Search

The semiarid zones of Cameroon are experiencing rapid land degradation and desertification due to climate change and human activities. Earthworms play a crucial role in soil functioning and are important indicators of soil quality. Their role as soil process regulators and soil ecosystem engineers has been widely demonstrated. Despite their influence in maintaining ecosystem functioning in tropical soils and considering the number of ecosystems present in Cameroon, few data are available on their distribution in Cameroonian soils in general and those of the northern part (semiarid zones) particularly. This study aims to assess the abundance and biomass of earthworm functional groups in different land uses (woody savannah, grass savannah, gallery forest, and open land) impacted by human activities in the Sudano-Guinean area of Cameroon. During two rainy seasons in 2015 and 2016, we compared earthworm functional group densities and biomasses between three herbaceous land cover (HLC) classes and identified soil parameters and land use history that affect their occurrence. Results showed that earthworm functional group densities differed between land use types and herbaceous land cover. In woody savannahs, HLC over 75 % and 90 % greatly promoted the occurrence of endogeic and anecic earthworms, while in grass savannahs the densities of the two functional groups were higher in HLC over 75 %. Moreover, species from the epigeic group occurred abundantly in the gallery forests and represented about 70 % of earthworm species recorded in our study. Some environmental factors such as soil texture, pH, altitude and soil organic matter affected earthworm abundance, while previous human activities such as pasture/grazing and fallow on land uses contributed to the occurrence of at least one of the earthworm functional groups. The study highlights the importance of understanding earthworm community dynamics in the area for effective land use management and soil restoration practices in the face of land degradation and climate change.

Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT) is rooted in behavioural psychology and has demonstrated to possess sufficient explanatory power for use in actual decision-making problems. In this study, two distinct asset classes (i.e. assets with extremely lower or higher CPT values) are classified and pre-selected for optimisation purposes using the differential evolution algorithm. Data on two asset classes namely cryptocurrencies and traditional indices were used in the study. The data were sourced from the Bloomberg database and spans the period August 2016 to March 2018. Probability weighting function with 1- and 2- parameters are used to obtain the CPT values of cryptocurrencies, indices, and mixed assets (i.e. cryptocurrencies and indices). We observe that portfolios consisting of assets of any kind with extremely lower CPT values generally outperform those with higher CPT values. Moreover, portfolios made up of mixed assets generate benefits in terms of improvement of the returns, but it tends also to increase volatility significantly.

The study investigates the stability of financial risk preference choices elicited from subjects by way of two methods, namely: experimentally elicited incentivized revealed risk preferences (IRRP) and (self-reported) perceived willingness to take a financial risk (PWTFR). The research further examines whether financial literacy (a human capital aspect) helps in reducing the gap between IRRP and PWTFR choices made by subjects. A total of 193 university students (where 53% were female) participated in the study. The subjects completed IRRP choices from four multiple price list (MPL) risk preference tasks and a financial literacy questionnaire. There is a tendency to anchor at extremes of risk-seeking behavior when subjects self-report their PWTFR choices. A paired t-test analysis of the two methods shows that the average responses from the two methods are significantly different. A random effect (RE) panel regression shows that an increase in financial literacy narrows the gap between IRRP and PWTFR choices. The study’s findings show that responses by subjects from a PWTFR general risk question (GRQ) and IRRP experiment are unstable and inconsistent. What people say in a survey does not always translate into what they do when faced with a risk preference choice dilemma. Financial literacy helps individuals to predict their risk attitudes more precisely.

Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Background: To compare pressure-controlled ventilation (PCV), volume-controlled ventilation (VCV), and pressure-controlled ventilation-volume guaranteed (PCV-VG) modes in patients undergoing spinal surgery in the prone position under general anesthesia., Methods: The study included 78 patients aged 20 to 80 years, American Society of Anesthesiologists 1-2, scheduled for lumbar spinal surgery. Patients included in the study were randomly divided into 3 groups Group-VCV; Group-PCV; Group-PCV-VG. Standard anesthesia protocol was applied. In addition to routine monitoring, train of four and BIS monitoring were performed. All ventilation modes were set with a target tidal volume of 6 to 8 mL/kg, FiO2: 0.40-0.45 and a respiratory rate of normocarbia. Positive end-expiratory pressure: 5 cm H2O, inspiration/expiration ratio = 1:2, and the maximum airway pressure:40 cm H2O. Hemodynamic, respiratory variables and arterial blood gases was measured, 15 minutes after induction of anesthesia in the supine position (T1), after prone position 15 minutes (T2), 30 minutes (T3), 45 minutes (T4), 60 minutes (T5), 75 minutes (T6), 90 minutes (T7)., Results: There was no significant difference between the groups in patient characteristics. SAP, DAP, mean arterial pressure, and heart rate decreased after being placed in the prone position in all groups. Hemodynamic variables did not differ significantly between the groups. partial arterial oxygen pressure and arterial oxygen saturation levels in blood gas were found to be significantly higher in Group-PCV-VG compared to Group-PCV and Group-VCV in both the supine and prone positions. Ppeak and plateau airway pressure (Pplato) values increased and dynamic lung compliance (Cdyn) values decreased after placing the patients in the prone position in all groups. Lower Ppeak and Pplato values and higher Cdyn values were observed in both the supine and prone positions in the Group-PCV-VG group compared to the Group-PCV and Group-VCV groups., Conclusion: PCV-VG provides lower Ppeak and Pplato values, as well as better Cdyn, oxygenation values compared to PCV and VCV. So that PCV-VG may be an effective alternative mode of mechanical ventilation for patients in the prone position during lumbar spine surgery., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

