Autoamputation of the Breast in Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: A Case Report

Autoamputation is the spontaneous detachment from the body and elimination of an appendage or abnormal growth. Autoamputation of an organ due to malignancy has been reported in various organs, although its aetiopathogenesis has not been fully explained. Autoamputation of the breast is associated with late presentation and slow desmoplastic reaction in breast cancer. The patient was a 43- year- old Nigerian woman who presented with a one-year history of left breast mass diagnosed as triple negative invasive ductal carcinoma. She defaulted from hospital care but represented after autoamputation of the left breast. The case is reported to showcase the variations in the clinical course of breast cancers

Progress in development of graded bandgap thin film solar cells with electroplated materials

Photovoltaic devices are developed mainly based on p-n or p-i-n type device structures, and these devices can utilise only a fraction of the solar spectrum. In order to further improve device parameters and move towards low-cost and high-efficiency next generation solar cells, device architectures capable of harvesting all photons available should be designed and developed. One such architecture is the fully graded bandgap device structure as proposed recently based on both n-type and p-type window layers. These designs have been experimentally tested using well researched GaAs/AlGaAs system producing impressive device parameters of open circuit voltage (Voc) ~1175 mV and fill factor (FF) ~0.85. The devices have also been experimentally tested for the evidence of impurity photovoltaic (PV) effect and impact ionisation taking place within the same device. Since these structures have been experimentally proved with a well-established semiconductor, the effort has been focussed on developing these devices using low-cost and scalable electroplated semiconductors, in order to minimise manufacturing cost. This paper reviews and summarises the work carried out during the past decade on this subject. Graded bandgap devices produced using only two or three electroplated semiconductor layers have been explored and their conversion efficiencies have gradually increased from 10.0%, through 12.8% to 15.3% for different structures. While the work is progressing along this line, the paper summarises the achievements to date

Perovskite solar cells: a deep analysis using current–voltage and capacitance–voltage techniques

Perovskite solar cells exhibiting~14–15% efficiency were experimentally measured using current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) techniques in order to extract material and device properties, and understand the action of photovoltaic (PV) operation. Deep analyses were carried out on dark- and illuminated I–V curves, and dark C–V curves. Results were compared with those of graded bandgap solar cells fabricated on inorganic n-type window layers. These analyses according to a physicist’s point of view lead to understand the perovskite solar cell as a graded bandgap solar cell built on a p-type window layer. I–V and C–V results show very similar behaviour and the principle of PV action is identical. Once the stability issues with perovskites are solved, these devices have very high potential of producing next generation solar cells reaching at least mid-20% efficiency values

A Two-stage Flow-based Intrusion Detection Model ForNext-generation Networks

The next-generation network provides state-of-the-art access-independent services over converged mobile and fixed networks. Security in the converged network environment is a major challenge. Traditional packet and protocol-based intrusion detection techniques cannot be used in next-generation networks due to slow throughput, low accuracy and their inability to inspect encrypted payload. An alternative solution for protection of next-generation networks is to use network flow records for detection of malicious activity in the network traffic. The network flow records are independent of access networks and user applications. In this paper, we propose a two-stage flow-based intrusion detection system for next-generation networks. The first stage uses an enhanced unsupervised one-class support vector machine which separates malicious flows from normal network traffic. The second stage uses a self-organizing map which automatically groups malicious flows into different alert clusters. We validated the proposed approach on two flow-based datasets and obtained promising results

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance.

Investment in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing in Africa over the past year has led to a major increase in the number of sequences that have been generated and used to track the pandemic on the continent, a number that now exceeds 100,000 genomes. Our results show an increase in the number of African countries that are able to sequence domestically and highlight that local sequencing enables faster turnaround times and more-regular routine surveillance. Despite limitations of low testing proportions, findings from this genomic surveillance study underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic and illuminate the distinct dispersal dynamics of variants of concern-particularly Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron-on the continent. Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve while the continent faces many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Pattern of Computerized Tomographic Findings in Suspected Gallbladder Cancer in Nigeria

Background: Gallbladder (GB) cancer is a rare malignancy with a variable incidence worldwide. Imaging detection at an early stage is elusive. Preoperative imaging for tumour recognition and non-invasive staging is essential to triage patients to appropriate care. Objectives: To describe the CT imaging findings of GB cancer among Nigerians. Methods: A retrospective review of the CT images of 15 patients who had gall bladder carcinoma between January 2015 and June 2017 at a private diagnostic facility in Lagos was done. Results: The age of the patients ranged from 39 to 73 years with a mean age of 60.9 years. The male to female ratio was 1:4.3. Clinical presentations included abdominal pain (61.5%) and jaundice (38.5%). Irregular GB wall thickening (61.5%) and focal mass lesions in the GB (38.5%) were the main features on imaging while 38.5% had associated gall stones. Infiltration of the adjacent liver was found in 76.9% and 60 % of those who had local infiltration of the liver also had intrahepatic metastasis. Conclusion: A majority of gall bladder cancer cases are still diagnosed in their late stages. CT scan readily delineates regional spread into adjacent organs which may be obscured in other imaging modalities due to adjacent bowel gas

Housing construction materials and house rent trends in Ede, Nigeria

The study examines the relationship between housing construction material prices and house rents in Ede town, Nigeria, from 2002 to 2020 to provide information for investment decisions. The research was conducted using a questionnaire survey. The study’ population consists of landlords, estate surveyors and valuers, real estate agents, and building material suppliers/sellers in the study area. Data obtained was analysed employing descriptive and inferential statistical tools. The results showed that house rents and building material prices maintained an upward trend within the study period. Changes in house rents correlated with some percentage changes in the prices of selected building materials (cement, roofing sheet, reinforcement bar, sand and tiles). However, all the correlations are not statistically significant at 0.05 level. The regression model’s coefficient of determination R-squared revealed that building material costs explained about 43.6% of the variation in house rents. This result implies that factors other than building material costs may influence changes in house rents. The study’s finding will be valuable to stakeholders making real estate investment decisions in the study area and similar developing economies in general

Genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum field Isolates from South western Nigeria

Abstract Background: Plasmodium falciparum the main causative agent of malaria is an important public health vector. With the use of PCR, its genetic diversity has been extensively studied with dearth information from Nigeria

Genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum field isolates from south western Nigeria

Background: Plasmodium falciparum the main causative agent of malaria is an important public health vector. With the use of PCR, its genetic diversity has been extensively studied with dearth information from Nigeria. Methods: In this study, 100 P. falciparum strains merozoite surface protein 1( msp-1), merozoite surface protein 2 (msp-2) and Glutamate rich protein (Glurp) from Ogun State General Hospitals were characterized. The genetic diversity of P. falciparum isolates was analyzed by restriction fragment length polymorphism following gel electrophoresis of DNA products from nested polymerase chain reactions (PCR) of their respective allelic families KI, MAD 20, RO33 (MSP-1);FC27, 3D7 (MSP-2) and Glutamate rich protein respectively. Results: Majority of the patients showed monoclonal infections while multiplicity of the infection for msp-1 and msp-2 were 1.1 and 1.2 respectively. The estimated number of genotypes was 8 msp-1 (4 KI; 3 MAD; 1 RO33) and 6 msp-2 (3 FC27; 3 3D7). 80% of the isolates coded for Glurp with allelic size ranged between 700 and 900 bp. Conclusion: The allelic distributions however were similar to those previously reported in other endemic malaria countries. Future studies will be designed to include other malaria endemic regions of Nigeria such as the oil exploration regions