The effect of formulation additives on the properties of films prepared using Terminalia randii Baker F Gum

Background: Natural polymers are becoming useful excipients in pharmaceutical formulations due to their non-toxic and biodegradable properties. One of their common uses is in the manufacture of polymeric films.Objective: This present work is to evaluate the effect of plasticizer type and polymer type on the properties of Terminalia films.Method: Films were prepared by solvent casting method using Terminalia, xanthan gums and hydroxylpropy lmethylcellulose (HPMC). Terminlia was also combined with xanthan, HPMC at different ratios using propylene glycol and glycerol as plaasticizers. The films were characterized using adherence, folding endurance and mechanical properties were determined using tensile strength and percent elongation. Disintegration was carried out in a disintegration apparatus using distilled water, 0.1M HCl (pH 1.2) and phosphate buffer pH 6.8.Result: Films prepared with Terminalia and those prepared by combining Terminalia and xanthan gums showed adherence. Films plasticized with glycerol had higher folding endurance and tensile strength. When HPMC was combined with Terminalia, the disintegration of the films produced was significantly (p<0.05) reduced at pH 6.8Conclusion: Glycerol plasticizer produced films with optimal properties, while combination of Terminalia gum and HPMC, produced films with optimal properties. Therefore, plasticizer and polymer must be carefully chosen for film formulations.Keywords: Film, Plasticizer, Terminalia gum, Polymers, Tensile strength, Fold enduranc

Computational Numerical Solution for Traveling Salesman Problem

This paper examined and analyzed the desire of Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) to find the cheapest way of visiting all given set of cities and returning to the starting point.     We presented a unique decomposition approach model for TSP in which the requirements and features of practical application in communication network, road transportation and supply chains are put into consideration.  We used a Mathematical Modeling solution with the application of Ant Colony Search Algorithm (ACSA) approach for result computation.  In our approach, different Agents were created for difference purposes.   Information agent gathered information about best tour and detected the solution agent that arrived at a given point with information message containing details of where the solution agent has come from as well as best tour cost.  The place ant performs local pheromone decay on the relevant links.   This help to avoid random visit to irrelevant edges and allows the place ant to calculate the cost of tour of all place ants including the latest pheromone level on the links to each of the place ants. The solution agent uses available information to decide  which node to visit next and informs the place ant of  its decision to move to a given destination and update better tour  previously sampled while information about where to go next also obtained.  The place ant updates its pheromone value for that link using the equivalent of the algorithm for local pheromone update.  The cycle continues until solution agent arrives at its destination. The main advantage of our approach is that it permits the use of mixed integer programming and combinatorial optimization techniques to compute real optimal routing path, solving the problem in practice by returning actual shortest route with its numerical value and not the best effort result as provided by some previous models and analytical methods. The implementation was carried out using C# programming language.  Data used were generated and the performance evaluation of the model was carried out through simulation using Matlab 7.0.  The result shows that by considering all possible paths between a node as the source and another as the destination, all possible routes for a particular journey with shortest route in each case were generated. Keywords: Ant Colony, Combinatorial Optimization, Mixed Integer Programming, Pheromone, Search Algorithm and Traveling Salesman

Advancements and applications of Artificial Intelligence in cardiology: Current trends and future prospects

Using Artificial intelligence technologies in cardiology has witnessed rapid advancements across various domains, fostering innovation and reshaping clinical practices. The study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of these AI-driven advancements and their implications for enhancing cardiovascular healthcare. A systematic approach was adopted to conduct an extensive review of scholarly articles and peer-reviewed literature focusing on the application of AI in cardiology. Databases including PubMed/MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, IEEE Xplore, and Web of Science were systematically searched. Articles were screened following a defined selection criteria. These articles' synthesis highlighted AI's diverse applications in cardiology, including but not limited to diagnostic innovations, precision medicine, remote monitoring technologies, drug discovery, and clinical decision support systems. The review shows the significant role of AI in reshaping cardiovascular medicine by revolutionising diagnostics, treatment strategies, and patient care. The diverse applications of AI in cardiology showcased in this study reflect the transformative potential of these technologies. However, challenges such as algorithm accuracy, interoperability, and integration into clinical workflows persist. AI's continued advancements and strategic integration in cardiology promise to deliver more personalised, efficient, and effective cardiovascular care, ultimately improving patient outcomes and shaping the future of cardiology practice

