Military personnel with chronic symptoms following blast traumatic brain injury have differential expression of neuronal recovery and epidermal growth factor receptor genes

Objective: Approximately one-quarter of military personnel who deployed to combat stations sustained one or more blast-related, closed-head injuries. Blast injuries result from the detonation of an explosive device. The mechanisms associated with blast exposure that give rise to traumatic brain injury (TBI), and place military personnel at high risk for chronic symptoms of post-concussive disorder (PCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression are not elucidated. Methods: To investigate the mechanisms of persistent blast-related symptoms, we examined expression profiles of transcripts across the genome to determine the role of gene activity in chronic symptoms following blast-TBI. Active duty military personnel with (1) a medical record of a blast-TBI that occurred during deployment (n = 19) were compared to control participants without TBI (n = 17). Controls were matched to cases on demographic factors including age, gender, and race, and also in diagnoses of sleep disturbance, and symptoms of PTSD and depression. Due to the high number of PCD symptoms in the TBI+ group, we did not match on this variable. Using expression profiles of transcripts in microarray platform in peripheral samples of whole blood, significantly differentially expressed gene lists were generated. Statistical threshold is based on criteria of 1.5 magnitude fold-change (up or down) and p-values with multiple test correction (false discovery rate \u3c0.05). Results: There were 34 transcripts in 29 genes that were differentially regulated in blast-TBI participants compared to controls. Up-regulated genes included epithelial cell transforming sequence and zinc finger proteins, which are necessary for astrocyte differentiation following injury. Tensin-1, which has been implicated in neuronal recovery in pre-clinical TBI models, was down-regulated in blast-TBI participants. Protein ubiquitination genes, such as epidermal growth factor receptor, were also down-regulated and identified as the central regulators in the gene network determined by interaction pathway analysis. Conclusion: In this study, we identified a gene-expression pathway of delayed neuronal recovery in military personnel a blast-TBI and chronic symptoms. Future work is needed to determine if therapeutic agents that regulate these pathways may provide novel treatments for chronic blast-TBI-related symptoms

Molecular diagnosis of urinary Mycobacterium tuberculosis among patients attending urology clinic in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria

Background: Tuberculosis, a communicable disease with significant morbidity and mortality. It is still among the top killers of infectious diseases; Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a successful pathogen that has evolved several mechanisms to manipulate the host immune response. Objective of the study: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of urinary tuberculosis among patients attending urology clinic in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A prospective cross-sectional laboratory based study that involved the use of questionnaire and consent/assent form prior to sample collection. Xpert MTB/Rif assay was used to analyze the urine samples. Results: The results of this study shows that, out of 71 samples analyzed along with positive control (H37RV) and molecular grade water was used as negative control. The results showed that, 2 (2.8 %) were from urine samples. Data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics and results were presented in tables and charts. Conclusion: The study confirmed the presence of urinary tuberculosis in the study area, with prevalence of 2.8%. The pattern of tuberculosis was susceptible Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Therefore, there is need to introduce a routine screening of urinary tuberculosis among patients presenting sign and symptoms of urinary tract infection using Gene Xpert. This will be achieved through the engagement and enlightenment of the clinicians, strengthening the laboratory capacity for diagnosis and make the services available and accessible to the patients who need them. Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Extra-Pulmonary Tuberculosis; Prevalence and Gene Xpert

Fingerprint White Line Counts: An Upcoming Forensic Tool for Sex Determination

Abstract Fingerprints are one of the common forensic tools used in personal identification. However, the associated secondary epidermal creases of fingerprints, fingerprint white line count (FWLC), has received less attention within the forensic community. This study was conducted with an aim to determine the potential of FWLC in sex inference among adult Nigerians. A cross sectional study was carried out with 150 males and 150 females with age range of 18-30 and 18-33 years, respectively. Live scanner (Digita persona, China) was used to capture the plain fingerprint for FWLC. Mann Whitney, Kruskal Wallis and logistic regression analyses were employed for determination of digit variation (based on side and type), sexual dimorphism and prediction models, respectively. Likelihood ratio and posterior probability were used to determine the favour odd for sex inference from FWLC. A significant higher mean value of FWLC was observed in females (2.24 ± 2.03) compared to males (0.85 ± 1.29). Absence of white line was indicative of male origin in all the digits except for left index digit (favor odd of 0.72 for females and 0.29 for males). However, FWLC from 5 to 11 were more likely to be of female origin. The best discriminator of sex was the left FWLC with a percentage accuracy of discrimination of 72%. The percentage contribution of the left FWLC in the discrimination of the sexes was observed to range from 23.0 to 30.20%. The FWLC was found to be a potential predictor of sex among adult Nigerians of Hausa ethnic origin

