Publications and Abstract of Research

Biomedical Technology Department (2017-2018)

List of 2017-2018 Publications and Abstract of Research from Biomedical Technology Department

School of Health Technology

S/NAuthor's Name & year of publicationTitle of workAbstractJournal NameJournal Vol./Number
4Ndubuka GIN, Ekezie J., Okafor WC., Samuel Uzoechi, Iwuji SC, Worgu Faith, Nkuma-Udah KL, Ngwogu KO and Chikezie JN. (2017). Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology Aided by Skinfold Caliper in the Diagnosis of Lymphadenopathy in the Tropics Cervical lymph node proliferation has been associated with many tropical diseases that may not warrant lymphadenectomy or unguided needle aspiration nowadays. Most palpable cervical lymph nodes in the tropics investigated by fine-needle aspiration cytology and have proved to be lymphadenitis. In seven years are 222 patients that had cervical lymph node enlargement and/or multiples were investigated for size with skinfold calliper and aspirated with mounted 23 gauge needle on 2ml/ 5mlhypodermic plunger. Occurring was 55.4% male of age range 25 to 46 years and 44.6% female whose age was 8 to 56 years. Of both sexes were 10% diagnosed with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) of 3 years duration manifestation and were apparently healthy with enlarged and multiple cervical lymph nodes. The texture of nodes varied inconsistency and firm nodes were dominant. Clinically confirmed ill-health patients were 91.4% of 222, and have had multiple visits while 8.6% were on their first visit but because of size and/or a number of nodes occurring were aspirated. Of the 6 age group that occurred, 20 – 29 and 30 – 39 were most and more involved respectively showing also in the same position of multiple numbers of nodes occurrence. Largest node was found in 8 years old girl whose age group was of less number of nodes. Eight disease conditions were present with 8 years 6 months highest duration prior to investigation. Bilateral side neck node occurrence is 80 cases and, 110 and 32 appeared laterally right and left respectively. In-situ size of node to gross of the node was 3:2 dominating while cervical skin fold versus lymph node skin fold plateau was the inconsistent and present bizarre ratio of no disease significance. Cyto-morphological findings were specific for varying degrees of inflammation, and acellular slides were found prevalent with seven of the diseases. Keywords: Lymphoadenopathy; Occurrence; In situ; Gross; Investigation; Skin-Fold Caliper International Journal of Forensic Sciences 2 (1).
5Ndubuka GIN, Jervas E, Ngwogu KO, Okafor WC, Nkuma-Udah KI, Iwuji SC, KO Ejeta, CI Kamanu, Ezejiofor TIN and Faith W1 (2017). The Occurrence of Uterine Benign Diseases and their Histomorphologic Characters. Uterine diseases are several and can develop from any part of the organ. Noticeable benign diseases are a type called hydatidiform mole considered benign among gestational trophoblastic disease and is said to occur from abnormal fertilization of abnormal ova. Other forms are inflammatory, proliferative of insidious cell/tissue implant, hormonal induced, and infectious in their origin. Samples were obtained from patients consulted and admitted into the Department of Morbid Anatomy of Ebonyi State University Teaching Hospital. Clinical and histopathological record books were reviewed alongside processed tissues and slides stained by popular haematoxylin and eosin technique in the 3 year study period. Of the 642 gynaecological samples searched, the result showed a progressive increase in number as the years empty from 2011 to 2013 presenting 8 uterine diseases in a population of 116 cases. A total of 518 cases were a product of conception of which 250 were as a result of incomplete spontaneous abortions and 200 inappropriate criminal abortions, while 68 could not be associated with any definite cause. Leiomyoma cases were 75%, uterine/vaginal prolapsed were 6%, molar pregnancies and endometriosis 5% and while endometrial hyperplasia and uterine atrophy were 3% each and 2% each were for uterine polyp and adenomyosis in all of the 116 cases. Six age groups were involved showing that 7 diseases and total frequency of 50% occurred with age group (40-49) and is seconded by (30-39) which had 5 conditions with a frequency of 21%. The attempted provisional diagnosis was based on clinical presentations, and of 116 cases 80% were confirmed accurate by laboratory diagnosis. Clinical characters of leiomyomas were the same while histomorphologic features were not entirely consistently the same in all. Journal of Forensic Pathology 2:01
6Gideon I. Ndubuka; Francis C. Akabuogu, Wilson C. Okafor and Jervas Ekezie (2018) Design And Fabrication Of Alcohol Breathe Analyzer With Locally Sourced Materials Background: Alcohol has been classed drug of high efficiency of intoxication and in many countries in the world is considered beverage of none consummation by certain age group and in other age groups is prohibited at work. The principle behind screening for overdose alcohol intake has been established as an important step in identifying risky drinkers. The design and fabricate of alcohol breathe analyzer intoxication ability. Methods: The design and fabrication of Alcohol Breathe Analyzer was done with locally sourced materials and in consideration of methods of brewing, consumption and relevant laws in Nigeria. The alcohol breath analyzer was designed using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software and locally sourced materials were programmed in the integrated circuit design thereby having accurate miniaturized fabricate. The device was designed to display a ranged output for every single-use, where a small and large value represented the lower and higher limit of Blood Alcohol Concentration measured respectively. As programmed, the function cumulates to the intelligent system with input interpretation of colour development within and translated at the output semi-station. A feedback unit station serves in ranges for error and limit operation when there is a detrimental occurrence. Results: Test-run results of the device showed that output maintained some level of correlation with expected ranged output. Conclusion and Implications for Translation: There was increased reliability observed with this alcohol breath analyzer equipment when results are presented in ranges. Further study on this equipment is required. International Journal Of Translational Medical Research And Public Health 2:02
