Helicobacter pylori In Uninvestigated Dyspepsia In Primary Cares In Abakaliki, Nigeria

There is paucity of information on the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in Nigeria. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine the prevalence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to H. pylori in 262 consecutive patients (aged 5.5-56 years) presenting with dyspepsia in primary health cares in Abakaliki, Nigeria. Sixty-nine (26.3%) of the patients had IgG antibodies to H. pylori. Significantly higher prevalence of H. pylori was recorded in older patients than in those ≤ 20 years [29% vs11% (95%CI: 0.072-0.288%)]. Infection was comparable between males and females [28% vs 25%, (95% CI: - 0.078 – 0.138)] but inversely related to the socio-economic status of patients [30.5% vs 14%. (95% CI: 0.054-0.28) and 30.3% vs 8.3% (95% CI: 0.053-0.391) between lower and middle and between lower and upper class respectively]. The high endemicity of H. pylori infection in this study needs confirmation in different settings and/or in the general population

The Effect of Annealing, Doping on the Properties and Functionality of Zinc Oxide Thin Film; Review

The review of the effect of annealing and doping zinc oxide thin films on both the structural and optical properties has been carried out for different growth techniques such as sol–gel growth technique. The structural and optical properties were carried out using thin films were characterized SEM, XRD while TE and TM guided mode spectra, UV–VIS–NIR (HR4000Ocean Optics) and UV–Visible spectrometry were used accordingly respectively. From the results, it was clearly observed the both the morphological and the crystal characteristics structural characteristic, although increase in the percent of doping element affected it as the diffraction peak was shifts slightly to a lower angle side with report that crystal structure of the film deteriorate at a higher doping concentration of doping element as it decreases the c-lattice. There was also adjustment on the band gap of the material when it was annealed at various temperatures and also when the doping concentration was varied. The film exhibited lower absorbance, high transmittance depend on the regions of electromagnetic wave spectra

Need of surveillance response systems to combat Ebola outbreaks and other emerging infectious diseases in African countries

There is growing concern in Sub-Saharan Africa about the spread of the Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, and the public health burden that it ensues. Since 1976, there have been 885,343 suspected and laboratory confirmed cases of EVD and the disease has claimed 2,512 cases and 932 fatality in West Africa. There are certain requirements that must be met when responding to EVD outbreaks and this process could incur certain challenges. For the purposes of this paper, five have been identified: (i) the deficiency in the development and implementation of surveillance response systems against Ebola and others infectious disease outbreaks in Africa; (ii) the lack of education and knowledge resulting in an EVD outbreak triggering panic, anxiety, psychosocial trauma, isolation and dignity impounding, stigmatisation, community ostracism and resistance to associated socio-ecological and public health consequences; (iii) limited financial resources, human technical capacity and weak community and national health system operational plans for prevention and control responses, practices and management; (iv) inadequate leadership and coordination; and (v) the lack of development of new strategies, tools and approaches, such as improved diagnostics and novel therapies including vaccines which can assist in preventing, controlling and containing Ebola outbreaks as well as the spread of the disease. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop and implement an active early warning alert and surveillance response system for outbreak response and control of emerging infectious diseases. Understanding the unending risks of transmission dynamics and resurgence is essential in implementing rapid effective response interventions tailored to specific local settings and contexts. Therefore, the following actions are recommended: (i) national and regional inter-sectorial and trans-disciplinary surveillance response systems that include early warnings, as well as critical human resources development, must be quickly adopted by allied ministries and organisations in African countries in epidemic and pandemic responses; (ii) harnessing all stakeholders commitment and advocacy in sustained funding, collaboration, communication and networking including community participation to enhance a coordinated responses, as well as tracking and prompt case management to combat challenges; (iii) more research and development in new drug discovery and vaccines; and (iv) understanding the involvement of global health to promote the establishment of public health surveillance response systems with functions of early warning, as well as monitoring and evaluation in upholding research-action programmes and innovative interventions

Quadra-Statistical Modeling Of Corrosion Penetration Rate (CPR) Of Martensitic and Annealed Stainless Steel in H2SO4 and HCl.

A lucid quadratic model graphs and equations has been successfully generated after corrosion characterization behavior analysis of cast stainless steel (70.90% Fe, 19% Cr 10%Ni, 0.08% C) alloys in (0.25M- 0.5M) H2SO4 and (0.25M- 0.5M) HCl using SPSS computer software. The cast stainless steel specimen were sectioned into three sets labeled M, A, U and machined to the same cross sectional area. M and A were subjected to a temperature of 900oC (1173K or 1652oF) where the grains formed austenitic phase which was further heat-treated to form martensitic stainless steel (M) and annealed stainless steel (A) test coupons respectively. Then, (U) was left untreated as a control test coupon sample. These pre-weighed test coupon samples were immersed in 0.25M and 0.5M simulated tetraoxosulphate (vi) acid (H2SO4) and Hydrochloric acid (HCl) respectively. The.......

Application of biopolymer in turbidity removal and sludge settling behaviour of travertine-processing wastewater: Performance optimization using response surface methodology (RSM)

A flocculation process was performed to treat travertine-processing effluents with a high concentration of suspended solids using an eco-friendly biopolymer. The experiments were conducted through a standard jar test procedure to optimize the process parameters for sludge volume index (SVI) and turbidity removal. The effects of mixing time, suspension pH, and polymer dosage on treatment efficiency were investigated using central composite design, a standard technique in response surface methodology. The constructed response model was tested using the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Using the Design-Expert tool, the coefficients of regression models were computed. The Fischer value (F-value) was used to evaluate the significance and validity of the predicted model, while the coefficient of determination (R2) was applied to estimate the model significance by comparing the predicted data with the measured data. The optimized parameters obtained were polymer dose of 276.20 mg/L, suspension pH of 8.60, and mixing time of 4.20 min. The optimal SVI and turbidity values obtained were 1.36 mL/g and 2.99 NTU, respectively. Additionally, R2 values for SVI and turbidity were determined as 0.9337 and 0.8654, respectively. Also, the difference between adjusted R2 values and predicted R2 was less than 0.2. Validation tests showed that the response surface methodology is an effective method for optimizing the flocculation mechanism

Comparative Analysis of Corrosion Behavior of Martensitic and Annealed Stainless Steel in H2SO4 and NaOH

Using weight lose techniques (WLT), the comparative analysis of the corrosion characterization behavior of cast stainless steel (70.90% Fe, 19% Cr 10%Ni, 0.0% C) alloys in ( 0.25M- 0.5M)   H2SO4 and NaOH has been evaluated. The cast stainless steel specimen was sectioned  into three sets labeled M, A, U and machined to the same cross sectional area. M and A is subjected to a temperature of 900oC (1173K or 1652oF) where the grains forms austenitic phase which was further heat- treated  to form martensitic stainless steel (M) and annealed stainless steel (A) test coupon respectively. Then, (U) is left untreated as a control test coupon sample. These preweighed test coupon samples were immersed in 0.25M and 0.5M simulated  tetraoxosulphate (vi) acid (H2SO4) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) respectively. The experimental process is allowed for a total of 168hr with each set withdrawn 24hr interval for weight lose analysis. The findings showed that of a passivating metals with initial steady rise in corrosion penetration rate (CPR) followed by gradual decrease in CPR which increases as molar concentration increase for the annealed specimen(A) in  H2S04 while the martensitic test specimen(M) is severely attacked in NaOH. The annealed specimen exhibit high passivity in   H2S04 with lowest CPR of 0.0071mm/yr. The severe attack of the annealed specimen is due to increase in ionization which results in redistribution of grain boundary structure. Key words: Passivation, Corrosion  kinetics, Basic Environment, Acidic Environment, Martensitic, Annealing, Weight Lose Techniques, Austenitic phase

Hysterosalpingography findings of female partners of infertile couple attending fertility clinic at Lagos University Teaching Hospital

