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Introduction: Multiple-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-Tb) has become a global issue especially in many African countries. Regular studies are needed to ascertain its early detection and elimination in the endemic regions in order to reduce the morbidity and mortality rates Objective: To assess the frequency of MDR-Tb among HIV sero-positive and sero-negative populations in Ilorin, North-Central Nigeria. Method: Sputum samples were collected from 1,601 subjects provisionally diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) at Sobi Specialist Hospital, Ilorin-Nigeria. Inclusion criteria were based on cough for at least three weeks with no response to antibiotics treatment or when the chest Xray indicated TB infection. From each patient, three specimens were obtained for Ziehl Neelsen staining and 4ml of blood were collected for HIV antibody testing. Results: The frequency of Acid Fast Bacilli (AFB) positive cases was 10.86% while 0.72% MDR-Tb and 3.2% concurrent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and HIV were documented. Statistically, no significant association between age and MDR-Tb (X2=0.6731, P>0.05) was found. Conclusion: The study revealed 10.86% of AFB positive cases, 0.74% MDR-Tb cases, and 3.2% concurrent infection between Mycobacterium tuberculosis and HIV. We, therefore, recommend aggressive and effective control measures to prevent further transmission of MDR-Tb between patients and health care workers while increased access to ART for HIV infected MDR-TB patients is also suggested.

Abstract Background Hypothermia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among preterm and low-birth-weight neonates. In resource-constrained settings, limited referral infrastructure and technologies for temperature control potentiate preterm hypothermia. While there is some documentation on point-of-admission hypothermia from single center studies, there are limited multicenter studies on the occurrence of hypothermia among preterm infants in resource-limited-settings. Therefore, we conducted a multicenter study to determine the prevalence and risk factors for hypothermia at the time of admission and during the first 72 h after admission in northern Nigeria. Method We carried out a prospective cohort study on preterm infants admitted to four referral hospitals in northern Nigerian between August 2020 and July 2021. We documented temperature measurements at admission and the lowest and highest temperatures in the first 72 h after admission. We also collected individual baby-level data on sociodemographic and perinatal history data. We used the World Health Organization classification of hypothermia to classify the babies’ temperatures into mild, moderate, and severe hypothermia. Poisson regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for moderate-severe hypothermia. Results Of the 933 preterm infants enrolled, 682 (72.9%) had hypothermia at admission although the prevalence of hypothermia varied across the four hospitals. During the first 24 h after admission, 7 out of every 10 babies developed hypothermia. By 72 h after admission, between 10 and 40% of preterm infants across the 4 hospitals had at least one episode of moderate hypothermia. Gestational age (OR = 0.86; CI = 0.82–0.91), birth weight (OR = 8.11; CI = 2.87–22.91), presence of a skilled birth attendant at delivery (OR = 0.53; CI = 0.29–0.95), place of delivery (OR = 1.94 CI = 1.13–3.33) and resuscitation at birth (OR = 1.79; CI = 1.27–2.53) were significant risk factors associated with hypothermia. Conclusion The prevalence of admission hypothermia in preterm infants is high and hypothermia is associated with low-birth-weight, place of delivery and presence of skilled birth attendant. The prevalence of hypothermia while in care is also high and this has important implications for patient safety and quality of patient care. Referral services for preterm infants need to be developed while hospitals need to be better equipped to maintain the temperatures of admitted small and sick newborns.

Abstract Background A 15 million health workforce shortage is still experienced globally leading to a sub-optimal healthcare worker-to-population ratio in most countries. The use of low-skilled care assistants has been suggested as a cost-saving human resource for health strategy that can significantly reduce the risks of rationed, delayed, or missed care. However, the characterisation, role assignment, regulation, and clinical governance mechanisms for unlicensed assistive workforce remain unclear or inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to map and collate evidence of how care assistants are labelled, utilised, regulated, and managed in formal hospital settings as well as their impact on patient care. Methods We conducted a scoping review of literature from PUBMED, CINAHL, PsychINFO, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Searches and eligibility screening were conducted using the Participants–Context–Concepts framework. Thematic content analysis guided the synthesis of the findings. Results 73 records from a total of 15 countries were included in the final full-text review and synthesis. A majority (78%) of these sources were from high-income countries. Many titles are used to describe care assistants, and these vary within and across countries. On ascribed roles, care assistants perform direct patient care, housekeeping, clerical and documentation, portering, patient flow management, ordering of laboratory tests, emergency response and first aid duties. Additional extended roles that require higher competency levels exist in the United States, Australia, and Canada. There is a mixture of both positive and negative sentiments on their impact on patient care or nurses’ perception and experiences. Clinical and organisational governance mechanisms vary substantially across the 15 countries. Licensure, regulatory mechanisms, and task-shifting policies are largely absent or not reported in these countries. Conclusions The nomenclature used to describe care assistants and the tasks they perform vary substantially within countries and across healthcare systems. There is, therefore, a need to review and update the international and national classification of occupations for clarity and more meaningful nomenclature for care assistants. In addition, the association between care assistants and care outcomes or nurses’ experience remains unclear. Furthermore, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on this topic from low- and middle-income countries.

Abstract Background Missed nursing care undermines nursing standards of care and minimising this phenomenon is crucial to maintaining adequate patient safety and the quality of patient care. The concept is a neglected aspect of human resource for health thinking, and it remains understudied in low-income and middle-income country (LMIC) settings which have 90% of the global nursing workforce shortages. Our objective in this review was to document the prevalence of missed nursing care in LMIC, identify the categories of nursing care that are most missed and summarise the reasons for this. Methods We conducted a systematic review searching Medline, Embase, Global Health, WHO Global index medicus and CINAHL from their inception up until August 2021. Publications were included if they were conducted in an LMIC and reported on any combination of categories, reasons and factors associated with missed nursing care within in-patient settings. We assessed the quality of studies using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. Results Thirty-one studies met our inclusion criteria. These studies were mainly cross-sectional, from upper middle-income settings and mostly relied on nurses’ self-report of missed nursing care. The measurement tools used, and their reporting were inconsistent across the literature. Nursing care most frequently missed were non-clinical nursing activities including those of comfort and communication. Inadequate personnel numbers were the most important reasons given for missed care. Conclusions Missed nursing care is reported for all key nursing task areas threatening care quality and safety. Data suggest nurses prioritise technical activities with more non-clinical activities missed, this undermines holistic nursing care. Improving staffing levels seems a key intervention potentially including sharing of less skilled activities. More research on missed nursing care and interventions to tackle it to improve quality and safety is needed in LMIC. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021286897.

Abstract Background Data from High Income Countries have now linked low nurse staff to patient ratios to poor quality patient care. Adequately staffing hospitals is however still a challenge in resource-constrained Low-middle income countries (LMICs) and poor staff-to-patient ratios are largely taken as a norm. This in part relates to limited evidence on the relationship between staffing and quality of patient care in these settings and also an absence of research on benefits that might occur from improving hospital staff numbers in LMICs. This study will determine the effect on the quality of patient care of prospectively adding extra nursing staff to newborn units in a resource constrained LMIC setting and describe the relationship between staffing and quality of care. Methods This prospective workforce intervention study will involve a multi-method approach. We will conduct a before and after study in newborn units of 4 intervention hospitals and a single time-point comparison in 4 non-intervention hospitals to determine if there is a change in the level of missed nursing care, a process measure of the quality of patient care. We will also determine the effect of our intervention on routinely collected quality indicators using interrupted time series analysis. Using three nurse staffing metrics (Total nursing hours, nursing hours per patient day and nursing hours per patient per shift), we will describe the relationship between staffing and the quality of patient care. Discussion There is an urgent need for the implementation of staffing policies in resource constrained LMICs that are guided by relevant contextual data. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the prospective addition of nursing staff in resource-constrained care settings. Our findings are likely to provide the much-needed evidence for better staffing in these settings. Trial registration This study was retrospectively registered in the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry ( https://pactr.samrc.ac.za/Default.aspx?Logout=True ) database on the 10th of June 2022 with a unique identification number-PACTR202206477083141.

Objective To identify nurse staffing and patient care outcome literature in published systematic reviews and map out the evidence gaps for low/middle-income countries (LMICs).Methods We included quantitative systematic reviews on nurse staffing levels and patient care outcomes in regular ward settings published in English. We excluded qualitative reviews or reviews on nursing skill mix. We searched the Cochrane Register of Systematic Reviews, the Joanna Briggs Institute Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, Medline, Embase and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature from inception until July 2021. We used the A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews -2 (AMSTAR-2) criteria for risk of bias assessment and conducted a narrative synthesis.Results From 843 papers, we included 14 in our final synthesis. There were overlaps in primary studies summarised across reviews, but overall, the reviews summarised 136 unique primary articles. Only 4 out of 14 reviews had data on LMIC publications and only 9 (6.6%) of 136 unique primary articles were conducted in LMICs. Only 8 of 23 patient care outcomes were reported from LMICs. Less research was conducted in contexts with staffing levels that are typical of many LMIC contexts.Discussion Our umbrella review identified very limited data for nurse staffing and patient care outcomes in LMICs. We also identified data from high-income countries might not be good proxies for LMICs as staffing levels where this research was conducted had comparatively better staffing levels than the few LMIC studies. This highlights a critical need for the conduct of nurse staffing research in LMIC contexts.Limitations We included data on systematic reviews that scored low on our risk of bias assessment because we sought to provide a broad description of the research area. We only considered systematic reviews published in English and did not include any qualitative reviews in our synthesis.PROSPERO registration number CRD42021286908.

Background: Premature Ovarian Failure (POF) is associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular events later in life. Concurrent with the ages of menopausal transition, a shift in lipid profile takes place. The increased burden may be mediated by a worsening of cardiovascular risk factors, such as lipids, corresponding with the loss of ovarian function. Aim and Objectives: To investigate serum lipid and hormonal levels in women with premature ovarian failure and compare with those of apparently healthy women of similar age. Material and Methods: The study was a cross-sectional one in which serum fasting Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglycerides (TG), High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C) and Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were measured in 50 women with POF and compared with 40 age matched control. Serum hormonal profiles were compared with lipid profiles and biomarkers of atherogenic index were assessed. Results:Women with POF present with statistically significant elevations in the mean values of serum FSH and LH, when compared with those of controls (p<0.001), while there were significant decrease in mean levels of serum prolactin, progesterone, testosterone and oestradiol when subjects were compared with controls (p<0.001). There were statistically significant elevations in serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C and LDL-C, in premature ovarian failure subjects when compared with controls (p<0.001). There was statistically significantly difference when mean values of artherogenic index and Castelli ratio II of subjects were compared with those of controls. Conclusion: Loss of ovarian function at a very young age (POF) was characterized with subtle changes in the serum lipid profile (higher TC, TG, HDL-C, and LDL-C levels). It also shows that atherogenic index and Castelli ratio II are better tools for assessment of atherogenicity than CHD risk ratio and Castelli ratio I in patients with POF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Following the COVID-19 pandemic, school closures were part of the global public health response to limit community spread of the virus. In recent times, there has been an emphasis on safe school re-opening. This concept is likely to differ between developed and developing country settings. There are however no published studies on barriers hindering safe school re-opening within developing country contexts. This study evaluates aspects of the school health program (SHP) in some selected Nigerian schools that might relate to the pandemic control during school re-opening. Methods In 2017, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of the SHP of 146 registered primary schools in Gwagwalada Area Council in Abuja, Nigeria. These schools provided services to about 54,562 students. We used direct observational methods and interviewer-administered questionnaires to assess the SHP of each school. We compare SHP characteristics that might relate to COVID-19 control in schools across government-owned (public) and privately-owned (private) schools using a pre-defined framework. Results Public school to pupil ratios was more than six times that of private schools. Only 6.9% of all surveyed schools employed qualified health personnel. Although 8 in every 10 schools conducted health talks for communicable disease control, the use of temporary isolation and school-based immunization were low at 1.4 and 2.7% respectively. Pipe-borne water access was present in 4 of 10 schools, with public schools having more limited access than private schools (p = 0.009). Similarly, less proportion of public schools had access to soap for handwashing (p

Abstract Background Children with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition are managed routinely within out-patient malnutrition treatment programs. These programs do not offer maternal mental health support services, despite maternal mental health playing a significant role in the nutritional status of children. Additionally, the burden of maternal Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) is poorly described among mothers of children attending these programs. This study thus determined the burden and risk factors for maternal CMDs among children attending out-patient malnutrition clinics in rural North-western Nigeria. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study among 204 mothers of children with severe acute malnutrition who attending eight out-patient malnutrition clinics in Jigawa, North-western Nigeria. We used the World Health Organization Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 (WHO SRQ-20) screening tool, a recognised and validated proxy measure for CMDs to identify mothers with CMDs. The prevalence of maternal CMDs was determined by identifying the proportion of mothers with SRQ scores of ≥8. Risk factors for CMD were determined using multivariable logistic regression. Results Maternal CMD prevalence in children attending these facilities was high at 40.7%. Non-receipt of oral polio vaccine (OPV) (AOR 6.23, 95%CI 1.85 to 20.92) increased the odds for CMD. While spousal age above 40 (AOR 0.95, 95%CI 0.90 to 0.99) and long years spent married (AOR 0.92, 95%CI 0.85 to 0.98) decreased the odds for CMD. Conclusions Our findings indicate maternal CMD burden is high in out-patient malnutrition clinics in North-western Nigeria. Maternal mental health services would need to be integrated into the community management of acute malnutrition programs to provide more holistic care, and possibly improve long-term outcomes after discharge from these programs.

Background: Adequate staffing is key to the delivery of nursing care and thus to improved inpatient and health service outcomes. Several systematic reviews have addressed the relationship between nurse staffing and these outcomes. Most primary studies within each systematic review are likely to be from high-income countries which have different practice contexts to low and middle-income countries (LMICs), although this has not been formally examined. We propose conducting an umbrella review to characterise the existing evidence linking nurse staffing to key outcomes and explicitly aim to identify evidence gaps in nurse staffing research in LMICs. Methods and analysis: This protocol was developed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P). Literature searching will be conducted across Ovid Medline, Embase and EBSCO Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases. Two independent reviewers will conduct searching and data abstraction and discordance will be handled by discussion between both parties. The risk of bias of the individual studies will be performed using the AMSTAR-2. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical permission is not required for this review as we will make use of already published data. We aim to publish the findings of our review in peer-reviewed journals. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021286908

Background: Missed nursing care (care left undone or task incompletion) is viewed as an important early predictor of adverse patient care outcomes and is a useful indicator to determine the quality of patient care. Available systematic reviews on missed nursing care are based mainly on primary studies from developed countries, and there is limited evidence on missed nursing care from low-middle income countries (LMICs). We propose conducting a systematic review to identify the magnitude of missed nursing care and document factors and reasons associated with this phenomenon in LMIC settings. Methods and analysis: This protocol was developed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P). We will conduct literature searching across the Ovid Medline, Embase and EBSCO Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases, from inception to 2021. Two independent reviewers will conduct searches and data abstraction, and discordance will be handled by discussion between both parties. The risk of bias of the individual studies will be determined using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Ethics and dissemination: Ethical permission is not required for this review as we will make use of already published data. We aim to publish the findings of our review in peer-reviewed journals PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021286897 (27th October 2021)

Abstract Background Lassa fever is a zoonotic viral infection endemic to the West Africa countries. It is highly fatal during pregnancy and as such reports of neonatal onset Lassa fever infections are rare in scientific literature. We report a fatal case of Lassa fever in a 26-day-old neonate mimicking the diagnosis of late-onset neonatal sepsis. Case presentation The patient is a 26-day-old neonate who was admitted with a day history of fever, poor feeding, pre-auricular lymphadenopathy and sudden parental death. He was initially evaluated for late onset neonatal sepsis. He later developed abnormal bleeding and multiple convulsions while on admission, prompting the need to evaluate for Lassa fever using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). He died 31 h into admission and RT-PCR result was positive for Lassa fever. Conclusions Neonatal Lassa fever infection is highly fatal and can mimic neonatal sepsis. High index of suspicion is needed particularly for atypical presentations of neonatal sepsis in Lassa fever endemic areas.

BackgroundChildren with acute febrile illness with no localizing signs often receive antibiotics empirically in most resource-poor settings. However, little is known about the burden of bacteremia in this category of patients, and an appraisal is thus warranted. This will guide clinical practice and promote rational antibiotics use.MethodsWe prospectively followed up 140 under-five children who presented with acute undifferentiated fever at the emergency/outpatient pediatric unit of a secondary healthcare facility. Baseline clinical and laboratory information was obtained and documented in a structured questionnaire. We compared baseline characteristics between participants with bacteremia and those without bacteremia. We further fitted a multivariable logistic regression model to identify factors predictive of bacteremia among the cohort.ResultThe prevalence of bacteremia was 17.1%, and Salmonella Typhi was the most frequently (40.9%) isolated pathogen. The majority (78.6%) of the study participants were managed as outpatients. The participants who required admission were four times more likely to have bacteremia when compared to those managed as outpatients (AOR 4.08, 95% CI 1.19 to 14.00). There is a four times likelihood of bacteremia (AOR 4.75, 95% CI 1.48 to 15.29) with a fever duration of beyond 7 days. Similarly, participants who were admitted with lethargy were six times more likely to have bacteremia (AOR 6.20, 95% CI 1.15 to 33.44). Other significant predictors were tachypnea and lymphopenia.ConclusionAmong under-five children with acute undifferentiated fever, longer duration of fever, lethargy, inpatient care, tachypnea, and lymphopenia were the significant predictors of bacteremia.

Background: Adequate staffing is key to the delivery of nursing care and thus to improved inpatient and health service outcomes. Several systematic reviews have addressed the relationship between nurse staffing and these outcomes. Most primary studies within each systematic review are likely to be from high-income countries which have different practice contexts to low and middle-income countries (LMICs), although this has not been formally examined. We propose conducting an umbrella review to characterise the existing evidence linking nurse staffing to key outcomes and explicitly aim to identify evidence gaps in nurse staffing research in LMICs. Methods and analysis: This protocol was developed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P). Literature searching will be conducted across Ovid Medline, Embase and EBSCO Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases. Two independent reviewers will conduct searching and data abstraction and discordance will be handled by discussion between both parties. The risk of bias of the individual studies will be performed using the AMSTAR-2. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical permission is not required for this review as we will make use of already published data. We aim to publish the findings of our review in peer-reviewed journals. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021286908

Clinical research conducted to Good Clinical Practice (GCP) standards is increasingly being undertaken in resource-constrained low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) settings. This presents unique challenges that differ from those faced in high-income country (HIC) contexts, due to a dearth of infrastructure and unique socio-cultural contexts. Field experiences by research teams working in these LMIC contexts are thus critical to advancing knowledge on successful research conduct in these settings. The Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has operated in The Gambia, a resource-constrained LMIC for over 70 years and has developed numerous research support platforms and systems. The unit was the lead clinical collaborator in a recently completed Expanded Program on Immunization Consortium (EPIC) study, involving a multicountry collaboration across five countries including the USA, Canada, Belgium, Papua New Guinea and The Gambia. The EPIC study recruited and completed follow-up of 720 newborn infants over 2 years. In this paper, we provide in-depth field experience covering challenges faced by the Gambian EPIC team in the conduct of this study. We also detail some reflections on these challenges. Our findings are relevant to the international research community as they highlight practical day-to-day challenges in conducting GCP standard clinical research in resource-constrained LMIC contexts. They also provide insights on how study processes can be adapted early during research planning to mitigate challenges.

