Synthesis, Characterization and evaluation of Anti-inflammatory and Antimicrobial Properties of some Cinnamic Acid Derivatives

Background: Cinnamic acid and derivatives are widely spread in plants. They are important intermediates in the synthesis of many aromatic compounds and are known to have diverse biological activities.Objectives: To synthesize, characterize and evaluate some cinnamic acid derivatives, for possible antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities.Material and methods: Different cinnamic acid derivatives were synthesized by Knoevenagel condensation reaction between malonic acid and various derivatives of benzaldehydes in the presence of pyridine and hydrochloric acid. The cinnamic acid epoxide was formed in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and KOH, while dihydro-cinnamic acid and paramethoxy-dihydro-cinnamic acids were formed by reducing cinnamic acid and paramthoxy-cinnamic acid respectively with raney nickel in the presence of 10% KOH. The final products were purified on column chromatography (CC), eluting with petroleum spirit/ethyl acetate. All the synthesized compounds were unequivocally characterized using the combination of UV-Vis Spectroscopy, infra-red (FTIR), 1H and 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In-vivo anti-inflammatory activities of the synthesized compounds was investigated using egg albumin-induced paw oedema in rat; while antimicrobial activity was evaluated by agar diffusion method.Results: The compounds were obtained in high yield (30 – 97 %) and purity. 3,4-dioxomethylene cinnamic acid produced the highest (60.8%) and significant (p < 0.05) anti-inflammatory effect at the 2nd hour of the highest dose. Dihydro-cinnamic acid and cinnamic acid epoxide with 4mg/kg dose produced 55.5% and 54.9% inhibition of inflammation respectively at the second hour, while para-methoxy-cinnamic acid at the second hour with 2 mg/kg dose level produced 54.0% inhibition. The reference compound; diclofenac produced no significant inhibition of inflammation at 4mg/kg dose level. All the compounds showed mild antimicrobial activities against the tested organisms.Conclusion: The findings from the study indicate that the synthesized compounds possess mild anti-inflammatory, with weak antibacterial and antifungal activities. Keywords: anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, cinnamic acid derivatives, Knoevenage

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND RISK PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 AMONG NIGERIANS

Background: COVID-19 emerged as a novel disease with global health importance. Personal and collective behaviours have been modified to prevent the spread of this pandemic. Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude and risk perception of Nigerians towards COVID-19. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between the 30th of April and 17th of May 2020 with a national representative across Nigerians using a combination of online and interviewer administered questionnaire. Results: A total of 1,135 respondents participated in the study with a slight male preponderance (M: F=1.5:1). The mean age of the participants was 42±12.2 years with the majority (77%) between the ages of 26 and 55 years. The majority were aware of the pandemic, mostly through mass and social media. Most of the respondents demonstrated good knowledge of COVID-19 but the unaware minority (0.6%) were likewise uneducated. Educational status had no significant association with attitude towards hand washing and wearing of facemask (p>0.05). Risk perception was however low to moderate despite their concerns on COVID-19 and lack of trust in the governments’ response to the disease. Conclusion: The risk perception of COVID is not encouraging, hence more advocacy and public orientation must be done to curb further spread of COVD-19 in our setting

Backpack use and associated problems among primary school children in Nigeria: a call to action by stakeholders

Background: Carrying backpacks is believed to contribute to the musculoskeletal problems in school children. Studies on the use of backpacks by Nigerian school children are scanty.Objectives: To evaluate the use of backpack and associated problems among primary school children.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on 813 children in six primary schools in Ado-Ekiti. Information about backpack use and associated problems were obtained.Results: 788 (96.9%) children carried backpacks daily. The backpacks were all double strapped and 85% pupils wore them on both shoulders. The backpacks of 64.1% of the pupils contained educational materials. In 79.1% of cases, the backpacks exceeded 10% of their body weights. Pain and loss of sporting time were associated with carrying backpacks in 23.2% and 8.2% respectively, 15.3% took analgesic and 5.5% had medical consultations because of backpack injuries. No pupil missed school and none was hospitalised for backpack injury. Complaint of pain was significantly associated with older subjects, carrying heavier backpack and longer period of carrying packs (p<0.001).Conclusion: Backpack use and associated health problems are common among school children in the study area. Health workers should enquire about backpack use in children presenting with back and shoulder pain. We recommend more studies on backpack use. Also, Government and other stakeholders should draw up guidelines regarding the use of backpacks in Nigeria as practiced in other countries. Professional bodies including the Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN), and other stakeholders should be involved in formulating such guidelines.Keywords: Backpacks, School children, Pain, Dysfunction, Nigeri

Point-of-Care Testing for Anaemia in Children Using Portable Haematocrit Meter: A Pilot Study from Southwest Nigeria and Implications for Developing Countries

BACKGROUND: Prompt and accurate diagnosis is needed to prevent the untoward effects of anaemia on children. Although haematology analyzers are the gold standard for accurate measurement of haemoglobin or haematocrit for anaemia diagnosis, they are often out of the reach of most health facilities in resource-poor settings thus creating a care gap. We conducted this study to examine the agreement between a point-of-care device and haematology analyzer in determining the haematocrit levels in children and to determine its usefulness in diagnosing anaemia in resource-poor settings.METHODS: EDTA blood samples collected from participants were processed to estimate their haematocrits using the two devices (Mindray BC-3600 haematology analyzer and Portable Mission Hb/Haemotocrit testing system). A pairwise t-test was used to compare the haematocrit (PCV) results from the automated haematology analyzer and the portable haematocrit meter. The agreement between the two sets of measurements was assessed using the Bland and Altman method where the mean, standard deviation and limit of agreement of paired results were calculated.RESULTS: The intraclass and concordance correlation coefficients were 0.966 and 0.936. Sensitivity and specificity were 97.85% and 94.51% respectively while the positive predictive and negative predictive values were 94.79% and 97.73%. The Bland and Altman`s limit of agreement was -5.5 ̶ 5.1 with the mean difference being -0.20 and a non-ignificant variability between the two measurements (p = 0.506).CONCLUSION: Haematocrit determined by the portable testing system is comparable to that determined by the haematology analyzer. We therefore recommend its use as a point-of-care device for determining haematocrit in resource-poor settings where haematology analyzers are not available.KEYWORDS: Child health, Anaemia, Point-of-Care devices, Early diagnosis and treatment, Nigeri

Modeling offenses among motorcyclists involved in crashes in Spain

In relative terms, Spanish motorcyclists are more likely to be involved in crashes than other drivers and this tendency is constantly increasing. The objective of this study is to identify the factors that are related to being an offender in motorcycle accidents. A binary logit model is used to differentiate between offender and non-offender motorcyclists. A motorcyclist was considered to be offender when she had committed at least one traffic offense at the moment previous to the crash. The analysis is based on the official accident database of the Spanish general directorate of traffic (DGT) for the 2003-2008 time period. A number of explanatory variables including motorcyclist characteristics and environmental factors have been evaluated. The results suggest that inexperienced, older females, not using helmets, absent-minded and non-fatigued riders are more likely to be offenders. Moreover, riding during the night, on weekends, for leisure purposes and along roads in perfect condition, mainly on curves, predict offenses among motorcyclists. The findings of this study are expected to be useful in developing traffic policy decisions in order to improve motorcyclist safety