Spectrum of Skin Diseases among School Aged Children in Jos North-Central Nigeria

Skin diseases are common causes of morbidity among children in developing nations. An awareness of the types of skin morbidities seen in school children and the associated factors may enable individuals’ families and government carry out or direct preventive and therapeutic measures appropriately.The aim of this study was to assess the spectrum of skin diseases among primary school children in Jos North Local Government Area. Three hundred and ninety (390) pupils were recruited from selected public and private primary schools using multistage sampling technique. Structured Interviewer administered questionnaires were used to obtain information. Key diagnostics features were used for clinical diagnosis of major skin diseases. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 21. There were a total of 199 males and 191 females. Age range was between 6 and 12 years. Prevalence rate of skin disease was 36.2%. A total of 28 different types of skin diseases were seen among the pupils, with infections making up the bulk (47.3%). Among the infections, Tinea (23.9%) was the most prevalent. while dermatitis accounted for 20.7%. There was no sex predilection. Skin diseases were significantly more prevalent in children between 6-7 years ( p-0.014) and associated with lower socioeconomic class (p-0.001) and children from public schools (p0.000). Preventive and curative health services should be provided in the school health programme especially in public schools for reduction of the prevalence of skin disorders

The ameliorative effects of Moringa oleifera leaf extract on cardiovascular functions and osmotic fragility of wistar rats exposed to petrol vapour

The present study was aimed at evaluating the ameliorating effects of Moringa oleifera extract compared to captopril and candesartan cilexetil on cardiovascular functions and osmotic fragility of rats exposed to petrol vapour. Twenty five adult male Wistar rats (130g-200g) were randomly grouped to five with five rats in a group. Group 1 (control) was not exposed to petrol fume. Groups 2 (petrol only), was exposed to petrol fume only. Groups 3, 4 and 5 were pretreated with Moringa oleifera extract (40mg/kg), captopril (25 mg/kg) and candesartan (16mg/kg), respectively before exposure to petrol vapour, 10 minutes every day for eight weeks. All groups were given feed and water ad-libitum. Petrol vapour was generated by using human compressor nebulizer adopted for rats and connected to fume chamber where the rats were kept. The pretreatment were administered by oral cannula. At the end of the exposure, 0.2ml of blood samples obtained from individual rat in each group were suspended in separate sets of Phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solution of decreasing concentrations. Erythrocyte osmotic fragility (EOF) was determined by spectrophotometer. Electrocardiography was done using EDAN 10. There was significant increase (p<0.05) in EOF of the rats exposed to petrol vapour only. However, Moringa oleifera, captopril and candesartan cilexetil significantly ameliorated this effect. There was no significant difference in the amelioration of Moringa oleifera and candesartan cilexetil. There was absence of p-wave and significant increase in heart rate observed in the electrocardiogram of petrol only group, this was significantly restored in the Moringa oleifera, captopril and the candesartan cilexetil group. The results showed that exposure to petrol vapour elevated EOF, resulted in atria arrhythmia and increased heart rate. These effects were ameliorated by pretreatment with Moringa oleifera, captopril and candesartan cilexetil. The amelioration in Moringa oleifera was comparable with that of candesartan cilexetil suggesting that Moringa oleifera may be an Angiotensin II receptor blocker.Keywords: Candesartan cilexetil, Captopril, Moringa oleifera, Osmotic fragility, Petrol vapou

A Qualitative Review on the Implementation Challenges of National Policy on Education in Nigeria

Education policy in Nigeria have undergone significant changes for a long time geared towards the effective administration, management and implementation of education at all tiers of government. In fact, it continues to be the central point of discourse owing to the role it has in the measurement of whether a country is developed or not. The objective of this paper is to identify the implementation challenges of National Policy on Education and proffer suggestions on the way out for the effective implementation of the policy. This paper adopts a qualitative method of data analysis, which was thematically done relying on secondary sources. The paper identifies corruption, lack of continuity in government policies by successive administration, inadequate human and material resources and others as the major implementation challenges of the policy. The paper suggests that there is need for the mobilizations of grassroots by the civil societies and all stake holders to support and enforce the implementation of the constitutional provision for education and tie it to their vote, there is also a need to enforce compliance of all sector of education from early childhood care to the development of special needs school and also ensure that there is continuous monitoring and evaluation of the policy so as to fill in the gaps that may occur during the process of implementation, among others as the way out for in dealing with the implementation challenges of National Policy on Education in Nigeri

Nutritional and morbidity outcomes of children managed for severe acute malnutrition in Jigawa State, Nigeria

Introduction: The community-based approach to the management of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is a cost effective and scientifically sound method of mitigating the soaring burden of under-five malnutrition in resource constrained countries. However, since the adoption of this novel intervention in Nigeria, local studies that have evaluated its overall effectiveness are sparse.Methodology: This longitudinal observational study was designed to assess at discharge, the nutritional status, as well as the nutritional related co-morbidities of 494 children enrolled into the Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programme. It is part of an impact evaluation study. The parameters evaluated at enrolment and at discharge included the anthropometry, presence of common morbidities and immunization status. Data were captured electronically with the aid of CSPro software. The study was carried out across 10 randomly selected CMAM clinics in Jigawa state, North West Nigeria.Result: Out of the 494 malnourished children recruited, 410 were discharged, the remaining were reported as absconded or died, with an average duration of stay of 7.3±1.6 weeks in the clinics, and a discharge cure rate of 63.4%. There was improvement in the mean weight (6.0kg at enrolment vs 7.3kg at discharge, p=0.000), mean occipito-frontal circumference (44.1cm at enrolment vs 45.3cm at discharge, p=0.000) and Weight-for-Height z score (-2.65 at enrolment vs 0.75 at discharge, p=0.000 ). A significant discordance in the nutritional outcome at discharge, as assessed independently by Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) and Weight-for-Height z score (WHZ), was documented; 9% and 28% still had SAM at discharge based on MUAC and WHZ respectively (p=0.000). The burden of nutritional related morbidities (diarrhoea dysentery, refusal to eat) reduced significantly at discharge (p=0.000) while immunization coverage increased by 7%.Conclusion: The CMAM programme in Jigawa, Nigeria has undoubtedly yielded positive outcomes. However, proactive measures should be taken to achieve the Sphere standards recommended minimum discharge cure rate. This may be achieved by ensuring that health care workers continually adhere to the guiding principles of CMAM. There is also a need for introduction of HIV and tuberculosis screening as non-responders maybe infected by any of these diseases

A Non-Cytosolic Protein of Trypanosoma evansi Induces CD45-Dependent Lymphocyte Death

In a recent study dealing with a mouse model of Trypanosoma evansi-associated disease, a remarkable synchrony between the parasitaemia peak and the white-blood-cell count nadir was noticed. The present study was designed to establish whether there is a direct causal link between the parasite load during its exponential phase of growth and the disappearance of peripheral blood leukocytes. In vitro experiments performed with trypanosomes and purified peripheral blood mononucleated cells revealed the existence of a lymphotoxin embedded in the T. evansi membrane: a protein sensitive to serine proteases, with a molecular mass of less than 30 kDa. Lymphocytes death induced by this protein was found to depend on the intervention of a lymphocytic protein tyrosine phosphatase. When lymphocytes were exposed to increasing quantities of a monoclonal antibody raised against the extracellular portion of CD45, a transmembrane protein tyrosine phosphatase covering over 10% of the lymphocyte surface, T. evansi membrane extracts showed a dose-dependent decrease in cytotoxicity. As the regulatory functions of CD45 concern not only the fate of lymphocytes but also the activation threshold of the TCR-dependent signal and the amplitude and nature of cytokinic effects, this demonstration of its involvement in T. evansi-dependent lymphotoxicity suggests that T. evansi might manipulate, via CD45, the host's cytokinic and adaptive responses

Blends of Wheat, Mango Kernel and Orange Pomace Flours: Chemical and Functional Properties

