Fountain University

Drug-drug interaction (DDI) management is critical for safe and effective use of oral anticancer drugs (OADs). Our study objectives were to (i) compile clinically relevant pharmacokinetic (PK) DDI mechanisms for OADs and (ii) assess the prevalence of PK potential DDIs (PDDIs) in patients with advanced solid cancers. OADs approved through January 2023 were assigned DDI mechanisms based on studies obtained from drug labels and primary literature showing ≥ 2-fold exposure change or significant adverse health outcomes during co-administration with interacting drugs. Electronic health records of 3,697 solid cancer patients were reviewed retrospectively to detect PDDIs, defined as overlapping prescriptions of OADs with relevant interacting drugs. FDA labels were reviewed for 99 OADs, and 239 studies were extracted from the primary literature, yielding a total of 748 drug-drug pairs for analysis. Eighty-five OADs (85.9%) had ≥ 1 DDI mechanism. The most common DDI mechanisms were victims with metabolic inducers (71.7%), CYP3A substrates (55.6%), CYP3A perpetrators (29.3%), and victims with acid reducers (17.2%). Our primary literature search detected clinically relevant DDI mechanisms without actionable recommendations in the drug labels for 14 drugs. Among patients prescribed ≥ 1 OADs (46.9%), 17.4% had ≥ 1 PDDI, most commonly involving OADs acting as CYP3A (58.9%) or CYP2D6 (32.5%) perpetrators. Most OADs (~86%) had ≥ 1 DDI mechanism, and ~17% of solid tumor board patients had a clinically relevant PDDI.

Maternal malaria and its sequelae, including maternal mortality and neonatal infection, represent a growing public health crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa, often exacerbated by underlying socioeconomic factors. The study seeks to assess the associations between maternal socioeconomic indicators, maternal malaria, and neonatal peripheral parasitaemia in a Nigerian hospital. A cross-sectional analysis of 85 mother-infant pairs was conducted at a hospital in Osogbo, Osun state, Nigeria. Well-structured questionnaires were used to collect maternal demographics, socioeconomic indicators, and preventive practices. Mother, cord blood, and neonatal peripheral blood samples were collected for parasitemia through microscopy. Descriptive statistics, Fisher exact and chi-square tests were used for categorical variables, and univariate logistic regression for continuous predictors. The prevalence of neonatal peripheral parasitemia was 8.2% (7/85). Maternal parasitemia strongly predicted neonatal infection. All positive neonates were born to mothers with positive microscopy (7/19), whereas no neonates from parasitemia negative mothers were infected (p < 0.001). No statistically significant associations were found between neonatal parasitemia and maternal education (p = 0.912), occupation (p = 0.183), insecticide treated net use (p = 0.413), or intermittent preventive therapy uptake (p = 1.000). The present study revealed maternal parasitemia as a primary risk factor for neonatal malaria. While socioeconomic factors showed no significant association in this small cohort, these preliminary findings highlighted the need for larger studies with refined socioeconomic measures to fully elucidate these relationships. This highlights the critical need for strengthening antenatal malaria screening, ensuring timely treatment of maternal infection, and enhancing community-based malaria education to reduce vertical transmission in high-burden regions like Osun State, Nigeria.

Purpose The issue of climate risk is a global concern as it has posed telling consequences on welfare and threatened the survival of humanity altogether. This study seeks to investigate the extent to which climate risk has impacted agricultural sustainability in Nigeria in order to underscore the immediate and impending food crises that the country would face in the future. More so, it is to serve as the policy document for the government to direct the needed resources and to orient agribusiness stakeholders toward agricultural sustainability, in the face of increasing climate challenges. Design/methodology/approach Predicated on an extended Ricardian model, both agricultural value addition and agricultural productivity index were deployed as measures of agricultural sustainability, while climate risk factors are the sea level and temperature. The technique of analysis employed is the Autoregressive Distributed Lag model, meant to analyze both the long-run and short-run impacts. Findings Sequel to various preliminary tests, the estimated results showed that climatic factors, such as the sea level and temperature, significantly negatively impact agricultural sustainability in Nigeria, especially in the short-run situation. In the long run, the results are measures-sensitive. Additional results found that the gross national income per capita and fertilizer consumption have a significantly positive impact on agricultural sustainability in Nigeria. Research limitations/implications To elicit more insightful findings and obtain more far-reaching conclusions, a more robust data scope with high-frequency data would be required. More so, data coverage on more components of climatic conditions, such as rainfall, sunshine would provide additional robust results. Social implications Efforts should be made to improve the economic welfare of the people, especially farmers, traders and other stakeholders who deals in agribusiness. This can be in form of educating farmers on the need to prioritize their health and wellbeing. Originality/value The Ricardian model has been reputed for analyzing studies on land and agriculture, and their combined effects on livelihood and productivity. This study pioneered an extended Ricardian-type model to quantitatively investigate the impact of climate change on agricultural sustainability.

Cancer continues to pose a significant health threat due to the rapid development of drug resistance. To tackle this issue, compounds derived from Morpho Butterfly Wings were assessed for their potential anti-cancer properties using computational methods. Quantum chemical optimization was conducted using density functional theory, and receptor interactions were evaluated through induced-fit docking and molecular dynamics simulations. The findings indicated that 3,8-dimethoxy-2,7-dihydrobenzo[1,2,3-cd:4,5,6-c'd']diindole-4,5,9,10-tetraone (compound 4) exhibited a heightened electron-donating ability due to its narrow HOMO–LUMO gap, while 3,8-dinitro-2,7-dihydrobenzo[1,2,3-cd:4,5,6-c'd']diindole-4,5,9,10-tetraone (compound 6) showed a strong electron-accepting characteristic with its minimal LUMO energy. Additionally, the docking studies identified compound 6 as the leading potential inhibitor, which led to its selection for molecular dynamics simulations; however, the subsequent binding free energy assessments, along with RMSD and RMSF evaluations, demonstrated that it possessed lower dynamic stability and a reduced binding affinity compared to the reference compound, Doxorubicin.

Background: In recent years, cryptocurrencies have emerged as alternative financial assets, gaining increasing attention in Nigeria due to rising inflation, currency depreciation, and restrictions on foreign exchange (FX) access. Aims: The study examined the effect of foreign exchange policies' spillover on the volatility of cryptocurrency returns in Nigeria. Methods: The study utilised time series data, which consisted of United States dollars and Nigerian Naira, while the cryptocurrencies were extracted from the Nigerian foreign exchange market over a two-year period. Vector Autoregressive (VAR) was employed as a method of data analysis. Results: The findings revealed that there is a statistically significant long-run relationship between FX rates and cryptocurrency returns. The exchange rate fluctuations, reflective of FX policy shifts, generate asymmetric and persistent volatility in major cryptocurrencies, and the impact of FX policies on crypto returns varies across assets, with BTC and ETH being more responsive than USDT and SOL. Conclusions: Cryptocurrencies can no longer be viewed in isolation, as they are increasingly influenced by global and national economic decisions. Implications: There is a need to incorporate macroeconomic indicators, particularly exchange rate trends, into trading strategies to anticipate market movements and reduce risk exposure.

Workforce diversity has emerged as a critical element in today’s organizational landscape, particularly in service-driven industries where interactions, collaboration, and innovation are central to performance. However, managing diversity effectively remains a significant challenge, especially in developing economies such as Nigeria. This study investigates the influence of workforce diversity on employee performance in selected fast-food centres in Osun State. Adopting a quantitative research approach and a descriptive-causal comparative design, primary data were gathered through 150 structured questionnaires administered to employees, with 135 valid responses analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Findings revealed that workforce diversity significantly predicts employee performance (R = 0.742, R² = 0.550, p &lt; 0.05), which confirmed that diversity accounted for 55% of performance variation. Specifically, age, gender, and ethnic diversity had strong positive effects, while religious diversity showed a modest but positive influence. The findings underscore the importance of inclusive workplace practices in enhancing collaboration, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. The study recommends that fast-food organizations institutionalize diversity management policies, implement diversity awareness and sensitivity training, and adopt equitable recruitment and promotion strategies to maximize performance outcomes.

This study examines the intricate relationship between Shariah education and the formation of national identity within Nigerian universities. As a country marked by religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity, Nigeria faces ongoing challenges in forging a cohesive national identity. The inclusion of Shariah-related courses in university curricula, particularly in institutions located in the predominantly Muslim northern region, raises critical questions about the role of religious legal education in a secular and pluralistic state. Using a multidisciplinary methodology that combines legal analysis, educational policy review, and qualitative interviews with students and faculty, this research investigates how Shariah education influences perceptions of citizenship, national belonging, and social cohesion. Findings suggest that while Shariah instruction can serve as a means of cultural affirmation and moral guidance, it also has the potential to either bridge or deepen national divides depending on how it is framed and integrated within broader academic and civic discourses. The paper concludes with recommendations for a more inclusive educational framework that respects religious diversity while reinforcing a shared national identity.

Abstract LRRK2 serves as a significant oncogenic driver in multiple malignancies, including glioblastoma, lung, breast, and ovarian cancers. It enhances cancer cell growth, metastasis, and survival by modulating critical signaling pathways, including MET, p53, and JNK. The WD40‐repeat (WDR) domain of LRRK2 is a crucial protein–protein interaction region required for regulating oncogenic signaling pathways. The current research examines the inhibitory ability of 104 phytochemicals obtained from anticancer plants against the WDR domain of LRRK2 through in silico experiments that include drug‐likeness, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and ADMET profiling. Ellagic acid and cucurbitacin B exhibited enhanced binding affinities (−9.58 and −8.46 kcal/mol, respectively) compared to the reference compound MLi‐2‐NC (−3.16 kcal/mol). Both compounds showed no ability to block the hERG channel, were non‐mutagenic, and had moderate intestinal absorption. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated durable binding interactions, with cucurbitacin B displaying the strongest binding free energy (−25.69 kcal/mol) and persistent protein–ligand interactions, whereas ellagic acid exhibited consistent but comparatively weaker interactions (−11.84 kcal/mol). Here, ellagic acid and cucurbitacin B are identified as promising for further development as agents that can modulate LRRK2‐driven carcinogenic pathways. These findings offer compelling justification for experimental validation.

Abstract Background The medicinal plant Mucuna pruriens, is well known for its neuropharmacological properties but there is a dearth of literature information about how the trichomes specifically affect anxiety and depression. This study aimed to evaluate the behavioural, neurochemical, and histopathological potentials and the anxiolytic as well as the antidepressant potential of M. prurienstrichome extracts in male Wistar rats. Method Mucuna pruriens pods were collected at Gbolasere Farms in Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria. The sample was identified and authenticated; a specimen was deposited at the Herbarium section with voucher specimen number IFE 18235. Forty-two (42) male Wistar rats were divided into seven groups, after which they received treatment with 200 µL or 400 µL doses of either aqueous or methanolic M. pruriens trichome extracts. The tail suspension and open field tests were used to investigate the anxiolytic and antidepressant qualities. Immunohistochemical analysis was used to quantify serotonin expression in brain and skin tissues, while histological evaluations assessed potential structural modifications. Results Rats treated with extractsexhibited a significant increase in grooming frequency (p&lt;0.05), indicating reduced anxiety-like behaviour. Rearing activity was also elevated, further supporting an anxiolytic effect. All extract-treated groups showed significantly shorter immobility time in the tail suspension test (p&lt;0.05), indicating antidepressant-like action. While brain serotonin levels showed a dose-dependent decrease in the range 141.12-212.33 µL, the expressionof serotoninby the skin tissue peaked in the 400 µL aqueous extract group (143.91 µL). Serotonin receptor modulation was validated by histopathological investigation, which did not reveal any signs of neurotoxicity. Conclusion This study has shown trichomes of Mucuna pruriens to exhibit strong antidepressant and anxiolytic properties, most likely due to serotonergic regulation. These results in the study highlight their potential as natural remedies for mood disorders, which calls for more pharmacological research.