Lead and Cadmium Levels of Five Commonly and Widely Consumed Leafy Vegetables in Kano State, Nigeria

The levels of the hazardous metals (Pb and Cd) in five different leafy vegetable plant samples ( viz: Hibiscus cannabinus, Cassia tora, Vernonia amygdalina, Corchorus olitorius, and Corchorus tridens) consumed by Kano inhabitants were investigated and found to be at concentration below the environmental lead action level set by US EPA/WHO. Cadmium was not detected in the samples. Low concentration of Pb and absence of Cd in all the plant samples analyzed are clear indication that these may not exhibit toxicity effects due to any of these metals. The consumers are therefore safe from their toxicity effect.Keywords: Lead, Cadmium, Leafy Vegetables, Kano, NigeriaNigerian Journal of Basic and Applied Science (2011), 19(2): 304-30

Detection of metallo betalactamases among gram negative bacterial isolates from Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Kano and Almadina Hospital Kaduna, Nigeria

Over the last few years, the increase in the number of multi-resistant (MR) enterobacteria has become a major clinical problem. This study detects the occurrence and prevalence of Metallo betalactamase production among some clinical bacterial isolates in Murtala Muhammad SpecialistHospital, Kano and Al-Madina Specialist Hospital Kaduna, Nigeria. A total of 200 clinical isolates comprising of E. coli (83), Klebsiella pneumoniae (52), Pseusomonas aeruginosa (28) and Proteus mirabilis (37) were screened phenotypically for carbapenemase and specifically for Metallo betalactamase using Modified Hodges Test and EDTA Disc Synergy Test respectively. The result showed that 67(33.5%) of the isolates were found to produce carbapenemase. High production occurred in 24(35.8%) and low production occurred in 43(64.2%) of the isolates. Highest prevalence of carbapenemase was found in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (38.55%) followed by E. coli (34.8%), Proteus mirabilis. (29.1%) and least prevalence in Klebsiella pneumoniae (25.0%). The prevalence of MBLs in the study was 24.5% with highest prevalence in E. coli (31.32%) followed by Proteus mirabilis. (21.6%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (21.2%) and least among Klebsiella pneumoniae. (14.3%). Most of carbapenemase producers produce MBL type. Urine samples were found to be with the highest prevalence of 38.3% when compared with ear swab (12.0%). Prevalence of 67.9% and 76.9% were recorded for Murtala Muhammad specialist hospital Kano and Al-madina hospital Kaduna respectively. This showed that carbapenemase-mediated resistance occurred in the selected hospitals and uncontrolled spread may lead to treatment failure and frustration.Keywords: Metallobetalactamase, Carbapenemase, Enterobacteriaceae, prevalence, Hospita

A multilevel paradigm for deep convolutional neural network features selection with an application to human gait recognition

Human gait recognition (HGR) shows high importance in the area of video surveillance due to remote access and security threats. HGR is a technique commonly used for the identification of human style in daily life. However, many typical situations like change of clothes condition and variation in view angles degrade the system performance. Lately, different machine learning (ML) techniques have been introduced for video surveillance which gives promising results among which deep learning (DL) shows best performance in complex scenarios. In this article, an integrated framework is proposed for HGR using deep neural network and fuzzy entropy controlled skewness (FEcS) approach. The proposed technique works in two phases: In the first phase, deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) features are extracted by pre-trained CNN models (VGG19 and AlexNet) and their information is mixed by parallel fusion approach. In the second phase, entropy and skewness vectors are calculated from fused feature vector (FV) to select best subsets of features by suggested FEcS approach. The best subsets of picked features are finally fed to multiple classifiers and finest one is chosen on the basis of accuracy value. The experiments were carried out on four well-known datasets, namely, AVAMVG gait, CASIA A, B and C. The achieved accuracy of each dataset was 99.8, 99.7, 93.3 and 92.2%, respectively. Therefore, the obtained overall recognition results lead to conclude that the proposed system is very promising

Location prediction based on a sector snapshot for location-based services

In location-based services (LBSs), the service is provided based on the users' locations through location determination and mobility realization. Most of the current location prediction research is focused on generalized location models, where the geographic extent is divided into regular-shaped cells. These models are not suitable for certain LBSs where the objectives are to compute and present on-road services. Such techniques are the new Markov-based mobility prediction (NMMP) and prediction location model (PLM) that deal with inner cell structure and different levels of prediction, respectively. The NMMP and PLM techniques suffer from complex computation, accuracy rate regression, and insufficient accuracy. In this paper, a novel cell splitting algorithm is proposed. Also, a new prediction technique is introduced. The cell splitting is universal so it can be applied to all types of cells. Meanwhile, this algorithm is implemented to the Micro cell in parallel with the new prediction technique. The prediction technique, compared with two classic prediction techniques and the experimental results, show the effectiveness and robustness of the new splitting algorithm and prediction technique

Protein profiling in hepatocellular carcinoma by label-free quantitative proteomics in two west african populations.

