3DP printing of oral solid formulations: a systematic review

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a recent technology, which gives the possibility to manufacture personalised dosage forms and it has a broad range of applications. One of the most developed, it is the manufacture of oral solid dosage and the four 3DP techniques which have been more used for their manufacture are FDM, inkjet 3DP, SLA and SLS. This systematic review is carried out to statistically analyze the current 3DP techniques employed in manufacturing oral solid formulations and assess the recent trends of this new technology. The work has been organised into four steps, (1) screening of the articles, definition of the inclusion and exclusion criteria and classi-fication of the articles in the two main groups (included/excluded); (2) quantification and charac-terisation of the included articles; (3) evaluation of the validity of data and data extraction process; (4) data analysis, discussion, and conclusion to define which technique offers the best properties to be applied in the manufacture of oral solid formulations. It has been observed that with SLS 3DP technique, all the characterisation tests required by the BP (drug content, drug dissolution profile, hardness, friability, disintegration time and uniformity of weight) have been performed in the majority of articles, except for the friability test. However, it is not possible to define which of the four 3DP techniques is the most suitable for the manufacture of oral solid formulations, because the selection is affected by different parameters, such as the type of formulation, the physi-cal-mechanical properties to achieve. Moreover, each technique has its specific advantages and disadvantages, such as for FDM the biggest challenge is the degradation of the drug, due to high printing temperature process or for SLA is the toxicity of the carcinogenic risk of the photopoly-merising material

Corporate Governance and Financial Performance of Money Deposit Banks in Nigeria

Purpose. The main cause of distress in the majority of Nigerian banks is poor corporate governance in the country. Corporate governance (CG) is a contemporary subject attracting the consideration of the corporate world, practitioners, consultants, academia and society at large. As a result, this study explores the financial performance (FP) of money deposit banks (MDBs) in Nigeria as a result of corporate governance put in. It went on to investigate the impact of board size and composition, as well as the audit committee, on bank financial performance. Methodology. A descriptive design method was adopted, while secondary data in the form of yearly financial reports of banks selected for the study were obtained and relevant documents via electronic search of databases. Descriptive statistics were used in analyzing the data and an econometric model of panel least square (PLS) regression test was employed for the study. Findings and Implication. The findings affirmed that the correlation between size of board of directors and bank performance was significant, however negative. The results of the study show that the board of directors (BOD) composition significantly influences the FP of MDBs. The study results further reveal that the correlation between size of the audit committee (AC) and FP of MDBs is significant and also a negative one. As a result, based on the empirical findings of the study, it is concluded that CG has a statistically significant influence on the FP of Nigeria’s listed money deposit banks. Mechanisms such as the large size and composition of the board as well as the size of the audit committee encourage a negative impact on the FP. In line with the foregoing, the study recommended that an effort be made to improve CG, in the sense that the number of directors on board should be kept to a desirable level, and that the ratio of executive directors to non-executive directors, as well as the size of the audit committee, is kept at an optimal level

Analyses Of The Effectiveness Of The Various Measures Employed By People In The Control Of Flooding In Six Communities In Awka Anambra State Of Nigeria.

This study analyzed the effectiveness of the measures already put in place to control flooding in six Communities of Awka including Agulu, Amaenyi, Ezi-Awka, Amikwo, Ifite and Nkwelle. The questionnaire survey method was adopted in which questionnaire was employed in collecting the data from the respondents which was later collated and analyzed. Three hypotheses were tested and the T-test result showed that: 1. there is significant difference in the various efforts made to check flooding in Awka, 2. there is significant difference in the effectiveness of the various efforts made to check flooding in Awka, and 3. there is no significant difference in the various measures used in flood management in Awka. The study concluded therefore that there are many measures put in place to tackle the problem of flooding in the study area in all the six Communities studied, but the problem still persists because the parties involved are fighting the menace individually. The study thus recommends an integrated approach in tackling flooding in the area, which will include the following: massive campaign against improper dumping of refuse in the drainage system as it not only create room for flooding but also encourages flooding in the area, construction of sound drainage system, creating environmental awareness to keep the drainage system from waste dumps, encouraging people to open their drainage system constantly in order to help check and control flooding, avoiding dumping of refuse in drainage system and the enforcement of all these by a strong governmental force

