The Impact of Recycled Neonatal Incubators in Nigeria: A 6-Year Follow-Up Study

Nigeria has a record of high newborn mortality as an estimated 778 babies die daily, accounting for a ratio of 48 deaths per 1000 live births. The aim of this paper was to show how a deteriorating neonatal delivery system in Nigeria may have, in part, been improved by the application of a novel recycled incubator technique (RIT). Retrospective assessment of clinical, technical, and human factors in 15 Nigerian neonatal centres was carried out to investigate how the application of RIT impacted these factors. Pre-RIT and post-RIT neonatal mortalities were compared by studying case files. Effect on neonatal nursing was studied through questionnaires that were completed by 79 nurses from 9 centres across the country. Technical performance was assessed based on 10-indices scores from clinicians and nurses. The results showed an increase in neonatal survival, nursing enthusiasm, and practice confidence. Appropriately recycled incubators are good substitutes to the less affordable modern incubators in boosting neonatal practice outcome in low-income countries

A Survey on the Security and the Evolution of Osmotic and Catalytic Computing for 5G Networks

The 5G networks have the capability to provide high compatibility for the new applications, industries, and business models. These networks can tremendously improve the quality of life by enabling various use cases that require high data-rate, low latency, and continuous connectivity for applications pertaining to eHealth, automatic vehicles, smart cities, smart grid, and the Internet of Things (IoT). However, these applications need secure servicing as well as resource policing for effective network formations. There have been a lot of studies, which emphasized the security aspects of 5G networks while focusing only on the adaptability features of these networks. However, there is a gap in the literature which particularly needs to follow recent computing paradigms as alternative mechanisms for the enhancement of security. To cover this, a detailed description of the security for the 5G networks is presented in this article along with the discussions on the evolution of osmotic and catalytic computing-based security modules. The taxonomy on the basis of security requirements is presented, which also includes the comparison of the existing state-of-the-art solutions. This article also provides a security model, "CATMOSIS", which idealizes the incorporation of security features on the basis of catalytic and osmotic computing in the 5G networks. Finally, various security challenges and open issues are discussed to emphasize the works to follow in this direction of research.Comment: 34 pages, 7 tables, 7 figures, Published In 5G Enabled Secure Wireless Networks, pp. 69-102. Springer, Cham, 201

Antidiarrhoeal Activities of Ethanolic Extract of Aristolochia ringens Stem Bark in Castor Oil-Induced Diarrhoeal Albino Rats

The antidiarrhoeal potentials of ethanolic extract of Aristolochia ringens stem back was evaluated in castor oil-induced diarrhoeal rats. The A. ringens stem back ethanolic extract was, in addition, screened for its phytoconstituents. Thirty albino rats of 150-180 g were randomized into six groups of five animals each for each of the three experiments and all administration were oral. Rats in groups I and II were administered 1.0 ml distilled water and 1% DMSO (Vehicle) respectively, while those in group III were administered 2.5 mg/kg b.wt loperamide hydrochloride as reference drug. Rats in groups IV, V and VI were administered 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg b.wt. ethanolic extract of A. ringens stem bark. The castor oil-induced diarrhoeal model was used, the weight and volume of the intestinal content was determined by enteropooling method and the intestinal motility was determined using activated charcoal method. The small intestine of the rats was also assessed for histopathological changes. The extract significantly and dose-dependently reduced the number of diarrhoeal faeces, the volume of intestinal accumulation and the distance moved by the fed charcoal in treated rats compared to the untreated diarrhoeal group (group II). The percentage inhibitions exhibited by the extract at 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight were significantly higher than that of the reference drug. Furthermore, the photomicrograph of the intestine of the extract treated rats showed intact intestinal architecture. Hence, ethanolic extract of Aristolochia ringens stem bark may contain phytochemicals with better antidiarrhoeal potentials which can be explored in the development of more viable antidiarrhoeal agents. Keywords: Aristolochia ringens, Antidiarrhoeal agents, Intestinal motility,  Intestinal accumulation

Molecular Detection of Hepatitis B Virus Among HBsAg Non-Reactive Blood of Donors

Despite all blood donations being tested routinely for HBsAg as a clinical marker of transmissible HBV, cases of post-transfusion hepatitis B virus infection are still being reported because molecular studies using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) are not routinely available for Transfusion Transmissible Infection (TTIs) testing. In this study, we sought to use the PCR technique to re-screen donated blood that had already been proven to be HBsAg non-reactive with rapid diagnostic testing and ELISA. One hundred and eighty-five samples were obtained from a proportion of the blood deposited at the blood bank of the Federal Medical Center, Birnin-Kebbi, Nigeria. Socio-demographic parameters such as age group, status, ethnicity, occupation, and group PCV were obtained from donors' records. Nested PCR was employed to detect HBV DNA. Furthermore, genotyping was performed to determine HBV genotypes in the positive samples using PCR with genotype-specific primers. Of the 185 donors, it was observed that five (2.7%) of the population were positive for HBV. HBV is more common among people aged 18–30, singles, Hausa, and self-employed. In addition, the five positive samples were of genotype E. This study suggests the need to complement antibody-based tests with DNA testing for effective HBV screening and consequent safe transfusion. Keywords: Hepatitis B Virus; HBsAg; PCR; DNA testin