Audit of Radiology Request Cards in a Tertiary Hospital in NorthWest Nigeria

  Background: Radiology request cards are essential communication tools between physicians and  radiation personnel. Clinical audit is part of quality assurance that guarantees patient care. Objective:  To assess the adequacy of patient data and clinical information filled in request cards sent to Radiology Department of our facility by referring clinicians. Material and methods: Four hundred (400) radiology request cards were randomly selected from the records of the department and scrutinized for bio-data/clinical information. Result: Completely filled request cards were 2/267 (ultrasound), 1/40 (computed tomography) and  2/93 (conventional x-ray).  Conclusion: Consistency in complete filliing of radiology request cards in our facility was lacking. The audit revealed actual practice, and the need for improvement.    &nbsp

Chest radiograph patterns and their correlation with CD4 count in adults with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

The only available treatment for Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) at the moment is antiretroviral therapy (ART). The chest radiograph patterns in adults with HIV could be used as an alternative or surrogate to CD4 count in monitoring the progress of treatment in resource poor settings where these tests and expertise are not available. This study was aimed at evaluating chest the radiograph patterns in HIV sero-positive adults and correlating with the CD4 cells count. This was a cross-sectional study conducted among patients diagnosed of HIV using the National algorithm at the HIV Clinic of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. A purposive sampling method was employed and three hundred and twenty (320) HIV sero-positive adult participants were recruited. Postero-anterior chest x-ray projection was performed on all the participants and the radiographs were reported by two consultant Radiologists and the CD4 counts was determined. Pulmonary TB was the most frequent finding (22.1%) while bronchitis was the least frequent finding (0.9%). and normal radiograph (52.6%). The CD4 count was less than, 200 cells/mm3 in 38.3% of the participants. There was a strong correlation between chest radiograph patterns and CD4 cells count (r=-0.53; p=0.001). This study revealed that the most predominant radiographic patterns are Pulmonary Tuberculosis. A strong negative correlation was observed between chest radiograph patterns and CD4 count. The Chest radiograph patterns may be recommended as a measure of immunosuppression in adults with HIV in Nigeria

Performances laitiere et economique des vaches metisses (gir x borgou) complementees avec la dreche de sorgho au paturage a panicum maximum C1 dans le nord-Benin

Dans les pays en développement, la demande en lait et produits laitiers ne cesse de croître. Pour cela, une expérimentation a été menée à la Ferme d’Elevage d’Okpara (FEO) au Bénin pour évaluer l’effet de la complémentation à base de la drêche de sorgho sur les performances laitières et économiques des vaches allaitantes (Gir x Borgou). Cette étude a porté sur 21 femelles âgées de 6,33 ± 0,57 ans dont le numéro de lactation est égal à 2,33 ± 0,57. Ces animaux ont été répartis en trois lots homogènes (lot 1 ; lot 2 et lot 3) de 7 animaux chacun, recevant respectivement 0, 1 et 2 kg de complément. L’aliment de base de ces animaux était le Panicum maximum var. C1 du pâturage. Les performances laitières étaient suivies pendant 98 jours. Après l’analyse de variance (ANOVA) à un effet sur le logiciel Minitab 17, les valeurs moyennes ont été comparées par le test de Tukey. En moyenne, le lot 1 a produit 1,14 ± 0,44 kg de lait par jour (kg lait/jour) ; le lot 2, 2,03 ± 0,54 kg lait/jour et le lot 3, 3,00 ± 0,41 kg lait/jour. Ces données sont significativement différentes (P<0,05) d’un lot à un autre. Les efficacités alimentaires ont été respectivement de 2,11 ± 0,03 et 1,61 ± 0,02 chez les lots complémentés. En investissant 100 F CFA dans la complémentation avec la drêche de sorgho, l’éleveur gagne 190 F CFA et 406 F CFA respectivement au niveau des lots 2 et 3. L’utilisation de la drêche de sorgho dans l’alimentation des vaches métisses pour la production de lait est donc très bénéfique. Mots clés : Vaches métisses, pâturage, drêche de sorgho, performances, Nord-Bénin.  English Title:  Dairy and economic performance of mixed cows (gir x borgou) complemented with sorgho brewer’s on <i>Panicum maximum</i> C1 grazing in Northen Benin In developing countries, the demand for milk and dairy products continues to grow. For this, an experiment was carried out at the Okpara Farm (FEO) in Benin to assess the effect of complementation with dry sorghum brewer’s on the milk and economic  performance of suckler cows (Gir x Borgou ). This study involved 21 females aged 6.33 ± 0.57 years whose lactation number was 2.33 ± 0.57. These animals were divided into three homogeneous lots (lot 1; lot 2 and lot 3) of 7 animals each, receiving 0, 1 and 2 kg of supplement respectively. The staple food of these animals was Panicum maximum var. C1 of the pasture. Milk performance was monitored for 98 days. After an effect analysis of variance (ANOVA) on Minitab 17 software, the mean values were compared by the Tukey test. On average, lot 1 produced 1.14 ± 0.44 kg of milk per day (kg milk / day); lot 2, 2.03 ± 0.54 kg milk / day and lot 3, 3.00 ± 0.41 kg milk / day. These data are significantly different (P<0.05) from one batch to another. Food efficiencies were 2.11 ± 0.03 and 1.61 ± 0.02, respectively, in the complemented lots. By investing 100 FCFA in the complementation with sorghum brewer’s, the farmer earns 190 FCFA and 406 FCFA respectively in lots 2 and 3. The use of sorghum brewer’s in the feeding of mixed-breed cows for the production of milk is therefore very beneficial. Key words: Mixed cows, pasture, sorghum brewer’s, performances, North-Benin

Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Drives Heat Adaptation by Sequestering Fatty Acids

Cells adapt to temperature shifts by adjusting levels of lipid desaturation and membrane fluidity. This fundamental process occurs in nearly all forms of life, but its mechanism in eukaryotes is unknown. We discovered that the evolutionarily conserved C. elegans gene acdh-11 (acyl CoAdehydrogenase, ACDH) facilitates heat adaptation by regulating the lipid desaturase FAT-7. Human ACDH deficiency causes the most common inherited disorders of fatty acid oxidation, with syndromes that are exacerbated by hyperthermia. Heat up-regulates acdh-11 expression to decrease fat-7 expression. We solved the high-resolution crystal structure of ACDH-11 and established the molecular basis of its selective and high-affinity binding to C11/C12-chain fatty acids. ACDH-11 sequesters C11/C12-chain fatty acids and prevents these fatty acids from activating nuclear hormone receptors and driving fat-7 expression. Thus, the ACDH-11 pathway drives heat adaptation by linking temperature shifts to regulation of lipid desaturase levels and membrane fluidity via an unprecedented mode of fatty acid signaling.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grants GM24663 and K99HL11665)Charles A. King Trust (Postdoctoral Fellowship

The rate of the founder Jewish mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 in prostate cancer patients in Israel

Inherited predisposition occurs in 5–10% of all prostate cancer (CaP) patients, but the genes involved in conferring genetic susceptibility remain largely unknown. Several lines of evidence indicate that germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 might be associated with an increased risk for CaP. Three mutations in these two genes (185delAG and 5382InsC (BRCA1) and 6174delT (BRCA2) occur in about 2.5% of the general Ashkenazi population, and the 185delAG BRCA1 mutation, in up to 1% of non-Ashkenazi Jews. In order to assess the contribution of these germline mutations to prostate cancer in Jewish Israeli patients, we tested 174 unselected prostate cancer patients (95 of Ashkenazi origin) for these mutations by PCR amplification and modified restriction enzyme digests. Patient’s age range was 45–81 years (median 66), and in 24 (14.4%) the disease was diagnosed prior to 55 years of age. Nineteen (11%) and 12 (6.9%) patients had a first or second degree relative with CaP or breast cancer, respectively. Overall, five mutation carriers were detected: 2/152 (1.3%) 185delAG, 2/104 (2%) 5382InsC, and 1/158 (0.6%) 6174delT. In all carriers, the disease was diagnosed after the age of 55, and only one of them had a family history of breast and CaP. In addition, no allelic losses at the BRCA1 locus were demonstrated in 17 patients with a family history of CaP, using seven microsatellite markers. We conclude that the rate of the predominant Jewish BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in CaP patients does not significantly differ from that of the general population, and that mutational inactivation of the BRCA1 is rare in familial CaP. Thus, germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations probably contribute little to CaP occurrence, to inherited predisposition, and to early onset disease in Jewish individuals. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

A time discretization scheme for a nonlocal degenerate problem modelling resistance spot welding

This is the author's PDF version of an article published in Mathematical Modelling of Natural Phenomena© 2015. The definitive version is available at http://www.mmnp-journal.org/articles/mmnp/abs/2015/06/mmnp2015106p90/mmnp2015106p90.htmlIn the current work we construct a nonlocal mathematical model describing the phase transition occurs during the resistance spot welding process in the industry of metallurgy. We then consider a time discretization scheme for solving the resulting nonlocal moving boundary problem. The scheme consists of solving at each time step a linear elliptic partial differential equation and then making a correction to account for the nonlinearity. The stability and error estimates of the developed scheme are investigated. Finally some numerical results are presented confirming the efficiency of the developed numerical algorithm

Global existence of solutions for a fractional Caputo nonlocal thermistor problem

We begin by proving a local existence result for a fractional Caputo nonlocal thermistor problem. Then additional existence and continuation theorems are obtained, ensuring global existence of solutions