Copper scavenging efficiency of adsorbents prepared from Raphia hookeri fruit waste

Low cost adsorbents prepared from the epicarp of Raphia hookeri fruit were used for the removal of copper (II) ion from aqueous solution. The effects of operational parameters such as pH, concentration and contact time, dosage as well as interference of other ions were studied. Optimum pH for raw and modified biomass were 5.0 and 5.5 with percentage removal of 75.08% and 95.62% respectively. Concentration of competing ions greatly reduced Cu²⁺ removal with both adsorbents while agitation speed had negligible effect on Cu²⁺ uptake. Adsorbents surfaces were activated as temperature increased thus enhancing adsorbent adsorption capacity at high temperature. Adsorption kinetic data fitted best into the pseudo second order model while the thermodynamics studies confirmed adsorption spontaneity and feasibility. The Freundlich adsorption isotherm best described the adsorption process and the Langmuir maximum monolayer adsorption capacity for the raw (RHE) and acid treated (ARHE) biomass were 81.97 and 103.09 mg/g respectively. Chemisorption predominate the Cu²⁺-ARHE system hence desorption efficiency was obtained to be 72.65% with CH₃COOH as eluent.     

Dietary Supplements in the Management of Hypertension and Diabetes - A Review

Background

The use of alternative therapies like herbs and dietary supplements is very common among hypertensive and diabetic patients all over the globe. Hypertension is a silent disease that causes increase in cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, renal morbidity and mortality whereas diabetic complications cause heart attack, stroke, blindness and kidney disease. These are serious and chronic metabolic disorders that have a significant impact on the health, quality of life, and life expectancy of patients, as well as on the health care systems. Orthodox drugs used for the treatment of hypertension and diabetes produce side effects such as headache, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, constipation, diarrhea, weakness, fatigue and erectile dysfunction. The need for considering alternate therapies in the form of dietary supplements known to promote good health, having little or no side effects therefore arises.

Materials and methods

This review was carried out using comprehensive and systematic literature reports on the concurrent use of dietary supplements in the management of diabetes and hypertension. Empirical searches were conducted using Google scholar (http://scholar.google.com), and Science Direct (http://www.sciencedirect.com). In addition to these databases, the University database was also used. Searches were also undertaken using keyword combinations such as dietary supplements and the names of the diseases in question.

Result and Discussion

This review chronicled the therapeutic values of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fruits, vegetables, herbs and other botanicals used as dietary supplements. Results show that these supplements provided better and safe substitutes to toxic and expensive conventional drugs. Generally dietary supplements are free from major side effects, readily available and affordable. It is envisaged that the use of dietary supplement will promote good health and improve the status of hypertensive and diabetic patients.

Conclusion

Medical doctors are therefore encouraged to incorporate dietary supplements into the regimen employed for hypertension and diabetes management.     

Effects of School Health Nursing Education Interventions on HIV/AIDS-Related Attitudes of Students in Akwa Ibom State,Nigeria

PurposeOne of the greatest challenges facing school nurses is that of identifying and using appropriate strategies to meet the health education needs of adolescents in regard to prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). This study examined the effects of HIV/AIDS preventive health education with parental involvement on students’ attitude toward HIV/AIDS prevention in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.MethodsThe study population comprised students from three of nine secondary schools in the study area. The three schools were randomly assigned as Intervention Group 1 (IG1), involving nurses only; Intervention Group 2 (IG2), involving both nurses and parents (IG2); and a control group. A pretest/post-test intervention design was used. A 29-item, validated questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. Sampling involved multistage and stratified random technique to select 120 subjects from each of the three selected schools, with a total of 360 subjects representing 8.3% of the study population. From this number, 339 (94.2%) provided sufficient data for analysis. Data analysis involved analysis of covariance and the Scheffé post hoc test determined at the .05 significance level.ResultsResults show significant effect of intervention on students attitudes toward preventive measures (F = 234.27, p < .0011). The intervention that involved nurses only was found to be a more potent strategy in providing favorable attitudes toward HIV/AIDS prevention (IG1 mean, 20.59; IG2 mean, 19.20; control mean, 12.34). Attitudes were influenced by older age but not by gender.ConclusionHealth education efforts aimed at improving HIV/AIDS-related attitudes should not only focus on children but also on parents so that they in turn could assist to improve on health workers’ efforts in educating the children.     

