Prevalence of Anti-Thyroid Antibodies in Patients with Primary Thyroid Disorders

Objective: To determine prevalence of thyroid antimicrosomal and antithyroglobulin antibodies among patients with primary thyroid disorders.Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study.Setting: Kenyatta National Hospital, July 2003 to August 2004.Results: Antimicrosomal antibodies (anti-TPOAbs) were detected in 51.4% of all the patients while 36.1% tested positive for the antithyroglobulin antibodies (anti- TgAbs). Among the hyperthyroid patients, anti-TPOAbs and anti-TgAbs were in 50.8% and 33% respectively while 53.3% and 46.7% of the hypothyroid patients tested positive for anti-TPOAbs and anti-TgAbs respectively. Most of the patients who showed positivity for anti-TgAbs (88.5%) also tested positive for anti-TPOAbs.Conclusion: More than half of the patients with primary thyroid disorders show presenceof autoimmune thyroid markers, with anti TPO antibodies being more prevalent

Ionization correction factors and dust depletion patterns in giant HII regions

We provide new ionization correction factors (ICFs) for carbon, nitrogen, neon, sulfur, chlorine, and argon in giant H II regions. The ICFs were computed using the most representative photoionization models from a large initial grid. The models were selected using an observational sample of 985 giant H II regions (GHR) in spiral galaxies and blue compact galaxies (BCG). The observational sample was also used to assign a weight to each model describing how well it agrees with observations in the [O III]/Hbeta versus [N II]/Halpha diagram. In addition to the ICFs we provide, for the first time, analytical expressions for their formal uncertainties. We use our ICFs to compute the abundances of nitrogen, neon, sulfur, and argon in our samples. Our abundances are robust within the adopted framework, but may require revision in the case of important changes in atomic data or in the spectral energy distribution of the ionizing radiation in H II regions. Considering the abundance patterns we obtained for the BCG sample (abundances for the GHR sample are less reliable) we find that oxygen is depleted into dust grains at a rate increasing with metallicity and reaching 0.12 dex at solar abundances. The discussion of possible depletion of sulfur and argon requires considering recent Type Ia Supernova yields, which are still uncertain

Gestational Thyrotoxicosis Associated With Emesis In Early Pregnancy

Objectives: To determine the thyroid profile and the prevalence of gestational thyrotoxicosis among women with emesis during early pregnancy.Design: A descriptive cross - sectional study.Setting: Kenyatta National Hospital acute gynaecology ward and the ante-natal clinic.Subjects: Seventy two women presenting with emesis up to 16 weeks gestation.Main outcome measures: The levels of FT3, FT4, TSH and &beta;-hCG during the first 16 weeks of gestation. Correlation between the thyroid hormones and &beta;-hCG as well as the severity of vomiting was also done.Results: The point prevalence of gestational thyrotoxicosis was 8.3%. There was a significant positive correlation between &beta;-hCG levels and FT3 and FT4 (P-values < 0.05), and a significant negative correlation between &beta;-hCG and TSH (P < 0.05).Correlation between the severity of vomiting and the thyroid hormones as well as &beta;-hCG was not statistically significant. Patients' age ranged from 14-38 years (median 26). Majority of the women studied were at a gestation of 8 to 11 weeks (38.9%). Most patients (84.7%) had one to five episodes of vomiting per day. Peak &beta;-hCG was at 12 - 15 weeks gestation.Conclusions: Thyrotoxicosis does occur among women with emesis in pregnancy in this set-up. Screening for it may be beneficial to such women and also those with high serum &beta;-hCG levels above the median for the gestational age

Association between change in serum procalcitonin and 28-day outcomes in patients with presumed bacterial sepsis

Introduction: Sepsis remains a major cause of mortality worldwide despite the increase in deaths due to non-communicable diseases. Poor diagnostic capability and delay in confirming appropriateness of therapy are major contributors to these poor outcomes. Procalcitonin has emerged as a useful tool for diagnosis and prediction of clinical outcomes in patients with sepsis.Materials and methods: The study was conducted as an observational cohort study at the Kenyatta National hospital. Patients with presumed bacterial sepsis were evaluated for procalcitonin levels on admission and 48 hours after initiation of treatment. Patients were allocated to the 2 study arms on the basis of the change in their procalcitonin levels over the initial 48 hours, with unexposed being those with a decline greater than 30% and exposed having a rise in procalcitonin levels or a decline of less than 30%. Outcomes were documented after a 28-day follow-up period.Results: More patients (16.9%) died in the exposed than the unexposed study arm (7.4%); however, this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.075). Duration of hospital stay was longer in the exposed study arm (9 days vs 12) but this was also not statistically significant (p=0.077).Conclusion: Procalcitonin kinetics may not be a useful predictor of clinical outcomes in non-ICU setting

Farmers’ selection cues in cowpea for vegetable use in eastern Uganda

A participatory cowpea varietal selection was carried out in Eastern Uganda in Kumi district among farmers (n=30) in the sub-Counties of: Ongino, Kumi and Kanyum. A range of opinions were collected to identify farmers’ selection criteria based on different sensory attributes and their most preferred genotypes for vegetable use. A preference analysis was carried out to obtain quantitative preference scores of each plot. This was followed by organoleptic tests which included attributes like taste, aroma and texture of the genotypes at the vegetative and immature R4 stages. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were also held to find consensus of the independent evaluations made by individual farmers. Data for sixteen (16) cowpea genotypes were collected at the different above mentioned stages. Quantitative data were analyzed based on farmers’ scores made on the different evaluated attributes and ANOVA was used to provide mean differences between location, gender and genotype at a significant level of 5%. Preference score for each of the varieties tested was determined and presented. Data from FGDs were grouped, similarities and differences were later determined depending on their level of importance to the farmers. Significant differences (p&lt;0.05) in farmer choices were observed for leaf taste, immature pod aroma, taste and texture; mature pod aroma, taste between farmer groups, age genotype and gender. Irrespective of age, gender, farmer group and genotype, farmers seemed to give more importance to the smooth texture, little hard leaves when chewing, sweet taste with a mild aroma (leaves) and a moderate aroma (pods). Majority (9%) of the farmers preferred Ebelat (landrace) at V4 stage; this was followed by Danila (8.7%). On the other hand, UCUCOW1 (13% at immature and 10.2% at mature cooked R4 stage) followed by Ebelat (9% and 9.8% for immature and mature R4 stage, respectively) were preferred by majority of the farmers. In terms of sensory attributes, farmers preferred genotypes with sweet taste, moderate aroma and tender texture. The information is a baseline for understanding key farmer selection criteria in utilization of cowpea as a vegetable which can be used in generating a demand-led variety design for the crop.&nbsp

Farmers’ selection cues in cowpea for vegetable use in eastern Uganda

This is a research article on participatory cowpea varietal selection was carried out in Eastern Uganda in Kumi district among farmersA participatory cowpea varietal selection was carried out in Eastern Uganda in the Kumi district among farmers (n=30) in the sub-Counties of Ongino, Kumi and Kanyum. An arange of opinions were collected to identify farmers’ selection criteria based on different sensory attributes and their most preferred genotypes for vegetable use. A Apreference analysis was carried out to obtain quantitative preference scores of each plot. This was followed by organoleptic tests which included attributes like taste, aroma and texture of the genotypes at the vegetative and immature R4 stages. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were also held to find a consensus of the independent evaluations made by individual farmers. Data for sixteen (16) cowpea genotypes were collected at the different above-mentioned stages. Quantitative data were analyzed based on farmers’ scores made on the different evaluated attributes and ANOVA was used to provide mean differences between location, gender and genotype at a significant level of 5%. The preference score for each of the varieties tested was determined and presented. Data from FGDs were grouped, similarities and differences were later determined depending on their level of importance to the farmers. Significant differences (p<0.05) in farmer choices were observed for leaf taste, immature pod aroma, taste and texture; mature pod aroma, taste between farmer groups, age genotype and gender. Irrespective of age, gender, farmer group and genotype, farmers seemed to give more importance to the smooth texture, little hard leaves when chewing, sweet taste with a mild aroma (leaves) and a moderate aroma (pods). Majority (9%) of the farmers preferred Ebelat (landrace) at V4 stage; this was followed by Danila (8.7%). On the other hand, UCUCOW1 (13% at immature and 10.2% at mature cooked R4 stage) followed by Ebelat (9% and 9.8% for immature and mature R4 stage, respectively) were preferred by the majority of the farmers. In terms of sensory attributes, farmers preferred genotypes with a sweet taste, moderate aroma and tender texture. The information is a baseline for understanding key farmer selection criteria in the utilization of cowpea as a vegetable which can be used in generating a demand-led variety design for the crop

Prognostic value of biochemical parameters among severe COVID-19 patients admitted to an intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital in South Africa

Background: Data on biochemical markers and their association with mortality rates in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in sub-Saharan Africa are scarce. An evaluation of baseline routine biochemical parameters was performed in COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU, in order to identify prognostic biomarkers. Methods: Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected prospectively from patients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to the adult ICU of a tertiary hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, between October 2020 and February 2021. Robust Poisson regression methods and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to explore the association of biochemical parameters with severity and mortality. Results: A total of 82 patients (median age 53.8 years, interquartile range 46.4–59.7 years) were enrolled, of whom 55 (67%) were female and 27 (33%) were male. The median duration of ICU stay was 10 days (interquartile range 5–14 days); 54/82 patients died (66% case fatality rate). Baseline lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (adjusted relative risk 1.002, 95% confidence interval 1.0004–1.004; P = 0.016) and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) (adjusted relative risk 1.0004, 95% confidence interval 1.0001–1.0007; P = 0.014) were both found to be independent risk factors of a poor prognosis, with optimal cut-off values of 449.5 U/l (sensitivity 100%, specificity 43%) and 551 pg/ml (sensitivity 49%, specificity 86%), respectively. Conclusions: LDH and NT-proBNP appear to be promising predictors of a poor prognosis in COVID-19 patients in the ICU. Studies with a larger sample size are required to confirm the validity of this combination of biomarkers