Virucidal potential of some edible Nigerian vegetables

Extracts from four leaves: Ceratotheca sesamoides (Endl.), Lactuca taraxacifolia (Willd.), Euphorbia lateriflora (Schum. & Throes) and Amaranthus viridis (Linn.) used in Nigeria as edible vegetables weretested for antiviral activities using the measles virus on Human Epidermoid carcinoma (HEP-2) cell line. The efficacy of each extract in preventing viral penetration into a living cell as well as its effect on thevirus itself and the toxicity of same on the cell were all determined. All the extracts showed dosedependent antiviral activities. The inhibitory action of the extracts from C. sesamoides and L. taraxacifolia were greatest at high concentrations of 15 mg/ml when the virus had already penetrated the cell. E. lateriflora only inhibited the virus activity at very high concentrations of 15 mg/ml when the virus was treated with the extract and also when the HEP-2 cell was treated with the extract before the virus suspension was added. Amaranthus viridis concentrations of 10 and 15 mg/ml were contaminated but the extract at a low concentration of 5 mg/ml was able to exhibit antiviral activity when the cell was treated with the extract before the virus was added. In view of the efficacy of these extracts in inhibiting the cytopathic effect (CPE) of measles virus without harming the host, the utilization of the extracts in the formulation of new antiviral drugs is strongly recommended especially when the availability and the very low cost of these vegetables are considered

Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among pregnant women in an antenatal clinic in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria

Women attending ante-natal clinic in Nigeria are routinely screened for HIV/AIDS. A retrospective study was conducted between 2000 and 2004 to investigate the prevalence of the human immunodeficiencyvirus (HIV) infection among pregnant women attending ante-natal clinic in Braithwalte Memorial Hospital (BMH), Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Data on positive cases of HIV infection within the duration were retrieved from the hospital’s record department. A total of 10,032 pregnant women were screened for the possible occurrence of HIV 1 and HIV 2 within the period. The results shows that a total of 595 (5.93%) of the pregnant women tested positive to the HIV. The year 2001 had the highest prevalence of 138 (1.38%), while the year 2000 had the least prevalence of 89 (0.89%). Analysis of the age distributionof the infection among the studied pregnant women in the hospital showed that women in the age group of 41-45 had the highest prevalence rate (80%), followed by women in the age group of 31-35 with an occurrence rate of 20.83%. The least rate of occurrence was observed in the age group of 26-30 which showed only 3.14%

Premunition in Plasmodium falciparum malaria

Malaria parasites have evolved to maintain a well-balanced relationship with their human hosts. This implies that they can partially escape from protective effector mechanisms of their hosts, but also that hosts can develop partial immunity to the parasite. This immunity requires repeated infections, takes years to develop and is usually of short duration. However, protective immunity to clinical malaria rather than infection may be of long duration. This natural acquired immunity is called premunition since a low parasitemia mostly persists in the presence of circulating antibodies to the various stages and in the absence of clinical disease. In children who do not have circulating antibodies to the parasite, premunition is probably caused by antitoxic immunity. These poor and slowly developing immune responses to malaria are partly due to immune evasion strategies of the parasite caused by antigenic polymorphism, shedding of parts of parasite proteins, cross-reactive epitopes of antigens of different developmental stages, prolonged exposure to endemic malaria and widespread restricted immunogenicity to defined antigens. Premunition relies on the cooperation between the parasite and human antibodies, leading to the induction of antibody dependent cellular inhibition (ADCI) of the intraerythrocytic growth of the parasite. The immunity, however, is not a sterilizing type in that the infection persists longer than the symptoms and individuals can exhibit relapses or recrudescences or become reinfected

Intrinsic Doping in Electrodeposited ZnS Thin Films for Application in Large-Area Optoelectronic Devices

Zinc sulphide (ZnS) thin films with both n- and p-type electrical conductivity were grown on glass/fluorine-doped tin oxide-conducting substrates from acidic and aqueous solution containing ZnSO4 and (NH4)2S2O3 by simply changing the deposition potential in a two-electrode cell configuration. After deposition, the films were characterised using various analytical techniques. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the materials are amorphous even after heat treatment. Optical properties (transmittance, absorbance and optical bandgap) of the films were studied. The bandgaps of the films were found to be in the range (3.68–3.86) eV depending on the growth voltage. Photoelectrochemical cell measurements show both n- and p-type electrical conductivity for the films depending on the growth voltage. Scanning electron microscopy shows material clusters on the surface with no significant change after heat treatment at different temperatures. Atomic force microscopy shows that the surface roughness of these materials remain fairly constant reducing only from 18 nm to 17 nm after heat treatment. Thickness estimation of the films was also carried out using theoretical and experimental methods. Direct current conductivity measurements on both as-deposited and annealed films show that resistivity increased after heat treatment