Abstract Background Soil-transmitted helminthic (STH) infections are common in Sub-Saharan Africa. One method used for control of these helminths is mass anti-helminthic administration in populations at risk of STH infections. In this regard, empiric treatment of children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) for STH infection is practiced in this region. It is however unclear if children with SAM suffer more from STH infection than healthy children. The objective of this study was to compare prevalence and intensity of STH infection between pre-school aged children with SAM and healthy children. Methods We approached 1114 pre-school aged children attending care in two health facilities in Kano, Nigeria to partake in this study. Of this number, we recruited 620 (55.7%) children, comprising 310 well-nourished children from well-baby clinics and 310 children with SAM from Community Management for Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) centres in these facilities. We assessed their nutritional status using World Health Organisation (WHO) growth charts and collected stool samples which we analysed using Formal-Ether Concentration technique to identify STH infection and Stoll’s technique to assess intensities of STH infection. We fitted a logistic regression model to determine if there was any association between nutrition status and helminthic infection, adjusting for the confounding effects of socio-economic status and age. We compared intensity of STH infection (measured as eggs per gram of faeces) between both nutrition groups using the independent t-test. Results Overall STH prevalence in our population was low (2.7%) and we found no significant association between nutritional status and presence of STH infection (OR = 1.10, 95% CI 0.38 to 3.21). Majority of our study participants had either low or moderate (94.2%) and there was no statistically significant difference between intensity of STH infection (t value = − 1.52, P value = 0.13) in children with SAM and those who were well-nourished. Conclusions The overall STH prevalence among pre-school children was low in Kano and we did not find prevalence and intensity of STH infection to differ significantly between preschool children with SAM and well-nourished children. Our findings confirm the WHO recommendation that at low levels of prevalence and intensity, interventions to control STH are unnecessary.

Background: Birth asphyxia accounts for a third of global newborn deaths and 95 percent of these occur in low-resource settings. A key to reducing asphyxia-related deaths in these settings is improving care of these newborns and this requires an understanding of factors associated with adverse outcomes. Objectives: In this study, we report outcomes and risk factors for mortality among newborn infants with birth asphyxia admitted to a typical low-resource hospital setting. Methods: We prospectively followed up 191 asphyxiated newborn infants admitted to a referral tertiary hospital in North-central Nigeria. At baseline, care-givers completed a structured questionnaire. Using univariable analysis, we compared baseline characteristics between participants who died and those who survived till discharge. We also fitted a multivariable logistic regression model to identify risk factors for mortality among the cohort. Results: Majority (60.7%) of the study participants presented to the hospital within the first six hours of life. Despite this, mortality among the cohort was 14.7% with a third dying within the first 24 hours of admission. The presence of respiratory distress at admission increased the risk for mortality (AOR = 3.73, 95% CI 1.22 to 11.35) while higher participant weight at admission decreased the risk (AOR = 0.11, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.40). Intrapartum factors such as duration of labour and maternal age, although significant on univariable analysis, were not significant on multivariable analysis. Conclusions: Hospital mortality among newborns with birth asphyxia is high in North-central Nigeria and majority of deaths occur during acute care. Respiratory distress at presentation and admission weights were identified as key risk factors for asphyxia mortality. Intrapartum factors on the other hand might have indirect effects on mortality through an increased risk for neonatal complications.

Background: Infection contributes to significant morbidity and mortality particularly in the very young and in low- and middle-income countries. While vaccines are a highly cost-effective tool against infectious disease little is known regarding the cellular and molecular pathways by which vaccines induce protection at an early age. Immunity is distinct in early life and greater precision is required in our understanding of mechanisms of early life protection to inform development of new pediatric vaccines.Methods and Analysis: We will apply transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, multiplex cytokine/chemokine, adenosine deaminase, and flow cytometry immune cell phenotyping to delineate early cellular and molecular signatures that correspond to vaccine immunogenicity. This approach will be applied to a neonatal cohort in The Gambia (N ~ 720) receiving at birth: (1) Hepatitis B (HepB) vaccine alone, (2) Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccine alone, or (3) HepB and BCG vaccines, (4) HepB and BCG vaccines delayed till day 10 at the latest. Each study participant will have a baseline peripheral blood sample drawn at DOL0 and a second blood sample at DOL1,−3, or−7 as well as late timepoints to assess HepB vaccine immunogenicity. Blood will be fractionated via a “small sample big data” standard operating procedure that enables multiple downstream systems biology assays. We will apply both univariate and multivariate frameworks and multi-OMIC data integration to identify features associated with anti-Hepatitis B (anti-HB) titer, an established correlate of protection. Cord blood sample collection from a subset of participants will enable human in vitro modeling to test mechanistic hypotheses identified in silico regarding vaccine action. Maternal anti-HB titer and the infant microbiome will also be correlated with our findings which will be validated in a smaller cohort in Papua New Guinea (N ~ 80).Ethics and Dissemination: The study has been approved by The Gambia Government/MRCG Joint Ethics Committee and The Boston Children's Hospital Institutional Review Board. Ethics review is ongoing with the Papua New Guinea Medical Research Advisory Committee. All de-identified data will be uploaded to public repositories following submission of study output for publication. Feedback meetings will be organized to disseminate output to the study communities.Clinical Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov Registration Number: NCT03246230

Although differing methods of estimation of time of death in human forensics have been well documented, there exists paucity of information in the veterinary field. With little accuracy, veterinary pathologists rely on gross post-mortem changes which include autolysis, rigor mortis, livor mortis, and putrefaction in estimating time of death in animals. This study assessed the pattern of temperature drop in six mongrel dogs using commonly available thermometer. Rectal and hepatic temperatures were taken for eight to eleven hours after death at an average ambient temperature of 29 °C (24 °C to 34 °C). Both organs revealed strong regression models which were harnessed to provide a mathematical guide to estimating time of death in the early hours (six to seven hours). Linear model of temperature drop pattern change was considered less cumbersome for field use. The rates of drop were extremely irregular during the study period. This work substantiates the use of algor mortis as an adjunct in estimating time of death in dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Global new-born mortality has shown steady decline over the last two decades, but this decline has been slowest in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Perinatal asphyxia (PA) is a major cause of new-born deaths in this region and as such SSA now contributes a disproportionate large percentage of global asphyxia-related deaths. In this paper, we examine regional challenges affecting primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of PA and proffers locally adaptable solutions to these identified challenges.

In the Western world, cases of purulent pericarditis have become almost nonexistent with progress and advent of new immunizations against many causative organisms. We report Klebsiella pneumoniae pericarditis, a rare cause of this uncommon disease, hitherto unreported in Nigeria. K. pneumoniae, which is a rod-shaped, Gram-negative, facultative anaerobe, produces extended-spectrum beta-lactamases; hence, it is usually resistant to a lot of antibiotics and is associated with a significant case fatality rate. Our 13-year-old male patient had septic arthritis of the right hip joint came with a 3 weeks complaint of difficulty with breathing. He had respiratory distress, tachypnea, and tachycardia. Although blood pressure was normal, he had pulsus paradoxus, elevated jugular venous pressure, diffuse apex beat, and heart sounds were distant. Chest radiograph revealed an increased cardiothoracic ratio (0.86) with “water bottle” appearance. Transthoracic echocardiography confirmed pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade. Echo-guided pericardiocentesis was done, and 340 ml of foul-smelling and creamy pus with greenish tinge was aspirated and this grew K. pneumoniae sensitive to ciprofloxacin and gentamycin but resistant to other conventional antibiotics. Recovery was complete after a week of pericardial tube drainage and 3 weeks of treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of Klebsiella - induced pyopericardium and with successful management in a Nigerian child. Pyopericardium may follow rare causes such as K. pneumoniae infection with its unique antibiogram.