Background Hepatocellular Carcinoma is the third most common cause of cancer related death worldwide, often diagnosed by measuring serum AFP; a poor performance stand-alone biomarker. With the aim of improving on this, our study focuses on plasma proteins identified by Mass Spectrometry in order to investigate and validate differences seen in the respective proteomes of controls and subjects with LC and HCC. Methods Mass Spectrometry analysis using liquid chromatography electro spray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight was conducted on 339 subjects using a pooled expression profiling approach. ELISA assays were performed on four significantly differentially expressed proteins to validate their expression profiles in subjects from the Gambia and a pilot group from Nigeria. Results from this were collated for statistical multiplexing using logistic regression analysis. Results Twenty-six proteins were identified as differentially expressed between the three subject groups. Direct measurements of four; hemopexin, alpha-1-antitrypsin, apolipoprotein A1 and complement component 3 confirmed their change in abundance in LC and HCC versus control patients. These trends were independently replicated in the pilot validation subjects from Nigeria. The statistical multiplexing of these proteins demonstrated performance comparable to or greater than ALT in identifying liver cirrhosis or carcinogenesis. This exercise also proposed preliminary cut offs with achievable sensitivity, specificity and AUC statistics greater than reported AFP averages. Conclusions The validated changes of expression in these proteins have the potential for development into high-performance tests usable in the diagnosis and or monitoring of HCC and LC patients. The identification of sustained expression trends strengthens the suggestion of these four proteins as worthy candidates for further investigation in the context of liver disease. The statistical combinations also provide a novel inroad of analyses able to propose definitive cut-offs and combinations for evaluation of performance

Cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning macrophage activation during remyelination

Remyelination is an example of central nervous system (CNS) regeneration, whereby myelin is restored around demyelinated axons, re-establishing saltatory conduction and trophic/metabolic support. In progressive multiple sclerosis, remyelination is limited or fails altogether which is considered to contribute to axonal damage/loss and consequent disability. Macrophages have critical roles in both CNS damage and regeneration, such as remyelination. This diverse range in functions reflects the ability of macrophages to acquire tissue microenvironment-specific activation states. This activation is dynamically regulated during efficient regeneration, with a switch from pro-inflammatory to inflammation-resolution/pro-regenerative phenotypes. Although, some molecules and pathways have been implicated in the dynamic activation of macrophages, such as NFκB, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning plasticity of macrophage activation are unclear. Identifying mechanisms regulating macrophage activation to pro-regenerative phenotypes may lead to novel therapeutic strategies to promote remyelination in multiple sclerosis

Use of antipsychotics and benzodiazepines in patients with psychiatric emergencies: Results of an observational trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Conventional antipsychotics augmented with benzodiazepines have been the standard acute treatment for psychiatric emergencies for more than 50 years. The inability of patients to give informed consent limits randomised, controlled studies. This observational study on immediate therapy for aggression and impulse control in acutely agitated patients (IMPULSE) evaluated the short-term effectiveness and tolerability of atypical and typical antipsychotic medications (AP) in a non-interventional setting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a comparative, non-randomised, prospective, open-label, observational study. Treatment over the first 5 days was classified according to whether any olanzapine, risperidone, or haloperidol was included or not. Documentations (PANSS-excited component, CGI-aggression, CGI-suicidality, tranquilisation score) were at baseline (day 1) and days 2–6 after start of AP.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During the short treatment-period, PANSS-EC and CGI-aggression scores improved in all cohorts. 68.7% of patients treated with olanzapine, 72.2% of patients treated with risperidone, and 83.3% of patients treated with haloperidol received concomitant benzodiazepines (haloperidol vs. non-haloperidol: p < 0.001). More patients treated with olanzapine (73.8%) were fully alert according to a tranquilisation score and active at day 2 than patients treated with risperidone (57.1%) or haloperidol (58.0%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Current medication practices for immediate aggression control are effective with positive results present within a few days. In this study, concomitant benzodiazepine use was significantly more frequent in patients receiving haloperidol.</p

Defending the genome from the enemy within:mechanisms of retrotransposon suppression in the mouse germline

The viability of any species requires that the genome is kept stable as it is transmitted from generation to generation by the germ cells. One of the challenges to transgenerational genome stability is the potential mutagenic activity of transposable genetic elements, particularly retrotransposons. There are many different types of retrotransposon in mammalian genomes, and these target different points in germline development to amplify and integrate into new genomic locations. Germ cells, and their pluripotent developmental precursors, have evolved a variety of genome defence mechanisms that suppress retrotransposon activity and maintain genome stability across the generations. Here, we review recent advances in understanding how retrotransposon activity is suppressed in the mammalian germline, how genes involved in germline genome defence mechanisms are regulated, and the consequences of mutating these genome defence genes for the developing germline

Evasion of anti-growth signaling: a key step in tumorigenesis and potential target for treatment and prophylaxis by natural compounds

The evasion of anti-growth signaling is an important characteristic of cancer cells. In order to continue to proliferate, cancer cells must somehow uncouple themselves from the many signals that exist to slow down cell growth. Here, we define the anti-growth signaling process, and review several important pathways involved in growth signaling: p53, phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), retinoblastoma protein (Rb), Hippo, growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), AT-rich interactive domain 1A (ARID1A), Notch, insulin-like growth factor (IGF), and Krüppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) pathways. Aberrations in these processes in cancer cells involve mutations and thus the suppression of genes that prevent growth, as well as mutation and activation of genes involved in driving cell growth. Using these pathways as examples, we prioritize molecular targets that might be leveraged to promote anti-growth signaling in cancer cells. Interestingly, naturally-occurring phytochemicals found in human diets (either singly or as mixtures) may promote anti-growth signaling, and do so without the potentially adverse effects associated with synthetic chemicals. We review examples of naturally-occurring phytochemicals that may be applied to prevent cancer by antagonizing growth signaling, and propose one phytochemical for each pathway. These are: epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) for the Rb pathway, luteolin for p53, curcumin for PTEN, porphyrins for Hippo, genistein for GDF15, resveratrol for ARID1A, withaferin A for Notch and diguelin for the IGF1-receptor pathway. The coordination of anti-growth signaling and natural compound studies will provide insight into the future application of these compounds in the clinical setting