Prospective Analysis of Stress and Immunity in Advanced Cancer

Objectives:The aims of this study were to assess chronic stress in a sample of advanced cancer patients, test the association between stress and NK cell immune markers over time, and examine whether stress predicts immune markers over time.Methods:A sample of 99 patients were recruited for the study. Patient inclusion criteria were biopsy, radiological, or biological evidence of advanced cancer. Stress was analyzed using the Perceived Stress Scale and immunity was assessed using CD16+ and CD56+ lymphocyte subsets. . Descripitve statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests, and cross-lagged panel analyses were used to test the aims. Results:Mean stress levels were not higher than the general population. Using Mann Whitney U tests, significant differences in CD16 and CD56 were observed between high stress and low stress groups at several time points. Cross-lagged panel analyses also showed that stress predicted abnormal levels of CD16 and CD56s at subsequent time points.Conclusion:Although stress levels among participants was not higher than the general population, for those patients who reported higher levels of stress Mann-Whitney U tests and cross-lagged panel analyses suggested that stress was associated with dysregulation of both CD16+ and CD56+. This dysregulation could decrease the body's defenses to identify and destroy new tumor cells and contribute to the growth of the primary tumor or metastatic spread of the disease. Clinical applications of this study should involve developing interventions that are designed to lower stress in patients with cancer

Analysis of the conformational profiles of fenamates shows route towards novel, higher accuracy, force-fields for pharmaceuticals

In traditional molecular mechanics force fields, intramolecular non-bonded interactions are modelled as intermolecular interactions, and the form of the torsion potential is based on the conformational profiles of small organic molecules. We investigate how a separate model for the intramolecular forces in pharmaceuticals could be more realistic by analysing the low barrier to rotation of the phenyl ring in the fenamates (substituted N-phenyl-aminobenzoic acids), that results in a wide range of observed angles in the numerous fenamate crystal structures. Although the conformational energy changes by significantly less than 10 kJmol-1 for a complete rotation of the phenyl ring for fenamic acid, the barrier is only small because of small correlated changes in the other bond and torsion angles. The maxima for conformations where the two aromatic rings approach coplanarity arise from steric repulsion, but the maxima when the two rings are approximately perpendicular arise from a combination of an electronic effect and intramolecular dispersion. Representing the ab initio conformational energy profiles as a cosine series alone is ineffective; however, combining a cos2ξ term to represent the electronic barrier with an intramolecular atom-atom exp-6 term for all atom pairs separated by three or more bonds (1-4 interactions) provides a very effective representation. Thus we propose a new, physically motivated, generic analytical model of conformational energy, which could be combined with an intermolecular model to form more accurate force-fields for modelling the condensed phases of pharmaceutical-like organic molecules

Impediments against the realization of food security policy in imo state, Nigeria

Achieving food security by the year 2020 is one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) objectives, which have made Nigeria, as a nation and Imo state in particular, to have food policy. However, this policy’s failure leads to wastages of government funds and efforts which make this research expedient. This study examines the socio-economic variables responsible for the non- realization of the government’s goal in Imo State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was presented to 280 respondents in the three-food producing zones of Imo state. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics namely; frequency distribution of Yes and No using percentages and such variables like corruption of officials, dependence on food imports, giving more social infrastructure to urban than rural areas, shortage of incentives for private sector participants, unequal social objective and unstable political environment, etc. The samples were also taken according to the three zones in Imo and on Local Government Area basis; one community represented a Local Government. Of all the variables, corruption has been identified as the main cause of food security policy failure in Imo vis-à-vis Nigeria. Appropriate recommendations were also made. Key Words: Food security, Impediment, Food policy, Food production

Superior Performance of Fibonacci Title Translation to Global Title Translation in Database Operations of Modern GSM Network Architecture

This research investigates attributes of Fibonacci database search methodology vis-a-vis current techniques of Global Title Translation with its attendant signalling overheads, poor quality services and frequent break downs in GSM network architecture. A new search approach, Fibonacci technique is adopted.  The outcome is highly significant as call-dropping is drastically reduced. Key words: Database, Fibonacci, Translation, Network, Architecture communication

Human Capital Development: A Strategy for Moving Nigeria into the Knowledge Economy

The driving force for a nation’s development and growth has shifted from natural endowment to knowledge economy. Countries without abundant resources have been excelling because of the emphasis on human capital that propels knowledge economy. This paper therefore, has emphasized the need for Nigeria to move her economy forward by not only embracing the “New economy” but also “Knowledge economy” via human capital development. She has not been serious with her human capacity building because she has not been treating education as a priority sector. UNESCO approved that this sector should be given 26% of the annual budget, but Nigeria gives only less than 8% for the past years. Nigeria has been spending much on governance while the critical infrastructure and education in particular have been treated with levity in the national budget. It iss estimated that our oil will finish by 2052 and Nigeria has to queue in into the New Economy by developing, training and appreciating her abundant human capital (The Economist, June 3, 2007: 106). The paper concludes by recommending effective training in ICT, decrease in current expenditure, official corruption, while maintaining the UNESCO’s 26% allocation to the education sector.Keywords: Knowledge economy, New economy, Human capital, StrategyInternational Journal of Development and Management Review (INJODEMAR) Vol. 7 June, 201

Fiscal Federalism and Wage-Related Industrial Unrest in the Public Service in Nigeria

Wage- related industrial conflicts which manifest mainly in the form of strike actions have become recurring decimals in the public service in Nigeria The frequency of these conflicts has become worrisome as a result of their disruptive tendencies in the country s industrial relations system These conflicts that most often degenerate to industrial unrest have been partly attributed to absence of fiscal federalism in Nigeria a situation that has ensured that the component units of the Federation do not have autonomy with respect to the control of resources located in their domains The federating units have to always collect their fiscal allocation on monthly basis from the centre Wage- related issues are also domiciled in the exclusive legislative list where only the Federal Government has prerogative The fallout of all these is that today many of the federating units find it difficult to pay the National Minimum wage salaries and wages of workers and also meeting up with other financial commitments to workers This situation frequently leads to industrial unrest in the country s public service The paper therefore interrogates the relationship between absence of fiscal federalism in Nigeria and the frequent industrial unrest in the public service The paper also makes recommendations that could prove helpful in ameliorating the situatio

Review on increasing iron availability in soil and its content in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) by plant growth promoting rhizobacteria

Iron (Fe) deficiency constitutes a serious health challenge in humans especially in children and pregnant women, causing anemia and lower  cognitive ability. In sub-Saharan Africa, consumption of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is suggested as a means to tackle Fe deficiency in humans better than other plants including vegetables. This is because cowpeas are the staple food, they contain other nutrients including protein,carbohydrate and vitamins and their cultivation sustains the environment through nitrogen fixation. Iron though rich in soils exhibit low solubility thereby limiting phytoaccumulation in cowpea, leading to the production of poor Fe cowpea. Plants that are Fe efficient developed two strategies to increase Fe availability and absorption. As a strategy 1 crop, cowpea acquires iron significantly through rhizosphere acidification; which reduces Fe+3 to Fe+2. Such mechanisms do not deliver enough Fe to the crop to meet their demands. Application of inorganic Fe fertilizer to soil though not sustainable also results in fixation and unavailability of Fe to plants. This review surveys available literature on the use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which are costeffective, eco-friendly and sustainable for enhancing Fe mobility for increased absorption by the plant. Recent biotechnological advancements in rhizosphere organisms have revealed various techniques involved in growth enhancement by PGPR. Such growth enhancement involves mobilization of Fe in soils for ease of absorption by plants. Iron solubilization by PGPR as a direct mechanism is facilitated by  several microbes including Fluorescent pseudomonad, Bacillus, Agrobacterium, Sinorhizobium and Bradyrhizobium japonica. They do this through different mechanisms, which include bioleaching, chelation, biomethylation and siderophores mediated iron uptake. The functional groups responsible for the binding of iron to siderophores are mostly the hydroxymates and catechols. Siderophores are iron binding compounds which are released by both plants and microbes. Cowpea like other non-gramminacae crops, interact with microorganisms to acidify the rhizosphere.  Thus, chelates of ferric reductase and iron (II) transporters are activated in the roots. Microorganisms especially bacteria and fungi now chelate insoluble Fe+3 and make them available for plant uptake. Plants are capable of utilizing siderophores produced by microorganisms for Fe uptake.Therefore, these bacteria should be inculcated into the cultivation of cowpea so that its Fe content will be enriched. With the consumption of iron-rich cowpea, Fe deficiency will be minimized if not completely eradicated. Key words: Biofortification, microbes, iron-deficiency, siderophore, bioleaching, biomethylation, bioavailability, catecho

Lag, Constant and Decay Release Characteristic of St-PVOH Encapsulated Urea as a Function of Coating Thickness Using Different Empirical Models

Uncoated urea, when applied to crops is susceptible to losses from volatilization, leaching, nitrous emission and water eutrophication. Plants require varying quantities of nutrients during different stages of growth; they need smaller amounts during infancy and larger amounts during the development of roots, stalk and stem. In this research, controlled release coated urea (CRCU) was synthesized via encapsulation with starch- polyvinyl alcohol biocomposite (St-PVOH). Lag, constant and decay release characteristic of the CRCU were simulated using different empirical models as a function of coating thickness. Structural elucidation and morphology of the raw urea and CRCU were determined using FTIR and SEM analytical techniques, respectively. FTIR confirm esterification reaction for St-PVOH. The SEM image of the raw urea appears rough and have fine openings while that of CRCU possesses a seemingly decrease in membrane porosity, ordered and uniform layer. This characteristic qualifies the CRCU as a semi-permeable membrane. Simulation results revealed that coating thickness of 4.3 and 6.4 are best desirable in designing a CRCU for plant at infancy stage, root, and stalk and stem development. Overall, sigmoidal law shows best robust prediction to expanded varying coating thicknesses