Effectiveness of kinesio taping and combined chain exercises in individuals with knee osteoarthritis: A case series

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PRENATAL AND POSTNATAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF THE MANDIBLE OF THREE BREEDS OF SHEEP: A GROSS STUDY

This study aims to evaluate and compare the development of the mandible and gross anatomy in three breeds of sheep. A total of 180 and 720 prenatal and postnatal samples were used respectively, their skulls were macerated and mandibles detached. In prenatal life, the mental and mandibular foramina were rudimentary in the late 1st trimester and 2nd trimester and developed in the 3rd trimester. The alveolus and mandibular canal differentiated in the 3rd trimesters respectively. In the postnatal life, the ventral border was convexed in Uda but flat in Balami and Yankasa breeds. The angular part of the ramus was thin in Uda and thick in Balami and Yankasa. The mandibular tuberosity was absent in Balami and Yankasa but present in Uda. There was a small accessory foramen caudal to the mental foramen just below the first premolar teeth in the Uda and Yankasa. The labial surface was wide and rough in Balami and Uda but smooth in Yankasa. The medial surface was flat in the young postnatal and convexed in the adult postnatal. It was brought to a conclusion that the mandible in the Nigerian breeds undergoes various morphological changes from prenatal and postnatal ages with peculiar differentiating features

Characteristics of Different Type of Coarse Aggregate on Properties of High Performance Concrete

The weakest links of conventional cement concrete is often occurred at the transition zone around coarse aggregate particles and the bulk of the compressive load is also borne by the cement paste. However, in special concrete such as High Strength Concrete (HSC) and High Performance Concrete (HPC) where, the water/cement ratio is low and high content of cement constitute their characteristics, the bulk compressive load is borne by the aggregate. Therefore, the failure in such concrete is mostly through the aggregate. This study discussed the characteristics of different type of coarse aggregate with distinct size range, 20-14mm and 10-5mm on properties of high performance concrete. In this project, investigation such as Slump test and Unit weight were carried out on fresh properties, and also compressive strength and water absorption on hardened properties, in which, readings were taken at curing days of 7 days, 14 days, and 28 days. The water to cement ratio used is 0.35, 1% super plasticizer of  Conplast SP-430 were added, and the dosage of meta kaolin added was  0%, 7.5% and 15%. The HPC mix, grade M40concrete is designed as per ACI method. The result of the study indicated that the compressive strength increases with an increase in percentage of Metakaolin between 0% to 15% replacements. Basalt-mixed concrete gives higher compressive strength, followed by gneiss-mixed concrete, then granite-mixed concrete. It was also discovered that larger aggregate sizes (20mm-14mm) gives high compressive strength than smaller sizes (5mm-10mm). Therefore for optimum performance up to 15% replacement of Metakaolin can be used with 20mm-14mm sizes of basalt aggregate

Choice of antihypertensive medications among physicians and its impact on blood pressure control among Nigerians living with hypertension

Background: Hypertension, if untreated or uncontrolled, leads to damage of vital organs such as the brain, heart and the kidneys among others. These complications have been shown to be severer in black Africans. Benefit of treatment has been repeatedly demonstrated by many studies. Therefore, many guidelines have been produced by relevant bodies in different countries in order to assist physicians in making the right choices for blood pressure (BP) control. Most of these bodies produce the guidelines based on the peculiarities of hypertension in their respective population. Several reports have shown how different hypertension is, in black Africans, still there is no published unified guideline for its treatment in this population.Methods: This was a survey of known hypertensives who were on follow up visit. Their prescriptions were assessed for drug name, class and number. Their blood pressures at that visit were also recorded. Prevalence of single therapy and combination therapy were determined. Compliance with the AHA recommended 2 – drug combination was determined. The percentage of BP control as well as the prescribed drugs in each group were also obtained.Results: Those on single agents were 13% out of which 52% were controlled. 87% were on various combination of 2 or more drugs of whom 41.9% of those on 2 drugs and 21.1% of those on more than 2 drugs had controlled BP. BP control in those on 2 drugs was better than in those with > 2 drugs, (p=0.0027).ACEI were the commonest used drug either as single agent (55.9%) or as 2 – drug combination as seen in 54.8% of the subjects on 2 – drug combination. 13 different 2 – drug combinations were identified with the best control in ARB + Diuretic, ACEI + Diuretic and CCB + Diuretic. The least control was observed in the ACEI + CCB group. Compliance with AHA recommendation was good but still 7.7% were under unacceptable group while another 7.7% were unclassified.Conclusion: ACE-Is are becoming the drugs of choice both as monotherapy and as combination therapy. Despite good compliance to AHA recommendation on drug combination, overall control is still a problem which calls for a revisit of these recommendations in Africans.Keywords: Ahtihypertensives; Physicians; Impact; Blood Pressure; Nigerian

Influence of Route and Location of Delivery on Neurodevelopmental Sequelae among Infants who Suffered Birth Asphyxia

Aim: This study aims to examine the influence of route and location of delivery on Neurodevelepmental Sequelae (NDS) among infants who suffered birth asphyxia. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from January 2018 to May 2019. A total of 271 infants diagnosed with birth asphyxia with a gestational age between 38 and 42 weeks were included. NDS was assessed using a structured datasheet. A 3 × 2 contingency table was employed to compare the prevalence between route, location of delivery, and weight. Spearman’s rho correlation and binary logistic regression were used to establish the relationship between the NDS and predictor variables. Results: The result indicated that route (14.4%) and location (14.4%) of delivery have accounted much for the point prevalence of NDS than weight (7.5%). In addition, route, location of delivery, and weight were also positively related to NDS (P < 0.05). The significant predictors explained about 67.4% of the variability in the NDS (Nagelkerke R Square = 0.674). Further, those who have had cesarean section have fewer odds of developing NDS (0.035, 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.239, 0.309) and those who had less weight have much odds of developing NDS (0.811, 95% CI, 0.791, 0.831). Conclusion: Route and location of delivery influenced asphyxiated infants to develop NDS. However, cesarean section and hospital delivery confer much more protection against NDS. Keywords: Birth asphyxia, cesarean section, home delivery, hospital delivery, neurodevelopmental sequelae, vaginal deliver

Descriptive characterization of suspected yellow fever cases in Kano state, Nigeria, 2015-2018

Introduction: Yellow fever remains a serious public health problem globally with an estimated 200, 000 cases annually despite the availability of an effective vaccine for more than 70 years. Nigeria had an outbreak of Yellow fever in 2017 after more than 2 decades of silence. We described the epidemiological characteristic of yellow fever in Kano State from 2015 to 2018. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of suspected cases of yellow fever in Kano state from January 2015 to December 2018. A suspected yellow fever case was defined as any person residing in Kano state with sudden onset of fever, with jaundice appearing within two weeks of the onset of the first symptoms from the year 2015 to 2018. We calculated incidences, frequencies and proportions using Microsoft excel 2016 and health mapper version 4.3. Results: A total of 107 patients with suspected yellow fever were reported in the state between 2015 and 2018. The median age of the suspected cases was 13years (range 2-120years) and age group 15-44years had the highest number of cases. More males were affected 69 (64%) with rural local governments having the highest number of patients. Generally, the disease occurred all year round with peaks occurring the wet season mostly in June, July and August. The annual incidence increased from 1.7/1,000,000 populations in 2015 to 2.2/1,000,000 populations in 2016, remained at 2.2/1,000,000 populations in 2017 and slightly decreased to 2.1/1000,000 population in 2018. No mortality was recorded during the reporting period. Majority (99.1%) of the suspected patients had never received yellow fever vaccine. Conclusion: The study revealed no change in the incidence rate of suspected Yellow Fever cases in Kano State. Majority of the suspected cases are in the rural areas where immunization coverage was very low. Routine immunization has to be strengthened to address the problem. The findings were reported to the Kano state Ministry of Health for appropriate action

Critical Success Factors for Affordable Housing Projects in Nigeria

Housing plays an important role in socio-economic development of any country. However, access to affordable housing is a challenge to many people in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to establish critical success factors for affordable private sector housing projects in Nigeria.  Twenty-six (26) success attributes for affordable housing were identified from literature. A survey questionnaire was designed, and pre-tested, subsequently main survey was performed in which two hundred and eighty (280) questionnaires were administered to experienced researchers, senior managers in public housing agencies, developers and consultants with knowledge and experience in affordable housing. One hundred and seventy-six (176) completed questionnaires were returned completed representing 62.86% response rate. The data collected were analyzed using mean score, factor analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis. The findings from this study produce four critical success factors for affordable housing projects namely, effective land policies for affordable housing, availability of effective financial institutions, good governance of housing systems, and political will. The results suggested that a well-functioning housing sector must satisfy these factors. It has been concluded that, government has an important role to play in the supply of affordable housing in Nigeria. Thus, government should be committed to supporting affordable housing development through the provision of policy solution and implementation. The study can assist policy makers to understand important factors that influence the success of affordable housing development, and thus include them in the formulation of housing policies in their countries

