Intestinal helminths in some cases of acute appendicitis operated in Bamenda, Cameroon

Background: Acute appendicitis is the most frequent infectious surgical abdominal emergency and previous studies have noted the presence of parasites in the appendicular lumen.Objective: This study was done to determine the involvement of intestinal worms in the etiology of acute appendicitis.Materials and Methods: This was a prospective and descriptive study concerning cases of confirmed and operated acute appendicitis between 15th April, 2013 and 14th April, 2015 at the People’s Clinic, Ngomgham, Bamenda, Cameroon. The appendicular content was macroscopically examined for parasites and formol-ether concentration technique was carried out for ova detection.Results: A total of 112 patients were operated for acute abdominal pain within the study period. There were 74 (60.8%) cases confirmed with acute appendicitis of which 45 (60.1%) were males and 29 (39.2%) were. The most affected age group was the 21 to 40 years (50%). The removed appendices appeared congestive in 30 (40.5%) cases, suppurated in 27 (40.5%) cases and gangrenous in 17 (23.0%) cases.There was no relationship between the appearance of the removed appendix and the gender of participants (P>0.05).Three different helminth ova were identified in the 74 samples. In decreasing prevalence, the parasite trend was 8 (10.8%) Ascaris lumbricoides, 5 (6.8%) Enterobius vermicularis, 3 (6.0%), Ankylostoma duodenale, Adult Ascaris lumbricoides and Enterobius vermicularis were seen in 1 and 3 cases respectively.Conclusion: A small percentage of parasitic worm eggs were found in the appendicular content, though a good portion of patients took medications against parasites before surgery. Intestinal worms could not be incriminated in the causation of the appendicitis; nevertheless, one adult ascaris was found as an evident cause of appendicular lumen obstruction.Keywords: Intestinal Helminthes, Acute appendicitis, Bamend

Epidemiological, clinical features and susceptibility pattern of shigellosis in the buea health district, Cameroon

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Shigellosis is an acute invasive enteric infection caused by bacteria belonging to the genus <it>Shigella</it>; it is clinically manifested by bloody diarrhoea. Shigellosis is endemic in many developing countries including Cameroon and also occurs in epidemics causing considerable morbidity and mortality. This study evaluated the epidemiological and clinical features of <it>Shigella </it>and the resistance pattern of isolates to commonly used antibiotics in the Buea Health District in Cameroon, from April to August, 2010.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 223 stool samples cultured, 10 (4.5%) yielded <it>Shigella </it>species. Isolation rate was observed to be more in children below 15 years (7.89%), and also higher in rural areas (6.35%). All 10 isolates showed resistance to at least two antibiotics and 9 (90%) were multi-drug resistant. The highest resistance rates were encountered with cotrimoxazole (90%) and amoxicillin (80%). Least resistance was observed with azithromycin (10%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Shigellosis is more prevalent in children below 15 years in the Buea District. There is a high level of resistance to most of the antibiotics used for the treatment of shigellosis including extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) as well as evidence of resistance to quinolones. Azithromycin was found to be the drug of choice for shigellosis in this setting.</p

Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation effects on saccade adaptation

Saccade adaptation is a cerebellar-mediated type of motor learning in which the oculomotor system is exposed to repetitive errors. Different types of saccade adaptations are thought to involve distinct underlying cerebellar mechanisms. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) induces changes in neuronal excitability in a polarity-specific manner and offers a modulatory, noninvasive, functional insight into the learning aspects of different brain regions. We aimed to modulate the cerebellar influence on saccade gains during adaptation using tDCS. Subjects performed an inward (n = 10) or outward (n = 10) saccade adaptation experiment (25% intrasaccadic target step) while receiving 1.5 mA of anodal cerebellar tDCS delivered by a small contact electrode. Compared to sham stimulation, tDCS increased learning of saccadic inward adaptation but did not affect learning of outward adaptation. This may imply that plasticity mechanisms in the cerebellum are different between inward and outward adaptation. TDCS could have influenced specific cerebellar areas that contribute to inward but not outward adaptation. We conclude that tDCS can be used as a neuromodulatory technique to alter cerebellar oculomotor output, arguably by engaging wider cerebellar areas and increasing the available resources for learning

