Malaria remains a major global public health problem causing over 400,000 deaths annually, mainly among children in sub Saharan Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the second largest and the fourth most populated country in Africa, is one of the most malarious countries in the world. An estimated 97% of its 71 million inhabitants live in high transmission areas. Together with Nigeria, DRC accounts for about 40% of the total estimated malaria cases worldwide, and for more than 35% of the total estimated malaria deaths. The national malaria control programme (NMCP) is committed to reducing malaria and the associated morbidity and mortality in DRC through the implementation of specific proven interventions. The aim of this thesis was to contribute to the improvement of malaria control activities in the DRC, through the provision of new evidence on the epidemiology of malaria and key control interventions, to support evidence-based policy making.
Kinshasa, the capital of DRC, has been expanding very rapidly in the past 20 years (going from an estimated 3 million inhabitants to a current estimate of 10 million) and available evidence has shown that urbanization had a significant impact on the ecosystems and disease patterns, including malaria. However, in the context of scaling up of interventions, data on malaria distribution in Kinshasa are scarce; the latest epidemiological study was conducted in 2000. We conducted two cross-sectional surveys to update malaria risk stratification in Kinshasa, identify factors contributing to the distribution patterns, and update information on malaria control activities. Geo-referenced data for key parameters were mapped at the level of the health area (HA) by means of a geographic information system (GIS). The overall standardized malaria prevalence was 11.7%, showing a decline compared to previous studies. The spatial distribution showed higher malaria risk in the peri-urban areas compared to the more urban central areas. Compared to the Demographic and Health Survey 2007 (DHS-DRC, 2007), coverage of malaria control measures showed considerable progresses in a pattern inversely proportional to the malaria risk distribution: low LLIN coverage in the peri-urban areas and higher coverage in the centre of the city. The analysis of drivers of malaria in both children less than five years and individuals aged older than five years highlighted the variation of the effect of age and reported history of fever by level of endemicity. In low endemicity strata, a shift in the peak of malaria prevalence towards the older age groups was observed, while the history of fever in the last two weeks increased the risk of malaria in all age groups and regardless of the level of endemicity. Individual use of LLIN was associated with reduced risk malaria infection among children less than five years. The risk of malaria was lower among children less than five years of the wealthiest socio economic group. This risk map constitutes a strong basis for the planning of malaria control interventions in Kinshasa.
Following the publication of the results of two large open-label randomized controlled trials (SEAQUAMAT, AQUAMAT) that demonstrated the benefits of injectable artesunate over quinine in the treatment of severe malaria, and in line with the updated WHO guidelines, the NMCP changed the policy for treating severe malaria in children and adults from injectable quinine to injectable artesunate in 2012 A transition period of 3 years was set, including the need for operational research to support the national deployment. We conducted an operational comparative study of quinine and injectable artesunate for the treatment of severe malaria (MATIAS study) with the aims of assessing the operational feasibility of this introduction, providing national cost estimates, and assessing the acceptability of the new drug among both health care providers and patients. Our findings showed that all the operational parameters measured (time to discharge, interval between admission and the start of intravenous treatment, personnel time spent on patient management, and parasite clearance time) were equal or in favour of injectable artesunate. The mean total cost per patient treated for severe malaria in hospitals and health centres was also lower with injectable artesunate. There was a high acceptability by both health care providers and patients. These findings support the rapid scale up of injectable artesunate in the country. 
Mass distribution campaigns of LLIN are accepted as the best approach to rapidly increase coverage and use. To promote correct and consistent use of distributed LLIN, the WHO recommends the integration of door-to-door visits with “hang up” activities into mass distribution campaigns. Integrating hang-up activities requires obviously additional human and financial resources. Since published data on the effects and cost of door-to-door visits with hang up activities on LLIN use are scarce, more evidence is still required to optimize the efficiency of national LLIN programmes. We used a LLIN mass distribution campaign in the province of Kasai Occidental that used two different approaches, a fixed delivery strategy and a door-to-door strategy including hang-up activities, to evaluate comparatively household LLIN ownership, access and individual use, and examine factors associated with LLIN use. We also compared the two delivery strategies with regard to the LLIN coverage achieved and the cost of implementation. Results showed that the mass distribution campaign was effective at achieving high LLIN ownership and use. Having sufficient numbers of LLIN to cover all residents in the household was the strongest determinant of LLIN use. Compared with the door-to-door strategy, the fixed delivery strategy achieved a higher LLIN coverage at lower delivery cost, and seems to be a better LLIN delivery option in the context of DRC. 
Information on the number and distribution of malaria cases and deaths is fundamental for the design, implementation and evaluation of malaria control programmes. In many endemic areas, health facility-based data remain the only consistent and readily available source of information on malaria. Because of known inherent limitations, this source of date can underestimate the total burden of disease by a considerable fraction. In DRC, the use of rapid diagnostic tests has been expanded since 2010, leading to a marked increase in suspected malaria cases receiving a diagnostic test. Together with other management measures, this should improve the quality of the incidence rates obtained through the Health Monitoring Information System (HMIS). Based on household survey data, the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) of the University of Oxford has produced estimates of clinical incidence of malaria for the years 2000-2015 for all African countries, providing something like a reference value on incidence rates. We compared the malaria incidence rates obtained from the HMIS data in the DRC from 2010 to 2014 to the MAP modelled incidence rates for the same time period, in order to assess the relative reporting of the HMIS system. Our preliminary results showed that due to the expansion of parasitological diagnosis, the number of confirmed malaria cases reported and hence the fraction of incident cases captured by the HMIS data had increased substantially over time. By contrast, the number of incident malaria cases predicted by the MAP model had progressively decreased. Because of inconsistencies in reporting, it has been difficult to establish trends in malaria morbidity, but the unchanged high values of test positivity rates suggest malaria transmission remains high and stable over time.

