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A comprehensive study of bacterial and biotoxin contaminants of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods in Nigeria is yet to be reported. Hence, this study applied 16S rRNA gene sequencing and a dilute-and-shoot LC-MS/MS method to profile bacteria and biotoxins, respectively, in 199 RTE food samples comprising eko (n = 30), bread (n = 30), shawarma (n = 35), aadun (n = 35), biscuits (n = 34), and kokoro (n = 35). A total of 631 bacterial isolates, clustered into seven operational taxonomic units, namely Acinetobacter, Bacillus, Klebsiella, Proteus and Kosakonia, Kurthia, and Yokenella, that are reported for the first time were recovered from the foods. One hundred and eleven metabolites comprising mycotoxins and other fungal metabolites, phytoestrogenic phenols, phytotoxins, and bacterial metabolites were detected in the foods. Aflatoxins, fumonisins, and ochratoxins contaminated only the artisanal foods (aadun, eko, and kokoro), while deoxynivalenol and zearalenone were found in industrially-processed foods (biscuit, bread, and shawarma), and citrinin was present in all foods except eko. Mean aflatoxin (39.0 µg/kg) in artisanal foods exceeded the 10 µg/kg regulatory limit adopted in Nigeria by threefold. Routine surveillance, especially at the informal markets; food hygiene and safety education to food processors and handlers; and sourcing of high-quality raw materials are proposed to enhance RTE food quality and safeguard consumer health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive study of bacterial and biotoxin contaminants of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods in Nigeria is yet to be reported. Hence, this study applied 16S rRNA gene sequencing and a dilute-and-shoot LC-MS/MS method to profile bacteria and biotoxins, respectively, in 199 RTE food samples comprising eko (n = 30), bread (n = 30), shawarma (n = 35), aadun (n = 35), biscuits (n = 34), and kokoro (n = 35). A total of 631 bacterial isolates, clustered into seven operational taxonomic units, namely Acinetobacter, Bacillus, Klebsiella, Proteus and Kosakonia, Kurthia, and Yokenella, that are reported for the first time were recovered from the foods. One hundred and eleven metabolites comprising mycotoxins and other fungal metabolites, phytoestrogenic phenols, phytotoxins, and bacterial metabolites were detected in the foods. Aflatoxins, fumonisins, and ochratoxins contaminated only the artisanal foods (aadun, eko, and kokoro), while deoxynivalenol and zearalenone were found in industrially-processed foods (biscuit, bread, and shawarma), and citrinin was present in all foods except eko. Mean aflatoxin (39.0 µg/kg) in artisanal foods exceeded the 10 µg/kg regulatory limit adopted in Nigeria by threefold. Routine surveillance, especially at the informal markets; food hygiene and safety education to food processors and handlers; and sourcing of high-quality raw materials are proposed to enhance RTE food quality and safeguard consumer health.

In 2011, sixty-five percent of India’s population did not have access to a bank account (Global Findex 2011). India has the second largest financially excluded poor in the world with more than half of its population considered as financially underserved At the same time, India is one of the fastest growing markets for mobile phones. Given the rising mobile phone usage in the country, M-Banking has a great potential for enabling financial inclusion of the poor. India has attained near universal telecom access with one of the lowest–cost retail distribution networks. Among the myriad M-banking services currently underway, EKO’s Simplibank offers one of the most promising initiatives in mobile money operating on a low-cost banking platform. Launched in 2007 through a partnership between the start-up company EKO and the State Bank of India (SBI), this mobile money service initially operated as a pilot project in the cities of Delhi, Bihar and Jharkhand. By 2011, EKO had captured a wider consumer base as a business correspondent of SBI through its new product for domestic remittances. EKO partners with a network of agents—chemists, grocers, airtime vendors—to provide banking services to people with no access to formal bank accounts.This paper explores the everyday use and effects of EKO mobile banking. It discusses findings from a recently concluded study of 160 customers, 20 customer service points (CSPs)/agents, and key functionaries of EKO in Delhi.

This is the 2-page executive summary for the IMTFI Working Paper: Effects of Mobile Money on the Savings Practices of Low-Income Users - the Indian Experience by Mani Nandhi.In 2011, 65% of India’s population did not have access to a bank account. Nevertheless, India’s socalled “unbanked” save by other means for everyday expenditures and emergencies. Traditional forms of saving include leaving money in gulaks (Fig. 1), with trusted friends or relatives, or in savings clubs. Many of these practices, however, are often risky or inefficient.From Ghana to Papua New Guinea, mobile money services have emerged as a safer and more efficient savings mechanism. Mobile money provides a means of financial inclusion for the unbanked. In India, there are now six mobile money services enabling banking at very low cost.

Heart murmur evaluation is the most common cause of referral to cardiology, and auscultation of heart sounds with a stethoscope remains a key component of the initial cardiovascular exam. Adoption of telecardiology has been limited by challenges in teleauscultation. We set out to compare in-person auscultatory findings with heart sounds recorded by the Core stethoscope (Eko, Berkeley, CA) in patients with normal heart sounds, innocent heart murmurs, and a variety of pathologic findings. Our study demonstrates that Eko recordings had a high percent of agreement with in-person auscultation findings and echocardiogram findings, with moderate inter-rater reliability. It was useful in identifying patients with pathologic murmurs who would benefit from further assessment. It was able to discern major types of pathological murmurs. Certain qualitative differences in the recorded sounds as compared to in-person auscultation were identified by the reading cardiologists. They were able to acclimate to these subtle differences. The system was felt to be easy to use, and most cardiologists in the study would consider using it in clinical settings. The Eko Core system may be a useful screening tool for murmur evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study is intended to evaluate effect on transferring to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of smoking and presence of at least one of cardiac pathologies, which can be detected Echocardiography (ECHO), and of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) in patients who were transferred to the ICU due to deterioration in their neurological condition while they were under inpatient follow-up in neurology service with ischemic stroke diagnosis. Materials and Method: The records of the patients who received inpatient treatment due to acute ischemic stroke and were transferred to the ICU for neurological deterioration were retrospectively studied. Smoking history, neurological examination, Cranial MRI, infarct localization, ECG and ECHO findings of the patients were recorded. ECG, ECO findings and smoking stories of the patients who were transferred to the ICU were examined. Findings: Of 612 stroke patients registered, 298 (56.9%) were male and 264 (43.1%) were female. The number of patients transferred to ICU was 100 (16.3%) and the number of patients not transferred was 512 (83.7%). At least one ECHO-detectable cardiac pathology and AF was determined in 36 (36%) of the patients who were transferred to the ICU. There was a statistically significant relationship determined in terms of the presence of AF and cardiac pathology between the patients who were transferred to ICU and those who were not (p:0.01, p:0.014, respectively). Conclusion: Our study showed that presence of ECHO-detectable cardiac pathologies and AF in ischemic stroke patients were the risk factors for transferring to ICU. It is important to suggest that close follow-up and treatment of ECHO-detectable cardiac pathologies and AF are determinants for stroke prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nausea is usually associated with early to late stages of pregnancy. Geophagy-deliberate consumption of soil is a common method of managing gravidae-induced discomfort. To control nausea, pregnant women in Nigeria commonly eat baked clay called “Eko” and another type of clay that induces buccal constriction called “Omumu”. The metal contents in Eko and Omumu, digested under different pH conditions (acidic, alkaline and neutral), were investigated using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICPS-OES). We identified and quantitate the elements present and speculate on their potential impact on maternal and fetal health upon gestational exposure beyond the acceptable exposure levels and the Millennium Contaminant Level Goals (MCLG) set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Specifically, our result indicates unacceptably high levels of aluminum in Eko and Omumu (>10-fold greater than the highest desirable levels set by the USEPA). The aluminum concentrations were influenced by the pH condition in which the samples were digested. Dietary exposure to aluminum at such high levels may be deleterious to maternal health and fetal development. Therefore consumption of Eko and Omumu as an antidote to reduce nausea during pregnancy should be discouraged. Future studies are planned to investigate specific impacts on fetal and maternal health and likely teratogenicity in rodent models.