The effect of methanolic crude extract of ocimum gratisimum leaves on insulin resistance and glut-4 gene expression in monosodium glutamate induced obese rats

Obesity is a complex chronic global disease affecting people worldwide across all ages, sexes, ethnicities and nationalities. It is accompanied by remodeling of adipocyte, insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes. The present study was aimed to determine the effect of methanolic crude extract of Ocimum gratisimum leaves on insulin resistance and GLUT-4 gene expression in Monosodium induced obese Rats. Phytochemical screening of the crude extract of Ocimum gratisimum leaves was carried out before the grouping of animals. The study was conducted using thirty 30 male Wistar rats weighing between 100.0 – 150.0 g. The animals were divided into five groups of six each; Normal control (NC) rats, Obese control (DC) rats, Obese rats treated with Ocimum gratissimum (OG) 100 mg/kg B.W (OG-100), Obese rats treated with OG 200 mg/kg B.W (OG-200), Obese rats treated with orlistat 50 mg/kg B.W (OR-50). Obesity was induced by oral administration of 8 mg/g MSG for 7 days and animals were treated with respective doses orally for 1 week. The phytochemical screening of the crude extract of Ocimum gratisimum leaves revealed the presence of saponins, tannins, flavonoids, glycosides and the results obtained after induction of obesity with MSG showed significant (P<0.05) increase in weight of the rats. After 1 week of treatment with the extract, the weight, non-fasting blood glucose (NFBG) and HOMA-IR level of the rats decreased significantly (P<0.05) when compared to obese control rats. In addition, the level of serum insulin was increased significantly in all groups while fold expression of GLUT-4 gene was increased significantly (P<0.05) in OG-200 only. In conclusion, the use of methanolic crude extract of Ocimum gratissimum leaves can be a therapy in the treatment of obesity due to its significant hypoglycemic, anti hyperlipidemic and insulin resistance lowering properties

COMPARATIVE OSSIFICATION OF THE SKULL IN THREE NIGERIAN BREEDS OF SHEEP: AN ALIZARIN TECHNIQUE

This study describes the ossification time, sequence, and morphogenic pattern of the neuro-cranial and viscera-cranial bones of the skull in three Nigerian breeds of sheep. A total number of four hundred and ninety (490) wasted fetuses were collected from abattoirs. The heads of the fetuses were severed and processed using the Alizarin technique. The ossifying bones were identified, and their morphology was mapped using FastStone Image software. In the three breeds of sheep, the neuro-cranial and viscera-cranial bones developed via intra-membranous ossification. Generally, bony spicules appeared to radiate from the ossification centers of the skull bones faster in Yankasa than Balami and Uda. The frontal, parietal, and the zygomatic process of frontal bones were the first of the neuro-cranial bones to begin ossification. The premaxilla, zygomatic, and maxilla were the first of the viscera-cranial bones to begin ossification. The earliest morphogenic pattern of the neuro-cranium, the occipital condyle was comma-shaped, the parietal and frontal were irregular, and the zygomatic process of temporal bones and frontal process of zygomatic were finger-like projections. Whereas among viscera-cranium, the premaxilla, nasal, and zygomatic were spindle-shaped, the maxilla and lacrimal were triangular and cube-shaped in all the three breeds of sheep. The ossification centers of the skull bones started from the calvarium and developed faster in Yankasa and the shape of the developing bones-varies as the bone spicules radiates and fetuses advance with age. The temporal and interparietal ossification did not occur in the 1st and early 2nd trimester fetuses (42-67 days of gestation) of the three breeds of sheep. It was concluded that the frontal and premaxilla were the first bones of the skull to ossify and ossification of the viscera-cranium occurred earlier in Yankasa than in Balami and Uda and the ossification centers of all the neuro-cranial bones and nasal bones were eccentric