Abstract only
1571
Background: African Americans have higher incidence of cancer and lower survival rates compared to other ethnicities. We studied the 5-year relative survival between black and ...white races for the most common cancers in the United States. Methods: Data was obtained from the SEER database, the largest population-based cancer database including 28% of US population. Data containing 5-year relative survival from the patients who were diagnosed from 1973 to 2010. We included data for cancers of colorectal, lung, prostate, breast and melanoma, the most common cancers in the United States. Results: For colorectal cancer average 5-year relative survival from 1973 to 2010 is 59.9% for whites and 51.5% for blacks. Same results for lung cancer are 14.6% for whites and 12.2% for blacks, for breast cancer is 84.5% for whites and 71.6% for blacks, for prostate cancer is 86.9% for whites and 80.5% for blacks, and for melanoma is 87.9% for whites and 66.4% for blacks. The average black to white 5-year relative survival ratio is 0.86, 0.84, 0.85, 0.92, and 0.76 for cancers of colorectal, lung, breast, prostate, and melanoma, respectively. This ratio has decreased from 0.89 to 0.86 and from 0.87 to 0.81 for colorectal and lung cancer, respectively and for cancers of breast, prostate and melanoma it has increased from 0.85 to 0.87, from 0.88 to 0.89, and from 0.73 to 0.80 respectively. Conclusions: Our analysis shows that for colorectal and lung cancer the survival rate difference between blacks and whites has increased over 4 decades but for cancers of breast, prostate and melanoma this ratio has decreased. Better understating of the factors contributing to racial differences in cancer survival has potential applicability in policymaking for a better and equal health care delivery.
Background
Although several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published over the past 5 years show that prenatal or postnatal probiotics may prevent or optimize the treatment of childhood asthma ...and atopic disorders, findings from the systematic reviews and meta-analyses of these studies appear inconsistent. More recent RCTs have focused on postnatal probiotics, and linked specific probiotic strains to better disease outcomes.
Objective
This systematic review aimed to determine if postnatal probiotics are as effective as prenatal probiotics in preventing or treating childhood asthma and atopic disorders.
Methods
We searched the PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar, and EMBASE databases for RCTs published within the past 5 years (from 2017 to 2022). We included only full-text RCTs on human subjects published in or translated into the English language. We retrieved relevant data items with a preconceived data-extraction form and assessed the methodological quality of the selected RCTs using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing the risk of bias in randomized trials. We qualitatively synthesized the retrieved data to determine any significant differences in study endpoints of the probiotic and placebo groups.
Results
A total of 1,320 participants (688 and 632 in the probiotic and placebo groups) from six RCTs were investigated. One RCT showed that early
Lactobacillus rhamnosus
GG (LGG) led to a reduction in the cumulative incidence rate of asthma. Another study demonstrated that mixed strains of
Lactobacillus paracasei
and
Lactobacillus fermentum
could support clinical improvement in children with asthma while one trial reported a significant reduction in the frequency of asthma exacerbations using a mixture of
Ligilactobacillus salivarius
and
Bifidobacterium breve
. Three trials showed that a combination of LGG and
Bifidobacterium animalis
subsp
lactis, Lactobacillus rhamnosus
alone, and a probiotic mixture of
Lactobacillus
ŁOCK strains improved clinical outcomes in children with atopic dermatitis and cow-milk protein allergy.
Conclusions
Postnatal strain-specific probiotics (in single or mixed forms) are beneficial in preventing and treating atopic dermatitis and other allergies. Similarly, specific strains are more effective in preventing asthma or improving asthma outcomes. We recommend more interventional studies to establish the most useful probiotic strain in these allergic diseases.
This study focused on determining the experiential learning activities required of business education students for the development of various 21st century competencies and differences across levels ...of academic instruction. The study was a descriptive survey, and 341 full-time business education students in a Public University in Anambra State, Nigeria participated in the study. Questionnaires were used for data collection. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while the Kruskal-Wallis was used to test the hypotheses. Findings revealed that the respondents engaged in experiential learning (EL) activities involving simulations, role plays, practice in business laboratories, study of real life cases, peer assessments, creative competitions and self-directed projects; but not in reflections.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The performance of crop plants is critically affected by biotic and abiotic stress. These stressors threaten food availability by reducing overall crop yield and productivity. Changes in chromatin ...state by epigenetic modification are part of plant adaptive and survival responses and are considered pivotal for improving agronomic traits. Epigenetics is an exciting field that involves heritable gene expression changes that do not require changes in DNA sequence. Epigenetic modification is well known as a crucial player in plant phenotypic diversity and defense against pathogens. Hence, there is a growing interest in unlocking the epigenome for crop improvement. Herein, we highlight the epigenetic modifications implicated in plant biotic stress response and their contributions to important agronomic traits. We also discussed adopting epigenetics to expand phenotypic diversity and produce desired characteristics in crop plants.
This research assessed the impact of liquidity management on the financial performance of quoted deposit money banks in Nigeria. Secondary data were gathered from the corporate annual reports and ...accounts of fifteen (15) Banks for eleven (11) years spanning from 2007 to 2017. The agency theory was the theoretical framework upon which this study was hinged. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were adopted as analytical tools for the data. The results indicate that there exists a significant association amid liquidity management and financial performance of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria. In addition, there exists a significant difference in the profitability of the Deposit Money Banks before and after the adoption of Treasury Single Account (TSA) in Nigeria. The study recommends that Deposit Money Banks should employ good liquidity management to mechanisms for a good performance and the Deposit Money Banks should reorganize its internal financial system in order to adapt to changes within the new policy (TSA).
The fluted pumpkin Telfairia occidentalis (Hook F.) is a very important vegetable, popularly cultivated in South Eastern Nigeria for its economic value and its role in nutrition. It exhibits a high ...degree of interspecies variability and as such enhances biodiversity. Twenty landraces of fluted pumpkin were collected from five States in southern Nigeria which include; Anambra, Ogun, Lagos, Ondo and Enugu State. The landraces were grown in the Botanical Garden of Lagos State University, Ojo during the rainy season of 2013 for phenotypic screening to determine genetic divergence. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. Genetic characterization was conducted in the biotech lab of the national institute of medical research (NIMER). The genomic DNA was extracted from the samples and extracted DNA samples were amplified through the PCR techniques using four primers (RAPD – 01, OPR-02, OPC – 04 and SCAR-1 primer) to access diversity among the genotypes. The result reveals a huge genetic divergence among the genotypes studied. The genotypes were grouped into five clusters based on a 2.0(20%) level of similarity by single linkage cluster analysis, which agrees with morphological data, each containing fluted pumpkin genotypes sharing common properties and being similar to one another.
The present study evaluated the perceived effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on food security in Southeast Nigeria. A multi-stage random technique was used to select 209 households. Data for the study ...were collected with the aid of a structured questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive statistics,
z
-test, food security model, and Tobit regression model. Results showed that the mean household size was 9.6 persons, which indicates a large household size. The percentage rate of food consumption of the households before the Pandemic was higher relative to the COVID-19 event. Again, exorbitant prices of food materials were noticed during the COVID-19 as compared to the period before the Pandemic. About 10.5% of the households met the minimum food requirements as proposed by World Health Organization (WHO), and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as against the majority of 76.1%. The three dimensions of food security which include availability, accessibility, and utilization were interposed by a number of factors, such as artificial scarcity, and an increase in food prices. Furthermore, social distancing and lockdown imposition were COVID-19 determinants of the food security status of households in the Southeast Nigeria. About 24% of the households were food-secured compared to 76% that were insecured during the Pandemic. Robust and effective food and agricultural policy formulations and implementations were recommended in Southeast Nigeria.
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