A Case of Rituximab-Induced Necrotizing Fasciitis and a Review of the Literature.

Necrotizing fasciitis is a fulminant soft tissue infection characterized by rapid progression and high mortality. Rituximab is a generally well-tolerated immunosuppresive medication used for B-cell malignancies and some rheumatological disorders. We report a case of a 69-year-old male with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who suffered necrotizing fasciitis of his left lower extremity secondary t

Mechanical and Chemical Properties of Reinforcement Bars Manufactured in Nigeria

Reinforcement bars, or REBAR for short, are mainly produced from metal scrap or iron ore, or a combination of both. Their manufacturing process has a significant effect on their properties, so also are the percentage concentration of various constituent elements and the cooling rate in the production process. This research work aims to study the physical and chemical properties of rebars manufactured in Nigeria vis-à-vis their suitability for construction purposes. The effect of chemical composition in rebar on steel stresses was studied. Rebar samples were collected at various points in Abuja and its environs and tested for their mechanical and chemical properties. The results show some tolerable and intolerable deviations from provisions of BS 4449 B500B 2005 indicating that some of the rebars are satisfactory for use in reinforced concrete works while others are not. Tests conducted on the rebars include Tensile Strength, Relative Rib Area, Percentage Elongation, Bend and Rebend, and Spectrometer tests, among other physical examinations. In some rebars, results showed moderate to vast deviation from minimum acceptable standard values as specified in BS 4449 B500B 2005 for yield stress, elongation, bar diameter, mass per kilogram, carbon equivalent, while there is satisfactoriness for other tested samples

Strain-level resolution and pneumococcal carriage dynamics by single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing of the plyNCR marker: a longitudinal study in Swiss infants

BACKGROUND Pneumococcal carriage has often been studied from a serotype perspective; however, little is known about the strain-specific carriage and inter-strain interactions. Here, we examined the strain-level carriage and co-colonization dynamics of Streptococcus pneumoniae in a Swiss birth cohort by PacBio single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing of the plyNCR marker. METHODS A total of 872 nasal swab (NS) samples were included from 47 healthy infants during the first year of life. Pneumococcal carriage was determined based on the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) targeting the lytA gene. The plyNCR marker was amplified from 214 samples having lytA-based carriage for pneumococcal strain resolution. Amplicons were sequenced using SMRT technology, and sequences were analyzed with the DADA2 pipeline. In addition, pneumococcal serotypes were determined using conventional, multiplex PCR (cPCR). RESULTS PCR-based plyNCR amplification demonstrated a 94.2% sensitivity and 100% specificity for Streptococcus pneumoniae if compared to lytA qPCR. The overall carriage prevalence was 63.8%, and pneumococcal co-colonization (≥ 2 plyNCR amplicon sequence variants (ASVs)) was detected in 38/213 (17.8%) sequenced samples with the relative proportion of the least abundant strain(s) ranging from 1.1 to 48.8% (median, 17.2%; IQR, 5.8-33.4%). The median age to first acquisition was 147 days, and having ≥ 2 siblings increased the risk of acquisition. CONCLUSION The plyNCR amplicon sequencing is species-specific and enables pneumococcal strain resolution. We therefore recommend its application for longitudinal strain-level carriage studies of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Video Abstract

Workplace Democracy Practices and Librarians’ Commitment in Universities in Southwest Nigeria

The effort of committed personnel is needed for the workplace to function optimally and to achieve the goals of the organization. This study examined the influence of workplace democracy practices on librarians’ commitment in universities in Southwest, Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted for the study. The population consisted of 477 librarians in Southwest, Nigeria. Proportionate stratified sampling technique was used to select 217 librarians who served as respondents in the study. A researcher’s developed instrument was used for data collection and collected data were subjected to analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that the extent of workplace democracy practices in university libraries in southwest Nigeria was to a high extent in terms of functionalism, constitutionalism and liberalism. The study also showed that workplace democracy has a significant influence on librarians\u27 commitment in universities in southwest, Nigeria (R2= 0.514, β= 0.717, t = 14.494, p\u3c0.05). The model shows that workplace democracy could explain 51.4% variation (R2= 0.514) in librarians\u27 commitment in universities in southwest, Nigeria. The study concluded that workplace democracy practice is a significant predictor of librarians’ commitment in universities in Southwest, Nigeria. Therefore, university and library management should make sure that workplace democracy is regularly practised among librarians to effectively create room for broader participation in all the activities of the organization

Strain-level resolution and pneumococcal carriage dynamics by single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing of the plyNCR marker: a longitudinal study in Swiss infants.

BACKGROUND Pneumococcal carriage has often been studied from a serotype perspective; however, little is known about the strain-specific carriage and inter-strain interactions. Here, we examined the strain-level carriage and co-colonization dynamics of Streptococcus pneumoniae in a Swiss birth cohort by PacBio single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing of the plyNCR marker. METHODS A total of 872 nasal swab (NS) samples were included from 47 healthy infants during the first year of life. Pneumococcal carriage was determined based on the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) targeting the lytA gene. The plyNCR marker was amplified from 214 samples having lytA-based carriage for pneumococcal strain resolution. Amplicons were sequenced using SMRT technology, and sequences were analyzed with the DADA2 pipeline. In addition, pneumococcal serotypes were determined using conventional, multiplex PCR (cPCR). RESULTS PCR-based plyNCR amplification demonstrated a 94.2% sensitivity and 100% specificity for Streptococcus pneumoniae if compared to lytA qPCR. The overall carriage prevalence was 63.8%, and pneumococcal co-colonization (≥ 2 plyNCR amplicon sequence variants (ASVs)) was detected in 38/213 (17.8%) sequenced samples with the relative proportion of the least abundant strain(s) ranging from 1.1 to 48.8% (median, 17.2%; IQR, 5.8-33.4%). The median age to first acquisition was 147 days, and having ≥ 2 siblings increased the risk of acquisition. CONCLUSION The plyNCR amplicon sequencing is species-specific and enables pneumococcal strain resolution. We therefore recommend its application for longitudinal strain-level carriage studies of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Video Abstract

