Fabrication of forced air cool austempered ductile iron and exploring its corrosion behaviour in a simulated mine water

Abstract: The production of austempered ductile iron (ADI) with uniform microstructure and properties is constrained by the austempering process vis-à-vis the quenching medium. This is as a result of the stringent operating parameters with costly facilities. This limitation has restricted the application of ADI, despite its inherent mechanical and chemical properties. An emerging technology of overcoming this limitation is by austempering with force air cooling equipment, which is accessible, available and cost-efficient. This work characterizes the behaviour of the forced air cool ADI in simulated mine water due to the strategic importance of the mining industry in the global economy. The study establishes the influence of sample section thickness on the corrosion performance. The sample’s thickness were 5, 15, and 20 mm. Electrochemical experiments were performed on the forced air cool ADI at atmospheric pressure and room temperature with method such as open circuit potential (OCP). The post-corrosion analyses were performed using X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The research highlighted that small section thickness has a more favourable performance compared with larger section. Consideration is also accorded to the capability of the ADI in the studied environment

Effect of metal poisoning and the implications of gender and age on the elemental composition in patients with mental behavioural disorders

The objective of this work was to investigate the possible correlation between the exposure to selected toxic metals and the behavioural disorder of mentally ill patients. The study also sought to establish if gender and age of the patient had an effect on the pattern of the elemental distribution in their head hair and blood samples. To achieve this, the concentrations of a number of selected toxic metal elements were determined in 60 mentally ill patients and 43 healthy individuals (control) in Ile-Ife area, in Nigeria, using inductively coupled plasma spectrophotometer-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). The behavioural disorder cases investigated were 8 bipolar, 2 post partum psychosis, 43 schizophrenia and 7 non-specific cases. The concentration ranges of Cu, Zn, Ca, Li, V, Be (for both males and females), Cd and Sr (for females only) as analyzed from the patients’ head hair with behavioural disorders, were found to be similar with those of the controls. However, the concentration ranges of Al, Ba, Mg, Cr and Cd, Sr (for males only) were higher in patients than in the controls, while those for K and Fe were found to be higher in the controls than in the patients for both males and females. Blood samples analysis showed that, nearly all the elements were higher in the female (patients and control) than in the males; a possible indication that women may be at greater risk than men. It was also shown that, age may have an influence on the accumulation of some specific elements. The accuracy of the analytical results was experimentally demonstrated by NCS DC 73347 certified reference material that was analyzed along the standards while the significance of the data obtained was tested statistically at both p = 0.01 and 0.05

Effects of crude ethanolic extract of Garcinia cambogia on the reproductive system of male wist ar rats (Rattus novergicus)

15 male rats were grouped and administered crude ethanolic extracts of Garcinia cambogia seeds to test the effects on the histology of the testis and sperm counts. Group A served as the control while Groups B and C received 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight of extracts, respectively. The administration was done orally once a day, six days a week for six weeks. The routine histological preparation at the end of administration revealed increase in the interstitial spaces, degeneration of the Ledgid cells and distortion in the arrangement of the cells of spermatogenic series. The sperm counts revealed a significant increase in the experimental groups when compared statistically with the control (p<0.05). It was 81.5 ± 13.62 ´ 10^6/ml and 70 ± 12.98 ´ 10^6 /ml in groups Band C, respectively, as compared to 59.8 ± 2.14 ´ 10^6/ml in the Control group

Poverty: Place of Agricultural Development on Economic Growth of Nigeria

No society attains development where poverty and economic insecurity prevail. This article examines poverty with the place of agricultural development on the economic growth of Nigeria. It aims at examining the importance of agricultural growth on sustainable development while also looking at the barriers to effective economic growth through agriculture. Agriculture has always been a major boost in Nigeria's economy from inception until the shift from agriculture to oil production which has brought about the declining trend of growth in Nigeria. The study adopted a survey as the design for the study. The Cluster sampling technique was employed in this study. 200 respondents carefully arrived at on referrals from farming associations in Kwara state made up the sample size for the study. The study gathered data from the study population through questionnaires and such data collected were analyzed using simple percentages and frequency tables so as to reach conclusions to the issues being addressed. Findings from the study reveal that majority of the respondents have no tertiary education and thus practice traditional methods of farming. It also brought forth that agriculture, as practiced by the majority of the respondents, is a vital tool to reducing unemployment but not able to reduce poverty. It sees lack of support from the government as a blow to the interest of the youth in Agriculture It, therefore, suggests that for the economic growth of Nigeria to be repositioned, the nature and manner in which agriculture is practiced should be reviewed and government intervention should be intensified

