Solitary colonic neurofibroma in an African child

Neurofibromas are a group of heterogeneous neurocutaneous disorders. They are benign neoplasms consisting of neural and connective tissue components affecting any organ system. Gastrointestinal involvement in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) are rare and are late manifestations of the disease, but in exceptional cases they can be the initial sign of neurofibromatosis in patients who have no external stigmata that arouse suspicion. Neurofibromatosis of the colon as a part of the NF1 is rare. Isolated colonic neurofibromatosis without other features suggestive of NF1 is rarely encountered in clinical practice. We report the case of a 12-year-old boy with an isolated colonic neurofibromatosis presenting with a right hypochondrial mass with no external features of NF1. We report this case as its presentation in children may give a diagnostic dilemma and the probability of malignant digestive disease associated with NF1 should be kept in mind, regardless of the age of the patient.Keywords: children, colonic, neurofibroma, rare, solitar

Readiness of Nigerian Health‑Care Workers to Work during COVID‑19 Pandemic

Introduction: Health‑care professionals of all cadres are the utmost valuable resource during pandemics and maintaining an adequateworkforce of health professionals during an emergency is critical to ensure uninterrupted provision of services that are essential for patient care. Aim: Examine readiness of health‑care workers (HCWs) to provide service in the course of the COVID‑19 pandemic and the factors influencing their decision. Methodology: This was a cross‑sectional study of Nigerian health sector workers HCWs in the course of the COVID‑19 pandemic. The respondents were recruited using HCWs focus groups on WhatsApp and Telegram social medial platforms. Results: A total of 481 HCWs were recruited, consisting of 288 females and 193 males (M: F, 1:1.5), mean age = 30.71 ± 5.9 years. MostHCWs (97.3%) showed a willingness to provide service during the pandemic; 73.3% of the HCWs were willing to work if supplied with adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) although 5.8% were less willing to work without proper PPE. Factors supporting  unwillingness to work during the pandemic were: concerns about the lack of adequate testing for COVID‑19 (48.9%), lack of disability insurance plan (40.1%), fear of being infected (47.2%), and the risk of infection in family members (24.5%). The readiness to work was related to the job cadres of the HCWs (P = 0.001), while the provision of additional incentives and a change in the working conditions would influence the readiness of the HCWs to work. Conclusion: HCWs were ready to provide service in the course of the COVID‑19 pandemic if there was a safe work environment, although the availability of PPE and other personal factors would influence their willingness to work, while improvement in working conditions would motivate HCWs to work. Keywords: COVID‑19, health‑care workers, pandemic, personal protective equipmen

Measurement of penile size in healthy Nigerian newborns using conventional penile length measurement technique

Objectives We attempted to establish a standard penile length for male newborn Nigerians using the conventional penile length measurement technique.Summary Defining the normal penile size in the neonate is paramount to making accurate diagnosis of abnormalities of the penis and the medical and surgical management of these anomalies.Patients and methods We carried out a prospective cross-sectional study of all term male neonates within 72 h of birth from April 2013 to March 2014 in the three largest obstetric centres (University College Hospital, Adeoyo Maternity Hospital and Our Lady of Apostles Catholic Hospital) in Ibadan, Nigeria. They underwent clinical examination, and their penile sizes were measured using the conventional penile length measurement technique.Results A total of 675 male Nigerian newborns were studied. The mean penile length was 3.14 ±0.65 cm, and the mean penile width was 0.97± 0.15 cm.Conclusion The penile dimensions obtained are comparable with reported values in previous studies in other parts of the world

Pharyngo-cutaneous fistula post total-laryngectomy: A local experience

Background: Pharyngo-cutaneous fistula is a major complication of total laryngectomy. Despite its significant impact on the patients' nutrition and management outcome, there is lack of consensus for recognising high-risk patients and factors associated with fistula formation. Hence, this study was aimed at determining the incidence of pharyngocutaneous fistula and factors associated with fistula formation.Methods: A retrospective collection of data on all cases of laryngeal cancer diagnosed histologically and had total laryngectomy, in the  Otorhinolaryngology Department of a tertiary centre in Southwestern, Nigeria, from 2007 – 2016. The data collected includeage, gender, tumour stage, tracheostomy, adjuvant therapy extent of laryngectomy procedure and factors for pharyngo-cutaneous fistula.Results: Forty-two patients had total laryngectomy, male to female ratio was 7.4:1 and mean age was 52.3 ± 2.1 years. All patients had pathological diagnosis of stage 3 (83.3%) and stage 4 (16.7%) laryngeal cancer, respectively. The incidence of pharyngo-cutaneous fistula was11.9% and the factors related to fistula formation were prior radiotherapy treatment and diabetes. Age, gender, neck dissection procedures, site of primary tumor and emergency tracheostomy did not contribute to fistula formation. Spontaneous fistula closure was achieved in all cases except one patient who had surgical closure.Conclusion: Pharyngo-cutaneous fistula formation post-surgery is related to the presence of co-morbidities. The high percentage of spontaneous closure underscores the need for a conservative management approach. Keywords: Laryngeal Cancer, Laryngectomy, Neck dissection, Pharyngo-cutaneous fistula, Post-surgery, Radiotherap

