Biodistribution and PET Imaging of pharmacokinetics of manganese in mice using Manganese-52

<div><p>Manganese is essential to life, and humans typically absorb sufficient quantities of this element from a normal healthy diet; however, chronic, elevated ingestion or inhalation of manganese can be neurotoxic, potentially leading to <i>manganism</i>. Although imaging of large amounts of accumulated Mn(II) is possible by MRI, quantitative measurement of the biodistribution of manganese, particularly at the trace level, can be challenging. In this study, we produced the positron-emitting radionuclide ⁵²Mn (<i>t</i>_<i>1/2</i> = 5.6 d) by proton bombardment (<i>E</i>_<i>p</i><15 MeV) of chromium metal, followed by solid-phase isolation by cation-exchange chromatography. An aqueous solution of [⁵²Mn]MnCl₂ was nebulized into a closed chamber with openings through which mice inhaled the aerosol, and a separate cohort of mice received intravenous (IV) injections of [⁵²Mn]MnCl₂. <i>Ex vivo</i> biodistribution was performed at 1 h and 1 d post-injection/inhalation (p.i.). In both trials, we observed uptake in lungs and thyroid at 1 d p.i. Manganese is known to cross the blood-brain barrier, as confirmed in our studies following IV injection (0.86%ID/g, 1 d p.i.) and following inhalation of aerosol, (0.31%ID/g, 1 d p.i.). Uptake in salivary gland and pancreas were observed at 1 d p.i. (0.5 and 0.8%ID/g), but to a much greater degree from IV injection (6.8 and 10%ID/g). In a separate study, mice received IV injection of an imaging dose of [⁵²Mn]MnCl₂, followed by <i>in vivo</i> imaging by positron emission tomography (PET) and <i>ex vivo</i> biodistribution. The results from this study supported many of the results from the biodistribution-only studies. In this work, we have confirmed results in the literature and contributed new results for the biodistribution of inhaled radiomanganese for several organs. Our results could serve as supporting information for environmental and occupational regulations, for designing PET studies utilizing ⁵²Mn, and/or for predicting the biodistribution of manganese-based MR contrast agents.</p></div

Association Between Therapeutic Interventions and Quality of Life in People With Autism

Research exploring the association of autism interventions with the quality of life (QoL) of adults with autism spectrum disorders was scarce. Although a multitude of interventions are used to target a specific challenge facing the individual with autism, their correlation with achieving a better QoL is largely unknown. We conducted a cross-sectional, correlational survey study to determine the association between seven interventions—behavioral, social, mental health, daily living skills (DLS), vocational, mindfulness, and medications—and the QoL of adults 18 years and older with autism with no intellectual disability (ID) living in Canada. A national sample of 182 autistic adults or proxy reports completed the survey that used the WHOQOL-BREF to measure subjective QoL. Behavioral, mental health, and medications were the most frequently used interventions (67%, 71.4%, and 82.4%, respectively). QoL was lower across all domains of the WHOQOL-BREF compared with the general population. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that characteristics, such as autism severity, being female, and older age negatively predicted QoL across all domains except for the physical domain, whereas being in a relationship positively predicted social QoL explaining 35.2% of the variance. Of the seven interventions used, behavioral therapies and receiving mental health support consistently predicted a better QoL across all domains, except for the environment domain where only mental health support was a significant predictor. Our findings suggest prioritizing provision of behavioral and mental health interventions to adults with autism and inform future research to evaluate their effectiveness in QoL outcomes as an end goal

Location of Violent Crime Relative to Trauma Resources in Detroit: Implications for Community Interventions

Introduction: Detroit, Michigan, is among the leading United States cities for per-capita homicide and violent crime. Hospital- and community-based intervention programs could decrease the rate of violent-crime related injury but require a detailed understanding of the locations of violence in the community to be most effective.Methods: We performed a retrospective geospatial analysis of all violent crimes reported within the city of Detroit from 2009-2015 comparing locations of crimes to locations of major hospitals. We calculated distances between violent crimes and trauma centers, and applied summary spatial statistics.Results: Approximately 1.1 million crimes occurred in Detroit during the study period, including approximately 200,000 violent crimes. The distance between the majority of violent crimes and hospitals was less than five kilometers (3.1 miles). Among violent crimes, the closest hospital was an outlying Level II trauma center 60% of the time.Conclusion: Violent crimes in Detroit occur throughout the city, often closest to a Level II trauma center. Understanding geospatial components of violence relative to trauma center resources is important for effective implementation of hospital- and community-based interventions and targeted allocation of resources.

Digital Inclusion and the Elderly: The Case of Internet Banking Use and Non-Use among older Adults in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The level of acceptance and use of Internet banking (IB) among older adults is a major issue toward the advancement of banking operations in Nigeria. So far, there has been little or no representation of older adults (60+) in studies conducted on IB adoption and use in Nigeria. Hence, this study investigated the use of IB among older adults in Ekiti State Nigeria. The selection of the sample was made through purposive, convenience, and snowball sampling techniques. Nine local government areas were purposively selected to have a mix of urban and rural areas. Convenience and snowball sampling techniques were used to select 384 older adults, while questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data. Findings reveal that most of the elderly have not adopted the use of IB as they preferred and used the traditional banking system. Those that have adopted IB for their banking transactions averagely used it majorly for funds transfer, bills payment, and airtime top-up. Convenience was the major reason for using IB by the users, while the non-users mentioned unawareness and security concerns as reasons for not using. The users have the intention of continuing using the technology, while the non-users have the intention of using it in the future. It is recommended that banks should intensify efforts at creating awareness of IB as well as its benefits to this group of customers to ensure they are digitally included in the transformations going on in the financial sector

Evaluation of some Heavy Metals in Soils along a Major Road in Ogbomoso, South West Nigeria

Evaluation of the concentration of soils metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, Mn, Cu, Fe, and Ni) from selected sites (Odo Oba, Sabo and General Areas) along a major road in Ogbomoso was made in comparison with control site, LAUTECH Campus (LC) based on contamination factor and pollution indices. The metal levels in the sites revealed that: General &gt; Sabo &gt; Odo Oba &gt; LC for the analyzed metals except Fe of which highest value was obtained in the control site. Contamination indices showed that Sabo and general were considerably polluted while Odo Oba was moderately polluted relative to control. The values of pollution level index obtained for these three sites (PLI &gt;1) indicates deterioration of site quality. Significant correlation between some of the metals (Pb, Cr and Ni) studied and average daily traffic volume showed that the contamination could be from automobile emissions. The accumulation of these metals in soil especially in the residential areas may add to the body burden of the residents. Further investigation is highly necessary to study the concentrations and health implications of these metals in residents of the linear settlements along this major road in Ogbomoso. Key words: Heavy metal, Traffic volume, Pollution, Soil, Ogbomos

Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Development in Low Income African Countries

Low income economies are characterized with high investment returns and therefore should attract foreign investment to primarily fill the existing gaps of productive factors which vividly reveals the basis for their underdeveloped status. The main objective of the study is to ascertain the impact of flow of FDI on the economic development of the host African countries characterized with low income per capita. Panel data were utilized for 39 African countries, 20 of which were low income countries. The results indicates that FDI had significant impact on the economic development of the host African countries, by enhancing the development of the host sector and reducing gradually dependence on foreign capital, which resulted in increased income per capita, better education, living standards and the wellbeing of the host economies. The study concludes by recommending that government of the host economies should guide the sector of FDI inflow, and ensure that policies are in place to enhance domestic investment development in such sectors. This will gradually bring about the closure of existing proactive factors and hence economic development

Short-Term Load Forecasting Using The Time Series And Artificial Neural Network Methods

Forecasting of electrical load is very crucial to the effective and efficient operation of any power system. This is achieved by obtaining the most accurate forecast which help in minimizing the risk in decision making and reducesthe costs of operating the power plant. Therefore, the comparative study of time series and artificial neural network methods for short term load forecasting is carried out in this paper using real time load data of Covenant University,withthe moving average, exponential smoothing (time series method) and the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models. The work was done for the day-to-day operation of the soon-to-becompleted power station of the university. For each of the methods, models were developed for the load forecast. The Artificial Neural Network proved to be the best forecast method when the results are compared in terms of error measurementswith amean absolutedeviation(MAD) having 0.225, mean squared error (MSE) having 0.095 and the mean absolute percent error(MAPE)having 8.25

Occurrence of aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes genes (aac(6′)-I and ant(2′′)-I) in clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Southwest Nigeria.

Background: Enzymatic modification of aminoglycosides is the primary mechanism of resistance by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Obejectives: We investigated the occurrence and mechanism of aminoglycosides resistance in P. aeruginosa isolates from hospitals in SouthWest Nigeria.Methods: A total of 54 consecutive, non-duplicate clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa were studied for the presence of aminoglycosides -modifying enzymes (AMEs) by PCR amplification and sequencing of genes encoding AMEs.Results and conclusion: Two types of AME genes [aac (6′) – I and ant (2′′) – I] were found in 12 isolates out of 54. Seven strains harboured one or more types of enzymes of which aac (6′) – I was the most frequently found gene (10/54 isolates, 18.5%). None of the isolates investigated in this study were positive for aph, aac (3) and aac (6′′) – II genes. Prevalence of P. aeruginosa producing AME genes in this study may suggest aminoglycosides use in Nigeria. This study highlights need for functional antimicrobial surveillance system in Nigeria.Keywords: Aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes, antibiotics resistance, Pseudomonas aeruginos

DIABETES AND LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION AWARENESS AMONG NIGERIANS

Health they say is wealth. This statement is responsible for the importance of well-being to the individual in question and the development of a society at large. Therefore, health communication is becoming an area all over the world that cannot be neglected. The numerous problems related to health issues have been fully identified mostly with developing countries ranging from the continent of Asia, and Sub-Sahara Africa. World Bank group affirms that heart disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory conditions and other noncommunicable diseases increasingly threaten the health and economic security of many low-and middleincome countries. According to Africa Development Bank, this is creating a double disease burden which Africa health systems are ill equipped to handle. In Nigeria, the figure may likely rise by almost 1.0% in the next 10 years considering the nonchalant attitude of Nigerian generally to health (Osain, 2011). The High rate of diabetes that exists in Nigeria will also raise the rate of obesity in those affected. This study examined the awareness trend of diabetes and its associated lifestyle against the backdrop of increase in the rate of the disease. The rate of increase in diabetes in Africa is predicted to witness a rise from 10m to 20m by 2015. Using survey method, 50 respondents were interrogated. The study reveals that media information are not sufficient in few cases and are not available in most cases on diabetes and has no relationship with a healthy lifestyle. Also, respondents believe bad diet lifestyle is not a determinant for diabetes which is hereditary. Aside promoting communication campaign through edutainment programmes on the mass media, this study suggest other ways of communicating with the public to provide the knowledge needed in order to reduce the outbreak of diabetes in Nigeri