Mechanical Properties of Potato- Starch Linear Low Density Polyethylene Blend

The mechanical properties of potato-starch filled LLDPE such as Young’s Modulus, tensile strength and elongation at break were studied. Apart from the Young’s Modulus, the tensile strength and elongation at break reduced with increased starch content. This is attributed to poor adhesion between starch and the polymer matrix. The mechanical properties however, conform to Kerner’s and Nielson’s models with very minimal deviations.Keywords: Young’s Modulus, elongation at break, Kerner’s and Nielson’s Composite Models, LLDP

Qualitative Investigation of Some Locally Produced Printed Fabrics and Foreign Printed Fabrics Marketed in Nigeria

Qualitative analysis of some selected locally produced fabrics and foreign fabrics marketed in Nigeria was carried out. The comparative study of the Physico – mechanical properties of the fabrics were made. The results obtained showed that the locally produced fabrics exhibited comparably better end – use performance characteristics in terms of fabric weight per square meter, fabric flammability, and linear density. While the foreign fabrics are better in terms of Crease recovery, fabric handle, fabric sett, fabric shrinkage, and aesthetics. However, both the foreign and homemade fabrics exhibited similar characteristics in terms of a brasion resistance,tensile strength, air permeability, yarn crimp, fabric thickness, and colour fastness.Keywords; foreign-fabrics, home-made fabrics, quality characteristics

Incidental finding of dextrocardia with situs inversus totalis in a day old neonate: Case report and review of the literature

Dextrocardia with situs inversus are rare congenital anomalies which can be asymptomatic and compatible with normal life. They are characterized by mirror images of all intra-thoracic and intra-abdominal viscera. Our aim isto report an incidental finding of dextrocardia with situs inversus in a neonate with neonatal sepsis. A day-old male term neonate presented with features of infection. Physical examination revealed cardiac apex on the 4th right   intercostal space, along the mid-clavicular line. Chest radiograph and  abdominal ultrasound confirmed the diagnosis of dextrocardia with situs inversus. Bilateral cervical ribs were also seen on chest radiograph. He was managed with antibiotics  and  discharged . Newborn babies should have a thorough physical examination after delivery before discharge to enable early diagnosis of congenital anomalies for appropriate referral.Key words: Dextrocardia, neonate, neonatal sepsis

Level of blood pressure control among hypertensive patients receiving treatment at federal medical centre Nguru Yobe state North Eastern Nigeria

Hypertension remains the most readily identifiable and reversible risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and is the leading cause of death worldwide. Despite the avalanche of medications for the management of elevated blood pressure, adequate control of systemic hypertension has largely remained enigmatic. Previous studies from African countries including Nigeria have shown that blood pressure (BP) control still remained poor. The objective of this study therefore was to determine the level of blood pressure control among hypertensive patients on treatment and identify associated factors Methodology: The study was an observational, cross-sectional study of consecutive hypertensive patients attending the general outpatient, cardiac, endocrine and renal clinics at the Federal Medical Centre Nguru, in northeastern Nigeria; conducted over a period of six months from June 2016 to December 2016. Result: A total of two hundred and ninety-one (291) consecutive subjects, comprising 134(46.1%) males and 157(53.9%) females were recruited. The mean age of the study population was 56.15±12.72. There was no difference in the mean age of subjects with controlled and uncontrolled hypertension 57.13±12.97 and 55.48±12.54 respectively with P = 0.275. One hundred and nineteen (40.9%) subjects had controlled hypertension while the remaining 172(59.1%) had uncontrolled hypertension. There was a significant difference in the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure of subjects with controlled and uncontrolled hypertension (116.22± 12.14 and 153.14±18.17) P = 0.001 and (73.78±8.02 and 89.53±11.12) P = 0.001 respectively. The predominant pattern of uncontrolled hypertension among the study population was combined systolic and diastolic hypertension. Conclusion: Our study revealed that blood pressure control among hypertensive on medication was not optimal, decreased glomerular filtration rate, low anti-hypertensive medication adherence and use of NSAID were found to be responsible for the inadequate blood pressure control observed in this study. Poverty and ignorance were major contributing factors for low medication adherence

Phytochemical Screening and Preliminary Evaluation of Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of the Methanol Root Extract of Cissus Polyantha

