Yeast contamination potential in a carbonated soft drink industry

Components of the filling valve in a gravity filling machine namely, tulip rubber, spreader rubber and vent tube were analyzed for yeasts using the membrane filtration method. After 5 days incubation, it was found that the tulip rubber had the highest yeast count of 9 cfu/20mls while the vent tube had the least count of 5 cfu/20mls. This indicates that the tulip rubber has the highest potential for contaminating finished products. Therefore, the tulip rubbers should be taken as a critical control point for control of yeast contamination during carbonated soft drink production. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management Vol. 10(3) 2006: 157-15

Body mass index of children aged 2 to 15 years in Enugu Nigeria

Background: Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of adiposity and has been used in many countries for assessment of overweight and obesity. The prevalence of obesity in children is increasing and is recognized as risk indicator of cardiovascular disease in adulthood. The study aimed was to document the Body Mass Index of school children aged 2-15 years. The study also determined the prevalence of overweight and obesity.Methods: This is a descriptive study of obesity prevalence in Nigerian Children. The weight and heights of the sampled children were measured and their BMI was calculated as weight/height (m2). Overweight and obese children were identified using charts from pooled internationally accepteddata age and sex specific cut -off points for BMI .Results: The BMI ranged from 10.8kg / m2.to24.7Kg/m2 with a mean BMI of 16.28 + 2.32 kg/m2. The mean BMI for males was 16.09 + 2.07 and the females 16.47 + 2.52. (P > 0.05). The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 6.4% and 1.7% respectively. More females were significantlyoverweight than males (p<0.05). Prevalence of overweight and obesity were highest in the highest socioeconomic class.Conclusion: Most children had BMI within the normal range. The prevalence of overweight and obesity though predominantly low should be taken  seriously especially as it appears to be associated with improving   socioeconomic status. School health education (physical activity andnutritional education) is recommended as preventive measures.Key words: Body mass index, overweight, obesity, Nigerian children

Use of angiotensin II receptor blockers in children- a review of evidence

Background: The incidence of hypertension in the pediatric population has been increasing. Childhood blood pressure is predictive of adult BP. The renin angiotensin aldosterone system pathway is important in the mediation of pediatric hypertension. New therapies approved for adults are often used off label in children with little or no efficacy and safety data in the paediatric population The angiotensin receptor blockers has been shown to be effective and safe in the treatment of pediatric hypertension.Objective: The objective of this review is to highlight available clinical evidence on the efficacy, safety tolerability and kinetics of angiotensin receptor blockers in childhood hypertension and its antiproteinuric effect in renal disease.Method: The search strategy was based on Pubmed, Medline database, Cochrane Library, manual, Google and Yahoo searches. We summarized ten randomized controlled trials (RCTs) .The search was done in June 2014 and updated in January and May 2015 in English language .Results: A total of 120 publications were accessed from which 68 references were included in the review. The design and outcome of ten key randomised trials are summarised. Randomised trials have demonstrated the efficacy of angiotensin receptor blockers in the pediatric population aged 1–16 years. This class of drugs reduce blood pressures in pediatric patients with hypertension and proteinuria in renal disease. Safety pharmacokinetic, dosage, and palatability of adult formulations for the paediatric age group are highlightedConclusion: Angiotensin receptor antagonists are useful effective and safe alternatives to available antihypertensive therapy in paediatric population. Angiotensin receptor antagonists should however be prescribed cautiously for sexually active adolescent females due to concern about angiotensin receptor blocker fetopathy.Keywords: Angiotensin receptor blockers, childhood hypertension, drug safety, drug efficacy, pharmacokinetics and renal diseases

An investigation of adherence to antiretroviral therapy using caregiver reports in children aged 2-14 years in Lagos Nigeria

Background/Objective: The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has shown a tremendous reduction in HIV-related mortality and morbidity in people living with HIV / AIDS. Adherence is essential to achieve the success of ART. In children, the caregivers play very key roles and understanding the factors that affect adherence to antiretroviral therapy is important for successful and sustained viral load suppression. The objective of the study was to evaluate the adherence to antiretroviral therapy and its associated factors using reports from caregivers of children aged 2-14 years.Design, Setting and subjects: This prospective cross-sectional study involved 164 caregivers of children living with HIV and who were receiving antiretroviral therapy for more than three months. The study was carried out at the pediatric human immunodeficiency (HIV) clinic of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) from June to August 2017.Interventions: Adherence was assessed by caregiver reports using a pretested questionnaire. Descriptive analyses including mean for numerical variable, frequencies and proportions for categorical variables were performed. Chi-square test was used to assess the association between gender, education level of caregivers and adherence. The level of significance was p<0.05Main outcome measure: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy and its associated factorsResults: Ninety-one percent of the caregivers were females. Eighty two percent could read and write and sixty eight percent were mothers of the children. The caregivers felt that availability of drugs (59%) and fear of death (28%) were the commonest factors responsible for good adherence while pill burden (37%), stigmatization (32%) and forgetfulness (31%) were the commonest reasons for poor adherence. Gender and educational level were not significantly associated with adherence. (Pearson Chi-Square = 2.481 and p-value < 0 .05).Conclusion: The role of the caregiver is very important to maintain good adherence levels and therefore treatment success. Health education on the importance of adherence, antiretroviral therapy should be improved and targeted at caregivers of children to improve adherence