Evaluation of human and animal health surveillance programs is currently lacking in most developing countries including sub-Saharan Africa. To evaluate the burden of salmonellosis and antimicrobial resistance status in developing countries, we need to identify the sources, serovar distribution and the prevalence of Salmonella to guide in the formulation of control program. This study was undertaken to determine the prevailing Salmonella serovars, the occurrence and the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica recovered from fish. Stratified random sampling was carried out in 2009 on 200 fish samples. All the isolates were biochemically characterized and presumptive Salmonella isolates were serotyped using standard procedure and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). A total of 23 isolates were positive for Salmonella out of the 200 samples (11.5%) analyzed, three different serovars comprising Salmonella serovars Hadar, 47: mt:-, and Eko were obtained. Generally, the antimicrobial resistance profile was low; however Salmonella Hadar showed a high level of resistance to the antimicrobial agents. Salmonella serovars; Hadar, 47: mt:- and Eko are the pathogens associated with fish contamination in Maiduguri, North eastern Nigeria and constitute serious health risks for the human population and need to be controlled by targeted interventions.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the ECG and ECO parameters in patients admitting to the emergency department with syncope and to evaluate relationship between ECG and ECHO findings and the cause and feature of syncope. Methods: A total of 90 patients admitted to our emergency department due to syncope between January 2016 and December 2016 were included in the study. This research is designed as a prospective cross-sectional case study. Electrocardiographic and echocardiographic parameters were measured and recorded. The type-1 error level was determined as 0.05 for statistical significance. Results: Forty (44.4%) of the patients were female, and 50 (55.6%) were male. The mean age of the patients was 63,5 years of age. Most of the cases (%57,8) discharged with a follow-up decision, and 36 patients were hospitalized, and 2.2% of patients died. When the relationship between the syncope duration of the patients and the duration of PR, QRS, and QT at the time of referral and 6th hour were examined, the only relation between QRS duration and duration of syncope was found statistically significant. Tricuspid insufficiency (41.1%), mitral regurgitation (37.8%), aortic insufficiency (18.9), mitral stenosis (6.7%) and aortic stenosis (5.6%) were found to be the most common cardiac valve diseases in the patients. The mean ejection fraction values of the patients were 50.3% and mean pulmonary artery pressure 30.8 mmHg. Conclusion: The use of ECG and ECHO in all patients who are referred for syncope is very useful in distinguishing cardiac syncope patients, diagnosing syncope, and identifying patients at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primer cardiac tumors are rare in childhood. Seventy percent of all cardiac tumors are rhabdomyomas, followed by teratomas, hemangiomas and fibromas. Cardiac tumors can cause chest pain, dyspnea, syncope and arrhythmias dependent on their location. Cardiac fibromas generally persist, rarely spontaneous regression of cardiac fibromas has been reported. This article presents a case of symptomatic cardiac fibroma presented with ventricular tachycardia and her long term follow. Echocardiography revealed a cardiac tumor measuring 7x3 cm in size and extending from apical segment of the interventricular septum. The features of tumor was verified with cardiac MRI, and histopathological examination revealed a cardiac fibroma. Because of the size and localisation of the tumor, only surgical biopsy could be done. The patient was followed with antiarrhythmic treatment and spontaneous resolution of the arrhythmia was documented in the long-term follow up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Evaluation of human and animal health surveillance programs is currently lacking in most developing countries including sub-Saharan Africa. To evaluate the burden of salmonellosis and antimicrobial resistance status in developing countries, we need to identify the sources, serovar distribution and the prevalence of Salmonella to guide in the formulation of control program. This study was undertaken to determine the prevailing Salmonella serovars, the occurrence and the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica recovered from fish. Stratified random sampling was carried out in 2009 on 200 fish samples. All the isolates were biochemically characterized and presumptive Salmonella isolates were serotyped using standard procedure and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). A total of 23 isolates were positive for Salmonella out of the 200 samples (11.5%) analyzed, three different serovars comprising Salmonella serovars Hadar, 47: mt:-, and Eko were obtained. Generally, the antimicrobial resistance profile was low; however Salmonella Hadar showed a high level of resistance to the antimicrobial agents. Salmonella serovars; Hadar, 47: mt:- and Eko are the pathogens associated with fish contamination in Maiduguri, North eastern Nigeria and constitute serious health risks for the human population and need to be controlled by targeted interventions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article traces Lagos's toponymy through the ages, from the original indigenous settlement to Nigeria's post-independence days. From Oko to Eko, from Curamo to Onim, and from Onim to Lagos, until its replacement by Abuja as the present federal capital—each name represents a layer in the city's rich and cosmopolitan past. Moving from the historical events to the related toponymic meanings and vice versa, the complexity of the simultaneous usages of Lagos's place names represents a fertile terrain of co-existent memories. From pre-colonial, colonial, or post-colonial times and the long intermediate phases in between, these memories sometimes contest or challenge each other, but their attached toponyms are also used as complementary alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the involvement of youth - constructed as 'area boys' and 'area girls' - in crises of order in downtown Lagos. It explores the emergence of 'bases' and 'junctions' as modes of organization and differentiation between and among youth in urban Lagos. A 'base' is a neighbourhood meeting place where youths gather to relax, recreate, and discuss sports and politics. A 'junction' is where social miscreants, street marauders and touts congregate to exploit money-making opportunities. It is my argument that bases and junctions embody distinct, yet connected, forms of subcultures that are simultaneously imbibed and projected by members. Moreover, they constitute emergent forms of territoriality constructed around spaces of leisure, residence and commerce, manifested in extrastate regimes of (dis)order in downtown Lagos. The article unpacks the involvement of members of junctions and bases in the provision of (dis)order as 'securo-commerce' - payment of different kinds of fees and levies to purchase security or forestall insecurity in downtown Lagos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α-Synuclein (α-Syn) is a small presynaptic protein and its mutant forms (e.g. A53T) are known to be directly associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Pathophysiological mechanisms underlying α-Syn-mediated neurodegeneration in PD still remain to be explored. However, several studies strongly support that overexpression of mutant α-Syn causes reduced release of dopamine (DA) in the brain, and contributes to motor deficits in PD. Using a favorable genetic model Drosophila larva, we examined whether reduced DA release is enough to induce key PD symptoms (i.e. locomotion deficiency and DA neurodegeneration), mimicking a PD gene α-Syn. In order to reduce DA release, we expressed electrical knockout (EKO) gene in DA neurons, which is known to make neurons hypo-excitable. EKO led to a decrease in a DA neuronal marker signal (i.e., TH - tyrosine hydroxylase) and locomotion deficits in Drosophila larva. In contrast, acute and prolonged exposure to blue light (BL, 470 nm) was sufficient to activate channelrhodopsin 2 (ChR2) and rescue PD symptoms caused by both α-Syn and EKO. We believe this is for the first time to confirm that locomotion defects by a genetic PD factor such as α-Syn can be rescued by increasing DA neuronal excitability with an optogenetic approach. Our findings strongly support that PD is a failure of DA synaptic transmission, which can be rescued by optogenetic activation of ChR2.

Nausea is usually associated with early to late stages of pregnancy. Geophagy-deliberate consumption of soil is a common method of managing gravidae-induced discomfort. To control nausea, pregnant women in Nigeria commonly eat baked clay called "Eko" and another type of clay that induces buccal constriction called "Omumu". The metal contents in Eko and Omumu, digested under different pH conditions (acidic, alkaline and neutral), were investigated using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICPS-OES). We identified and quantitate the elements present and speculate on their potential impact on maternal and fetal health upon gestational exposure beyond the acceptable exposure levels and the Millennium Contaminant Level Goals (MCLG) set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Specifically, our result indicates unacceptably high levels of aluminum in Eko and Omumu (>10-fold greater than the highest desirable levels set by the USEPA). The aluminum concentrations were influenced by the pH condition in which the samples were digested. Dietary exposure to aluminum at such high levels may be deleterious to maternal health and fetal development. Therefore consumption of Eko and Omumu as an antidote to reduce nausea during pregnancy should be discouraged. Future studies are planned to investigate specific impacts on fetal and maternal health and likely teratogenicity in rodent models.