Perceived Benefits of Improved Practices in Pre Harvest Tomato Production among Farmers in Afijio Local Government Area, Oyo State

This study was designed to investigate the perceived benefits of improved practices in pre-harvest tomato production among farmers in Afijio Local Government Area of Oyo State. Multistage sampling techniques were used to select respondents in the study area, with the aid of structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential (PPMC) statistics were used to analyze the data. Majority of the respondents (88.5%) perceived that it has lots of benefits. Also, 82.7% perceived that improved practices minimize post-harvest losses on a medium scale.  Furthermore, 85.6% perceived that improved practices minimize disease infestation on a medium scale, while 84.6% perceive it protects tomato from decaying. Also, 76.9% of the respondents perceive that improve practices helps to retain nutritional content of tomato on a medium scale.  Also, the category of the respondents that had high awareness considered the improved practices to be highly beneficial to them.  The study further concluded that the benefits derived by minority of the respondents influenced most of the respondents to have favorable perception to derivable benefits embedded in improved practices of tomato in the study area.  In addition, the result also revealed significant relationship between awareness and perceived benefits of improved practices in pre-harvest tomato production (r=0.280, p=0.004).  The study therefore recommended that the extension agents should properly train the farmers on the benefits and use of these improved practices. Adequate information should be made available to the tomato farmers on the most recent developments in tomato farming and production (pre harvest and post-harvest). The government should be able to provide adequate and glitch free loan to the farmers to enable them utilize the information and training

Knowledge, Attitude and Preventive Practices about Ebola Viral Disease among Journalists in Osogbo, Southwest Nigeria

The West African subregion presently faces the Ebola viral disease (EVD) epidemic. In order to control this epidemic, journalists need to inform the public. This study assessed their knowledge, attitude and preventive practices. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 93 journalists working in Osun State who completed a self administered questionnaire. Data collected was analysed. Mean (SD) age was 26.4±8.2 years ranging 18 to 49 years. Mean (SD) duration in practising journalism was 7.6±6.7 years (range, 1-20 years). Most had tertiary education (87.1%), were singles (74.2%), Christians (51%) and Yoruba (92.5%).  Despite good knowledge (58.1%) of EVD, most had low risk perception (46.2%). The only statistical significant predictor of good knowledge was religion. In conclusion, most journalists have good knowledge but low risk perception. Efforts to improve the risk

Occurrence of PAHs in water samples of the Diep River, South Africa

Occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in freshwater may aggravate the water crisis currently being experienced in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. However, there is dearth of data on the levels of PAHs, which is necessary for effective assessment of water quality as well as remediation strategies. This study therefore assessed levels of PAHs in the Diep River freshwater system of Western Cape Province, South Africa. A liquid-liquid extraction solid-phase extraction gas chromatography flame ionisation detection (LLE-SPEGC-FID) method was developed to simultaneously determine the 16 United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) listed priority PAHs in water samples. The SPE-GC-FID method allowed an acceptable linearity (R2 > 0.999) within the calibration range of 1 to 50 μg/mL. Instrument detection limits ranged between 0.02 and 0.04 μg/mL and instrument quantification limits between 0.06 and 0.13 μg/mL. Recovery study results were also acceptable (83.69–96.44%) except for naphthalene, which had recovery of 60.05% in spiked water matrix. The seasonal averages of individual PAH detected at the studied sites ranged between not detected (nd) and 72.38 ± 9.58 μg/L in water samples.Keywords: PAHs, Diep River, GC-FID, freshwate

Physicochemical assessment and bacteriological studies of hand-dug wells of major markets in south western, Nigeria

Rapid population in developing nations has imposed stress on groundwater resources, thus the need to assess physicochemical and bacteriological impact of microbes on hand-dug wells along some major markets in Ibadan Southwestern Nigeria. Water samples from hand-dug wells were measured sequentially, and total dissolved solute (TDS), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, and temperature were measured in situ. Water samples were analyzed at a Microbiology Laboratory. Most probable techniques used for micro-organism analysis were in three stages: presumptive test used for confirmation of Escherichia coli, confirmed test for total viable bacteria count (TVBC), and complete test to reconfirm the presence of coliform. Presumptive test showed high rate of E. coli in most of the hand-dug wells with (37.5 %). Confirmed test revealed Staphylococcus aureus to be 25 %, followed by Proteus vulgaris (14.6 %), Bacillus species (12.5 %), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8.3 %), and Klebsiella spp. (2.1 %) respectively. Total viable bacteria counts are 500 to 192,000. Physicochemical results (total dissolved solute (TDS), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, temperature) when compared with WHO (2006) and SON (2007) revealed all the parameters to be within the permissible limits except pH (5.8 to 9.56), and high values of the parameters were caused by organic matter. High E. coli in the study area revealed influence of human and animal fecal that coul

