The Role of Maize Tassels in Amelioration of Heavy Metals from Contaminated Soils and its Effects on Vegetables.

Vegetables depend on water as solvent for their growth and have greater potential of accumulating in their edible parts heavy metals which are dangerous to human health.  Maize tassel was applied to soil to determine its role in removal of heavy metals such as Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Cadmium (Cd) and Zinc (Zn) from the contaminated soil with cabbage as the test crop. The average mean concentration of the heavy metals after twenty one and fifty one days were; Mn (0.402 mg/kg and 7.427 mg/kg), Fe (0.894 mg/kg and 4.838 mg/kg) and Zn (0.155 mg/kg and 1.073 mg/kg) respectively. The concentration of cadmium in the wastewater sample used was 0.680mg/l, and its concentrations in tap water (<0.002mg/l), in soil (<0.002mg/kg) were below the detection limit. The enrichment factor for Mn, Fe and Zn in soil treated with maize tassel (T1) are 9.73, 10.70 and 5.23 respectively, whereas treatment without (T2) are 1.05, 1.86 and 4.52 respectively. The high enrichment of T1 is attributed to the availability of the active site within the tassel absorbent. Keywords: Heavy metals, maize tassel, contaminated soil, wastewater

A typical Kawasaki syndrome in COVID-19 infection: a case report of a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in a child (MIS-C)

The emergence of COVID-19 by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019 has seen evolving data reporting infrequent infection in children and mostly mild disease for children who contract the infection. A severe form of COVID-19 in children recently reported in Europe and North America describes a multisystem inflammation syndrome in children (MIS-C), presenting as toxic-shock-like and Kawasaki-like syndromes. Data on MIS-C in Africa is being documented with recent reports from South Africa and Nigeria in black children, but information on MIS-C in Ghana is yet to be characterized. We report the first case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in a child who tested PCR positive to SARS-CoV2 in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. The case describes a 10-year-old boy who reported Kawasaki-like syndrome without shock but with moderate respiratory distress requiring supportive acute care without the need for intensive care

Atypical Kawasaki syndrome in COVID-19 infection: a case report of a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in a child (MIS-C).

The emergence of COVID-19 by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019 has seen evolving data reporting infrequent infection in children and mostly mild disease for children who contract the infection. A severe form of COVID-19 in children recently reported in Europe and North America describes a multisystem inflammation syndrome in children (MIS-C), presenting as toxic-shock-like and Kawasaki-like syndromes. Data on MIS-C in Africa is being documented with recent reports from South Africa and Nigeria in black children, but information on MIS-C in Ghana is yet to be characterized. We report the first case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in a child who tested PCR positive to SARS-CoV2 in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. The case describes a 10-year-old boy who reported Kawasaki-like syndrome without shock but with moderate respiratory distress requiring supportive acute care without the need for intensive care

The use of adherence aids by adults with diabetes: A cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: Adherence with medication taking is a major barrier to physiologic control in diabetes and many strategies for improving adherence are in use. We sought to describe the use of mnemonic devices and other adherence aids by adults with diabetes and to investigate their association with control of hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and hypertension. METHODS: Cross sectional survey of diabetic adults randomly selected from Primary Care practices in the Vermont Diabetes Information System. We used linear regression to examine the associations between the use of various aids and physiologic control among subjects who used oral agents for hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension. RESULTS: 289 subjects (mean age 65.4 years; 51% female) used medications for all three conditions. Adherence aids were reported by 80%. The most popular were day-of-the-week pill boxes (50%), putting the pills in a special place (41%), and associating pill taking with a daily event such as a meal, TV show, or bedtime (11%). After adjusting for age, sex, marital status, income, and education, those who used a special place had better glycemic control (A1C -0.36%; P = .04) and systolic blood pressure (-5.9 mm Hg; P = .05) than those who used no aids. Those who used a daily event had better A1C (-0.56%; P = .01) than patients who used no aids. CONCLUSION: Although adherence aids are in common use among adults with diabetes, there is little evidence that they are efficacious. In this study, we found a few statistically significant associations with adherence aids and better diabetes control. However, these findings could be attributed to multiple comparisons or unmeasured confounders. Until more rigorous evaluations are available, it seems reasonable to recommend keeping medicines in a special place for diabetic adults prescribed multiple medications

Neonatal severe bacterial infection impairment estimates in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America for 2010.

BACKGROUND: Survivors of neonatal infections are at risk of neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI), a burden not previously systematically quantified and yet important for program priority setting. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were undertaken and applied in a three-step compartmental model to estimate NDI cases after severe neonatal bacterial infection in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America in neonates of >32 wk gestation (or >1,500 g). METHODS: We estimated cases of sepsis, meningitis, pneumonia, or no severe bacterial infection from among estimated cases of possible severe bacterial infection ((pSBI) step 1). We applied respective case fatality risks ((CFRs) step 2) and the NDI risk among survivors (step 3). For neonatal tetanus, incidence estimates were based on the estimated deaths, CFRs, and risk of subsequent NDI. RESULTS: For 2010, we estimated 1.7 million (uncertainty range: 1.1-2.4 million) cases of neonatal sepsis, 200,000 (21,000-350,000) cases of meningitis, 510,000 cases (150,000-930,000) of pneumonia, and 79,000 cases (70,000-930,000) of tetanus in neonates >32 wk gestation (or >1,500 g). Among the survivors, we estimated moderate to severe NDI after neonatal meningitis in 23% (95% confidence interval: 19-26%) of survivors, 18,000 (2,700-35,000) cases, and after neonatal tetanus in 16% (6-27%), 4,700 cases (1,700-8,900). CONCLUSION: Data are lacking for impairment after neonatal sepsis and pneumonia, especially among those of >32 wk gestation. Improved recognition and treatment of pSBI will reduce neonatal mortality. Lack of follow-up data for survivors of severe bacterial infections, particularly sepsis, was striking. Given the high incidence of sepsis, even minor NDI would be of major public health importance. Prevention of neonatal infection, improved case management, and support for children with NDI are all important strategies, currently receiving limited policy attention

Acetic Acid-Induced Ulcerative Colitis in Sprague Dawley Rats Is Suppressed by Hydroethanolic Extract of Cordia vignei Leaves through Reduced Serum Levels of TNF-α and IL-6

Background. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a recurrent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes long-lasting inflammation on the innermost lining of the colon and rectum. Leaf decoctions of Cordia vignei have been used in traditional medicine either alone or in combination with other plant preparations to treat the disease. Aim. In this study, we investigated the effect of hydroethanolic extract of Cordia vignei leaves (CVE) on acetic acid-induced UC in rats. Method. Male Sprague Dawley rats received oral treatment of either saline (10 ml/kg), sulfasalazine (500 mg/kg), or CVE (30-300 mg/kg) daily for 7 days. On day 4, colitis was induced by a single intrarectal administration of 500 μl of acetic acid (4% v/v). Rats were sacrificed on day 8 and colons were collected for histopathological examination. Blood was also collected for haematological assessment. Results. CVE significantly (P < 0.05) prevented colonic ulceration and reduced the inflammatory score. Serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were significantly reduced. Depletion of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities by acetic acid was significantly inhibited while lipid peroxidation indexed as malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the colon was reduced. However, loss of body weight was not significantly affected by treatment with CVE. Conclusion. This data suggest that CVE has a potential antiulcerative effect