An Epidemiological Analysis of the Recipients of the First Dose of the First Phase of COVID-19 Vaccination in Oyo State, South-Western Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Millions of people across the globe have been infected with coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and many lives have been lost in the process. As a result, vaccines are being developed to protect people from COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the coverage rate for the COVID-19 vaccine in Oyo State. METHODS: A descriptive secondary analysis of COVID-19 immunization data was done between March and April 2021. Data were extracted from the original paper format and entered into Excel sheets. Charts and line graphs were plotted to determine the coverage rates. RESULTS: The overall coverage rate for the State was 81.0%. The highest and lowest coverage rates were 243.0% and 39.0% for Ibadan North and Iseyin Local Government Areas (LGAs), respectively. The proportion of female health workers vaccinated in the State was 64.5%. The proportion of male strategic leaders and male frontline workers was 62.5% and 55.7%, respectively. Akinyele and Egbeda LGAs recorded the same highest number of cases (27) of adverse events following immunization (AEFI). CONCLUSION: The study highlights the high proportion of vaccinated people in the State, while there was a low proportion of vaccinees in some LGAs. Therefore, effort to scale-up coverage across all the LGAs is recommended.

CONTEXTE: Des millions de personnes dans le monde ont été infectées par le COVID-19 et de nombreuses vies ont été perdues dans ce processus. En conséquence, des vaccins sont en cours de développement pour protéger les personnes contre la morbidité et la mortalité liées au COVID-19. Cette étude a donc été menée pour évaluer le taux de couverture du vaccin COVID-19 dans l'Etat d'Oyo. MÉTHODES: Une analyse secondaire descriptive des données de vaccination COVID-19 a été réalisée entre mars et avril 2021. Les données ont été extraites du format papier original et saisies dans des feuilles Excel. Des diagrammes et des graphiques linéaires ont été tracés pour déterminer les taux de couverture. RÉSULTATS: Le taux de couverture global de l'État était de 81,0 %. Les taux de couverture les plus élevés et les plus faibles étaient respectivement de 243,0 % et 39,0 % pour les zones de gouvernement local (LGA) d'Ibadan Nord et d'Iseyin. La proportion d'agents de santé féminins vaccinés dans l'État était de 64,5 %. La proportion d'hommes leaders stratégiques et d'hommes travailleurs de première ligne était respectivement de 62,5 % et 55,7 %. Les LGA d'Akinyele et d'Egbeda ont enregistré le même nombre élevé de cas (27) d'événements indésirables après la vaccination (EIAS). CONCLUSION: L'étude met en évidence la forte proportion de personnes vaccinées dans l'état, alors qu'il y avait une faible proportion de vaccinés dans certaines zone de gouvernement local. Il est donc recommandé de déployer des efforts pour augmenter la couverture vaccinale dans toutes les AGL. Mots clés: Épidémiologie, COVID-19, vaccin, première phase, Nigéria.

[Effectiveness of a psychotherapeutic intervention group program in the improvement of caregiver well-being in Alzheimer's disease patients' family caregivers: the CuiDem study]. / Efectividad de una intervención psicoterapéutica grupal en la mejora del bienestar de personas cuidadoras de un familiar con enfermedad de Alzheimer: estudio CuiDem.

INTRODUCTION: Caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's Disease experience physical and emotional burnout that can be treated with non-pharmacological interventions. AIM: Assess the efficacy of a group cognitive behavioural psychotherapeutic intervention, for improving well-being perception in caregivers, compared to a support group. Also, we assessed its efficacy after a follow-up period of 1-year post-intervention. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A multicentre, open, quasi experimental study with control group was conducted. 221 caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's Disease, with mild to moderate-severe dementia, were non-randomly assigned to either IG-intervention group: psychotherapeutic program without active follow-up period (n = 80); IGF-intervention group: psychotherapeutic program with active follow-up period (n = 78); or CG-control group: support program with active follow-up period (n = 63). The psychotherapeutic intervention (IG and IGF) is a structured cognitive behavioural group program, of one weekly session over four months. The CG had the same duration. Caregiver's burden, mood disorders, resilience, perceived functional social support and quality of life were measured at baseline, post-intervention and after 1-year follow-up. RESULTS: At post-intervention, statistically significant improvements were observed in the IG and IGF compared to CG in caregiver burden (p = 0,0216). After one year follow-up, significant improvements were found in IGF compared to IG in emotional state (p = 0,0271), resilience (p = 0,0018), perceived social support (p = 0,014); quality of life (p = 0,0001) and mental health (p = 0,0002); and in CG versus GI in emotional state and social support (p < 0,05). CONCLUSIONS: These results support the efficacy of this psychotherapeutic intervention for improving well-being (burden), and the supportive follow-up period for increasing its efficacy.