Poverty: Place of Agricultural Development on Economic Growth of Nigeria

No society attains development where poverty and economic insecurity prevail. This article examines poverty with the place of agricultural development on the economic growth of Nigeria. It aims at examining the importance of agricultural growth on sustainable development while also looking at the barriers to effective economic growth through agriculture. Agriculture has always been a major boost in Nigeria's economy from inception until the shift from agriculture to oil production which has brought about the declining trend of growth in Nigeria. The study adopted a survey as the design for the study. The Cluster sampling technique was employed in this study. 200 respondents carefully arrived at on referrals from farming associations in Kwara state made up the sample size for the study. The study gathered data from the study population through questionnaires and such data collected were analyzed using simple percentages and frequency tables so as to reach conclusions to the issues being addressed. Findings from the study reveal that majority of the respondents have no tertiary education and thus practice traditional methods of farming. It also brought forth that agriculture, as practiced by the majority of the respondents, is a vital tool to reducing unemployment but not able to reduce poverty. It sees lack of support from the government as a blow to the interest of the youth in Agriculture It, therefore, suggests that for the economic growth of Nigeria to be repositioned, the nature and manner in which agriculture is practiced should be reviewed and government intervention should be intensified

Global Retinoblastoma Presentation and Analysis by National Income Level.

Importance: Early diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular cancer, can save both a child's life and vision. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children across the world are diagnosed late. To our knowledge, the clinical presentation of retinoblastoma has never been assessed on a global scale. Objectives: To report the retinoblastoma stage at diagnosis in patients across the world during a single year, to investigate associations between clinical variables and national income level, and to investigate risk factors for advanced disease at diagnosis. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 278 retinoblastoma treatment centers were recruited from June 2017 through December 2018 to participate in a cross-sectional analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Age at presentation, proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, and tumor stage and metastasis. Results: The cohort included 4351 new patients from 153 countries; the median age at diagnosis was 30.5 (interquartile range, 18.3-45.9) months, and 1976 patients (45.4%) were female. Most patients (n = 3685 [84.7%]) were from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Globally, the most common indication for referral was leukocoria (n = 2638 [62.8%]), followed by strabismus (n = 429 [10.2%]) and proptosis (n = 309 [7.4%]). Patients from high-income countries (HICs) were diagnosed at a median age of 14.1 months, with 656 of 666 (98.5%) patients having intraocular retinoblastoma and 2 (0.3%) having metastasis. Patients from low-income countries were diagnosed at a median age of 30.5 months, with 256 of 521 (49.1%) having extraocular retinoblastoma and 94 of 498 (18.9%) having metastasis. Lower national income level was associated with older presentation age, higher proportion of locally advanced disease and distant metastasis, and smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma. Advanced disease at diagnosis was more common in LMICs even after adjusting for age (odds ratio for low-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 17.92 [95% CI, 12.94-24.80], and for lower-middle-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 5.74 [95% CI, 4.30-7.68]). Conclusions and Relevance: This study is estimated to have included more than half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017. Children from LMICs, where the main global retinoblastoma burden lies, presented at an older age with more advanced disease and demonstrated a smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, likely because many do not reach a childbearing age. Given that retinoblastoma is curable, these data are concerning and mandate intervention at national and international levels. Further studies are needed to investigate factors, other than age at presentation, that may be associated with advanced disease in LMICs

Travel burden and clinical presentation of retinoblastoma: analysis of 1024 patients from 43 African countries and 518 patients from 40 European countries

BACKGROUND: The travel distance from home to a treatment centre, which may impact the stage at diagnosis, has not been investigated for retinoblastoma, the most common childhood eye cancer. We aimed to investigate the travel burden and its impact on clinical presentation in a large sample of patients with retinoblastoma from Africa and Europe. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis including 518 treatment-naïve patients with retinoblastoma residing in 40 European countries and 1024 treatment-naïve patients with retinoblastoma residing in 43 African countries. RESULTS: Capture rate was 42.2% of expected patients from Africa and 108.8% from Europe. African patients were older (95% CI -12.4 to -5.4, p<0.001), had fewer cases of familial retinoblastoma (95% CI 2.0 to 5.3, p<0.001) and presented with more advanced disease (95% CI 6.0 to 9.8, p<0.001); 43.4% and 15.4% of Africans had extraocular retinoblastoma and distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis, respectively, compared to 2.9% and 1.0% of the Europeans. To reach a retinoblastoma centre, European patients travelled 421.8 km compared to Africans who travelled 185.7 km (p<0.001). On regression analysis, lower-national income level, African residence and older age (p<0.001), but not travel distance (p=0.19), were risk factors for advanced disease. CONCLUSIONS: Fewer than half the expected number of patients with retinoblastoma presented to African referral centres in 2017, suggesting poor awareness or other barriers to access. Despite the relatively shorter distance travelled by African patients, they presented with later-stage disease. Health education about retinoblastoma is needed for carers and health workers in Africa in order to increase capture rate and promote early referral

