Desegregation and Multiculturalism in the Portland Public Schools

Helen Marie Casey’s booklet Portland’s Compromise: the Colored School, 1867–1872 recounts the story of William Brown, an African-American resident of Portland, Oregon, and his role in the first and only case of official segregation of African-American children in Portland Public Schools (PPS) in 1867. After unsuccessfully trying to enroll his children in one of Portland’s only two public elementary schools, Brown appealed to the school board, including directors Josiah Failing, W.S. Ladd, and E.D. Shattuck. Again, his children were denied access. The board of directors explained their resistance to integrated schools by saying: “If we admit them [African-American children], then next year we will have no money to run the schools.” According to Casey, the directors were “afraid to provoke the taxpayers and rouse their ire.”1 Rather than attempting such a politically “risky” effort, the school board eventually allocated $800 —$765 more than it had offered prior to Brown’s threat of a lawsuit — for a segregated school at the corner Southwest Fourth and Columbia. Twenty-six African-American students, twenty-one boys and five girls — many of whom had previously attempted to attend another public, or “free,” school in Portland but had been denied — enrolled in the school. The continued existence of the “Colored School” was constantly in question at annual school meetings. Funding for the school was abolished in 1872, and the next year, thirty African-American children were admitted to the newly integrated PPS

South Dakota Parents’ Knowledge of Congenital Cytomegalovirus, Its Long-Term Health Effects, and Methods for Minimizing Exposure

Congenital CMV (cCMV) is acknowledged as one of the most common causes of nonhereditary sensorineural hearing loss and an important cause of neurodevelopmental delay in children. Despite the danger cCMV poses, many parents are unaware of the virus, its sequelae, mode of transmission, and preventative behaviors. The purpose of the study was to determine South Dakota parents’ knowledge of cCMV, its sequelae, and ways to minimize exposure. An electronic survey was utilized for data collection. Parents of children born in South Dakota from 2011 to 2018 were asked about their knowledge of CMV and cCMV, including common sequelae and ways to minimize exposure. Flyers were sent to randomly selected daycares and the link was posted on social media pages to advertise the electronic survey to South Dakota parents. After completing the survey, participants were directed to cCMV educational resources. Respondents were more knowledgeable regarding the sequelae of cCMV rather than its transmission process or ways in which viral exposure can be minimized. Results show that there remains a need for cCMV awareness in South Dakota, particularly with a large focus on preventative measures

Outcome of cardiovascular risk assessment among rural community dwellers in ezionum, Nigeria-implications for public health

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Risk assessment has been shown to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In view of their proximity and accessibility, community pharmacies could be a suitable site forcardiovascular risk assessment and other preventive health activities especially in rural underserved populations. The objective of this study was to assess outcome of cardiovascular risk assessment among rural community dwellers.Materials and methods: Five hundred and five community dwellers aged 40 to 80 years were recruited for the study. Cardiovascular risk assessment was performed using the region specific WHO/ISH risk assessment charts. Blood pressure, diabetes status, total non- fasting cholesterol, and age were used to estimate risk category. Demographic variables and clinical characteristics were expressed as frequency and percentage. Regression analysis was done to identify predictors of high risk category.Results: More than 30% of subjects were hypertensive. Nearly 30% were overweight and had abnormal cholesterol levels. The proportion of subjects in the high risk category was 8.9%. Systolic blood pressure, random blood sugar and advancing age were the highest predictors of high risk category.Conclusion: Accessibility, proximity and availability are unique characteristics of community pharmacies that could be exploited to support community based screening services.Keywords: Cardiovascular risk assessment, community pharmacy, rural community dwellers, Nigeria

Preventing disease and saving resources:the potential contribution of increasing breastfeeding rates in the UK

Two challenges stand out as we contemplate the future of health services in the United Kingdom. The first is the state of the public finances and therefore the pressure in real terms on health services funding. The second is the recurring and vexing problem of health inequalities. The state of health inequalities in Britain has been commented on by many, but we have seen precious little real change in the disproportionate burden of early death and illness among the most disadvantaged and indeed across the whole health gradient in recent years.This work was funded by UNICEF UK

Central nervous system depressant effect of the fruits of Piper guineense

The central nervous system depressant effect of the butanol extract of the fruits of Piper guineense was pharmacologically screened by measuring the prolongation of barbiturate sleeping time. Nine rats (n=9) were used and assigned into three groups, with each group comprising of three rats (n=3). Group A served as the Control, while Groups B and C served as tests. Thiopentone sodium (40 mg/kg body weight) was administered subcutaneously to the rats in Group A, 2 mg/kg of the butanolic extract of the fruits of Piper guineense was administered subcutaneously to the rats in Test Group B, 30 minutes before administering same dose of thiopentone sodium, while rats in Group C received 4 mg/kg of the butanolic extract 30 minutes before administering same dose of thiopentone sodium. The sleeping time was recorded. Student-t-test at 5% significance level was used to analyze the results obtained. The mean barbiturate sleeping time prolongation of 53.67 minutes was produced by 2 mg/kg of the extract while a dose of 4 mg/kg produced mean barbiturate sleeping time prolongation of 103.67 minutes. This study suggests that the fruits of Piper guineense have central nervous system depressant effect.Keywords: Piper guineense, fruits, glycosidic constituents, central nervous system, depressantBiokemistri 28(1): 34–3

Phytochemical screening and acute toxicity studies of crude ethanolic extract and flavonoid fraction of Carissa edulis leaves

Carissa edulis is used traditionally in Nigeria for the treatment of epilepsy, headache, syphilis, rheumatism and sickle cell anaemia. In this study, phytochemical screening was conducted to determine putative active components of Carissa edulis, as well as acute toxicity studies of the ethanolic extract and flavoniod fractions of the leaf. The phytochemical screening of the ethanolic extract of the leaves indicated the presence of carbohydrates, anthraquinones, saponins, tannins, flavonoids and alkaloids. Acute toxicity studies for the ethanolic extract and the flavonoid fraction were carried out using Lorke’s method. In the first part of the experiment (phase A), Three groups of mice (n=3 in each group) were intraperitoneally given 10 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg of body weight concentration of the ethanolic extract and the mice were observed for 24 hours. The same procedure was repeated for the flavonoid fraction. The results showed that administration of 1000 mg/Kg concentrations of the ethanolic extract was fatal, while no death was recorded at the same concentration of flavonoid fraction. On this basis, in the second part of the study (phase B), mice were intraperitoneally administered 600 mg/kg, 1000 mg/kg, 1600 mg/kg and 2900 mg/kg concentration of the ethanolic extract while those for the flavonoid fraction had 1200 mg/kg, 1600 mg/kg, 2900 mg/kg and 5000 mg/kg flavonoid fraction. All mice were observed for 24 hours. The LD50 of the ethanolic extract and flavonoid fraction of the Carissa edulis leaves was 2154.1 mg/kg which is said to be slightly toxic. The maximum tolerated doses for both ethanolic extract and flavonoid fraction of Carissa edulis was 646.23mg/kg. The findings revealed that the leaves of Carissa edulis contain carbohydrates, anthraquinones, saponins, tannins, flavonoids and alkaloids that may contribute to its reported medicinal value. The acute toxicity studies suggest that the extract and fraction are slightly toxic. Thus further studies are necessary for full characterization of the active components in order to develop it further for safe medicinal use.Keywords: Phytochemical Screening, Acute Toxicity, Carissa edulis, Herbal Medicine

Medicine use among HIV/Aids patients in public hospitals, Kwara State

Background: The prognosis of HIV/AIDS and HIV-related comorbidities has been revolutionized by the use of medicines. However, World Health Organization reported that 50% of patients do not use their medicines as prescribed.Objective: To assess HIV/AIDS patients’ knowledge of the use of medicines dispensed to them.Method: This study was conducted in seven public hospitals in six local government areas, Kwara State. Exit interviews of 780 eligible HIV/AIDS patients were conducted through use of structured questionnaire. Additionally, there were exit observational checks of medicines dispensed to these patients. Descriptive statistics and Fisher Exact test were used for data analyses.Results: Of the 780 study participants, 36.1% had no formal education, 99.9% knew the ‘quantity’ of medicines to be administered, while 99.2% knew the frequency of administration. All the patients knew the route of administration, 96.7% and 94.3% knew the general precautions to avoid concomitant use of dispensed medicines with alcohol or herbal products respectively, while 93.7% of those who received co-trimoxazole knew of the precaution to use “plenty of water” as the vehicle for its administration. There were no significant associations between the patients’ knowledge of these precautions and duration of antiretroviral therapy (P>0.05). However, the patients lacked knowledge of specific precautions of some dispensed medicines.Conclusion: Most of the patients knew of the administration and the general precautions of dispensed medicines. However, lack of knowledge of specific precautions of some dispensed medicines calls for intervention.Keywords: HIV/AIDS patients, Medicine use, Duration of antiretroviral therapy, Public hospitals, Kwara Stat

Outcome of cardiovascular risk assessment among rural community dwellers in ezionum, Nigeria-implications for public health

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Risk assessment has been shown to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In view of their proximity and accessibility, community pharmacies could be a suitable site for cardiovascular risk assessment and other preventive health activities especially in rural underserved populations. The objective of this study was to assess outcome of cardiovascular risk assessment among rural community dwellers. Materials and methods: Five hundred and five community dwellers aged 40 to 80 years were recruited for the study. Cardiovascular risk assessment was performed using the region specific WHO/ISH risk assessment charts. Blood pressure, diabetes status, total non- fasting cholesterol, and age were used to estimate risk category. Demographic variables and clinical characteristics were expressed as frequency and percentage. Regression analysis was done to identify predictors of high risk category. Results: More than 30% of subjects were hypertensive. Nearly 30% were overweight and had abnormal cholesterol levels. The proportion of subjects in the high risk category was 8.9%. Systolic blood pressure, random blood sugar and advancing age were the highest predictors of high risk category. Conclusion: Accessibility, proximity and availability are unique characteristics of community pharmacies that could be exploited to support community based screening services. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i2.35 Cite as: Adje DU, Williams FE, Oparah AC. Outcomes of cardiovascular risk assessment among rural community dwellers in Ezionum, Nigeria-implications for public health. Afri Health Sci.2019;19(2): 2112-2120. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i2.3

Isolation and characterisation of cellulose nanocrystal obtained from sugarcane peel

This work was aimed at developing efficient and stable cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) from sugarcane peel, which has been of growing concern as a potential for various industrial applications and providing a solution to the problem of indiscriminate disposal of peels of sugarcane, which creates nuisance in the environment. The alkaline treatment with sodium hydroxide and bleaching with acidified sodium chlorite were used to isolate cellulose from sugarcane peel, followed by acid hydrolysis which was done at 45o C for 45 min using 64% sulphuric acid to prepare the CNC. The chemical composition of the samples and their physicochemical properties were studied. The untreated and treated samples were characterised using various techniques, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The CNC exhibited FT-IR spectra identified as cellulose structures. XRD showed that the CNC earmarked the structure of the cellulose nanocrystal with a crystallinity index of 99.2%. The SEM micrograph revealed fiber bundles separated into individualized CNC; the TEM image showed a needle-shaped CNC with a particle size of 20.57 nm and 153.05 nm in diameter and length, respectively. The TGA curve revealed a good thermal stability for the CNC. The results showed an effective synthesis of CNC from sugarcane peel

Outcomes in Pediatric Burn Patients With Additional Trauma-Related Injuries

The addition of trauma to burn injuries may result in higher morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of pediatric patients with a combination of burn and trauma injuries, and included all pediatric Burn only, Trauma only, and combined Burn-Trauma patients admitted between 2011 and 2020. Mean length of stay, ICU length of stay, and ventilator days were highest for the Burn-Trauma group. The odds of mortality were almost 13 times higher for the Burn-Trauma group when compared to the Burn only group (P = .1299). After using inverse probability of treatment weighting, the odds of mortality were almost 10 times higher for the Burn-Trauma group in comparison to the Burn only group (P < .0066). Thus, the addition of trauma to burn injuries was associated with increased odds of mortality, as well as longer ICU and overall hospital length of stay in this patient population