Mitragyna speciosa is a perennial plant native to Asia, well known for its psychoactive properties. Its major alkaloid mitragynine is known to have sedative and euphoric effects. Hence, the plant has been a subject of abuse, leading to addiction, necessitating efficient analytical methods to detect its psychoactive constituents. However, current chromatography-based methods for detecting the alkaloids are time consuming and costly. Quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) spectroscopy emerges as a promising alternative due to its nondestructive nature, structural insights, and short analysis time. Hence, a rapid and precise qNMR method was developed to quantify selected major psychoactive alkaloids in various parts of M. speciosa. Mitragynine, specioliatine, and speciogynine were quantified in relation to the integral value of the -OCH 3 groups of the alkaloids and the internal standard 1,4-dinitrobenzene. The precision and reproducibility of the method gave a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 2%, demonstrating the reliability of the method. In addition, the method showed excellent specificity, sensitivity, high linearity range (R 2  = 0.999), and limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) values. The analysis revealed that the red-veined M. speciosa leaves contained higher levels of mitragynine (32.34 mg/g), specioliatine (16.84 mg/g) and speciogynine (7.69 mg/g) compared to the green-veined leaves, stem bark, or fruits., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This study assessed the efficacy of granular cylindrical periodic discontinuous batch reactors (GC-PDBRs) for produced water (PW) treatment by employing eggshell and waste activated sludge (WAS) derived Nickel (Ni) augmented biochar. The synthesized biochar was magnetized to further enhance its contribution towards achieving carbon neutrality due to carbon negative nature, Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) sorption, and negative priming effects. The GC-PDBR1 and GC-PDBR2 process variables were optimized by the application of central composite design (CCD). This is to maximize the decarbonization rate. Results showed that the systems could reduce total phosphorus (TP) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) by 76-80% and 92-99%, respectively. Optimal organic matter and nutrient removals were achieved at 80% volumetric exchange ratio (VER), 5 min settling time and 3000 mg/L mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentration with desirability values of 0.811 and 0.954 for GC-PDBR1 and GC-PDBR2, respectively. Employing four distinct models, the biokinetic coefficients of the GC-PDBRs treating PW were calculated. The findings indicated that First order (0.0758-0.5365) and Monod models (0.8652-0.9925) have relatively low R 2 values. However, the Grau Second-order model and Modified Stover-Kincannon model have high R 2 values. This shows that, the Grau Second Order and Modified Stover-Kincannon models under various VER, settling time, and MLSS circumstances, are more suited to explain the removal of pollutants in the GC-PDBRs. Microbiological evaluation demonstrated that a high VER caused notable rises in the quantity of several microorganisms. Under high biological selective pressure, GC-PDBR2 demonstrated a greater percentage of nitrogen removal via autotrophic denitrification and a greater number of nitrifying bacteria. The overgrowth of bacteria such as Actinobacteriota spp. Bacteroidota spp, Gammaproteobacteria, Desulfuromonas Mesotoga in the phylum, class, and genus, has positively impacted on granule formation and stability. Taken together, our study through the introduction of intermittent aeration GC-PDBR systems with added magnetized waste derived biochar, is an innovative approach for simultaneous aerobic sludge granulation and PW treatment, thereby providing valuable contributions in the journey toward achieving decarbonization, carbon neutrality and sustainable development goals (SDGs)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:There is no any other relationship or activity that may be interpreted as a conflict of interest by the reader. None of the authors is serving in an editorial capacity for the journal “Environmental Research”. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A thiol-functionalized MOF-808 was produced and used to remove mercury by post-synthetic modification using 6-mercaponicotinic acid (6mna). Parent MOF-808 was impregnated for varied periods in the 6mna solution to create modified MOF-808 materials, known as MOF-808-6mna-x, where x refers to the impregnation time. Diffraction and several spectroscopic techniques were employed to quantify and confirm the coordination of 6mna into MOF-808 framework. The amount of grafted 6man and the ability for adsorption of mercury (Hg) was shown to be linearly associated; the functionalized MOF-808-6mna-36 demonstrated improved Hg(II) removal, with an adsorption capacity of 250 mg/g., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Dye decolorization through biological treatment techniques has been gaining momentum as it is based on suspended and attached growth biomass in both batch and continuous modes. Hence, this review focused on the contribution of moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR) in dye removal. MBBR have been demonstrated to be an excellent technology for pollution extraction, load shock resistance, and equipment size and energy consumption reduction. The review went further to highlight different biocarrier materials for biofilm development this review identified biochar as an innovative and environmentally friendly material produced through the application of different kinds of reusable or recyclable wastes and biowastes. Biochar as a carbonized waste biomass could be a better competitor and environmentally friendly substitute to activated carbon given its lower mass costs. Biochar can be easily produced particularly in rural locations where there is an abundance of biomass-based trash. Given that circular bioeconomy lowers dependency on natural resources by turning organic wastes into an array of useful products, biochar empowers the creation of competitive goods. Thus, biochar was identified as a novel, cost-effective, and long-term management strategy since it brings about several essential benefits, including food security, climate change mitigation, biodiversity preservation, and sustainability improvement. This review concludes that integrating two treatment methods could greatly lead to better color, organic matter, and nutrients removal than a single biological MBBR treatment process., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