Self-medication: an important aspect of primary health care

The main objective of this study was to determine the degree to which individuals practised self-medication in relation to their educational status. Kalutara, a small town in Sri-Lanka is semi-urban and has a good mixture of literates and illiterates. Important findings include the fact that knowledge of drugs was grossly inadequate, literates self-medicated far more than illiterates and a high percentage of the total sample population by-passed other health personnel in preference for Western trained doctors. Self-medication, though desirable, can be dangerous and should be emphasized as a component of primary health care because (i) it is commonly practised even where health professionals are easily accessible, (ii) it encourages self-reliance for curative, preventive, promotive and rehabilitative care and (iii) literacy, which seems to enhance its practice, is increasing worldwide.     

Assessing caries removal by undergraduate dental students using quantitative light-induced fluorescence

The purpose of this study was to compare detection of enamel and dentinal caries by dental students' and faculty members' visual inspection and by quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF). The overall aim was to determine whether QLF is an appropriate technique for use in clinical skills laboratories as a teaching aid for dental undergraduates to detect and assess the removal of enamel and dentinal caries. Sixty students who had no clinical experience with dental caries were asked to select . suitably decayed teeth and mount them in plaster. After recording baseline QLF images, students removed caries according to instructions given by the clinical tutor. On completion of the exercise, the teeth were visually determined to be caries-free by the student, then confirmed by the clinical tutor. A fluorescein in alcohol solution was injected into the cavity for two minutes, rinsed, and dried before QLF images were captured. The images were visually analyzed by two examiners for the presence or absence of caries. From seventy-four images recorded, seventeen were excluded due to exposure of the pulp chamber. The remaining fifty-seven teeth, which by clinical visual examination were judged to be caries-free, were examined using QLF. Fifty-three percent were found to be caries-free, while 47 percent were carious. In this sample of fifty-seven teeth judged to be caries-free by both dental students and faculty members, QLF thus detected caries in almost half of these teeth. These findings suggest that QLF is a useful, noninvasive, nondestructive technique for the detection of caries and can serve as an adjunct to chair-side diagnosis and management of dental caries, which is typically accomplished by visual inspection. QLF may be useful and appropriate as an objective clinical teaching aid for the assessment of dental caries.     

A village health worker programme in Nigeria

A study was made of the training and performance of village health workers near Lagos, and of the management of the scheme to which they belonged. Among the deficiencies observed were inadequate drug control and poor record-keeping. Nevertheless, the scheme led to a significant extension of primary health care coverage.     

Sickle cell trait and the potential risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019—A mini-review

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a rapidly evolving public health problem. The severity of COVID-19 cases reported hitherto has varied greatly from asymptomatic to severe pneumonia and thromboembolism with subsequent mortality. An improved understanding of risk factors for adverse clinical outcomes may shed some light on novel personalized approaches to optimize clinical care in vulnerable populations. Emerging trends in the United States suggest possibly higher mortality rates of COVID-19 among African Americans, although detailed epidemiological study data is pending. Sickle cell disease (SCD) disproportionately affects Black/African Americans in the United States as well as forebearers from sub-Saharan Africa, the Western Hemisphere (South America, the Caribbean, and Central America), and some Mediterranean countries. The carrier frequency for SCD is high among African Americans. This article underscores the putative risks that may be associated with COVID-19 pneumonia in sickle cell trait as well as potential opportunities for individualized medical care in the burgeoning era of personalized medicine.