Awareness of warning signs among suburban Nigerians at high risk for stroke is poor: A cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria, there is no information on awareness of its warning signs. This study was designed to assess awareness of stroke warning signs in Nigerians at increased risk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, in southern Nigeria. Patients with a diagnosis of hypertension, diabetes or both were interviewed for the warning signs of stroke in the outpatient clinic by trained interviewers. The main outcome measure was ability to identify at least one stroke warning sign.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were 225 respondents with a mean age of 58.0 ± 11.7 years. Only 39.6% could identify at least one stroke warning sign while the commonest sign identified was sudden unilateral limb weakness (24.4%). On multivariate logistic regression analysis, male sex (β = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.14–0.39, p < 0.001) and 11 or more years of education (β = 0.16, 95% CI = 0.03–0.29, p = 0.02) emerged the independent predictors of ability to identify at least one warning sign.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Awareness of stroke warning signs is poor among Nigerians at increased risk for the disease. Efforts should be made to improve on the level of awareness through aggressive health education.</p

The effects of diets enriched in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on systemic vaccinia virus infection

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA, n-3 fatty acids), the key components of fish and flaxseed oils, are increasingly consumed by the public because of their potential health benefits and are available by prescription for hypertriglyceridemia. However, numerous studies have shown that these compounds are immunoregulatory and immunosuppressive and thus may increase susceptibility to infection. In this study, we tested the effects of the amount of fat and the types of fatty acid in the diet on infection by vaccinia virus, an acute infection that begins in the respiratory tract and spreads by viremia to internal organs. Male C57Bl6 mice (~5 week old) were fed for 3 weeks prior to infection and continuing during infection and recovery one of the following: 1) a normal low fat (13% kcal) diet, 2) a low fat diet containing n-3 PUFAs, 3) a high fat (41% kcal) diet rich in n-3 PUFAs, 4) a high fat n-6 PUFA diet, or 5) a high fat monounsaturated diet. We found no statistically significant differences in the susceptibility of mice to viral infection, morbidity, viral organ titers, recovery time, or mortality with these diets, indicating that, over this approximately 6-week time period, dietary fats did not substantially affect responses to poxviral infection

A Jurisprudential Analysis of Government Intervention and Prenatal Drug Abuse

This article takes a different approach in considering the problem of prenatal drug abuse. After briefly discussing government intervention and constitutional issues, this article will consider the concept of duty and correlative rights. This discussion of duty and correlative rights suggests that the government can take measures to curb prenatal drug use without recognizing fetal rights. The article concludes with a discussion of the utility of criminal legislation as compared to public health legislation that treats drug addiction as a disease requiring treatment. As formulated, the proposal for public health legislation is not based on any concept of fetal rights. Instead, it is based on the recognition of societal interests, as well as the woman’s needs

Epidermal growth factor mediates spermatogonial proliferation in newt testis

The complex processes of spermatogenesis are regulated by various factors. The aim of the current study is to determine the effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on spermatogonial proliferation and clarify the mechanism causing the proliferation in newt testis. In the organ culture, EGF stimulated spermatogonial proliferation, but not their differentiation into spermatocytes. cDNA cloning identified 3 members of the EGF receptors, ErbB1, ErbB2, and ErbB4, in the testis. RT-PCR showed that all the receptors cloned were expressed in both Sertoli and germ cells at the spermatogonial stage. In the organ cultures with inhibitors for the EGF receptors, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), the EGF-induced spermatogonial proliferation was suppressed. Furthermore, when the organ culture was exposed to EGF, the expressions of stem cell factor (SCF), immunoglobulin-like domain containing neuregulin1 (Ig-NRG1), and ErbB4 mRNA were increased. These results suggested that, since the spermatogonia are sequestered within cysts by the blood-testis barrier consisted of Sertoli cells, EGF possibly mediates spermatogonial proliferation in an endocrine manner through the receptors including ErbB1, ErbB2, and ErbB4 expressed on Sertoli cells via activation of MAPK cascade or/and PI3K cascade by elevating the expressions of SCF, Ig-NRG1, and ErbB4

Diet supplementation for 5 weeks with polyphenol-rich cereals improves several functions and the redox state of mouse leucocytes

BACKGROUND: Cereals naturally contain a great variety of polyphenols, which exert a wide range of physiological effects both in vitro and in vivo. Many of their protective effects, including an improvement of the function and redox state of immune cells in unhealthy or aged subjects come from their properties as powerful antioxidant compounds. However, whether cereal-based dietary supplementation positively affects the immune function and cellular redox state of healthy subjects remains unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the effects of supplementation (20% wt/wt) for 5 weeks with four different cereal fractions on healthy mice. METHODS: Several parameters of function and redox state of peritoneal leukocytes were measured. The cereals, named B (wheat germ), C (buckwheat flour), D (fine rice bran) and E (wheat middlings) contained different amounts of gallic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, sinapic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, quercetin, catechin, rutin and oryzanol as major polyphenols. RESULTS: In general, all cereal fractions caused an improvement of the leukocyte parameters studied such as chemotaxis capacity, microbicidal activity, lymphoproliferative response to mitogens, interleukin-2 (IL-2) and tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) release, as well as oxidized glutathione (GSSG), GSSG/GSH ratio, catalase (CAT) activity and lipid oxidative damage. We observed similar effects among the cereal fractions. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that some of these effects may due, at least partially, to the antioxidant activity of the polyphenols naturally present in cereals. Since an appropriate function of the leukocytes has been proposed as marker of the health state, a short-term intake of cereals seems to be sufficient to exert a benefit in the health of the general population. However, further studies are needed to assess the optimal doses and to find out which active polyphenols are able to mediate the observed physiological effects before recommending their regular consumption

