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To determine the presence and correlates of S. haematobium in urine specimens of school-going children at Maramba Primary School in Livingstone, Zambia.A structured questionnaire was administered to children with signed consent from their guardians/parents, and spot urine specimens were collected in sterile containers for macroscopic/microscopic examination by an experienced laboratory technologist.A total of 173 school-going children participated in the study. Parasitic eggs were detected in six specimens with prevalence of 3.47 %, which was strongly associated with presence of microscopic red blood cells (p 0.01) and washing clothes in a stream (p = 0.01).Low prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis among school-going children was noted with correlates such as washing in a stream, while an older age group showed much stronger disease association.

Latcripin-16 (Lp16-PSP) is a gene that was extracted as a result of de novo characterization of the Lentinula edodes strain C91-3 transcriptome. The aim of the present study was to clone, express, and investigate the selective in vitro anticancer potential of Lp16-PSP in human cell lines. Lp16-PSP was analyzed using bioinformatics tools, cloned in a prokaryotic expression vector pET32a (+) and transformed into E. coli Rosetta gami. It was expressed and solubilized under optimized conditions. The differential scanning fluorometry (DSF)-guided refolding method was used with modifications to identify the proper refolding conditions for the Lp16-PSP protein. To determine the selective anticancer potential of Lp16-PSP, a panel of human cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines was used. Lp16-PSP protein was identified as endoribonuclease L-PSP protein and a member of the highly conserved YjgF/YER057c/UK114 protein superfamily. Lp16-PSP was expressed under optimized conditions (37 °C for 4 h following induction with 0.5 mM isopropyl β-d-1-thiogalactopyranoside). Solubilization was achieved with mild solubilization buffer containing 2 M urea using the freeze–thaw method. The DSF guided refolding method identified the proper refolding conditions (50 mM Tris–HCl, 100 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 400 mM Arginine, 0.2 mM GSH and 2 mM GSSG; pH 8.0) for Lp16-PSP, with a melting transition of ~ 58 °C. A final yield of ~ 16 mg of purified Lp16-PSP from 1 L of culture was obtained following dialysis and concentration by PEG 20,000. A Cell Counting Kit-8 assay revealed the selective cytotoxic effect of Lp16-PSP. The HL-60 cell line was demonstrated to be most sensitive to Lp16-PSP, with an IC50 value of 74.4 ± 1.07 µg/ml. The results of the present study suggest that Lp16-PSP may serve as a potential anticancer agent; however, further investigation is required to characterize this anticancer effect and to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the action of Lp16-PSP.

Background: Processes for selection of candidates into medical schools vary globally. Knowledge of the predictive validity of a selection method is important for policy revision. Aim: To survey the practices used by medical schools to select students and their predictive validity. Methods: Search terms developed from the research problem were used to search Google Scholar, PubMed, and Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC). These were “medical school,” “predictive validity,” “success,” “academic achievement” “admission criteria,” and “student selection.” Retrieved articles were screened for relevance and sorted according to countries of publication. Authors narratively reviewed the articles from each country and collated the findings. Best practices were recommended for African-based medical schools. Results: Articles retrieved from 14 countries were included in the review. USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand operate centralized medical school admission programs and administer nation-wide admission tests. These tests cover cognitive and non-cognitive domains. The validity of these tests in predicting medical school success were extensively studied and reported. Other countries do not operate centralized medical school admission programs. Most of these rely on cognitive excellence to select students. Few reports are available on the validity of selection practices in Africa. Most rely on cognitive excellence which highly predicted academic success during preclinical studies. Predictivity decreased during clinical phases and non-cognitive variables became better predictors of success. Conclusion: Medical school admission processes should consider cognitive and non-cognitive factors. With non-cognitive factors, candidates with right attitudes are selected. African countries should align their practices to that of Western countries.

Introduction. Bloodstream infections (BSI) are a major public health burden with high mortality, and when coupled with antimicrobial resistance, the healthcare costs increase. This study aimed to establish the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance patterns of pathogens isolated from blood cultures at Livingstone Central Hospital (LCH) from 2019 to 2021. Methods. A single-centre laboratory based retrospective study with information collected from electronic laboratory system generated reports on all isolated organisms at LCH microbiology laboratory for a period of 3 years. Results. A total of 765 specimens were processed from January 2019 to December 2021 and only 331 (43.3%) met the inclusion criteria. More specimens from female (61.3%) than males (38.7%), and from out-patient departments (65.9%) than in-patient departments (34.1%) specimens were processed. Amongst the bacteria isolates identified, Escherichia coli (27.2%) was the commonest isolate followed by Enterobacter agglomerans (22.7%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (13%), Klebsiella oxytoca (6.3%), Enterobacter aerogenes (5.4%), Enterobacter cloacae (5.4%), Citrobacter freundii (C4.8%), Serratia marcescens (3.6%), Proteus mirabilis (3.3%), and Staphylococcus aureus (2.7%). Antibiotic susceptibility testing identified the least potent antibiotic as ampicillin (92.9%) followed by co-trimoxazole (82.7%), nalidixic acid (68.3%), penicillin (66.7%), tetracycline (63.5%), and chloramphenicol (50.3%) whereas the most effective antibiotic was imipenem (84.6%) followed by norfloxacin (64.7%) and nitrofurantoin (61.2%). Resistance maybe affected by patient gender and location. Conclusion. Multidrug resistance strains causing BSI are increasing and imipenem is still effective but risk being over-used. This will impact healthcare costs and increase mortality rates at the hospital level.

BackgroundSchistosomiasis is an acute and chronic parasitic disease that is caused by trematode worms (blood flukes) of the genus Schistosoma. Schistosoma haematobium (S. haematobium) is known to cause urogenital schistosomiasis. The disease is the second most common socio-economically devastating tropical parasitic disease after malaria in Africa. In Zambia, it affects over a million school going children, mostly in rural communities due to unsafe water and inadequate sanitation facilities. This study aimed to determine the presence of S. haematobium in urine specimens of school going children in Maramba compound of Livingstone and establish factors associated with the acquisition and spread of the parasite.MethodsA structured questionnaire was administered on all children with signed consent from their guardians/parents and afterward spot urine specimens were collected in sterile containers for macroscopically/microscopically examination by an independent laboratory technologist.ResultsA total of 173 school going children participated in the study. Parasitic eggs were detected in 6 specimens providing a prevalence of 3.47% (pConclusionThe prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis among school going children in Maramba compound was 3.47%, and the correlates of the infection included washing in a stream, older age and poor knowledge on schistosomiasis. Participants that had schistosomiasis often presented with hematuria and lacked knowledge on disease acquisition, health effects and preventive measures. This calls for more robust sensitization of school going children and periodic screening to curb the disease.

This study aimed to assess microbial colonization of elevators and the staircase handrail at Ndola Teaching Hospital. Swabs from elevators and staircase handrail were cultured on Blood, MacConkey and Mannitol Salt agar for 24-48h at 35-37oC. All observed bacterial colonies were sub-cultured for identification. Data analysis was conducted with Microsoft excel 2010 and SPSS version 20 statistical software. A 2-tailed Pearson Correlation test was used to assess for significant differences in colonization prevalence between the two elevators and handrail. A total of 94 bacteria species were isolated, among which 75(78.8%) were isolated from elevators while 19(20.2%) were isolated from the staircase handrail. Most bacteria were isolated from exterior buttons followed by doors and interior of elevators whereas the basement, ground and sixth floor sections of the staircase handrail were largely contaminated with S. aureus, non-spore-forming Gram-positive bacilli, Klebsiella spp, coagulase-negative Staphylococci and Enterobacter spp. Overall, the commonest isolated bacteria were S. aureus (33%) followed by non-spore-forming Gram-positive bacilli (16%), coagulase-negative Staphylococci, and endospore-forming Gram-positive bacilli (13.8% apiece), Streptococci (7.4%), and Klebsiella species (6.4%). A strong relationship existed between the prevalence of bacteria colonizers of elevators and the staircase handrail (p

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and M.tuberculosis are two intracellular pathogens that interact at the cellular, clinical and population levels. Since the recognition of AIDS in 1981, the number of reported cases of TB in the has increased substantially, especially in regions with high incidence of AIDS. The main aim of this study was to establish weather there is a relationship between sputum smear positives and low CD4 cell counts among HIV infected patients.Materials and methods: This was a retrospective study involving 473 participants. The patients recruited in this study were those who tested HIV positive and smear positive for TB. Their HIV status was determined by performing an HIV blood test, if they were HIV positive their CD4 cell count were then made.Results: This study examined the relation between smear positivity and low CD4 (below 200cells/µl) together with CD8 and CD3 markers as a measure of immune function among patients infected with HIV. The study participants’ constituted males 67% and females 33%. The overall mean age was 33.2 (SD 6.9) with the youngest and oldest participants being 18 and 60 respectively. It was found that smear positive results negatively (r=-0.13; p=0.021) correlated with CD4+ below 200 cells/µl. No correlation was observed between smear positives and CD8+ or CD3+ since the calculated correlation coefficient was not significant 0.007 (p=0.9) and 0.03 (p=0.6) respectively. There are more 3+ smear results below 200 cells/µl than the others while above 200 cells/µl 1+ was the most commonly reported smear result. The scanty smear positives were the least commonly reported result in the low and high CD4 counts. Conclusion: The smear positive result negatively correlated with a low CD4+ (r=-0.13; p=0.021) but no correlation with low CD+8 and CD+3 results was observed. The long held theory that low bacillary counts in patients with low CD4+ counts needs to be revisited. The reduction of CD4+ cell count parallels' that of the total lymphocyte count and is more marked in patients with high bacillary counts. Further, studies are required to confirm these findings

Background Thymus genus has been used since ancient times for their valuable health properties, which could be attributed to their chemical components, especially essential oils (EOs). Among these species, T. vulgaris has a long history of use for different food and medicinal purposes. Scope and approach This paper reviews the chemical composition of Thymus plants EOs, including thyme, describes their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties as well as recent food applications as preservatives. The role of these plants in cancer is also covered, as well as the potential these plants have to manage and treat other diseases. Furthermore, clinical studies are also detailed. Key findings and conclusions Food preservation with naturally occurring compounds is gaining increasing importance due to the consumer demand for safe and high-quality products and to reduce the use of synthetic preservatives. For this purpose, not only thyme but also other thymus plants can be used as such and combined with high-pressure, cold nitrogen plasma, in edible films (active packaging), etc. Moreover, the potential of these plants have to treat several diseases and complications reinforce their use in nutraceuticals and functional foods, but further clinical evidence is required.

Latcripin-16 (Lp16-PSP) is a gene that was extracted as a result ofde novocharacterization of theLentinula edodes strainC91-3transcriptome. The aim of the present study was to clone, express and investigate the selectivein vitroanticancer potential of Lp16-PSP in human cell lines. Lp16-PSP was analyzed using bioinformatics tools, cloned in a prokaryotic expression vector pET32a (+) and transformed intoE. coliRosetta gami. It was expressed and solubilized under optimized conditions. The differential scanning fluorometry (DSF)-guided refolding method was used with modifications to identify the proper refolding conditions for the Lp16-PSP protein. In order to determine the selective anticancer potential of Lp16-PSP, a panel of human cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines was used. Lp16-PSP protein was identified as endoribonuclease L-PSP protein and a member of the highly conserved YjgF/YER057c/UK114 protein superfamily. Lp16-PSP was expressed under optimized conditions (37°C for 4 h following induction with 0.5 mM isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside). Solubilization was achieved with mild solubilization buffer containing 2M urea using the freeze-thaw method. The DSF guided refolding method identified the proper refolding conditions (50 mM Tris-HCl, 100 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 400 mM Arginine, 0.2 mM GSH and 2 mM GSSG; pH 8.0) for Lp16-PSP, with a melting transition of ~58°C. A final yield of ~16 mg of purified Lp16-PSP from 1 L of culture was obtained following dialysis and concentration by PEG 20,000. A Cell Counting Kit-8 assay revealed the selective cytotoxic effect of Lp16-PSP. The HL-60 cell line was demonstrated to be most sensitive to Lp16-PSP, with an IC50value of 74.4±1.07 μg/ml. The results of the present study suggest that Lp16-PSP may serve as a potential anticancer agent; however, further investigation is required to characterize this anticancer effect and to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the action of Lp16-PSP.

Latcripin-16 (Lp16-PSP) is a gene that was extracted as a result of de novo characterization of the Lentinula edodes strain C

The aim of this study is to assess the antibacterial and anti-biofilm properties of the lipid extract from Mantidis ootheca against the gentamycin resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The chemical composition of the lipid extract and its relative proportion were determined using the technique of gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Antibacterial susceptibility tests were performed using a disc diffusion assay and the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) was determined by way of the agar dilution method. The anti-biofilm test was carried out with crystal violet staining and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). There were 16 compounds detected, and the most abundant components were sesquiterpenoids, monoterpenes, and trace aromatic compounds. The MIC for P. aeruginosa was 4 mg/ml and the eradication effect on preformed biofilms was established and compared with a ciprofloxacin control. The results of our study indicated that a lipid extract from M. ootheca could be used as a topical and antibacterial agent with anti-biofilm activity in the future.

The recombinant protein of Latcripin-4 regulator of chromosome condensation 1 (RCC1) and ankyrin (ANK) domains were expressed and the antitumor activity of Latcripin-4 on HepG2 cells was studied. First, the Latcripin-4 transcript was selected from the medicinal mushroom Lentinus edodes C91-3 transcriptome by bioinformatics. Then the full-length gene of Latcripin-4 was isolated with 3'-full rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and 5'-full RACE methods according to the transcriptome. The RCC1 and ANK domains from the full-length gene were selected and inserted into the expression vector pET-32a (+) and expressed in Escherichia coli Rosetta-gami (DE3). Western blotting indicated that the protein was expressed successfully. The biological function of Latcripin-4 RCC1 and ANK domain protein on HepG2 cells was studied with the CCK-8 assay. All results demonstrated that Latcripin-4 RCC1 and ANK domain protein can inhibit the growth of human HepG2 liver cancer cells, which brings new insights to identifying antitumor proteins from medicinal food for cancer therapy.

Candida albicans is a minor component of the oral microbiota and an opportunistic pathogen that takes advantage of the immunocompromised host and causes oral mucositis and oral candidiasis. This organism is able to undergo phenotypic modification from a yeast to hyphae growth phase, one of the key arsenals for immune cell evasion, tissue invasion and biofilm formation. The latter property coupled with overgrowth and immune compromising factors such as HIV/AIDS, cancer treatments, organ transplantation, diabetes, corticosteroid use, dentures, and broad-spectrum antibiotic use have modified the fungus from a normal component of the microflora to a foe of an oral cavity and resulting in reduced sensitivity towards commonly utilised antifungal agents. Hence, the need for alternative therapy to curb this plight is of importance. Making use of biomolecules produced by Streptococcus mutans , application of lactoferrin which is a nonspecific host defense factor found in saliva with metal chelating and broader antimicrobial properties, use of probiotics which have the capacity to boost the host immunity through eliciting Immunoglobulin A synthesis, and perturbing the pathogen's environment via competition of space and food, and application of photodynamic therapy can help to manage the burden of oral candidiasis.

Antimicrobial stewardship is the organized and systematic way of educating and enforcing evidence-based prescribing of antimicrobial agents to control misuse and overuse of antibiotics with the aim of curbing antimicrobial resistance. There is need to initiate antimicrobial stewardship program at various levels in the health sector such as health facilities or hospitals in order to safeguard and sustain the current antimicrobial agents in use. In addition, oxazolidinones are potent drugs in management of multidrug resistance (MDR) related infections and linezolid is already on the market and being considered as a drug of 'last resort' for the treatment of MDR bacterial infections. Therefore, to avert the development and rapid spread of drug resistance against linezolid and other oxazolidinone drugs, antimicrobial stewardship program needs to be established for critical monitoring and regulation of their use at all critical levels in the health system hierarchy, especially in resource limited countries.Keywords: Oxazolidinone, Linezolid, Antimicrobial stewardship, antimicrobial resistance, Antibiotics, Zambia

Periodic monitoring of antibiotic susceptibility patterns in clinical settings is vital to ascertain the potency as well as re-establishing empirical therapy. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of pathogens isolated from routine laboratory specimens at Ndola Teaching Hospital. A retrospective study was conducted on routine specimens received between May 2016 and July 2018. Specimens were cultured on standard media and Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method was used for susceptibility testing in accordance with the Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute’s recommendations. A total of 693 specimens were analyzed, of which 65.9% (457) specimens came from inpatient departments and 49.1% (340) came from female patients. The commonest specimens were urine (58.6%), blood (12.7%) and wound swabs (8.5%), and the most common microorganisms were coliform (29.3%), Staphylococcus aureus (15.4%), coagulase negative Staphylococci (CoNS, 13.4%), and Escherichia coli (13%). The highest percentage of resistance to any particular antibiotic was co-trimoxazole (91.7%, 33) followed by nalidixic acid (75.2%, 279), norfloxacin (69.0%, 100), ceftazidime (55.7%, 185), nitrofurantoin (46.6%, 191), chloramphenicol (43%, 111) and ciprofloxacin (8.6%, 271). Furthermore, patient location had resistance effect on coliform (p = 0.014), CoNS (p = 0.031), Streptococcus species (p = 0.024) and Klebsiella species (p = 0.004) to nitrofurantoin, ceftazidime, nitrofurantoin and chloramphenicol, respectively. Besides coliform, resistance of Enterobacter species to ceftazidime and Proteus species to nalidixic acid were more from female patients. Generally, the most effective antibiotics were chloramphenicol and nitrofurantoin with addition of ceftazidime on blood pathogens and ciprofloxacin on wound swab pathogens. The common isolates were coliform, S. aureus, coagulase negative Staphylococci and Escherichia coli. The resistance of most bacteria to ceftazidime and nitrofurantoin were influenced by both gender and location. Our study presents a broad overview of the resistance profiles of bacterial isolates. However, more nosocomial prevalence and antibiogram studies on individual routine specimens are required to provide a more detailed picture of resistance patterns.

Cancer is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality around the globe. For certain types of cancer, chemotherapy drugs have been extensively used for treatment. However, severe side effects and the development of resistance are the drawbacks of these agents. Therefore, development of new agents with no or minimal side effects is of utmost importance. In this regard, natural compounds are well recognized as drugs in several human ailments, including cancer. One class of fungi, “mushrooms,” contains numerous compounds that exhibit interesting biological activities, including antitumor activity. Many researchers, including our own group, are focusing on the anticancer potential of different mushrooms and the underlying molecular mechanism behind their action. The aim of this review is to discuss PI3K/AKT, Wnt-CTNNB1, and NF-κB signaling pathways, the occurrence of genetic alterations in them, the association of these aberrations with different human cancers and how different nodes of these pathways are targeted by various substances of mushroom origin. We have given evidence to propose the therapeutic attributes and possible mode of molecular actions of various mushroom-originated compounds. However, anticancer effects were typically demonstrated in in vitro and in vivo models and very limited number of studies have been conducted in the human population. It is our belief that this review will help the research community in designing concrete preclinical and clinical studies to test the anticancer potential of mushroom-originated compounds on different cancers harboring particular genetic alteration(s).

Microorganisms provide both beneficial and harmful effects to human beings. Beneficial effects come from the symbiotic relationship that exists between humans and microbiota, but then several human illnesses have turned some friendly microbes into opportunistic pathogens, causing several microbial-related diseases. Various efforts have been made to create and utilize antimicrobial agents in the treatment and prevention of these infections, but such efforts have been hampered by the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Despite extensive studies on drug discovery to alleviate this problem, issues with the toxicity and tolerance of certain compounds and continuous microbial evolution have forced researchers to focus on screening various phytochemical dietary compounds for antimicrobial activity. Linolenic acid and its derivatives (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) are omega-3 fatty acids that have been studied due to their role in human health, being important for the brain, the eye, the cardiovascular system, and general human growth. However, their utilization as antimicrobial agents has not been widely appreciated, perhaps due to a lack of understanding of antimicrobial mechanisms, toxicity, and route of administration. Therefore, this review focuses on the efficacy, mechanism, and toxicity of omega-3 fatty acids as alternative therapeutic agents for treating and preventing diseases associated with pathogenic microorganisms.

Lp16-PSP (Latcripin 16-Perchloric acid Soluble Protein) from Lentinula edodes strain C91-3 has been reported previously in our laboratory to have selective cytotoxic activity against a panel of human cell lines. Herein, we have used several parameters in order to characterize the Lp16-PSP-induced cell death using human acute promyeloid leukemia (HL-60) as a model cancer. The results of phase contrast microscopy, nuclear examination, DNA fragmentation detection and flow cytometry revealed that high doses of Lp16-PSP resulted in the induction of apoptosis in HL-60 cells. The colorimetric assay showed the activation of caspase-8, -9, and -3 cascade highlighting the involvement of Fas/FasL-related pathway. Whereas, Western blot revealed the cleavage of caspase-3, increased expression of Bax, the release of cytochrome c and decreased expression of Bcl-2 in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting the intrinsic pathway might be involved in Lp16-PSP-induced apoptosis as well. Low doses of Lp16-PSP resulted in the anchorage-independent growth inhibition, induction of G1 phase arrest, accompanied by the increased expression of p21WAF1/CIP1, along with the decreased expression of cyclin D, E, and cdk6. In addition, Lp16-PSP resulted in constitutive translocation inhibition of transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) into the nucleus by decreasing the phosphorylation of IκBα. All these findings suggested Lp16-PSP as a potential agent against acute promyeloid leukemia; however, further investigations are ultimately needed.

The formation of inclusion bodies (IBs) is considered as an Achilles heel of heterologous protein expression in bacterial hosts. Wide array of techniques has been developed to recover biochemically challenging proteins from IBs. However, acquiring the active state even from the same protein family was found to be an independent of single established method. Here, we present a new strategy for the recovery of wide sub-classes of recombinant protein from harsh IBs. We found that numerous methods and their combinations for reducing IB formation and producing soluble proteins were not effective, if the inclusion bodies were harsh in nature. On the other hand, different practices with mild solubilization buffers were able to solubilize IBs completely, yet the recovery of active protein requires large screening of refolding buffers. With the integration of previously reported mild solubilization techniques, we proposed an improved method, which comprised low sarkosyl concentration, ranging from 0.05 to 0.1% coupled with slow freezing (− 1 °C/min) and fast thaw (room temperature), resulting in greater solubility and the integrity of solubilized protein. Dilution method was employed with single buffer to restore activity for every sub-class of recombinant protein. Results showed that the recovered protein’s activity was significantly higher compared with traditional solubilization/refolding approach. Solubilization of IBs by the described method was proved milder in nature, which restored native-like conformation of proteins within IBs.

Microorganisms have the ability of inhabiting nearly every environment through their sophisticated mechanisms of survival such as biofilm formation and release of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). The biofilm matrix offers microorganism protection and contributes significantly to several clinical challenges, including symptomatic inflammation, antibiotic resistance, recurrence and the spread of infectious emboli. Moreover, bacteria also have another protective mechanism of vesicle production which is used as a means of disseminating toxins to harm their host. A clear understanding of gene expression switch of bacterium from planktonic to biofilm mode offers clinical potentials in treating bacterial infections. In this respect, the treatment of bacterial infections may be achieved through (1) application of RNA interference technology to silence the expression of proteins involved in the process of biofilm formation, (2) utilization of vesicles in delivering antibiotics and (3) use of natural occurred compounds. In this review, we discuss the relationship between biofilm formation and OMV production with respect to tackling biofilm-related clinical challenges. Some prospective considerations in biofilm-associated infections treatment are also discussed.