The global retinoblastoma outcome study : a prospective, cluster-based analysis of 4064 patients from 149 countries

DATA SHARING : The study data will become available online once all analyses are complete.BACKGROUND : Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular cancer worldwide. There is some evidence to suggest that major differences exist in treatment outcomes for children with retinoblastoma from different regions, but these differences have not been assessed on a global scale. We aimed to report 3-year outcomes for children with retinoblastoma globally and to investigate factors associated with survival. METHODS : We did a prospective cluster-based analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed between Jan 1, 2017, and Dec 31, 2017, then treated and followed up for 3 years. Patients were recruited from 260 specialised treatment centres worldwide. Data were obtained from participating centres on primary and additional treatments, duration of follow-up, metastasis, eye globe salvage, and survival outcome. We analysed time to death and time to enucleation with Cox regression models. FINDINGS : The cohort included 4064 children from 149 countries. The median age at diagnosis was 23·2 months (IQR 11·0–36·5). Extraocular tumour spread (cT4 of the cTNMH classification) at diagnosis was reported in five (0·8%) of 636 children from high-income countries, 55 (5·4%) of 1027 children from upper-middle-income countries, 342 (19·7%) of 1738 children from lower-middle-income countries, and 196 (42·9%) of 457 children from low-income countries. Enucleation surgery was available for all children and intravenous chemotherapy was available for 4014 (98·8%) of 4064 children. The 3-year survival rate was 99·5% (95% CI 98·8–100·0) for children from high-income countries, 91·2% (89·5–93·0) for children from upper-middle-income countries, 80·3% (78·3–82·3) for children from lower-middle-income countries, and 57·3% (52·1-63·0) for children from low-income countries. On analysis, independent factors for worse survival were residence in low-income countries compared to high-income countries (hazard ratio 16·67; 95% CI 4·76–50·00), cT4 advanced tumour compared to cT1 (8·98; 4·44–18·18), and older age at diagnosis in children up to 3 years (1·38 per year; 1·23–1·56). For children aged 3–7 years, the mortality risk decreased slightly (p=0·0104 for the change in slope). INTERPRETATION : This study, estimated to include approximately half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017, shows profound inequity in survival of children depending on the national income level of their country of residence. In high-income countries, death from retinoblastoma is rare, whereas in low-income countries estimated 3-year survival is just over 50%. Although essential treatments are available in nearly all countries, early diagnosis and treatment in low-income countries are key to improving survival outcomes.The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and the Wellcome Trust.https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/homeam2023Paediatrics and Child Healt

Urinary Metabolomics Validates Metabolic Differentiation Between Renal Cell Carcinoma Stages and Reveals a Unique Metabolic Profile for Oncocytomas

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a heterogeneous malignancy which often develops and progresses asymptomatically. Benign oncocytomas are morphologically similar to malignant chromophobe RCC and distinguishing between these two forms on cross-sectional imaging remains a challenge. Therefore, RCC-specific biomarkers are urgently required for accurate and non-invasive, pre-surgical diagnosis of benign lesions. We have previously shown that dysregulation in glycolytic and tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates can distinguish benign lesions from RCC in a stage-specific manner. In this study, preoperative fasting urine samples from patients with renal masses were assessed by &sup1;H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Significant alterations in levels of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, carnitines and its derivatives were detected in RCC relative to benign masses and in oncocytomas vs. chromophobe RCC. Orthogonal Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis plots confirmed stage discrimination between benign vs. pT1 (R2 = 0.42, Q2 = 0.27) and benign vs. pT3 (R2 = 0.48, Q2 = 0.32) and showed separation for oncocytomas vs. chromophobe RCC (R2 = 0.81, Q2 = 0.57) and oncocytomas vs. clear cell RCC (R2 = 0.32, Q2 = 0.20). This study validates our previously described metabolic profile distinguishing benign tumors from RCC and presents a novel metabolic signature for oncocytomas which may be exploited for diagnosis before cross-sectional imaging