Presentation, complications and management outcome of community acquired pneumonia in hospitalized children in Maiduguri, Nigeria

Background: Pneumonia remains a leading cause of U-5 morbidity and mortality in developing countries like Nigeria. This study was conducted to determine the clinical presentation, complications and factors contributing to mortality in the hospitalized children with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Maiduguri, Nigeria.Methods: Children younger than 14 years admitted into the EmergencyPaediatric Unit of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital(UMTH), Maiduguri, in 2011 with the diagnosis of community acquiredpneumonia were followed up until discharge or death. Chest radiographswere read by radiologists.Results: Eighty nine children aged two months to 14 years were studied. The commonest clinical features were fever, cough, tachypnoea and dyspnoea. Radiographic evidence of pneumonia was found in 84 (94.4%) of cases. Dehydration and congestive cardiac failure (CCF) were the commonest complications encountered. Eight (9.0%) children died, seven of whom had complications of pneumonia. The rate of occurrence of complications, radiographic pattern of pneumonia and outcome of treatment did not significantly differ statistically in the different age groups; p = 0.135, 0.622 and 0.167 respectively.Conclusion: While dehydration and CCF were found to be commonestcomplications, mortality was commoner among the male infants hospitalized for pneumonia

Structural Analysis of Cattle Market in Kano State, Nigeria

The study examined the structure of cattle market of some selected markets in Kano State. A multi stage sampling technique was employed for the study in which purposive sampling technique was used in the selection of 2 markets, based on the concentration of the cattle marketing activities. The second stage involved random selection of 123 cattle marketers. The data were collected using structured questionnaire supplemented with focus group discussion. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Gini coefficient analysis. Result of descriptive statistics revealed a market structure based on the elements to have many buyers and sellers with cattle traded to be differentiated based on types and breeds of cattle. Entry and exit condition was free with buyers and sellers relatively informed about product and price of cattle. Forces of demand and supply determined the price of cattle. Result of Gini coefficient revealed a value of 0.70 implying a high market concentration and high level of inequality in size and distribution of marketers. The major constraints militating against the development of an efficient marketing system for cattle include inadequate credit, high cost of feeds, high road charges and poor pricing. Smooth access to credit facilities, provision of more infrastructural facilities, re activating of co-operative associations and provision of more grazing land were recommended. Keywords: Structural, Analysis, Cattle, Market, Coefficien

Application of modified statistical triangle of accident causation in construction health and safety

The purpose of the paper is to investigate safety hazard identification in the con-struction industry towards the improvement of employee’s health and safety (H&S). Unidentified hazards in the construction industry are likely to present the most unavoidable risks. Therefore, hazard identification is paramount to con-struction safety management since risk assessment is the practical means by which hazardous events are managed. The study is mainly literature review with reference to existing theoretical literature, published and unpublished research. The paper presents an overview of hazards and accident causation. The findings from the study have shown that falls at construction sites are the leading cause of death and most of these deaths were attributed to falls from roofs, scaffolds, and ladders. Construction accidents lead to delay in project completion, increase the expenses and ruin the reputation and reliability of constructors. The following were identified as some of the barriers to H&S improvement: lack of information sharing across projects, full-time safety department, subjective nature of hazard identification and risk assessment. The study explores safety hazard identifica-tion in the construction industry towards the improvement of employee’s H&S. The study presents a strong background on hazard identification in the construc-tion safety management

Health risk management in the construction industry

Abstract: The building construction industry has a high incidence of occupational ill health. Statistics show that two people die every week on construction sites. Most of these deaths could have been avoided if health and safety risk is managed through legislation directly and indirectly related to construction. This paper examines risk management in the building construction industry with emphasis on occupational health issues. The study was conducted through the use of secondary data from journals, books and internet to achieve the objective of the study. The review of literature looked into details of different views from different scholars about Occupational Health issues and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Management System. It further highlighted on various sections or disciplines of occupational health risk management and its benefits in the construction industry. It also outlined the process in construction risk management. The findings from literature review showed that risk assessments for health and safety risks are a statutory requirement under the management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. It was also mentioned that health and safety risk assessments are conducted in a controlled and thorough way following a set process

RECURRENT HYDATIDIFORM MOLE COMPLICATED BY TOXIC GOITRE.

Hyperthyroidism complicates few pregnancies, in many cases due to Graves' disease, Gestational trophoblastic disease is a rare cause of hyperthyroidism in which high levels of hCG causes activation of the thyrotrophin receptor to stimulate supraphysiological secretion of thyroid hormone with or without thyroid gland enlargement Molar pregnancies are usually not recurrent, however, women with a previous hydatidiform mole (HM) are at higher risk of having a second mole than women from the general population. After a prior molar pregnancy, the risk of having a second one is 540 times that of the general population, however familial molar pregnancies are exceedingly rare. Here we present a case of recurrent HM complicated by a toxic goiter in a patient with family history of molar pregnancy&nbsp

Hysterosalpingographic findings in infertile women: A seven year review

Objectives: To review the hysterosalpingographic (HSG) findings in women investigated for infertility in a tertiary center in north eastern Nigeria.Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of HSG films of 272 women investigated for infertility between January 2000 and December 2006 were reviewed.Results: One hundred and thirty (47.8%) were investigated for primary infertility, while 142 (52.2%) were investigated for secondary infertility. Most of the women investigated for infertility by HSG had abnormal findings 192(70.6%). The most common pathology revealed among the infertile women was tuboperitoneal factor in 196 (72.1%) followed by uterine synechia in 35(12.9%). Seventeen (6.3%) had bilateral tubal block and 5 (1.8%) had bicornuate uterus.Conclusion: HSG is helpful in the investigation of infertile women

Intelligent based Packet Scheduling Scheme using Internet Protocol/Multi-Protocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS) Technology for 5G. Design and Investigation of Bandwidth Management Technique for Service-Aware Traffic Engineering using Internet Protocol/Multi-Protocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS) for 5G

Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) makes use of traffic engineering (TE) techniques and a variety of protocols to establish pre-determined highly efficient routes in Wide Area Network (WAN). Unlike IP networks in which routing decision has to be made through header analysis on a hop-by-hop basis, MPLS makes use of a short bit sequence that indicates the forwarding equivalence class (FEC) of a packet and utilises a predefined routing table to handle packets of a specific FEC type. Thus header analysis of packets is not required, resulting in lower latency. In addition, packets of similar characteristics can be routed in a consistent manner. For example, packets carrying real-time information can be routed to low latency paths across the networks. Thus the key success to MPLS is to efficiently control and distribute the bandwidth available between applications across the networks. A lot of research effort on bandwidth management in MPLS networks has already been devoted in the past. However, with the imminent roll out of 5G, MPLS is seen as a key technology for mobile backhaul. To cope with the 5G demands of rich, context aware and multimedia-based user applications, more efficient bandwidth management solutions need to be derived. This thesis focuses on the design of bandwidth management algorithms, more specifically QoS scheduling, in MPLS network for 5G mobile backhaul. The aim is to ensure the reliability and the speed of packet transfer across the network. As 5G is expected to greatly improve the user experience with innovative and high quality services, users’ perceived quality of service (QoS) needs to be taken into account when deriving such bandwidth management solutions. QoS expectation from users are often subjective and vague. Thus this thesis proposes the use of fuzzy logic based solution to provide service aware and user-centric bandwidth management in order to satisfy requirements imposed by the network and users. Unfortunately, the disadvantage of fuzzy logic is scalability since dependable fuzzy rules and membership functions increase when the complexity of being modelled increases. To resolve this issue, this thesis proposes the use of neuro-fuzzy to solicit interpretable IF-THEN rules.The algorithms are implemented and tested through NS2 and Matlab simulations. The performance of the algorithms are evaluated and compared with other conventional algorithms in terms of average throughput, delay, reliability, cost, packet loss ratio, and utilization rate. Simulation results show that the neuro-fuzzy based algorithm perform better than fuzzy and other conventional packet scheduling algorithms using IP and IP over MPLS technologies.Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND

Propolis Ameliorates Tumor Nerosis Factor-α, Nitric Oxide levels, Caspase-3 and Nitric Oxide Synthase Activities in Kainic Acid Mediated Excitotoxicity in Rat Brain

Background: Increased nitric oxide (NO), neuronal inflammation and apoptosis have been proposed to be involved in excitotoxicity plays a partin many neurodegenerative diseases. To understand the neuro-protective effects of propolis, activities of Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) andcaspase-3 along with NO and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels were studied in cerebral cortex (CC), cerebellum (CB) and brain stem (BS)in rats supplemented with propolis prior to excitotoxic injury with kainic acid (KA).Materials and methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups (n=6 rats per group) as Control, KA, Propolis andKA+Propolis. The control group and KA group have received vehicle and saline. Propolis group and propolis + KA group were orallyadministered with propolis (150mg/kg body weight), five times every 12 hours. KA group and propolis +KA group were injected subcutaneouslywith kainic acid (15mg/kg body weight) and were sacrificed after 2 hrs. CC, CB and BS were separated, homogenized and used for estimation ofNOS, caspase-3, NO and TNF-α by commercial kits. Results were analyzed by one way ANOVA, reported as mean + SD (n=6 rats), and p<0.05was considered statistically significant.Results: The concentration of NO, TNF-α, NOS and caspase-3 activity were increased significantly (p<0.001) in all the three brain regions testedin KA group compared to the control. Propolis supplementation significantly (p<0.001) prevented the increase in NOS, NO, TNF-α and caspase-3due to KA.Conclusion: Results of this study clearly demonstrated that the propolis supplementation attenuated the NOS, caspase-3 activities, NO, and TNF-á concentration and in KA mediated excitotoxicity. Hence propolis can be a possible potential protective agent against excitotoxicity andneurodegenerative disorders.Keywords: Nitric oxide; TNF-α; Caspase-3; Excitotoxicity; Propolis; Rat Brai

The effects of weathering demonstrated by maternal age on low birth weight outcome in babies

BACKGROUND: Increasing age has been hypothesized with wear and tear (weathering) in mothers, which may result to low birthweight of their babies. The prevalence of low birthweight could be heightened if maternal weathering is associated with poor maternal socioeconomic variables. In this current study, we analyzed the effects of maternal weathering on babies’ birthweights.METHODS: One hundred and twenty four mother-baby pairs were selected using systematic random sampling method. Maternal age formed part of the demographic data that was obtained from the mothers’ case notes and from interviews held with them. Maternal socioeconomic variables were assessed using Oyedeji’s parameters and birthweights of babies were determined using bassinet weighing scale. Associations between maternal socioeconomic variables and birthweight of babies were assessed using univariate analysis. Differences in mean birthweight of babies according to their maternal age were evaluated using one-way analysis of variance ANOVA.RESULTS: Among the 124 babies, 66(53.2%) were males and 58(46.8%) females of whom the majority 104(83.9%, had normal birthweight. The mean birthweight of babies was 3.05±0.57 (95% CI, 2.95–3.15) kg, while the mean maternal age was 23.60 (5.2) 95% CI, (22.68–24.52) years. The difference between mean birthweight of babies and mean maternal age was not significant (F=1.35, p=0.255). Similarly, the association between birthweight, maternal education and occupation computed using univariate analysis was not significant (F=2.163, p=0.120) for education and (F=1.825, p=0.166) for occupation.CONCLUSION: In this study, maternal weathering was not found to be associated with LBW outcome. This implies that an increase in maternal age may not be significantly associated with LBW. However, there is need for further research on this subject from different centers using larger sample size in order to enhance the precision of the study.KEYWORDS: Mother-baby pairs, Maternal Weathering, Low birthweight, Maiduguri, Nigeri