating an insignificant health risk. Total cancer risk was within the priority risk level of 1.0E-04 but higher than the acceptable risk level of 1E-06. Conclusion. Consumption of some of these street foods is of public health concern

Serum Lipid and Glucose Concentration in Relation to Some Physiological Varibles in College Students From Nnewi, Nigeria

Background: Serum lipid and glucose levels are largely determined by and or related to certain physical, physiological and biochemical parameters/variables. This study therefore, is aimed at determining the levels of serum lipid and glucose and the relationship between the serum lipid and glucose concentrations and the physical and physiological parameters/variables of apparently healthy individuals. Method: The blood samples of twenty-five medical students in the age range of 20 and 25 years were analyzed, for the serum glucose, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) levels after overnight fast, and LDLC calculated. Result: The mean serum glucose, HDLc, TC and LDLc were not significantly different in females and males students. The serum TG was however significantly lower in females than in the males (90.22 \ub1 25.17 vs. 116.93 \ub1 21.54 mg/dl; P< 0.05). Furthermore, females are significantly lower in weight than the males (61.2 \ub1 6.91 vs. 69.96 \ub1 9.30 kg; P< 0.05). Significant correlations were also recorded. Conclusion: The results presented showed that the slight difference seen in males and females was a factor of growth and diet and activity.Introduction :S\ue9rum lipide et niveau du glucose sont en grande partie d\ue9termin\ue9s par ou li\ue9s aux certains physique physiologique et variables/param\ue8tres biochimiques. Donc, l'objet de cette \ue9tude est de d\ue9terminer les niveaux de s\ue9rum lipide et du glucose et le rapport entre le s\ue9rum lipide et concentration du glucose et des variables/param\ue8tres physiques et physiologiques des individus apparemment en tr\ue8s bonne sant\ue9. M\ue9thodes : La prise de sang de vingt cinq \ue9tudiants en m\ue9decine dans la tranche d'\ue2ge de 20 - 25 ans ont \ue9t\ue9 \ue9tudi\ue9s pour le s\ue9rum glucose, cholest\ue9rol total (CT) triglyc\ue9ride (TG), et les niveaux de la densit\ue9 \ue9lev\ue9e du cholest\ue9rol lipoprot\ue9ines (HDLc) apr\ue8s un je\ufcne d'une nuit, et LDLc calcul\ue9. R\ue9sultats : Le s\ue9rum glucose, HDLc, TC et LDLc moyen n'\ue9taient pas sensiblement diff\ue9rents chez des \ue9tudiants du sexe f\ue9minin et masculin. Le s\ue9rum TG toutefois \ue9tait sensiblement inf\ue9rieur chez le sexe f\ue9minin et le sexe masculin (90,22+- 25,17 contre 116, 93+-21,54mg/dl ; P<0,05). Par ailleurs sexe f\ue9minin sont sensiblement inf\ue9rieurs en poids plus que chez le sexe masculin. (61,2+-6,91 contre 69,96+-9,30kg : P<0,05). Des corr\ue9lations importantes ont \ue9t\ue9 \ue9galement not\ue9es. Conclusion :À travers des r\ue9sultats, nous notons que la diff\ue9rence l\ue9g\ue8re vue chez le sexe masculin et le sexe f\ue9minin \ue9tait un facteur d'activit\ue9, d'alimentation et de la croissance

Erratum: Author Correction: Identification of genes required for eye development by high-throughput screening of mouse knockouts.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/s42003-018-0226-0.]

Nosocomial Outbreak of Novel Arenavirus Infection, Southern Africa

This case reinforces the need for strict screening of internationally transferred patients

Mutations in REEP6 Cause Autosomal-Recessive Retinitis Pigmentosa

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the most frequent form of inherited retinal dystrophy. RP is genetically heterogeneous and the genes identified to date encode proteins involved in a wide range of functional pathways, including photoreceptor development, phototransduction, the retinoid cycle, cilia, and outer segment development. Here we report the identification of biallelic mutations in Receptor Expression Enhancer Protein 6 (REEP6) in seven individuals with autosomal-recessive RP from five unrelated families. REEP6 is a member of the REEP/Yop1 family of proteins that influence the structure of the endoplasmic reticulum but is relatively unstudied. The six variants identified include three frameshift variants, two missense variants, and a genomic rearrangement that disrupts exon 1. Human 3D organoid optic cups were used to investigate REEP6 expression and confirmed the expression of a retina-specific isoform REEP6.1, which is specifically affected by one of the frameshift mutations. Expression of the two missense variants (c.383C>T [p.Pro128Leu] and c.404T>C [p.Leu135Pro]) and the REEP6.1 frameshift mutant in cultured cells suggest that these changes destabilize the protein. Furthermore, CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing was used to produce Reep6 knock-in mice with the p.Leu135Pro RP-associated variant identified in one RP-affected individual. The homozygous knock-in mice mimic the clinical phenotypes of RP, including progressive photoreceptor degeneration and dysfunction of the rod photoreceptors. Therefore, our study implicates REEP6 in retinal homeostasis and highlights a pathway previously uncharacterized in retinal dystrophy

Successfully controlling malaria in South Africa

Following major successes in malaria control over the past 75 years, South Africa is now embarking on a malaria elimination campaign with the goal of zero local transmission by the year 2018. The key control elements have been intensive vector control, primarily through indoor residual spraying, case management based on parasitological diagnosis using evidence-based drug policies with artemisinin-based combination therapy since 2001, active health promotion in partnership with communities living in the malaria transmission areas, and cross-border collaborations. Political commitment and long-term funding for the malaria control programme have been a critical component of the programme’s success. Breaking the cycle of transmission through strengthening of active surveillance using sensitive molecular tests and field treatment of asymptomatic persons, monitoring for antimalarial drug resistance and insecticide resistance, strengthening cross-border initiatives, and ongoing programme advocacy in the face of a significant decrease in disease burden are key priorities for achieving the elimination goal.http://www.samj.org.zaam201

Identification of genes required for eye development by high-throughput screening of mouse knockouts.

Despite advances in next generation sequencing technologies, determining the genetic basis of ocular disease remains a major challenge due to the limited access and prohibitive cost of human forward genetics. Thus, less than 4,000 genes currently have available phenotype information for any organ system. Here we report the ophthalmic findings from the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium, a large-scale functional genetic screen with the goal of generating and phenotyping a null mutant for every mouse gene. Of 4364 genes evaluated, 347 were identified to influence ocular phenotypes, 75% of which are entirely novel in ocular pathology. This discovery greatly increases the current number of genes known to contribute to ophthalmic disease, and it is likely that many of the genes will subsequently prove to be important in human ocular development and disease

Identification of genes required for eye development by high-throughput screening of mouse knockouts

International audienc

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead