Wound Care Management and Documentation Non-Compliance in Prevention and Care of Wounds

The incidence of non-compliance and adherence to best practices wound care competence continues to be an issue among the clinical staff of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VA). At the VA, there is a practice problem of non-compliance and adherence to best practices wound care competency as evidenced in the electronic medical record (EMR) documentation among the clinical staff. A PICOT question was developed to explore if the establishment of a staff best practices wound care policy focusing on EMR documentation will improve proper wound care management among the clinical staff. The clinical site is a hospital consisting of 40 acute care beds. A new policy adjusted documentation with the use of the Braden scale and the spinal cord impairment monitoring (SCI-PUMT) tools and documentation in the EMR at appropriate times was implemented. A pretest and posttest were conducted to determine the significance of the total documentation using the Braden or SCI-PUMT tools, total accurate documentation using the wound care tools, and the number of multidisciplinary team contacts using the EMR. The results showed no statistically significant improvement with t =1.66, p =.107, t =1.03, p = .310, and t = -0.31, p = .775, respectively. Although the above results did not show any statistical significance after two months of the project implementation, a re-implementation of the project is recommended with the elimination of the barriers encountered during the project implementation

Igbo Post-Contact Proverbs of the Inyi Community

This article is on post-contact proverbs in Inyi community of southeastern Nigeria. Before now, there is no ethnography on post-contact Inyi proverbs. To acquire data, the researcher used the quantitative research method. Interview schedule and participant observation are the instruments of data collection. Post-contact proverbs in Inyi were obtained from Umunna meetings and traditional marriage ceremonies and also from respondents who are Okenyes or Inyi elders versed in Inyi culture. The meanings of these proverbs and the occasions in which they are used were also obtained. Forty-four post-contact proverbs were collected during the fieldwork. The eleven (11) contact proverbs which were obtained during participant observation were utilized by Inyi indigenes who were younger than the Okenyes. The remaining thirty-three post-contact proverbs came from the Okenyes. The need for a wider study of Igbo post-contact proverbs is advanced

A FRACTIONAL ORDER HIV/AIDS MODEL USING CAPUTO-FABRIZIO OPERATOR

Background: HIV is a virus that is directed at destroying the human immune system thereby exposing the human body to the risk of been affected by other common illnesses and if it is not treated, it generates a more chronic illness called AIDS. Materials and Methods: In this paper, we employed the fixed-point theory in developing the uniqueness and existence of a solution of fractional order HIV/AIDS model having Caputo-Fabrizio operator. This approach adopted in this work is not conventional when solving biological models by fractional derivatives. Results: The results showed that the model has two equilibrium points namely, disease-free, and endemic equilibrium points, respectively. We showed conditions necessitating the existence of the endemic equilibrium point and showed that the disease-free equilibrium point is locally asymptotically stable. We also tested the stability of our solution using the iterative Laplace transform method on our model which was also shown stable agreeing with the disease-free equilibrium Conclusions: Numerical simulations of our model showed clear comparison with our analytical results. The numerical solutions show that given fractional operator like the Caputo-Fabrizio operator, it is less noisy and hence plays a major role in making a precise decision and gives room or opportunity (‘freedom’) to use data of specific patients as the model can be easily adjusted to accommodate this, as it a better fit for the patients’ data and provide meaningful predictions. Finally, the result showed the advantage of using fractional order derivative in the analysis of the dynamics of HIV/AIDS over th

Determination of some soft drink constituents and contamination by some heavy metals in Nigeria

AbstractSoft drinks are consumed daily in Nigeria due to its affordability, characteristic taste, and thirst quenching potential. However, the high demand may compromise the quality of production with possible contamination of heavy metals which have shown to cause intoxication and death in humans. This study evaluated some constituents of twenty-six soft drinks in Nigeria and investigated the presence of some heavy metal contaminants. The soft drinks were screened for the presence of sugar, carbon dioxide, phosphate and alcohol as well as the pH and acidity determined. The level of cadmium, mercury and lead were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The study showed the presence of sugar, carbon dioxide, phosphate, and alcohol in the soft drinks. The soft drinks were acidic in nature, pH ranging from 3 to 5 with a mean of 3.6 and the acid concentration was relatively low between 3 and 12g/L with a mean of 8.1g/L. Lead was present in all the samples ranging from 0.17 to 3.39mg/L with a mean of 0.8, mercury was present in 22 samples ranging from 0.29 to 11.32mg/L with a mean of 2.08mg/L while cadmium was present only in one sample (0.149mg/L). When compared to EPA, WHO and NIS standards, the levels of the heavy metal contaminants were above the tolerated limits for good quality drinking water in most samples. These results suggest that soft drinks in Nigeria may be contaminated with heavy metals which constitute a major public health problem. Thus, quality control is recommended during the production process especially at the stages of sterilization and purification

