Two decades of neuroscience publication trends in Africa.

Neuroscience research in Africa remains sparse. Devising new policies to boost Africa's neuroscience landscape is imperative, but these must be based on accurate data on research outputs which is largely lacking. Such data must reflect the heterogeneity of research environments across the continent's 54 countries. Here, we analyse neuroscience publications affiliated with African institutions between 1996 and 2017. Of 12,326 PubMed indexed publications, 5,219 show clear evidence that the work was performed in Africa and led by African-based researchers - on average ~5 per country and year. From here, we extract information on journals and citations, funding, international coauthorships and techniques used. For reference, we also extract the same metrics from 220 randomly selected publications each from the UK, USA, Australia, Japan and Brazil. Our dataset provides insights into the current state of African neuroscience research in a global context.

Craniofacial forms among three dominant ethnic groups of Gombe State, Nigeria / Formas craneofaciales entre tres grupos étnicos dominantes del Estado de Gombe, Nigeria

Anthropometric measurements such as cranial and facial forms provide essential information that can be used added provide in orofacial surgery and in diagnostic comprehension between patient and normal populations. There is no published literature about the types of head and face shapes in Fulani, Tangale and Tera ethnic groups of Nigeria. Hence, this study was undertaken to document the various cranial and facial forms of these ethnic groups residing in Gombe region of North-Eastern Nigeria. Head length, head width, head circumference, face length and face width were measured and the cephalic and prosopic indices calculated in a total of 300 subjects (150 males and 150 females). Results analyzed placed all males of the three ethnic groups in dolicocephalic head group with mean cephalic indices lower than 74.9, while all females to mesocephalic head group with mean cephalic indices between the range of 75-79.9. On the basis of face shapes, The Fulani and Tera males were found to belong to hyperleptoprosopic group, while the Tangale and Tera females to leptoprosopic group with prosopic indices over 95 and between the ranges of 90-94.9, respectively. Therefore, the findings revealed that all males and females of the three ethnic groups share close similarities in head types and some variations in face types. Furthermore, variation of head and face shapes from this study exists with those of other studies within and outside Nigeria.

Las medidas antropométricas tales como las formas craneales y faciales ofrecen importantes informaciones que son relevantes que pueden ser usadas en la cirugía orofacial y en la comprensión diagnóstica entre los pacientes y las poblaciones normales. No hay literatura publicada sobre los tipos de formas de la cabeza y la cara de los grupos étnicos Fulani, Tangale y Tera de Nigeria. Por lo tanto, este estudio se realizó para documentar las diversas formas craneales y faciales de estos grupos étnicos que residen en la región de Gombe, en el Noreste de Nigeria. Fueron medidos, longitud de la cabeza, ancho de la cabeza, circunferencia de la cabeza, longitud de la cara y ancho de la cara y se efectuaon los cálculos cefálicos y faciales en un total de 300 sujetos (150 hombres y mujeres 150). Los resultados analizados en los hombres Fulani, Tangale y Tera determinaron que éstos eran dolicocéfalos con una media de índices cefálicos menor que 74,9, mientras que las mujeres eran mesocefálicas, con índices cefálicos en el rango de 75 a 79,9. Con respecto a los tipos de cara, los hombres Fulanis y Tera se presentaron con índice prosopo en más del 95, por lo tanto, colocándolos en el grupo de cara hiperleptoprosópico, mientras que las mujeres Tangales y Tera presentaron en el índice prosopo un intervalo de 90 a 94,9, por lo tanto, colocándolas en el grupo leptoprosopo . Los resultados revelaron que los hombres y mujeres de los tres grupos étnicos comparten similitudes en los tipos de cabeza y algunas variaciones en los tipos de cara. Por otra parte, existe variación de las formas de cabeza y cara de este estudio con otros estudios realizados dentro y fuera de Nigeria.

Small airway remodeling in acute respiratory distress syndrome: a study in autopsy lung tissue.

INTRODUCTION: Airway dysfunction in patients with the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is evidenced by expiratory flow limitation and dynamic hyperinflation. These functional alterations have been attributed to closure/obstruction of small airways. Airway morphological changes have been reported in experimental models of acute lung injury, characterized by epithelial necrosis and denudation in distal airways. To date, however, no study has focused on the morphological airway changes in lungs from human subjects with ARDS. The aim of this study is to evaluate structural and inflammatory changes in distal airways in ARDS patients. METHODS: We retrospectively studied autopsy lung tissue from subjects who died with ARDS and from control subjects who died of non pulmonary causes. Using image analysis, we quantified the extension of epithelial changes (normal, abnormal and denudated epithelium expressed as percentages of the total epithelium length), bronchiolar inflammation, airway wall thickness, and extracellular matrix (ECM) protein content in distal airways. The Student's t-test or the Mann-Whitney test was used to compare data between the ARDS and control groups. Bonferroni adjustments were used for multiple tests. The association between morphological and clinical data was analyzed by Pearson rank test. RESULTS: Thirty-one ARDS patients (A: PaO2/FiO2 ≤200, 45 ± 14 years, 16 males) and 11 controls (C: 52 ± 16 years, 7 males) were included in the study. ARDS airways showed a shorter extension of normal epithelium (A:32.9 ± 27.2%, C:76.7 ± 32.7%, P < 0.001), a larger extension of epithelium denudation (A:52.6 ± 35.2%, C:21.8 ± 32.1%, P < 0.01), increased airway inflammation (A:1(3), C:0(1), P = 0.03), higher airway wall thickness (A:138.7 ± 54.3 µm, C:86.4 ± 33.3 µm, P < 0.01), and higher airway content of collagen I, fibronectin, versican and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) compared to controls (P ≤0.03). The extension of normal epithelium showed a positive correlation with PaO2/FiO2 (r2 = 0.34; P = 0.02) and a negative correlation with plateau pressure (r2 = 0.27; P = 0.04). The extension of denuded epithelium showed a negative correlation with PaO2/FiO2 (r2 = 0.27; P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Structural changes in small airways of patients with ARDS were characterized by epithelial denudation, inflammation and airway wall thickening with ECM remodeling. These changes are likely to contribute to functional airway changes in patients with ARDS.

Impact of lung remodelling on respiratory mechanics in a model of severe allergic inflammation.

We developed a model of severe allergic inflammation and investigated the impact of airway and lung parenchyma remodelling on in vivo and in vitro respiratory mechanics. BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin in severe allergic inflammation (SA) group. The control group (C) received saline using the same protocol. Light and electron microscopy showed eosinophil and neutrophil infiltration and fibrosis in airway and lung parenchyma, mucus gland hyperplasia, and airway smooth muscle hypertrophy and hyperplasia in SA group. These morphological changes led to in vivo (resistive and viscoelastic pressures, and static elastance) and in vitro (tissue elastance and resistance) lung mechanical alterations. Airway responsiveness to methacholine was markedly enhanced in SA as compared with C group. Additionally, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were higher in SA group. In conclusion, this model of severe allergic lung inflammation enabled us to directly assess the role of airway and lung parenchyma inflammation and remodelling on respiratory mechanics.