7Chigozie A. Nnadiekwe, B. and Samuel C. Iwuji (2018) Locally-Fabricated Short Messaging Service (SMS)-Based Tele-Care Patient Monitor Objective: The aim of this study was to develop and implement mobile monitoring system which utilizes short messaging service (SMS), some hardware and software equipment, with a proof of concept prototype to transmit blood pressure and body temperature readings of a patient to the care-giver or physician in a remote location. Methods: The communication between the device and the patient is implemented using measuring equipment (Digital sphygmomanometer and LM35 temperature sensor). The readings or data are analyzed and compared to detect abnormalities; this is done by the microcontroller (PIC16F877A). The microcontroller sends the information to the LCD for display and to the GSM modem as well via MAX232. The information is then forwarded to the physician’s phone by the GSM modem. In case of panic, the device automatically initiates an alerting SMS to the patient’s caregiver or doctor. It also enables exchange SMS between the patient and the physician, making continuous monitoring possible. Conclusion and Implications for Translation: This experimental health monitoring set-up can be operated from anywhere in the globe with any cellular network that offers data services. It was designed for intensive health care where critical monitoring is needed at all times. The system is relatively portable, versatile, cost-effective and user-friendly. International Journal Of Translational Medical Research And Public Health Vol. 2:2, 28-36
8Gordon Amadi, Samuel C. Iwuji, Taofik O. Azeez and Chioma O. Wodu (2018) Biochemical Effects Of Piper Guineense In Female Diabetic Wistar Rats Objectives: The study investigated the biochemical effects of oral doses of Piper guineense (Uziza) on female albino Wistar rats. Methods: The animals were divided into six groups (n=7). Group 1 received water and feed only. Groups 2 – 6 were induced with diabetes using alloxan. Methanolic leave extract of P. guineense was administered to Groups 2 to 4 in 40mg/Kg, 80mg/kg and 100mg/kg body weights representing low, medium and high doses respectively, Group 5 was treated with 10mg/kg bodyweight of Gilbenclamide (Antidiabetic drug) and Group 6 was left untreated. All treatments were carried out orally and lasted for a period of 14 days at the end of which the animals were sacrificed through cardiac puncture and the blood samples collected for the analysis of their Biochemical parameters using assay kits. Results: The results showed that the oral doses of methanolic leave extract of Piper guineense had no negative alterations on the Biochemical parameters analyzed (Lipid Profile such as Triglyceride, Low-Density Lipoprotein, Total Cholesterol and High-Density Lipoprotein levels and on Electrolytes such as Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, Bicarbonate, Urea and Creatinine levels). Furthermore, there was a significant reduction in the Urea levels of treated animals and markedly, though, insignificant reduction on the Total Cholesterol level and increase in High-Density Lipoprotein at P< 0.05. Conclusion and Implications for Translation: P. guineense caused no adverse biochemical changes in female diabetic rats and could be useful in the management of diabetes among diabetic or prediabetic females. International Journal Of Translational Medical Research And Public Health Vol. 2:2, 28-36
9Ohadoma SC, Osuala FN, Amazu LU, Iwuji SC (2017). Comparative Analysis of the Anticonvulsant activity of Crinum jagus and Solanum Indicum in Mice. There is no known drug that has prevented or cured reoccurrence of epileptic seizures, hence the need to explore and compare natural remedies that are employed in the folkloric treatment of convulsion. The aim of the present was to assess comparatively, the anticonvulsant activity of methanol extracts of Crinum jagus and Solanum Indicum. The crude methanol extracts of the bulbs and fruits of C. jaguars and S. Indicum, respectively, obtained by 72 h maceration in methanol. The extracts were evaluated for anticonvulsant activity using mice and electroconvulsive shock equipment (Ugobasile ECT UNIT 7801). Four groups of six animals each were used for each extract. Group I received no extract serving as a control in both cases. Groups II, III and IV received varying concentrations (32.50, 25.50; 41.50, 51.50; and 64.50, 112.50 mg/kg) for C. jaguars and S. Indicum respectively. All medicaments were protective against electrically induced convulsion. C. jaguars showed protection after administration of 64.50 mg/kg body weight while S. Indicum was at 112.50 mg/kg body weight. The two extracts justified their use in a traditional and folkloric setting with the bulb extract of C. jaguars possessing greater anticonvulsant effect than the fruit extract of S.indicum. UK Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biosciences Vol. 5(3), 31-34.
