Articles

Objective: To evaluate the effects on quality of life and body composition of a Ketogenic Diet (KD) in a woman with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease. Methods: Physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) health conditions were evaluated with the SF-36 questionnaire; dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry was used to determine body composition; parameters were determined at baseline and after 12 weeks of KD.Results: At baseline PCS and MCS were 20.6 and 20.7 respectively with 37.9% fat mass. After 12 weeks SF-36 values significantly improved: PCS 55 and MCS 66.1 with 33.9% fat mass. Conclusion: KD improved the patient’s quality of life and decreased fat mass. Further studies will be needed to better elucidate the beneficial effects of KD among people with CMT.

Background: Public health policies in the area of food and diets tend to separate recommendations on food safety and nutrition. However, food products can simultaneously have risks and benefits. Risk-benefit assessment (RBA) seeks to integrate the assessment of both risks and benefits to aid complex decision-making using a multidisciplinary approach. In this study, a systematic literature review of recent RBA studies was performed, focusing on food consumption and human health following earlier reviews by Boué, et al. (2015) and Thomsen, et al. (2021). Results: A total of 50 new RBA studies were reviewed since 20 May 2014. Our current literature review shows that the majority of RBA studies conducted in recent years remain focused on seafood, with studies on fish alone comprising 34% of all studies; the focus being on the benefits of fish consumption versus contaminant exposure. Most of the studies have been conducted in Europe (n = 31) and Asia (n = 11). Conclusion: RBA has the potential to be applied more widely to other food choices such as alternative proteins, yet application remains limited to specific applications and contaminant/nutrient case studies. In recent years, a few RBA studies have been reported on less mainstream food sources and one specifically on novel foods. Novel foods offer a unique application space for RBA as their development is focused heavily on the benefits to the consumer, society, and environment, yet there remains uncertainty as to their safety. 

Many advances have been made in recent years in the development of hearing and cochlear implants. These use acoustic and electrical stimulation technologies to improve speech intelligibility for the hearing impaired. However, for cochlear prostheses, the results are not very promising and vary from one patient to another. Certain technical and sometimes physiological problems have limited the expected performances of these devices, especially for children and the elderly. These problems include cochlear malformation and ossification of the auditory channels. This led us to reduce the number of electrodes in order to allow quality deep insertion while preserving the low-frequency acoustic bands of the operated patient.

Spine degenerative surgeries are very common but carry multiple complications such as dural tears, CSF leak, pseudomeningocele and very rarely meningitis. Here we report such a case and discuss the possible causes, management and review of the literature.It’s a case of a 68-year-old man who underwent a posterior laminectomy that was complicated by a CSF leak and pseudomeningocele. Twelve days later the patient developed a severe bifrontal headache and then altered sensorium. CSF studies revealed severe meningitis with Pseudomonas stutzeri. It was multi-sensitive and after initiation of gram-negative coverage the patient markedly improved. However, the meningitis was further complicated by cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and he was also started on anticoagulation.Conclusion: Pseudomonas stutzeri has rarely been reported as a cause of meningitis and has never been reported post-laminectomy. Meningitis symptoms and signs could be obscured by the use of steroids in the postoperative period. Hence, it is of paramount importance to look for any subtle signs of infection in the postoperative period and question the use of high-dose steroids that could easily mask them.

A 37-year-old woman suffered from a painful and swelling lesion of the base of the tongue, with no history of smoking or medical history of tumours.

Dynamic Knee Valgus (DKV) is correlated with both, Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury and hip and ankle disorders in female athletes and has a more significant prevalence compared with male athletes because of numerous factors. The aim of this study is to determine if the connexion between DKV, landing errors, and non-contact ACL injury and re-injury in high-performance, adult, female team sport athletes can be eliminated by changing the frontal plane movement pattern and the landing errors during the rehabilitation process (RHB), a process which was focussed on dynamic knee stability with multidimensional single-leg jump landing training, on 3D knee balance improvement and multistimulus perturbation challenges and tasks,+ eccentric & concentric exercise, strength & conditioning, aerobic training that lasted from 26 - 44 weeks.Assessing and eliminating-reducing DKV during the RHB is mandatory in lowering the re-rupture rates in female professional athletes after ACL surgery and in preventing opposite knee trauma.