Malaria epidemiology and key control interventions in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Native people or ethnic societies that live in endemic malaria islands such as in Bangka Island and Belitung Island have used many medicinal plants to cure malaria. Leaves of kesembung ( Scaevola taccada (Gaertn Roxb), roots of kebentak ( Wikstroemia androsaemofolia Decne), and roots of medang mencena ( Dapniphyllum laurinum (Benth) are the examples. This research was aimed to investigate the present of some biochemical compound and evaluate the antimalarial activity of ethanol extract of the plants against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 in vitro. The IC50 level was determined through visual observation under microscope over 5000 of giemsa-stained erythrocytes then analyzed by probit analysis. Results showed that kebentak root ethanol extract was effective to inhibit P. falciparum 3D7 with level 0.485 µg/mL. Furthermore, the IC50 level of kesembung leaves and medang root were 44.352 µg/mL and 1486.678 µg/mL respectively. Phytochemical test result showed that kebentak leaf ethanol crude extract contained triterpenoid, kesembung root contained phenol and tannins; moreover, medang root contained alkaloid, saponin, and triterpenoid. How to Cite Helmi, H., Afriyansyah, B. & Ekasari, W. (2016). The Effectiveness of Local Plants from Lom and Sawang Ethnics as Antimalarial Medicine. Biosaintifika: Journal of Biology & Biology Education , 8(2), 193-200.

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The Effectiveness of Local Plants from Lom and Sawang Ethnics as Antimalarial Medicine

...................................................................................................................................... vi CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES .................................... ................................................................................................. xi TABLE OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................. ....................................................................................... xvi 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................. 1 1.

