Thyrotoxicosis, Etiology, Presentation and Management Challenges in Nigeria: A Review of Cases Seen Over a 5 Year Period

Background: Thyrotoxicosis is a common endocrine disorder worldwide with a female predominance. Graves disease is reported as the commonest cause of thyrotoxicosis by various authors in the Africa region. Aims and Objectives: The study evaluated patient characteristics, clinical and laboratory profile, co-morbidities, treatment modalities, response to therapy, side effects of anti-thyroid medications, treatment outcome and complications of the disease in patients with thyrotoxicosis. Materials and methods: This study was retrospective and observational. The records of patients diagnosed with overt thyrotoxicosis seen in the Endocrine unit (2013-2017) were pulled and relevant data compiled. Data was analyzed using SPSS V 21. Results: A total of 172 cases were studied; 33 males and 132 females (ratio 1:4). They were aged 18-70; 40.2 ±12.5 years. Graves Disease constituted 79 % 0f cases and toxic multinodular goiter made up 18%. Seven cases of Marine Lenhart syndrome were identified. Graves orbitopathy occurred in 54%, but was mild. All but 6 patients received anti-thyroid medication as initial therapy mainly carbimazole (90%). About 6% had thyroidectomy. Treatment default was high (52%), while 15% remitted and 19% relapsed. Total duration of illness was 1- 380, 40.7 ± 52.6 months. Drug rash occurred in 5% and cholestatic hepatitis in 1.8%. Hypertension coexisted in 35%. Six pregnancies were recorded, four of which ended in miscarriages, two of which had thyroid storm. Heart disease complicated the disease in 36%. Conclusion: Thyrotoxicosis is a common clinical condition. Treatment with carbimazole is effective. However the treatment default rate was very high. Coexisting hypertension and pronlonged period of untreated disease exposed patients to a high burden of heart disease. Patient education and introduction of radioablation therapy will mitigate these challenges

Policy adjustments for enhanced agricultural production in Nigeria after COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to global food supply chains. It has led to severe economic stress and malnutrition particularly in developing countries. This paper outlines the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on agriculture and livelihoods in Nigeria, measures put in place by the Nigerian Government to cushion the effect and parses evidence on programmes and policies that can help speed up sustainable economic recovery that Nigeria desperately needs post COVID-19 pandemic, through agricultural growth. Identifying appropriate policies to enhance agricultural production and trade post COVID-19 pandemic is important for maintaining a robust global food supply. The paper concludes that it may be time for a fundamental reassessment of policies designed to tackle challenges in the agricultural sector in sub-Saharan Africa particularly Nigeria. The state of agriculture in any country is a reflection of the long-term agricultural plan designed and pursued by the Government to move the sector forward. In designing strategies, policies and programmes to enhance agricultural growth, the starting point is to diagnose the challenges faced by the sector and the impacts of previous measures put in place to tackle the challenges, so that lessons could be drawn for designing better and more appropriate policies. Key words: COVID-19 pandemic, agricultural policy, agrifood systems, agrarian developmen

Mitigating COVID-19 effects on farmers: The role of commissioners of agriculture in Nigeria

In Nigeria, agriculture plays a critical role in the economy and remains the key to the country’s economic diversification plan. However, the agricultural sector is facing numerous challenges such as climate change, widespread insecurity, price volatility, poor government policies and the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the already existing problems. This paper reviews the state of the COVID 19 pandemic in Nigeria and its effects on the agricultural sector and outlines the role of commissioners of agriculture in mitigating the effects of the pandemic on farmers with a view to catalyzing sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria. When the first case of COVID-19 was reported in February, 2020, the Federal government of Nigeria took some measures to help curb the spread of the virus. Although, these measures were critical to saving lives, they also significantly caused a disruption in agricultural activities and food systems in several ways such as decline in availability of farm labour and mechanization, limited availability of agricultural inputs, decline in food imports and exports, reduction in food supply, decline in household income and food consumption, increased food insecurity, panic buying and sharp price spikes. This paper suggests that commissioners of agriculture have important roles to play to help mitigate these negative impacts on agricultural livelihoods and food systems. These include a push for a bill to integrate social protection mechanisms into the Nigerian legal framework, lobby for increased budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector, formulation of good agricultural policies and provision of adequate infrastructures, organization of these farmers into farming clusters to help stimulate agglomeration economies by integrating agricultural value chains and development strategies, and frameworks and initiatives that will ensure a seamless transition from emergency response to resilience building. Key words: Coronavirus disease, government interventions, agrarian development, food productio

THE RELATIONSHIP AND EFFECT OF CAPITAL STRUCTUREONFINANCIAL DISTRESS OF PUBLIC QUOTED NON-FINANCIAL FIRMS IN NIGERIA

This paper focuses on capital structure and its relationship and ef ect on distress ofpublic quoted non-financial firms in Nigeria. The study's major objective is to explorethe ef ect of capital structure on the financial distress of publicly quoted non-financialfirms on the Nigeria Exchange (NGX). Independent variables, financial leverage(debt to assets), short-term debt to equity, and long-term debt to equity, wereconsidered to represent the capital structure. The Altman Z-score was usedtomeasure financial distress. The assumptions of trade-of theory, pecking order theory, and agency theory guided this study. The study adopted an ex post facto researchdesign. Secondary data from the financial statements of publicly quoted non-financialfirms in Nigeria from 2011 to 2021 were used. A fixed-ef ects regression analysistechnique has been employed to help answer the hypotheses. The study discoveredthat converting short-term debt to equity has an insignificant positive ef ect onfinancial distress. In contrast, long-term debt to equity has an insignificant negativeef ect on the financial distress of publicly quoted non-financial firms in Nigeria. As aresult, this study recommends considering other factors such as the operatingenvironment not included in the analysis, which could also influence financial distress. It also recommended that businesses should promote prudent financial management

Awareness and extent of knowledge of taxonomies of nonverbal communication channels among healthcare providers in South Eastern Nigeria

Communication is vital between health care providers and their clients. Though not often studied, nonverbal communication has been found to be a vital element within the total communication process. Its place in healthcare provision cannot be overemphasized. With various taxonomies or channels of nonverbal communication, the purpose of this study was to ascertain healthcare providers’ ability to identify the taxonomies of nonverbal communication. Participants for the study were healthcare providers at the antenatal clinic of three Tertiary Health Institutions in South Eastern Nigeria. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire. Statistical analysis of data was performed using Chi-square. Significant level was placed at p<0.05. Findings showed that all the healthcare providers were aware of nonverbal communication. Predominant numbers of health care providers use nonverbal communication to interact with their clients (X2=8.167, p<0.05) and significant numbers of the healthcare providers did not show gender bias in attending to their clients (X2=5.638, p<0.05). However, insignificant numbers of healthcare providers did not apply their knowledge of proxemics and chrone Verbalmics (X2=1.333; p=0.248 & X2=1.286; p=0.257) respectively nor did they understand the taxonomies of kinesics, chronemics, haptics and proxemics. The finding in this study, showed poor understanding of taxonomies of nonverbal communication channels amongst the healthcare providers despite widespread awareness of nonverbal communication. This study thereby concludes that nonverbal communication may be poorly taught in medical school possibly due to non-existence of a curriculum tailored to suit the training

Nutrients, phytochemical composition and antioxidant analysis of selected agricultural wastes as potential livestock feed ingredients

This study was carried out to analyse the proximate, phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of three agricultural wastes (Melon husk, moringa pod and mango endocarp).The proximate parameters of the samples were determined using the standard analytical method of Association of Official Analytical Chemists. The antioxidant activity was determined by the radical scavenging activity of the methanol extract of samples against DPPH (Sigma Aldrich) by UV-Visible Spectrophotometer at 517 nm. The results revealed that the three samples are high in crude fibre: 51.61% (melon seed husk), 58.10% (moringa pod) and 49.47% (mango endocarp). The crude protein content of the samples ranged from 3.45% to 12.22%. The mineral analysis showed that melon seed husk contains; Ca (14.94 mg/kg), Mg (52.26 mg/kg), Fe (21.2mg/kg), P (106.7 mg/kg), Zn (0.70 mg/kg); moringa pod contains Ca (243.95 mg/kg), Mg (61.44 mg/kg), Fe (3.60 mg/kg), P (33.75 mg/kg), Zn (0.35 mg/kg); mango endocarp; Ca(6.14 mg/kg), Mg (13.00 mg/kg), P (24.25 mg/kg), Zn (0.17 mg/kg). Phytochemical screening of the three samples showed small amount of antinutrient like saponin, oxalate, flavonoid etc. The results obtained from this study indicate that the agricultural wastes may serve as energy and mineral supplier and thus may be utilized as a potential feed ingredient in livestock feed, coupled with their low antinutrient content.Keywords: Antioxidant, Mango endocarp, Melon husk, Moringa pod, Nutritiona

Histological study on the staining potentials of Aqueous extract of Ceratonia Siliqua bark

This study was designed to determine the staining potentials of aqueous extract of Ceratonia Siliqua bark adapted for the first time as a counter stain in Haematoxylin and Eosin staining reaction. The staining solution was used to stain liver, lung and kidney sections. Phytochemical screening of the extract revealed the presence of tannin (hennatonic acid or Lawsone), while results of the staining reactions showed that Ceratonia siliqua at a low pH, has intense staining qualities, confirming further that the effectiveness of a stain is influenced by the pH of its environment.Key words: Ceratonia siliqua, Extract, Haematoxylin and Eosin, Counterstain, General tissue structure

The effect of L-arginine on contralateral testes following 7200 Torsion - Detorsion of the Ipsilateral testes.

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of torsion-detorsion on ipsilateral testes at 7200 and at time intervals, on the histology of contralateral testes. 20 male rats (130-200g) were involved in the study and allowed to acclimatize for three weeks. They were fed with commercial livestock feeds and tap water ad-libitum, and grouped into seven groups (A-G) of three rats each. In groups A-F, unilateral testicular torsion lasting for 15, 30, and 45 minutes was created. Alternate groups (A, C, and E) were treated intraperitoneally with 150mg/kg/body weight of  Larginine for 1 hour after detorsion, while the remaining groups (B,D,F) were untreated with L-arginine but still allowed to undergo 1 hour detorsion. Group G served as the control. The results showed that group A presented normal seminiferous tubules with intact sertoli cells, and germ cells at various stages of development. The untreated group B presented atrophic seminiferous tubules with loss of germs cells and no luminal spermatozoon, while group D presented normal features except for interstitial hemorrhage. Normal features were observed for groups E (treated) and F (untreated). Thus, L-arginine tends to reduce oxidative stress in the contralateral testes thereby preventing interstitial oedema and preserving the spermatogenic series.Keywords: Torsion-detorsion, Ipsilateral, Contralateral, L-arginine, Ischemia, Reperfusion

Cryptococcus neoformans Antigenemia in HIV Positive Pregnant Women Attending a PMTCT Clinic in South-East Nigeria

Cryptoccocus neoformans infection is life threatening especially when associated with HIV disease. Unfortunately, in our environment, scant attention has been paid to screening for this fungal disease despite reports of relatively high co-infection rates with HIV in other countries facing similar HIV/AIDS burden. Among people living with HIV/AIDS, there is a significant population of pregnant women. In pregnancy itself, there is immunosuppression, thus combining with the immunosuppression seen in HIV disease. This study was therefore designed to determine the prevalence of cryptoccocus neoformans infection, among HIV seropositive pregnant women attending a prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV treatment centre. Two hundred and eighty (280) women were recruited for the study. One hundred and sixty (160) of the subjects were HIV seropositive (test group) while 120 HIV seronegative pregnant women served as controls. The test group was sub-divided into three groups based on their CD4 counts: <200, 200-300 and >300 cells??l. Blood was collected by venipuncture and HIV status was determined by current national serial algorithm using Determine and Stat Pak test kits. The test for Cryptoccocus neoformans was performed using latex cryptococcal antigen (CRAG) detection kits.CD4 counts was determined using the Partec cyflow analyzer.  A prevalence rate of 13.1% was observed among HIV seropositive subjects, while none (0%) of the control group tested positive. Cryptococcal antigenemia correlated with decreasing CD4 counts with most of the positive subjects having CD4 counts below 200 cells/?l. It is recommended that targeted cryptococcal screening be made a part of baseline tests in HIV positive pregnant women with low CD4 + T cell counts. This will reduce preventable deaths and improve obstetric outcome in this vulnerable group. Keywords: Cryptoccocus neoformans, HIV/AIDS, Pregnanc