Articles

Acha (Fonio) Digitaria sp. is a valuable cereal crop widely cultivated in several African countries. The genetic improvement of Acha through induced mutagenesis has gained attention for enhancing desirable traits. Colchicine, a mitotic inhibitor, is commonly used to induce polyploidy, which can lead to alterations in plant characteristics. This study aimed to investigate the effects of colchicine treatment on germination, plant height, and leaf count of two Acha species. Seeds from two Digitaria species, Digitaria exilis, and Digitaria iburua, were subjected to colchicine treatment using different concentrations (0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20g/dL). The control group was treated with distilled water. Germination rates were assessed by measuring the percentage of seeds that successfully sprouted. Plant height and leaf number were measured at maturity and analyzed using ANOVA on SPSS Version 26. The results indicated that colchicine treatment significantly affected germination, plant height, and leaf number in both Digitaria species. Germination rates varied depending on the concentration, with lower germination observed at higher concentrations (70.70% and 74.3% for 0.20g/dL treatment in both species). In terms of plant height, colchicine-treated Acha plants exhibited significant differences compared to the control group. The majority of treated plants showed increased growth (57.00 cm to 60.70 cm in D. exilis and 114.10 to 122.40 cm in D. iburua) compared to the control. Variability in plant height was observed among the treated plants, suggesting that colchicine-induced polyploidy had varying effects on height across different genotypes. Similarly, the number of leaves was affected by colchicine treatment. Treated plants exhibited an increase in leaf number (56.70 to 60.7 for D exilis and 32.60 to 36.30 for D. iburua), compared to the control group (49.7 and 29.7 respectively). This variability suggests that colchicine-induced polyploidy may have influenced leaf development and growth patterns in Acha. Colchicine treatment had significant effects on germination, plant height, and leaf count in both varieties of Acha. The results suggest that colchicine-induced polyploidy can alter these plant characteristics. These findings provide insights into the potential use of colchicine treatment for inducing desirable traits in Acha through polyploidization, which may have implications for crop improvement and breeding programs. Further research is warranted to explore the underlying mechanisms and assess the impact of these alterations on overall agronomic performance and yield potential.

This ethnobotanical study aims to investigate and document the indigenous knowledge on using traditional medicinal plants to cure human diseases in southern Ethiopia, south Omo zone Baka dawla Ari district at Kure and Bitsmal community. In this study, 77 plant species that belong to 68 genera and 35 plant families were identified by 110 local community members and 10 traditional healers of the study area to treat 32 human diseases. According to the analyzed result of the study three families (Lamiaceae, Solanaceae, and Fabaceae) are equally leading families each with nine species (11.69%) followed by Euphorbiaceae with five species (6.5%) and Asteraceae with four species (5.2%) in the study area. The result of this study also shows that most of the traditional medicines were taken in the mouth (oral) at 61.5% followed by topical (26,4%) and inhalation form (12.1%). The findings of this study show that most traditional plants were collected from the forest (45.5%) followed by the backyard (26%) and herbs are the most popular (59%) followed by shrubs (27%) plant habits. According to the result of this study, leaves are the dominant traditional medicinal plant parts used (55%) followed by roots (11.2%). preference ranking of medicinal plants in the study shows Solanum incanum ranked first indicating that it was the most effective in curing stomach pain followed by Verbena officinalis and the highest informant consensus factor value (0.57) was recorded by Malaria, Evil eye, snake bite, sudden disease categories.

Usually revealed by lower urinary tract symptoms, prostate neoplasms are the most frequent urological cancer.The patient was a 70-year-old man being explored for bicytopenia in the hematology department: anemia and bicytopenia with no urinary symptoms in the first plan.Bone marrow biopsy was done and the histological and immunohistochemical concluded in an intramedullary spinal cord metastasis of an undifferentiated prostatic carcinoma.We have reviewed the literature one other case of intramedullary metastasis of prostatic cancer was detected but the main symptoms were neurological and the patient was already diagnosed with his cancer.

Background: Myiasis is a parasitic infestation of livestock animals caused by dipteran larvae. The presence of wounds, lack of hygiene on the farm, and temperate climatic conditions contribute to myiasis. Swine can be infested by myiasis if injured pigs are not treated properly and failure to treat myiasis in time may cause the culling or death of the pigs, resulting in huge economic loss to the farmers. But like humans and other farm animals, pigs also deserve to be treated and cured of any suffering or disease. Therefore, this study is documented on pig myiasis and its management because to date a few cases have been reported on it.Case presentation: This case report documented the successful management of neck myiasis in a male, 9-month-old, 12-kg-weighing backyard pig. The wound site was cleaned using antiseptics and maggots were removed. The site was treated with turpentine oil, and ivermectin at 0.2 mg/kg B.W. and S/C. A combination of streptomycin (12.5 mg/kg B.W.) and penicillin (20000 IU/kg B.W.) was used IM daily for 5 days to prevent secondary bacterial infection. The wound was dressed regularly on every alternate day until the complete removal of maggots and the formation of granulation tissue.Conclusion: Through proper therapeutic management, the backyard pig’s neck myiasis wound was successfully healed in 10 days without any complications.

Cerebrotendinous Xanthamatosis (CTX) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by a mutation in the CYP27A1 gene leading to impaired metabolism of cholesterol and accumulation of cholestenol and the cholesterol in various tissues such as the brain, eyes, lungs and bones and reduced formation of cheno-deoxycholic acid (CDCA). The clinical presentation is diverse, starting in the early neonatal period and progressing till adulthood unless treated early. A common neurological manifestation is a spino-cerebellar ataxia followed by spastic paraparesis. Tendon xanthoma is a classical finding that usually helps in clinching the diagnosis but may not be present in all cases. Brain MRI also reveals characteristic abnormalities with cerebellar atrophy and hyper-intensities in the dentate nucleus and surrounding cerebellar white matter on T1weighted images. It is a rare cause of treatable ataxia in young individuals. Treatment is by replacement by CDCA or Urso-deoxycholic acid (UDCA). Supplemented with statins these individuals also have premature atherosclerosis causing death due to athero-sclerotic coronary artery disease. Here a rare case of symptomatic heterologous CYP27A1 mutation is reported with syndrome of spino-cerebellar ataxia treated with UDCA.

Testing the antimicrobial efficiency of plastics with good precision and repeatability remains a challenge in the plastic industry, as commonly used standards can provide unreliable data. In this paper, we show that the “Bacterial Liquid Suspension Test” is a reliable method that allows for the measurement of antimicrobial activity of poor to very potent biocides. We used this technique to discriminate the performance of two Cu-based biocides, either in nanoparticle (NP) or macroparticle (MP) size, at three different loadings (0.02, 0.2 and 2 wt.%) in PP. With this technique, we also tested the antibacterial performance of PP as powders, pellets, and injection molded disks. As anticipated, the technique shows that both the increased loading and the smaller particle size showed higher antimicrobial activity than the larger particle size due to their increased surface area. Also, PP powders showed greater bacterial reduction than pellets and disks. While the PP with 2 wt.% Cu NPs showed the best antimicrobial performance, the detection of Cu at the surface (using SEM-EDX) and in the water leachate (using ICP-MS) were below the LODs, indicating their ability to kill bacteria.

This paper investigates the effect of coating concentration (ppm), and coating thickness (µm) on the anti-microbial properties of polycarbonate sheets using a variety of anti-microbial agents (Cu-infused Mg(OH)2, Mg(OH)2, Cu(OH)2, MgO, CuCl2.2H2O, and ZnO). In addition, a complete analysis was performed for all agents to rank the best agent in terms of the highest anti-microbial performance against E. coli K-12 MG1655 in two time intervals (4 and 24 hours). The coating concentration (ppm) was found to be a significant factor in the anti-microbial characteristics for Cu-infused Mg(OH)2, Mg(OH)2, Cu(OH)2, MgO, CuCl2.2H2O, and ZnO (p = 0.004, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p = 0.0297, p = 0.0011, and p = 0.0130 respectively). The coating thickness (µm), on the other hand, was found to be a major contributor to the anti-microbial properties of Cu-infused Mg(OH)2, Mg(OH)2, Cu(OH)2, MgO, and CuCl2.2H2O (p < 0.0001, p = 0.0004, p = 0.0011, p = 0.0310, and p < 0.0001 respectively). The analysis determined that the coating did not influence the anti-microbial properties of ZnO. The interaction between the coating concentration (ppm), and the coating thickness (µm) was found to be a significant factor for Cu-infused Mg(OH)2, Cu(OH)2, MgO, CuCl2.2H2O, and ZnO (p < 0.0001, p = 0.0001, p = 0.0004, p < 0.0001, and p < 0.0001 respectively), however, this was not a significant factor for Mg(OH)2.Highlights•    The anti-microbial activity of the inorganic material is dependent on the particle shape and size.•    Particles with sharp edges will provide additional physical injuries to the microorganisms.•    Smaller particle size will provide higher surface area therefore better interaction with microorganisms.•    The coating concentration and coating thickness will be crucial to the anti-microbial activity.•    The thermal embossing techniques demonstrate good adhesion to the surface.

Robust anti-microbial surfaces that are non-toxic to users have widespread application in medical, industrial, and domestic arenas. Magnesium hydroxide has recently gained attention as an anti-microbial compound that is non-toxic, biocompatible, and environmentally friendly. Here we demonstrate melt compound and thermally embossed methods for coating polypropylene with Mg(OH)2 nanoplatelets and copper-infused Mg(OH)2 nanoplatelets. Polypropylene articles coated with Mg(OH)2 nanoplatelets and copper-infused Mg(OH)2 nanoplatelets exhibit a log 8 kill of E.coli within 24 hours. In addition, Mg(OH)2 NPs suspension, at 0.25% reduced SARSCoV-2 virus titers in the solution by 2.5 x 103 PFU/mL or 29.4%, while the Cu-infused Mg(OH)2 NPs suspension, at 0.25% reduced titers by 8.1 x 103 PFU/mL or 95.3%. Fluorescence microscopy revealed that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced in bacteria in response to Mg(OH)2 and Cu-infused Mg(OH)2 nanoplatelets which appears to be an important but not the sole mode of anti-microbial action of the nanoplatelets. Plastics with anti-microbial surfaces from where biocides are non-leachable are highly desirable. This work provides a general fabrication strategy for developing anti-microbial plastic surfaces.

Background: Maternal splenic cyst during pregnancy appears to be a rare pathology whose treatment is not codified. The most feared complication is rupture during pregnancy. It occurs in 60% of cases in the third trimester of pregnancy, leading to significant maternal-fetal morbidity and mortality. Case report: We describe the successful management of a 24-year-old patient, G1P0, with a history of a recurrent splenic cyst. She presented with a giant splenic cyst measuring 28 cm in diameter at 30 weeks of amenorrhea. A cesarean section was performed at 37 weeks gestation. A splenectomy was performed on day 21 postpartum.Conclusion: The incidence of splenic cysts is extremely rare during pregnancy. The diagnosis must be made as early as possible to undertake appropriate treatment before the appearance of maternal-fetal complications.

Background: Maternal mortality is a very sensitive indicator of our health system and services. Epidemiological data about maternal mortality is a vital requirement in every setting not only to design interventional programs but also to identify gaps in the existing structures, to reduce the ratio favorably. This study was an attempt to shed light on the mortality rate in our hospital, to analyze the epidemiological aspects, causes of maternal mortality, and types of delay, and to suggest recommendations for improvement. Methods: A retrospective study was done at a tertiary care center at the district level from January 2022 to December 2022. Demographic data and details of selected parameters were obtained from maternal death review forms and case records. Data analyzed and presented.Results: The majority of the maternal deaths could be attributed to direct obstetric causes like Eclampsia (29.41%), Pre-eclampsia (20.59%), and anemia (20.59%) followed by hemorrhage (14.71%), and septicemia (11.76%). Medical conditions contributing to death included liver disorders (5.8%), COVID-19 infection (5.8%), and cardiac disorders (2.9%). Conclusion: It is evident that the maternal mortality ratio is significantly high, with a majority of the deaths occurring due to avoidable causes. Leading contributory factors were due to delay in seeking help or delay in referral. High-risk cases must be identified at the earliest and referred to higher centers for management from the first trimester itself. Generating awareness among the common public and counseling the gravidas and their caretakers throughout pregnancy is equally important to prevent maternal mortality and near-miss cases.