Development of value added tea bags and capsules of Artemisia Annua Anamed (A3) whole plant for malaria treatment

Malaria is one of the most serious diseases of global public health importance. Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) has been adopted as the first-line treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Nigeria. However, ACTs are expensive; hence the need for production of Artemisia plants as a local alternative. Artemisia Annua Anamed (A-3) cultivar seeds were obtained from REAP in Kenya and propagated in Ilorin, Nigeria; based on the guidelines of Anamed International, REAP and WHO for growing, harvesting, and processing to value added products. Propagation to budding/harvesting took 4 months and fresh leaves were processed to dark green dried leaves which was developed to value added products of tea bags and powdered capsules following the Noble Icon NAFDAC approved procedures and equipment; and Now Food University in USA procedures and equipment respectively. Each tea bag of A-3 contained 2.5g of pulverized dried leaves while each capsule contained 500mg of powdered dried leaves based on Anamed International dosage recommendations. Several studies supported the use of artemisia annua tea and capsules for the treatment of malaria pointing out that flavonoids existing in the leaves and stem considerably enhance the interest of its tea preparation and powdered leave capsules that are usable for rectal administration. It is recommended that there is the need to train the rural community people who are already using herbal medicine; and unable to reach or afford costly pharmaceutical ACT in the growing and development of the dried A-3 leaves as herb tea for malaria prevention and treatment. There is also the need for further studies to determine the active contents in the developed herb tea and the powdered capsules in order to be able to use them for treating malaria.Key Words: Artemisia Annua Anamed, Herb Tea, Capsules, Malaria, Whole Plan

Nutritional characterization of grain amaranth grown in Nigeria for food security and healthy living

Amaranths cruentus is a flowering plant species that yields the nutritious staple amaranth grain. Zinc in grain amaranth is reported to contribute to boosting the immune system and iron is required by enzymes for oxygen metabolism. This study is to exploit the multi-benefits of amaranth which ranged from improved well-being to recovery of severely malnourished children; increased body mass index of people formerly wasted by HIV/AIDS; environmental adaptability, yield, and recipes   development. The study focused on determining the nutritional and medicinal   properties of grain amaranth cultivar obtained from Rural Extension with Africa Poor  (REAP) in Kenya which was propagated in Kwara State, Nigeria, harvested after 65  days, and prepared as samples for the study. Standard procedures of Association of  Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC), Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer, Flame  Photometer, and Spectrophotometer were used to determine the    macro/micronutrients in the grains. Results revealed that the grains contained   protein, lipid, Iron-66 mg/100g, Zinc-11.34 mg/100g, Calcium-78.7 mg/100g,  Manganese-37.1 mg/100g, Magnesium-2845 mg/100g, Potassium-400 mg/100g; Thiamine-0.2756 mg (%), Riboflavin-0.734 mg (%) and Niacin-1.042. More   research efforts are needed on growing, inclusion in diets, consumer behavior and  market acceptability of Amaranth cruentus based products in order to contribute to the efforts of addressing food security, poverty reduction, nutritional, and medicinal needs of vulnerable communities.Keywords: Complementary Food, Cultivar, Macro/micronutrients, Recipes,  Well-being

Availability and utilization of drug information center, drugs and therapeutic committee and standard treatment guidelines in the management of HIV/AIDS patients at public hospitals in a north-central state, Nigeria

Introduction: Nigerian National Drug Policy has targets with regards to institutionalization of Drug Information Center (DIC), Drugs and Therapeutic Committee (DTC) and Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs). Inadequate availability and utilization of these supporting policies/documents affect quality of healthcare.Objective: This study examined the availability and utilization of DIC, DTC and STGs in the management of HIV/AIDS patients at public hospitals in a North-Central State, Nigeria.Methods: This qualitative multi-center study involved in-depth interviews of eligible 10 prescribers and 7 dispensers who provided healthcare to HIV/AIDS patients in eligible public hospitals with the aid of structured interview guide. The interviews were audio-taped, verbally transcribed, analyzed and developed into ethnographic summary.Results: Among the prescribers, STGs was the most available and utilized supporting policy/document. Less than 50% of the prescribers had DTC and DIC available in their institutions, less than 50% utilized DTC while only one prescriber utilized the available DIC. Only 10% of the prescribers had and utilized all three (STGs, DTC and DIC). Also, STGs was available to and utilized by all the dispensers. However, only 14.3% of the dispensers had DTC and DIC available in his institution and utilized them. Reasons for utilization/non-utilization of DIC, DTC, and STGs were awareness of availability, patient workload and documentation workload.Conclusion: Availability and utilization of STGs are optimal. However, availability and utilization of DIC and DTC in the management of HIV/AIDS patients in Public Hospitals are below optimal. There is need for improved availability and institutional mechanisms to ensure their utilization.Keywords: Availability, Utilization, Drug Information Center, Drugs and Therapeutic Committee Standard Treatment Guidelines, HIV/AIDS Patient

Cost-effectiveness analysis of tranexamic acid for the treatment of traumatic brain injury, based on the results of the CRASH-3 randomised trial: a decision modelling approach