Detection of the spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, in continental sub-Saharan Africa

The spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii Matsumura, is an insect pest of soft-skinned fruit, native to Eastern Asia. Since 2008, a world-wide dispersal of D. suzukii is seen, characterized by the establishment of the pest in many Asian, American and European countries. While the potential for invasion of continental Africa by D. suzukii has been predicted, its presence has only been shown for Morocco in Northern Africa. Knowledge about a possible establishment in other parts of the continent is needed as a basis for pest management. In 2019, we carried out a first survey in three counties in Kenya to monitor for the presence of D. suzukii using traps baited with a blend of apple cider vinegar and red wine. A total of 389 D. suzukii flies were captured in a fruit farm at Nakuru county, with more female flies being trapped than males. We confirmed the morphological identification of D. suzukii using DNA barcoding. In 2020, we performed a follow-up survey at 14 locations in six counties to delimit the distribution of D. suzukii in the main berry growing zones in Kenya. The survey indicated that so far D. suzukii is restricted to Nakuru county where it was initially detected. This is the first study to provide empirical evidence of D. suzukii in continental sub-Saharan Africa, confirming that the pest is expanding its geographic range intercontinentally. Given the high dispersal potential of D. suzukii, a concerted effort to develop management strategies is a necessity for containment of the pest

A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study: Will Anxiety Disorders Increase Subsequent Cancer Risk?

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate a possible association between malignancy and anxiety disorders (AD) in Taiwan. METHODS: We employed data from the National Health Insurance system of Taiwan. The AD cohort contained 24,066 patients with each patient randomly frequency matched according to age and sex with 4 individuals from the general population without AD. Cox's proportional hazard regression analysis was conducted to estimate the influence of AD on the risk of cancer. RESULTS: Among patients with AD, the overall risk of developing cancer was only 1% higher than among subjects without AD, and the difference was not significant (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.01, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.95-1.07). With regard to individual types of cancer, the risk of developing prostate cancer among male patients with AD was significantly higher (HR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.02-1.71). On the other hand, the risk of cervical cancer among female patients with AD was marginally significantly lower than among female subjects without AD (HR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.51-1.03). LIMITATIONS: One major limitation is the lack of information regarding the life style or behavior of patients in the NHI database, such as smoking and alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the failure to identify a relationship between AD and the overall risk of cancer, we found that Taiwanese patients with AD had a higher risk of developing prostate cancer and a lower risk of developing cervical cancer

Evaluating the Causes of Flooding in Six Communities in Awka Anambra State of Nigeria

This study evaluated the causes of flooding in six Communities of Awka including Agulu, Amaenyi, Ezi-Awka, Amikwo, Ifite and Nkwelle. The questionnaire survey method was adopted in which questionnaire was employed in collecting the data from the respondents which was later collated and analyzed. The postulated hypotheses was tested using T-test and the result showed that there is no significant difference in the causes of flooding in the six communities studied in Awka.  The study concluded therefore that the causes of flooding in the six communities in Awka are the same; implying that the following factors; inadequate drainage channels, refuse dumps in drainage channels, bad roads and improper planning of the communities in Awka, among others were the causes of flooding in the study area The study thus recommends that there should be massive campaign against improper dumping of refuse in the drainage system as it not only create room for flooding but also encourages flooding in the area, construction of sound drainage system, creating environmental awareness to keep the drainage system from waste dumps, encouraging people to open their drainage system constantly in order to help check and control flooding, avoiding dumping of refuse in drainage system and the intervention of strong governmental forces to ensure that the environmental laws are been adhered to.