Median Sternotomy as a Useful Adjunct to Anterior Cervicothoracic Spine Decompression and Fixation: A Plea for Its Popularity among Spine Surgeons in West Africa.

Direct anterior approach to the cervicothoracic spine (C7-T4) for surgery can be challenging via a standard anterior cervical incision as a result of the important neurovascular structures crowding the cervicothoracic junction. Where indicated, median sternotomy provides improved access to this region of the spine for interventions. From the paucity of published literature in West Africa, this adjunct appears to be quite unpopular among spine surgeons in our sub-region.

Liquid and Solid Functional Bio-Based Coatings.

The development of new bio-based coating materials to be applied on cellulosic and plastic based substrates, with improved performances compared to currently available products and at the same time with improved sustainable end of life options, is a challenge of our times. Enabling cellulose or bioplastics with proper functional coatings, based on biopolymer and functional materials deriving from agro-food waste streams, will improve their performance, allowing them to effectively replace fossil products in the personal care, tableware and food packaging sectors. To achieve these challenging objectives some molecules can be used in wet or solid coating formulations, e.

Situation assessment and natural dynamics of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, 31 May 2020.

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) remains a global public health issue due to its high transmission and case fatality rate. There is apprehension on how to curb the spread and mitigate the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, but timely and reliable daily confirmed cases' estimates are pertinent to the pandemic's containment. This study therefore conducted a situation assessment and applied simple predictive models to explore COVID-19 progression in Nigeria as at 31 May 2020.

HPLC-UV and HPLC-CAD chromatographic data fusion for the authentication of the geographical origin of palm oil.

Data fusion combined with a multivariate classification approach (partial least squares-discriminant analysis, PLS-DA) was applied to authenticate the geographical origin of palm oil. Data fusion takes advantage of the synergistic effect of information collected from more than one data source. In this study, data from liquid chromatography coupled to two detectors -ultraviolet (UV) and charged aerosol (CAD)- was fused by high- and mid-level data fusion strategies.

Menstrual characteristics of secondary school girls in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Background: Disturbances of menstrual function are the commonest complaints among adolescents. Disorders of menstruation may have implications for future reproductive health.

Objective: To assess menstrual patterns among school girls in Ibadan, south-western Nigeria.