Apicoplast-Resident Processes: Exploiting the Chink in the Armour of Parasites.

The discovery of a relict plastid, also known as an apicoplast (apicomplexan plastid), that houses housekeeping processes and metabolic pathways critical to parasites' survival has prompted increased research on identifying potent inhibitors that can impinge on apicoplast-localised processes. The apicoplast is absent in humans, yet it is proposed to originate from the eukaryote's secondary endosymbiosis of a primary symbiont. This symbiotic relationship provides a favourable microenvironment for metabolic processes such as haem biosynthesis, Fe-S cluster synthesis, isoprenoid biosynthesis, fatty acid synthesis, and housekeeping processes such as DNA replication, transcription, and translation, distinct from analogous mammalian processes.

Effects of chronic exposure to paint fumes among artisans in Lagos State, Nigeria.

The chronic effects of automobile paint fumes and their volatile organic constituents form detrimental air pollution with hazardous consequences especially to paint industrial workers and the population within the vicinity. This study investigated the chronic effects of exposure to paint fumes in Mushin area of Lagos, Nigeria. Fifty artisans employed in automobile painting industries were compared with 50 control group whose work does not expose them to paint fumes.

New Insights into the Link between Melanoma and Thyroid Cancer: Role of Nucleocytoplasmic Trafficking.

Cancer remains a major public health concern, mainly because of the incompletely understood dynamics of molecular mechanisms for progression and resistance to treatments. The link between melanoma and thyroid cancer (TC) has been noted in numerous patients. Nucleocytoplasmic transport of oncogenes and tumor suppressor proteins is a common mechanism in melanoma and TC that promotes tumorigenesis and tumor aggressiveness.

Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Suburban Community in Nigeria.

The burden of hypertension, a silent killer, continues to increase in low- and middle-income countries. This study evaluated blood pressure (BP) in healthy adults to determine their risk of developing hypertension and to reduce associated morbidity of the disease. Overall, 182 subjects aged >16 years participated in the study.