In-silico identification of differentially expressed genes in Type 1 diabetes mellitus

The incidence of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus T1DM varies markedly in different geographical populations but seems to be increasing globally. The focus of this research is to screen for T1D-associated differentially expressed genes (DEGs). A meta-analysis was conducted using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. The datasets included samples from T1DM and normal patients. The Robust Multichip Averaging (RMA) procedure was used for background correction, normalization and summarization to obtain expression level data and to discover differentially expressed genes. Box plots, Density plots, RNA degradation plots and recommended procedures from Affymetrix for quality control were implemented. The DEGs were screened and the exclusively expressed genes were uncovered through the Venn diagrams and heat maps functions in R language. 3,824 genes were classified, as DEGs of which 2,030 were upregulated and 1,794 were downregulated. Seven key genes (TLN1, ANPEP, F13A1, SPARC, SPTBN1, IGHA2 and IGHA1) were exclusively expressed in the whole progression. 58 DEGs were revealed through the Venn diagrams while the Heatmaps showed the differential expression data for 35 genes. IGHA1, IGHA2, IGKV4-1 were significantly expressed and upregulated. Although some of these genes have been previously associated with T1D, many other genes were identified for further studies

Fibroepithelial tumours of the breast seen in a tertiary health centre in southwestern Nigeria

Background: Fibroepithelial tumours of the breast are mainly fibroadenoma and phyllodes tumour. Our objective was to describe the clinical and pathological features of benign fibroepithelial tumours and then compare our findings with reports from other parts of the world. Methods: We carried out a retrospective study of all benign fibroepithelial tumours diagnosed in the Department of Morbid Anatomy and Forensic Medicine of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife, Nigeria from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2022. Results: A total of 538 cases of fibroadenoma were seen during the study period. Only 486 cases met the inclusion criteria and were then subsequently studied. Right sided tumour mass is seen in 203 (41.8%) patients, left sided masses in 173 (35.6%) patients and bilateral masses in 96 (19.8%) patients.  The age of the patients ranges from 11 to 75 years. The average duration of symptoms is 16 months. The maximum length of fibroadenoma nodule ranges from 0.9cm to 15cm. The number of nodules seen in a patient range from 1 to 15. There is no association between the size of a fibroadenoma, number of the masses or the duration of symptoms before removal of the mass, and the age of the patient. Nineteen cases of phyllodes tumour were seen during the study period. Conclusions: Our study shows that fibroadenoma is the most common fibroepithelial tumour of the breast. A sizeable proportion of patients have bilateral tumours. Phyllodes tumour is much less common.

Willingness of Herbal Medicine Practitioners and Herbs Vendors to Contribute Financially to Conservation of Medicinal Plants in Ibadan, Nigeria

Erratum: The earlier version of this paper had some errors. It included references of later than 2014, the year of its publication. These references have been removed in the whole document and replaced with others of 2014 or earlier. Further, in paragraph 1 of the Discussion, after the sentence starting with Male…, the following statement “In contrast, studies in China showed that 59.8%of acupuncturists were females (Robinson et al., 2012)” has been inserted to replace the previous one. In paragraph 6 of Discussion, the words “capita income of $2,748 in 2010. Currently, the poverty level in Nigeria is 83.9% (Akinboade, 2010).” have been added to replace previous text. In paragraph 7 of the Discussion, the words “plants, provide employment” have been added after the word “medicinal” to replace previous text. This is therefore the correct version.The study evaluated the willingness of Herbal Medicine Practitioners (HMPs) and Herb Vendors (HVs) in Ibadan, Nigeria to contribute financially to medicinal plants conservation projects. Data was collected using structured questionnaires administered on 124 HMPs and 83 HVs randomly selected from fourteen herbal associations and marketers respectively. Results showed that 79.03%of all HMPs were males and 20.97% females while 83.13% of HVs were females and 16.87% males. All the HMPs and 97.59% of HVs were willing to contribute financially and provide useful information to conservation projects. Majority (54.84%) of the interviewed HMPs were willing to contribute between N500 - N1500 annually while most of the HVs (51.8%) were willing to contribute between N201 - N500 annually. Lack of financial power and land were identified as major constraints to holding private gardens. A total of 38 commonly used medicinal plant species was identified in the existing small scale private gardens of HMPs. There is need to organise the HMPs and HVs into formidable cooperative societies for easy access to fund and institute awareness campaign on the need for conservation of important local medicinal plants if the health for all dream is to be achieved

