Comparative sensory evaluation of Agidi made from hungry rice (Acha) (Digitaria exilis) and corn (Zea mays).

This work evaluated the Comparative sensory properties of agidi made from hungry rice (acha/ Digitaria exilis) and maize (zea mays)”. The production of hungry rice and maize were made up of the following recipe: 1200g hungry rice, 300g of chewable cow bone, 14 medium fresh tomatoe balls, 6 medium balls of onions, pepper to taste, curry powder, 4 cubes of   maggi (seasoning), 200g of crayfish, and 240ml of vegetable of oil and plantain leaves. Data was collected through sensory evaluation, as well as descriptive statistics for data analysis. Based on the research carried out on hungry rice agidi, the responses on the appearance, taste, texture, and generally acceptability of AG 1 are as follows 33.33%, 38.89%, 30.56% and 16.67% where AG 2 are; 16.67%, 16.67%, 19.44% and 13.89% respectively. Despite higher percentages to AG 1 produced from corn, AG 2 which is produced from hungry rice should be taken as main and staple food because of its nutritional benefits. From the results, the AG2 agidi was not poorly scored. Hence, more emphasis should be made on both meals as it is well known that in this part of the country and world, we have limited food options

Computational and drug target analysis of functional single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with Haemoglobin Subunit Beta (HBB) gene

There is overwhelming evidence implicating Haemoglobin Subunit Beta (HBB) protein in the onset of beta thalassaemia. In this study for the first time, we used a combined SNP informatics and computer algorithms such as Neural network, Bayesian network, and Support Vector Machine to identify deleterious non-synonymous Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (nsSNPs) present in the HBB gene. Our findings highlight three major mutation points (R31G, W38S, and Q128P) within the HBB gene sequence that have significant statistical and computational associations with the onset of beta thalassaemia. The dynamic simulation study revealed that R31G, W38S, and Q128P elicited high structural perturbation and instability, however, the wild type protein was considerably stable. Ten compounds with therapeutic potential against HBB were also predicted by structure-based virtual screening. Interestingly, the instability caused by the mutations was reversed upon binding to a ligand. This study has been able to predict potential deleterious mutants that can be further explored in the understanding of the pathological basis of beta thalassaemia and the design of tailored inhibitors

Transcription-translation error: In-silico investigation of the structural and functional impact of deleterious single nucleotide polymorphisms in GULP1 gene

Nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) are one of the most common forms of mutations known to disrupt the product of translation thereby altering the protein structure-function relationship. GULP1 (PTB domain-containing engulfment adaptor protein 1) is an evolutionarily conserved adaptor protein that has been associated with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS). In order to understand the role of GULP1 in the etiology of diabetes, it is important to study some functional nsSNPs present within the GULP1 protein. We, therefore, used a SNPinformatics approach to retrieve, classify, and determine the stability effect of some nsSNPs. Y27C, G142D, A144T, and Y149C were jointly predicted by the pathogenic-classifying tools to be disease-causing, however, only G142D, A144T, and Y149C had their structural architecture perturbed as predicted by I-MUTANT and MuPro. Interestingly, G142D and Y149C occur at positions 142 and 149 of GULP1 which coincidentally are found within the binding site of GULP1. Protein-Protein interaction analysis also revealed that GULP1 interacted with 10 proteins such as Cell division cycle 5-like protein (CDC5L), ADP-ribosylation factor 6 (ARF6), Arf-GAP with coiled-coil (ACAP1), and Multiple epidermal growth factor-like domains protein 10 (MEGF10), etc. Taken together, rs1357922096, rs1264999716, and rs128246649 could be used as genetic biomarkers for the diagnosis of diabetes. However, being a computational study, these nsSNPs require experimental validation to explore their metabolic involvement in the pathogenesis of diseases

Metabolic Traits and Stroke Risk in Individuals of African Ancestry: Mendelian Randomization Analysis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Metabolic traits affect ischemic stroke (IS) risk, but the degree to which this varies across different ethnic ancestries is not known. Our aim was to apply Mendelian randomization to investigate the causal effects of type 2 diabetes (T2D) liability and lipid traits on IS risk in African ancestry individuals, and to compare them to estimates obtained in European ancestry individuals. METHODS: For African ancestry individuals, genetic proxies for T2D liability and circulating lipids were obtained from a meta-analysis of the African Partnership for Chronic Disease Research study, the UK Biobank, and the Million Veteran Program (total N=77 061). Genetic association estimates for IS risk were obtained from the Consortium of Minority Population Genome-Wide Association Studies of Stroke (3734 cases and 18 317 controls). For European ancestry individuals, genetic proxies for the same metabolic traits were obtained from Million Veteran Program (lipids N=297 626, T2D N=148 726 cases, and 965 732 controls), and genetic association estimates for IS risk were obtained from the MEGASTROKE study (34 217 cases and 406 111 controls). Random-effects inverse-variance weighted Mendelian randomization was used as the main method, complemented with sensitivity analyses more robust to pleiotropy. RESULTS: Higher genetically proxied T2D liability, LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), total cholesterol and lower genetically proxied HDL-C (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) were associated with increased risk of IS in African ancestry individuals (odds ratio per doubling the odds of T2D liability [95% CI], 1.09 [1.07-1.11]; per standard-deviation increase in LDL-C, 1.12 [1.04-1.21]; total cholesterol: 1.23 [1.06-1.43]; HDL-C, 0.93 [0.89-0.99]). There was no evidence for differences in these estimates when performing analyses in European ancestry individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses support a causal effect of T2D liability and lipid traits on IS risk in African ancestry individuals, with Mendelian randomization estimates similar to those obtained in European ancestry individuals

Sensory evaluation of complementary food based on cooking banana (musa spp.)and African yam bean (sphenostylis stenrcarpa)