Potential and Accuracy of Hand Length and Hand Breadth in Sex Determination: An Insight into Hausa Population of Nigeria

The identification of an individual in mass disasters and traffic accidents is a fundamental goal in forensic investigations. However, it is suggested that every population needs anthropological reference data. The objectives of this study were to determine the potential and accuracy of hand length and hand breadth in sex determination among the Hausa population of Nigeria. Random sampling was employed to select 204 male and 194 female subjects aged 18-30 years. Hand length and hand breadth were measured using standard protocols. Two-sample t-test, binary logistic regression, receiver operating characteristics curve, and Youden’s index were used for determining sex using hand dimensions. Posterior probability and likelihood ratio were used to determine the favor odds of each category of hand dimension in sex discrimination. A significant sexual dimorphism was observed in hand length and hand breadth with higher mean values in males. The variance of sex explained by hand parameters ranges from 38.50/51.35% (lower/upper limits) to 52.98/70.66%, which were exhibited by right hand length and left hand breadth respectively. The overall prediction and percentage accuracy of sex discrimination ranges between 80.40 to 86.70 % that were exhibited by right hand length and handbreadth respectively. We observed that left hand breadth exhibited higher Younden’s index with an area under curve (AUC) ranging from 91.60% to 96.05%. We found that hand length of > 189.99 mm was indicative of male origin and hand breadth of > 79.99 mm was indicative of male origin

Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Rubella Susceptibility Among Obstetric Population in Metropolis Antenatal Centre Kano, Nigeria

It is well known that hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is endemic in Nigeria. However, increased rubella susceptibility has been shown in patients from the Asian pacific region where chronic HBV infection is endemic. This study was carried out to assess the relationship between chronic HBV infection and rubella susceptibility in obstetric population aged 15–47 years attending Antenatal Clinic at Muhammad Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital Kano, Nigeria. From a total of 288 patients screened, 31 (10.76%) were reactive for HBsAg, meanwhile 50 (17.36%) were reactive to rubella IgM. Among the 31 infected patients 15 (48.39%) were from 20 – 24 years age bracket representing the most  susceptible age group while the infection rate was lowest (0.35%) in 45 – 49  age group (P = 0.00). The results of serological markers shows that HBsAg (+) was found in all 31 subjects (100%), anti HBs (+) 0 (0.00%), HBeAg (+) 3 (9.68%); anti HBe (+) and anti HBc (+) 24 (77.42%) respectively (P = 0.09). The study of liver enzymes activity among the HBV positive patients shows abnormal Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) and Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) among HBsAg (+) and HBeAg (+) group. However, abnormal Alkaline phospatase (ALP) was found to be non-significantly different between HBsAg (+) and HBeAg (+) vsHBsAg (+) and HBeAg (-) groups (P=0.00). Moreover, obstetric histories such as abortion still birth and neonatal deaths among various age groups with respect to rubella was also studied, it implies that  out of the 50 reactive patients, 35(12.15%) had a previous abnormal obstetric history (P=0.02). In a comparative study conducted, it was observed that HBV carriers were (25.81%) susceptible to rubella as against (12.91%) observed in HBV free subjects (positive correlation). The study demonstrates strong associations between chronic HBV infection and rubella susceptibility among the studied population

Prediction of the remnant liver hypertrophy ratio after preoperative portal vein embolization.

Background: Portal vein embolization (PVE) is considered to improve the safety of major hepatectomy. Various conditions might affect remnant liver hypertrophy after PVE. The aim of the present study was to clarify the factors that affect remnant liver hypertrophy and to establish a prediction formula for the hypertrophy ratio. Methods: Fifty-nine patients who underwent preoperative PVE for cholangiocarcinoma (39 patients), metastatic carcinoma (10 patients), hepatocellular carcinoma (8 patients), and other diseases (2 patients) were enrolled in this study. For the prediction of the hypertrophy ratio, a formula with stepwise multiple regression analysis was set up. The following parameters were used: age, gender, future liver remnant ratio to total liver (FLR%), plasma disappearance rate of indocyanine green (ICGK), platelet count, prothrombin activity, serum albumin, serum total bilirubin at the time of PVE and the maximum value before PVE (Max Bil), as well as a history of cholangitis, diabetes mellitus, and chemotherapy. Results: The mean hypertrophy ratio was 28.8%. The 5 parameters detected as predictive factors were age (p = 0.015), FLR% (p < 0.001), ICGK (p = 0.112), Max Bil (p < 0.001), and history of chemotherapy (p = 0.007). The following prediction formula was established: 101.6 - 0.78 × age - 0.88 × FLR% + 128 × ICGK - 1.48 × Max Bil (mg/dl) - 21.2 × chemotherapy. The value obtained using this formula significantly correlated with the actual value (r = 0.72, p < 0.001). A 10-fold cross validation also showed significant correlation (r = 0.62, p < 0.001), and a hypertrophy ratio <20% was predictable with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 90.9%. Moreover, technetium-99m-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-galactosyl human serum albumin scintigraphy showed a significantly smaller increase in the uptake ratio of the remnant liver in patients with prediction values <20% than in those with values ≥20% (6.8 vs. 20.8%, p = 0.030). Conclusions: The prediction formula can prognosticate the hypertrophy ratio after PVE, which may provide a new therapeutic strategy for major hepatectomy