Yeast Contamination Potential in a Carbonated Soft Drink Industry

Components of the filling valve in a gravity filling machine namely, tulip rubber, spreader rubber and vent tube were analyzed for yeasts using the membrane filtration method. After 5 days incubation, it was found that the tulip rubber had the highest yeast count of 9 cfu/20mls while the vent tube had the least count of 5 cfu/20mls. This indicates that the tulip rubber has the highest potential for contaminating finished products. Therefore, the tulip rubbers should be taken as a critical control point for control of yeast contamination during carbonated soft drink production

The Utilization of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials in Chemical Engineering

Nanotechnology have witnessed application in almost all areas of chemical engineering from Quantum engineering to biosynthesis and biotechnology. It has improved the resonance properties of metals, semiconductors and quantum dots used for sensing and imaging applications. The greatest impact is in the area of biomedicals where neurodegenerative diseases such as cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and brain tumors are now addressed with great success. In filtration technology, nanomaterials are now used for onsite dictation and removal of heavy metals. Better performance have been discovered regarding nanomaterials for removing water vapor in the atmosphere as nano-hydroxyapatite can now replace silica gel for water vapour absorption. Even the processes leading up to production of nanomaterials are now modified with microorganisms to synthesize nanomaterials such as silver synthesized via H. Leucopus mediated bioreduction. Materials can now be synthesized down to atomic or molecular level through controlled deposition of the precursor material on the substrate. Size conversion of molecules, surface motif exchanges, ligand technology and polymer technology have witnessed turn around all because of nanotechnology. Organic pollutant known as non-biodegradables, can now be degraded excellently using TiO2 functionalized nanoporous anodized alumina in the presence of UV and visible light. Battery storage capacity have been greatly improved by doping of the electrodes with nanoparticles such that the volume changes during charge and discharge operations are reduced. In the end of this preview, a concise presentation of areas for further research was made to further accelerate research in this area. On battery technology and electrochemistry, a novel ternary composite of graphene, MoS2 nanosheets and a small amount (1wt %) of silver nanoclusters (NCs; MoS2/G/Ag) have been discovered with storage capacity as high as 1308 mAhg¬ 1 (at 5Ag-1 well above the traditional binary system with only MoS2/Ag. Other quantitative results of exploit of nanotechnology are littered in this review

Clinical outcomes in hypertensive or diabetes patients who concomitantly use complementary medicines in Lagos, Nigeria

Background: The use of complementary medicines in addition to medical prescription by patients with hypertension, diabetes and other chronic diseases presents a challenge for healthcare providers in Nigeria and globally. There is very little data on the clinical outcomes in these patients.Objectives: To evaluate clinical outcomes in hypertensive or diabetic patients who use complimentary medicines in Lagos Nigeria .Design: Observational cross-sectional study.Setting: Lagos University Teaching Hospital Medical Outpatient Clinics.Subjects: Five hundred patients attending Lagos University Teaching Hospital Medical out-patient clinics with a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus or hypertension or diabetic hypertensive were studied.Main outcome measures: The effect of complementary medicines use on blood pressure and blood glucose control were evaluated.Results: The mean arterial blood pressure of non-users of complementary medicine was 115.329 mmHg and that of users was 105.138mmHg. Also the mean fasting blood sugar of non-users was 129.515mg/dl and that of users was 131.453mg/dl. (P>0.05).Conclusion: Although not statistically significant, complimentary medicines were found to be of advantage to hypertensive patients but not diabetic patients

Immunovirological treatment outcomes after 2 years of antiretroviral therapy in children living with the human immune deficiency virus in Lagos Nigeria