Effects of Garlic Feed Inclusion on Experimental Salmonella gallinarum Infection in Broiler Chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus)

Garlic is a spice and herbal medicine with antibacterial, antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects. In view of global demand for reduction in antibiotic use in poultry production, the potential of garlic at controlling fowl typhoid was investigated. Day-old (75) broiler chicks were separated into groups A, B, C, D and E of fifteen each, placed in cages for brooding and administered 0.125%, 0.25%, 0.5%, 0% and 0.125% garlic-meal, respectively, in feed. At 9 week-old, each chick in groups A, B, C and D were inoculated with 8x106 cfu/ml PBS of Salmonella gallinarum, orally, while those in Group E were given PBS only. Up till 10 days post-infection (pi), clinical signs were scored from 1-3 based on degree of severity i.e. 1(mild), 2 (moderate) and 3 (severe). Mortality and gross pathology per group were recorded. Samples from liver and gall bladder were harvested for bacterial re-isolation. Groups A, B and C showed mild diarrhoea while group D showed in addition, anorexia, ruffled feathers and unthriftiness. Diarrhoea in groups A and B spanned days 2 -7 pi, group C on day 3 pi while in group D, days 1-10 pi with increasing degree of severity. Total diarrhoea scores were 6(A), 4(B), 1(C), 23(D) and 0(E) while mortalities were 2(A), 0(B), 2(C), 4(D) and 0(E). Enlarged and congested/bronze-coloured liver, engorged gall bladder and catarrhal enteritis were observed in carcasses. Colonial and cellular morphology of re-isolated bacteria were typical of S. Gallinarum. Garlic-meal ameliorated the effects of S. Gallinarum infection with the best result at 0.25%. Keywords: broiler chickens; antibacterial; fowl typhoid; Garlic; Salmonella gallinaru

Effects of Na2Cr2O7 Inhibitor on the Corrosion Potential Response of Steel Reinforced Concrete in Saline Medium

Electrochemical monitoring method of the open circuit potential was used to investigate the effect of the concentrations of Na2Cr2O7 on the corrosion potential response of steel reinforced concrete in sodium chloride medium. In the study, five different concentrations of Na2Cr2O7 admixtures were employed in a system of replicated samples of steel-reinforced concrete specimens partially immersed in 3.5% NaCl to simulate marine and saline environments. Forty days measured responses from these were subjected to the statistical analyses of the Normal and the Weibull distribution functions and tested using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov goodness of fit criteria. Results obtained from the analyses identified 4 g Na2Cr2O7 with optimal averaged potential response inhibition performance by the Normal model which showed better agreements in its models of Na2Cr2O7 potential test data than that obtained from the Weibull model of the same data. These bear pertinent implications on the need for suitability studies of appropriate statistical distribution for studying performance of corrosion inhibitors even as suggestions were proffered for addressing results conflicts among replicates of steel reinforced concrete samples employed

Toxic metal levels in Nigerian electronic waste workers indicate occupational metal toxicity associated with crude electronic waste management practices

The poor management of electronic wastes (e-waste) in Nigeria exposes workers to toxic chemicals in waste electrical and electronic equipment. In this study, we evaluated the toxic metal levels in Nigerians occupationally exposed to e-waste. Whole blood levels of Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg), Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), and Chromium (Cr) were determined in Nigerian e-waste workers (n=63) and in age-matched non-exposed participants (n=41), using standard electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry methods. The results showed statistically significant (p<0.01) elevated body burden of toxic metals in e-waste workers (Pb, 0.95 ± 0.00 µmol/L; Cr, 405.99 ± 6.34 µmol/L; Cd, 108.54 ± 1.60 nmol/L; As, 10.09 ± 0.01 µmol/L; and Hg, 25.02 ± 0.14 nmol/L) compared with non-exposed group ((Pb, 0.03 ± 0.00 µmol/L; Cr, 178.44 ± 5.99 µmol/L; Cd, 56.99 ± 1.42 nmol/L; As, 1.02 ± 0.0008 µmol/L; and Hg, 1.62 ± 0.0672 nmol/L). These data indicate that the elevated body burden of toxic metals in the e-waste exposed  population is an indication of occupational metal toxicity associated with crude e-waste management practices in Nigeria. In addition, the potential health implications of exposure to these toxic metals, such as chronic kidney disease, cancer; preceded by genome instability and depressed immune response were highlighted.Keywords: Metal toxicity, e-waste, Nigeria, Occupational exposure