The study set out to produce composite flour from wheat, mango kernel and orange pomace. Mango kernel and orange pomace were processed into flours and mixed with wheat flour at different proportions of WF:MKF:OPF as follows (100:0:0-A, 60:10:30-B, 60:20:20-C, 60:30:10-D, 60:40:0-E and 60:0:40-F). The flours produced were analyzed for functional properties, anti-nutrient, and proximate. The functional properties of flours ranged as follows; bulk density (0.41-0.85 g/cm3), swelling capacity (1.26-1.47 g/mL), oil absorption capacity (1.16-3.80 g/L), water absorption capacity (1.70-5.80 mL/g), and foaming capacity (0.05-2.50 %). The gelatinization temperature ranged from 62.50-88.50oC while the least gelation concentration ranged from 6.30-8.87 %. The anti-nutritional properties of phytates, oxalate and tannin were as follows; 0.00-0.04 %, 0.08-0.35 %, 0.04-0.08 % for flours. The Proximate composition ranged from 5.58 -10.89 % moisture, 6.34-14.12 % protein, 1.06-1.82% fats, 0.24-0.66 % fiber, 1.42-5.01% ash, 71.77-85.37% carbohydrates and 337.90-376.39 kcal/100g energy for flour samples. This research indicates that orange pomace at 10 % and mango kernel at 30 % flour blends could serve as functional and nutritional ingredients in foods with 60 % wheat respectively.

2-5A-antisense inhibition of respiratory syncytial virus replication: Effects of oligonucleotidestructure modifications and RNA target site selection

To define more fully the conditions for 2-5A-antisense inhibition of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), relationships between 2-5A antisense oligonucleotide structure and the choice of RNA target sites to inhibition of RSV replication have been explored. The lead 2-5A-antisense chimera for this study was the previously reported NIH8281 that targets the RSV M2 RNA. We have confirmed and extended the earlier study by showing that NIH8281 inhibited RSV strain A2 replication in a variety of antiviral assays, including virus yield reduction assays performed in monkey (EC90=0.02 μM) and human cells (EC90=1 μM). This 2-5A-antisense chimera also inhibited other A strains, B strains and bovine RSV in cytopathic effect inhibition and Neutral Red Assays (EC50 values=0.1–1.6 μM). The 2′-O-methylation modification of NIH8281 to increase affinity for the complementary RNA and provide nuclease resistance, the introduction of phosphothioate groups in the antisense backbone to enhance resistance to exo- and endonucleases, and the addition of cholesterol to the 3′-terminus of the antisense oligonucleotide to increase cellular uptake, all resulted in loss of activity. Of the antisense chimeras targeting other RSV mRNAs (NS1, NS2, P, M. G, F, and L), only those complementary to L mRNA were inhibitory. These results suggest that lower abundance mRNAs may be the best targets for 2-5A-antisense; moreover, the active 2-5A antisense chimeras in this study may serve as useful guides for the development of compounds with improved stability, uptake and anti-RSV activity

NMR-Derived Models of Amidopyrine and Its Metabolites in Complexes with Rabbit Cytochrome P450 2B4 Reveal a Structural Mechanism of Sequential N-Dealkylation

To understand the molecular basis of sequential N-dealkylation by cytochrome P450 2B enzymes, we studied the binding of amidopyrine (AP) as well as the metabolites of this reaction, desmethylamidopyrine (DMAP) and aminoantipyrine (AAP), using the X-ray crystal structure of rabbit P450 2B4 and two nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques: saturation transfer difference (STD) spectroscopy and longitudinal (T-1) relaxation NMR. Results of STD NMR of AP and its metabolites bound to P450 2B4 were similar, suggesting that they occupy similar niches within the enzyme's active site. The model-dependent relaxation rates (R-M) determined from T-1 relaxation NMR of AP and DMAP suggest that the N-linked methyl is closest to the heme. To determine the orientation(s) of AP and its metabolites within the P450 2B4 active site, we used distances calculated from the relaxation rates to constrain the metabolites to the X-ray crystal structure of P450 2B4. Simulated annealing of the complex revealed that the metabolites do indeed occupy similar hydrophobic pockets within the active site, while the N-linked methyls are free to rotate between two binding modes. From these bound structures, a model of N-demethylation in which the N-linked methyl functional groups rotate between catalytic and noncatalytic positions was developed. This study is the first to provide a structural model of a drug and its metabolites complexed to a c-ytochrome P450 based on NMR and to provide a structural mechanism for how a drug can undergo sequential oxidations without unbinding. The rotation of the amide functional group might represent a common structural mechanism for N-dealkylation reactions for other drugs such as the local anesthetic lidocaine