Designing Efficient Taxi Pickup Operations at Airports

This paper provides a practical procedure for designing efficient taxi pickup operations at airports. How to do this effectively is an open question. Solutions are not available, and practices vary. They reflect different approaches to and lack of research on the subject. The solutions are often unsatisfactory. At many airports, passengers routinely suffer long waits outdoors, exposed to the elements, after a tiring journey. Such disagreeable experiences are avoidable. Designing efficient taxi pickup operations at airports is problematic. The peculiarities of the process preclude easy solutions. First, the process involves queuing, so system performance is a nonlinear function of the loads. Second, it features unstable transient situations, since travelers typically arrive in bulk over short periods. Third, traffic is significantly differentiated and consists of a wide variety of groups implying different service characteristics. Standard results from queuing theory thus do not have a useful application to this problem. The design process uses simulation that is based on detailed observation of local practices. It involves four steps: (a) detailed local measurements of the arrival of both travelers and taxis, and the service rates provided by taxis in different queuing positions; (b) creation and validation of a simulation model sufficiently detailed to account for these realities; (c) exploration of design alternatives to estimate the characteristics of the service they would provide; and (d) selection of a preferred design that properly balances efforts to minimize average and extreme wait times. The paper demonstrates the procedure through application to Lisbon International Airport, Portugal.SIMUL8 Corporatio

E3 Ligase Subunit Fbxo15 and PINK1 Kinase Regulate Cardiolipin Synthase 1 Stability and Mitochondrial Function in Pneumonia

Acute lung injury (ALI) is linked to mitochondrial injury, resulting in impaired cellular oxygen utilization; however, it is unknown how these events are linked on the molecular level. Cardiolipin, a mitochondrial-specific lipid, is generated by cardiolipin synthase (CLS1). Here, we show that S.aureus activates a ubiquitin E3 ligase component, Fbxo15, that is sufficient to mediate proteasomal degradation of CLS1 in epithelia, resulting in decreased cardiolipin availability and disrupted mitochondrial function. CLS1 is destabilized by the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN)-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1), which binds CLS1 to phosphorylate and regulates CLS1 disposal. Like Fbxo15, PINK1 interacts with and regulates levels of CLS1 through a mechanism dependent upon Thr219. S.aureus infection upregulates this Fbxo15-PINK1 pathway to impair mitochondrial integrity, and Pink1 knockout mice are less prone to S.aureus-induced ALI. Thus, ALI-associated disruption of cellular bioenergetics involves bioeffectors that utilize a phosphodegron to elicit ubiquitin-mediated disposal of a key mitochondrial enzyme. © 2014 The Authors

Epidemiology of Coxiella burnetii infection in Africa: a OneHealth systematic review

Background: Q fever is a common cause of febrile illness and community-acquired pneumonia in resource-limited settings. Coxiella burnetii, the causative pathogen, is transmitted among varied host species, but the epidemiology of the organism in Africa is poorly understood. We conducted a systematic review of C. burnetii epidemiology in Africa from a “One Health” perspective to synthesize the published data and identify knowledge gaps.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods/Principal Findings: We searched nine databases to identify articles relevant to four key aspects of C. burnetii epidemiology in human and animal populations in Africa: infection prevalence; disease incidence; transmission risk factors; and infection control efforts. We identified 929 unique articles, 100 of which remained after full-text review. Of these, 41 articles describing 51 studies qualified for data extraction. Animal seroprevalence studies revealed infection by C. burnetii (&#8804;13%) among cattle except for studies in Western and Middle Africa (18–55%). Small ruminant seroprevalence ranged from 11–33%. Human seroprevalence was &#60;8% with the exception of studies among children and in Egypt (10–32%). Close contact with camels and rural residence were associated with increased seropositivity among humans. C. burnetii infection has been associated with livestock abortion. In human cohort studies, Q fever accounted for 2–9% of febrile illness hospitalizations and 1–3% of infective endocarditis cases. We found no studies of disease incidence estimates or disease control efforts.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Conclusions/Significance: C. burnetii infection is detected in humans and in a wide range of animal species across Africa, but seroprevalence varies widely by species and location. Risk factors underlying this variability are poorly understood as is the role of C. burnetii in livestock abortion. Q fever consistently accounts for a notable proportion of undifferentiated human febrile illness and infective endocarditis in cohort studies, but incidence estimates are lacking. C. burnetii presents a real yet underappreciated threat to human and animal health throughout Africa.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt