Systematic review of surveillance systems for AMR in Africa.

Aims: Surveillance is a useful tool for tracking antimicrobial resistance (AMR) trends, patterns, therapeutic and policy interventions. Proper correlation of surveillance data gives meaningful insight into the underlying epidemiology and facilitates development of rational interventions. This comprehensive review aims to identify, classify and assess gaps in Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) reporting and national action plan (NAP) implementation in Africa.

West African e-waste-soil assessed with a battery of cell-based bioassays.

Soil samples randomly taken from major e-waste sites in West Africa (Nigeria, Benin and Ghana) were examined for an extensive range of organic contaminants. Cytotoxicity measurements and assessment of activation of xeno-sensing receptors from fish (Atlantic cod) were employed as a battery of in vitro biological assays to explore the quality and toxicity profile of West African e-waste soil. The concentrations of the measured contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs) and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the e-waste soil differs significantly from the reference soil with chemical profiles typically dominated by legacy polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) (405.

Understanding gender dynamics in mHealth interventions can enhance the sustainability of benefits of digital technology for maternal healthcare in rural Nigeria.

Introduction: Nigeria faces enormous challenges to meet the growing demands for maternal healthcare. This has necessitated the need for digital technologies such as mobile health, to supplement existing maternal healthcare services. However, mobile health programs are tempered with gender blind spots that continue to push women and girls to the margins of society.

Characterizations of Alpha-Cellulose and Microcrystalline Cellulose Isolated from Cocoa Pod Husk as a Potential Pharmaceutical Excipient.

Cellulose is a non-toxic, bio-degradable, and renewable biopolymer which is abundantly available in nature. The most common source of commercial microcrystalline cellulose is fibrous wood pulp. Cellulose and its derivatives have found wide commercial applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, paper, textile, and engineering industries.

Malaria infection and its association with socio-demographics, preventive measures, and co-morbid ailments among adult febrile patients in rural Southwestern Nigeria: A cross-sectional study.

Objectives: The study determined the prevalence of malaria infection and its association with socio-demographics, environmental, housing, and co-morbid ailment factors.

Methods: The study was a cross-sectional of 330 consented adult febrile patients who were recruited at a tertiary health facility in rural Southwestern Nigeria. The standardized interviewer-administered questionnaire sought information on their socio-demographics, environmental, housing, and co-morbid ailment factors.

Revealing the Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitory Potential of and Its Phytoconstituents: In Vitro and in Silico Approach.

The inhibition of acetylcholinesterase plays a vital role in the treatment of Alzheimer disease. This study aimed to explore the acetylcholinesterase inhibition potential of and its phytoconstituents through an in vitro and in silico approach. The in vitro acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of was carried out, followed by the molecular docking studies of its phytoconstituents.

Modulation of mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening by Myricetin and prediction of its-drug-like potential using approach.

Myricetin has been demonstrated to have multiple biological functions with promising research and development prospects. This study investigated the effect of myricetin on liver mitochondrial membrane permeability transition pores and its inhibitory potential on proteins that are important in the apoptotic process in silico. Mitochondrial swelling was assessed as changes in absorbance under succinate-energized conditions.

Red Palm Oil Ameliorates Oxidative Challenge and Inflammatory Responses Associated with Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Hepatic Injury by Modulating NF-κβ and Nrf2/GCL/HO-1 Signaling Pathways in Rats.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a well-conserved cell wall component of Gram positive bacteria, exerts its toxic effects via inducing oxidative and pro-inflammatory responses. Red palm oil (RPO) is a unique natural product with a balanced ratio of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, with reported antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we assess the protective effect and mechanistic action of RPO using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced hepatic injury model.

Green synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles using leaf extract and evaluation of its antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.

This study emphasizes the production of eco-friendly silver nanoparticles from a medicinal plant extract of and investigated its antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Phytochemical screening of leave extract was carried out and observed to contain some fundamental phyto-reducing agents such as reducing sugar, proteins, and alkaloids. The green synthesized AgNPs (ML-AgNPs) were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission emission microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX).

Lived experiences of recovered COVID-19 persons in Nigeria: A phenomenological study.

Background: Numerous publications have documented the mode of transmission and prevention of COVID-19 but little or no evidence exists on the experiences of people who survived the infection.

Objective: This study explored the specific experiences of persons who were infected with COVID-19, but have recovered completely. A secondary objective was to identify essential elements in the lived experiences of such persons, which would be useful in designing appropriate policies and programs for managing the virus in Nigeria.

Effect of Flavonoid-Rich Extract From Leaf on Redox, Cholinergic, Monoaminergic, and Purinergic Dysfunction in Oxidative Testicular Injury: Ex Vivo and In Silico Studies.

The antioxidant, cholinergic, monoaminergic, and purinergic activities of flavonoid-rich extract from leaf (FEDW) were investigated on oxidative testicular injury (ex vivo) due to the local report on the use of this plant as anti-testicular injury. Flavonoid extract was obtained from FEDW using a standard procedure. Five male albino rats were used, testes harvested and incubated with FeSO for accessing the cholinergic, monoaminergic, and purinergic activities of the FEDW (ex vivo).

Mistletoe infested and leaves supplemented diet enhances antioxidant and insulin-like peptide mRNA levels in .

Moringa and Almond are common plants of medicinal and economic value which are often infested with mistletoe. Host plants' infestation could result in major differences in their phytoconstituents and biological activities. Thus, effects of mistletoe infestation on Moringa and Almond host plants supplemented diets on mRNA expression levels of insulin-like peptide-2 (), heat shock protein-70 () and superoxide dismutase () in diabetic-like flies were evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR system.

Exploring underutilization of skilled maternal healthcare in rural Edo, Nigeria: A qualitative study.