The inhibition effect of symmetrical Ball - type Zinc Phthalocyanine on Aluminum in 1mol/L hydrochloric acid was analyzed by electrochemical techniques. A novel ball-type zinc phthalocyanine (Zn-Pc) inhibitor has been synthesized and verified utilizing FTIR, nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR and 13 C NMR), MALDI-TOF MS, and absorption spectroscopy (UV-Vis). In addition, laser-induced breakdown and photoluminescence spectroscopy were employed for additional study. Weight loss technique was employed to investigate the corrosion inhibition effectiveness of the synthesized Zn-Pc on Aluminum in 1mol/L hydrochloric acid at the range of variation temperatures (293-333 K). The inhibition efficiency of Zn-Pc increased with higher concentrations of Zn-Pc and decreased as the temperature increased. Furthermore, Zn-Pc demonstrated outstanding outcomes, achieving 72.9% at a very low inhibitor concentration (0.4 mmol/L) at 298 K. The experimental data for Zn-Pc Aluminum in 1mol/L hydrochloric acid obeys the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Moreover, the corrosion system's thermodynamic parameters and activation energy were determined. Quantum chemical calculations applying the (DFT) Density Functional Theory method was conducted and applied in this study. These calculations played a pivotal role in elucidating molecular structures and reactivity patterns. Through DFT, numerous reactivity indicators were computed, providing valuable insights into the chemical behavior of the studied compounds. These indicators, such as frontier molecular orbitals, electron density, and molecular electrostatic potential, were subsequently correlated with experimental data., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being employed in brine mining to enhance the extraction of lithium, vital for the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, through improved recovery efficiencies and the reduction of energy consumption. An innovative approach was proposed combining Emotional Neural Networks (ENN) and Random Forest (RF) algorithms to elucidate the adsorption energy (AE) (kcal mol -1 ) of Li + ions by utilizing crown ether (CE)-incorporated honeycomb 2D nanomaterials. The screening and feature engineering analysis of honeycomb-patterned 2D materials and individual CE were conducted through Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Gaussian 16 simulations. The selected honeycomb-patterned 2D materials encompass graphene, silicene, and hexagonal boron nitride, while the specific CEs evaluated are 15-crown-5 and 18-crown-6. The crown-passivated 2D surfaces held a significant adsorption site through van der Waals forces for efficient recovery of Li + ions. ENN predicted the targeted adsorption sites with high precision and minimal deviation. The eTAI (XAI) based Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) was also explored for insight into the feature importance of CE embedded 2D nanomaterials for the recovery of Li + ions. The extreme gradient boosting algorithm (XGBoost) model demonstrated a RT-2-MAPE = 0.4618% and ENN-2-MAPE = 0.4839% for the feature engineering analysis. This research would be an insight into the AI-driven nanotechnology that presents a viable and sustainable approach for the extraction of natural resources through the application of brine mining., Competing Interests: There are no conficts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The search for low-diffusion barriers and high-capacity anode materials is considered a key step in boosting the efficiency of metal-ion batteries. Herein, we investigate the impact of a series of conducting polymers (CPs), namely, polyacetylene (PA), polypyrrole (PP), poly- p -phenylene (PPPh), and polythiophene (PT), on enhancing the material design and anodic performance of boron nitride nanosheet (BNNS)-based Li-ion and Na-ion batteries. For this purpose, first principle DFT simulations, utilizing both clustered and periodic models, are systematically performed to assess the stability of such nanostructures and their electronic behavior as potential anodic materials. It is revealed that frontier molecular orbitals calculated for BNNSs are stabilized upon association with the series of CPs, resulting in a reduction in the energy gaps of CP-BNNSs by nearly 50%, which in turn improves the charge transfer properties and cell reaction kinetics. A remarkable improvement in the cell voltage is predicted for PP and PT functionalized BNNSs, reaching approximately 3.5 V for Li + and 3.0 V for Na + ions. The outcome of the study emphasizes the influence of the size of metal ions, whether mono- or di-valent, and the nature of adsorbed conducting polymers. Manipulating the electronic features of boron nitride nanostructured surfaces through non-covalent functionalization with conducting polymers could pave the way for the design of highly efficient energy storage anodic CP-BNNS-based systems.

Sodium taurocholate (NaT) is a hydrophobic bile salt that exhibits varying toxicity and antimicrobial activity. The accumulation of BSs during their entero-hepatic cycle causes cytotoxicity in the liver and intestine and could also alter the intestinal microbiome leading to various diseases. In this research, the acute toxicity of sodium taurocholate in different concentrations (3000 mg/L, 1500 mg/L, 750 mg/L, 375 mg/L, and 0 mg/L) was investigated on four months old zebrafish by immersion in water for 96 h. The results were determined based on the fish mortality, behavioral response, and NMR metabolomics analysis which revealed LC50 of 1760.32 mg/L and 1050.42 mg/L after 72 and 96 h treatment, respectively. However, the non-lethal NaT concentrations of 750 mg/L and 375 mg/L at 96 h exposure significantly ( p  ≤ 0.05) decreased the total distance traveled and the activity duration, also caused surface respiration on the zebrafish. Orthogonal Projections to Latent Structures Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA) revealed that the metabolome of the fish treated with 750 mg/L was discriminated from that of the control by PC1. Major significantly downregulated metabolites by NaT-induction include valine, isoleucine, 2-hydroxyvalerate, glycine, glycerol, choline, glucose, pyruvate, anserine, threonine, carnitine and homoserine. On the contrary, taurine, creatine, lactate, acetate and 3-hydroxybutyrate were upregulated suggesting cellular consumption of lipids, glucose and amino acids for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) generation during immune and inflammatory response. whereby these metabolites were released in the process. In conclusion, the research revealed the toxic effect of NaT and its potential to trigger changes in zebrafish metabolism.

Water (H 2 O) microdroplets are sprayed onto a graphite mesh covered with a CuBi 2 O 4 coating using a 1:1 mixture of N 2 and CO 2 as the nebulizing gas. The resulting microdroplets contain urea [CO(NH 2 ) 2 ] as detected by both mass spectrometry and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance. This gas-liquid-solid heterogeneous catalytic system synthesizes urea in one step on the 0.1 ms time scale. The conversion rate reaches 2.7 mmol g -1 h -1 at 25 °C and 12.3 mmol g -1 h -1 at 65 °C, with no external voltage applied. Water microdroplets serve as the hydrogen source and the electron transfer medium for N 2 and CO 2 in contact with CuBi 2 O 4 . Water-gas and water-solid contact electrification are speculated to drive the reaction process. This strategy couples N 2 fixation and CO 2 utilization in an ecofriendly process to produce urea, converting a greenhouse gas into a value-added product.

The discharge of dye effluents from the textile industries has become a major environmental issue due to its potential to impart serious harm to human health and aquatic life. Mesoporous silica due to its high chemical stability, large surface area, tunable morphologies, large pore volume and pore size and cost-effectiveness is commonly used to remove such dyes before recycling of the wastewater for agricultural, domestic, and industrial applications. However, the low colloidal stability, the fast aggregation of the silica particles and the slow etching of the silica surface often results in the fast deactivation of the adsorbents and limits their long-term applications. In this study, we report the functionalization of mesoporous silica (SBA-15) with ZnO nanoparticles for the effective removal of anionic dyes. The Zn-silica exhibited highly positive surface with a dipole moment of 172 Debye and high charge transfer efficacy with an energy bandgap (ΔE) of 3.35 eV as revealed by quantum chemical DFT simulations. It achieved excellent removal of Alizarin red dye reaching a removal efficiency of 99.99 % and an adsorption capacity of 50 mg/g. In the presence of heavy metal ions commonly present in wastewater (Cd 2+ , Co 2+ , Zn 2+ , Ni 2+ , Cu 2+ and Hg 2+ ), the Zn-silica maintain excellent stability, high selectivity, and reusability within 5 cycles without a significant decline in efficiency. This study thus presents an effective way of wastewater purification on cost-effective adsorbents for meeting the water scarcity demands., 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.)

