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The Lassa virus is known to cause disease in different organ systems of the human body, with varying clinical manifestations. The features of severe clinical disease may include bleeding and/or central nervous system manifestations. Whereas Lassa fever encephalopathy and encephalitis are well described in the literature, there is paucity of data on Lassa virus meningitis. We present the clinical description, laboratory diagnosis, and management of 4 consecutive cases of aseptic meningitis associated with Lassa virus infection without bleeding seen in a region of Nigeria known to be endemic for both the reservoir rodent and Lassa fever. The 4 patients recovered fully following intravenous ribavirin treatment and suffered no neurologic complications.

Solanum mauriatianum is a woody plant that grows naturally in the tropical and temperate regions. In most rural communities in Ghana and other parts of West Africa, it is widely used for treatment of ailments such as hemorrhoid, yaws, ulcers, and wounds. Despite the long-term usage of the plant in traditional medicine, there is no scientific report on its efficacy. Objective: This study investigates the wound healing properties of ethanolic extract of the plant. Method: The ethanolic leaf extract was formulated into aqueous cream (SME) at the concentrations of 2.5 %, 5.0 % and 7.5 % and the healing effect was tested using wound excision model in rats. The extract was qualitatively screened for the presence of phytochemicals. Results: We observed that the extract contains alkaloids, glycosides, saponins and flavonoids. The extract cream demonstrated significant wound healing by topical application. By day 18, a total wound closure (100 ± 0.00 %) was observed for 7.5 % Solanum mauriatianum leaf extract while the total wound closure for 1 % sulphadiazine at the same period was 92.00 ± 5.83 %. Microscopic examination of the tissues indicated a significant fibroblast proliferation, fibrosis, neovascularization, re-epithelization and scanty inflammatory cells in the wound tissues treated with the extracts compared with the untreated wound tissues. Conclusion: We conclude that ethanolic leaf extract of Solanum mauriatianum has greater potential for the treatment of open wounds.

An experimental investigation of the effects of humidity-induced condensation on shock/boundary-layer interaction has been conducted in a transonic wind-tunnel test. The test geometry considered was a wall-mounted bump model inserted in the test section of the wind tunnel. The formation of a [lambda]-shape condensation shock wave was shown from schlieren visualization and resulted in a forward movement of the shock wave, reduced shock wave strength, and reduced separation. Empirical correlations of the shock wave strength and humidity/dew point temperature were established. For humidity levels below 0.15 or a dew point temperature of 268 K, the effect of humidity was negligible. The unsteady pressure measurements showed that if a condensation shock wave formed and interacted with a main shock wave, the flow becomes unsteady with periodic flow oscillations occurring at 720 Hz.

The behavior of engineering systems arises as a direct result of interactions and interfaces between components. Whereas many of these intercomponent dependencies are easily identifiable, many others are obscure, often occurring as a result of technical interactions between remote entities. The identification and management of system interactions forms a major part of the systems engineering practices for system architecture, but methodologies for effective identification and management of interactions arising as a result of technical interfaces are still problematic. A methodology is developed for aircraft systems that identifies analysis-dependent system linkages. The result is the capability to assess the effect of analysis fidelity on system design.

Bone infections in cat-scratch disease (CSD) are uncommon and the diagnosis can be missed. A 3-year-old boy with multifocal pelvic osteomyelitis caused by Bartonella henselae is reported. Serological tests were negative but DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction assay of a lymph node. A swift recovery followed antibiotic treatment and there was completeresolution within a few months. The literature on 64 cases of osteomyelitis owing to CSD in children and adults since 1954 is reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with several adverse health outcomes. However, few studies in sub-Saharan Africa have examined its deleterious consequences on mental health. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence and changes in boredom, anxiety and psychological well-being before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana. Methods Data for this study were drawn from an online survey of 811 participants that collected retrospective information on mental health measures including symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, boredom, and well-being. Additional data were collected on COVID-19 related measures, biosocial (e.g. age and sex) and sociocultural factors (e.g., education, occupation, marital status). Following descriptive and psychometric evaluation of measures used, multiple linear regression was used to assess the relationships between predictor variables and boredom, anxiety and psychological well-being scores during the pandemic. Second, we assessed the effect of anxiety on psychological well-being. Next, we assessed predictors of the changes in boredom, anxiety, and well-being. Results Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 63.5% reported better well-being, 11.6% symptoms of anxiety, and 29.6% symptoms of boredom. Comparing experiences before and during the pandemic, there was an increase in boredom and anxiety symptomatology, and a decrease in well-being mean scores. The adjusted model shows participants with existing medical conditions had higher scores on boredom (ß = 1.76, p