Prevalence of Parasitic Infections among Students in a Large Rural Community Secondary School in Esssien Udim L. G. A. of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The prevalence of gastro-intestinal parasites was investigated in a largecommunity secondary school in the rural community of Essien Udim LocalGovernment Area. Faecal specimens were collected from 400 students,randomly selected from the school and examined microscopically for thepresence of intestinal parasites. Direct wet smear and formol-etherconcentration techniques were applied in the examination of the stoolspecimens. Of the 400 specimens examined, 143 (13.35%), were positive for parasites. The prevalence of parasites found were as follows: Ascaris sp 50 (12.50%), Trichuris 37 (9.25%), Hookworm 27 (6.75%), Enterobius sp 11 (2.75), Hymenolepis sp 13 (3.25%), Taenia sp 5 (1.25%). Male students had higher, 84 (21.00%) prevalence than females, 59 (14.75%). Males in the 12-14 and 15-17 age groups and females in the 15-17 years age group were the most infected. More females have infections than males. The differences between male and female infections was significant at p>0.05. The general effects of the parasites on the infected students was constant absenteeism reduced mental ability, general weakness resulting in low grades in school examinations. Health education conducted included advice on the provision of modern toilet facilities and borehole water in the study area and immediate surrounding communities

Vectors of Paragonimus Uterobilateralis a Causative Fluke for Paragonimiasis in Cross River State-Nigeria

Investigation into suggested vectors of Paragonimus uterobilateralis acausative agent of Paragonimiasis was carried out. The investigation wasinformed by the need to ascertain vectors of the lung fluke-paragonimus to enhance health education of the inhabitant of the affected village for control purpose. Dissected Pseudanautes Africanus, Astacus sp, Potedema freethii and Onchomelina sp were examined for intermediate stages of Paragonimus. Samples of crustaceans and gastropods examined for larvae of Paragonimus showed Pseudanautes Africanus, Astacus sp, Potedema freethii and Onchomelina sp as carriers of larvae of Paragonimus. Ninety three (93%) of P. africanus were incriminated with 30.5% of all isolated eggs, 33.9% of cercaria and 39.7% of rediae. Ninety six (96%) of Astacus were incriminated with 39.4% of all eggs, 66.1% cercaria and 60.3% of Rediae. Sixty (60) percent of P. freethii were incriminated with 11% of all eggs and 67% of miracidium and sporocysts while eighty eight (88%) of Onchomelina sp were incriminated with 19.2% of all eggs and 33% of miracidium. The hosts were wide spread along Cross River tributaries suggesting the possibility of infection along the course of the river. The examined crustaceans and gastropods are vectors of P. uterobilateralis in Cross River state of Nigeria. Since metacercaria was isolated only from P. africanus, infections was suggested to be mainly through consumption of this crab host

Variations in virulence of three (3) Escherichia coli serotypes confirmed in experimental mammary gland infections

An experiment was conducted to confirm the pathogenicity of three (3) serotypes of Escherichia coli (E. coli 037, 02a and 109) in mammary glands of experimental cows (cow 105, 107 and 102 respectively). Pathogenicity ofthe E. coli which is a measure of virulence was observed to vary in the cows. Following inoculation bacterial number peak at 160,000 CFU/ml, 7,6000,000 CFU/ml and 3,600 CFU/ml respectively. Also milk somatic cell count (SCC) were observed to peak at 15,000 x 103 cell/ml, 58,700 x 103 cell/ml and 360 x 103 cells/ml respectively. The time taken for maximum bacterial number and somatic cell count to reach varied. There was leukemia with relative neutropenia in all cases. Typical responses included fever, painful inflammation of glands and gradual weakness of the experimental cows. Time to peak rectal temperature, also varies. The control quarter of teat of each cow infused with 1.0ml of saline showed little or no response. Milk SCC never exceeded 100,000 cells/ml in the control quarter. Systemic effects were little and cows appeared normal externally. E. Coli serotypes varied in virulence with the degree of variation highlydetermined by the organism tried

Prevalence of Henneguya Chrysichthys (Flagellated Protozoa: Cyst) and Haematological Changes Due to the Infection in Chrysichthys Nigrodigitatus