Introduction: Hysterosalpingography (HSG) is an outpatient fluoroscopic method for the evaluation of the uterine cavity, fallopian tubes, and the surrounding peritoneal cavity. Female fertility depends greatly on normal female reproductive organs; hence tubal abnormalities may contribute significantly to female infertility. HSG is an invaluable screening tool in the evaluation of women with suspected tubal factor infertility. This study aims to review the HSG findings of women who sought fertility treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos (LUTH). Methods: this was a retrospective study of the pattern of HSG findings among female partners of infertile couples seeking fertility treatment at the LUTH, over a 2-year period, from January 2018 to December 2019. Results: a total of 266 medical records and HSG results were reviewed and included in the data analysis. The mean age (± standard deviation) was 38.4 (± 0.3) years with a range of 24 to 50 years. Most (80.5%) of the participants have secondary infertility and majority (65.4%) were nulliparous. Tubal pathology was the commonest abnormality detected on HSG in 54.9% of women. About one-third (30.8%) of women had bilateral tubal occlusion on HSG. With regards to the right fallopian tube, 43.2% of the participants had tubal occlusion, which differs from 41.7% on the left fallopian tube. Similarly, 10.2% of the women had hydrosalpinx on the left tube when compared with 9% on the right tube. Age (OR 1.055; 95% CI: 1.006, 1.106, p-value 0.028), and previous salpingectomy [OR 6.151; 95% CI: 1.335, 28.349] and myomectomy [OR 4.6; 95% CI: 1.814, 11.67] were identified as risk factors for tubal pathologies on HSG. Conclusion: tubal abnormalities are common findings on HSG and the identifiable risk factors for tubal pathologies include age, salpingectomy, and myomectomy. HSG remains a vital screening tool in the evaluation of tubal-factor infertility in Nigeria

Bottleneck in Creating Layer Breeds of Chickens in Nigeria

This study was carried out from a retrospective study of all undergraduate and postgraduate researches conducted on chickens in the Department of Animal Science of some Western and Eastern universities (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ibadan, and National Animal production institute, NAPRI, Zaria) in the northern part of Nigeria. The breeding strategies in some world-renowned breeding companies were also studied. The study further compared the various methods utilized for the creation of egg-type chicken by the researchers at the universities and institute with the methods adopted by successful breeding companies for the course of genetic improvement of a pure breed popularly known as the broiler or layer breed. The parameters used for evaluation included scope of breed of chicken (exotic or local), statistical model, heritability, and correlation, variance, mating systems, selection methods, uniformity of research environment, breeding methods (conventional and biotechnology), and emphasis of breeding goals. Finally, the study attempts to recommend a cheaper and a practicable plan to create a layer pureline. There is no gainsaying that that the bottleneck of creating layer breed of chicken in Nigeria has been exhaustively evaluated in this study. The challenges comprises technical, financial, and inertia, and ineptitude of leadership elicits poor funding cum environment lacking the resilient approach and technical know-how ranging from inappropriate models to methods. We recommend firm breeding policy and adequate international funding for the proper alignment with the world chicken breeding strategies to help position Nigerian poultry industry to deliver its SDGs predicted goal of providing food security for the global populace by 2050

Identification of Medical and Industrial Used Radioisotopes in Mining Sites of Nasarawa, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

This research intends to unveil the presence of radioisotopes in the soil of some mining sites in Nasarawa of Nasarawa state using thermos-scientific interceptor (IdentiFINDER). The work aimed at detecting the presence, types and trust level of radioisotopes. The result showed that, 103Pd and 125I were found in 57% of the total points and the percentage abundance of the detector reached 50-65% indicating that, those radioisotopes are likely found in the area, 109Cd was found in 15% of the total areas. The percentage abundance of the detector for 109Cd shows 50% indicating that, those radioisotopes are likely to be found in the area, 241Am was found in 7% of the total areas. The percentage abundance of the detector for 241Am shows 81% indicating that, those radioisotopes are likely found in the area, 235U was found in 7% of the total points. The percentage abundance of the detector for 235U reaches 57% indicating that, those radioisotopes are likely found in the area, 75Se was found in 7% of the total points. The percentage abundance of the detector for 75Se was in abundance up to 57% indicating that, those radioisotopes are likely gotten in the area and 57Co was gotten in 7% of the total areas. The percentage abundance of the detector for 57Co was 54% indicating that, those radioisotopes are likely to be gotten in the area. Based on this high percentage abundance of the detector for these radioisotopes, they can be harnessed and applied appropriately in medicine and industry