Maternal Care Utilization in Primary Healthcare Centers in Nigerian Communities.

This study investigated maternal care utilization in Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) in four rural communities in Ughelli North LGA, Delta State, Nigeria. The study is a cross-sectional household survey that used a structured questionnaire to elicit information from 398 women within the reproductive ages. The data were analyzed with descriptive and multivariate statistical methods. The data revealed that 67.1% of currently pregnant women utilized ANC in PHCs, 55.7% of women who reported recent birth delivered in PHCs and 30.9% delivered outside health institutions. The odds for delivery care utilization in PHCs were significantly lower for women who reported at least secondary education [aOR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.22 -1.16] and those on the highest income bracket N(15,000-99,000) [aOR: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.00-0.82]. Poor quality of care accounts for the highest proportion of the reasons why some women refrained from utilizing maternal care in PHCs despite proximity. Delta State government should put in place measures to upgrade PHCs in the rural part of the State.

The relationship between idiopathic bone cavity and orthodontic tooth movement: analysis of 44 cases.

OBJECTIVES: Idiopathic bone cavity (IBC), also named simple or traumatic bone cyst, is a common lesion of unknown cause. The mandible is a very common location, although it may occur in any bone of the body. The authors performed a retrospective analysis of 44 cases in order to assess the causation of this entity. METHODS: Each case was analysed by two of the authors (IV and SM) for medical and dental history, history of mandibular/maxillary trauma, clinical presentation, radiographic appearance, surgical findings and histopathology. RESULTS: This retrospective study suggested a possible relationship between IBCs and orthodontic treatment. This association was noted in 10/44 cases (22.73%). All of these cases were located in the mandible and were well-circumscribed radiolucencies. Evaluation of these cases disclosed that 6/44 (13.64%) demonstrated scalloping, and 3/44 (6.82%) revealed bony expansion. The age range of the patients evaluated was 9-74 years. None of these cases had a history of trauma or extractions in the area. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this retrospective study suggest an association between orthodontic treatment and the development of this IBC. This occurrence may be multifactorial; further research in the dental science is required.

Basic requirements for the transfer of fermentation technologies to developing countries.

Traditional small-scale fermentation technologies offer considerable potential for stimulating development in the food industry of developing countries in light of their low cost, scalability, minimal energy and infrastructural requirements and the wide consumer acceptance of fermented products in these countries. Efficient transfer and adaptation of these technologies is, however, often limited by inadequate basic scientific knowledge of the processes involved and the lack of appropriate biological inoculants and process controls for these technologies. Basic infrastructures, such as suitably equipped laboratories with consistent working conditions, a constant supply of good quality water and reliable power supplies, are critical elements of a minimal technology base for transfer and adaptation of these technologies. Building the institutional capacity in developing countries to facilitate research and development geared toward a better understanding of the technologies applied in small-scale traditional fermentations is essential, as is the encouragement of governments to formulate supportive national policies, which promote small-scale agro-industrial development. Socioeconomic considerations play a critical role in the successful and sustainable transfer and adoption of technologies and their products in developing countries.

Results and conclusions of the Austrian radon mitigation project 'SARAH'.

The Austrian radon mitigation joint research project SARAH (supported by the Austrian Ministry of Economy and the Government of Upper Austria), a 2-year follow-up study of the Austrian National Radon Project (ONRAP), was started in 1996. The objectives of the research project were to find simple, cost-effective experimental methods for the characterisation of the radon situation in dwellings and to evaluate technically and economically the implementation of state of the art remedial actions for Austrian house types. After an intercomparison exercise of the assigned radon measuring instruments and detectors five houses were closely examined in regions with elevated radon levels in the federal state of Upper Austria. In this research work for the first time an extended Blower-Door method (which is conventionally used for determining the tightness of buildings) was successfully applied to radon diagnosis of buildings. In this paper the methods used for the radon diagnosis, the applied mitigation measures and the related technical and economical aspects are discussed. In conclusion of the results of this project a common strategy for solving the radon problem in Austria in the future is presented briefly.

Thrombolysis for experimental deep venous thrombosis maintains valvular competence and vasoreactivity.

