ALUMINA PHASE TRANSFORMATION FROM THERMAL DECOMPOSITION OF AMMONIUM ALUM SYNTHESIZED FROM KANKARA KAOLIN

Thermal stability of transitional alumina phases produced from ammonium alum using Kankara kaolin as starting material was studied. Wet beneficiation method was employed to purify the starting material, after which it was calcined and dealuminated with sulphuric acid. The elemental composition, mineralogical, and physiological analyses were carried out using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) techniques respectively. The ammonium alum was thermally treated by varying the calcination temperature from 700 to 1200°C and varying the time of calcination from 1 to 4 h. The formation of gamma alumina began at calcination temperature of 825°C for calcination time of 3 h, which was found to be lower than reported works of 900°C. It was found to be stable at higher temperature of 1125°C, above which phase transformation to alpha alumina was observed. The observed wide range of thermal stability of the gamma alumina phase gives it good advantage to be used for high temperature applications, such as support for catalyst promoters. Alpha alumina phase formation began at 1150°C and was fully formed at 1200°C. BET specific surface area of 166 m2/g was obtained for the gamma alumina phase which was high enough for it application as support for catalyst, catalyst and adsorbent. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.2

THE STUDY OF THERMAL EFFECT ON THE SURFACE PROPERTIES OF GAMMA-ALUMINA SYNTHESIED FROM KANKARA KAOLIN.

Gamma alumina is a good material for catalyst support and its surface properties is of great importance. In this study the gamma-alumina (γ-Al2O3) synthesized to be used as catalyst support for zeolite catalyst was obtained by calcination of ammonium alum an intermediate product prepared from kaolin which was sourced from Kankara, Katsina, Nigeria. The surface properties were determined using BET technique. BET specific surface area of gamma alumina produced at 825°C for soaking time of 3h was 120m2/g while at 850°C for soaking time of 4h the surface area was 140m2/g. The pore size and pore volume range from 15nm to 25nm and 0.5cm3/g to 0.8cm3/g respectively. The XRD pattern obtained at 825°C and 875°C calcination temperatures conformed to the standard pattern of gamma-alumina, having the strong peaks at Bragg angles of 67, 46, 39 and 38°. The SEM image showed clearly the plate-like structure of gamma alumina. Thus kankara kaolin is a promising material for the production of gamma alumina. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v35i1.1

DEVELOPMEMT OF PILOT SCALE DEALUMINATION UNIT OF 2.5 kg METAKAOLIN PER BATCH CAPACITY

A pilot-size dealumination unit to handle 2.5kg of metakaolin per batch was designed and fabricated and test run. The metakaolin was prepared from Kankara kaolin. The metakaolin was completely split into silica and alumina. The silica component which was inert to the sulphuric acid used during the reaction and was obtained as a solid product. While the alumina which reacted with the sulphuric acid was obtained in liquid form as aluminum sulphate, known as alum. The dealumination unit comprises of the dealumination reactor, known as dealuminator, acid holding tank and metakaolin slurry mixing tank. The material of construction selected for the dealumination reactor was stainless steel type 304 lined internally with glass to withstand the corrosive environment of the concentrated sulphuric acid at the reaction temperature > 140°C. The capacity of the componentsare; acid holding tank 5 liters;metakaolin slurry mixing tank 20 liters, with 70 W capacity motor and the dealuminator 50 liters, which had pressure relief valve, pressure gauge (0-10 bars) and temperature gauge (0 - 300°C) on the cover. Woven glass fiber cloth was used as lagging material to minimize heat lossto the surrounding. The purity level of the silica obtained from the reaction was above 95%.The endothermic nature of the dealumination process was void of external heating. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.2

Comparing Haemozoin count and Parasitaemia in the Prognosis of severe Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria in Children and non-immune adults in Kano-Nigeria

This study compared the value of pigment containing leucocytes (neutrophils and monocytes) counts and the malaria parasite density in the prognosis of severe malaria on four hundred and twenty (420) patients with clinical evidence of severe malaria in Kano-Nigeria. Three clinical groups comprising patients with impaired consciousness, patients with cerebral malaria and those with severe anaemia were identified. Samples were analysed for Malaria parasitemia and pigment count Giemsa’s thick and Leishman’s thin film respectively. Patients with impaired consciousness (n=217) recorded the highest malaria pigment count of 342.86 (±177.34) monocytes pigments/microliter. The highest parasite count of 234,962 (±264.5) per microliter was recorded among the cerebral malaria group. Patients with severe malaria and anaemia had the least neutrophils pigment and parasite counts of 219.0 (±140.96)/microliter and 212,232(±12.61)/microliter respectively. A linear relationship between the malaria parasite count and the Intraneutrophilic malaria pigment count in severe malaria was demonstrated. Pigment count proved a higher prognostic value in severe malaria compared to Parasitaemia.Keywords: Haemozoin, Plasmodium falciparum, Parasitaemia, Malari

High-efficiency transduction of spinal cord motor neurons by intrauterine delivery of integration-deficient lentiviral vectors

Integration-deficient lentiviral vectors (IDLVs) are promising gene delivery tools that retain the high transduction efficiency of standard lentiviral vectors, yet fail to integrate as proviruses and are instead converted into episomal circles. These episomes are metabolically stable and support long-term expression of transgenes in non-dividing cells, exhibiting a decreased risk of insertional mutagenesis. We have embarked on an extensive study to compare the transduction efficiency of IDLVs pseudotyped with different envelopes (vesicular stomatitis, Rabies, Mokola and Ross River viral envelopes) and self-complementary adeno-associated viral vectors, serotype-9 (scAAV-9) in spinal cord tissues after intraspinal injection of mouse embryos (E16). Our results indicate that IDLVs can transduce motor neurons (MNs) at extremely high efficiency regardless of the envelope pseudotype while scAAV9 mediates gene delivery to ~40% of spinal cord motor neurons, with other non-neuronal cells also transduced. Long-term expression studies revealed stable gene expression at 7months post-injection. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that IDLVs may be efficient tools for in utero cord transduction in therapeutic strategies such as for treatment of inherited early childhood neurodegenerative diseases

Misidentification of methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in hospitals in Tripoli, Libya

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a nosocomial (hospital-acquired) pathogen of exceptional concern. It is responsible for life-threatening infections in both the hospital and the community. Aims: To determine the frequency of MRSA misidentification in hospitals in Tripoli, Libya using current testing methods. Methods: One hundred and seventy S. aureus isolates previously identified as MRSA were obtained from three hospitals in Tripoli. All isolates were reidentified by culturing on mannitol salt agar, API 20 Staph System and retested for resistance to methicillin using the cefoxitin disk diffusion susceptibility test and PBP2a. D-tests and vancomycin E-tests (Van-E-tests) were also performed for vancomycin-resistant isolates. Results: Of the 170 isolates examined, 86 (51%) were confirmed as MRSA (i.e. 49% were misidentified as MRSA). Fifteen (17%) of the confirmed MRSA strains exhibited inducible clindamycin resistance. Of the 86 confirmed MRSA isolates, 13 (15%) were resistant to mupirocin, 53 (62%) were resistant to ciprofloxacin, 41 (48%) were resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and none were resistant to linezolid. Although discdiffusion testing indicated that 23 (27%) of the isolates were resistant to vancomycin, none of the isolates were vancomycin-resistant by Van-E-test. Conclusions: Misidentification of nosocomial S. aureus as MRSA is a serious problem in Libyan hospitals. There is an urgent need for the proper training of microbiology laboratory technicians in standard antimicrobial susceptibility procedures and the implementation of quality control programs in microbiology laboratories of Libyan hospitals.Keywords: MRSA misidentification; clindamycin resistance; E-test; vancomycin resistanc

Delayed bowel perforation following suprapubic catheter insertion

BACKGROUND: Complications of suprapubic catheter insertion are rare but can be significant. We describe an unusual complication of a delayed bowel perforation following suprapubic catheter insertion. CASE PRESENTATION: A gentleman presented with features of peritonitis and feculent discharge along a suprapubic catheter two months after insertion of the catheter. CONCLUSION: Bowel perforation is the most feared complication of suprapubic catheter insertion especially in patients with lower abdominal scar. The risk may be reduced with the use of ultrasound scan guidance

The conceptual and practical ethical dilemmas of using health discussion board posts as research data.

