Computed Tomography Study Of Complicated Bacterial Meningitis

To monitor the structural intracranial complications of bacterial meningitis using computed tomography (CT) scan. Retrospective study of medical and radiological records of patients who underwent CT scan over a 4 year period. AUniversityTeachingHospital in a developing country. Thirty three patients with clinically and laboratory-proven cases of bacterial meningitis who had clinical features of central nervous systemcomplication of the disease. Only patients with available complete records were studied with material obtained from themedical records and radiology departments of the hospital. Persistent headache (30.3%), persistent fever (18.18%), seizures (15.5%) and torticollis (12.12%) were the most common presenting features that necessitated the request for CT scan. Communicating hydrocephalus (36.36%), cerebral abscess (12.12%), multiple areas of cerebral infarction (12.12%) and subdural empyema (9.09%)were themost common CTscan findings. The complicationsweremore common in children aged less than 15 years. Computed Tomography is an accurate and useful means of diagnosing intracranial complications of bacterialmeningitis. Early and effective diagnosis of treatable lesions such as hydrocephalus, cerebral abscess and subdural empyema will help improve prognosis of the patients. There appears to be no alternative to prevention, adequate and early treatment of this condition to reduce its long-term neurological sequelae. Keywords: Computed tomography, Bacterial, Meningitis, Complications, Brain. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice Vol. 11 (4) 2008: pp. 351-35

Effect of particle size on adsorption of heavy metals using chemically modified and unmodified fluted pumpkin and broad-leafed pumpkin pods

The effect of particle size on the bioremediation of Pb(II), Zn(II), Cd (II) and Hg(II) ions from synthetic aqueous effluents using unmodified and carboxymethylated fluted pumpkin and broad-leafed pumpkin pods was investigated in a batch system. 1.2 g of adsorbents was used in each sorption experiment at 25 °C and pH 6.5-8.5 for one hour interval. The results showed that the two adsorbents were good for the removal of these metal ions. Unmodified fluted pumpkin pod was found to be better than the other tested adsorbents with removal efficiencies of 92.62%, 81.88%, 75.21% and 49.67% for Pb (II), Zn (II), Cd (II) and Hg (II), respectively. Carboxymethylation decreased the adsorption capacity of the cellulose materials mostly for fluted pumpkin pod. Particle size below 600 μm was found to be the optimum size for unmodified absorbent, while 600-1000 μm was observed for modified adsorbent. Fluted pumpkin pod was found to be a more effective adsorbent for these metal ions than the broad leafed pumpkin pod especially when unmodified. Therefore these results show that fluted pumpkin and broad-leafed pumpkin pods could serve as very good adsorbents in the treatment of these metal ions from aqueous effluents.Keywords: agricultural waste, bioremediation, heavy metals, pollution control, surface chemistry

Some Physical Properties of Vernonia amygdalina and Garcinia kola Microspheres Prepared with High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Glycols

The effect of polymer concentrations on some of the physicochemicalproperties of Vernonia amygdalina (Linn) and Garcinia kola (Heckel) extracts loaded microspheres was evaluated. Microspheres of the aqueous extracts was prepared by emulsion solvent evaporation using polyethylene glycol (PEG) mixtures of molecular weight 4000 and 6000 at different ratios of 1:0, 0:1, 1:1, 1:2 and 2:1 while the amounts of the extracts incorporated was constant for all ratios. The microspheres were evaluated for their particles sizes, yield, flavonoid content, loading efficiency, moisture loss and flow properties. In-vitro release studies were carried out by monitoring flavonoid release rate from the microspheres. The  microspheres were spherical and uniformly shaped and exhibited good flow characteristics. Their size range, yield, loading efficiency, moisture loss and flavonoid content were 76 - 83 ìm, 49 - 76 %, 47 - 82 %, 2.18 - 4.60 % and 17.10 - 23.80 mg%, respectively for V. amygdalina and 144 - 160 ìm, 50 - 68 %, 51 - 68 %, 3.00 - 4.41 % and 20.00 - 28.70 mg%, respectively for G. kola. Flavonoids release from the microsphere was up to 90 % within 1 h and it followed a matrix release kinetic model with a super  case-II transport mechanism. The concentrations of the polymers affected the yield, loading efficiency, moisture loss and the extent of flavonoid release of the microspheres but had no effect on their particle sizes and flavonoid content. These results may find useful application in the delivery of V. amygdalina and G. kola extracts since the combination of PEG of different molecular weights resulted in microspheres with good physicochemical and release properties. © JASE

ESTIMATION OF SHEAR STRENGTH PARAMETERS OF LATERITIC SOILS USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK

This research work seeks to develop models for predicting the shear strength parameters (cohesion and angle of friction) of lateritic soils in central and southern areas of Delta State using   artificial neural network modeling technique. The application of these models will help reduce cost and time in acquiring geotechnical data needed for both design and construction in the study area. A total of eighty-three (83) soil samples were collected from various locations in Delta State of Nigeria.  The geotechnical soil properties were determined in accordance with British Standards.  The range of the angle of internal friction and cohesion obtained from the tests are 2 to 43 degrees and 3 to 82 kN/m2 respectively. The optimum artificial neural network architecture network was found to be 3-9-1, that is three inputs, nine hidden layer nodes, and one output node for cohesion. While, the angle of friction had an optimal network geometry of 3-11-1, that is three inputs, eleven hidden layer nodes, and one output node. The results of the coefficient of determination and root mean square showed that the artificial neural network method outperforms some selected empirical formulae in the prediction of shear strength parameters.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v35i2.

