Descriptive epidemiology of cholera outbreak in Nigeria, January-November, 2018: implications for the global roadmap strategy

Background: The cholera outbreak in 2018 in Nigeria reaffirms its public health threat to the country. Evidence on the current epidemiology of cholera required for the design and implementation of appropriate interventions towards attaining the global roadmap strategic goals for cholera elimination however seems lacking. Thus, this study aimed at addressing this gap by describing the epidemiology of the 2018 cholera outbreak in Nigeria. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of surveillance data collected between January 1st and November 19th, 2018. A cholera case was defined as an individual aged 2 years or older presenting with acute watery diarrhoea and severe dehydration or dying from acute watery diarrhoea. Descriptive analyses were performed and presented with respect to person, time and place using appropriate statistics. Results: There were 43,996 cholera cases and 836 cholera deaths across 20 states in Nigeria during the outbreak period, with an attack rate (AR) of 127.43/100,000 population and a case fatality rate (CFR) of 1.90%. Individuals aged 15 years or older (47.76%) were the most affected age group, but the proportion of affected males and females was about the same (49.00 and 51.00% respectively). The outbreak was characterised by four distinct epidemic waves, with higher number of deaths recorded in the third and fourth waves. States from the north-west and north-east regions of the country recorded the highest ARs while those from the north-central recorded the highest CFRs. Conclusion: The severity and wide-geographical distribution of cholera cases and deaths during the 2018 outbreak are indicative of an elevated burden, which was more notable in the northern region of the country. Overall, the findings reaffirm the strategic role of a multi-sectoral approach in the design and implementation of public health interventions aimed at preventing and controlling cholera in Nigeri

Monopole Ellipse Antenna for Ultra-Wideband Applications

In this paper, an Ultra wideband (UWB) ellipse monopole antenna is presented. The proposed antenna consists of an ellipse patch fed by a coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission line. The antenna provides coverage for the UWB spectrum, achieving reflection coefficients ≤−10 dB from 2.83 to 10.66 GHz, thereby yielding a 7.77 GHz impedance bandwidth. The impedance bandwidth is achieved through a variation of the minor axis of the ellipse patch. The antenna gain is slightly enhanced by a center cut at the top ground plane. Simulations show quasi omnidirectional radiation patterns for the proposed antenna at three resonance frequencies of 4.8, 6.7 and 9.35 GHz within the UWB spectrum

ATHEROGENIC POTENTIALS OF SOME NIGERIAN MEALS

The atherogenic potentials of peeled grated cocoyam (Xanthosoma maffafa scot) "ekpang nkukwo", pounded yam (Discorea spp) with plain soup "afia efere", and plantain porridge (Musa paradisiaca) "iwuk ukom" meals were investigated. The three meals were fed to three different groups of albino rats of Wistar strain for a period of twenty eight days. A fourth group which served as control was feed with normal rat pellet. The mean total plasma cholesterol level in the pounded yam with plain soup fed group was significantly lower (P< 0.05) when compared to the control and peeled grated cocoyam fed groups. The mean total plasma triglyceride (MTPTG) level in the pounded yam with plain soup fed group was significantly lower (P< 0.05) when compared to the control group. However the MTPTG level in the peeled grated cocoyam and plantain porridge fed groups were comparable to control. The mean HDL-cholesterol level in the peeled grated cocoyam and plantain fed groups were comparable control. The mean LDL-cholesterol level in the peeled grated cocoyam and plantain porridge fed groups was significantly lower (P<0.05) than the control group. The LDL-cholesterol and VLDL-cholesterol in the pounded yam with plain soup fed group was significantly lower (P<0.05) when compared to control. These findings suggest low atherogenic potentials of the pounded yam with plain soup meal compared to the peeled grated cocoyam and plantain porridge meals

Compact filtenna with defected ground structure for wireless power transfer application

A compact proximity coupled high harmonic rejection filtenna is presented in this paper. The proposed structure operates in the unlicensed 2.45GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band. A circular ring slot has been built-in on the ground plane parallel to circular patch, resulting in a 45% reduction area of patch element area as compared to conventional designs. Unique U-shaped slot arrangements are created on the ground plane parallel to the transmission line feed as defected ground structures (DGS) to achieve rejection of higher harmonics. Acceptable suppression of the second and third harmonics is achieved with minimum reflection coefficients of -4.1 dB and -1.8 dB respectively. The proposed design shows good potential for implementation in wireless power transfer and radio frequency energy harvesting infrastructure

HAEMATOXIC EFFECTS FOLLOWING INGESTION OF NIGERIAN CRUDE OIL AND CRUDE OIL POLLUTED SHELLFISH BY RATS

The haematological effects following ingestion of shellfish exposed to crude oil polluted water or the pollutant perse were investigated in albino Wistar rats. Feeding of four groups of rats for 28 days duration with two reference casein or shellfish protein control diets (Group A and B), and two test diets (Group C and D) supplemented at varying levels with shellfish which had been previously exposed to crude oil polluted water and the oral gavaging with crude oil at the rate of 3, 6 and 9 ml/kg body weight per day to three groups (groups II, III and IV respectively) of rats for 7 days duration resulted in changes in packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) counts, and haemoglobin concentration (Hb) of rats. Group C and D respectively fed 10% and 20% polluted shellfish diets recorded significant (P < 0.05) decreases in PCV and RBC counts while Hb concentration and WBC counts increased. Groups II, III and IV gavaged with varying doses of crude oil recorded significant (P < 0.05 - 0.01) dose dependent decrease in PCV and RBC counts when compared to controls (group 1). Hb and WBC counts also increased for these groups but the increase was only significant for WBC counts (P < 0.05) when compared with controls. The results suggest that the ingestion of shellfish exposed to crude oil polluted water or the polluted perse results in haematotoxicity

