Treatment Outcomes in Patients Receiving Combination Antiretroviral Therapy in Central Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria

Purpose: This study investigated mortality rate, early CD4 responses, pattern of ARVs substitutions and medication adherence of HIV-infected patients on first-line triple combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Central Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria. Methods: A retrospective assessment of 196 HIV-infected patients on first-line combination ART regimens was performed following 18 months of therapy. Medication adherence assessment of a 69- patient follow-up target group was based on a study-specific questionnaire. Paired sample t-test and simple linear correlation were used to test the association of the CD4-cell counts at different time intervals. Kaplan-Meier model was used to assess survival functions while log-rank test was applied to assess statistical difference at 95 % confidence interval (CI). Mean age of participants was 33.6 years (95 % CI, 32.1 - 35.2; 67.9 % were females. Results: At ART initiation, 27.0 % were at WHO clinical stage II, 47.0 % at stage III. Mortality rate (N = 196) was 20.3 deaths per 100 patient-months; 31.6 % occurred in < 30 days while 52.6 % occurred post-120 days of treatment. The mean CD4-cell count (cells/mm3) at ART initiation was 179.2 which increased to 328.5 at 3 months, 325.6 at 6 months, 357.4 at 12 months, and 366.7 at 18 months, (p < 0.01). Patients started on stavudine-based or efavirenz-based regimens were considerably more likely to have that drug substituted, compared to patients started on zidovudine-based or nevirapine-based regimens. The level of adherence reported after 18 months on ART was 73.8 %. Conclusion: In this setting, patients receiving ART showed significant improvements in CD4-cell status but adherence level was relatively poor. Patients were more stable on zidovudine-based or nevirapinebased regimens than on stavudine-based or efavirenz-based regimens. Early mortality rate was high, indicating a need for early interventions.Keywords: Antiretroviral therapy; HIV/AIDS; Mortality; Therapy outcomes, Nigeri

Synergistic Effect of Potassium Iodide on Corrosion Inhibition of Mild Steel in HCl Medium by Extracts of Nypa Fruticans’ Wurmb

The effect of Nypa fruticans’ wurmb extract and the mixture of various concentration of KI and Nypa fruticans’ wurmb extract on corrosion of mild steel in 0.1M and 0.5M HCl have been investigated using weight loss methods. The study revealed that mild steel is more efficiently inhibited by Nypa fruticans’ wurmb in the presence of KI than pure extract of Nypa fruticans’ wurmb. The inhibition efficiencies increased with increased concentration of the additives. The highest inhibition efficiency of 77.31% was observed with single Nypa fruticans’ wurmb extract. An improved inhibition efficiency of 95.36% was observed with the mixture of Nypa fruticans’ wurmb extract and KI at 30oC in 0.5M HCl. Inhibition efficiency decreased with increase in temperature from 30-40OC but increased at relatively high temperature of 50OC an effect attributed to synergism between Nypa fruticans’ wurmb extract and KI. The adsorption of inhibitor molecules on metal surface followed langmuir isotherm. Thermodynamic parameters such as heat of adsorption, ÄH, free energy of adsorption ÄG and enthropy of adsorption are obtained from experimental temperatures ranging from30 – 50OC

CLOSING INSTITUTIONAL GAPS THROUGH ACADEMIC RESEARCH MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND IMPLICATIONS IN NIGERIA

The world today has a number of valuable research scholars desiring connections and collaborations. The existing online collaboration platforms are not sufficient to accommodate the totality of researchers desiring dynamic platforms to network globally. Despite growing contributions in the literature on Social Network Site (SNS), regarding the capacity to connect people remotely, there is still a dearth of research on how SNS potentially integrates academics into social capital formation. The objective of this study is to provide Academic Research Management System (ARMS) for the research community. The research methods that were employed for the study include unified modeling language (UML) for the design; and Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML), Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) and MySQL for front end, server side programming and database respectively. The system was evaluated for usability and the implications for deploying the ARMS in Nigeria were also considered in this study. Findings: The findings from the usability survey showed a good usability based on total rating of 4.10 out of 5 point scale. The integration of the system into the academic institutions worldwide would foster a rapport between academics in all fields of learning and provide a means to have access to colleagues and research materials when needed

Synergistic Effect of Potassium Iodide on Corrosion Inhibition of Mild Steel in HCl Medium by Extracts of Nypa Fruticans\u2019 Wurmb

The effect of Nypa Fruticans\u2019 Wurmb extract and the mixture of various concentration of KI and Nypa fruticans\u2019 wurmb extract on corrosion of mild steel in 0.1M and 0.5M HCl have been investigated using weight loss methods. The study revealed that mild steel is more efficiently inhibited by Nypa Fruticans\u2019 Wurmb in the presence of KI than pure extract of Nypa Fruticans\u2019 Wurmb. The inhibition efficiencies increased with increased concentration of the additives. The highest inhibition efficiency of 77.31% was observed with single Nypa Fruticans\u2019 Wurmb extract. An improved inhibition efficiency of 95.36% was observed with the mixture of Nypa Fruticans\u2019 Wurmb extract and KI at 30oC in 0.5M HCl. Inhibition efficiency decreased with increase in temperature from 30-40OC but increased at relatively high temperature of 50\ub0C an effect attributed to synergism between Nypa Fruticans\u2019 Wurmb extract and KI. The adsorption of inhibitor molecules on metal surface followed langmuir isotherm. Thermodynamic parameters such as heat of adsorption, \u394H, free energy of adsorption \u394G and enthropy of adsorption are obtained from experimental temperatures ranging from 30 \u2013 50\ub0C