MXene is an incredibly promising two-dimensional material with immense potential to serve as a high-performing separating or barrier layer to develop advanced membranes. Despite the significant progress made in MXene membranes, two major challenges still exist: (i) effectively stacking MXene nanosheets into defect-free membranes and (ii) the high fouling tendency of MXene-based membranes. To address these issues, we employed sulfonated polydopamine (SPD), which simultaneously serves as a binding agent to promote the compact assembling of Ti 3 C 2 T x MXenes (MX) nanosheets and improves the antifouling properties of the resulting sulfonated polydopamine-functionalized MX (SPDMX) membranes. The SPDMX membrane was tested for challenging surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water separation with an impressive efficiency of 98%. Moreover, an ultrahigh permeability of 1620 LMH/bar was also achieved. The sulfonation of PD helps in improving the antifouling characteristics of SPDMX by developing a strong hydration layer and enhancing the oleophobicity of the membrane. The underwater SPDMX membrane appeared superoleophobic with an oil contact angle of 153°, whereas the ceramic membrane exhibited an oil contact angle of 137°. The SPDMX membranes showed an improved flux recovery (31%) compared to the nonsulfonated counterpart. This work highlights the appropriate functionalization of MXene as a promising approach to developing MXene membranes with high permeation flux and better antifouling characteristics for oily wastewater treatment.

This study presented a detailed investigation into the performance of a plate-frame water gap membrane distillation (WGMD) system for the desalination of untreated real seawater. One approach to improving the performance of WGMD is through the proper selection of cooling plate material, which plays a vital role in enhancing the gap vapor condensation process. Hence, the influence of different cooling plate materials was examined and discussed. Furthermore, two different hydrophobic micro-porous polymeric membranes of similar mean pore sizes were utilized in the study. The influence of key operating parameters, including the feed water temperature and flow rate, was examined against the system vapor flux and gained output ratio (GOR). In addition, the used membranes were characterized by means of different techniques in terms of surface morphology, liquid entry pressure, water contact angle, pore size distribution, and porosity. Findings revealed that, at all conditions, the PTFE membrane exhibits superior vapor flux and energy efficiency (GOR), with 9.36% to 14.36% higher flux at a 0.6 to 1.2 L/min feed flow rate when compared to the PVDF membrane. The copper plate, which has the highest thermal conductivity, attained the highest vapor flux, while the acrylic plate, which has an extra-low thermal conductivity, recorded the lowest vapor flux. The increasing order of GOR values for different cooling plates is acrylic < HDPE < copper < aluminum < brass < stainless steel. Results also indicated that increasing the feed temperature increases the vapor flux almost exponentially to a maximum flux value of 30.36 kg/m 2 hr. The system GOR also improves in a decreasing pattern to a maximum value of 0.4049. Moreover, a long-term test showed that the PTFE membrane, which exhibits superior hydrophobicity, registered better salt rejection stability. The use of copper as a cooling plate material for better system performance is recommended, while cooling plate materials with very low thermal conductivities, such as a low thermally conducting polymer, are discouraged.

In this article, newly designed 3D porous polymers with tuned porosity were synthesized by the polycondensation of tetrakis (4-aminophenyl) methane with pyrrole to form M1 polymer and with phenazine to form M2 polymer. The polymerization reaction used p -formaldehyde as a linker and nitric acid as a catalyst. The newly designed 3D porous polymers showed permanent porosity with a BET surface area of 575 m 2 /g for M1 and 389 m 2 /g for M2 . The structure and thermal stability were investigated by solid 13 C-NMR spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The performance of the synthesized polymers toward CO 2 and H 2 was evaluated, demonstrating adsorption capacities of 1.85 mmol/g and 2.10 mmol/g for CO 2 by M1 and M2 , respectively. The importance of the synthesized polymers lies in their selectivity for CO 2 capture, with CO 2 /N 2 selectivity of 43 and 51 for M1 and M2 , respectively. M1 and M2 polymers showed their capability for hydrogen storage with a capacity of 66 cm 3 /g (0.6 wt%) and 87 cm 3 /g (0.8 wt%), respectively, at 1 bar and 77 K. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using the grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) method revealed the presence of considerable microporosity on M2 , making it highly selective to CO 2 . The exceptional removal capabilities, combined with the high thermal stability and microporosity, enable M2 to be a potential material for flue gas purification and hydrogen storage., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Al-Bukhari, Abdulazeez, Abdelnaby, Aljundi and Al Hamouz.)

The intrusion of seawater (SWI) into coastal aquifers is a major concern worldwide, affecting the quantity and quality of groundwater resources. The region of Saudi Arabia that lies along the eastern coast has been affected by SWI, making it crucial to accurately identify and monitor the affected areas. This investigation aimed to map the degree of seawater intrusion in a complex aquifer system in the study area using an integrated clustering analysis approach. The study collected 41 groundwater samples from wells penetrating multi-layered aquifers, and the samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties and major ions. Clustering analysis methods, including Hierarchical Clustering Analysis (double-clustering) (HCA-DC), K-mean (KMC), and fuzzy k-mean clustering (FKM), were employed to evaluate the spatial distribution and association of the groundwater properties. The results revealed that the analyzed GW samples were divided into four clusters with varying degrees of SWI. Clusters A, B, C, and D contained GW samples with very low ( f sea of 1.9%), high ( f sea of 14.9%), intermediate ( f sea of 7.9%), and low ( f sea of 5.2%) degrees of SWI, respectively. FKM clustering exhibited superior performance with a silhouette score of 0.83. Additionally, the study found a direct correlation between the degree of SWI and increased concentrations of boron, strontium, and iron, demonstrating SWI's impact on heavy metal levels. Notably, the boron concentration in cluster B, which endured high SWI, exceeded WHO guidelines. The study demonstrates the value of clustering analysis for accurately monitoring SWI and associated heavy metals. The findings can guide policies to mitigate SWI impacts and benefit groundwater-dependent communities. Further research can help develop effective strategies to mitigate SWI effects on groundwater quality and availability., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.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.)

The electrochemical conversion of CO 2 into value-added chemicals is a promising approach for addressing environmental and energy supply problems. In this study, electrochemical CO 2 catalysis to ethanol is achieved using incorporated Cu/Cu x O nanoparticles into nitrogenous porous carbon cuboids. Pyrolysis of the coordinated Cu cations with nitrogen heterocycles allowed Cu nanoparticles to detach from the coordination complex but remain dispersed throughout the porous carbon cuboids. The heterogeneous composite Cu/Cu x O-PCC-0h electrocatalyst reduced CO 2 to ethanol at low overpotential in 0.5 M KHCO 3 , exhibiting maximum ethanol faradaic efficiency of 50% at -0.5 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode. Such electrochemical performance can be ascribed to the synergy between pyridinic nitrogen species, Cu/Cu x O nanoparticles, and porous carbon morphology, together providing efficient CO 2 diffusion, activation, and intermediates stabilization. This was supported by the notably high electrochemically active surface area, rich porosity, and efficient charge transfer properties.