TITLE: Efectividad de una intervención psicoterapéutica grupal en la mejora del bienestar de personas cuidadoras de un familiar con enfermedad de Alzheimer: estudio CuiDem.Introducción. Las personas cuidadoras de familiares con enfermedad de Alzheimer presentan agotamiento físico y emocional, que puede abordarse con intervención no farmacológica. Objetivo. Evaluar la efectividad de una intervención psicoterapéutica grupal cognitivo-conductual para mejorar la percepción de bienestar de personas cuidadoras, respecto a una intervención de acompañamiento, y su sostenibilidad tras un período de seguimiento activo de un año postintervención. Sujetos y métodos. Estudio multicéntrico, cuasi experimental, abierto y con grupo control. Se asignó de forma no aleatorizada a 221 personas cuidadoras de familiares con enfermedad de Alzheimer, con demencia leve a moderada-grave, a tres condiciones de intervención: grupo de intervención psicoterapéutica sin seguimiento activo (GI) (n = 80); grupo de intervención psicoterapéutica con seguimiento activo (GIS) (n = 78); y grupo control de acompañamiento con seguimiento activo (GC) (n = 63). La intervención psicoterapéutica grupal (GI y GIS) es un programa estructurado, cognitivo-conductual, de una sesión semanal durante cuatro meses. La del GC tenía la misma duración. Se evaluaron preintervención, postintervención y, al año, sobrecarga percibida, estado de ánimo, resiliencia, apoyo social funcional y calidad de vida. Resultados. Se observó una mejora significativa postintervención en el GI y el GIS respecto al GC en percepción de sobrecarga (p = 0,0216). Al año de seguimiento, se observaron mejoras significativas en el GIS respecto al GI en estado de ánimo (p = 0,0271), resiliencia (p = 0,0018), apoyo social percibido (p = 0,014), calidad de vida (p = 0,0001) y salud mental (p = 0,0002); y en el GC frente al GI en estado de ánimo y apoyo social (p menor de 0,05). Conclusiones. Los resultados respaldan la efectividad de esta intervención psicoterapéutica para mejorar la percepción de bienestar (sobrecarga) y el seguimiento de apoyo para incrementar su eficacia.

Pathophysiology of aniridia-associated keratopathy: Developmental aspects and unanswered questions.

Aniridia, a rare congenital disease, is often characterized by a progressive, pronounced limbal insufficiency and ocular surface pathology termed aniridia-associated keratopathy (AAK). Due to the characteristics of AAK and its bilateral nature, clinical management is challenging and complicated by the multiple coexisting ocular and systemic morbidities in aniridia. Although it is primarily assumed that AAK originates from a congenital limbal stem cell deficiency, in recent years AAK and its pathogenesis has been questioned in the light of new evidence and a refined understanding of ocular development and the biology of limbal stem cells (LSCs) and their niche. Here, by consolidating and comparing the latest clinical and preclinical evidence, we discuss key unanswered questions regarding ocular developmental aspects crucial to AAK. We also highlight hypotheses on the potential role of LSCs and the ocular surface microenvironment in AAK. The insights thus gained lead to a greater appreciation for the role of developmental and cellular processes in the emergence of AAK. They also highlight areas for future research to enable a deeper understanding of aniridia, and thereby the potential to develop new treatments for this rare but blinding ocular surface disease.