Knowledge of conversion disorder in children by pediatricians in a developing country

Introduction: Conversion disorder (CD) in children presents the clinician with a diagnostic and treatment dilemma. Mistaking a physical condition for CD carries serious consequences for the child while continued investigation in line with physical disease in a child with CD also may expose the child to serious harm.Materials and Methods: One hundred and seventy‑four consenting doctors who attended a national conference of pediatricians were administered a 10 item questionnaire developed by the researchers.Results: Only 5 (2.9%) of participants had good knowledge (scored above the mean plus one standard deviation of the score obtained by the psychiatry residents. Gender, rank, years of experience, availability of psychiatric service in center and duration of the psychiatry posting as the medical student could not differentiate those with good/fair knowledge from those without. However, those who have referred children for psychiatric assessment (P = 0.015), those who believe that children can have CD (P = 0.000) and those who are fairly confident that they could diagnose CD in children (P = 0.000) had better knowledge of CD.Conclusion: Pediatricians have poor knowledge of CDs in children. Those that know that children could have the condition have confidence that they can identify children with the condition and have referred with mental health problems to psychiatrists have better knowledge than those who did not.Keywords: Conversion disorder, knowledge, pediatrician

Type A interrupted aortic arch with Taussig-Bing anomaly: An unusual indication for staged repair

Complex transposition of great arteries (TGA) is when additional cono-truncal anomalies coexist with a TGA. Notable reasons for staged repair include the need to the need to adapt the left ventricle to the systemic high pressures. We report a case of staged repair of Type A Interrupted aortic arch with Taussig-Bing anomaly in a one month old male. Single stage repair could not be done for this patient because of technical difficulties, positive preoperative blood culture and associated airway problem. Patient had a successful two stage surgery involving an initial extended end-to-end anastomosis, PDA ligation with PA Banding and a delayed arterial switch operation done two months later.KEY WORDS: Interrupted aortic arch, arterial switch operation, Taussig-Bing Anomaly, Transposition of Great arteries

A profile of wound infections in National Hospital Abuja

Background: Wound Infections cause prolonged hospital stay, increased costs and also can result in increased patient morbidity and mortality.The current spread of multi -drug resistant bacteria has further heightened the need for regular bacteriological review of infected wounds and regular antibiotics surveillance studies so as to avoid the unguided empirical treatment of wound infections which is quite common in this environmentAim: To determine the distribution of the isolates from wound specimens submitted to the medical microbiology laboratory of National Hospital Abuja for processing.Method: A review and analysis of 380 woundspecimens results from various wards in the hospital over a period of 10 months (1st Marto Dec 31st 2010) was conducted.Result: A total of 314 isolates were recovered from the 380 wound specimens giving a yield of 83%. 240(76%) yielded single isolates of various pathogens, while 74(24%) were poly-microbial. Gram negative bacilli constituted 66% of all the pathogens with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19%) and Proteus species (18%) as the most frequent, while gram positive isolates made up 33% with S aureus (27%) as most predominant and most frequently isolated bacteria from all the wound specimens. Two candida species comprised about 1% of the isolates. Frequency of infection was highest in surgical wards (27%), gynaecology ward (14%) and accident and emergency unit (12%). The fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, and Beta-lactam antibiotics were the most effective drugs for most of the isolates. Staphylococcus aureus was most sensitive to amikacin (83%) and erythromycin (79%); Pseudomonas aeruginosa to imipenem (96%) and amikacin (83%) and Proteus species to amikacin (100%) and imipenem (78%).Conclusion: S aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus species were the predominant bacteria from wounds, with surgery and gynaecology wards having the highest prevalence. Resistance to commonly used antibiotics is high. There is need to institute antibiotic stewardship and effective and efficient infection control measures in the hospitalKeywords: Wound infections, National Hospital , Abuj

Structural and spectroscopic characterisation of a heme peroxidase from sorghum

A cationic class III peroxidase from Sorghum bicolor was purified to homogeneity. The enzyme contains a high-spin heme, as evidenced by UV-visible spectroscopy and EPR. Steady state oxidation of guaiacol was demonstrated and the enzyme was shown to have higher activity in the presence of calcium ions. A Fe(III)/Fe(II) reduction potential of -266 mV vs NHE was determined. Stopped-flow experiments with H2O2 showed formation of a typical peroxidase Compound I species, which converts to Compound II in the presence of calcium. A crystal structure of the enzyme is reported, the first for a sorghum peroxidase. The structure reveals an active site that is analogous to those for other class I heme peroxidase, and a substrate binding site (assigned as arising from binding of indole-3-acetic acid) at the γ-heme edge. Metal binding sites are observed in the structure on the distal (assigned as a Na(+) ion) and proximal (assigned as a Ca(2+)) sides of the heme, which is consistent with the Ca(2+)-dependence of the steady state and pre-steady state kinetics. It is probably the case that the structural integrity (and, thus, the catalytic activity) of the sorghum enzyme is dependent on metal ion incorporation at these positions

Advances in Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs): challenges and road-map for future development

Recent advances in wireless communication technologies and auto-mobile industry have triggered a significant research interest in the field of vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) over the past few years. A vehicular network consists of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications supported by wireless access technologies such as IEEE 802.11p. This innovation in wireless communication has been envisaged to improve road safety and motor traffic efficiency in near future through the development of intelligent transportation system (ITS). Hence, governments, auto-mobile industries and academia are heavily partnering through several ongoing research projects to establish standards for VANETs. The typical set of VANET application areas, such as vehicle collision warning and traffic information dissemination have made VANET an interesting field of mobile wireless communication. This paper provides an overview on current research state, challenges, potentials of VANETs as well as the ways forward to achieving the long awaited ITS