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Background: Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) is a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality globally. The morbidity pattern of underfives with this condition is yet to be described. Objective: To describe the morbidity pattern of underfives with MAM Method: A cross sectional study was conducted in two Primary Health Centres in Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Caregivers’ brought children aged 6- 59 months to the health facilities following community mobilization. Eligible children were recruited into the study after obtaining parental consent. A validated proforma was used to obtain the biodata and symptoms of common illnesses in the children. A general physical examination, anthropometric measurements and systemic examination were performed. Results: A total of 162 children were recruited into the study. Their mean (±SD) age was 20.4 ± 13.0 months. Over 70% of them were 6 - 23 months of age. Their mean (±SD) length/height was 77.3 ± 29.6 cm, mean (±SD) weight was 8.3 ± 3.4 kg and mean (±SD) mid upper arm circumference was 12.4 ± 4.5 cm. The main symptoms noted in the children were; fever 99 (61.1%), cough 84 (51.9%), weight loss 81 (50.0%), diarrhoea 40 (24.7%) and vomiting 40 (24.7%) while pallor 77 (47.5%), lymphadenopathy 56 (34.6%), hair changes 49 (30.2%), skin changes 27 (16.6%) were the main signs in them. Conclusion: The main symptomatology of underfives with MAM were fever, cough and weight loss while pallor, lymphadenopathy and hair changes were the topmost signs. This morbidity pattern is related to interactions between malnutrition and infection in childhood.

The study focuses on compliance with road safety media messages by mass transit drivers in South Eastern Nigeria. Based on available literatures that were surveyed, there may not be studies conducted on mass transit operators in Nigeria. This study examines the obstacles around mass transit drivers’ compliance with road safety media messages. A survey of 364 mass transit drivers in Nigeria probed their compliance with road safety messages from the perspective of means of communication, level of compliance, and obstacles to compliance. The multistage sampling technique was adopted in this study. The study used the real limit mean and cutoff mean to analyse data from objectives one and two respectively. Data from objective three were analysed using frequencies and percentage. Factor analysis was used to analyse data from the hypotheses. Findings revealed that the mass transit drivers comply with road safety media messages. However, bad roads (potholes) and overloading to make more money are adduced as obstacles to compliance with road safety media messages. The study recommended that the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) should sustain its dissemination of media messages on road safety; mass transit companies should have phone numbers inscribed on their vehicles to help commuters report the issue of overloading to the appropriate channel(s) and the FRSC should help in calling the attention of the Federal and State governments to bad roads in order to get them fixed.

The study on the action of Acetylcholine and Rivastigmine as Corrosion Inhibitors of Cu -- Sn - Zn -- Pb Alloy in Hydrochloric Acid Environment was carried out using density functional theory, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, Potentiodynamic polarization, Scanning electron microscopy and weight loss. The result revealed that both Acetylcholine and Rivastigmine expired drugs were good inhibitors of Cu -- Sn - Zn -- Pb Alloy in Hydrochloric Acid Environment. This was confirmed from results of weight loss (99.1 % and 95.0 %), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) (92.5 % and 91.8 %), and Potentiodynamic polarization (97.4 % and 87.1 %). Both inhibitors were able to increase the charge transfer resistance and corrosion current densities of the electrical solution and reduce the double layer capacitance of the metal -- solution interface. Inhibition was as a result of adsorption of inhibitor molecules on the Cu -- Sn - Zn -- Pb surface. Thermodynamically, inhibitors showed greater stability on metal surface, spontaneous in the forward direction and reduction in level of disorderliness. Inhibitors demonstrated a mixed type inhibition while physical adsorption mechanism was proposed for the inhibitor -- metal interaction. Langmuir adsorption isotherm was obeyed as data fitted adequately to the isotherm and regression coefficient was approximately unity. A monolayer adsorption was deduces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation, a characteristic physiological response to infections and tissue damage, commences with processes involving tissue repair and pathogen elimination, contributing to the restoration of homeostasis at affected sites. Hence, this study presents a comprehensive analysis addressing diverse aspects associated with this phenomenon. The investigation encompasses the synthesis, spectral characterizations (FT-IR, 1 H NMR, and 13 C NMR), and molecular modeling of p-phenylenediamine-phenylhydrazine-formaldehyde terpolymer (PPHF), a potent agent in promoting inflammation. To explore the reactivity, bonding nature, and spectroscopy, as well as perform molecular docking for in-silico biological evaluation, density functional theory (DFT) utilizing the def2svp/B3LYP-D3BJ method was employed. The results reveal significant biological activity of the tested compound in relation to anti-inflammatory proteins, specifically 6JD8, 5TKB, and 4CYF. Notably, upon interaction between PPHF and 6JD8, a binding affinity of -4.5 kcal/mol was observed. Likewise, the interaction with 5TKB demonstrated an affinity of -7.8 kcal/mol. Furthermore, a bonding affinity of -8.1 kcal/mol was observed for the interaction with 4CYF. Importantly, these values closely correspond to those obtained from the interaction between the proteins and the standard drug ibuprofen (IBF), which exhibited binding affinities of -5.9 kcal/mol, -7.0 kcal/mol, and -6.1 kcal/mol, respectively. Thus, these results provide compelling evidence affirming the tremendous potential of p-phenylenediamine-phenylhydrazine-formaldehyde (PPHF) as a highly promising anti-inflammatory agent, owing to the presence of nitrogen-a heteroatom within the compound., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) causes impaired anthropometry, which can be reversed by supplementary feeding. The present study aimed to compare the effect of a standardised milk-based formulation (SMBF), standardised non-milk based formulation (SNMBF) and hospital-based formulation (HBF) on anthropometric indices of children aged <5 years with MAM., Methods: This was a randomised clinical trial during which eligible children aged 6-59 months with MAM received SMBF, SNMBF or HBF over 4 months. They were followed up on a biweekly basis during which their weight, mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) and length/height were measured. The effect of the formulations was determined at the end of the period by the change in their anthropometric indices using 'per protocol' analysis. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: There were 157 evaluable participants of whom 54 received the SMBF, 57 received the SNMBF and 46 received the HBF. The overall result showed a significant improvement in the mean weight and MUAC of the children. Subgroup analysis showed a significant improvement in mean weight and MUAC among children aged 6-23 months (p = 0.013) and improvement in MUAC only among those aged 24-59 months (p = 0.03)., Conclusions: The formulations significantly improved the mean weight and MUAC of children with MAM., (© 2021 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.)