The Extent of Involvement in Cybercrime activities among Studentsa in Tertiary Institutions in Enugu State of Nigeria

The researcher investigated the extent of involvement in Cybercrime activities among students2019; in tertiary institutions in Enugu state of Nigeria using cross sectional survey design. Questionnaires were used for data collection. A sample of 175 students was drawn from a population of 18,340 final year students in higher institutions in Enugu State using cluster sampling procedure. The instrument contains 12 items with 4 point scale of Most-times, Sometimes, Seldom and Never. The findings showed that students of higher institutions in Enugu state are involved in cybercrime. It also showed that students2019; involvement in cybercrime is dependent on gender and Institution type. The implication of the finding for knowledge and development is that the present level of students2019; involvement in cybercrime has a negative effect on the value of education and by extension, has lead to the setback in economic development of the State. It was recommended that government should empower the law enforcement agencies to checkmate and deal with perpetrators of cybercrime

Analysis of the Relationship between Human Capital Development and Economic Growth in Nigeria

This research aimed at examining the relationship between human capital development and economic growth in Nigeria. We made use of co-integration techniques and The vector error correction model (VECM). It was observed that there is significant long-run relationship between human capital development and economic growth in Nigeria. This is confirmed by the Johansen co-integration. Also the result of vector error correction model (VECM) indicates that 1% increase in the government expenditure on education (TEDU), on the average, led to 23.8% increase in GDP while 1% increase in the government expenditure on health (THEA) caused 37.6% decrease in GDP. The two variables, as human capital development factor, were found to have significant effect on economic growth. However, government expenditure on education has positive relationship with GDP. This implies that increase in expenditure on education contributes positively to the growth of the economy. The policy implications are in three directions: To retain the continuous long run relationship with GDP and human capital development, effort should be made to harmonize the activities in the health and education sector with much attention on funding; Government expenditure on education was found to have positive effect on the economy. In the light of this, government should try as well to meet up with world standard benchmark on education expenditure in the annual budget. In so doing, this will improve on the economy and Government expenditure on health was found to have negative effect on the economy. Therefore, effort should be made by government to address the agitations by the health workers which always make them to resort to frequent strike actions. If these worrying issues are looked into, perhaps the instability experienced in the health sector would be addressed. Efforts should be made to equip our health sector so that capital flight in the name of foreign medical treatment is reduced. Keywords: Human Capital development, Government Expenditure on Education, Government Expenditure on Health, Nigeria

Journal of Advances in Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Aim: To evaluate the effects of graded doses of ethanolic stem bark extract of Picralima nitida on haematological profile, some serum reproductive hormones, sperm reserves and testicular histomorphology of male albino rats. Study Design: Thirty male albino rats, weighing between 120 and 200 grams were randomly assigned into six groups of five rats each. Group A received 0.5 ml of distilled water (normal control). Groups B, C and D received 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg BW of the extract respectively. Group E received 2.5 mg/kg BW of CdCl2 (negative control), while Group F received 5 mg/kg BW of Sildenafil (positive control); orally every other day for six weeks. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology (Laboratory Animal Unit), University of Nigeria, Nsukka, between June and September, 2015. Methodology: At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected for haematology and serology, whereas testicular sections were collected for histopathology following the standards procedures. Data obtained were analyzed by One-way ANOVA. Results: The result showed that all doses of the extract increased neutrophil count, but decreased (P < 0.05) monocyte and RBC counts; 200 and 400 mg/kg BW of the extract decreased (P < 0.05) PCV values; and only 400 mg/kg of the extract reduced (P < 0.05) HB values. 200 and 400 mg/kg BW of the extract, and 2.5 mg/kg BW of CdCl2 decreased (P < 0.05) serum testosterone and sperm counts. The normal control, 100 mg/kg BW of the extract and 5 mg/kg BW of Sildenafil had normal testicular histoarchitecture; whereas 200 and 400 mg/kg BW of the extract, and 2.5 mg/kg BW of CdCl2 had slight, moderate and severe degeneration of the germinal epithelium and interstitium, with depletion of sperm cells in the lumen of the seminiferous tubules respectively. Conclusion: This study revealed that treatment with ethanolic stem bark extract of Picralima nitida above 100 mg/kg BW adversely affected haematological and reproductive parameters in male albino rats

Comprehensive Investigation into the Molecular Mechanisms Driving the Emergence of emm4 Group A Streptococcus

Abstract Comprehensive Investigation into the Molecular Mechanisms Driving the Emergence of emm4 Group A Streptococcus Chioma Modeline Odo, M.S. Advisory Professor: Samuel A. Shelburne, MD, Ph.D. The major gram-positive bacterium group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a model organism for studying microbial epidemics as it is well known to cause infections that occur in waves. GAS strains are grouped based on the composition of the N-terminal sequence of the M protein which is encoded by the emm gene. With the advent of large-scale whole genome sequencing, GAS clonal emergence events in emm1, emm3, and emm89 types have been identified and subsequently attributed to augmented infection severity due to increased virulence factor production. Recently, we characterized a clonal emergence, expansion, and replacement involving emm4 GAS strains in the United States and the United Kingdom. Using strains collected as part of active surveillance, we estimated that a new emm4 clone emerged around 1996 and, by 2017, had completely replaced the existing “historic” emm4 strains. My thesis sought to identify mechanisms underlying this temporal clonal emergence amongst emm4 GAS given that the “emergent” strains did not produce augmented levels of virulence factors relative to the replaced or “historic” strains. Through the creation and analysis of isoallelic strains, I characterized the impact of several key genetic changes separating the “historic” and “emergent” strains, including an emm gene fusion event. Specfifically, we determined that a conserved mutation in a previously undescribed gene encoding a putative carbonic anhydrase was responsible for the defective in vitro growth observed in the “emergent” strains. We also identified that the “emergent” strains survived better inside macrophages and killed macrophages at lower rates relative to the “historic” strains. Via the creation of isogenic mutant strains, we linked the “emergent” strain “survival” phenotype to the downregulation of the genes encoding the potent toxins NAD-glycohydrolase and streptolysin O (Nga/Slo) and upregulation of the msrAB operon, which encodes proteins involved in defense against extracellular oxidative stress. Our findings are in accord with recent surveillance studies, which found a high ratio of mucosal (i.e., pharyngeal) relative to invasive infections amongst emm4 GAS. Inasmuch as ever-increasing virulence is unlikely to be evolutionarily advantageous for a microbial pathogen, our data add increased understanding to the well-described oscillating patterns of virulent GAS infections by demonstrating mechanisms by which emergent strains adapt a “survival” strategy to outcompete previously circulating isolates