Introduction An estimated 69 million traumatic brain injuries (TBI) occur each year worldwide, with most in low-income and middle-income countries. The CRASH-3 randomised trial found that intravenous administration of tranexamic acid within 3 hours of injury reduces head injury deaths in patients sustaining a mild or moderate TBI. We examined the cost-effectiveness of tranexamic acid treatment for TBI. Methods A Markov decision model was developed to assess the cost-effectiveness of treatment with and without tranexamic acid, in addition to current practice. We modelled the decision in the UK and Pakistan from a health service perspective, over a lifetime time horizon. We used data from the CRASH-3 trial for the risk of death during the trial period (28 days) and patient quality of life, and data from the literature to estimate costs and long-term outcomes post-TBI. We present outcomes as quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and 2018 costs in pounds for the UK, and US dollars for Pakistan. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) per QALY gained were estimated, and compared with country specific cost-effective thresholds. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were also performed. Results Tranexamic acid was highly cost-effective for patients with mild TBI and intracranial bleeding or patients with moderate TBI, at £4288 per QALY in the UK, and US$24 per QALY in Pakistan. Tranexamic acid was 99% and 98% cost-effective at the cost-effectiveness thresholds for the UK and Pakistan, respectively, and remained cost-effective across all deterministic sensitivity analyses. Tranexamic acid was even more cost-effective with earlier treatment administration. The cost-effectiveness for those with severe TBI was uncertain. Conclusion Early administration of tranexamic acid is highly cost-effective for patients with mild or moderate TBI in the UK and Pakistan, relative to the cost-effectiveness thresholds used. The estimated ICERs suggest treatment is likely to be cost-effective across all income settings globally

An isotopic effect in phi photoproduction at a few GeV

A distinct isotopic effect in phi photoproduction at 2-5 GeV region is identified by examining the production amplitudes due to Pomeron-exchange and meson-exchange mechanisms. This effect is mainly caused by the pi-eta interference constrained by SU(3) symmetry and the isotopic structure of the gamma NN coupling in the direct phi-radiation amplitude. It can be tested experimentally by measuring differences in the polarization observables between the gamma-p and gamma-n reactions.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

Sport-related major trauma incidence in young people and adults in England and Wales: a national registry-based study

Objectives Data on sport and physical activity (PA) injury risk can guide intervention and prevention efforts. However, there are limited national-level data, and no estimates for England or Wales. This study sought to estimate sport and PA-related major trauma incidence in England and Wales. Methods Nationwide, hospital registry-based cohort study between January 2012 and December 2017. Following Trauma Audit and Research Network Registry Research Committee approval, data were extracted in April 2018 for people ≥16 years of age, admitted following sport or PA-related injury in England and Wales. The population-based Active Lives Survey was used to estimate national sport and PA participation (ie, running, cycling, fitness activities). The cumulative injury incidence rate was estimated for each activity. Injury severity was described by Injury Severity Score (ISS) >15. Results 11 702 trauma incidents occurred (mean age 41.2±16.2 years, 59.0% male), with an ISS >15 for 28.0% of cases, and 1.3% were fatal. The overall annual injury incidence rate was 5.40 injuries per 100 000 participants. The incidence rate was higher in men (6.44 per 100 000) than women (3.34 per 100 000), and for sporting activities (9.88 per 100 000) than cycling (2.81 per 100 000), fitness (0.21 per 100 000) or walking (0.03 per 100 000). The highest annual incidence rate activities were motorsports (532.31 per 100 000), equestrian (235.28 per 100 000) and gliding (190.81 per 100 000). Conclusion Injury incidence was higher in motorsports, equestrian activity and gliding. Targeted prevention in high-risk activities may reduce admissions and their associated burden, facilitating safer sport and PA participation

Circumstellar interaction in supernovae in dense environments - an observational perspective

In a supernova explosion, the ejecta interacting with the surrounding circumstellar medium (CSM) give rise to variety of radiation. Since CSM is created from the mass lost from the progenitor star, it carries footprints of the late time evolution of the star. This is one of the unique ways to get a handle on the nature of the progenitor star system. Here, I will focus mainly on the supernovae (SNe) exploding in dense environments, a.k.a. Type IIn SNe. Radio and X-ray emission from this class of SNe have revealed important modifications in their radiation properties, due to the presence of high density CSM. Forward shock dominance of the X-ray emission, internal free-free absorption of the radio emission, episodic or non-steady mass loss rate, asymmetry in the explosion seem to be common properties of this class of SNe.Comment: Fixed minor typos. 31 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Chapter in International Space Science Institute (ISSI) Book on "Supernovae" to be published in Space Science Reviews by Springe

Measurement of the Charged Multiplicities in b, c and Light Quark Events from Z0 Decays

Average charged multiplicities have been measured separately in $b$, $c$ and light quark ($u,d,s$) events from $Z^0$ decays measured in the SLD experiment. Impact parameters of charged tracks were used to select enriched samples of $b$ and light quark events, and reconstructed charmed mesons were used to select $c$ quark events. We measured the charged multiplicities: $\bar{n}_{uds} = 20.21 \pm 0.10 (\rm{stat.})\pm 0.22(\rm{syst.})$, $\bar{n}_{c} = 21.28 \pm 0.46(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.41}_{-0.36}(\rm{syst.})$ $\bar{n}_{b} = 23.14 \pm 0.10(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.38}_{-0.37}(\rm{syst.})$, from which we derived the differences between the total average charged multiplicities of $c$ or $b$ quark events and light quark events: $\Delta \bar{n}_c = 1.07 \pm 0.47(\rm{stat.})^{+0.36}_{-0.30}(\rm{syst.})$ and $\Delta \bar{n}_b = 2.93 \pm 0.14(\rm{stat.})^{+0.30}_{-0.29}(\rm{syst.})$. We compared these measurements with those at lower center-of-mass energies and with perturbative QCD predictions. These combined results are in agreement with the QCD expectations and disfavor the hypothesis of flavor-independent fragmentation.Comment: 19 pages LaTex, 4 EPS figures, to appear in Physics Letters