The separation of oil/water emulsions has attracted considerable attention for decades due to the negative environmental impacts brought by wastewater. Among the various membranes investigated for separation, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes have shown significant advantages of ease of fabrication, high selectivity, and fair pore distribution. However, PVDF membranes are hydrophobic and suffer from severe fouling resulting in substantial flux decline. Meanwhile, the incorporation of wettable substrates during fabrication has significantly impacted the membrane performance by lowering the fouling propensity. Herein, we report the fabrication of an iron-containing porphyrin (hemin)-modified multi-walled carbon nanotube incorporated PVDF membrane (HA-MWCNT) to enhance fouling resistance and the effective separation of oil-in-water emulsions. The fabricated membrane was thoroughly investigated using the FTIR, SEM, EDX, AFM, and contact angle (CA) analysis. The HA-MWCNT membrane exhibited a water CA of 62° ± 0.5 and excellent pure water permeance of 300.5 L/m2h at 3.0 bar (400% increment), in contrast to the pristine PVDF, which recorded a CA of 82° ± 0.8 and water permeance of 59.9 L/m2h. The hydrophilic HA-MWCNT membrane further showed an excellent oil rejection of >99% in the transmembrane pressure range of 0.5−2.5 bar and a superb flux recovery ratio (FRR) of 82%. Meanwhile, the classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations revealed that the HA-MWCNT membrane had greater solvent-accessible pores, which enhanced water permeance while blocking the hydrocarbons. The incorporation of the hemin-modified MWCNT is thus an excellent strategy and could be adopted in the design of advanced membranes for oil/water separation.

The separation of the emulsified oil/water is one of the critical environmental challenges. The PVDF membranes have been found helpful for separation, but rapid fouling makes them less attractive in treating oil-in-water emulsions. The design of antifouling membranes has become an area of deep interest. Herein, developing a novel modified PVDF ultrafiltration membrane was reported by doping the pyrrole and solidifying it in a ferric-containing coagulation bath, resulting in a unique nanotextured PVDF membrane (CCB-Fe/PP np -PVDF) to separate the oil/water emulsions. The resultant CCB-Fe/PP np -PVDF membrane was thoroughly characterized using the FTIR, FE-SEM, EDX, mapping, AFM, and contact analyzer. The hydrophilicity of the CCB-Fe/PP np -PVDF was substantially improved, and the water contact angle was reduced from 81֯ ± 0.9֯ to 44֯ ± 1.7֯. The CCB-Fe/PPnp-PVDF membrane flux increased by 121% compared to the pristine PVDF membrane, with high separation efficiency of 99%. The hydrophilic nanotextured surface of the CCB-Fe/PP np -PVDF membrane showed good antifouling behavior, with a flux recovery ratio (FRR) of more than 96%. Irreversible flux was just less than 4%. The high flux recovery ratio indicated that the nanotextured surface produced by the Fe/PP np had prevented the blockage of the membrane pores and compact cake layer formation, which makes it an excellent membrane for oil/water emulsion separation. This strategy can be adopted for designing advanced membranes for separation applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest 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., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A novel cross-linked Copolymer ( MXM ) was synthesized by the polycondensation reaction of 3,6-Diaminocarbazole and piperazine with p -formaldehyde as a cross-linker. The Copolymer was fully characterized by solid 13 C-NMR and FT-IR. The thermal stability of MXM was investigated by TGA and showed that the Copolymer was stable up to 300 °C. The synthesized polyamine was tested for the removal of iron ( Fe 2+ ), lead ( Pb 2+ ), and copper ( Cu 2+ ) ions from aqueous and industrial wastewater solutions. The effect of pH, concentration and time on the adsorption of iron ( Fe 2+ ), lead ( Pb 2+ ), and copper ( Cu 2+ ) ions was investigated. The adsorption of the studied ions from aqueous solutions onto the MXM polymer occurs following the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The intraparticle diffusion model showed that the adsorption mechanism is controlled by film diffusion. The regeneration of MXM showed practical reusability with a loss in capacity of 2-5% in the case of Fe 2+ and Cu 2+ ions. The molecular simulation investigations revealed similarities between experimental and theoretical calculations. Industrial wastewater treatment revealed the excellent capabilities and design of MXM to be a potential adsorbent for the removal of heavy metal ions.

Advanced battery materials are urgently desirable to meet the rapidly growing demand for portable electronics and power. The development of a high-energy-density anode is essential for the practical application of B 3+ batteries as an alternative to Li-ion batteries. Herein, we have investigated the performance of B 3+ on monolayer (MG), bilayer (BG), trilayer (TG), and tetralayer (TTG) graphene sheets using first-principles calculations. The findings reveal significant stabilization of the HOMO and the LUMO frontier orbitals of the graphene sheets upon adsorption of B 3+ by shifting the energies from -5.085 and -2.242 eV in MG to -20.08 and -19.84 eV in 2B 3+ @TTG. Similarly, increasing the layers to tetralayer graphitic carbon B 3+ @TTG&#95;asym and B 3+ @TTG&#95;sym produced the most favorable and deeper van der Waals interactions. The cell voltages obtained were considerably enhanced, and B 3+ /B@TTG showed the highest cell voltage of 16.5 V. Our results suggest a novel avenue to engineer graphene anode performance by increasing the number of graphene layers.

Background and Objectives: Schizophrenia accounts for 78% of cases managed in Behavioural Sciences in Nigeria, and treatments with antipsychotic drugs may contribute to the onset of coronary heart disease (CHD) due to dyslipidaemia - associated complications. The prevention of CHD is preferable and less expensive than its management; thus, early identification and treatment may offer the possibility of reducing the devastating sequel. The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular risk (CVR) associated with duration of antipsychotic therapy inorder to improve awareness on early diagnosis, treatment and CVR reduction., Methods: This was a longitudinal (prospective) study involving 44 participants recruited through systematic random sampling. Each participant served as their own control. Four blood samples were obtained from each participant, starting with a baseline before the onset of antipsychotic therapy and subsequently at monthly intervals for three consecutive months from commencement of therapy. Parameters of routine and advanced lipid profiles were assayed and the atherogenic indices were calculated., Results: Both the routine and advanced lipid profiles werewithin reference limits at baseline. A significant increase in monthly levels was observed with dyslipidaemia noticed by the second month of antipsychotic therapy. There was an association established between the duration of therapy and a high CVR. The TC/HDL-C ratio performed better than apo B-100 and individual routine lipid profile fractions in the evaluation of CVR., Conclusions: Dyslipidaemia associated with high CVR may develop with antipsychotic therapy. Calculation of atherogenic indices was a good indicator of CVR., Competing Interests: The Authors declare that no competing interest exists, (Copyright © 2021 by West African Journal of Medicine.)