Light is an important regulator of plant morphogenesis and plant-pathogen interactions via specific photoreceptors and signaling pathways. Besides visible light, other electromagnetic radiations may play roles, notably ultraviolet (UV) light. The UV part of the electromagnetic spectrum includes UV-A (315 nm - 400 nm), UV-B (280 nm - 315 nm) and UV-C radiations (200 nm -280 nm). UV-B and UV-C have been reported to increase plant resistance to plant pathogens after the UV perception and signaling stages. The perception of UV-B radiation is achieved by the dimer protein UVR8 (UV RESISTANCE LOCUS 8). Even though the action spectrum of this photoreceptor overlaps in the UV-C domain, it has never been formally demonstrated that UVR8 could also act as a photoreceptor of UV-C light. We provide here original observations showing that UVR8 can indeed perceive UV-C light provided that the latter is in the form of flashes (1s) and not continuous illuminations (the 60s). Our observations also show that the response of UVR8 to flashes of UV-C light is dose-dependent. They could explain why flashes of UV-C light are more effective for stimulating plant defenses than continuous illuminations for the same amount of energy delivered to plants (J/m2). Eventually, our observations support ongoing trials that aim at using UV-C light as an environmental-friendly plant resistance inducer in field conditions.

Indigenous food processing and preservation methods are on the verge of collapse, yet they proved promising and sustainable. The study assessed the indigenous methods of shea butter processing among rural women in the Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria. Specifically, it described the socioeconomic characteristics of respondents, examined the shea butter processing techniques used and identified the information sources of shea butter processors in the study area. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 100 respondents. Descriptive (such as frequency count, percentage, charts and tables) and inferential statistics (such as Pearson correlation and chi-square) were used to analyze the data. Findings showed the mean age of respondents was 45.61 ± 11.82, with mean years of experience of 20.39 ± 12.96, the majority (85%) were married and the major sources of information on indigenous shea butter processing came from family members and friends. At p ≤ 0.01 there was a significant association between respondents’ usage of indigenous methods and their marital status (ᵡ2 = 84.24; p ≤ 0.01), membership in cooperative society (ᵡ2 = 40.43; p ≤ 0.01), and community membership (ᵡ2 = 53.21; p ≤ 0.01). However, there was a significant relationship between respondents’ usage of indigenous methods and household size (b = 0.290; p ≤ 0.05), quantity produced (b = 0.616; p ≤ 0.10) and annual income (b = -0.765; p ≤ 0.05). It was concluded that indigenous methods of processing shea butter are widespread among respondents; knowledge is acquired through family and friends. Among others, the study recommends that extension agents be posted to rural areas to educate rural women and build on their indigenous knowledge of processing shea butter to introduce high-quality butter.

Introduction: In recent years the increased utilization of imaging modalities has led to an accelerated diagnosis of renal masses. Initial diagnoses and staging are commonly done with the abdominal Computed Tomography (CT). This study evaluates the various aspects to consider when utilizing CT scan for the diagnosis of renal masses.Discussion: CT scan is the most important imaging modality to evaluate renal neoplasms. Postcontrast acquisitions can be tailored according to the indication for the study. This alongside various techniques, imaging modalities and classification systems may help differentiate the malignant Renal Cell Carcinoma, from benign or metastatic lesions, lymphomas or renal pseudotumor. Finally CT can also be utilized alongside other tools for staging the tumor. Conclusion: Certain CT imaging features are pertinent to evaluate the malignancy potential of renal lesions. However the CT alone may be inconclusive in diagnosing the majority of renal neoplasms, excluding AML with macroscopic fat. Hence it is recommended that the CT aid additional imaging modalities and tools to reach an accurate diagnosis.

The COVID-19 pandemic appeared in late 2019 and became a major health concern with rapid transmission and very high mortality rates across the globe. Although precautionary, preventive, protective and therapeutic measures have been adopted against COVID-19, still the disease has drastically affected people. In order to overcome the challenges of the pandemic, the understanding of the route of transmission, its fusion with receptors and invasion into the human body and hacking the immune system, the viral genome was sequenced. The viral genome keeps on mutating and altering its original form into its subtypes. Moreover, age and comorbid conditions had their impact on developing the disease differing from individual to individual due to interaction varying between the host genome and virus. Considering the pathogenesis of the virus, neutralizing antibodies reduced the viral impact and severity. This review is focused on highlighting the COVID-19 genome, host genetic factors, the pathogenesis of the disease and available therapeutic measures to overcome the pandemic.