Mechanical and Chemical Properties of Reinforcement Bars Manufactured in Nigeria

Reinforcement bars, or REBAR for short, are mainly produced from metal scrap or iron ore, or a combination of both. Their manufacturing process has a significant effect on their properties, so also are the percentage concentration of various constituent elements and the cooling rate in the production process. This research work aims to study the physical and chemical properties of rebars manufactured in Nigeria vis-à-vis their suitability for construction purposes. The effect of chemical composition in rebar on steel stresses was studied. Rebar samples were collected at various points in Abuja and its environs and tested for their mechanical and chemical properties. The results show some tolerable and intolerable deviations from provisions of BS 4449 B500B 2005 indicating that some of the rebars are satisfactory for use in reinforced concrete works while others are not. Tests conducted on the rebars include Tensile Strength, Relative Rib Area, Percentage Elongation, Bend and Rebend, and Spectrometer tests, among other physical examinations. In some rebars, results showed moderate to vast deviation from minimum acceptable standard values as specified in BS 4449 B500B 2005 for yield stress, elongation, bar diameter, mass per kilogram, carbon equivalent, while there is satisfactoriness for other tested samples

SEN-Iot: A Smart Emergency Notification System Suitable for Developing Countries using Internet of Things

Research has shown that disaster effects on properties and lives can be drastically reduced through wide dissemination of information on the impending danger to people at the appropriate time. Generally, the emergency alert systems are usually proactive systems; they are meant to gather data in surrounding using the necessary tools, alert the specified listeners about an impending danger and gives suggestion on the necessary actions to be taken in each situation. In addition, some emergency alert systems also activate automatic responses. Furthermore, the integration of Internet of things (IoT) technology with emergency notification systems is rapidly attracting new discovery in this domain. In this paper, an effective smart emergency notification system named SEN-IoT was design using IOT technology. SEN-IoT was modeled to manage domestic hazard with a scope of water, fire and gas leaks; by creating an emergence notification and immediate response systems. The SEN- IOT was implemented using arduino, sensors and the GSM module. The system was tested for maintainability, functionality, efficiency, usability and reliability, and results revealed that SEN-IoT can effectively handle domestic hazard

Removing the barrier to the calculation of activation energies: Diffusion coefficients and reorientation times in liquid water

See also: The Journal of Chemical Physics 145 (13), 134107 (2016). The following article appeared in Piskulich, Z. A., Mesele, O. O., & Thompson, W. H. (2017). Removing the barrier to the calculation of activation energies: Diffusion coefficients and reorientation times in liquid water. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 147(13), 134103. and may be found at https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.4997723.General approaches for directly calculating the temperature dependence of dynamical quantities from simulations at a single temperature are presented. The method is demonstrated for self-diffusion and OH reorientation in liquid water. For quantities which possess an activation energy, e.g., the diffusion coefficient and the reorientation time, the results from the direct calculation are in excellent agreement with those obtained from an Arrhenius plot. However, additional information is obtained, including the decomposition of the contributions to the activation energy. These results are discussed along with prospects for additional applications of the direct approach

Refractory Abdominal Pain in a Patient with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Be Wary of Acquired Angioedema due to C1 Esterase Inhibitor Deficiency.

Acquired angioedema due to C1 inhibitor deficiency (C1INH-AAE) is a rare and potentially fatal syndrome of bradykinin-mediated angioedema characterized by episodes of angioedema without urticaria. It typically manifests with nonpitting edema of the skin and edema in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract mucosa or upper airway. Edema of the upper airway and tongue may lead to life-threatening asphyxiation. C1INH-AAE is typically under-diagnosed because of its rarity and its propensity to mimic more common abdominal conditions and allergic reactions. In this article, we present the case of a 62-year-old male with a history of recently diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who presented to our hospital with recurrent abdominal pain, initially suspected to hav

Performance Evaluation of Waste Stabilization Pond for Treatment of Wastewater from a Tertiary Institution Campus Located in Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria

Appropriate treatment of wastewater before disposal into the environment or reuse is very important in the quest to protect the environment and safeguard public health. This paper investigated the performance evaluation of a waste stabilization pond (WSP) for treatment of wastewater from a tertiary institution campus located in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State in North Central Nigeria. The waste stabilization pond of the tertiary institution campus was designed for a wastewater flow rate of 12,945 m3/day. In order to evaluate the performance of the WSP, a model was developed following the Froude’s number dimensional analysis technique. The model was evaulated based on a wastewater flow of 0.4 m3/day. The final effluent from the maturation pond had 80 mg/L BOD, 195 mg/L COD, 75 CFU/100ml Total Coliforms, 610 mg/L Total solids, 19 mg/L Total Nitrogen, 210 mg/L Chloride, 28 mg/L Phosphate, 1.3 mg/L Ammonia and 7.0 pH. The WSP was able to achieve an overall efficiency of 77.78% reducing all quality parameters to recommended limited with exception of total nitrogen and phosphate. The implementation of this design will go along way to aid the treatment of wastewater from the campus of the university