The banana (Musa spp.) is a tropical fruit with excellent sensory characteristics in terms of aroma, flavor and texture, consumed worldwide and exploited in most tropical countries. Green banana flour is rich in flavonoids, which protect the gastric mucosa, has a high content of resistant starch, which acts in the body as a dietary fiber and thus has health benefits, and is an alternative option for bakery products, reducing waste of both the peel and the pulp. The aim of this study was to develop bread formulations with partial substitution of wheat flour with green banana flour (FBV), thus increasing the nutritional, technological and sensory value. 4 formulations, (A), standard sample; (B), bread with 10% FBV; (C), bread with 15% FBV and (D), bread with 20% FBV. Physico-chemical quality was assessed in terms of moisture content by drying at 105ºC, ash by incineration, fat by the Soxhlet method, protein by the biuret method, carbohydrates by difference calculation and calorific value by sum calculation and sensory analysis by affective methods. The data was evaluated using the RStudio 4.2.1 DCC statistical package. There were no significant differences in moisture content, lipids and calorific value. Differences were evident in the ash and protein content. Sensory acceptance of the standard formulation was 82.22%. The results obtained show that green banana flour can be used as a partial substitute for wheat flour to produce breads with functional properties.Full article

Background: The titers of SARS-COV-2 antigens are frequently used as markers of viral activity and threshold for release from quarantine and treatment. COVID-19 patients were treated with several antiviral agents, including remdesivir (RDV) and ensitrelvir (ESV), which is a novel anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent recently suggested to have strong antiviral activity. Cases: We present the cases of two patients whose SARS-CoV-2 antigens were successfully decreased by oral administration of ESV after they could not be decreased by RDV drip infusion. Case 1 was a 74-year-old man who was admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection and had been infected by the virus a month earlier and relapsed twice. He had been treated with rituximab for diffuse B cell lymphoma and not received vaccination for SARS-CoV-2. RDV was administered intravenously two weeks earlier and again 4 days earlier, but it failed to control the infection, and he was transferred to our hospital (day 1). Intravenous RDV was restarted on day 1, but viral antigens remained high until day 5. The RDV was then switched to oral ESV, and viral antigen titers were successfully decreased on days 8, 10, and 12. Case 2 was an 81-year-old man who was admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection on day 0. He had heart failure and diabetes mellitus, and had not received vaccination for SARS-CoV-2. Intravenous RDV was started on day 1, but viral antigens were still high until day 8. He was then switched from RDV to oral ESV, and viral antigen titers were successfully decreased on day 11. Conclusions: These cases suggest that ESV might be more effective than RDV for reducing viral activity, and it is easy to administer orally.Full article

A regular menstrual cycle is important to maintain a woman’s fertility. This cycle has been linked to optimal function of the thyroid gland in the production of its hormones. Disturbance of thyroid gland functions could result to female infertility due to changes in menstrual patterns. Aim of this research was to determine the correlation between thyroid gland functions and menstrual patterns amongst infertile and fertile women attending a tertiary care hospital in North-Central Nigeria. This comparative, cross-sectional study recruited 106 women who visited the hospital's Gynecology Clinic and Family Planning Clinic. 53 of the 106 patients were women with a history suggestive of either primary or secondary infertility and the remaining 53 women with no history of infertility served as the control. A well-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on the patients’ menstrual patterns. Anthropometric data were measured and obtained. Collected blood samples were analyzed using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique to determine the serum levels of thyroid hormones. All obtained data was analyzed, and the level of significance was set at p<0.05, at a 95% confidence interval. 33 patients had menstrual anomalies (78.8% infertile women; 21.2% fertile women who served as control, p=0.012). The incidence of menstrual anomalies in the infertile women group and control group was 7.5% versus 0.0% for amenorrhea; 20.8% versus 5.7% for menorrhagia; 9.4% versus 7.5% for oligomenorrhea; 7.5% versus 0.0% for hypomenorrhea; nil polymenorrhea for both groups; and 50.9% versus 86.8% for normal menstrual patterns. Ten (9.43%) patients were diagnosed with thyroid dysfunctions (80% in infertile group; 20% in control group, p=0.046). Six (18.2%) out of 33 women with menstrual anomalies were diagnosed with thyroid dysfunction. Five (83.3%) out of these 6 women with both menstrual anomalies and diagnosed thyroid dysfunction were infertile while only one (16.7%) was fertile. Thyroid gland dysfunction correlates strongly with abnormal menstrual patterns, which implies that it is vital to evaluate thyroid hormone levels in blood serum in the course of treating menstrual irregularities and female infertility. Early detection of thyroid dysfunction is important in achieving a positive treatment outcome for female infertility.Full article

The study examined consumers’ Awareness in food hygiene and food borne diseases in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The research design for the study was a descriptive survey. The population of the study consists of one hundred (100) consumers. Convenience sampling technique was used to select seventy (70) consumers from the licensed food vendors and thirty (30) consumers from the unlicensed food vendors. Questionnaire was the main instrument for the study. The questionnaire had both open ended and close ended questions was on the consumers’ knowledge and perceptions on food borne diseases and the safety of foods. Data gathered checked, edited, coded, processed and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17. The study concluded that the consumers of vended foods have some knowledge of food hygiene and food borne diseases; however, they ignore the health hazards associated with poor food handling by food vendors and go ahead to patronize the food the vendors provide. The study also indicated consumers patronized street foods because prices were moderate as compared to the formal establishments and ignore the unhygienic conditions at the vending sites. The correlation analysis shows further that consumers patronage (r=-0.095) had negative and non-significant relationship with food handling practices. It is recommended that Consumers of vended foods should be educated to help improve upon their knowledge in food hygiene and food borne diseases to enable them make informed choices and also prompt regulatory bodies such as the environmental health officers on unacceptable food handling practices of food vendors. It is also recommended The Metropolitan/Municipal/District environmental health officers should ensure that inspection of street food vendors are carried out effectively, efficiently and regularly so as to monitor the food handling practices of the food vendors’ right from the time of preparation to the point of sale.Full article

Knowledge about the glycaemic load of a food is very important in minimizing the prevalence of diabetes and other Non-Communicable Diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine the glycaemic load of the different varieties of fufu in the Wenchi municipality in Ghana. Quantitatively, the study adopted a crossover experimental research design. The research was carried out in Wenchi, the capital of the Wenchi Municipal Assembly, in the Bono Region. Convenience and purposive sampling techniques were used to select ten (10) healthy adults for blood glucose tests in this study. Materials used for the study were Fresh cassava, plantain, yam, and cocoyam. Descriptive analysis was used in analysing and interpretation of the data. Values were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 20.0. Proximate analysis of the study concluded that, plantain fufu contained the least carbohydrate content among the three fufu mixtures. The study also revealed that all fufu combinations had a high glycaemic load and this is as a result of the large portion size of fufu that is eaten at a serving. The glycaemic load of fufu combinations showed no significant difference, however, looking at the actual values, there are differences in them which should not be overlooked. It is recommended that consumers of fufu can eat any of the three mixtures of fufu, but there will be the need to take a smaller portion size of the fufu since a larger size can have adverse effects on their blood glucose level. It is also recommended that in other for fufu to be digested well and glucose to be absorbed easily, especially yam fufu, consumers should make sure to eat fufu at least about five hours before going to bed. It is recommended that nutritionists, dieticians, and diet therapists can as well recommend yam fufu and cocoyam fufu for diabetics and prediabetics, to bring about varieties in their diet.Full article

:Basil (Ocimumbasilicum L.) is an herbaceous annual aromatic herb that belongs to the Lamiaceae family. This study aimed to analyze the essential oil content and physicochemical properties of basil varieties stored under different drying methods and dried on different drying days. The fresh leaf of basil varieties was collected from the Wondo Genet Agriculture research center experimental field and subjected to open sun and shade drying methods and four drying days (0,5, 10, and 15). The sample was subjected to oven and hydrodistillation methods on each four particular drying days. The obtained essential oils were analyzed for physical properties (specific gravity and refractive index) and chemical composition using GC-MSD. As shown in the result of all-cause drying methods and drying days significantly affect the essential oil content and physicochemical properties of Basil Variety. In the case of Variety, Basil 02 has a high essential oil content than Basil 05 in the chemical composition, and different chemical compositions exist in both. In the case of drying methods, the sample dried under the shade is higher than in the open sun in essential oil content and physicochemical properties. In the case of different drying days, as the drying days increase, the essential oil content is significantly affected. The essential oil content and physicochemical properties of essential oil decrease as drying days increase for both basil varieties. Drying affects the chemical composition of the two variables, which means, as in the cause of open sun drying, affects the chemical composition more than shade drying as the drying days increase, and the chemical composition decrease. Therefore, this study provides evidence that drying herbs on different drying days and under drying conditions affect the essential oil content and physicochemical properties of essential oil.Full article

Background. Guanylate cyclase 1 soluble subunit alpha 2 (sGCα2), also known as GUCY1A2, was reported to be upregulated and promoted tumorigenesis in cervical cancer. But whether GUCY1A2 was abnormally expressed and its prognostic value in gastric cancer was unknown. The current study aimed to find out the prognostic value of GUCY1A2 in gastric cancer by analyzing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Methods. Wilcoxon signed-rank test, cox regression analysis and multivariant analysis were used to analyze the relationship between clinical characteristic and GUCY1A2 expression level. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the association of GUCY1A2 and overall survival. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to identify GUCY1A2-related signaling pathway. Results. Compared to normal tissue, expression of GUCY1A2 was significantly increased in gastric cancer (p<0.001). Increased GUCY1A2 was associated with advanced T stage (p=0.012) and poor survival (p=0.022). Univariate analysis showed that high GUCY1A2 expression was associated with a poor overall survival (HR:1.44, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-2.02, p=0.03). Multivariate analysis indicated that GUCY1A3 remained an independent prognostic predictor of overall survival (HR:1.75, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20-2.56, p=0.00). GSEA revealed that calcium signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, TGF-β signaling pathway and Wnt signaling pathway were enriched in GUCY1A2 high expression phenotype. Conclusions. GUCY1A2 maybe a potential prognostic predictor of poor survival in gastric cancer. But it need to be further validated clinically.Full article

Groundwater geochemistry refers to the general chemical properties of water, particularly groundwater. Precipitation, volatilization, oxidation/reduction, sorption/partition, and complexation are processes involved in the distribution and fate of organic molecules in water. Determining hydrogeochemical facies is a great help for determining relationships and similarities among the chemistry of waters in an aquifer. This study focused on the coastal aquifer of Tripoli (Lebanon) with Mio-Quaternary age. It is considered as a confined aquifer and an important hydraulic reserve for domestic water use in the region. Recently, it underwent an urban development that leads to an increase in water demand causing a decrease in the piezometric level and a high-risk of deterioration to water quality through seawater intrusion and anthropic pollution. To understand the origin of mineralization and the mechanism of water hydro-chemistry variation and to provide a vision to underground water recharge, this study aims to analyze the hydrodynamic, piezometric, and geochemical characteristics of the coastal aquifer. The fluctuation of physicochemical parameters for cool and warm seasons has been studied and monitored for 16 coastal wells during April, May, and June 2020. Results were interpreted by using a statistical analysis called Principal Components Analysis (PCA). Cartographic of groundwater levels and concentrations for nitrate, chloride, sulphate ions, the ratio sulphate/chloride were determined by using SUFFER8 software. It can be noticed that the Mio-Quaternary formation at Tripoli consists of thick sedimentary sandstones and conglomerates with argillaceous roots, which provide significantly high permeability characteristics. It is mainly recharged from precipitations through karstic formations. Chemical analysis shows that bicarbonate ions (HCO₃^-), characterized by dissolution of carbonate rocks from geological upstream formations of Tripoli, means that the aquifer is subjected to intensive recharge of fresh water and snow melting making a hydrostatic equilibrium facing marine intrusion [1]. High contents of chloride and Sodium are due to anthropic contamination or seawater intrusion. However, Magnesium ion concentration assures this intrusion. Meanwhile, nitrates, sulfates and phosphorus high concentrations are related to wastewater leakage or agricultural activities [2].Full article