Authors:Rasheed Agboola , Adedeji Okikiade , Olayinka Afolayan-Oloye Pages: 1 - 18 Abstract: Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer related death among women worldwide and it is a complex disease characterized by its heterogeneity. The heterogenous characteristic of the breast cancer is responsible for its aggressiveness and treatment resistance. Breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) are population of heterogenous cells with increased propensity for proliferation, differentiation, migration, invasion and mammosphere formation with increased resistance to treatment. They have ability to initiate and propagate cancer cells population and share similarity with the normal stem cells in relation to their expressions of cell surface markers; Cluster of Differentiation 44 positive (CD44+), Cluster of Differentiation 24 negative/low (CD24-/low) and Alkaline dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are responsible for the RNA silencing and post-transcriptional regulation of the gene expression. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) control gene expression by acting as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. The epigenetic mechanisms are used for the regulation of miRNAs expression in the breast cancer, and this can be targeted to reverse the cancer progression. This review aims to provide an overview of the pathogenic mechanism of the microRNA’s expressions on the breast cancer stem cells in controlling the prognosis and aggressiveness of breast cancer disease. This is done by highlighting the regulatory mechanism of miRNA expressions on the BCSCs. Dysregulation of the MicroRNAs expression in the breast cancer stem cells and upregulated miRNAs expression were identified in the breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs), including miR-10b, miR-21, miR-155, miR-181, miR-183, miR-210 and miR-221/222, and the downregulated miRNAs expression in BCSCs include Let-7, miR-22, miR-30e, miR-31, miR-103/107, miR-200, miR-205, miR-335, miR-449a, miR-519c, miR-600, miR-708, miR-760. Studies showed association between the miRNA expression and breast cancer metastasis and aggressiveness. MicroRNAs were noticed to have a regulatory effect on neovascularization, drug resistance, and cancer metastasis. They can be used as predictive indicators in determining prognosis of breast cancer following cancer treatment and miRNAs expression can be used to determine the metastatic BCSCs for an efficient targeting mechanism and identification of the metastatic cancer cells. The systematic literature review aims at providing insight into the potential roles of microRNA in oncology especially breast cancers. The data for this study review were obtained from the Medline on OvidSP, includes PubMed of the US National Library of Medicine and the search was done through the University of Bristol Library services. This is to provide an overview of the pathogenic mechanism of microRNAs regulatory effect on the breast cancer stem cells in controlling the prognosis and aggressiveness of breast cancer disease. The review will be providing highlight of the dysregulation of oncogenic and tumor suppressor microRNAs in the breast cancer stem cells and highlighting the roles of miRNAs regulated BCSCs in the pathogenesis, prognosis, and aggressiveness of the breast cancer. We further discuss the biogenesis of miRNAs, regulatory roles of miRNAs on BCSCs, and then summarize the mechanism of miRNAs regulated BCSCs. PubDate: 2023-03-20 DOI: 10.9734/air/2023/v24i4943 Issue No:Vol. 24, No. 4 (2023)
Authors:Esther F. Fomsi , Saturday T. Birabil Pages: 19 - 28 Abstract: This study aimed at assessing the awareness and attitude of social studies teachers on the use of social studies apps for enhancing students learning. It is a descriptive survey with a population of fifty social studies teachers from twenty-two public secondary schools in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State. The entire population was used as the sample for this study. A total of five objectives, five research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The Instrument used for data collection was a 52-item questionnaire titled: “Teachers’ Awareness, Attitude and Perception Toward the Use of Social Studies App (TAAPTUSSA)”. The reliability of the questionnaire was estimated using the Cronbach Alpha method of internal consistency with an overall reliability coefficient of 0.83. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while an independent sample t-test was used to analyze hypotheses one and two, and Pearson Product Moment correlation (PPMC) was used to analyze hypothesis three. Findings revealed that Social Studies teachers are not very conversant with social studies apps, but the teachers have a positive attitude towards utilizing social studies apps for teaching. A positive but weak correlation exists between social studies teachers’ awareness level and their attitude toward the use of social studies apps. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the Rivers State Government should organize seminars to raise the level of awareness of social studies teachers on the existence of apps that can be used for teaching the subject. Workshops should also be organized by the Government to assist these teachers to learn how to use these apps. Above all, social studies teachers should develop a positive attitude towards the use of social studies apps in the classroom. There seemed to be a scarcity of studies covering all the variables in the study area; this study could therefore be regarded as one of the first in the study area to demonstrate empirically that the adoption of social studies apps can be used to enhance students’ learning. PubDate: 2023-03-21 DOI: 10.9734/air/2023/v24i4944 Issue No:Vol. 24, No. 4 (2023)
Authors:Rachel Nambafu , Judith Waudo , Margaret Nganga , Peter Lusi , Hudson Nyambaka Pages: 29 - 37 Abstract: Trace elements, especially chromium (Cr), vanadium (V) and selenium (Se) have potential beneficial effects on glucose metabolism in people with type 2 diabetes. Food products incorporating mushrooms are not only a good source of such nutrients but are thought to have readily bioavailable nutrients. Nutritional efficacy of food products may be ensured by accessing bioaccessibility of nutrients, which provides valuable information on matrix and appropriate dosage. The study determined bioaccessible Cr, V and Se in four varieties of oyster mushrooms Pleurotus ostreatus (PO), Pleurotus sajor-caju (PS), Pleurotus pulmonarius (PP) and Pleurotus citrinopileatus (PC) grown in Kenya. Bioaccessibility was estimated using in vitro simulated gastrointestinal procedure, while nutrient levels were determined using atomic absorption procedure. Bioaccessible levels of chromium ranged from 26.56% in PS to 78.50% in PC; selenium from 92.52% in PC to ND inPS and PP; and vanadium from92.46% in PC to 69.95% in PP. Vanadium was the most bio accessible than the other elements in the four oyster mushrooms, while chromium was the most bio accessible in the PC variety. PubDate: 2023-03-23 DOI: 10.9734/air/2023/v24i4945 Issue No:Vol. 24, No. 4 (2023)
Open Access journal