Representation of Africa online: sourcing practice and frames of reference

The dominant perspective on the representation of Africa in the western media claims that western media coverage is bias and crisis orientated and the liberal perspective claims that the coverage of Africa is not as negative as is often assumed. However, there is a paucity of literature on the representation of Africa online. This research enquiry is relevant because literature claims that the Internet has the potential to resolve the journalistic predicament of representing other culture through political participation and deliberation. But this requires a re-orientation of the sourcing practice of news organization to embrace sensitivity to and knowledge of African cultures. Moreover, the journalistic predicament can be resolved or not depending on the news gathering approach adopted by the news organization. Literature has identified two approaches, that is, ‘gatekeeping’ used mainly by dominant traditional media and ‘gatewatching’ used by alternative media in their quest to counter mainstream ideology. This study examines the impacts of the ‘gatewatching’ approach adopted by Africa Have Your Say (AHYS) website on its representation and frames of reference of Africa. It uses on-site observation, in-depth interviews and textual analysis to gather data. The study found that although the sourcing practice at the AHYS is elaborate and complex, the ‘gatewatching’ approach makes its susceptible to second level agenda setting. Hence, its frame repeats the attributes and tone used by the mainstream traditional media. However, a minority of users did not use repeat this frame in their comments

A study of disease pattern in a tertiary level Gastroenterology and Hepatology Out-Patient Unit

Background: Diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract and its accessory organs like the liver, gall bladder and the pancreas have become a global concern as they are characterized by morbidities with high burden to both the individual and the economy. Objective: To describe the pattern of various gastrointestinal and hepatic diseases at a tertiary institution. Methods: A retrospective study of consecutive new referrals for ambulatory clinic visits to a Gastroenterology and Hepatology Clinic between May 2014 and May 2016 was conducted. Results: There were 259 new cases comprising 148 (57.1%) males and 111 (42.9%) females, aged 16-89 years with a mean age of 42.0 ±15.5 years. The commonest reasons for referral included asymptomatic chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection (35.9%), chronic liver disease (CLD) (12.4%), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (11.6%) and dyspepsia (10%). Asymptomatic HBV infection, CLD and HCC were more frequent among the males, whereas dyspeptic complains were more prevalent among the females (p = 0.008). Conclusion: Asymptomatic chronic hepatitis B virus infection, which is the leading cause of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma, was the most common reason for ambulatory gastroenterology and hepatology consultation in this study. Therefore, more effective measures for the eradication of the hepatitis B virus are desired

Emerging challenges in innate immunity: Staphylococcus aureus and healthcare-associated infection

Staphylococcus aureus, a prominent human pathogen, exhibits a remarkable ability to interact with host proteins involved in crucial physiological pathways, such as the complement system, coagulation cascade, and fibrinolysis cascade. This paper explores the ability of this notable bacteria to successfully manipulate and evade the host innate system, expatiating on the strategies that enhance its pathogenicity leading to implications on the healthcare system such as the propagation of diverse nosocomial infections. The investigation focuses on key S. aureus proteins, including Coagulase (Coa), von Willebrand factor-binding protein (vWbp), and Staphylokinase (SAK), which play pivotal roles in blood coagulation, fibrinolysis, and evasion of host antibacterial peptides. Notably, these proteins contribute to the formation of fibrin networks, protecting the bacterium from immune clearance and promoting lethal bloodstream infections in murine models. Additionally, the debate surrounding the role of SAK as a critical virulence factor is addressed, emphasizing its impact on biofilm formation, invasion of internal organs, and bacterial loads in sepsis studies. Furthermore, the interaction of S. aureus with matrix metalloproteinases and the secretion of superantigen-like proteins (SSL1 and SSL5) are explored as additional mechanisms employed by the bacterium to impede immune responses. In addressing emerging challenges in innate immunity, the paper discusses the escalating antibiotic resistance in S. aureus, with a specific focus on methicillin-resistant strains (MRSA) and its capacity to instigate healthcare-associated infections as an effect