Introduction: Existing studies have acknowledged the underutilization of skilled maternal healthcare services among women in rural Nigeria. Consequently, women in rural areas face a disproportionate risk of poor health outcomes including maternal morbidity and mortality. Addressing the challenge of non-use of skilled maternal healthcare in rural areas necessitates the involvement of multi-stakeholders across different sectors who have vital roles to play in improving maternal health.

A room-oriented artificial bee colony algorithm for optimizing the patient admission scheduling problem.

Patient admission scheduling (PAS) is a tasking combinatorial optimization problem where a set of patients is assigned to limited facilities such as rooms, timeslots, and beds subject to satisfying a set of predefined constraints. The investigations into the performance of population-based algorithms that utilized to tackle the PAS problem considered in this paper reveal their weaknesses in obtaining quality solutions that create a space to investigate the performance of another population-based method. Thus, in this paper, an Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm (ABC) is proposed to tackle the formulation of the PAS problem under consideration.

Potential effects of Land Use Land Cover Change on streamflow over the Sokoto Rima River Basin.

This research investigated the effects of Land Use Land Cover Change (LULCC) over the Sokoto Rima River Basin (SRRB) using a setup of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) atmospheric model to generate the parameters to force WRF hydrological (WRF-Hydro) model which comprises of a parent domain at 12km horizontal resolution with an updated MODIS Land Use (LU) data and the nested domain at 4km resolution which focuses on the SRRB. The calibration of the model was done by modifying the infiltration and the Manning's roughness parameters. WRF-Hydro model was used to run simulations with the control LU and five different LU scenarios generated for Urban (Ur), Grassland (Gr), Savanna (Sa), Forest (Fr) and Barren (Ba).

Evaluation of corrosion and scaling potentials of oilfield waters in an offshore producing facility, Niger Delta.

In this study, water samples from Miocene reservoirs, offshore Niger Delta, and seawater samples used for water injection were investigated in an attempt to examine the chemistry, evaluate the corrosion behaviour of steel, iron, and aluminium in different aqua media, and evaluate the scaling potentials of the oilfield produced waters (OFPW). Chemical analyses of the waters were determined; corrosion rate measurements were carried out by the weight loss method at room temperature while corrosion kinetics was carried out using conventional methods. Langelier saturation index (LSI), Ryznar stability index (RSI), Larson-Skold index (L-S), Puckorius scaling index (PSI), and aggressiveness index (AI) were evaluated for assessing the corrosiveness and scaling potential of the formation waters, using water quality data.

Hepatoprotective potential of flavonoid-rich extracts from Gongronema latifolium benth leaf in type 2 diabetic rats via fetuin-A and tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

Background: This study assessed the hepatoprotective potential of flavonoid-rich extracts from Gongronema latifolium Benth on diabetes-induced type 2 rats via Fetuin-A and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TnF-α).

Methods: In a standard procedure, the flavonoid-rich extract was prepared. For experimental rats, streptozotocin was injected intraperitoneally (45 mg/kg body weight) to induce diabetes mellitus.

The Exploitation of Orphan Legumes for Food, Income, and Nutrition Security in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Poverty, food, and nutrition insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have become major concerns in recent times. The effects of climate change, drought, and unpredictable rainfall patterns threaten food production and sustainable agriculture. More so, insurgency, youth restiveness, and politico-economic instability amidst a burgeoning population requiring a sufficient and healthy diet remain front-burner issues in the region.

Mucuna pruriens seed protects the hippocampal neurons and abrogates seizure indices in chemically-convulsed mice: Evidence of the Nrf2 expression defense pathway.

The anti-convulsant mechanisms and neuroprotective effects of Mucuna pruriens (MP) seed in male BALB/c mice were evaluated. Ninety mice were kindled with picrotoxin, strychnine, or pilocarpine hydrochloride at the 30th minute of intraperitoneal injection (i.p) of normal saline (0.

A review on the limitations of natural fibres and natural fibre composites with emphasis on tensile strength using coir as a case study.

Natural fibres such as coir, jute, flax, and hemp have been considered for technical applications. These fibres, though with some desirable qualities such as low density and environmental compatibility, possess the common property of non-uniformity along their length and, as a result, variable diameter and variable cross-sectional area. Several other factors, such as gauge length, fibre species and origin, strain rate, method of extraction of the fibres, porosity and pore size distribution, have been identified to influence the tensile strength of natural fibres and limit their applications in composites.

Optimization of selected casting parameters on the mechanical behaviour of Al 6061/glass powder composites.

Aluminum alloy and its composites have versatile applications and can be produced via a cost-effective stir casting technique. However, stir casting is faced with some challenges including segregation, occurrence of intermetallic phases, agglomeration, and inducement of residual stress. In view of minimizing these defects, casting should be done applying optimal parameters that will yield the desired outcome.

Medicinal Plants with Potential Inhibitory Bioactive Compounds against Coronaviruses.

Medicinal plant is a major source of drug discovery for disease management. Over 85% of the population in Asia and in the Middle East use herbal medicine for disease management such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by coronavirus. Infection from coronavirus is initiated by entry of the virus into a susceptible host cell.

Forgiveness Mediates the Protective Role of Religiosity on Psychological Distress: Findings from Inmates in Eswatini Correctional Centres.

This study examined the mediating role of forgiveness in the relationship between religiosity and psychological distress among 244 inmates (Mean = 31.6) in Eswatini, a country in Southern Africa formerly called Swaziland. Results showed that religiosity, forgiveness and psychological distress were related in the expected direction.

Effect of pH on structural dynamics of HMG-CoA reductase and binding affinity to β-sitosterol.

Human 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR; EC 1.1.1.