Identifying Ingredient Substitutions Using a Knowledge Graph of Food.

People can affect change in their eating patterns by substituting ingredients in recipes. Such substitutions may be motivated by specific goals, like modifying the intake of a specific nutrient or avoiding a particular category of ingredients. Determining how to modify a recipe can be difficult because people need to 1) identify which ingredients can act as valid replacements for the original and 2) figure out whether the substitution is "good" for their particular context, which may consider factors such as allergies, nutritional contents of individual ingredients, and other dietary restrictions. We propose an approach to leverage both explicit semantic information about ingredients, encapsulated in a knowledge graph of food, and implicit semantics, captured through word embeddings, to develop a substitutability heuristic to rank plausible substitute options automatically. Our proposed system also helps determine which ingredient substitution options are "healthy" using nutritional information and food classification constraints. We evaluate our substitutability heuristic, diet-improvement ingredient substitutability heuristic (DIISH), using a dataset of ground-truth substitutions scraped from ingredient substitution guides and user reviews of recipes, demonstrating that our approach can help reduce the human effort required to make recipes more suitable for specific dietary needs.

Risk of mycosis fungoides in psoriatic patients: a critical review.

Psoriasis has been controversially associated with risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and mycosis fungoides (MF). Also patients who developed MF after systemic treatment for psoriasis have been reported, and some authors suggested that the association between MF and psoriasis is not infrequent. We performed an extensive literature review in order to examine the risk of developing MF in psoriatic patients with a systematic search of the English-language databases. An increased risk for lymphoma overall in psoriatic patients has been found only by three out of seven studies. The risk of developing MF in psoriatic patients has been investigated by different studies in different populations and with different methodologies presenting bias and limitations, and it seems reasonable that misclassification between psoriasis and MF may explain the association reported. In contrast to the large number of psoriatic patients treated with biologicals, only 27 case reports of MF after biological therapy for psoriasis have been reported, and in 10 cases, the initial psoriasis diagnoses were then revised as MF. A true association between MF and psoriasis is possible, but the real incidence and prevalence are still unknown. The reported higher risk of developing MF in psoriatic patients should be reconsidered in the light of the bias of misclassification and the low magnitude reported in previous studies. There is not enough evidence to support a causal relation among biological therapies and MF in psoriatic patients.

Does sagittal position of the CTDR-related centre of rotation influence functional outcome? Prospective 2-year follow-up analysis.

PURPOSE: Recent studies describe significant rates of heterotopic ossification (HO) after cervical total disc replacement (CTDR). Little is known about the reasons, and one aspect that requires further in vivo investigation is the biomechanical alteration after CTDR and the role of the implant-related centre of rotation (CORi) in particular. The role of the sagittal position of the CORi on functional outcome in two versions of a semi-constrained disc prosthesis with sagittally different CORi is the topic of this study. METHODS: Patients were candidates for single-level CTDR between C3 and C7 who suffered from CDDD and received a standard or flat version of activ C™ (Aesculap AG, Tuttlingen). Clinical and radiographic assessments were determined preoperatively, intraoperatively, at discharge and again at 6 weeks, 6 months, 1 and 2 years. Radiographic examinations were performed independently using specialized quantitative motion analysis software. RESULTS: Clinical outcome improved significantly regarding NDI as well as VAS on neck and arm pain with no differences in mean improvement by study group. Segmental angle measures show a significantly better lordotic alignment for both groups after surgery, but the degree of correction achieved is higher in the flat group. Correlation analysis proves that the more anterior the CORi is positioned, the higher the lordotic correction is achieved (Pearson rho -0.385). Segmental ROM decreased in the standard group but was maintained for flat implants. At present, our data do not demonstrate a correlation between CORi and ROM at 2 years. Two years after surgery, severe HO grade III-IV was present in 31.6 % standard and 13.1 % flat cases with significant differences. Grouping according to HO severity showed comparable sagittal positions of CORi for flat implants but a more posterior position in the severe HO group for standard implants. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm the influence of CORi location on segmental alignment, kinematics and HO for a semi-constrained CTDR, but it also indicates a multifactorial process.