Estimation of PM10-bound As, Cd, Ni and Pb levels by means of statistical modelling: PLSR and ANN approaches

Air quality assessment regarding metals and metalloids using experimental measurements is expensive and time consuming due to the cost and time required for the analytical determination of the levels of these pollutants. According to the European Union (EU) Air Quality Framework Directive (Directive 2008/50/EC), other alternatives, such as objective estimation techniques, can be considered for ambient air quality assessment in zones and agglomerations where the level of pollutants is below a certain concentration value known as the lower assessment threshold. These conditions occur in urban areas in Cantabria (northern Spain). This work aims to estimate the levels of As, Cd, Ni and Pb in airborne PM10 at two urban sites in the Cantabria region (Castro Urdiales and Reinosa) using statistical models as objective estimation techniques. These models were developed based on three different approaches: partial least squares regression (PLSR), artificial neural networks (ANNs) and an alternative approach consisting of principal component analysis (PCA) coupled with ANNs (PCA-ANN). Additionally, these models were externally validated using previously unseen data. The results show that the models developed in this work based on PLSR and ANNs fulfil the EU uncertainty requirements for objective estimation techniques and provide an acceptable estimation of the mean values. As a consequence, they could be considered as an alternative to experimental measurements for air quality assessment regarding the aforementioned pollutants in the study areas while saving time and resources.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the Project CMT2010-16068. The authors also thank the Regional Environment Ministry of the Cantabria Government for providing the PM10 samples at the Castro Urdiales and Reinosa sites

Identification of G1-Regulated Genes in Normally Cycling Human Cells

BACKGROUND: Obtaining synchronous cell populations is essential for cell-cycle studies. Methods such as serum withdrawal or use of drugs which block cells at specific points in the cell cycle alter cellular events upon re-entry into the cell cycle. Regulatory events occurring in early G1 phase of a new cell cycle could have been overlooked. METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS: We used a robotic mitotic shake-off apparatus to select cells in late mitosis for genome-wide gene expression studies. Two separate microarray experiments were conducted, one which involved isolation of RNA hourly for several hours from synchronous cell populations, and one experiment which examined gene activity every 15 minutes from late telophase of mitosis into G1 phase. To verify synchrony of the cell populations under study, we utilized methods including BrdU uptake, FACS, and microarray analyses of histone gene activity. We also examined stress response gene activity. Our analysis enabled identification of 200 early G1-regulated genes, many of which currently have unknown functions. We also confirmed the expression of a set of genes candidates (fos, atf3 and tceb) by qPCR to further validate the newly identified genes. CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE: Genome-scale expression analyses of the first two hours of G1 in naturally cycling cells enabled the discovery of a unique set of G1-regulated genes, many of which currently have unknown functions, in cells progressing normally through the cell division cycle. This group of genes may contain future targets for drug development and treatment of human disease

Chemotactic and Inflammatory Responses in the Liver and Brain Are Associated with Pathogenesis of Rift Valley Fever Virus Infection in the Mouse

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a major human and animal pathogen associated with severe disease including hemorrhagic fever or encephalitis. RVFV is endemic to parts of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, but there is significant concern regarding its introduction into non-endemic regions and the potentially devastating effect to livestock populations with concurrent infections of humans. To date, there is little detailed data directly comparing the host response to infection with wild-type or vaccine strains of RVFV and correlation with viral pathogenesis. Here we characterized clinical and systemic immune responses to infection with wild-type strain ZH501 or IND vaccine strain MP-12 in the C57BL/6 mouse. Animals infected with live-attenuated MP-12 survived productive viral infection with little evidence of clinical disease and minimal cytokine response in evaluated tissues. In contrast, ZH501 infection was lethal, caused depletion of lymphocytes and platelets and elicited a strong, systemic cytokine response which correlated with high virus titers and significant tissue pathology. Lymphopenia and platelet depletion were indicators of disease onset with indications of lymphocyte recovery correlating with increases in G-CSF production. RVFV is hepatotropic and in these studies significant clinical and histological data supported these findings; however, significant evidence of a pro-inflammatory response in the liver was not apparent. Rather, viral infection resulted in a chemokine response indicating infiltration of immunoreactive cells, such as neutrophils, which was supported by histological data. In brains of ZH501 infected mice, a significant chemokine and pro-inflammatory cytokine response was evident, but with little pathology indicating meningoencephalitis. These data suggest that RVFV pathogenesis in mice is associated with a loss of liver function due to liver necrosis and hepatitis yet the long-term course of disease for those that might survive the initial hepatitis is neurologic in nature which is supported by observations of human disease and the BALB/c mouse model

Tissue Tropism and Target Cells of NSs-Deleted Rift Valley Fever Virus in Live Immunodeficient Mice

Rift Valley fever, caused by a member of the Bunyaviridae family, has spread during recent years to most sub-Saharan African countries, in Egypt and in the Arabian peninsula. The virus can be transmitted by insect vectors or by direct contacts with infectious tissues. The analysis of virus replication and dissemination in laboratory animals has been hampered by the need to euthanize sufficient numbers of animals and to assay appropriate organs at various time points after infection to evaluate the viral replication. By following the bioluminescence and fluorescence of Rift Valley fever viruses expressing light reporters, we were able to track the real-time dissemination of the viruses in live immunodeficient mice. We showed that the first infected organs were the thymus, spleen and liver, but the liver rapidly became the main location of viral replication. Phagocytes also appeared as important targets, and their systemic depletion by use of clodronate liposomes decreased the number of viruses in the blood, delayed the viral dissemination and prolonged the survival of the infected mice