Second wave of COVID-19 in Nigeria: Lessons from the first wave.

The COVID-19 pandemic struck the world unawares. The virus is now spreading as never before, despite the initial progress recorded by several countries towards kerbing the pandemic. As the pandemic continues to spread across Africa, there is a need for countries in the continent to re-evaluate, re-strategise, and re-invigorate their COVID-19 responses and efforts based on lessons from the first wave, and Nigeria is no exception.

Co-occurrence of mycotoxins, aflatoxin biosynthetic precursors, and metabolites in garlic ( L) marketed in Zaria, Nigeria.

Multi-mycotoxin analysis of 72 samples of garlic bulbs sold in Zaria markets was carried out using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method. The results indicated the presence of seven major mycotoxins, including aflatoxin B1 (AFB), ochratoxin A (OTA), and the fumonisins B, B, B, B, and B, at different levels of contamination. AFB1 and OTA were detected in 1 of the 72 samples (1.

Data set on training assistance and the performance of small and medium enterprises in Lagos, Nigeria.

Human capital is considered a major asset of any business. This is even more vital in a knowledge-driven economy, where non-visible factors and services are of increasingly significant. The focus of this study was to determine the impact of training assistance on the performance of SMEs in Lagos, Nigeria.

Effect of Cuff Design on Auscultatory and Oscillometric Blood Pressure Measurements.

Background: Two-piece blood pressure (BP) cuffs are the historical cuff standard. Use of 1-piece cuffs is increasing. Substituting 1-piece for 2-piece cuffs has an unknown effect on measurement accuracy.

Improving residents' handovers through just-in-time training for structured communication.

In a recent quality assurance project we learned that nearly half of the handovers we examined were characterized as unsatisfactory by our residents, who provided examples in which their anxiety had been piqued and patient care had been affected. These reports substantiated a growing body of literature on the relationship between the quality of handover and the quality of patient care, so we sought to improve the quality and consistency of the in-hosptial handovers undertaken by our internal medicine residents. Senior residents attended morning report for three consecutive month long blocks and evaluated the quality of the handovers using an observational protocol comprised of 16 aspects of effective handover.

Comparison of complication rates, types, and average tube patency between jejunostomy tubes and percutaneous gastrostomy tubes in a regional home enteral nutrition support program.

Background: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tubes are common enteral access devices for long-term enteral nutrition. Jejunostomy tubes (J-tubes) are able to provide postpyloric enteral access in patients who are not PEG tube candidates. There is a scarcity of literature comparing complication rates of J-tubes to PEG tubes.

Effect of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria on the outcome of pregnancy among women attending antenatal clinic of a new Nigerian teaching hospital, Ado-Ekiti.

Background: Malaria is a public health problem globally especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa and among the under five children and pregnant women and is associated with a lot of maternal and foetal complications.

Objective: The study was on the effect of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy on the prevalence of malaria in pregnancy and the outcome of pregnancy.

Materials And Methods: In a descriptive cross-sectional study, a semi-structured questionnaire was administered to women admitted in Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital labour ward, Ado-Ekiti.

Different effects of FK506, rapamycin, and mycophenolate mofetil on glucose-stimulated insulin release and apoptosis in human islets.

Pancreatic islet transplantation has the potential to be an effective treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus. While recent improvements have improved 1-year outcomes, follow-up studies show a persistent loss of graft function/survival over 5 years. One possible cause of islet transplant failure is the immunosuppressant regimen required to prevent alloimmune graft rejection.

Voltage-gated Ca(2+) influx and insulin secretion in human and mouse beta-cells are impaired by the mitochondrial Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchange inhibitor CGP-37157.

Glucose-induced insulin release from pancreatic beta-cells relies largely on glucose metabolism and mitochondrial ATP synthesis. Inhibiting the mitochondrial Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (mNCE) using 7-Chloro-5-(2-chlorophenyl)-1,5-dihydro-4,1-benzothiazepin-2(3H)-one (CGP-37157) has been suggested to enhance ATP synthesis and insulin secretion from rat islets by promoting mitochondrial Ca(2+) accumulation. In this study we examined the effects of CGP-37157 on human and mouse islet cells.

31P-NMR evaluation of postischemia renal ATP and pH levels after ATP-MgCl2 treatment in rabbits.

Phosphorus-31 (31P) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to measure adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentration and pH in vivo in rabbits subjected to a 40-minute period of unilateral renal ischemia to determine the effect of infusing ATP-magnesium chloride (MgCl2, 100 mumol/kg) versus saline at the initiation of reperfusion. Data were compared initially by analysis of variance and then analyzed further using a general linear model with covariate adjustment. ATP-MgCl2-treated animals did not have higher ATP levels during recovery but did have significantly higher renal blood flow (p less than 0.

Evaluation of three techniques for documenting Staphylococcus epidermidis vascular prosthetic graft infections.

Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) vascular prosthetic graft infections are notoriously hard to detect. Three different techniques of determining whether vascular prosthetic grafts were infected using a dog model were evaluated.

Vascular prosthetic infection with Staphylococcus epidermidis: experimental study of pathogenesis and therapy.

To determine whether a slime-producing strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis was capable of producing acute infection of a prosthetic vascular graft, 5 cm segments of knitted Dacron were implanted in the infrarenal aortic position of dogs in three groups of animals. These included a control group (no graft contamination), a contaminated group that received a graft soaked in an S. epidermidis solution (untreated group), and a contaminated group in which perioperative antibiotics (three doses of cefamandole, 100 mg/kg) were administered (prophylaxis group).