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF TROPICAL BIOFUELLED FISH SMOKING STRUCTURES

Environmental and hygienic concerns associated with traditional fish smoking structures restrict the sale and consumption of smoked products to local markets. This study evaluated the performance of three(improved kiln oven (IKO), mud-type ovens (MTO) and extended drum ovens (EDO)) locally available Biofuelledfish smoking structures and proposed modifications to improve product quality.Three groups of prepared freshwater catfish (Clarias gariepinus) with average live weights of 1.93 kg±46 g, 1.92 kg±50 g and 1.86 kg±50 g was used as test samples. Smoking profiles, final moisture content (FMC), smoking time, smoking temperatures, percentage weight loss (WL) and organoleptic evaluation (ORE) were the performance indicators used during evaluatio

The role of fluoride on eruption of mandibular molar of albino rats

Eruption of the tooth is a complex and highly regulated process which can be influenced by genetic, environmental and systemic factors. Fluoride is found naturally in water as well as in foods and dental products. The first mandibular molar is the first molar to erupt and it is essential for  mastication of food. We studied the effect of fluoride on the eruption of the first mandibular molar in albino rats. Fluoride at different  concentrations was added to the water of pregnant albino rats while sterile water without fluoride was given to the control pregnant dams. The pregnant dams were allowed to deliver, and the heads of their pups carefully decapitated, and mandibles dissected out on days 10, 12, 15 and 18 for assessment of eruption pattern of the first molar while also measuring the mandibular length and breadth. The mandibles were then processed for hematoxylin and eosin staining. On gross examination, some of the teeth developed intraosseously while others were located mucosally, pre-occlusally or occlusally. There was significant reduction in both the birth weight and mandibular length as the fluoride concentration increased compared to the control but a significant increment in the mandibular breadth between the experimental groups in comparison with the control group on day 15 (p value <0.05). These findings suggest that high concentrations of fluoride could delay mandibular molars’ eruption and also cause low birth weight. Key Words: fluoride, mandibular molar, tooth eruptio

Assessment of Ecological Status and Tree Diversity in Watershed Area of Dandi Local Government Area in Kebbi State, Nigeria

This study assessed the ecological and tree diversity status of watershed area of Dandi local government area in Kebbi state using systematic sampling technique. Three transects of 300 m long were laid at 100 m intervals. On each transect, six sample plots of size 50 m x 50 m (0.25ha) were alternately laid at 50 m intervals. A total of 18 sample plots will be used for the study. Diameters at breast height (Dbh) of all the trees found in the plot with Dbh ≥ 5cm will be measured. Fourteen tree species belonging to 10 genera and 8 families were identified. Borassus aethiopum of the family Arecaceae was the most abundant species in the area with a relative density (RD) and diversity index (DI) of 0.296 and 0.08728 respectively. This was followed by Cocos nucifera in the Arecaceae family also, with RD and DI of 0.192 and 0.03662 respectively. Daniella oliveri of the family Fabaceae was the least represented species with RD and DI of 0.0018 and 0.00002 respectively. The overall tree species richness in the area was 0.0052

A REAL TIME FACE RECOGNITION SYSTEM USING ALEXNET DEEP CONVOLUTIONAL NETWORK TRANSFER LEARNING MODEL

. In the field of deep learning, facial recognition belongs to the computer vision category. In various applications such as access control system, security, attendance management etc., it has been widely used for authentication and identification purposes. In deep learning, transfer learning is a method of using a neural network model that is first trained on a problem similar to the problem that is being solved. The most commonly used face recognition methods are mainly based on template matching, geometric features based, algebraic and deep learning method. The advantage of template matching is that it is easy to implement, and the disadvantage is that it is difficult to deal with the pose and scale changes effectively. The most important issue, regardless of the method used in the face recognition system, is dimensionality and computational complexity, especially when operating on large databases. In this paper, we applied a transfer learning model based on AlexNet Deep convolutional network to develop a real time face recognition system that has a good robustness to face pose and illumination, reduce dimensionality, complexity and improved recognition accuracy. The system has a recognition accuracy of 98.95 %

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised