Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL)–Producing Gram-negative Isolates from Urine and Wound Specimens in a Tertiary Health Facility in Southern Nigeria

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) producing Gram negative bacteria causing wound and urinary tract infections among in- and out-patients in a tertiary health facility.Methods: The presence of ESBL was determined among 230 Gram negative bacilli isolated from wound (105) and urine (125) specimens from in- and out-patients who attended University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) for treatment using the double disc synergy method. Disc susceptibility test was performed on all isolates using standard techniques.Results: There was no significant difference in the prevalence of ESBL production between isolates from wound (47.6 %) and urine (41.6 %) as well as between in-patients (48.8 %) and out–patients (39.38 %). Enterobacter species were the most prevalent producers of ESBL from both wound and urine specimens as well as from both in- and out–patients. Bacterial isolates that produced ESBL were more resistant to amoxicillin-clavulanate, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin compared to non-ESBL producers.Conclusion: A high prevalence (44.3%) of ESBL producing Gram–negative bacteria was observed among the patients, with Enterobacter species being the most prevalent. Prudent use of antibacterial agents is advocated to stem the tide.Keywords: Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase, Enterobacter species, Wound, Urine, Gram negative bacteri

Assessment of biosecurity measures against Newcastle disease in commercial poultry farms in Benue state, Nigeria

Biosecurity is an integral part of any successful poultry production system. This study was conducted to assess the biosecurity practices in commercial poultry farms in four selected local government areas of Benue state, Nigeria. Twelve poultry farms were selected and assessed. The biosecurity practices in the poultry farms were assessed using a biosecurity checklist and structured questionnaires administered to commercial poultry farmers. Simple descriptive statistics using frequencies and percentages were used to summarize and present results. The results revealed that 83.3% (10/12) of the farms kept birds on deep litter, 16.7% (2/12) kept birds on both deep litter and in cages. Higher proportion 66.7% (8/12) of farmers operated backyard poultry farms. Results showed that 25% (3/12) of the farms also had free range poultry within poultry house premises and none (0/11) kept birds of different ages within the same pen but 41.7 % (5/12) of the farms had several flocks of different ages on the same farm. Only 50% (6/12) of the farms had foot dips in front of each pen. Some farms 41.7% (5/12) had abandoned materials near poultry houses while 33.3% (4/12) had dense vegetation around their poultry farms. About 50% (6/12) of farms reported that rodents/wild birds had access to feed stores. The main source of drinking water for the birds in most of the farms was well water (66.7%) and 36.4 % (4/11) have a dam or pond within farm premises. In most of the farms, workers had no specific clothes 75% (9/12) and foot wear (91.7%) for farm operations. The study revealed that poor management had the highest biosecurity risk score (60.4%) in the commercial poultry farms studied in Benue state. There is need for qualified professionals to train poultry farmers, managers and attendants on proper biosecurity practices.Keywords: Biosecurity, Benue state, commercial poultry farms, Newcastle diseas

Tracking the Mn diffusion in the carbon-supported nanoparticles through the collaborative analysis of atom probe and evaporation simulation

Carbon-supported nanoparticles have been used widely as efficient catalysts due to their enhanced surface-to-volume ratio. To investigate their structure-property relationships, acquiring 3D elemental distribution is highly required. Here, the carbon-supported Pt, PtMn alloy, and ordered Pt3Mn nanoparticles are synthesized and analyzed with atom probe tomography as model systems. The significant difference of Mn distribution after the heat-treatment was found. Finally, the field evaporation behavior of the carbon support was discussed and each acquired reconstruction was compared with computational results from the evaporation simulation. This paper provides a guideline for studies using atom probe tomography on the heterogeneous carbon-nanoparticle system that leads to insights toward to a wide application in carbon-supported nano-catalysts

Prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with vision difficulties in Ghana, Gambia, and Togo: a multi-country analysis of recent multiple Indicator cluster surveys.

