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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.

Effect of honey on blood parameters in broiler chickens fed diet containing corticosterone (CORT) was examined. Arbor acres broiler chickens aged 28d were allotted to four groups. The birds received 30mg CORT/kg feed plus either 0 (C0H), 5 (C5H), 10 (C10H) or 15ml honey/l drinking water (C15H) for 7d. Blood sampling was carried out in five birds per treatment. Honey had significant (p < 0.01) effect on PCV, RBC and haemoglobin concentration (HB). Birds on honey treatment had higher PCV and RBC than the CONTROL. For HB, the same pattern was observed except that C0H and C15H were similar. Birds on C5H recorded highest values for the 3 parameters respectively. There were no significant (p > 0.05) differences in MCV, MCH, MCHC, WBC, leukocyte differentials and H:L ratio, except for oesinophil (EOS; p < 0.05). C5H birds recorded higher EOS than C10H and C15H, but not significantly different from C0H. Total protein, albumin, globulin, uric acid, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase were not significantly (p > 0.05) affected by treatment. Honey in drinking water of could be of help in improving the welfare of broiler chickens during stress episode by increasing the PCV, RBC and HB.

The field of reconfigurable computing is gaining a lot of following, and several use cases have been developed for it. At the centre of reconfigurable computing is the field programmable gate array (FPGA) due to its computational speed and versatility. The goal of the work reported here was to show that a single FPGA board paired with a computer monitor can be used as the sole laboratory equipment in a cash-strapped educational institution or by an individual. A Terasic DE1-SoC board was programmed as an oscilloscope, and digital multimeter. In keeping with the low-cost theme of this work, no external signal conditioning circuit was used and the on-board LTC2308 ADC was used for signal acquisition. At frequencies below 15 kHz, the voltage measurements of the developed FPGA lab instrument had a mean error of 58 mV. The voltage measurement errors, however, increased with an increase in frequency and the errors were significant when the signal frequencies exceeded 100 kHz. In terms of the use of the FPGA to replace multiple lab instruments, 13% of the DSPs on the FPGA were used for the implementation and 80% of the Adaptive logic modules. We therefore demonstrate that with $300 dollars, multiple pieces of laboratory equipment can be replaced by a single FPGA board and a monitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary discourse, Nigeria's reliance on its oil sector is proving insufficient for sustained economic growth. The volatility of oil prices, geopolitical tensions, technological advancements, and environmental sustainability concerns have exposed the vulnerabilities of an oil-dependent economy, emphasizing the need for diversification and a renewed focus on agriculture. This study investigates the relationship between technological innovation and agricultural productivity in Nigeria, contrasting it with the oil sector. Using the ARDL estimation technique, our findings reveal a significant negative influence of immediate lagged agricultural productivity (AGTFP(−1)), indicating technological constraints. Technological innovation, proxied by TFP, shows a substantial impact on agricultural productivity, with a negative long-term effect (−90.71) but a positive, though insignificant, impact on agricultural output (0.0034). The comparative analysis underscores that the agricultural sector tends to benefit more from technological innovation than the oil sector. This highlights the critical need to prioritize technological advancements in agriculture to drive sustainable growth and economic resilience in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is conflicting evidence on the role of lipid biomarkers in breast cancer (BC), and no study to our knowledge has examined this association among African women. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the association of lipid biomarkers—total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides—with odds of BC overall and by subtype (Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-enriched and triple-negative or TNBC) for 296 newly diagnosed BC cases and 116 healthy controls in Nigeria. Each unit standard deviation (SD) increase in triglycerides was associated with 39% increased odds of BC in fully adjusted models (aOR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.86). Among post-menopausal women, higher total cholesterol (aOR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.06, 2.57), LDL cholesterol (aOR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.04, 2.41), and triglycerides (aOR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.21, 3.01) were associated with increased odds of BC. Additionally, each unit SD increase in LDL was associated with 64% increased odds of Luminal B BC (aOR 1.64; 95% CI: 1.06, 2.55). Clinically low HDL was associated with 2.7 times increased odds of TNBC (aOR 2.67; 95% CI: 1.10, 6.49). Among post-menopausal women, higher LDL cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly associated with increased odds of Luminal B BC and HER2 BC, respectively. In conclusion, low HDL and high LDL are associated with increased odds of TN and Luminal B BC, respectively, among African women. Future prospective studies can definitively characterize this association and inform clinical approaches targeting HDL as a BC prevention strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The association between obesity and breast cancer (BC) has been extensively studied among US, European and Asian study populations, with often conflicting evidence. However, despite the increasing prevalence of obesity and associated conditions in Africa, the continent with the highest age-standardized BC mortality rate globally, few studies have evaluated this association, and none has examined in relation to molecular subtypes among African women. The current analysis examines the association between body composition, defined by body mass index (BMI), height, and weight, and BC by molecular subtype among African women.Methods: We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the association between measures of body composition and BC and molecular subtypes among 419 histologically confirmed cases of BC and 286 healthy controls from the Mechanisms for Established and Novel Risk Factors for Breast Cancer in Women of Nigerian Descent (MEND) case-control study.Results: Higher BMI (aOR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.67, 0.95) and weight (aOR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.69, 0.98) were associated with reduced odds of BC in adjusted models, while height was associated with non-statistically significant increased odds of BC (aOR: 1.07, 95% CI: 0.90, 1.28). In pre/peri-menopausal, but not post-menopausal women, both higher BMI and weight were significantly associated with reduced odds of BC. Further, higher BMI was associated with reduced odds of Luminal A, Luminal B, and HER2-enriched BC among pre/peri-menopausal women, and reduced odds of triple-negative BC among post-menopausal women.Conclusions: Higher BMI and weight were associated with reduced odds of BC overall and by molecular subtype among West African women. Larger studies of women of African descent are needed to definitively characterize these associations and inform cancer prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]