New-Onset Psychosis in a Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Patient on Cycloserine in Calabar, Nigeria: A Case Report

Drug-resistant tuberculosis poses a serious challenge to global control of TB. These forms of TB do not respond to the standard six-month treatment; it can take two years or more to treat with category IV drugs that are less potent, more toxic and much more expensive. Treatment of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis is still evolving in Nigeria. This case report highlights the side effects of cycloserine used to treat a multi-drug resistant tuberculosis patient in Calabar. Five days into therapy, he became disoriented, abusive and physically aggressive. He also displayed negativisim with paranoid delusions and insomnia. He was managed by a psychiatrist with anti-psychotic drugs. The dose of cycloserine was also reduced while that of pyridoxine was increased. He remained in a state of periodic confusion and psychosis for nine days after which his condition ameliorated. It is imperative that clinicians involved in treating multi-drug resistant tuberculosis are conversant with the side effects of category IV drugs. Acute psychosis from cycloserine toxicity requires prompt intervention by trained medical personnel using the relevant psychotropic medications. Reduction in dosage or outright stoppage of cycloserine in such situations should be considered. Use of pyridoxine in large doses also appears to be beneficial.Keywords: Psychosis, Tuberculosis, Cycloserine, Multidrug resistance, Category IV drug

Green Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Musa Acuminata Aqueous Flower Extract and Its Anti-Microbial Activities

Nanomaterials have gained much relevant in the world of science due to their applications in catalysis, wastewater treatment and desulfurization of fossil fuels, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medicine. The green approach of nanoparticle synthesis employs the use of non-toxic reagents and is now preferred to the other methods which include thermal decomposition, electrochemical, photochemical, microwave assisted process chemical methods. Silver nanoparticle was biosynthesized using flower extract of Musa acuminata as reducing and capping agents. The synthesized silver nanoparticle was confirmed by the colour change after addition of the flower extract of Musa acuminata into silver nitrate solution. The silver nanoparticle was characterized by UV–Visible spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer. The result of SEM reveals the formation of silver nanoparticle which was spherical in shape with varying sizes ranged between 20-30 nm. The biosynthesized silver nanoparticle gave absorption at 375 nm, revealed silver metal as the most abundant element, vibrational bands indicating the presence of quinone, amides and conjugated ketone which served as reducing and capping agent. The bio-synthesized silver nanoparticles revealed potent antibacterial activity and the economical synthesis of silver nanoparticle from aqueous flower extract of Musa acuminatawhich is ecofriendly. Keywords :Green synthesis; silver nanoparticles; flower extract; capping agents; antibacterial activity; scanning electron microscopy. DOI: 10.7176/CMR/11-7-02 Publication date:September 30th 201

SOME NEW ADJUSTED RIDGE ESTIMATORS OF LINEAR REGRESSION MODEL

The ridge estimator for handling multicollinearity problem in linear regression model requires the use the biasing parameter. In this paper, some new adjusted ridge parameters which do not require the biasing parameter are proposed. The performances of the proposed Adjusted Ridge Estimators are compared with a recently proposed Adjusted Ridge Estimator, Generalized Ridge Regression Estimator (GRRE), Ordinary Ridge Regression Estimator (ORRE) and Ordinary Least Square estimator (OLSE) via Monte Carlo study by counting the number of times each estimator has smallest Mean Square Error (MSE) in ten thousand (10,000) replications. The proposed Adjusted Ridge Estimator is most efficient especially when multicollinearity is severe and the error variance is high

Concentration of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Estimated Human Health Risk of Water Samples Around Atlas Cove, Lagos, Nigeria

Background. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are common pollutants in water and have been reported to cause severe health effects in humans as well as the ecosystem. Objectives. This study examined the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and estimated the human health risk from water samples around Atlas Cove jetty, Lagos, Nigeria. Methods. Physical and chemical parameters and PAHs were determined in Atlas Cove jetty water using standard methods from June to August 2016 at five different points of activity. Chronic daily intake through ingestion, exposure dose via dermal absorption and carcinogenic risks were calculated for children and adults. Results. Electrical conductivity values ranged from 23,600±57.74 - 30,000±57.74 μS/cm. Dissolved oxygen ranged from 6.27±0.46 - 9.60±0.00 mg/L. Biochemical oxygen demand levels ranged from 2.93±0.61 - 7.33±0.23 mg/L and total dissolved solid ranged from 17,500±57.74 - 20,000±57.74 mg/L for the water samples, which was higher than permissible limits. The values obtained for pH, chemical oxygen demand, nitrate, sulphate and phosphate for the water samples were within World Health Organization (WHO) limits except for pH at point 2 (3.18±0.02). A total of eleven PAH congeners were detected in the water samples. The concentrations of total PAHs observed in water samples ranged from 46 - 507 μg/L. Low molecular weight PAHs were more dominant in all samples. It was observed that 2–3 ring PAHs accounted for 63.64% of PAHs, 4-rings PAHs accounted for 27.27% of PAHs, and 5–6 ring PAHs accounted for 9.09% of PAHs. Conclusions. Carcinogenic risks calculated for both adults and children were higher than the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) acceptable cancer risk, and much higher for children, which suggests that children could be prone to cancer through ingestion. Fauna and flora around the Atlas Cove jetty may be at risk due to water pollution. Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests

Optical and electrochemical techniques for Point-of-Care water quality monitoring: A review

Water quality monitoring has become crucial due to the increasing exposure of water bodies to pollutants from the growing global population and industrialization. Detection strategies such as electrochemical and optical analysis techniques have gained popularity in environmental monitoring owing to their sensitivity, selectivity, rapidity, low cost, and easy operation that are not obtainable in the conventional methods. However, most sensors derived from these techniques are confined to laboratory significance and need experts for signals and results analysis. In recent times, many researchers have proposed the exploitation of the robustness of these optical and electrochemical techniques for point-of-care applications in water quality monitoring. In this review, different species of water contaminants, such as biological, physical, and chemical components, were quantified and successfully detected using POCs based on these techniques. The POCs sensors demonstrated high sensitivity, reliability, and relevance at the point of need. However, the designs and implementation of these portable POC systems to support high sensitivity, selectivity, low cost, less analysis time, and robustness when deployed in complex matrices remain a challenge. Comprehending and overcoming these setbacks and limitations demand more investigations and research resources, which could delay, at the least, the development, implementation, and commercialization of POCs, even when the need is very pressing and application and merits well lauded

Model development and optimization of process conditions for color properties of tomato in a hot‐air convective dryer using box–behnken design

his study was conducted to improve on the retention of color properties of dried tomato fruits. Process conditions were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). A three-level-four-variable Box–Behnken design was used for the optimization which involved 68 samples in triplicate, the variables were drying-air temperature, slice thickness, cultivar, and pre-drying treatment. The results indicated that quadratic models best described the behavior of color properties of tomato in hot-air convective dryer with R2 of 0.8080 and 0.7955 for hue angle color value (HACV) and color difference (CD), respectively. The process conditions significantly influenced the HACV and CD of dried tomato fruits. Through the RSM, the optimal process conditions for HACV and CD were as follows: drying-air temperature 50°C, slice thickness 5.11 mm, cultivar 1.75 (Tiwantiwa), and pre-drying treatment of honey and sugar solution with a desirability value of 0.838. HACV and CD obtained under these conditions were 39.55° and 33.64, respectively. Practical applications Tomato is one of the most important fruits and vegetables, and natural sources of lycopene and vitamin C. Drying is an important process used in the preservation of the fruit toward wastages minimization and also involved in the production of antioxidant food supplements. Color is a major criterion consumers usually consider to either accept or reject processed vegetables in the market. Through optimization of the process conditions involved in drying, the retention of color properties and overall quality were improved. This research showed great potential as related to selection of cultivar and development of new natural resources to be used as pre-drying treatment

A review of stroke admissions at a tertiary hospital in rural Southwestern Nigeria

Background: Stroke is a common neurological disorder and is the third leading cause of death and a major cause of long-term disability. The disease is expected to increase in low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria. There is no information on stroke in rural Nigeria. Objectives: To review the clinical patterns, risk-factors, and outcome of stroke in a tertiary hospital in rural Nigeria and examine the rural-urban variation of stroke hospitalization in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: We carried out a retrospective study of patients who had a clinical diagnosis of stroke at the Federal Medical Centre, Ido-Ekiti, South-western Nigeria between November 2006 and October 2009. Results: A total of 101 patients who had stroke were admitted during this review period, accounting for 4.5% of medical admission and 1.3% of total hospital admission. Women accounted 52.5% of cases, with a male to female ratio of 1 : 1.1. Their mean age was 68 \ub1 12 years. Stroke occurrences increased with age, as almost half (49.5%) of the cases were aged 6570 years and majority (84.2%) of them were in low socioeconomic class. The mean hospital stay for stroke treatment was 12 \ub1 9 days, Glasgow coma score on admission was 11 \ub1 4. Ischemic stroke was 64.4%; hemorrhagic stroke, 34.7%; and indeterminate, 1.0%. Hypertension (85.2%), diabetes mellitus (23.8%), and tobacco smoking (22.8%) were the common identifiable risk factors for stroke. Of all the patients, 69% had 652 risk factors for stroke. Thirty-day case fatality was 23.8%; it increases with age and was higher among men than women (29.2 vs 18.9%) and in patients with diagnosis of hemorrhagic stroke (34.3 vs 18.5%). The numbers of identifiable risk factors of stroke has no effect on the 30-day case fatality. When compared with stroke in urban areas of Nigeria, we found no differences in frequency of hospitalization (1.3 vs 0.9 - 4%) and the major risk factor (hypertension). Hemorrhagic stroke was more common in urban than in the rural community (45.2 - 51 vs 34.7%) and the 30-day case fatality was lower in the rural community (23.8 vs 37.6 - 41.2%). Conclusion: Stroke is also a common neurological condition in rural Nigeria, in view of the fact that almost 70% of the patients had 652 risk factors of stroke. We recommend that, sustainable, community-friendly intervention programmes are incorporated into the health care system for the early prevention, recognition, and modification of the risk factors in persons prone to the disease

