The Effectiveness of the Extract of 'Hyptis Sauveolens' Leave (A Specie of Effinrin) in Repelling Mosquito

Are there valid, healthier options when it comes to repelling our fine buzzing and biting friends? Some ideas for natural insect repellents fall into the category of folklore, myth and urban legends, but other natural remedies can be an effective means of protecting yourself and your loved ones from biting bugs and harsh chemicals. The use of active ingredient in plants as successful pest control in recent years can never be over emphasized . Apart from the hazards caused by the established pesticides and insecticides to man and live stock, they are very expensive to purchase, therefore they are no more within the reach of many Nigerians. Moreover, chemical control technology is subjected to the predicament of unstable foreign exchange. In the light of these shortcomings it becomes inevitable to research into local sources of insecticides that would be cheap and readily available to individuals. This paper focuses on the extraction of the active ingredient in Hyptis sauveolens and incorporating it into a locally produced cream using different quantities. According to the results, the three samples with the active ingredient in different ratios were discovered to be active and effective. The sample with the highest concentration of the active ingredient was found to be most effective in repelling mosquito (0.5ml)

Optimization of Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Manihot esculenta Root Starch by Alpha-Amylase and Glucoamylase Using Response Surface Methodology

Cassava starch hydrolysis was investigated in this study using alpha amylase and glucoamylase. The effects of process variables, namely: temperature, pH and time were studied and optimized for hydrolysis of cassava (Manihot esculenta) flour to glucose syrup. Three levels of process variables were used for the study. The three levels of process variables were: temperature (60, 67 and 74 oC), time (1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 h) and pH (4.5, 5 and 5.5). A polynomial regression model was developed using the experimental data. The results showed that production of reducing sugar was strongly affected by the variation of variables on alpha amylase and glucoamylase hydrolysis of cassava starch. The fit of the model was expressed by the coefficient of determination R2 which was found to be 0.948 indicating that 94.8 % of the variability in the response can be explained by the model. The value also indicates that only 5.2 % of the total variation is not explained by the model. This shows that equation (2) is a suitable model to describe the response of the experiment pertaining to reducing sugar production. The statistical significance of the model was validated by F-test for analysis of variance (p ? 0.05). For alpha amylase and glucoamylase hydrolysis, the optimum value of temperature, time and pH were found to be 74 oC, pH 5.5 and time 1.5 h. The maximum reducing sugar production at optimum condition was 257 g/l representing 73.43 % conversion or 73.43 dextrose equivalent (DE). Key words: cassava starch, hydrolysis, factorial design, glucose syrup, dextrose equivalent

Biodiesel from Household/Restaurant Waste Cooking Oil (WCO)

The use of waste cooking oil (WCO) from extended household and restaurants was considered as a suitable feedstock for biodiesel production in this paper. The paper also focuses to showcase the qualities of biodiesel produced from WCO compared to that of other virgin oil. The oil that was supposed to be disposed, at times indiscriminately was de-odoured and purified using appropriate solvents. The purified oil was characterized and used for biodiesel production. The physical and fuel properties such as density, viscosity, cloud point, pour point, cetane number etc were determined according to ASTM standards. The properties obtained were not only comparable with that of others but also within standard limits

Dementia in Africa: Current evidence, knowledge gaps, and future directions

\ua9 2021 the Alzheimer\u27s Association. In tandem with the ever-increasing aging population in low and middle-income countries, the burden of dementia is rising on the African continent. Dementia prevalence varies from 2.3% to 20.0% and incidence rates are 13.3 per 1000 person-years with increasing mortality in parts of rapidly transforming Africa. Differences in nutrition, cardiovascular factors, comorbidities, infections, mortality, and detection likely contribute to lower incidence. Alzheimer\u27s disease, vascular dementia, and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome–associated neurocognitive disorders are the most common dementia subtypes. Comprehensive longitudinal studies with robust methodology and regional coverage would provide more reliable information. The apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele is most studied but has shown differential effects within African ancestry compared to Caucasian. More candidate gene and genome-wide association studies are needed to relate to dementia phenotypes. Validated culture-sensitive cognitive tools not influenced by education and language differences are critically needed for implementation across multidisciplinary groupings such as the proposed African Dementia Consortium

Microbiological Assessment of Commercial Yogurt Sold in Ota Metropolis, Ogun State, Nigeria

Ten authorized Yogurt products purchased within Ota metropolis, Ogun State of Nigeria were subjected to pH, Total Bacterial Count (TBC) and Total Fungal Count (TFC) analysis. pH values were in the range of 4.05 to 5.50, the TBC and TFC values ranged between 1.0 x 103 - 5.0 x 105 cfu/ml and 1.0 x 103- 5.0 x 105 cfu/ml respectively. Eleven bacterial isolates were detected in the yogurt samples. Lactobacillus spp. and Bacillus spp. constituted 16% of the total microbial load, Corynebacterium spp., Klebsiela spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Pseudomonas spp. constituted 8% while Proteus spp., Micrococcus spp., Shigella spp., Listeria spp., and Streptococcus spp. constituted 4%. Fungal isolates obtained were Mucor spp. (22%), Geotrichum spp. (17%), Montospora spp. (11%), while Aspergillus spp., Rhizopus spp., and Fusanrium spp. constituted 6%.The antimicrobial susceptibility test showed that the isolates exhibited susceptible to Ciprofloxacin and Ofloxacin and resisted Nitrofurantoin, Augumentin, Cefixime, Ceufuroxime, Gentamicin and Ceftazidime. The isolates were plasmid encoded, with size range of 20,000- 40,000 Kilo base pairs. Result show no significant difference within the bacteria isolates (P> 0.05), while the fungi isolates showed significant difference (P<0.05). Significant difference also occurred between the bacteria and the fungi isolate (P< 0.05)