10Alma Tamunonengiofori Banigo, Samuel Chidi Iwuji & Ezinne Ibe (2018) Characterization of Aqueous Extract of Brassicaoler­aceavarCapitataand Evaluation of its Antioxidant Potential Background: The purpose of this study was to characterize and examine the beneficial phytochemicals in Brassicaoler­aceavarCapitata(green cabbage) that activate and stabilize antioxidants and detoxification mechanisms in humans. Methods: Aqueous extracts of B. Oleraceawere analyzed for phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity (AA) using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometry (GC-MS) and different in vitro assays respectively. The AA was tested by radical scavenging activity of cabbage extract against 1, 1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and Nitric Oxide (NO) assays. Results: Ten phenolic compounds including 9,12,15-Octadecatrienoic acid; 2,3-dihydroxylpropyl ester; 9, 12- Octadecatrienoic acid; Dimethyltrisulphide; N,N-Bis (3-aminopropyl) trimethylene diamine and 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-ethylamphetamine were identified. The extract also generated positive indications of the presence of vitamin k and ascorbic acid and was highly active in the scavenging of three radicals using DPPH and NO assays. Conclusion and Implications for Translation: The high antioxidant activity of the green cabbage extract was comparable to standard results. Brassicaoler­aceavarCapitatapossessed a high potential of bioactive solutions and food supplement against the diseases caused by oxidative stress. International Journal of Translational Medical Research and Public Health 2 (2); 35
11Azeez, Taofik Oladimeji & Banigo Alma Tzmunonengiofori (2018) Phytochemical analysis of Aqueous Methanolic Extract of Acanthospermumhispidium and its effect on Biochemical and Hematological indices in Plasmodium falciparum-infected Rats Haematological (Red blood cell ‘RBC’, packed cell volume ‘PCV’, white blood cell ‘WBC’ and platelet ‘PLA’) and biochemical (total protein, serum albumin and creatinine) parameters of rats treated with aqueous-methanolic extract of A. hispidumleaves on blood serum of rats infected with P. falciparum was investigated. The chemical composition was determined using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Biochemical and haematological parameters were examined using standard methods. The aqueous-methanolic extract of A. hispidumconsist of Allyldimethyl-Formamide, Erythritol, Glycerin,(total protein, serum albumin and creatinine) parameters of rats treated with aqueous-methanolic extract of A. hispidumleaves on blood serum of rats infected with P. falciparum was investigated. The chemical composition was determined using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Biochemical and haematological parameters were examined using standard methods. The aqueous-methanolic extract of A. hispidumconsist of Allyldimethyl-Formamide, Erythritol, Glycerin, Benzoylmethyl-3-hydroxy-5-nitro-2-indolinone, Silanol and Hexadecanoic acid, 1-(hydroxymethyl)-1,2-ethanediol ester with Benzoylmethyl-3-hydroxy-5-nitro-2-indolinone, Silanol and Hexadecanoic acid, 1-(hydroxymethyl)-1,2-ethanediol ester with reduction in WBC and creatinine level compared to normal control when treated with aqueous – methanolic extract of A.hispidumleaves were obtained with reduced parasitaemia. Aqueous – methanolicA. hispidumleaves, at 400mg/kg for 72 hours proved to be the best for treatment of malaria parasite based on haematological and biochemical parameters assessed. African Journal of Biomedical Research 21; 183- 192
12Taofik Oladimeji Azeez, Dominic Okechukwu Onukwuli, Joseph Tagbo Nwabanne & Alma Tamunonengiofori Banigo (2018) CissusPopulneaFiber - Unsaturated Polyester Composites: Mechanical Properties and Interfacial Adhesion Mechanical (flexural, hardness, and impact) properties and interfacial adhesion of acetic anhydride (AC) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) treated Cissuspopulnea fibre-unsaturated polyester (UPR) composites was investigated because of poor durability of the natural fiber-UPR composite applications. UPR composites were prepared with untreated and optimally treated fibre using the hand-lay-up technique. Optimization of mechanical properties and interfacial adhesion between the fibre and UPR were determined using response surface methodology and fibre pull-out method, respectively. AC and EDTA treated fibres improved the flexural and hardness properties and interfacial adhesion at reduced impact strength. This is corroborated with the morphology of the composites. Journal of Natural Fibers. 15 (6); 1-15