PURPOSE: Thrombolysis protects the structural and functional integrity of vein wall in an experimental model of acute deep venous thrombosis (DVT) immediately after treatment, but late sequelae have not been studied. We designed experiments to compare the effects of thrombolysis and surgical thrombectomy at 4 weeks after the treatment of DVT. METHODS: DVT was produced bilaterally in male mongrel dogs by proximal and distal femoral vein ligation. Five dogs underwent sham operation. After 48 hours, the ligatures were removed, and the thrombosis was treated with either Fogarty balloon catheter thrombectomy (shear force, 60 g; n = 6) or catheter-directed urokinase infusion (4000 U/min for 90 minutes; n = 6). At 4 weeks, patency and valvular competence were determined by duplex ultrasound scanning. Thrombogenicity was studied by the measurement of radiolabeled fibrin and platelet deposition. Veins were explanted and prepared for histologic examination, scanning electron microscopy, and functional studies in organ chambers. RESULTS: All veins were patent at 1 month. Recanalized thrombus was observed histologically in four (66%) thrombectomized veins, one (17%) thrombolyzed vein, and none of the sham-operated veins (P =.04). Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated similar luminal endothelial cell loss (11%-25%) in all three groups. Platelet and fibrin depositions were not different among groups. Valvular incompetence (reflux duration, >0.5 sec) did not differ significantly in the groups (thrombectomized veins, 2 of 12 (17%); thrombolyzed veins, 0 of 12 (0%); P = NS). In organ chamber studies, endothelium-dependent relaxations to calcium ionophore, but not adenosine diphosphate, were inhibited by an antagonist of nitric oxide production after thrombectomy (P <.05, thrombectomy vs sham- and thrombolysis-treated veins). All veins relaxed to exogenous nitric oxide. CONCLUSION: Both thrombectomy and thrombolysis restored patency and achieved similar valvular competence. Surgical thrombectomy, however, resulted in more residual thrombus and contributed to changes in endothelium-mediated relaxations at 4 weeks. Thrombolysis maintained both structural integrity and endothelial function.

Alleged abuses in health care in the 1990s: a critical assessment of causation and corrections.

Allegations of fraud in the health care field are being directed at a multitude of providers. This article, which follows an earlier one published in The Health Care Supervisor (16:2), seeks to address three questions surrounding the issue: what manner of fraud has occurred in the health care industry; which methods are being employed by our nation's legal system to address the problem, and, in the growing number of instances in which culpability is unclear, how alternative dispute resolution can be utilized to both address and resolve problems that arise.

Purification of a 24 kD parasitism-specific hemolymph protein from pharate pupae of the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa.

We report purification of a 24 kD parasitism-specific protein (24 kD PSP) from pharate pupal hemolymph of the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa, after parasitization by the braconid wasp, Diachasmimorpha (= Biosteres) longicaudata. We previously utilized isoelectric focusing (IEF) and two-dimensional (2-D) gel electrophoresis to demonstrate that the 24 kD PSP consists of two variants with pl 6.7 (more abundant) and pl 6.3. Purification of the more abundant 24 kD PSP variant was accomplished by Concanavalin A (Con A) sepharose B affinity chromatography followed by DEAE column chromatography. A second protocol, utilizing wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) sepharose 6MB affinity chromatography between the ConA and DEAE chromatographic steps, resulted in the purification of a partially deglycosylated form of the 24 kD PSP which retained its immunoreactivity with anti-PSP serum but which exhibited a greater relative migration in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-PAGE than the pl 6.7 24 kD PSP variant. For structural studies both 24 kD PSP variants were purified from whole hemolymph by flat bed IEF followed by SDS-PAGE. Peptide cleavage profiles in 1-D SDS-PAGE after treatment with BNPS-skatole, CNBr, and endproteinases Lys-C and Asp-N were identical for both 24 kD PSP variants. Primary N-terminus sequences of at least the first 20 amino acid residues of both variants were identical. A secondary sequence of five amino acids residues was detected in both variants at Thr, the seventh amino acid residue from the N-terminus of the primary sequence. These data indicate that both 24 kD PSPs are glycoforms of a branched, apparently homogeneous polypeptide.

Kinetic comparison of cytokinin nucleosidase activity isolated from normally ripening and mutant tomato varieties.

Kinetic parameters for cytokinin nucleosidase activity which catalyzes the deribosylation of N(6)(Delta(2)-isopentenyl)adenosine (I(6)Ado) to produce the more "active" free base N(5)(Delta(2)-isopenetyl)adenine (I(6)Ade) were compared for a normally ripening tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) cultivar Rutgers, and two mutant tomato varieties (Nor and Rin). K(m) for nucleosidase activity in Rutgers was lower (K(m) = 0.1 millimolar) than that in either Nor (K(m) = 0.14 millimolar) or Rin (K(m) = 0.13 millimolar).