This study evaluated the sensory qualities of infant complementary food based on cooking banana (CB) (Musa sapientum) and African yam bean (AYB) (Sphenostylis stenocarpa). These raw materials were purchased from Nkwoegwu local market in Umuahia North Local Government Area, Abia State. The legumes were picked and washed, boiled for 25 minutes and dehulled while cooking banana was washed, peeled, washed with warm water and sliced to 2mm thickness. The samples were separated, dried, milled and sifted into fine flour with muslin cloth. The flour was blended to composites in various proportions (80:20 (CAA), 60:40 (CAB)and 40:60 (CAC). Porridges were produced based on the composites. The organoleptic attributes of this food was assessed using 20 mothers, from a mother and child health clinic of Umuahia North Local Government, Abia State. The sensory assessment showed that the formulated porridges had moderate acceptability. This could be because the judges were not familiar with these porridges.  The result was compared with “Nutrend” (a complementary food in the market produced by Nestlé Foods Nigeria) and pap (maize traditional complementary food).

Sensory Evaluation of Complementary Food Based on Cooking Banana (Musa Spp.)and African Yam Bean (Sphenostylis Stenrcarpa)

This study evaluated the sensory qualities of infant complementary food based on cooking banana (CB) (Musa sapientum) and African yam bean (AYB) (Sphenostylis stenocarpa). These raw materials were purchased from Nkwoegwu local market in Umuahia North Local Government Area, Abia State. The legumes were picked and washed, boiled for 25 minutes and dehulled while cooking banana was washed, peeled, washed with warm water and sliced to 2mm thickness. The samples were separated, dried, milled and sifted into fine flour with muslin cloth. The flour was blended to composites in various proportions (80:20 (CAA), 60:40 (CAB)and 40:60 (CAC). Porridges were produced based on the composites. The organoleptic attributes of this food was assessed using 20 mothers, from a mother and child health clinic of Umuahia North Local Government, Abia State. The sensory assessment showed that the formulated porridges had moderate acceptability. This could be because the judges were not familiar with these porridges. The result was compared with “Nutrend” (a complementary food in the market produced by Nestlé Foods Nigeria) and pap (maize traditional complementary food)

Identification of differentially expressed genes present in the whole blood of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension patients and control patients: An integrated bioinformatics approach

Introduction: While Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) remains a commonly undiagnosed disease, it remains a life-threatening disease; it is characterized by pulmonary vascular remodelling subsequently leading to heart failure. Different researches have been at the forefront of exploring drugs for treatment and molecular biomarkers for early diagnosis of PAH. Method: ology: In this study, we used an integrated bioinformatics approach to investigate Differentially Expressed Genes (DEG) in the whole blood of PAH patients relative to gender/age matching controls. Microarray dataset of the aforementioned experiment was retrieved from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). DEG analysis was carried out with the aid of the limma algorithm in-built in the GEO2R tool. Gene Ontology terms such as molecular function, biological process, cellular component, and pathway were investigated using the online tool Protein ANalysisTHrough Evolutionary Relationships (PANTHER). Protein-Protein interaction network was carried out using STRING. Results: From the analysis, 191 genes were down-regulated while 5 were up-regulated. Some of these genes are implicated in pathways involved in adrenaline and noradrenaline biosynthesis, angiogenesis, EGF receptor signaling pathway, and VEGF signaling pathway. Furthermore, in the ontology of molecular function, these genes are involved in transport activity, catalytic activity, and molecular transducer activity. Interestingly, the angiogenesis, adrenaline, and noradrenaline biosynthetic pathways are heavily involved in the pathogenesis and progression of PAH. Furthermore, the gene products of these predicted genes were also explored. Conclusion: The gene products (proteins) of these DEGs can be further explored as potential drug targets in the treatment of PAH. This study has also been able to establish the interaction responsible for PAH which can be explored in gene therapy

Metabolic traits and stroke risk in individuals of African ancestry:mendelian randomization analysis

Abstract Background and Purpose: Metabolic traits affect ischemic stroke (IS) risk, but the degree to which this varies across different ethnic ancestries is not known. Our aim was to apply Mendelian randomization to investigate the causal effects of type 2 diabetes (T2D) liability and lipid traits on IS risk in African ancestry individuals, and to compare them to estimates obtained in European ancestry individuals. Methods: For African ancestry individuals, genetic proxies for T2D liability and circulating lipids were obtained from a meta-analysis of the African Partnership for Chronic Disease Research study, the UK Biobank, and the Million Veteran Program (total N=77 061). Genetic association estimates for IS risk were obtained from the Consortium of Minority Population Genome-Wide Association Studies of Stroke (3734 cases and 18 317 controls). For European ancestry individuals, genetic proxies for the same metabolic traits were obtained from Million Veteran Program (lipids N=297 626, T2D N=148 726 cases, and 965 732 controls), and genetic association estimates for IS risk were obtained from the MEGASTROKE study (34 217 cases and 406 111 controls). Random-effects inverse-variance weighted Mendelian randomization was used as the main method, complemented with sensitivity analyses more robust to pleiotropy. Results: Higher genetically proxied T2D liability, LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), total cholesterol and lower genetically proxied HDL-C (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) were associated with increased risk of IS in African ancestry individuals (odds ratio per doubling the odds of T2D liability [95% CI], 1.09 [1.07–1.11]; per standard-deviation increase in LDL-C, 1.12 [1.04–1.21]; total cholesterol: 1.23 [1.06–1.43]; HDL-C, 0.93 [0.89–0.99]). There was no evidence for differences in these estimates when performing analyses in European ancestry individuals. Conclusions: Our analyses support a causal effect of T2D liability and lipid traits on IS risk in African ancestry individuals, with Mendelian randomization estimates similar to those obtained in European ancestry individuals