Continuous glucose monitoring: type 2 diabetes and beyond

ABSTRACT Introduction: Blood glucose monitoring has evolved over the 20th century into a vital component of managing diabetes mellitus. From a doctor’s office to the patient’s home, self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) became the gold standard upon which healthcare providers manage all forms of diabetes mellitus today. In recent years, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has shown superior results compared to SMBG in the management of type 1 diabetes. This clinical article will explore the application of CGM technology for type 2 diabetes. Methods: A PubMed literature search was performed across multiple databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, and Diabetes Care Online. Results: A literary search yielded various meta-analysis, randomized controlled studies, and prospective cohort studies that compared the use of CGM to SMBG in diabetes management. Fifteen (15) studies were selected for the review of CGM application to type 2 diabetes. Conclusion: Blood glucose monitoring and the management of diabetes mellitus is changing with the application of CGM technology. Research shows strong evidence for CGM benefiting care in type 1 diabetes and emerging data shows similar results for type 2 diabetes. Improvements in glycemic control, reduced hypoglycemia, and better quality of life have been demonstrated using the CGM for both types of diabetes. The CGM technology also provides insights to the effects of glycemic variability in various diabetes complications and medical conditions. Cost and insurance coverage of CGM is one of the most significant barriers to more widespread use. Additional research is needed to confirm the full implications of the CGM in diabetes management and applications for future research of non-diabetes related conditions

Studies On Some Nutritional And Toxicological Properties Of Mucuna sloanei

Proximate analysis of seeds of Mucuna solanei gave a crude protein content of 28.18± 0.25%, Fat, 4.31± 0.09%, Crude fibre, 9.60±0.05%, Carbohydrate, 53.75±0.28% and Ash, 4.19± 0.01%. Quantitative phytochemical analysis gave 2.78± 0.04%, alkaloids, Phytic acid 314±28mg/100g, Tannins 189.15± 0.21mg/100g HCN 195.75±9.55mg/kg, Flavonoids 1.95±0.07% and Oligosaccharides 23.93±0.05%. Anti nutritional studies revealed 67.38±0.10 Tui/100g as trypsin inhibitor activity, haemagglutinin contents 6250±14.14 Hu/100g. Bioactivity studies using brine shrimp, lethality tests gave an ED50 value of 3.98 µg/ml for ethanolic extract and 19.95 µg/ml for the aqueous extract. It is concluded that Mucuna Sloanei seeds if properly processed could have both nutritional and chemoprotective benefits to man and animals. Key Words: Phytochemical, antinutritional, Bioactivity, Mucuna Sloanei Bio-Research Vol.2(1) 2004: 24-2

Potential Antioxidant Activity of New Tetracyclic and Pentacyclic Nonlinear Phenothiazine Derivatives

The global increase in oxidative stress related diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular, and inflammatory diseases caused by overwhelming level of free radicals in the body has encouraged the search for new antioxidant agents. Based on the ability of newly synthesized phenothiazine derivatives (6-chloro-11-azabenzo[a]phenothiazine-5-one and 6-[4-bromophenyl]-10-methyl-11-azabenzo[a]phenothiazine-5-one) to oxidize H2O2, a known free radical to sulfoxide, this study assessed the in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activity. The synthesized phenothiazine derivatives exhibited reducing power potential to convert Fe3+ to Fe2+ and high ability to scavenge H2O2 free radical in vitro. These activities were comparable to ascorbic acid, a standard antioxidant. The catalase activity significantly increased (p<0.05) in groups 1 and 2 animals that received the phenothiazine derivatives compared to the controls (groups 3 and 4) suggesting the ability of the phenothiazine derivatives to scavenge H2O2 in vivo. The malondialdehyde level in groups 1 and 2 animals was lower than that in group 3 that received the reference compound (ascorbic acid) and group 4 that received the solvent suggesting the ability of the phenothiazine derivatives to prevent lipid membrane damage. AST and bilirubin levels were higher in group 2 animals which received 6-[4-bromophenyl]-10-methyl-11-azabenzo[a]phenothiazine-5-one compared to group 3, the positive control. The results suggest that phenothiazine derivatives, especially 6-chloro-11-azabenzo[a]phenothiazine-5-one, possess antioxidant activity though 6-[4-bromophenyl]-10-methyl-11-azabenzo[a]phenothiazine-5-one was slightly toxic. This activity may be due to the presence of electron donors such as sulfur as well as the richness of hydrogen in the additional benzene rings for substitution. Further study is needed to identify tolerable doses for possible therapeutic purposes