[Update on L-asparaginase treatment in paediatrics]. / Actualización del tratamiento con L-asparraginasa en Pediatría.

L-asparaginase (L-ASP) is one of the cornerstones of the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It is an enzyme of bacterial origin capable of transforming L-asparagine to aspartic acid. The extracellular depletion of L-asparagine inhibits protein synthesis in lymphoblasts, inducing their apoptosis. Numerous studies have demonstrated that treatment with L-ASP improves survival of patients, but there are clear differences in the characteristics of the three currently available formulations. This article reviews the dosage, activity and side effects of the two L-ASP derived from Escherichia coli (native and pegylated), and the one derived from Erwinia chrysanthemi (Erwinia ASP). Despite its indisputable indication over the past50 years, there are still many points of contention, and its use is still marked by the side effects of the inhibition of protein synthesis. The short half-life of native forms, and the most frequently used parenteral administration by intramuscular injections, affects the quality of life of the patients. Therefore, recent studies claim to evaluate alternatives, such as the formulation of longer half-life pegylated L-ASP, and the use of intravenous formulations. There are encouraging results to date with both preparations. Still, further studies are needed to establish which should be the formulation and frontline indicated route of administration, optimal dosing, and management of adverse effects.

Impact of surgical ventricular restoration on ventricular shape, wall stress, and function in heart failure patients.

Surgical ventricular restoration (SVR) was designed to treat patients with aneurysms or large akinetic walls and dilated ventricles. Yet, crucial aspects essential to the efficacy of this procedure like optimal shape and size of the left ventricle (LV) are still debatable. The objective of this study is to quantify the efficacy of SVR based on LV regional shape in terms of curvedness, wall stress, and ventricular systolic function. A total of 40 patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before and after SVR. Both short-axis and long-axis MRI were used to reconstruct end-diastolic and end-systolic three-dimensional LV geometry. The regional shape in terms of surface curvedness, wall thickness, and wall stress indexes were determined for the entire LV. The infarct, border, and remote zones were defined in terms of end-diastolic wall thickness. The LV global systolic function in terms of global ejection fraction, the ratio between stroke work (SW) and end-diastolic volume (SW/EDV), the maximal rate of change of pressure-normalized stress (dσ*/dt(max)), and the regional function in terms of surface area change were examined. The LV end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes were significantly reduced, and global systolic function was improved in ejection fraction, SW/EDV, and dσ*/dt(max). In addition, the end-diastolic and end-systolic stresses in all zones were reduced. Although there was a slight increase in regional curvedness and surface area change in each zone, the change was not significant. Also, while SVR reduced LV wall stress with increased global LV systolic function, regional LV shape and function did not significantly improve.

Enamel thickness in the Middle Miocene great apes Anoiapithecus, Pierolapithecus and Dryopithecus.

On the basis of industrial computed tomography, relative enamel thickness (RET) is computed in three Middle Miocene (ca 11.9-11.8 Ma) hominoids from Abocador de Can Mata (Vallès-Penedès Basin, Catalonia, Spain): Pierolapithecus catalaunicus from BCV1 and Anoiapithecus brevirostris from C3-Aj, interpreted as stem hominids; and Dryopithecus fontani from C3-Ae of uncertain phylogenetic affinities. Pierolapithecus displays an average RET value of 19.5, Anoiapithecus of 18.6 and Dryopithecus of 10.6. The thick-enamelled condition of Pierolapithecus and Anoiapithecus is also characteristic of afropithecids, including the more derived kenyapithecins from the early Middle Miocene of Eurasia (Griphopithecus and Kenyapithecus). Given the presence of other dentognathic and craniofacial similarities, thick enamel may be interpreted as a symplesiomorphy of the Hominidae (the great ape and human clade), which would have been later independently modified along several lineages. Given the correlation between thick enamel and hard-object feeding, our results suggest that thick enamel might have been the fundamental adaptation that enabled the out-of-Africa dispersal of great-ape ancestors and their subsequent initial radiation throughout Eurasia. The much thinner enamel of Dryopithecus is difficult to interpret given phylogenetic uncertainties, being either a hominine synapomorphy or a convergently developed feature.

Spanish version of the Bayer Activities of Daily Living scale in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer disease: discriminant and concurrent validity.

AIMS: To test the discriminant and concurrent validity of the Spanish version of the Bayer Activities of Daily Living scale (B-ADL) in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild Alzheimer disease (AD). METHODS: The B-ADL scale, the Blessed Dementia Rating Scale (BDRS), and the Interview for Deterioration in Daily Living in Dementia (IDDD) were administered to 277 elderly Spanish patients (78 MCI and 199 AD). Correlations between scales were performed, and ROC curves were plotted. RESULTS: In MCI and mild AD discrimination, an area under the ROC curve of 0.84 was found; a cut-off point of 3.3 was proposed with values of 0.81 for sensitivity and 0.72 for specificity. The B-ADL correlated positively to both the BDRS (r = 0.7) and the IDDD (r = 0.8). CONCLUSION: The B-ADL is a valid and sensitive scale that can be used to discriminate mild AD from MCI.

Parafalcine chondrosarcoma: report of a case and review of the literature.

Intracranial chondrosarcomas are cartilaginous tumours that are extremely rare with an estimated incidence of less than 0.16% of all intracranial neoplasms. They arise from the skull base synchondrosis or exceptionally from cartilaginous rests within the dura mater. This kind of tumours presents clinical features mimicking meningiomas, with symptoms secondary to mass effect (increased intracranial pressure, local brain dysfunction, cranial nerve palsies) and seizures. Intracranial chondrosarcomas are more frequently seen between 3 months and 76 years of age, with a peak around the third decade, with an equal sex distribution. The authors report a case of a 32-year-old woman with a chondrosarcoma of the falx cerebri.

Identification of enteric Helicobacter in avian species.

The presence of enteric Helicobacter species was investigated in poultry (n=130) and in pet and ornamental birds (n=50) using a PCR sequencing method which permits the differentiation of many Helicobhacter species derived from animal tissues. All samples were of Italian origin, except for 21 Guinea fowl from a French flock. About 80% of poultry (chickens, laying hens, Guinea fowl) were positive to Helicobacter DNA. H. pullorum was most frequently (62.1%) identified whereas H. pylori and 3 H. sp. hamster B strains were seen in only 3 cases each. Pet and ornamental birds were all negative. H. canadensis was found in all Guinea fowl from a French farm. This is the first report on the occurrence of this bacterium in poultry.

Orang-like manual adaptations in the fossil hominoid Hispanopithecus laietanus: first steps towards great ape suspensory behaviours.

Morphological and biometrical analyses of the partial hand IPS18800 of the fossil great ape Hispanopithecus laietanus (=Dryopithecus laietanus), from the Late Miocene (about 9.5Ma) of Can Llobateres (Catalonia, Spain), reveal many similarities with extant orang-utans (Pongo). These similarities are interpreted as adaptations to below-branch suspensory behaviours, including arm-swinging and clambering/postural feeding on slender arboreal supports, due to an orang-like double-locking mechanism. This is confirmed by the long and highly curved phalanges of Hispanopithecus. The short and stout metacarpals with dorsally constricted heads, together with the dorsally extended articular facets on proximal phalanges, indicate the persistence of significant degrees of palmigrady. A powerful grasping capability is indicated by the great development of basal phalangeal tubercles, the marked insertions for the flexors on phalangeal shafts and the large pits for the collateral ligaments. The morphology of the Hispanopithecus long bones of the hand indicates a unique positional repertoire, combining orthogrady with suspensory behaviours and palmigrade quadrupedalism. The retention of powerful grasping and palmigrady suggests that the last common ancestor of hominids might have been more primitive than what can be inferred on the basis of extant taxa, suggesting that pronograde behaviours are compatible with an orthograde bodyplan suitable for climbing and suspension.

Progesterone and caspase-3 activation in equine cyclic corpora lutea.

Soon after ovulation, the newly formed corpus luteum (CL) starts secreting progesterone (P(4)), necessary for implantation. The CL, an ovarian transient endocrine organ, undergoes growth and regression throughout its life span. The objective of this study was to evaluate if caspase-3 mediates cell death in the equine cyclic luteal structures and relate it to luteal endocrine function. Blood and luteal tissue were collected during the breeding season after slaughter from 38 randomly assigned cycling mares. Luteal tissues were classified as corpora haemorrhagica (CH; n = 7); mid luteal phase corpora lutea (Mid-CL; n = 17); late or regressing corpora lutea (Late-CL; n = 9) and corpora albicans (CA; n = 5). Plasma P(4) concentration, determined by radioimmunoassay, showed a significant increase from CH to Mid-CL (p < 0.001), followed by a decrease to Late-CL (p < 0.001) and CA (p < 0.001). Caspase-3 processing and poly (ADP) ribose polymerase (PARP) degradation were assessed by western blotting. Active caspase-3 was twofold increased in Mid-CL, Late-CL and CA as compared with CH (p < 0.05). Immunocytochemistry also showed a significant increase in caspase-3 expression in large luteal cells in all structures when compared with CH (p < 0.05). Consistently, the endogenous caspase-3 substrate, PARP, was markedly degraded from CH to CA (p < 0.05). In fact, the ratio of full-length to degraded PARP showed a significant decrease from CH to Mid-CL, Late-CL and CA (p < 0.05). Finally, the decrease in P(4) from Mid- to Late-CL coincided with no further increases in apoptosis. In conclusion, these results suggest that the effector caspase-3 of apoptosis, might play an important role during luteal tissue involution in the mare, even though its relationship with P(4) remains to be elucidated.

Image transfer by mobile phones in neurosurgery.

Image transfer by mobile phones with built-in cameras (1 Megapixel CCD digital camera, 7 stage digital zoom, max. picture size 858 x 1 144 pixels, display resolution 240 x 320 dots, 262 K colour system CGS LCD) was introduced into clinical practice in the author's department in July 2004 to improve communication between neurosurgeons. During the first 12 months of use 13-72 images per month with an average of 1.4 images/case were transmitted via the regular German mobile phone net (GRPS standard, 40 KBit/s) among all neurosurgeons. Most images were transferred from the resident on call to the senior neurosurgeon backing him up. Overall, the system was extremely reliable, quick, and enabled immediate decisions in all emergency situations. In conclusion, image transfer by mobile phones has significantly improved communication within our department.

Modulation of hepatocyte apoptosis: cross-talk between bile acids and nuclear steroid receptors.

The efficient removal of unwanted cells, such as senescent, damaged, mutated or infected cells is crucial for the maintenance of normal liver function. In fact, apoptosis has emerged as a potential contributor to the pathogenesis of a number of hepatic disorders, such as viral hepatitis, autoimmune diseases, ethanol-induced injury, cholestasis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. In contrast to the effect of cytotoxic bile acids in the liver, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) has increasingly been used for the treatment of various liver disorders. The clinical efficacy of this hydrophilic bile acid was first recognized by its use in traditional Asian medicine. However, many studies have subsequently confirmed that UDCA improves liver function by three major mechanisms of action, including protection of cholangiocytes against the cytotoxicity of hydrophobic bile acids, stimulation of hepatobiliary secretion, and inhibition of liver cell apoptosis. UDCA acts as a potent inhibitor of the classical mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis, but also interferes with alternate and upstream molecular targets such as the E2F-1/p53 pathway. Together, there is growing evidence that this hydrophilic bile acid may modulate gene expression to prevent cell death. Curiously, as a cholesterol-derived molecule, UDCA interacts with nuclear steroid receptors, such as the glucocorticoid receptor. Nuclear steroid receptors play crucial roles in mediating steroid hormone signaling involved in many biological processes, including apoptosis. Here, we review the anti-apoptotic mechanisms of UDCA in hepatic cells, and discuss a potential involvement of nuclear steroid receptors in mediating the survival effects of UDCA.