Electrolyte imbalance in type 2 diabetes: a case study from the West region of Cameroon

Background: Diabetes mellitus remains a global public health challenge despite advances in medicine, with Cameroon harboring about half a million patients. Electrolyte imbalance has been reported to contribute to the complications observed in diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate electrolyte disturbances in type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients under follow up in two health facilities (Dschang District Hospital and Bafoussam Regional Hospital) of the West Region of Cameroon.Methods: The study involved 200 T2D patients and 50 non-diabetic control subjects. A questionnaire was used to acquire demographic, anthropometric, clinical and psychosocial data. Fasting blood samples were collected for the determination of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycated haemoglobin, calcium, potassium and sodium levels. The diabetic population was divided into two and three groups according to their glycated hemoglobin and FPG levels respectively. The Student’s t-test was used to compare mean values between patients and controls, while the chi square test was used to assess for differences between categorical variables. The significance level was set at 5%.Results: Almost all diabetic patients were diagnosed of hypernatremia (98%) versus 70% for the control group (p<0.001). There was no record of hyponatremia. Hypercalcemia was observed in 30% of the diabetic patients and hypocalcemia in 48%. The prevalence of hyperkalemia was comparable between patients and controls, while control subjects tended to be more hypokalemic (p=0.038). For all three electrolytes investigated, more than 70% of the imbalances were observed in patients with hyperglycemia when compared to patients having normal FPG or hypoglycemia.Conclusions: Electrolyte imbalance is common in type 2 diabetic patients from the West Region of Cameroon, especially those presenting with hyperglycemia

Design and construction of a hybrid gas and biogas dryer for fruits, vegetables, meat and fish

The problem of food loss due to lack of proper conservation and preservation scheme is pertinent. In an attempt to reduce such losses, the agronomic sector is constantly innovating with technological accessories to solve the related problem. The problem with such accessories lies in the fact that most of them do not consider present global developmental objectives coupled to the fact that they are expensive and have a high cost of maintenance regarding the amount and type of energy needed to run them. As such, local tools were used to design and construct a hybrid biogas/liquefied gas dryer for food products with a wide range of application spanning from fruits and vegetables to meat and fish. The advantage with this dryer lies in its energy sources which are readily more available and the ability of alternative fuel which is biogas can readily be produced even in remote / rural zones for domestic and industrial use. The use of a renewable alternative makes it not only cost effective but also tied to the millennium development goals. The addition of a solar powered fan and an Arduino control unit solves a major problem of temperature and humidity control. The prototype constructed has the following characteristics: A functional hybrid dryer of external dimensions 125 cm × 75 cm × 65 cm; useful volume: 420,000 cm3; number of trays : 10 trays of dimensions : 60 cm × 70 cm; drying surface : 46,200 cm2 ;Volume / surface ratio : 10. The products dried successfully include: White cabbage, Lemon Grass, Bitter leaf and Green Aramanth