Single-, dual- and wide-band frequency-reconfigurable antenna with annular ring slots

This paper presents a frequency reconfigurable antenna enabled using a pair of annular ring slots on a coplanar waveguide (CPW) ground plane. Its initial wideband operation mode from 3 GHz to 6 GHz can be reconfigured into six additional modes: a dual-band mode and five single-band modes, with minimum reflection coefficients (S11) of -10 dB. For demonstration and proof-of-concept purposes, metal switches have been used to represent the switches in simulations and measurements. The ON state is emulated using shorted metal switches, whereas the OFF state is emulated using an open. Good agreements are indicated for simulated and measured S11 and radiation patterns

EFFECT OF ALCOHOL AND KOLANUT INTERACTION ON BRAIN SODIUM PUMP ACTIVITY IN WISTAR ALBINO RATS.

Effect of alcohol - kolanut interaction on Sodium Pump activity in wistar albino rats was studied. Thirty wistar albino rats were divided into six groups of five (5) rats per group and used for the study. The control group (1) received via oral route a placebo (4ml of distilled water). Groups 2 to 6 were treated for a period of 21 days, with (10% v/v) of alcohol (group 2), 50mg/kg body weight of kolanut (group 3), 50mg/kg body weight of caffeine (group 4), 4ml of 10% v/v of alcohol and 50mg/kg body weight kolanut (group 5), 4ml of 10% v/v of alcohol and 50mg/kg body weight of caffeine in 4.0ml of the vehicle via gastric intubation respectively. A day after the final exposure, the brain of each rat was harvested and processed to examine several biochemical parameters, i.e., total ATpase, ouabain-insensitive ATpase, ouabain sensitive ATpase (Na+ - K+- ATpase), non-enzymatic breakdown of ATP and inorganic phosphate (Pi) released. The results showed that the essential enzyme of the brain responsible for neuronal function, Na+ - K+- ATpase, was inhibited by alcohol-kolanut co-administration relative to control, resulting in a decrease in Na+ - K+- ATpase activity, ATP production, ion transport and action potential, leading to loss of neuronal activities

Political Environment and the Use of Energy Resources in Nigeria

This study examines the dynamic relationship between political environment and the use of energy resources in Nigeria covering the period from 1978-2017 using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach. The results reveal that democracy has a significant long run and short run positive influence on energy consumption in Nigeria. However, the positive effect decreases significantly with an increase in the level of oil dependence in the short run. The results of this study in general support the view that high dependence of political democratic structures on oil wealth influences the positive effects of democracy in making public goods available in developing net oil-exporting economies. Economic diversification in Nigeria may therefore require formulating policies that will enhance access to clean energy sources in the economy

Naringin prevents cyclophosphamide-induced hepatotoxicity in rats by attenuating oxidative stress, fibrosis, and inflammation.

Cyclophosphamide (CYCP), a synthetic alkylating antineoplastic, disrupts both cancerous and non-cancerous cells to cause cancer regression and multi organotoxicity respectively. CYCP-induced hepatotoxicity is rare but possible. Evidence has shown that naringin has several beneficial potentials against oxidative stress, inflammation, and fibrosis. This study examined the chemoprotective potentials of naringin on exited radical scavenging, hepatic integrity, oxidative stress, fibrosis, and inflammation in CYCP-mediated hepatotoxicity. Rats were pre-treated orally by gavage for fourteen consecutive days with three doses (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) of naringin before single CYCP (200 mg/kg, i.p.) administration. Subsequently, the rats were euthanized; blood and liver were removed, and assessed for serum and hepatic enzymes, oxidative stress, inflammation, and gene expression dynamics. Naringin concentrations required for 50% scavenging hydroxyl radical and 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) radical cation were 0.32 mg/mL and 0.39 mg/mL, respectively. Pretreatment with naringin significantly (p < 0.05) abolish CYCP-induced changes in the activities of serum and hepatic ALT, AST, GGT, ALP, and LDH. Pretreatment with naringin remarkably (p < 0.05) reversed CYCP-mediated increases in hepatic levels of malondialdehyde, hydroperoxide, and nitric oxide; reverse CYCP-induced decreases in the hepatic glutathione levels, activities of catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase; and also attenuated CYCP-induced upregulation of expression of hepatic chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2), interferon alpha1 (IFN-α1), interleukine-1β, interleukine-1 receptor, and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1). Taken together, different doses of naringin can prevent CYCP-induced oxidants generation, hepatocytes dysfunctions, oxidative stress as well as inflammatory perturbations in rats when pre-administered for as few as 14 days