Cissus polyantha is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of conjunctivitis and inflammation. In this study, the methanolic root extract of Cissus polyantha was subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening, analgesic and anti-inflammatory studies. Phytochemical studies was carried out using standard phytochemical protocol while the analgesic studies was carried out using acetic acid-induced writhing tests in mice. Carrageenan-induced hind paw oedema in rats was used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory potential of the extract. Phytochemical studies of the methanolic crude root extract of the plant revealed the presence of carbohydrates, flavonoids, saponins, tannins steroids and triterpenes. The extract at doses of 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg, i.p significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the acetic-acid induced writhing. The extract also produced significant (P < 0.05) and dose-independent anti-inflammatory activity comparable to that of reference drug, ketoprofen. The intraperitoneal lethal dose (LD 50) toxicity studies on the methanol crude root extract of the plant was found to be 288.53 mg/kg body weight. These findings are suggestive of the analgesic and anti-inflammatory potentials of the methanol root bark extract of the plant and provide a scientific rationale for the use of the root of Cissus polyantha in traditional medicine.Keywords: Cissus polyantha, Phytochemical screening Analgesic, Anti-inflammatory, traditiona

Epidemiology of Epilepsy in Nigeria: A Community-Based Study From 3 Sites

BACKGROUND: We determined the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors for epilepsy in Nigeria. METHODS: We conducted a door-to-door survey to identify cases of epilepsy in 3 regions. We estimated age-standardized prevalence adjusted for nonresponse and sensitivity and the 1-year retrospective incidence for active epilepsy. To assess potential risk factors, we conducted a case-control study by collecting sociodemographic and risk factor data. We estimated odds ratios using logistic regression analysis and corresponding population attributable fractions (PAFs). RESULTS: We screened 42,427 persons (age ≥6 years), of whom 254 had confirmed active epilepsy. The pooled prevalence of active epilepsy per 1,000 was 9.8 (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.6-11.1), 17.7 (14.2-20.6) in Gwandu, 4.8 (3.4-6.6) in Afikpo, and 3.3 (2.0-5.1) in Ijebu-Jesa. The pooled incidence per 100,000 was 101.3 (95% CI 57.9-167.6), 201.2 (105.0-358.9) in Gwandu, 27.6 (3.3-128.0) in Afikpo, and 23.9 (3.2-157.0) in Ijebu-Jesa. Children's significant risk factors included febrile seizures, meningitis, poor perinatal care, open defecation, measles, and family history in first-degree relatives. In adults, head injury, poor perinatal care, febrile seizures, family history in second-degree relatives, and consanguinity were significant. Gwandu had more significant risk factors. The PAF for the important factors in children was 74.0% (71.0%-76.0%) and in adults was 79.0% (75.0%-81.0%). CONCLUSION: This work suggests varied epidemiologic numbers, which may be explained by differences in risk factors and population structure in the different regions. These variations should differentially determine and drive prevention and health care responses

Inflammasome sensor NLRP1 controls rat macrophage susceptibility to Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that infects a wide range of warm-blooded species. Rats vary in their susceptibility to this parasite. The Toxo1 locus conferring Toxoplasma resistance in rats was previously mapped to a region of chromosome 10 containing Nlrp1. This gene encodes an inflammasome sensor controlling macrophage sensitivity to anthrax lethal toxin (LT) induced rapid cell death (pyroptosis). We show here that rat strain differences in Toxoplasma infected macrophage sensitivity to pyroptosis, IL-1β/IL-18 processing, and inhibition of parasite proliferation are perfectly correlated with NLRP1 sequence, while inversely correlated with sensitivity to anthrax LT-induced cell death. Using recombinant inbred rats, SNP analyses and whole transcriptome gene expression studies, we narrowed the candidate genes for control of Toxoplasma-mediated rat macrophage pyroptosis to four genes, one of which was Nlrp1. Knockdown of Nlrp1 in pyroptosis-sensitive macrophages resulted in higher parasite replication and protection from cell death. Reciprocally, overexpression of the NLRP1 variant from Toxoplasma-sensitive macrophages in pyroptosis-resistant cells led to sensitization of these resistant macrophages. Our findings reveal Toxoplasma as a novel activator of the NLRP1 inflammasome in rat macrophages