BMJ Open

INTRODUCTION: Worldwide, 2 million patients aged 18-50 years suffer a stroke each year, and this number is increasing. Knowledge about global distribution of risk factors and aetiologies, and information about prognosis and optimal secondary prevention in young stroke patients are limited. This limits evidence-based treatment and hampers the provision of appropriate information regarding the causes of stroke, risk factors and prognosis of young stroke patients. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Global Outcome Assessment Life-long after stroke in young adults (GOAL) initiative aims to perform a global individual patient data meta-analysis with existing data from young stroke cohorts worldwide. All patients aged 18-50 years with ischaemic stroke or intracerebral haemorrhage will be included. Outcomes will be the distribution of stroke aetiology and (vascular) risk factors, functional outcome after stroke, risk of recurrent vascular events and death and finally the use of secondary prevention. Subgroup analyses will be made based on age, gender, aetiology, ethnicity and climate of residence. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval for the GOAL study has already been obtained from the Medical Review Ethics Committee region Arnhem-Nijmegen. Additionally and when necessary, approval will also be obtained from national or local institutional review boards in the participating centres. When needed, a standardised data transfer agreement will be provided for participating centres. We plan dissemination of our results in peer-reviewed international scientific journals and through conference presentations. We expect that the results of this unique study will lead to better understanding of worldwide differences in risk factors, causes and outcome of young stroke patients

Evolution and patterns of global health financing 1995-2014 : development assistance for health, and government, prepaid private, and out-of-pocket health spending in 184 countries

Background An adequate amount of prepaid resources for health is important to ensure access to health services and for the pursuit of universal health coverage. Previous studies on global health financing have described the relationship between economic development and health financing. In this study, we further explore global health financing trends and examine how the sources of funds used, types of services purchased, and development assistance for health disbursed change with economic development. We also identify countries that deviate from the trends. Methods We estimated national health spending by type of care and by source, including development assistance for health, based on a diverse set of data including programme reports, budget data, national estimates, and 964 National Health Accounts. These data represent health spending for 184 countries from 1995 through 2014. We converted these data into a common inflation-adjusted and purchasing power-adjusted currency, and used non-linear regression methods to model the relationship between health financing, time, and economic development. Findings Between 1995 and 2014, economic development was positively associated with total health spending and a shift away from a reliance on development assistance and out-of-pocket (OOP) towards government spending. The largest absolute increase in spending was in high-income countries, which increased to purchasing power-adjusted $5221 per capita based on an annual growth rate of 3.0$914 and $267 per capita in 2014, respectively. Spending in low-income countries grew nearly as fast, at 4.6$51 to $120 per capita. In 2014, 59.2$37.6 billion in 2016. Nonetheless, there is a great deal of variation revolving around these averages. 29 countries spend at least 50% more than expected per capita, based on their level of economic development alone, whereas 11 countries spend less than 50% their expected amount. Interpretation Health spending remains disparate, with low-income and lower-middle-income countries increasing spending in absolute terms the least, and relying heavily on OOP spending and development assistance. Moreover, tremendous variation shows that neither time nor economic development guarantee adequate prepaid health resources, which are vital for the pursuit of universal health coverage.Peer reviewe

Causes of blindness and vision impairment in 2020 and trends over 30 years, and prevalence of avoidable blindness in relation to VISION 2020 : the right to sight : an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study

Background: Many causes of vision impairment can be prevented or treated. With an ageing global population, the demands for eye health services are increasing. We estimated the prevalence and relative contribution of avoidable causes of blindness and vision impairment globally from 1990 to 2020. We aimed to compare the results with the World Health Assembly Global Action Plan (WHA GAP) target of a 25% global reduction from 2010 to 2019 in avoidable vision impairment, defined as cataract and undercorrected refractive error.Methods: We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based surveys of eye disease from January, 1980, to October, 2018. We fitted hierarchical models to estimate prevalence (with 95% uncertainty intervals [UIs]) of moderate and severe vision impairment (MSVI; presenting visual acuity from <6/18 to 3/60) and blindness (<3/60 or less than 10° visual field around central fixation) by cause, age, region, and year. Because of data sparsity at younger ages, our analysis focused on adults aged 50 years and older.Findings: Global crude prevalence of avoidable vision impairment and blindness in adults aged 50 years and older did not change between 2010 and 2019 (percentage change −0·2% [95% UI −1·5 to 1·0]; 2019 prevalence 9·58 cases per 1000 people [95% IU 8·51 to 10·8], 2010 prevalence 96·0 cases per 1000 people [86·0 to 107·0]). Age-standardised prevalence of avoidable blindness decreased by −15·4% [–16·8 to −14·3], while avoidable MSVI showed no change (0·5% [–0·8 to 1·6]). However, the number of cases increased for both avoidable blindness (10·8% [8·9 to 12·4]) and MSVI (31·5% [30·0 to 33·1]). The leading global causes of blindness in those aged 50 years and older in 2020 were cataract (15·2 million cases [9% IU 12·7–18·0]), followed by glaucoma (3·6 million cases [2·8–4·4]), undercorrected refractive error (2·3 million cases [1·8–2·8]), age-related macular degeneration (1·8 million cases [1·3–2·4]), and diabetic retinopathy (0·86 million cases [0·59–1·23]). Leading causes of MSVI were undercorrected refractive error (86·1 million cases [74·2–101·0]) and cataract (78·8 million cases [67·2–91·4]).Interpretation: Results suggest eye care services contributed to the observed reduction of age-standardised rates of avoidable blindness but not of MSVI, and that the target in an ageing global population was not reached