Increasing numbers of people living with a long-term health condition are putting personal health information online, including on discussion boards. Many discussion boards contain material of potential use to researchers; however, it is unclear how this information can and should be used by researchers. To date there has been no evaluation of the views of those individuals sharing health information online regarding the use of their shared information for research purposes

Unexplained chronic liver disease in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is assumed to be the major cause of chronic liver disease (CLD) in sub-Saharan Africa. The contribution of other aetiological causes of CLD is less well documented and hence opportunities to modulate other potential risk factors are being lost. The aims of this study were to explore the aetiological spectrum of CLD in eastern Ethiopia and to identify plausible underlying risk factors for its development. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was undertaken between April 2015 and April 2016 in two public hospitals in Harar, eastern Ethiopia. The study population comprised of consenting adults with clinical and radiological evidence of chronic liver disease. The baseline evaluation included: (i) a semi-structured interview designed to obtain information about the ingestion of alcohol, herbal medicines and local recreational drugs such as khat (Catha edulis); (ii) clinical examination; (iii) extensive laboratory testing; and, (iv) abdominal ultrasonography. RESULTS: One-hundred-and-fifty patients with CLD (men 72.0%; median age 30 [interquartile range 25-40] years) were included. CLD was attributed to chronic HBV infection in 55 (36.7%) individuals; other aetiological agents were identified in a further 12 (8.0%). No aetiological factors were identified in the remaining 83 (55.3%) patients. The overall prevalence of daily khat use was 78.0%, while alcohol abuse, defined as > 20 g/day in women and > 30 g/day in men, was rare (2.0%). Histological features of toxic liver injury were observed in a subset of patients with unexplained liver injury who underwent liver biopsy. CONCLUSION: The aetiology of CLD in eastern Ethiopia is largely unexplained. The widespread use of khat in the region, together with histopathological findings indicating toxic liver injury, suggests an association which warrants further investigation

Alcohol Production as an Adaptive Livelihood Strategy for Women Farmers in Tanzania and Its Potential for Unintended Consequences on Women's Reproductive Health.

Although women occupy a central position in agriculture in many developing countries, they face numerous constraints to achieving their full potential including unequal access to assets and limited decision-making authority. We explore the intersection of agricultural livelihoods, food and economic security, and women's sexual and reproductive health in Iringa Region, Tanzania. Our goal was to understand whether the benefits of supporting women in the agricultural sector might also extend to more distal outcomes, including sexual and reproductive health. Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework to guide data collection, we conducted 13 focus group discussions (FGD) with female (n = 11) and male farmers (n = 2) and 20 in-depth interviews with agricultural extension officers (n = 10) and village agro-dealers (n = 10). Despite providing the majority of agricultural labor, women have limited control over land and earned income and have little bargaining power. In response to these constraints, women adopt adaptive livelihood strategies, such as alcohol production, that allow them to retain control over income and support their households. However, women's central role in alcohol production, in concert with the ubiquitous nature of alcohol consumption, places them at risk by enhancing their vulnerability to unsafe or transactional sex. This represents a dangerous confluence of risk for female farmers, in which alcohol plays an important role in income generation and also facilitates high-risk sexual behavior. Alcohol production and consumption has the potential to both directly and indirectly place women at risk for undesirable sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Group formation, better access to finance, and engaging with agricultural extension officers were identified as potential interventions for supporting women farmers and challenging harmful gender norms. In addition, joint, multi-sectoral approaches from health and agriculture and alternative income-generating strategies for women might better address the complexities of achieving safe and sustainable livelihoods for women in this context