BACKGROUND: The sense of sight is one of the important human sensory abilities that is required for independent functioning and survival. The highest burden of sight-related problems is recorded in low-and middle-income countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the burden, nationally representative analyses to understand the prevalence and determinants of vision difficulties are hard to find. Therefore, this study addressed this knowledge gap by estimating the prevalence of vision difficulties and its correlates in gender-stratified models in three West African countries: Ghana, Gambia, and Togo. METHODS: The study used the most recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys of Ghana (2017-2018), Gambia (2018), and Togo (2017). Summary statistics were used to describe the participants and logistic regression was used to perform the bivariate and multivariate analyses. The analyses were performed using Stata version 14 and the complex survey design of the datasets was accounted for using the 'svyset' command. RESULTS: Gendered differences were observed for vision difficulties. More women than men reported vision difficulties in Ghana (men: 14.67% vs women: 23.45%) and Togo (men: 14.86% vs women: 23.61%), but more men than women reported vision difficulties in Gambia (men: 11.64% vs women: 9.76%). We also observed gender differences in how age, education, marital status, and region of residence were significantly associated with reported vision difficulties. The direction and magnitude of these relationships were different among men and women across the survey data in Ghana, Gambia, and Togo. CONCLUSION: The findings imply the need to tackle the existing gender inequities that are associated with vision difficulties to promote the quality of life of individuals, especially among older adults

Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Graph to Determine the Most Suitable Pairs Analysis Threshold Value

Steganography is the art of hiding the information that is going to be sent from one party to another. Information can be hidden into image, text, audio or video. Steganography allowed communication to happen without other people notice there is transmission of message except the intended party. This paper explains the implementation of receiver operating characterictic (ROC) graph addressing the incorrect classification of images for stegogramme and non-stegogramme classes using pairs analysis detection technique. The threshold value to discriminate between the two classes is identified, to reduce the rate of false negative (FN)

Uniqueness of Gibbs Measure for Models With Uncountable Set of Spin Values on a Cayley Tree

We consider models with nearest-neighbor interactions and with the set $[0,1]$ of spin values, on a Cayley tree of order $k\geq 1$. It is known that the "splitting Gibbs measures" of the model can be described by solutions of a nonlinear integral equation. For arbitrary $k\geq 2$ we find a sufficient condition under which the integral equation has unique solution, hence under the condition the corresponding model has unique splitting Gibbs measure.Comment: 13 page

Multi-user video streaming using unequal error protection network coding in wireless networks

In this paper, we investigate a multi-user video streaming system applying unequal error protection (UEP) network coding (NC) for simultaneous real-time exchange of scalable video streams among multiple users. We focus on a simple wireless scenario where users exchange encoded data packets over a common central network node (e.g., a base station or an access point) that aims to capture the fundamental system behaviour. Our goal is to present analytical tools that provide both the decoding probability analysis and the expected delay guarantees for different importance layers of scalable video streams. Using the proposed tools, we offer a simple framework for design and analysis of UEP NC based multi-user video streaming systems and provide examples of system design for video conferencing scenario in broadband wireless cellular networks

DEEP MOVEMENT: Deep learning of movie files for management of endovascular thrombectomy

Objectives: Treatment and outcomes of acute stroke have been revolutionised by mechanical thrombectomy. Deep learning has shown great promise in diagnostics but applications in video and interventional radiology lag behind. We aimed to develop a model that takes as input digital subtraction angiography (DSA) videos and classifies the video according to (1) the presence of large vessel occlusion (LVO), (2) the location of the occlusion, and (3) the efficacy of reperfusion. / Methods: All patients who underwent DSA for anterior circulation acute ischaemic stroke between 2012 and 2019 were included. Consecutive normal studies were included to balance classes. An external validation (EV) dataset was collected from another institution. The trained model was also used on DSA videos post mechanical thrombectomy to assess thrombectomy efficacy. / Results: In total, 1024 videos comprising 287 patients were included (44 for EV). Occlusion identification was achieved with 100% sensitivity and 91.67% specificity (EV 91.30% and 81.82%). Accuracy of location classification was 71% for ICA, 84% for M1, and 78% for M2 occlusions (EV 73, 25, and 50%). For post-thrombectomy DSA (n = 194), the model identified successful reperfusion with 100%, 88%, and 35% for ICA, M1, and M2 occlusion (EV 89, 88, and 60%). The model could also perform classification of post-intervention videos as mTICI < 3 with an AUC of 0.71. / Conclusions: Our model can successfully identify normal DSA studies from those with LVO and classify thrombectomy outcome and solve a clinical radiology problem with two temporal elements (dynamic video and pre and post intervention). / Key Points: • DEEP MOVEMENT represents a novel application of a model applied to acute stroke imaging to handle two types of temporal complexity, dynamic video and pre and post intervention. • The model takes as an input digital subtraction angiograms of the anterior cerebral circulation and classifies according to (1) the presence or absence of large vessel occlusion, (2) the location of the occlusion, and (3) the efficacy of thrombectomy. • Potential clinical utility lies in providing decision support via rapid interpretation (pre thrombectomy) and automated objective gradation of thrombectomy outcomes (post thrombectomy)