109 research outputs found
Cystercercus Larva in the Anterior Chamber of the Eye of a 7- year-old Nigerian Girl
The case of a 7 year old Nigerian girl with features of traumatic uveitis which was later found to have anterior chamber cestode larva infestation is presented. Though uncommon, ocular cestode larva infestation should be considered when children present with features of ocular inflammation
IMPROVEMENT OF MEDICATION DELIVERY TRICOPTER STABILITY USING ACKERMAN METHOD
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been a subject of interest across many areas of study. Tricopter is a multirotor with three rotors in Y or T configuration for flight operations; capable of tilting with the aid of a servo motor. The study designed stability controller for a developed medication delivery tricopter to enhanced community-based healthcare system in Nigeria. The study adopted a control law based on Ackerman’s method to improve the tricopter’s settling time, maximum overshoot and damping factor; through a linearizedmathematical model. Desired poles were implemented in MATLAB simulink environment to design a suitable controller for the system in accordance with predefined parameters. The output revealed no overshoots along X and Y axes at settling time of 3s, but overshoot along Z axis by 50% at settling time of 2s. Conclusively, the steady state error was zero and it was observed that the medication delivery tricopter response was made stable with the aid of a controller. The result shows that the tricopter model can be made effectively stable and reliable in operation with the use of a controller 
Simultaneous Quantification of Ciprofloxacin, Quinine and 3-hyrdoxyquinine in Human Plasma using a HPLC Method
Malaria has been shown to strongly predispose patients in areas of malaria endemicity to bacteremia with severe outcomes, thus justifying the use of antibiotics in combination with antimalarial therapy in patients with severe malaria. This study describes a High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) method for simultaneous determinations of Ciprofloxacin (CPN), Quinine (QN), and its major metabolite, 3-Hydroxyquinine (3-HQN), in human plasma. Following a simple precipitation with acetonitrile, chromatographic separation was achieved on a reversed-phase Agilent Zorbax (CN) column (5 µm, 150 X 4.6 mm i.d) using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile: potassium dihydrogen phosphate (pH = 2.8; 0.02 M) (42:58, v/v). Retention times for CPN, 3-HQN, IS and QN were 2.7, 3.3, 3.6 and 4.9 minutes respectively. The limits of detection and validated lower limits of quantitation were 30 and 70 ng/ml for both QN and 3-HQN while the corresponding values were 50 and 100 ng/ml for CPN, respectively. The new HPLC method here developed, when compared with previous methods for the analysis of either or both drugs is simple, rapid, selective, reproducible and costeffective. It is also suitable for conducting a simultaneous therapeutic monitoring of quinine and ciprofloxacin in patients when concomittantly administered as demonstrated in five healthy volunteers
Vitamin A deficiency among under-five Nigerian children with diarrhoea
Background: Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and diarrhoea are still important contributors to childhood deaths in Africa, and vitamin A deficient children are at increased risk as well as severity of diarrhoea.Objectives:To determine the prevalence of VAD and identify the associated factors among children with diarrhoea.Methods: The study was a hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study. Consecutive children with diarrhoea were recruited, provided they met the inclusion criteria. Serum retinol levels were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in one hundred and seventy under-five children who presented with diarrhoea at the Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa, Nigeria. Results: The serum retinol levels of the children ranged from 0.29 – 2.35 µmol/L with a mean ± SD of 1.07 ± 0.42 µmol/L. Twenty seven (15.9%) were vitamin A deficient with three (1.8%) of these having severe VAD. Wasting was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of VAD [p = 0.023, OR (95% CI) = 3.08 (1.21 - 7.79)]. A significantly greater proportion of the subjects who had VAD were hospitalized, compared with the non-deficient ones [p = 0.001, OR (95% CI) = 4.40 (1.82 - 10.66)]. The only subject who died was vitamin A deficient.Conclusion: Wasting and hospitalization are factors that may indicate the presence of VAD in a child with diarrhoea. Vitamin A supplements should therefore be given, as part of the treatment for diarrhoea, to children who have wasting, especially when they require hospitalization.Keywords: Vitamin A deficiency, Nigerian children, diarrhoea
Development of a Densification Equipment for Organic Biomass Solid Fuel Pellets
In South Western Nigeria, after the harvesting of maize cobs from the field, large amount of maize stock remains as agricultural residues and wastes. The maize stock constitutes a menace to the environment if not property handled. In this study, densification equipment was designed, fabricated and tested using maize stock grind as raw material. The equipment consists of mixer/ moisture conditioner and a pelleting machine. The power rating for the mixer/moisture conditioner is 0.069 kW with an input capacity of 81 kg/h while the power consumption of the pellet machine is 0.8 kW with throughout capacity of 40 kg/h. The result of the test showed that the highest product temperature, which gives an indication of the quality and durability of the pellets produced was 930C at 0.8 mm hammer mill screen size, 10% moisture content and 150 rpm die speed, at this temperature the machine is operating at optimum efficiency of 74%. High product temperature is an important parameter during pelleting/briquetting operations because it gives the degree of compaction and binding of the pellets/briquettes. The densification equipment for organic biomass was developed using locally sourced materials as a means of converting agricultural wastes into pellets for domestic cooking and cottage industry uses
Vitamin A deficiency among under-five Nigerian children with diarrhoea
Background: Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and diarrhoea are still
important contributors to childhood deaths in Africa, and vitamin A
deficient children are at increased risk as well as severity of
diarrhoea. Objectives:To determine the prevalence of VAD and identify
the associated factors among children with diarrhoea. Methods: The
study was a hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study.
Consecutive children with diarrhoea were recruited, provided they met
the inclusion criteria. Serum retinol levels were determined by high
performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in one hundred and seventy
under-five children who presented with diarrhoea at the Wesley Guild
Hospital, Ilesa, Nigeria. Results: The serum retinol levels of the
children ranged from 0.29 \u2013 2.35 \ub5mol/L with a mean \ub1
SD of 1.07 \ub1 0.42 \ub5mol/L. Twenty seven (15.9%) were vitamin A
deficient with three (1.8%) of these having severe VAD. Wasting was
significantly associated with a higher prevalence of VAD [p = 0.023, OR
(95% CI) = 3.08 (1.21 - 7.79)]. A significantly greater proportion of
the subjects who had VAD were hospitalized, compared with the
non-deficient ones [p = 0.001, OR (95% CI) = 4.40 (1.82 - 10.66)]. The
only subject who died was vitamin A deficient. Conclusion: Wasting and
hospitalization are factors that may indicate the presence of VAD in a
child with diarrhoea. Vitamin A supplements should therefore be given,
as part of the treatment for diarrhoea, to children who have wasting,
especially when they require hospitalization
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF ABESAN WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
The performance of the Abesan wastewater treatment plant situated at the Abesan Low Cost Housing Estate, Abesan, Lagos had been evaluated. The treatment plant operates on biological treatment method (Activated Sludge Process) with an average wastewater inflow of 6 MLD has been considered for the case study. Thirty – six (36) grab samples of wastewater influent and effluent were collected over a period of six weeks during the dry and rainy seasons. The samples were analyzed for different wastewater quality variables. Average removal efficiencies of the measured parameters from the treated effluents were 96.3% for Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), 93.3% for Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), 92.4% for Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and 41.6% for Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) for the dry season. The rainy season average removal efficiency of the measured parameters were 96.8% for COD, 94.6% for BOD, 95.9% for TSS, and 38.6% for TDS. The values obtained for the dry season are lower than that obtained in the rainy season except for TDS. Most of the values of the effluent parameters exceeded the regulatory requirement of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency guideline for effluent limitation. The results obtained from this research conclude that regular routine de-silting and maintenance works of the plant be carried out to allow effective running of the plant
Unavailability of Essential Obstetric Care Services in a Local Government Area of South-West Nigeria
This paper reports the findings at baseline in a multi-phase project
that aimed at reducing maternal morta-lity in a local government area
(LGA) of South-West Nigeria. The objectives were to determine the
avail-ability of essential obstetric care (EOC) services in the LGA and
to assess the quality of existing services. The first phase of this
interventional study, which is the focus of this paper, consisted of a
baseline health facility and needs assessment survey using instruments
adapted from the United Nations guidelines. Twenty-one of 26 health
facilities surveyed were public facilities, and five were privately
owned. None of the facilities met the criteria for a basic EOC
facility, while only one private facility met the criteria for a
comprehensive EOC facility. Three facilities employed a nurse and/or a
midwife, while unskilled health attendants manned 46% of the
facilities. No health worker in the LGA had ever been trained in
lifesaving skills. There was a widespread lack of basic EOC equipment
and supplies. The study concluded that there were major deficiencies in
the supply side of obstetric care services in the LGA, and EOC was
almost non-existent. This result has implications for interventions for
the reduction of maternal mortality in the LGA and in Nigeria
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