High-performance predictor for critical unstable generators based on scalable parallelized neural networks

A high-performance predictor for critical unstable generators (CUGs) of power systems is presented in this paper. The predictor is driven by the MapReduce based parallelized neural networks. Specifically, a group of back propagation neural networks (BPNNs), fed by massive response trajectories data, are efficiently organized and concurrently trained in Hadoop to identify dynamic behaviour of individual generator. Rather than simply classifying global stability of power systems, the presented approach is able to distinguish unstable generators accurately with a few cycles of synchronized trajectories after fault clearing, enabling more in-depth emergency awareness based on wide-area implementation. In addition, the technique is of rich scalability due to Hadoop framework, which can be deployed in the control centers as a high-performance computing infrastructure for real-time instability alert. Numerical examples are studied using NPCC 48 machines test system and a realistic power system of China

HIV Protease Inhibitors Sensitize Human Head and Neck Squamous Carcinoma Cells to Radiation by Activating Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

Background Human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most malignant cancer worldwide. Despite significant advances in the delivery of treatment and surgical reconstruction, there is no significant improvement of mortality rates for this disease in the past decades. Radiotherapy is the core component of the clinical combinational therapies for HNSCC. However, the tumor cells have a tendency to develop radiation resistance, which is a major barrier to effective treatment. HIV protease inhibitors (HIV PIs) have been reported with radiosensitizing activities in HNSCC cells, but the underlying cellular/molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Our previous study has shown that HIV PIs induce cell apoptosis via activation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. The aim of this study was to examine the role of ER stress in HIV PI-induced radiosensitivity in human HNSCC. Methodology and Principal Findings HNSCC cell lines, SQ20B and FaDu, and the most commonly used HIV PIs, lopinavir and ritonavir (L/R), were used in this study. Clonogenic assay was used to assess the radiosensitivity. Cell viability, apoptosis and cell cycle were analyzed using Cellometer Vision CBA. The mRNA and protein levels of ER stress-related genes (eIF2α, CHOP, ATF-4, and XBP-1), as well as cell cycle related protein, cyclin D1, were detected by real time RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. The results demonstrated that L/R dose-dependently sensitized HNSCC cells to irradiation and inhibited cell growth. L/R-induced activation of ER stress was correlated to down-regulation of cyclin D1 expression and cell cycle arrest under G0/G1 phase. Conclusion and Significance HIV PIs sensitize HNSCC cells to radiotherapy by activation of ER stress and induction of cell cycle arrest. Our results provided evidence that HIV PIs can be potentially used in combination with radiation in the treatment of HNSCC

Status and prospects of liver cirrhosis treatment by using bone marrow-derived cells and mesenchymal cells

In 2003, we started autologous bone marrow cell infusion (ABMi) therapy for treating liver cirrhosis. ABMi therapy uses 400 mL of autologous bone marrow obtained under general anesthesia and infused mononuclear cells from the peripheral vein. The clinical study expanded and we treated liver cirrhosis induced by HCV and HBV infection and alcohol consumption. We found that the ABMi therapy was effective for cirrhosis patients and now we are treating patients with combined HIV and HCV infection and with metabolic syndrome-induced liver cirrhosis. Currently, to substantiate our findings that liver cirrhosis can be successfully treated by the ABMi therapy, we are conducting randomized multicenter clinical studies designated "Advanced medical technology B" for HCV-related liver cirrhosis in Japan. On the basis of our clinical study, we developed a proof-of-concept showing that infusion of bone marrow cells (BMCs) improved liver fibrosis and sequentially activated proliferation of hepatic progenitor cells and hepatocytes, further promoting restoration of liver functions. To treat patients with severe forms of liver cirrhosis, we continued translational research to develop less invasive therapies by using mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow. We obtained a small quantity of BMCs under local anesthesia and expanded them into mesenchymal stem cells that will then be used for treating cirrhosis. In this review, we present our strategy to apply the results of our laboratory research to clinical studies. Copyright © 2014, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc