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Significance of African Diets in Biotherapeutic Modulation of the Gut Microbiome
Diet plays an essential role in human development and growth, contributing to health and well-being. The socio-economic values, cultural perspectives, and dietary formulation in sub-Saharan Africa can influence gut health and disease prevention. The vast microbial ecosystems in the human gut frequently interrelate to maintain a healthy, well-coordinated cellular and humoral immune signalling to prevent metabolic dysfunction, pathogen dominance, and induction of systemic diseases. The diverse indigenous diets could differentially act as biotherapeutics to modulate microbial abundance and population characteristics. Such modulation could prevent stunted growth, malnutrition, induction of bowel diseases, attenuated immune responses, and mortality, particularly among infants. Understanding the associations between specific indigenous African diets and the predictability of the dynamics of gut bacteria genera promises potential biotherapeutics towards improving the prevention, control, and treatment of microbiome-associated diseases such as cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The dietary influence of many African diets (especially grain-base such as millet, maize, brown rice, sorghum, soya, and tapioca) promotes gut lining integrity, immune tolerance towards the microbiota, and its associated immune and inflammatory responses. A fibre-rich diet is a promising biotherapeutic candidate that could effectively modulate inflammatory mediators’ expression associated with immune cell migration, lymphoid tissue maturation, and signalling pathways. It could also modulate the stimulation of cytokines and chemokines involved in ensuring balance for long-term microbiome programming. The interplay between host and gut microbial digestion is complex; microbes using and competing for dietary and endogenous proteins are often attributable to variances in the comparative abundances of Enterobacteriaceae taxa. Many auto-inducers could initiate the process of quorum sensing and mammalian epinephrine host cell signalling system. It could also downregulate inflammatory signals with microbiota tumour taxa that could trigger colorectal cancer initiation, metabolic type 2 diabetes, and inflammatory bowel diseases. The exploitation of essential biotherapeutic molecules derived from fibre-rich indigenous diet promises food substances for the downregulation of inflammatory signalling that could be harmful to gut microbiota ecological balance and improved immune response modulation.
Journal Article
From partition to Brexit : the Irish government and Northern Ireland
From Partition to Brexit is the first book to chart the political and ideological evolution of Irish government policy towards Northern Ireland from the partition of the country in 1921 to the present day. Based on extensive original research, this groundbreaking and timely study challenges the idea that Irish governments have pursued a consistent set of objectives and policies towards Northern Ireland to reveal a dynamic story of changing priorities. The book demonstrates how in its relations with the British Government, Dublin has been transformed from spurned supplicant to vital partner in determining Northern Ireland's future, a partnership jeopardised by Britain's decision to leave the European Union. Informed, robust and innovative, From Partition to Brexit is essential reading for anyone interested in Irish or British history and politics, and will appeal to students of diplomacy, international relations and conflict studies. -- .
Book
Spatial distribution and insecticide resistance of Aedes mosquitoes in Osun State: implications for vector control
Background
Aedes
mosquitoes are primary vectors of arboviral diseases, such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, posing major threats to tropical public health. Understanding their spatial distribution and resistance status is vital for sustainable control. This study investigated the mapping of breeding habitats, species composition, and insecticide susceptibility in
Aedes
populations from Osun State, Nigeria.
Methods
Larval surveys across a rural community identified 36 potential habitats, of which 27.8% were positive for
Aedes
breeding. A total of 3500 larvae were collected, reared to adult stage, morphologically identified and subjected to WHO-standard insecticide bioassays.
Results
Two species were identified:
Aedes aegypti
(99.3%) and
Aedes albopictus
(0.7%), with
Ae. aegypti
strongly predominant (
p
< 0.05). Mortality rates following insecticide exposure ranged from 94 to 100%. Complete susceptibility was observed for permethrin, deltamethrin, and pirimiphos-methyl, while reduced mortality (94%) against alpha-cypermethrin indicated possible emerging resistance. The mapping of larval habitats revealed clustered breeding in rural communities, portending localized risk of arboviral transmission.
Conclusions
These findings highlight that while
Aedes
populations in the study area remain largely susceptible to conventional insecticides, early signals of resistance require proactive management by the state. Incorporating synergists into integrated vector control, alongside habitat surveillance and mapping, will be critical to sustaining insecticide effectiveness and reducing the burden of
Aedes
-borne diseases in Osun State and Nigeria at large.
Journal Article
Irish ethnologies
\"Irish Ethnologies gives an overview of the field of Irish ethnology, covering representative topics of institutional history and methodology, as well as case studies dealing with religion, ethnicity, memory, development, folk music, and traditional cosmology. This collection of essays draws from work in multiple disciplines including but not limited to anthropology and ethnomusicology. These essays, first published in French in the journal Ethnologie française, illuminate the complex history of Ireland and exhibit the maturity of Irish anthropology. Martine Segalen contends that these essays are part of a larger movement that \"galvanized the quiet revolution in the domain of the ethnology of France.\" They did so by making specific examples, in this instance Ireland, inform a larger definition of a European identity. The essays, edited by Ó Giolláin, also significantly explain, expand, and challenge \"Irish ethnography.\" From twelfth-century accounts to Anglo-Irish Romanticism, from topographical surveys to statistical accounts, the statistical and literary descriptions of Ireland and the Irish have prefigured the ethnography of Ireland. This collection of articles on the ethnographic disciplines in Ireland provides an instructive example of how a local anthropology can have lessons for the wider field. This book will interest academics and students of anthropology, folklore studies, history, and Irish Studies, as well as general readers. Contributors: Martine Segalen, Diarmuid o Giollain, Hastings Donnan, Anne Byrne, Pauline Garvey, Adam Drazin, Gearoid o Crualaoich, Joseph Ruane, Ethel Crowley, Dominic Bryan, Helena Wulff, Guy Beiner, Sylvie Muller, and Anthony McCann\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Anaerobic digestion of gliricidia sepium co-digested with pig manure using automated and portable digester
Promoting biogas as a renewable energy source is strengthened by decentralized anaerobic digestion systems at the community level, providing an innovative approach to managing organic waste and sustaining energy. The anaerobic digestion of pig dung co-digested with
gliricidia sepium
were experimented with over 30 days all using both fabricated and automated digesters. This study used a mixing ratio of the substrate to an inoculum of 1:1 for a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 30 days in triplicates. The physicochemical and microbial characteristics of the substrates and digestate were analyzed using standard procedures. A statistical analysis was conducted using ANOVA to assess the data. There was a reduction in cellulose concentration by 2% m.m
−1
after the thermo-alkaline pretreatment, which indicates a modification in the structure that aids the breakdown of the biomass during digestion Experimental results show that pig dung co-digested with
gliricidia sepium
produced a gas yield of 0.986772m
3
and 0.50845m
3
from the automated and fabricated digester respectively. When comparing treated and untreated
Gliricidia sepium
, the raw sepium had a higher C/N ratio, ranging from 7 to 8. Iron, zinc, aluminum, copper, Biological oxygen demand, Chemical oxygen demand as well as T.alkalinity, T.nitrogen, T.phosphate, T.carbon, potassium, sulfate, calcium, magnesium, and manganese well as total solids, volatile solids all showed an increase after pre-treatment. This research has shown that significant methane content of gas (58.26%) can be generated from
Gliricidia sepium
co-digested pig manure even at small-household levels.
Journal Article
Evaluation of antimicrobial usage in companion animals at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Nigeria
This study investigated various qualitative and quantitative indices of antimicrobial use (AMU) in companion animals (CAs) at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH-A) and its annex (VTH- B) from 2019 to 2021. For 694 documented animals, antimicrobial administrations (AADs) were 5, 278 times, of which 98.8% (5217) and 1.2% (61) were in dogs and cats respectively. At the VTH- A, oxytetracycline (1185 times, 22.5%) was mostly administered in dogs and metronidazole (26 times, 0.5%) in cats. Similarly, at VTH- B, oxytetracycline was administered 895 times (17.0%) in dogs while amoxicillin was given 7 times (0.1%) in cats. The prescription diversity (PD) was estimated at 0.73 and 0.82 in VTH-A and VTH-B respectively. The quantity of antimicrobials (AMs) used was 10.1 kg (A, 6.2 kg and B, 3.9 kg). Oxytetracycline administrations and quantity of metronidazole (P < 0.0001) were higher than other Active Ingredients (AIs). Furthermore, 16.5% of AIs were classified as Critically Important Antibiotics (CIA) with the highest priority, while enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and azithromycin fell under the World Health Organisation (WHO) Watch group. The In-Depth Interview (IDI) indicated that the high frequency of oxytetracycline administrations was linked with being the first choice for blood parasite treatment by the clinicians at the hospital. The quantity of metronidazole used was perceived to be higher due to the clinicians' preference for the treatment of acute gastroenteritis, its wider dose range, and the frequency of administration (bi-daily). The study provides baseline data on AMU indices in CAs, for the development of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and communication training, and policy modifications to enhance antimicrobial therapy optimization in tertiary veterinary hospital care in Nigeria.
Journal Article
Evaluation of the pharmacological potential of Ganoderma lucidum against haemorrhagic and anticoagulant activities of Echis ocellatus venom
Background
Echis ocellatus
is a highly venomous snake that can cause serious medical complications due to the presence of toxic proteins in its venom. These proteins, such as echicetin and phospholipase A
2
(PLA2), often cause severe pathophysiology in snakebite victims.
Ganoderma lucidum
is recognised for its pharmacological benefits against various diseases. However, the potential of this fungus as an antivenom has not yet been reported.
Objective
This study investigated the inhibitory effects of
G. lucidum
on haemorrhagic and anticoagulant activities induced by
E. ocellatus
venom, and identified its possible bioactive inhibitor compounds using in vitro, in vivo, and in silico methods.
Methods
Ganoderma lucidum
was extracted using methanol in a standard procedure, and varying doses (20 and 40 mg) of the extract were tested against the biological activities
E. ocellatus
venom. Thereafter, the extract of the
G. lucidum
was subjected to Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis to identify its bioactive compounds. The identified compounds were docked against the catalytic active sites of echicetin and PLA2 proteins to determine the best inhibitor compound. The Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicity (ADMET) properties of compounds were determined using the ADMETlab 2.0 web tool.
Results
The extract caused 62.96 ± 1.03% and 59.25 ± 1.59% venom-induced haemorrhage inhibition at doses of 20 and 40 mg, respectively, while plasma clotting times were shortened to 132 and 163 s at 20 and 40 mg, respectively. The GC-MS identified 29 bioactive compounds from
G
.
lucidum
extract, out of which hesperidin had the highest docking scores of – 9.3 kcal/mol and – 9.9 kcal/mol against the catalytic sites of echicetin and PLA2 enzymes, respectively.
Conclusion
The results indicate that
G
.
lucidum
has antivenom potential against
E. ocellatus
venom-induced toxic activities, and identified hesperidin as a promising compound for antivenom exploration against viper envenoming.
Graphical Abstract
Journal Article