Background/objective: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends routine assessment of antiretroviral treatment outcomes to detect  treatment failure early and prevent the development of drug resistance. The aim of this study was to describe treatment outcomes of antiretroviral therapy (ART) over 2 years in children living with the human immune deficiency virus enrolled in the paediatric HIV clinic at the Lagos UniversityTeaching Hospital (LUTH).Materials and methods: This was a retrospective study of antiretroviral treatment outcomes in 278 children receiving antiretroviral therapy at the paediatric HIV clinic of LUTH. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were retrospectively collected from clinical records of pediatric patientswho received antiretroviral therapy for 2 years ( from November 2015 to December 2017) . Virological failure was defined as viral load > 400  copies/ml and immunological failure was defined as a CD4 count <100 cells/mm3 or CD4 % <15% after receiving antiretroviral agents for 12 months. Data was analysed using graph pad prism version 5.0.Results: After 12 months on antiretroviral therapy (ART), 101 (36%) had virological failure while 14 (5%) and 36 (13%) failed immunologically [CD4 count <100 cells/mn3 and CD4 <15% respectively]. Virological blips were observed at 24 months in 6.1% of patients while immunovirological discordance occurred in 30% of patients (poor virological clearance despite good immunological recovery) . High baseline viral load (>5000  copies/ml), poor adherence (<95%) and low baseline CD4 counts (101-249 cells/mn3) were significantly associated with virological failure, while low baseline CD4 counts (<350 cells/mn3) and poor adherence (<95%) were significantly associated with immunologic failure.Conclusion: The treatment outcomes observed in this study are similar to those reported in earlier studies. At 1 and 2 years of antiretroviral therapy , there was immune restoration however 101 (36%) and 87 (31%) respectively had virological failure despite good adherence to therapy and good Immunological restoration. This calls for early initiation and switch to second and third line drugs . Key words: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), zidovudine, lamivudine, nevirapine, virological blips, immunovirological discordance , children, Nigeria

Board Independence Structure and Financial performance: Evidence from quoted Consumer Goods Firms in Nigeria

The board of directors is charged with the responsibility of facilitating charges that support the mission of the organization to realize its vision. In the recent past, a number of organizations listed in the Nigerian Exchange Group have collapsed with the board of directors taking the blame. The aim of this study is to empirically explore the relationship between board independence and return on asset. The study adopted ex-post  facto research design, this  is because it is quantitative research based on positivist paradigm and used deductive reasoning. Data for this study were extracted from annual report of listed consumer goods firms and Nigerian exchange group, spanning from 2010-2020. The data collected were subjected to ordinary least square regression analysis, descriptive statistic, normality test, correlation matric, random effect, co-integration, unit root test and error correction model with the aid of E-view version 12. Empirical evidences from the hypothesis tested indicated that board independent significantly relate to return on asset and recommends that firms should make appointment of independent directors to determinate the appointment of inside executive directors so as to enable the firms to maximally reap the benefits of board independence. Also, independent directors are expected to carry out their duties in line with the specifications and directions of relevant Nigerian laws and codes governing their operations

L-Arginine Administration Improves Cognition and Oxidative Stress Parameters in the Hippocampus and Frontal Lobe of 4- Vinylcyclohexene Diepoxide Perimenopausal Female Rats

Neuropsychiatric symptoms like cognitive impairment and anxiety are prominent in the perimenopausal period and have beenrelated to increased oxidative stress. Study evaluated effect of L-arginine on these neuropsychiatric symptoms and oxidativestress parameters. Immature female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups; Premenopausal injected with Corn-oil(2.5μl/g) for 15 days; VCD perimenopausal, injected with 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (160mg/kg) diluted in Corn-oil for 15days; and AGING perimenopausal group. Fourteen weeks after VCD/corn-oil administrations, and 180 days in AGINGperimenopausal group, rats were further divided into 2 sub-groups that received L-Arginine (100mg/kg) and distilled water for30 days. Thereafter, neurobehavioural assessments were carried out in animals at diestrus using Y-maze and elevated plus maze.Animals were humanely sacrificed, hippocampus and frontal lobe were isolated from the brain and homogenized formeasurement of oxidative stress parameters. Percentage correct alternation was significantly higher (P< 0.05) in premenopausalcompared to VCD and AGING perimenopausal groups. It was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in AGING perimenopausal groupadministered distilled water compared to AGING perimenopausal group administered L-Arginine with no change in other groups.Close Vs Open arm ratio was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in premenopausal compared to VCD and AGING perimenopausalgroups. Similarly, L-Arginine significantly reduced (P < 0.05) Close Vs Open arm ratio in AGING PRM group while itsignificantly improved (P < 0.05) oxidative stress parameters in all groups. L-arginine improved cognition and anxiety in AGINGperimenopausal with no change in premenopausal and VCD perimenopausal rats