This study aims to compare the effects of osteoplastic craniotomy on temporalis muscle and bone graft atrophy in patients operated on with a pterional approach to the standard technique. Patients operated on for an intracranial aneurysm with a pterional approach between 2014 and 2018 were studied. Following the exclusion criteria, 36 patients were included in this retrospective study. Temporalis muscle volume and bone graft volume were calculated. The volumes were compared from preoperative and postoperative computed tomography images for temporalis muscle and from early and late postoperative computed tomography images for the bone graft. The osteoplastic craniotomy group (group I) had 17 patients, and the standard craniotomy group had 19 patients (group II). Temporalis muscle volume and bone graft volume decreased statistically significantly in group II after surgery. However, no significant volume difference was found in group I measurements. When compared with the standard technique, osteoplastic craniotomy reduces the likelihood of postoperative temporalis muscle and bone graft atrophy in patients undergoing pterional craniotomy. As a result, the patients' cosmetic and functional well-being is improved., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD.)

Aim: To uncover factors that can predict the development of C5 palsy before surgery by evaluating several different parameters., Material and Methods: A total of 177 patients who underwent surgery between 2015 and 2020 were included in the study. In total, C5 palsy was observed in 22 (12.4%) of our patients. The radiological and clinical data of the patients were retrospectively analyzed and added to the data., Results: A total of 177 patients who satisfied the criteria were included in the study, among whom 117 (66.1%) and 60 (33.9%) were male and female, respectively. Patients with ossified posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) (92; 52.0%) needed surgery the most. C5 palsy developed in 16/92 (17.3%) patients who had surgery for OPLL. This result was statistically significant (p < 0.001). However, a significant difference in the postoperative Pavlov ratio was noted between both groups (p=0.027). The foraminal dimensions for the C5 palsy group were significantly lower than those for the non-C5 palsy group., Conclusion: Smaller C5 root foramina diameter measurements were the most important predictive factor for the development of C5 palsy after open-door cervical laminoplasty. Although the pathophysiology remains to be fully understood, ischemia-reperfusion injury supposedly plays a role therein.

Background: One of the neurodevelopmental disorders widely affecting school-aged children in recent years is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In many neurodevelopmental disorders, grey matter may be used as a clinical indicator by looking at MRIs., Objective: The study aimed to segment grey matter from brain MRI using a proposed fuzzy c-means clustering-based technique for the detection of ADHD and its subtypes (ADHD-Inattentive, ADHDHyperactive, and ADHD-Combined). The grey matter volume, age, gender, and medication status of the subjects were investigated to identify ADHD subtypes., Methods: A modified fuzzy c-means with an elbow approach has been proposed to overcome the drawbacks of previous fuzzy c-means methods and improve segmentation performance. The volume of segmented grey matter was included with the phenotypic information of the ADHD-200 dataset for data analysis of typically developing (TD) and ADHD subtypes., Results: The proposed segmentation exhibited a dice similarity index of 95%. ADHD-Inattentive exhibited a loss of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex, while ADHD-hyperactive exhibited a loss of grey matter in the cerebellum when compared to TD. The analysis of ADHD subtypes based on age and gender showed that children transitioning to adolescence are mostly affected by ADHD-inattentive and female kids are less prone to ADHD-hyperactive. The whole grey matter volume of ADHD-inattentive children, on average, was found to be approximately 4% less than ADHD-combined. Furthermore, the whole grey matter volume was less in non-medication naive children., Conclusion: This study may support healthcare providers in giving appropriate occupational therapy based on the identification of different ADHD subtypes., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Objective: To evaluate the neuroprotective effects of lacosamide after experimental peripheral nerve injury in rats., Methods: A total of 28 male wistar albino rats weighing 300-350 g were divided into four groups. In group I, the sciatic nerve exposed and the surgical wound was closed without injury; in group II, peripheral nerve injuries (PNI) was performed after dissection of the nerve; in group III, PNI was performed after dissection and lacosamide was administered, and in group IV, PNI was performed after dissection and physiological saline solution was administered. At 7 days after the injury all animals were sacrificed after walking track analysis. A 5 mL blood sample was drawn for biochemical analysis, and sciatic nerve tissues were removed for histopathological examination., Results: There is low tissue damage in lacosamide treated group and antioxidant anzymes and malondialdehyde levels were higher than non-treated and placebo treated group. However there was no improvement on clinical assessment., Conclusion: The biochemical and histological analyses revealed that lacosamide has neuroprotective effect in PNI in rats. This neuroprotective capacity depends on its scavenger role for free oxygen radicals by increasing antioxidant enzyme activity.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of lacosamide on traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats., Material and Methods: A total of 28 male Wistar albino rats, each weighing 300-350 g, were included. They were randomly assigned to four groups. In Group 1, only a laminectomy was performed; in Group 2, SCI was performed after laminectomy; in Group 3, SCI was performed after laminectomy followed by lacosamide administration, and in Group 4, SCI was performed after laminectomy followed by physiological saline administration. After 48 hours, all animals were sacrificed, blood samples were drawn, and their spinal cords were removed. The serum levels of catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured, and the spinal cord specimens were examined for neuronal degeneration (PND)., Results: The MDA level was the lowest and the antioxidant enzyme levels were the highest in Group 3. There were statistically significant differences between Group 3 and the others in their PND score, serum MDA, SOD, GPX and catalase levels (p < 0.05)., Conclusion: Lacosamide has a neuroprotective effect in SCI in rats that is related to its ability to decrease the production of reactive oxygen species by increasing antioxidant enzyme expression, inhibit lipid peroxidation and attenuate glial cell activation.

Study Design: Retrospective study., Purpose: This study aimed to determine the incidence of intraspinal pathologies (ISPs) in individuals with Scheuermann's kyphosis (SK) and to validate whether the routine use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is necessary for preoperative evaluation., Overview of Literature: There are several studies on the necessity of routine MRI screening and prevalence of ISPs related to different types of scoliosis have been conducted. However, despite the well-established association between ISPs and a higher risk for neurological complications there is no any study on the scientific literature concerning the prevalence of ISPs in patients with SK has been conducted., Methods: The database of the institution was retrospectively reviewed to identify all patients diagnosed with SK who underwent surgery between 2012 and 2015. Patients were excluded from the study if their hospital database records did not include spinal images, which are routinely collected before surgery. The presence or absence of ISPs, as indicated on magnetic resonance images, was evaluated by a radiologist., Results: Of the 138 potential participants, 120 were included in the study. Of these, seven patients (5.8%) had ISPs, and all the cases involved syringomyelia. None of the seven patients with ISPs required additional neurosurgical procedures before corrective surgery. No complications were reported during the perioperative period, and none of the patients developed postoperative neurological deficits., Conclusions: According to this study, the incidence rate of ISPs in patients with SK was 5.8%, and we recommend that all patients with SK should be evaluated using MRI of the spine before corrective surgery.

Objective: To determine whether the endocan level may be related to the severity of spinal cord injury., Background: Several biomarkers were evaluated for this purpose, but endocan has never been studied before. It is correlated to endothelial dysfunction and ischemia, which are the characteristics of spinal cord injury in most cases., Material and Methods: A total of 21 male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 300-350 g were randomly divided into three groups. In Group I, only a laminectomy was performed; in Group II, a mild SCI was performed after laminectomy; and, in Group III, a severe SCI was performed after laminectomy. At 48 h after the injury, after neurological assessment by Tarlov method, all animals were euthanized. A 5 cc blood sample was drawn for biochemical analysis, and spinal cord tissues were removed for histopathological examination., Results: The difference between Groups I and III was statistically significant (p < 0.05). There was also a moderately positive correlation between the severity of SCI and the endocan level (r = 0.59, p < 0.05)., Conclusion: The endocan level may be used as an indicator to determine prognosis after SCI (Tab. 1, Fig. 2, Ref. 24). Text in PDF www.elis.sk.

Purpose: Spondylolysis is known to be a part of a disease process, which describes a defect in the pars interarticularis of vertebra. We aimed to use quantitative computed tomography (QCT) to measure vertebral body bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with lumbar spondylolysis and compare it with readings in controls., Methods: Forty symptomatic patients with lumbar spondylolysis aged 18-52 years and 40 matched controls of same sex and approximate age (±2 years) were included in the study. Measurements of BMD were performed by QCT analysis for each vertebral body from T12 to L5 and mean BMD was calculated for each case., Results: Of 40 patients, 22 (55%) demonstrated L5 spondylolysis, 14 (35%) L4 spondylolysis, three (7.5%) L3 spondylolysis, and one (2.5%) L2 spondylolysis. Spondylolisthesis was found in 29 patients (73%). Patients with spondylolisthesis were significantly older than patients without spondylolisthesis (42±6.9 vs. 37.2±5.4, P = 0.024). Mean BMD value of the patient group was significantly lower than that of the controls (105±24 mg/cm³ vs. 118.7±25.6 mg/cm³, P = 0.015). Subgroup analysis of 19 patients and 19 controls under the age of 40 revealed that the mean BMD value of the patients was significantly lower than that of the controls in the younger age group as well (108.7±23.5 mg/cm³ vs. 130±25.8 mg/cm³, P = 0.009)., Conclusion: This study demonstrated that patients with spondylolysis had significantly lower mean vertebral body BMD compared with controls.