MOTIVATING EFFECTIVE ICT USERS’ SUPPORT THROUGH AUTOMATED MOBILE EDU-HELPDESK SYSTEM

An automated helpdesk system is meant to eradicate some of the barriers of reaching the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) technical staff to carry out repairs of ICT products and services in an educational institution. The problems faced with the existing ICT user support system include time wasting, difficulty in communication, and slow response to fix ICT related faults. The objective of this study is to develop an Automated Mobile Edu-Helpdesk System (AMES) for effective information dissemination, efficient management of operations and to resolve ICT challenges in higher education. The research methods adopted include unified modelling diagrams for design, Java and XML (Extended Mark-up Language) for Android application development as front end, while Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) was used as the server side programming tool. MySQL database was used as backend. Findings: The findings from the usability survey shows a good usability based on total rating of 4.09 out of 5 point scale. The benefits of the system include creation of a medium for non teaching and teaching staff to pass their complaints or messages to the technical department for speedy attention; and provision of better and faster operational processes which will reduce time spent on documentation. The automated Edu-Helpdesk system is more reliable, effective and convenient than the manual method in reporting cases of faulty ICT product and services within the university community

Optimal deployment of components of cloud-hosted application for guaranteeing multitenancy isolation

One of the challenges of deploying multitenant cloud-hosted services that are designed to use (or be integrated with) several components is how to implement the required degree of isolation between the components when there is a change in the workload. Achieving the highest degree of isolation implies deploying a component exclusively for one tenant; which leads to high resource consumption and running cost per component. A low degree of isolation allows sharing of resources which could possibly reduce cost, but with known limitations of performance and security interference. This paper presents a model-based algorithm together with four variants of a metaheuristic that can be used with it, to provide near-optimal solutions for deploying components of a cloud-hosted application in a way that guarantees multitenancy isolation. When the workload changes, the model based algorithm solves an open multiclass QN model to determine the average number of requests that can access the components and then uses a metaheuristic to provide near-optimal solutions for deploying the components. Performance evaluation showed that the obtained solutions had low variability and percent deviation when compared to the reference/optimal solution. We also provide recommendations and best practice guidelines for deploying components in a way that guarantees the required degree of isolation

Detoxifying effect of Nelumbo nucifera and Aegle marmelos on hematological parameters of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of Nelumbo nucifera and Aegle marmelos on common carp exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of combined heavy metals (5 ppm) under laboratory conditions. The fish were treated with Nelumbo nucifera (500 mg/kg bwt) and Aegle marmelos (500 mg/kgbwt) for 30 days as a dietary supplement. The blood biochemical parameters of the fish were evaluated by analyzing the level of red blood cells (RBC), packed cell volume (PCV), hemoglobin concentration, glucose, cholesterol, iron and copper. The findings of the present investigation showed significant increase in hemoglobin (p<0.001), RBC (p<0.01) and PCV (p<0.01) of herbal drug-treated groups compared with metal-exposed fish. Conversely, glucose and cholesterol level in blood of common carp showed significant reduction compared with heavy-metal-exposed groups. All the values measured in Nelumbo nucifera and Aegle marmelos treated fish were restored comparably to control fish. Our results confirmed that Nelumbo nucifera and Aegle marmelos provide a detoxification mechanism for heavy metals in common carp

ISSN 2347-954X (Print) Sickle Cell Anaemia: A Review

Abstract: This paper reviews Sickle cell anaemia.Sickle cell anaemia is a homozygous form of HbS(HbSS).This result from single point replacement of glutamine by valine at position 6 of β-globin chain.This reduces solubilty of the red cells which in turn leads to polymerisation and vaso-occlussion in the vasculature. The β -globin gene is found on the short arm of chromosome 11. The association of two mutant β -globin subunits forms haemoglobin S (HbS). Under lowoxygen conditions, the absence of a polar amino acid at position of six of the β -globin chain promotes the non -covalent polymerization of haemoglobin, which distorts red blood cells into a sickle shape and decreases their elasticity. In sickle cell disease, low oxygen tension promotes red blood cell sickling and repeated episodes of sickling damage the cell membrane and decreases the cell&apos;s elasticity. These cells fail to return to normal shape when normal oxygen tension is restored. As a consequence, these rigid blood cells are unable to deform as they pass through narrow capillaries, leading to vessel occlusion and Ischaemia. The actual anaemia of the illness is caused by haemolysis, the destruction of the red cells inside the spleen.Those suffering from this illness are present with chronic anaemia which those with normal adult haemoglobin genotype will not survive because of the misshape of the cells leading to destruction of the cells at the spleen