Congenital Malaria Among Newborns Admitted for Suspected Neonatal Sepsis In Abuja.

Background: Signs and symptoms of congenital malaria do not differ much from those of neonatal sepsis: both can co-exist, and most times very difficult to differentiate clinically. Objective: To document the prevalence, risk factors for congeni tal malar ia among neonates admitted for suspected neonatal sepsis, and determine sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of some common signs and symptoms. Method: Blood for culture, thin and thick blood film for malaria parasite were taken for all cases of suspected neonatal sepsis at the special care baby unit of the hospital, from August 2007 to December 2009 Results: A total of 266 newborns (150 males and 116 females) with suspected neonatal sepsis were recruited. Their mean admission we ight wa s 2.5±0.87 kg, gestational age was 36.1±3.5 weeks, and age of 5.1±2.3 days. While 76 (28.6%) had malaria parasites in their blood film, 97 (36.5%) were blood culture positive, and 12 (4.5%) had both positive blood culture and malaria parasite. Among the recruited babies, 82.4% were noticed to have low parasite density, 13.2% had moderate density, while 2.6% had high density. Peripartum pyrexia, prematurity and intrauterine HIV exposure, were found to have signi f icant association with congenital malaria, (OR = 7.9, 7.2, 4.4) for peripatum pyrexia, prematurity and HIV exposure, p values <0.05. None of the clinical feature had good sensitivity, specificity or predictive value for congenital malaria, and only 1.6% death was recorded in a baby with high parasite density. Conclusion: Congenital malaria is common in newborns with suspected neonatal sepsis. History of peripartum pyrexia, prematurity and intrauterine HIV exposure was associated with increased risk of the disease

Maternal and child health interventions in Nigeria: a systematic review of published studies from 1990 to 2014

BACKGROUND: Poor maternal and child health indicators have been reported in Nigeria since the 1990s. Many interventions have been instituted to reverse the trend and ensure that Nigeria is on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. This systematic review aims at describing and indirectly measuring the effect of the Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) interventions implemented in Nigeria from 1990 to 2014. METHODS: PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge were searched from 1990 to April 2014 whereas POPLINE® was searched until 16 February 2015 to identify reports of interventions targeting Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health in Nigeria. Narrative and graphical synthesis was done by integrating the results of extracted studies with trends of maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and under five mortality (U5MR) derived from a joint point regression analysis using Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey data (1990-2013). This was supplemented by document analysis of policies, guidelines and strategies of the Federal Ministry of Health developed for Nigeria during the same period. RESULTS: We identified 66 eligible studies from 2,662 studies. Three interventions were deployed nationwide and the remainder at the regional level. Multiple study designs were employed in the enrolled studies: pre- and post-intervention or quasi-experimental (n = 40; 61%); clinical trials (n = 6;9%); cohort study or longitudinal evaluation (n = 3;5%); process/output/outcome evaluation (n = 17;26%). The national MMR shows a consistent reduction (Annual Percentage Change (APC) = -3.10%, 95% CI: -5.20 to -1.00 %) with marked decrease in the slope observed in the period with a cluster of published studies (2004-2014). Fifteen intervention studies specifically targeting under-five children were published during the 24 years of observation. A statistically insignificant downward trend in the U5MR was observed (APC = -1.25%, 95% CI: -4.70 to 2.40%) coinciding with publication of most of the studies and development of MNCH policies. CONCLUSIONS: The development of MNCH policies, implementation and publication of interventions corresponds with the downward trend of maternal and child mortality in Nigeria. This systematic review has also shown that more MNCH intervention research and publications of findings is required to generate local and relevant evidence

Functional properties of chemically modified amylose and amylopectin fractions isolated from 'achi' Brachystegia eurycoma Starch

No Abstract

Socio-demographic characteristics and other factors associated with depressive illness among medical students at the University of Port Harcourt

Background: The burden of depression as a mental disorder has continued to increase and constituting an enormous public health concern among all age groups. A number of socio-demographic, and other factors including a stressful and rigorous academic programme or curriculum such as the one run in most medical schools could contribute to the occurrence of depression among medical students. AIM: To determine the socio-demographic and other factors associated with depression among medical students in the University of Port Harcourt. Methodology: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Appropriate sample size was calculated and the stratified random sampling method was used to select the subjects. A well-structured open ended self-administered socio-demographic questionnaire was administered to the students. The Zung Self-Rated Depression Scale was used to assess the depression status of each respondent. The data were analyzed via descriptive and analytical methods. Results: The prevalence of depression among the medical students was 5.3%. Fourteen students (4.6%) were mildly depressed while only two respondents had moderate depression. Year 3 had the highest prevalence with 10.5% followed by final year with 5.3%, while the only 2 cases of moderate depression were found among students in year 2 of their medical programme. Two hundred and seventy-one respondents (88.8%) were found to have good knowledge of depression, 32 (10.5%) were found to have average knowledge of depression and 2(0.7%) had poor knowledge of depression. Conclusion: Depression does occur among medical students at the University of Port Harcourt albeit low, and was associated with a number of socio-demographic and other factors. The present medical curriculum and programme should be sustained and more efforts at making it less stressful and academically friendly, be made to further reduce the current rate of psychological stress and depression among the students

Modelling the Effect of Toasting Time on the Functional Properties of Brachystegia eurycoma Flour

The effect of toasting time on the functional properties of Brachystegia eurycoma flour was investigated. The water absorption capacity, swelling power and solubility index of the flour, increased with increase in toasting time, while the oil absorption capacity and amylose content of the flour decreased with increase in toasting time. The peak viscosity, final viscosity, break down and setback viscosity increased from 134.67 to 176.24 RVU, 460.33 to 650.43 RVU, 57.83 to 120.33 RVU and 405.70 to 581.17 RVU respectively, as the toasting time increased. The pasting temperature decreased from 88.25 to 78.32oC, as the toasting time increased from 0 to 12 min. Regression models that could be used to adequately express the relationships existing between the functional properties of the flour and toasting time were established.Keywords: Brachystegia eurycoma flour, pasting properties, toasting time