A multiplex microarray lateral flow immunoassay device for simultaneous determination of five mycotoxins in rice.

Co-occurrence of multiple mycotoxins is a growing global food safety concern due to their harmful effects on humans and animals. This study developed an eco-friendly sample preparation method and an innovative multiplex microarray-based lateral flow immunoassay, using a novel portable reader for on-site simultaneous determination of five regulated mycotoxins-aflatoxin B, T-2 toxin, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, and fumonisin B in rice. The eco-friendly and ultrafast extraction procedure utilizes a bio-based solvent.

Cooperative Molecular Interaction-Based Highly Efficient Capturing of Ultrashort- and Short-Chain Emerging Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Using Multifunctional Nanoadsorbents.

The short-chain (C to C) and ultrashort-chain (C to C) per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are bioaccumulative, carcinogenic to humans, and harder to remove using current technologies, which are often detected in drinking and environmental water samples. Herein, we report the development of nonafluorobutanesulfonyl (NFBS) and polyethylene-imine (PEI)-conjugated FeO magnetic nanoparticle-based magnetic nanoadsorbents and demonstrated that the novel adsorbent has the capability for highly efficient removal of six different short- and ultrashort-chain PFAS from drinking and environmental water samples. Reported experimental data indicates that by capitalizing the cooperative hydrophobic, fluorophilic, and electrostatic interaction processes, NFBS-PEI-conjugated magnetic nanoadsorbents can remove ∼100% short-chain perfluorobutanesulfonic acid within 30 min from the water sample with a maximum absorption capacity of ∼234 mg g.

Liver histology pattern of young patients with inactive chronic hepatitis b virus infection from a hospital in South West Nigeria.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection is the leading cause of chronic liver disease in sub-Saharan Africa. A significant proportion of patients with CHB are inactive carriers, for whom guidelines neither recommend biopsy nor treatment. In sub-Saharan Africa, patients under 30 years old with CHB sometimes develop liver cancer, raising the possibility that significant liver disease may occur early in life in these patients.

Produced water integration in CO storage using different injection strategies: The effect of salinity on rock petrophysical, mineralogy, wettability and geomechanical properties.

Optimizing CO storage efficiency in Deep saline aquifers (DSA) involves improving each storage trapping mechanism, such as structural/stratigraphy, capillary/residual, mineral, and dissolution trapping mechanisms, while maintaining the reservoir integrity for long-term carbon capture and storage (CCS). These enhancements are driven by a series of geochemical reactions that favorably modify petrophysical, mineralogy, wettability, rock geomechanics of the rock, and dissolution of CO in aquifer fluid. Three different CO injection strategies have been identified and tested for optimizing CO storage and efficiency- Continuous CO injection (CCI), Water Alternating Gas (WAG), and Simultaneous scCO-brine Aquifer Injection (SAI).

Innovative Use of sp. Biomass for the Sustainable Adsorption of Aflatoxin B and Ochratoxin A in Aqueous Solutions.

This research investigates the efficacy of sp. biomass as an effective adsorbent for the removal of AFB and OTA from aqueous solutions. Several factors, including contact time, adsorbent dosage, pH level, and initial mycotoxin concentration, were analyzed to evaluate their impact on adsorption efficacy.

A Review of Peripheral Artery Disease in Diabetic Patients in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an atherosclerotic occlusive disease of the lower extremities and is associated with an increased risk of amputation and cardiovascular events. The interplay between diabetes and PAD is complex, influenced by shared risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, and smoking. High rates of undiagnosed diabetes, coupled with barriers to accessing care, contribute to the complexity of managing PAD.

Catastrophic Antiphospholipid Syndrome: A Review of Current Evidence and Future Management Practices.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by blood clots and pregnancy complications due to antiphospholipid antibodies. Catastrophic APS (CAPS), a severe variant, leads to multiorgan failure and is often fatal. Pathogenesis involves antiphospholipid antibodies, particularly anti-beta-2-glycoprotein I (aβ2GPI), which trigger endothelial cell (EC) activation, cytokine release, and a prothrombotic state.

Needs and experiences of postgraduate nursing students in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim: To explore the experiences and needs of postgraduate nursing students within the Nigerian context.

Design: This qualitative study was conducted using a descriptive phenomenological approach.

Method: Data were collected between February and April 2022 using a purposive sampling method and telephone semi-structured interviews.

Potential bladder cancer therapeutic delivery systems: a recent update.

Introduction: Bladder Cancer is one of the most expensive cancers to treat due to its high cost of therapy as well as the surveillance expenses incurred to prevent disease recurrence and progression. Thus, there is a strong need to develop safe, efficacious drug formulations with controlled drug release profiles and tumor-targeting potential, for improved therapeutic outcomes of bladder cancer patients.

Areas Covered: This review aims to provide an overview of drug formulations that have been studied for potential bladder cancer treatment in the last decade; highlight recent trends in bladder cancer treatment; mention ongoing clinical trials on bladder cancer chemotherapy; detail recently FDA-approved drug products for bladder cancer treatment and identify constraints that have prevented the translation of promising drug formulations from the research laboratory to the clinics.

Exploring computational approaches to design mRNA Vaccine against vaccinia and Mpox viruses.

Background: Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines emerged as a powerful tool in the fight against infections. Unlike traditional vaccines, this unique type of vaccine elicits robust and persistent innate and humoral immune response with a unique host cell-mediated pathogen gene expression and antigen presentation.

Methods: This offers a novel approach to combat poxviridae infections.

Recent advances in modified chitosan-based drug delivery systems for transmucosal applications: A comprehensive review.

Recently, transmucosal drug delivery systems (TDDSs) have been extensively studied because they protect therapeutic agents from degradation; improve drug residence time at the mucosal membranes; and facilitate sustained drug release for a prolonged period. Chitosan is a well-researched polymeric excipient due to its biocompatibility, non-toxicity, biodegradability, mucoadhesive, antimicrobial, and low immunogenicity. Its limited mucoadhesiveness in the physiological environment necessitated its chemical modification.

Sexual dysfunction in dichlorvos-exposed male Wistar rat is ameliorated by curcumin and associated with the upregulation of testosterone.

Dichlorvos is an organophosphate pesticide that is commonly used for agricultural and domestic control of pests and insects. Despite its usefulness, it exerts reproductive toxicity and induces male sexual dysfunction. On the other hand, curcumin has been reported to improve sexual dysfunction.

mRNA vaccine design for Epstein-Barr virus: an immunoinformatic approach.

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), structurally similar to other herpes viruses, possess significant global health challenges as it causes infectious mononucleosis and is also associated with various cancers. Due to this widespread impact, an effective messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine is paramount to help curb its spread, further underscoring the need for its development. This study, following an immunoinformatic approach, aimed to design a comprehensive mRNA vaccine against the EBV by selecting antigenic proteins, predicting Linear B-cell epitopes, cytotoxic T-cell lymphocyte (CTL) and helper T-cell lymphocyte (HTL) epitopes, and assessing vaccine characteristics.

Perspectives of nature-based tourism-dependent communities on climate change in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.

The intensity and frequency of climate extremes such as heat waves, droughts and extreme rainfall events are projected to rise. This will increase the severity of their impacts across socio-ecological systems. Economic sectors such as nature-based tourism become more vulnerable because of their reliance on climate and natural capital as key resources.

Characterization and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the emission of different power generator.

Epileptic power supply in Sub-Saharan countries of Africa has warranted the use of power generators as an alternative source of power supply. Exhaust emission from these generators is associated with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAHs). Hence, this study focused on the determination of levels of PAHs in the emission of different brands of power generators used in Nigeria.

Correlation of alanine aminotransferase levels and a histological diagnosis of steatohepatitis with ultrasound-diagnosed metabolic-associated fatty liver disease in patients from a centre in Nigeria.

Background: Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is defined as the occurrence of hepatic fat accumulation in patients with negligible alcohol consumption or any other cause of hepatic steatosis. This study aimed to correlate the ultrasound-based diagnosis of MAFLD with the histological diagnosis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in patients with MAFLD.

Methods: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study of 71 patients with MAFLD diagnosed by ultrasound.

African Americans Possessed High Prevalence of Comorbidities and Frequent Abdominal Symptoms, and Comprised A Disproportionate Share of Covid-19 Mortality among 9,873 Us- Hospitalized Patients Early in the Pandemic.

Background And Aim: Identifying clinical characteristics and outcomes of different ethnicities in the US may inform treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Aim of this study is to identify predictors of mortality among US races/ethnicities.

Design Setting And Participants: We retrospectively analyzed de-identified data from 9,873 COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized at 15 US hospital centers in 11 states (March 2020-November 2020).

Biobank donation in search of public benefits and the potential impact of intellectual property rights over access to health-technologies developed: A focus on the bioethical implications.

The availability of biomaterials is a key component of health research and the development of new health-technologies (including, diagnostics, medicines, and vaccines). People are often encouraged by biobanks to donate samples altruistically to such biobanks. While empirical evidence suggests many donors are motivated by the desire to contribute towards developing new health-technologies for society.

Extention and interlaboratory comparison of an LC-MS/MS multi-class method for the determination of 15 different classes of veterinary drug residues in milk and poultry feed.

An HPLC-MS/MS multi-class method for quantitation of 15 different classes of veterinary drug residues (>140 analytes) in milk and poultry feed was developed and validated. Accuracy criteria for routine laboratories were met for the majority of analytes, > 83 % in milk and between 50 and 60 % in chicken feed, with an apparent recovery of 60-140 %. Extraction efficiency criteria were met for >95 % of the analytes for milk and > 80 % for chicken feed.

Formulation and evaluation of fluconazole emulgels for potential treatment of vaginal candidiasis.

Localised treatment of vaginal candidiasis could improve the therapeutic outcomes of patients with vaginal candidiasis as well as reduce drug dosage and dosing interval. The aim of the research project was to develop fluconazole emulgel formulations, and evaluate their physicochemical, drug release, antifungal, safety, and stability profile, for potential treatment of vaginal candidiasis. Xanthan gum and HPMC E5LV-based fluconazole emulgels were prepared using the spontaneous emulsification method and their physicochemical properties, drug content, drug release profile, anti-fungal activity against , vaginal biocompatibility and stability profile were evaluated using standard protocols.

Exploring the Efficacy of Ketamine as an Anesthetic and Antidepressant in Postpartum Depression: A Case Study Analysis.

Postpartum depression is a common mental health disorder that affects women within six months after giving birth. It is characterized by sadness, anxiety, and extreme fatigue, which can significantly impact a woman's daily functioning and ability to care for her newborn. While traditional treatments for postpartum depression include therapy and medication, recent studies have shown promising results using ketamine.

Novel pathogenic variants in Tubulin Tyrosine Like 5 ( associated with cone-dominant retinal dystrophies and an abnormal optical coherence tomography phenotype.

Purpose: Autosomal recessive cone and cone-rod dystrophies (CD/CRD) are inherited forms of vison loss. Here, we report on and correlate the clinical phenotypes with the underlying genetic mutations.

Methods: Clinical information was collected from subjects, including a family history with a chart review.