Karyotypic studies of four Physalis species from Nigeria

Mitotic chromosomes from root tips of four Nigerian Physalis species were investigated using standard cytogenetic methods. P. angulata has chromosome number of 2n = 48 with karyotypic formula of 2M + 5m + 16sm + 1st, while P. micrantha, P. peruviana and P. pubescens showed the same chromosome number of 2n = 24 with karyotypic formulae of 1M + 1m + 9sm + 1st, 4M + 6m + 1sm + 1st and 1M + 1 m + 2sm + 8st, respectively. The karyotypes show that P. angulata is more advanced when compared to the other three diploids studied

Immuno-Modulatory Activity of Aqueous Leaf Extract of Moringa Oleifera in Brioler Chickens

This experiment was conducted to investigate the immuno-modulatory activity of aqueous leaf extract of Moringa oleifera on immune response of broiler chickens to Newcastle disease (ND) vaccinations. The performance, blood parameters and serum biochemistry of the birds were also determined. A total of one hundred and twenty (120) day-old commercial broiler chicks were randomly allotted to 3 dietary treatments of 4 replicates each. Each replicate had 10 birds. The treatments: T1 – Control group in which the birds were not given any extract; T2 and T3 – birds in these groups were given the prepared stock solution of Moringa oleifera leaf extract at dose rate of 2500mg/kg and 5000mg/kg of body weight in drinking water. The experimental birds were vaccinated with ND vaccines using a stipulated vaccination regime. The Moringa oleifera leaf extract exhibited significant (p≤0.05) influence on final body weight of the experimental broiler chickens with birds in T3 having an average weight of 1947.43g and birds in T1had 1733.33g. The immune modulating effect of the leaf extract was insignificant (p≥0.05) though it elicited higher antibody titre of Log27 and Log29 in birds in T3 compared to Log26 and Log28 of birds in control group after the first and second ND vaccinations respectively. The leaf extract caused significant (p≤0.05) increase in white blood cells and leucocytes count. The study concluded that the plant extract had slight immune stimulatory effects on response to ND vaccinations and improved the growth performance of broiler chickens

Cytogenice Studies on Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L..) verdc)

The study reports the result of analysis of chromosomes of Vigna subterranea performed in the mitotic prometaphase and metaphase stages using conventional techniques. The somatic chromosome study was done using the shoot meristem as the root tips persistently showed very low mitotic indices. The result revealed somatic chromosome number of 2n = 22. There was no evidence of polyploidy in any of the accessions. The chromosome morphology was described on the basis of the centromere position. From the F% value, it was evident that the different accessions showed wide range of variation in their karyoptypes. The minimum F% range of 33.33 to 50.00 was recorded for Ac-01, Ac-02 and Ac-03. They had metacentric and submetacentric chromosomes. Ac-04 had F% range of 25.00 to 50.00. With the exception of the 9th chromosome pair that was telocentric, the chromosomes were mostly metacentric and submetacentric. Because the accessions were diploid, the uniformity in chromosome number of the four accessions investigated is a clear indication that they may have evolved from a common ancestor, forming a homogeneous assemblage. Keywords: Cytogenetics, chromosome, Bambara groundnut, Vigna subterraneaAgro-Science Vol. 3 (2) 2006: pp. 13-2

EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF SPATHODEA CAMPANULATA FLOWER BUD EXUDATE ON CATARACTOGENESIS IN RAT LENSES

Background: The flower bud exudates of Spathodea campanulata is commonly used as a local eye drop in Nigeria and is anecdotally claimed to improve vision. This study evaluated the anti-cataract activity of Spathodea campanulata (SPCM) flower bud exudates against cataractogenesis using rat lenses. This was done with a view to providing empirical scientific support for the use of the exudates from SPCM in the treatment and management of certain eye disorders. Materials and Methods: Fifty (50) rat lenses were used in this study, i.e. five groups of ten (10) lenses per group. Lenses were incubated in artificial aqueous humor (Normal control) with simultaneous incubation in 30 mM galactose (Untreated cataract). Co-incubation with captopril (Captopril treated cataract); 0.1 mg/ml of the exudate (Exudate treated cataract - Low dose) and 0.2 mg/ml of exudate (Exudate treated cataract- High dose) constituted the study groups. After 72 hr of incubation, lenses were observed for cataract and the preventive potential of the exudate against cataractogenesis was evaluated through the determination of the levels of anti-oxidant parameters such as total protein (TP), glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were evaluated in the lens homogenates. Results: Photographic evaluation of the lenses showed the development of cataract in the untreated cataract group while opacification was retarded in higher dose exudate-treated and captopril treated lenses. Significant decrease in the levels of GSH and total protein, reduction in SOD and CAT activities as well as increase in MDA content were observed in cataractous lenses when compared with the normal control. SPCM displayed a dose-related anti-cataract activity. Captopril showed comparable anti-cataract potential to (0.2 mg/ml) SPCM. GSH, SOD and CAT activity in captopril treated cataract lenses increased to 75.55%, 64.08% and 72.45% of the normal control values respectively. In (0.2 mg/ml) exudate treated cataract lenses; GSH, SOD and CAT activity increased to 57.7%, 76.69% and 80.61% respectively. Conclusion: The study concluded that exudate of SPCM elicited its anti-cataract potential through its anti-oxidant activities

Prognostic scores for sorafenib-treated hepatocellular carcinoma patients: A new application for the hepatoma arterial embolisation prognostic score

Background No prognostic classification is currently used for patients treated with systemic therapies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Methods We retrospectively analysed data from patients treated with sorafenib for HCC from five centres in France and in the United Kingdom (UK). The training set comprised data from two centres and the validation set from three. Variables independently associated with Overall Survival (OS) in the training set were used to build the SAP (Sorafenib Advanced HCC Prognosis) score. The score was tested in the validation set, then compared with other prognostication systems. Results The training set and validation set included 370 and 468 patients respectively. In the training set, variables independently associated with OS in multivariable analysis were: performance status (PS) >0, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) >400 ng/ml, tumour size >7 cm, bilirubin >17 μmol/l and albumin <36 g/l. The SAP score was built giving one point to each abnormal variable, and three classes were constructed. The SAP score was significantly associated with OS in the training set, with median OS of 14.9 months for SAP A, 7.2 months for SAP B and 2.5 months for SAP C ( P < 0.001). In the validation set, the SAP score was significantly associated with OS, and showed greater discriminative abilities than Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) and albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) scores. However, the hepatoma arterial embolisation prognostic (HAP) score showed greater discriminative abilities than the SAP score. Conclusion In European patients treated with sorafenib, the HAP was the most discriminant prognostic score and may facilitate stratification in trials and inform clinical decision making

Nasal carriage of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus among medical students of a private institution in Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria

Background: Nasal carriage of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major factor for its transmission especially from the health workers and medical students to their patients. There are a number of published data on the prevalence of MRSA among health workers but data on nasal colonization of medical students by MRSA are sparse in Nigeria. The objectives of this study are to determine the prevalence of nasal carriage of MRSA among medical students of the Ben Carson School of Medicine, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria, and identify risk factors associated with this nasal carriage. Methodology: A case control study involving 100 clinical (study group) and 100 pre- clinical (control group) medical students was undertaken between March 2018 and October 2019. Structured questionnaire was administered to obtain socio-demographic information and potential risk factors. Nasal swab was collected from each student and cultured for isolation of S. aureus by standard microbiology techniques. Phenotypic MRSA was detected by the cefoxitin 30μg disk diffusion method according to the guideline of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. The mecA gene was detected by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Results: The prevalence of S. aureus nasal carriage among the study group was 14% (14/100) while the prevalence among the control group was 6% (6/100) (p=0.097). The prevalence of phenotypic MRSA among the study group was 4% (4/100) and 1% (1/100) among the control group (p=0.3687) while mecA gene was detected in 3 of the 4 (75%) phenotypic MRSA positive study participants and in the only (100%) phenotypic MRSA positive (1%) control group. Antibiotics usage without prescription, antibiotic treatment of common cold, and use of antibiotics in the previous one year, were significantly associated with MRSA carriage among the study group. Conclusion: Although the prevalence of nasal carriage of S. aureus and MRSA among clinical and pre-clinical medical students was not statistically significant, the risk factors identified with carriage of MRSA among the study group indicates the need for antimicrobial stewardship program to reduce carriage and transmission of MRSA by medical students. Keywords: methicillin resistant, Staphylococcus aureus, mecA gene, nasal carriage, medical student

NET-02 trial protocol: a multicentre, randomised, parallel group, open-label, phase II, single-stage selection trial of liposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)/folinic acid or docetaxel as second-line therapy in patients with progressive poorly differentiated extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC)

Introduction Poorly differentiated (PD), extrapulmonary (EP), neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) are rare but aggressive neuroendocrine neoplasms. First-line treatment for advanced disease is an etoposide and platinum-based chemotherapy combination. There is no established second-line treatment for patients with PD-EP-NEC, and this is an area of unmet need. Methods and analysis NET-02 is a UK, multicentre, randomised (1:1), parallel group, open-label, phase II, single-stage selection trial of liposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI)/5-fluorouracil (5-FU)/folinic acid or docetaxel as second-line therapy in patients with progressive PD-EP-NEC. One hundred and two eligible participants will be randomised to receive either nal-IRI/5-FU/folinic acid or docetaxel. The primary objective is to determine the 6-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate. The secondary objectives of this study are to determine PFS, overall survival, objective response rate, toxicity, quality of life and whether neuron-specific enolase is predictive of treatment response. If either treatment is found to have a 6-month PFS rate of at least 25%, that treatment will be considered for a phase III trial. If both treatments meet this target, prespecified selection criteria will be applied to establish which treatment to take forward. Ethics and dissemination This study has ethical approval from the Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee (reference no. 18/NW/0031) and clinical trial authorisation from the Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and uploaded to the European Union Clinical Trials Register. Trial registration numbers ISRCTN10996604, NCT03837977, EudraCT Number: 2017-002453-1

NET-02: a randomised, non-comparative, phase II trial of nal-IRI/5-FU or docetaxel as second-line therapy in patients with progressive poorly differentiated extra-pulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma

Background The prognosis for patients with poorly-differentiated extra-pulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma (PD-EP-NEC) is poor. A recognised first-line (1L) treatment for advanced disease is etoposide/platinum-based chemotherapy with no standard second-line (2L) treatment. Methods Patients with histologically-confirmed PD-EP-NEC (Ki-67 > 20%; Grade 3) received IV liposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI) (70 mg/m2 free base)/5-FU (2400 mg/m2)/folinic acid, Q14 days (ARM A), or IV docetaxel (75 mg/m2), Q21 days (ARM B), as 2L therapy. Primary endpoint was 6-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate (80% power to demonstrate one-sided 95% lower confidence interval excluded 15% (target level of efficacy: 30%)). Secondary endpoints: objective response rate (ORR), median PFS, overall survival (OS), toxicity and patient-reported quality-of-life (QoL) (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03837977). Findings Of 58 patients (29 each arm); 57% male, 90% ECOG PS 0/1, 10% PS 2, 89.7% Ki-67 ≥ 55%, primary site: 70.7%-gastrointestinal, 18.9%-other, 10.3%-unknown, 91.4%/6.9%/1.7% were resistant/sensitive/intolerant to 1L platinum-based treatment, respectively. The primary end-point of 6-month PFS rate was met by ARM A: 29.6% (lower 95% Confidence-Limit (CL) 15.7), but not by ARM B: 13.8% (lower 95%CL:4.9). ORR, median PFS and OS were 11.1% (95%CI:2.4–29.2) and 10.3% (95%CI:2.2–27.4%); 3 months (95%CI:2–6) and 2 months (95%CI:2-2); and 6 months (95%CI:3–10) and 6 months (95%CI:3–9) in ARMS A and B, respectively. Adverse events ≥ grade 3 occurred in 51.7% and 55.2% (1 and 6 discontinuations due to toxicity in ARMS A and B), respectively. QoL was maintained in ARM A, but not ARM B. Interpretation nal-IRI/5-FU/folinic acid, but not docetaxel, met the primary endpoint, with manageable toxicity and maintained QoL, with no difference in OS. ORR and median PFS were similar in both arms. This study provides prospective efficacy, toxicity and QoL data in the 2L setting in a disease group of unmet need, and represents some of the strongest evidence available to recommend systemic treatment to these patients

Sexual Dimorphism in Healthy Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment: A DTI Study

Previous PET and MRI studies have indicated that the degree to which pathology translates into clinical symptoms is strongly dependent on sex with women more likely to express pathology as a diagnosis of AD, whereas men are more resistant to clinical symptoms in the face of the same degree of pathology. Here we use DTI to investigate the difference between male and female white matter tracts in healthy older participants (24 women, 16 men) and participants with mild cognitive impairment (21 women, 12 men). Differences between control and MCI participants were found in fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusion (DR), axial diffusion (DA) and mean diffusion (MD). A significant main effect of sex was also reported for FA, MD and DR indices, with male control and male MCI participants having significantly more microstructural damage than their female counterparts. There was no sex by diagnosis interaction. Male MCIs also had significantly less normalised grey matter (GM) volume than female MCIs. However, in terms of absolute brain volume, male controls had significantly more brain volume than female controls. Normalised GM and WM volumes were found to decrease significantly with age with no age by sex interaction. Overall, these data suggest that the same degree of cognitive impairment is associated with greater structural damage in men compared with women

Determinants of recovery from post-COVID-19 dyspnoea: analysis of UK prospective cohorts of hospitalised COVID-19 patients and community-based controls

Background The risk factors for recovery from COVID-19 dyspnoea are poorly understood. We investigated determinants of recovery from dyspnoea in adults with COVID-19 and compared these to determinants of recovery from non-COVID-19 dyspnoea. Methods We used data from two prospective cohort studies: PHOSP-COVID (patients hospitalised between March 2020 and April 2021 with COVID-19) and COVIDENCE UK (community cohort studied over the same time period). PHOSP-COVID data were collected during hospitalisation and at 5-month and 1-year follow-up visits. COVIDENCE UK data were obtained through baseline and monthly online questionnaires. Dyspnoea was measured in both cohorts with the Medical Research Council Dyspnoea Scale. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify determinants associated with a reduction in dyspnoea between 5-month and 1-year follow-up. Findings We included 990 PHOSP-COVID and 3309 COVIDENCE UK participants. We observed higher odds of improvement between 5-month and 1-year follow-up among PHOSP-COVID participants who were younger (odds ratio 1.02 per year, 95% CI 1.01–1.03), male (1.54, 1.16–2.04), neither obese nor severely obese (1.82, 1.06–3.13 and 4.19, 2.14–8.19, respectively), had no pre-existing anxiety or depression (1.56, 1.09–2.22) or cardiovascular disease (1.33, 1.00–1.79), and shorter hospital admission (1.01 per day, 1.00–1.02). Similar associations were found in those recovering from non-COVID-19 dyspnoea, excluding age (and length of hospital admission). Interpretation Factors associated with dyspnoea recovery at 1-year post-discharge among patients hospitalised with COVID-19 were similar to those among community controls without COVID-19. Funding PHOSP-COVID is supported by a grant from the MRC-UK Research and Innovation and the Department of Health and Social Care through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) rapid response panel to tackle COVID-19. The views expressed in the publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the National Health Service (NHS), the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. COVIDENCE UK is supported by the UK Research and Innovation, the National Institute for Health Research, and Barts Charity. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funders