Emergent emm4 Group a Streptococcus Evidences a Survival Strategy During Interaction With Immune Effector Cells

The major gram-positive pathogen group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a model organism for studying microbial epidemics as it causes waves of infections. Since 1980, several GAS epidemics have been ascribed to the emergence of clones producing increased amounts of key virulence factors such as streptolysin O (SLO). Herein, we sought to identify mechanisms underlying our recently identified temporal clonal emergence among emm4 GAS, given that emergent strains did not produce augmented levels of virulence factors relative to historic isolates. By creating and analyzing isoallelic strains, we determined that a conserved mutation in a previously undescribed gene encoding a putative carbonic anhydrase was responsible for the defective in vitro growth observed in the emergent strains. We also identified that the emergent strains survived better inside macrophages and killed macrophages at lower rates than the historic strains. Via the creation of isogenic mutant strains, we linked the emergent strain “survival” phenotype to the downregulation of the SLO encoding gene and upregulation of the msrAB operon which encodes proteins involved in defense against extracellular oxidative stress. Our findings are in accord with recent surveillance studies which found a high ratio of mucosal (i.e., pharyngeal) relative to invasive infections among emm4 GAS. Since ever-increasing virulence is unlikely to be evolutionarily advantageous for a microbial pathogen, our data further understanding of the well-described oscillating patterns of virulent GAS infections by demonstrating mechanisms by which emergent strains adapt a “survival” strategy to outcompete previously circulating isolates

Characterizing the Initial Phase of Epidemic Growth on some Empirical Networks

A key parameter in models for the spread of infectious diseases is the basic reproduction number $R_0$, which is the expected number of secondary cases a typical infected primary case infects during its infectious period in a large mostly susceptible population. In order for this quantity to be meaningful, the initial expected growth of the number of infectious individuals in the large-population limit should be exponential. We investigate to what extent this assumption is valid by performing repeated simulations of epidemics on selected empirical networks, viewing each epidemic as a random process in discrete time. The initial phase of each epidemic is analyzed by fitting the number of infected people at each time step to a generalised growth model, allowing for estimating the shape of the growth. For reference, similar investigations are done on some elementary graphs such as integer lattices in different dimensions and configuration model graphs, for which the early epidemic behaviour is known. We find that for the empirical networks tested in this paper, exponential growth characterizes the early stages of the epidemic, except when the network is restricted by a strong low-dimensional spacial constraint, such as is the case for the two-dimensional square lattice. However, on finite integer lattices of sufficiently high dimension, the early development of epidemics shows exponential growth.Comment: To be included in the conference proceedings for SPAS 2017 (International Conference on Stochastic Processes and Algebraic Structures), October 4-6, 201

Nomenclature of the symptoms of head and neck cancer: a systematic scoping review

Copyright \ua9 2024 Bradley, Lee, Albutt, Hardman, Kellar, Odo, Randell, Rousseau, Tikka, Patterson and Paleri.Introduction: Evolution of a patient-reported symptom-based risk stratification system to redesign the suspected head and neck cancer (HNC) referral pathway (EVEREST-HN) will use a broad and open approach to the nomenclature and symptomatology. It aims to capture and utilise the patient reported symptoms in a modern way to identify patients’ clinical problems more effectively and risk stratify the patient. Method: The review followed the PRISMA checklist for scoping reviews. A search strategy was carried out using Medline, Embase and Web of Science between January 1st 2012 and October 31st 2023. All titles, abstracts and full paper were screened for eligibility, papers were assessed for inclusion using predetermined criteria. Data was extracted pertaining to the aims, type of study, cancer type, numbers of patients included and symptoms, presenting complaints or signs and symptoms. Results: There were 9,331 publications identified in the searches, following title screening 350 abstracts were reviewed for inclusion and 120 were considered for eligibility for the review. 48 publications met the eligibility criteria and were included in the final review. Data from almost 11,000 HNC patients was included. Twenty-one of the publications were from the UK, most were retrospective examination of patient records. Data was extracted and charted according to the anatomical area of the head and neck where the symptoms are subjectively and objectively found, and presented according to lay terms for symptoms, clinical terms for symptoms and the language of objective clinical findings. Discussion: Symptoms of HNC are common presenting complaints, interpreting these along with clinical history, examination and risk factors will inform a clinician’s decision to refer as suspected cancer. UK Head and Neck specialists believe a different way of triaging the referrals is needed to assess the clinical risk of an undiagnosed HNC. EVEREST-HN aims to achieve this using the patient history of their symptoms. This review has highlighted issues in terms of what is considered a symptom, a presenting complaint and a clinical finding or sign