Four Hundred (400) samples of Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus were examined for Henneguya chrysichthys using methods described for gills examination and haemopatholgy. 135 (33.8%), Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus were infected by Henneguya chrysichthys. The infection was seen on the gill filament as an oval cyst somewhat white and visible to the naked eyes. 27 (20%), 88 (65.2%) and 20 (14.8%) were recorded for low, moderate and high infection respectively. Lowest (22.7%) and highest (45.5%) prevalence were observed in the months of December and May respectively. Prevalence was higher in wet season (54.1%) than in dry season (45.9,%) More female fish (51.1%) had infection than the male fish (48.8%).Haematological examination revealed changes in blood cell count, erythrocyte sedimentary rate and Haematocrit counts. Hemoglobin (per 100mI) remains the same in infected and uninfected fish. Erythrccyte count (X106/mm3) was 1.28�1.11 and 1.0�0.53 while leucocytes count (per mm3) was 2.36�1.0 and 43200�0.60 foruninfected and infected fish respectively. Leucocytosis in infected fish was marked by lymphocytes (35.11�0.32), Neutrophils (26.32�1.65), plasmocytes (23.06�0.9 1) and monocytes (16.0�0.21). Corresponding values of these classes of Leucocytes are 7.38�0.69, 21,86 � 1.71, 6.90� 1.12 and 7.24� 1.09 respectively in uninfected fish. Infected fish appeared weak and emaciated

Survey of Gastro-Intestinal Parasites of Chimpanzees and Drill Monkeys in Drill Ranch, Calabar, Cross River State-Nigeria

An investigation of the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in chimpanzees and drill monkeys in Drill ranch Calabar, cross river state, Nigeria was carried out. A total of 300 faecal specimens were collected from chimpanzees and drill monkeys respectively, processed and examined microscopically. Parasites, their developmental stages and prevalence, recovered from drill monkeys were; Strongyloides sp, larvae, 66 (22%), Prosther sp, ova, 48 (16%), Entamoeba sp, larval, 120 (40%), Necator sp, eggs, 33 (11%) and Hymenolepis sp, segment, 30(11%). From chimpazees, Strongyloides sp, larvae, 33(11%), Entamoeba sp, larval, 198(66%), Dipylidium sp, segments, 27(9%) and Hymenolepis sp, segment, 33 (11%) were recovered. Though no sign or symptom of infection was observed, the  investigation confirmed the presence of parasites in these primates and call for regular checkup and application of control measures to avoid endemicity

Outcomes following autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant for patients with relapsed Wilms' tumor: a CIBMTR retrospective analysis.

Despite the marked improvement in the overall survival (OS) for patients diagnosed with Wilms' tumor (WT), the outcomes for those who experience relapse have remained disappointing. We describe the outcomes of 253 patients with relapsed WT who received high-dose chemotherapy (HDT) followed by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) between 1990 and 2013, and were reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplantation Research. The 5-year estimates for event-free survival (EFS) and OS were 36% (95% confidence interval (CI); 29-43%) and 45% (95 CI; 38-51%), respectively. Relapse of primary disease was the cause of death in 81% of the population. EFS, OS, relapse and transplant-related mortality showed no significant differences when broken down by disease status at transplant, time from diagnosis to transplant, year of transplant or conditioning regimen. Our data suggest that HDT followed by autologous HCT for relapsed WT is well tolerated and outcomes are similar to those reported in the literature. As attempts to conduct a randomized trial comparing maintenance chemotherapy with consolidation versus HDT followed by stem cell transplant have failed, one should balance the potential benefits with the yet unknown long-term risks. As disease recurrence continues to be the most common cause of death, future research should focus on the development of consolidation therapies for those patients achieving complete response to therapy

Direct observation of growth and collapse of a Bose-Einstein condensate with attractive interactions

The dynamical behavior of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in a gas with attractive interactions is striking. Quantum theory predicts that BEC of a spatially homogeneous gas with attractive interactions is precluded by a conventional phase transition into either a liquid or solid. When confined to a trap, however, such a condensate can form provided that its occupation number does not exceed a limiting value. The stability limit is determined by a balance between self-attraction and a repulsion arising from position-momentum uncertainty under conditions of spatial confinement. Near the stability limit, self-attraction can overwhelm the repulsion, causing the condensate to collapse. Growth of the condensate, therefore, is punctuated by intermittent collapses, which are triggered either by macroscopic quantum tunneling or thermal fluctuation. Previous observation of growth and collapse has been hampered by the stochastic nature of these mechanisms. Here we reduce the stochasticity by controlling the initial number of condensate atoms using a two-photon transition to a diatomic molecular state. This enables us to obtain the first direct observation of the growth of a condensate with attractive interactions and its subsequent collapse.Comment: 10 PDF pages, 5 figures (2 color), 19 references, to appear in Nature Dec. 7 200

High star formation rates as the origin of turbulence in early and modern disk galaxies

High spatial and spectral resolution observations of star formation and kinematics in early galaxies have shown that two-thirds are massive rotating disk galaxies with the remainder being less massive non-rotating objects. The line of sight averaged velocity dispersions are typically five times higher than in today's disk galaxies. This has suggested that gravitationally-unstable, gas-rich disks in the early Universe are fuelled by cold, dense accreting gas flowing along cosmic filaments and penetrating hot galactic gas halos. However these accreting flows have not been observed, and cosmic accretion cannot power the observed level of turbulence. Here we report on a new sample of rare high-velocity-dispersion disk galaxies we have discovered in the nearby Universe where cold accretion is unlikely to drive their high star-formation rates. We find that the velocity dispersion is most fundamentally correlated with their star-formation rates, and not their mass nor gas fraction, which leads to a new picture where star formation itself is the energetic driver of galaxy disk turbulence at all cosmic epochs.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, Supplimentary Info available at: http://pulsar.swin.edu.au/~agreen/nature/sigma_mean_arXiv.pdf. Accepted for publication in Natur

STK295900, a Dual Inhibitor of Topoisomerase 1 and 2, Induces G<inf>2</inf> Arrest in the Absence of DNA Damage

STK295900, a small synthetic molecule belonging to a class of symmetric bibenzimidazoles, exhibits antiproliferative activity against various human cancer cell lines from different origins. Examining the effect of STK295900 in HeLa cells indicates that it induces G2 phase arrest without invoking DNA damage. Further analysis shows that STK295900 inhibits DNA relaxation that is mediated by topoisomerase 1 (Top 1) and topoisomerase 2 (Top 2) in vitro. In addition, STK295900 also exhibits protective effect against DNA damage induced by camptothecin. However, STK295900 does not affect etoposide-induced DNA damage. Moreover, STK295900 preferentially exerts cytotoxic effect on cancer cell lines while camptothecin, etoposide, and Hoechst 33342 affected both cancer and normal cells. Therefore, STK295900 has a potential to be developed as an anticancer chemotherapeutic agent. © 2013 Kim et al

The effect of sepsis and its inflammatory response on mechanical clot characteristics: a prospective observational study

Purpose: Sepsis and its progression are known to have a major influence on the coagulation system. Current coagulation tests are of limited use when assessing coagulation in sepsis patients. This study aims to assess the potential for a new functional biomarker of clot microstructure, fractal dimension, to identify changes in the mechanical properties of clot microstructure across the sepsis spectrum (sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock). Methods: A total of 100 patients that presented acutely to a large teaching hospital were included in this prospective observational study (50 sepsis, 20 severe sepsis and 30 septic shock) against a matched control of 44 healthy volunteers. Fractal analysis was performed, as well as standard markers of coagulation, and six plasma markers of inflammation. Results: Fractal dimension was significantly higher in the sepsis and severe sepsis groups than the healthy control (1.78 ± 0.07 and 1.80 ± 0.05 respectively vs 1.74 ± 0.03) (p < 0.001), indicating a significant increase in mechanical clot strength and elasticity consistent with a hypercoagulable state. Conversely, fractal dimension was significantly lower in septic shock (1.66 ± 0.10, p < 0.001), indicating a significant reduction in mechanical clot strength and functionality consistent with a hypocoagulable state. This corresponded with a significant increase in the inflammatory response. Conclusions: This study confirms that clot microstructure is significantly altered through the various stages of sepsis. Of particular importance was the marked change in clot development between severe sepsis and septic shock, which has not been previously reported