Impact of H1N1 on Socially Disadvantaged Populations: Systematic Review

The burden of H1N1 among socially disadvantaged populations is unclear. We aimed to synthesize hospitalization, severe illness, and mortality data associated with pandemic A/H1N1/2009 among socially disadvantaged populations.Studies were identified through searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, scanning reference lists, and contacting experts. Studies reporting hospitalization, severe illness, and mortality attributable to laboratory-confirmed 2009 H1N1 pandemic among socially disadvantaged populations (e.g., ethnic minorities, low-income or lower-middle-income economy countries [LIC/LMIC]) were included. Two independent reviewers conducted screening, data abstraction, and quality appraisal (Newcastle Ottawa Scale). Random effects meta-analysis was conducted using SAS and Review Manager.Sixty-two studies including 44,777 patients were included after screening 787 citations and 164 full-text articles. The prevalence of hospitalization for H1N1 ranged from 17-87% in high-income economy countries (HIC) and 11-45% in LIC/LMIC. Of those hospitalized, the prevalence of intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mortality was 6-76% and 1-25% in HIC; and 30% and 8-15%, in LIC/LMIC, respectively. There were significantly more hospitalizations among ethnic minorities versus non-ethnic minorities in two studies conducted in North America (1,313 patients, OR 2.26 [95% CI: 1.53-3.32]). There were no differences in ICU admissions (n = 8 studies, 15,352 patients, OR 0.84 [0.69-1.02]) or deaths (n = 6 studies, 14,757 patients, OR 0.85 [95% CI: 0.73-1.01]) among hospitalized patients in HIC. Sub-group analysis indicated that the meta-analysis results were not likely affected by confounding. Overall, the prevalence of hospitalization, severe illness, and mortality due to H1N1 was high for ethnic minorities in HIC and individuals from LIC/LMIC. However, our results suggest that there were little differences in the proportion of hospitalization, severe illness, and mortality between ethnic minorities and non-ethnic minorities living in HIC

Autoimmune and autoinflammatory mechanisms in uveitis

The eye, as currently viewed, is neither immunologically ignorant nor sequestered from the systemic environment. The eye utilises distinct immunoregulatory mechanisms to preserve tissue and cellular function in the face of immune-mediated insult; clinically, inflammation following such an insult is termed uveitis. The intra-ocular inflammation in uveitis may be clinically obvious as a result of infection (e.g. toxoplasma, herpes), but in the main infection, if any, remains covert. We now recognise that healthy tissues including the retina have regulatory mechanisms imparted by control of myeloid cells through receptors (e.g. CD200R) and soluble inhibitory factors (e.g. alpha-MSH), regulation of the blood retinal barrier, and active immune surveillance. Once homoeostasis has been disrupted and inflammation ensues, the mechanisms to regulate inflammation, including T cell apoptosis, generation of Treg cells, and myeloid cell suppression in situ, are less successful. Why inflammation becomes persistent remains unknown, but extrapolating from animal models, possibilities include differential trafficking of T cells from the retina, residency of CD8(+) T cells, and alterations of myeloid cell phenotype and function. Translating lessons learned from animal models to humans has been helped by system biology approaches and informatics, which suggest that diseased animals and people share similar changes in T cell phenotypes and monocyte function to date. Together the data infer a possible cryptic infectious drive in uveitis that unlocks and drives persistent autoimmune responses, or promotes further innate immune responses. Thus there may be many mechanisms in common with those observed in autoinflammatory disorders

Interferon-α-Conditioned Human Monocytes Combine a Th1-Orienting Attitude with the Induction of Autologous Th17 Responses: Role of IL-23 and IL-12

IFN-α exerts multiple effects leading to immune protection against pathogens and cancer as well to autoimmune reactions by acting on monocytes and dendritic cells. We analyzed the versatility of human monocytes conditioned by IFN-α towards dendritic cell differentiation (IFN-DC) in shaping the autologous T-helper response. Priming of naïve CD4 T cells with autologous IFN-DC in the presence of either SEA or anti-CD3, resulted, in addition to a prominent expansion of CXCR3+ IFN-γ-producing CD4 Th1 cells, in the emergence of two distinct subsets of IL-17-producing CD4 T cells: i) a predominant Th17 population selectively producing IL-17 and expressing CCR6; ii) a minor Th1/Th17 population, producing both IL-17 and IFN-γ. After phagocytosis of apoptotic cells, IFN-DC induced Th17 cell expansion and IL-17 release. Notably, the use of neutralizing antibodies revealed that IL-23 was an essential cytokine in mediating Th17 cell development by IFN-DC. The demonstration of the IFN-DC-induced expansion of both Th1 and Th17 cell populations reveals the intrinsic plasticity of these DC in orienting the immune response and provides a mechanistic link between IFN-α and the onset of autoimmune phenomena, which have been correlated with both IL-17 production and exposure to IFN-α

Aggregation tests identify new gene associations with breast cancer in populations with diverse ancestry.

BACKGROUND: Low-frequency variants play an important role in breast cancer (BC) susceptibility. Gene-based methods can increase power by combining multiple variants in the same gene and help identify target genes. METHODS: We evaluated the potential of gene-based aggregation in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium cohorts including 83,471 cases and 59,199 controls. Low-frequency variants were aggregated for individual genes' coding and regulatory regions. Association results in European ancestry samples were compared to single-marker association results in the same cohort. Gene-based associations were also combined in meta-analysis across individuals with European, Asian, African, and Latin American and Hispanic ancestry. RESULTS: In European ancestry samples, 14 genes were significantly associated (q < 0.05) with BC. Of those, two genes, FMNL3 (P = 6.11 × 10-6) and AC058822.1 (P = 1.47 × 10-4), represent new associations. High FMNL3 expression has previously been linked to poor prognosis in several other cancers. Meta-analysis of samples with diverse ancestry discovered further associations including established candidate genes ESR1 and CBLB. Furthermore, literature review and database query found further support for a biologically plausible link with cancer for genes CBLB, FMNL3, FGFR2, LSP1, MAP3K1, and SRGAP2C. CONCLUSIONS: Using extended gene-based aggregation tests including coding and regulatory variation, we report identification of plausible target genes for previously identified single-marker associations with BC as well as the discovery of novel genes implicated in BC development. Including multi ancestral cohorts in this study enabled the identification of otherwise missed disease associations as ESR1 (P = 1.31 × 10-5), demonstrating the importance of diversifying study cohorts