13Alma Tamunonengiofori Banigo & Taofik Oladimeji Azeez (2017) Recombinant Phosphoinositide-3-Kinase C2β C2 Domain Molecules Recombinant DNA domain remains a dependent of effective use of recombinant proteins in many applications but its production remains an area of concern due to DNA vector and production path. This work is aimed at studying the generation and replication of the recombinant DNA molecule using PI3K C2β C2 domain and glutathione s-transferase (GST) which expressed in pGEX-2T vector. The molecular cloning technique was employed to generate a recombinant DNA molecule. PI3K C2β C2 domain of isoform PI3K C2β belonging to class PI3K C2 of Phosphoinositide-3-Kinase (PI3K) family was used and the effective digestion of pGEX-2T vector was studied using restricted enzymes (RE) of EcoR I and SmaI with binding partners location. The ligated product of recombinant DNA was obtained after successfully doubled digestion of pGEX-2T vector. The best transformation of competent bacterial cells was obtained at a molar ratio of 5:1 for RE digested vector insert DNA and vector DNA. The recombinant DNA can be employed may be used in the treatment of non –communicable diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Advances in Life Science and Technology 61; 8-15
14Alma Tamunonengiofori Banigo, Taofik Oladimeji Azeez, Judith Chinelo Ezelote (2017) Girl-Child and Women: Education and Empowerment for Sustainable Development Improper education of the girl-child and women characterized with low self-esteem, lack of confidence, insecurity and national development. The reasons for girl-child and women education as well as empowerment for sustainable health and development was aimed to be investigated. Critical issues in girl-child education such as access to education, drop out from school by a female child and quality of education experience which endangered the girl-child or women have been discussed in this report. Educating and empowering of female children and women coupled with proffered solutions such as building of good mentoring as well as networking groups, sponsorships and proper training would not only apparently contribute towards embracing gender equality, increasing the workforces, particularly, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workforce but improved emotional, economic, mental, physical, political, religion and social experiences. Thus, yield a healthy nation, high-quality leadership, reduced rate of dependence and increased the nation’s workforce for sustainable development. Journal of Poverty, Investment and Development 38; 18-25
15Ugorji Tochukwu Nze, Osuagwu Chidi Gideon, Ekezie Jervas, Igwe Alice and Okafor Wilson (2017) Design and Fabrication of Improved Below-Knee Prosthesis to Better Mimic Natural Limb Lower limb prosthesis is a device made to replace all or part of the leg or foot. Below-knee prosthesis specifically refers to a lower limb prosthesis that replaces part of the leg that is below the knee joint. Most amputees tend to live a dependent and sedentary life, especially when they cannot function effectively and efficiently with their prostheses. They tend to depend on their children and wards for some of their daily activities because of the inability to design and fabricate a device (prosthesis) that will rehabilitate and reintegrate such a person into the society. This sometimes leads to a dormant lifestyle, depression or psychological problems. Following this, there is a need to design a prosthesis that will accommodate most functions of a lower limb, hence fully rehabilitate and reintegrate such amputees into the society. Secondly, effective and efficient ambulation is the major challenge faced by amputees. This poses a great challenge to them and the rehabilitation team as well. The focus of this research work is to design and fabricate an improved below-knee prosthesis that will better mimic natural limb inform/shape and function by the inclusion of a devised ankle joint in the prosthesis. The main conclusion is that the inclusion of the devised ankle joint enhanced the functionality of the prosthesis, hence a better rehabilitation of the amputee than the conventional prosthesis which has direct pylon-to-foot assemblage without any provision for ankle joint. Keywords: Below-knee prosthesis; Ankle joint; Rehabilitation; Functionality Current Trends in Biomedical Engineering & Biosciences 10(2):
16Udoka OC, Chijioke NN, Nwabueze US, Jervas E Chimobi O, Williams O. Lipid Profile Abnormalities among Nigerian Male Renal Failure Patients on Dialysis There is a relationship between cardiovascular and renal disease. Dyslipidemia contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease and renal failure progression. Dialysis is a good treatment measure for the management of chronic renal failure. This study was carried out to assess the lipid profile of Nigerian male patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) on dialysis treatment. Materials and Method: A total of 120 adult Nigerian male subjects were involved in this study. 60 of them were chronic renal failure patients on dialysis treatment, while the rest 60 were healthy adult males (control group). Their Total cholesterol (TC), Triglyceride (TG), Very Low-Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol (VLDL-C), Low-Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol (LDL-C), and High-Density Lipoprotein- Cholesterol were estimated by enzymatic method. Result: It was observed statistically that the lipid profile of the patients significantly (p<0.05) differ from that of the healthy subjects. TC, TG, VLDL-C, and LDL-C, were significantly higher (p<0.05), while their HDL-C was significantly lower (p<0.05) than that of the healthy subjects. Cardiovascular risk indices, TC/HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C ratios of the chronic renal failure patients were significantly higher (p< 0.05) than that of healthy subjects. Conclusion: This result indicated that despite dialysis treatment on these Nigerian male patients, the renal failure still predisposes the patients to atherosclerosis as a result of abnormal lipid profile. Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Lipid profile; Dialysis; Renal failure Journal of Diabetes, Metabolic Disorders & Control J Diabetes Metab Disord Control 4(5)00121
17Hang Sun, Arukalam Felicity Mmaezi, Hongli Zhang, Siqi Liu, Hong Li, Wei Zhang and Wei Qian (2018) Automatic Breast Segmentation in MRI Using Improved Fully Convolutional Network. MRI plays an important role in clinical breast tumour diagnosis. Accurate breast region segmentation is a prerequisite in many breast-related clinical diagnosis applications. However, traditional image segmentation methods cannot be precise enough in many cases due to the existence of noise, heterogeneity and weak edge. To make the segmentation result further plausible, a robust and fully automatic breast segmentation method in MRI images was introduced in this study. A dataset involving 9864 MRI slices from 121 patients were collected retrospectively and divided into training and testing group randomly. A fully convolutional network (FCN) with atrous spatial pyramid pooling was trained using 75 per cent of the MRI images in the dataset. Then, the rest images were used to evaluate the breast segmentation performance of the model. The result shows high conformity were used to evaluate the breast segmentation performance of the model. The result shows high conformity were used to evaluate the breast segmentation performance of the model. The result shows high conformity with the golden standard. Comparing to conventional segmentation results and standard FCN, this method can bring more satisfactory breast boundary. Journal of Medical Imaging and Health Information
18Somayeh Ramezanian and Samuel Uzoechi, BalasingamMuhunthan, Nehal Abu-Lail (2018) Role of ionic strength in the thicknesses of the biopolymer fringes, spring constants, and Young's moduli of Pseudomonas putida Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to probe the mechanical properties of the soil microbe, Pseudomonas putida, as a function of the ionic strength (IS). By modelling the linear and nonlinear regimes of the AFM force-indentation data, the spring constant and the Young's modulus of the bacterial cell were estimated, respectively. In addition, the thickness of the biopolymer fringe that covers the bacterial surface was estimated as the transition distance between the linear and nonlinear regimes of a given force-indentation curve. The authors' results indicated that as the IS increased from 0.16 to 0.52 M, the bacterial spring constant remained unchanged, suggesting that the turgor pressure of the bacteria is unchanged in that range. This finding further suggests that P. putida arrives to osmotic equilibrium with its surroundings in the IS range of 0.16 and 0.52 M. Their results further indicated that as the IS increases from 0.02 to 0.52 M, the thickness of the biopolymer firing decreased by ∼3-fold and this decrease was associated with a ∼6-fold apparent increase in the Young's modulus of the bacterial cell. Combined, their results suggest that enhanced soil-biofilm composite mechanical properties can be achieved via the application of higher IS solutions in soil. The use of low IS solutions should be avoided in applications where enhanced soil mechanics are sought because hydraulic conductivity is expected to be high. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology Volume 36, Issue 2
19K. O. Ejeta et al (2017) Impact of Nanotechnology in Nigeria: A short survey Nanotechnology, one of the foremost alternative modern technologies of the twenty-first century offers enormous benefits and opportunities through synthesis, characterization and fabrication of quite vast number of nanomaterial to solve societal immediate problems. Structured questionnaires were administered to three different industries in each of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria, a Country located in West Africa bordering the Gulf of Guinea, Niger and Chad (North), Benin (West) and Cameroon (East) to determine the impact of nanotechnology. The data emanating from this study were analyzed using multiple regression analysis, correlation analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA)1 and Likert 5 scales with T-test utilized in determining levels of significance. The findings are reported and discussed. Int. J of Biosensors Bioelectronics 2(5)

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