Optimization of process conditions for moisture ratio and effective moisture diffusivity of tomato during convective hot‐air drying using response surface methodology

This study was carried out to understand the moisture transfer behavior of tomato fruits subjected to pre-drying and drying processes. Effects of variety and process conditions on the moisture ratio (MR) and effective moisture diffusivity (Deff) of tomato were investigated using three-level-four-variable Box–Behnken design of response surface methodology (RSM). The experiment involved three varieties of tomato (Hausa, Tiwantiwa, and Roma VFN) and the process conditions include slice thickness (5, 7.5, and 10 mm), pre-drying treatment (ethyl acetate, NaCl, MgCl2∙6H2O and Na2S2O5, and honey and sugar solutions), and inlet air temperature (45, 55, and 65 °C). Results show that variety and process conditions influenced MR and Deff of tomato (p ≤ .05). Furthermore, quadratic model best described the moisture transfer behavior of tomato in convective hot-air dryer with R2 values of 0.8538 and 0.7150 for MR and Deff, respectively. Based on the aforementioned process conditions, optimum conditions achieved were Tiwantiwa variety, 5 mm slice thickness, pre-drying treatment in ethyl acetate solution, and inlet air temperature of 65 °C. With predictions of 0.774 and 2.844 × 10–8 m2/s for MR and Deff, respectively, and obtained desirability function of 0.771

MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF MORINGA OLEIFERA SEEDS UNDER COMPRESSION LOADING

Mechanical properties of Moringa oleifera of relevance to seed handling were determined. The properties determined were force, deformation, stress and energy at various compression loadings (peak, break, and yield), including the young modulus. The peak value occurs at force of 76N, strain of 41 for undehusked while for dehusked, the peak value for force is 96N and for strain is 64 respectively. The linear relationship at the peak, break and yield point was observed to be y = 0.253x + 48.72; y = -0.004x + 59.68 and y = -0.076x + 25.40 respectively. The results shows that the force correlation was positively weak (0.1842) at peak point and negatively weak (-0.0375 and -0.0918) at break and yield point respectively. The dehusked Moringa seeds possessed a relatively higher average force and stress than the undehusked seed at peak and break point, and otherwise at yield point, the inverse was the case of its energy properties. The young modulus of the undehusked seeds was however greater than the dehusked seeds and the elasticity for dehusked seed was also observed to be higher than undehusked moringa seed. Linear relationships that could be used at various compression loadings were established for both the undehusked and dehusked Moringa seeds

A review of stroke admissions at a tertiary hospital in rural Southwestern Nigeria

Background: Stroke is a common neurological disorder and is the third leading cause of death and a major cause of long-term disability. The disease is expected to increase in low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria. There is no information on stroke in rural Nigeria. Objectives: To review the clinical patterns, risk-factors, and outcome of stroke in a tertiary hospital in rural Nigeria and examine the rural-urban variation of stroke hospitalization in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: We carried out a retrospective study of patients who had a clinical diagnosis of stroke at the Federal Medical Centre, Ido-Ekiti, South-western Nigeria between November 2006 and October 2009. Results: A total of 101 patients who had stroke were admitted during this review period, accounting for 4.5% of medical admission and 1.3% of total hospital admission. Women accounted 52.5% of cases, with a male to female ratio of 1 : 1.1. Their mean age was 68 ± 12 years. Stroke occurrences increased with age, as almost half (49.5%) of the cases were aged ≥70 years and majority (84.2%) of them were in low socioeconomic class. The mean hospital stay for stroke treatment was 12 ± 9 days, Glasgow coma score on admission was 11 ± 4. Ischemic stroke was 64.4%; hemorrhagic stroke, 34.7%; and indeterminate, 1.0%. Hypertension (85.2%), diabetes mellitus (23.8%), and tobacco smoking (22.8%) were the common identifiable risk factors for stroke. Of all the patients, 69% had ≥2 risk factors for stroke. Thirty-day case fatality was 23.8%; it increases with age and was higher among men than women (29.2 vs 18.9%) and in patients with diagnosis of hemorrhagic stroke (34.3 vs 18.5%). The numbers of identifiable risk factors of stroke has no effect on the 30-day case fatality. When compared with stroke in urban areas of Nigeria, we found no differences in frequency of hospitalization (1.3 vs 0.9 - 4%) and the major risk factor (hypertension). Hemorrhagic stroke was more common in urban than in the rural community (45.2 - 51 vs 34.7%) and the 30-day case fatality was lower in the rural community (23.8 vs 37.6 - 41.2%). Conclusion: Stroke is also a common neurological condition in rural Nigeria, in view of the fact that almost 70% of the patients had ≥2 risk factors of stroke. We recommend that, sustainable, community-friendly intervention programmes are incorporated into the health care system for the early prevention, recognition, and modification of the risk factors in persons prone to the disease