Roles of biting preference and insecticide resistance in determining malaria transmission heterogeneity in The Gambia

Background: Resistance development to antimalarial drugs necessitates the look at traditional medicinal plants as sources of novel compounds that could have the otential to be developed into new antimalarial therapies. Four medicinal plants used in Kenya to treat malaria were investigated. Objective: To determine the in vitro and in vivo antimalarial activity and safety of four medicinal plants used in Kenya to treat malaria. Materials and Methods: Ximenia americana, Sericocomopsis hilderbrandtii, Pentas lanceolata and Fuerstia africana were collected from their habitat, dried, and extracted with methanol and aqueous solvents. In vitro antiplasmodial activity carried out using Plasmodium falciparum, In vivo antimalarial activity using Plasmodium berghei ANKA strain in Swiss albino mice. Cytotoxicity was carried out using MTT assay on VeroE99 cell lines, acute toxicity was investigated in Swiss albino mice. Results: All extracts had good in vitro activity against D6 strain of Plasmodium falciparum with IC 50 30% while three demonstrated low activity. Fuerstia africana was moderately cytotoxic. Except for Ximenia americana water extract, all the extracts were safe with LD 50 > 5000mg/Kg. Conclusion: Results of this study support medicinal use of these plants and indicate that useful compounds can be isolated for further exploitation, formulation and use. Keywords: Medicinal plants, antiplasmodial activity, cytotoxicity, acute toxicity

Antimalarial activities and toxicity levels of selected medicinal plants used in Kenya

Evaluation of tensile properties of Meriz fiber reinforced epoxy composites using Taguchi method

Welding processes play a significant role in many fabrication and manufacturing industries. Among various welding processes that have been developed over the years, Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) or Metal Inert Gas Welding (MIG) has received a lot of interest due to its ability to weld a variety of metallic materials, easy adaptation for automation, high deposition rate, high efficiency, and low capital requirement. This study focus on the optimization of the multi-performance characteristics of MIG welded butt joint of AISI 1008 mild steel and AISI 316 austenitic stainless steel by hybrid Grey based Taguchi method. L9 Taguchi orthogonal array was adopted for the optimization of the MIG welding current, voltage and gas flow rate. The weld joint integrity has been assessed in terms of the tensile strength, yield strength, percentage elongation and Vickers microhardness of the fusion zone. Welding current of 180 A, voltage of 14 V, and gas flow rate of 19 l/min were obtained as the optimal parameter setting for the MIG welding process. The tensile strength, yield strength, percentage elongation and hardness of 559.25 MPa, 382.22 MPa, 33.34%, and 250.63 HV respectively were obtained at the optimal setting. Voltage was the most significant process parameter with 63.76% contribution for the multi-performance of the weldments. The confirmatory test was performed to validate the optimization process which proved Grey based Taguchi method to be an easy but yet effective method for multi-performance characteristics optimization of welded joints. 

Grey-based taguchi method for multi-weld quality optimization of gas metal arc dissimilar joining of mild steel and 316 stainless steel

The investigation of anti-plasmodia effect of metabolic leaf extract of Gyssypium barbadense in P. Berghei (NK 65 Chloroquine resistance strain) infected Swiss albino mice. The animals were grouped into six (I, ii, iii, iv, v, vi) of five (5) mice each. Group (i) given 50mg/kg dosage of the leaf extract, Group ii 100mg/kg Group iii 200/kg, Group iv given anti-malaria drug (ACT A) at a DOSE OF 3.81MG/KD, Group v given coartem and Group vi served as a -ve control. A four days curative test was carried out. The % parasite inhibition of the leaf extract at 50mg/kg is 58.29% at 100mg/kg is 61.16 % at 200mg/kg is 51.92% and 41.60% for group (iv) & 66.23% for group (v). The % parasite density was observed to increase with increase in concentration of the leaf extract (50<100<200). The progression in %parasite inhibition by the leaf extract as compared with +ve control group (IV) & (v) of a purified drug has better efficacy, it is premature to conclude. The leaf extract was found to contain Flavonoids, Sappnnin, Cardiac glycosides, PHENOL. It is observed in the result a significant increase (p<0.05) in weight of the animals on treatment with the leaf may contain antiplasmodia agents.

Combating MALARIA in Sub-Saharan Africa - The Potential of Local Plant


 A hybrid solar power system (HSPS) is an alternate method of supplying electricity that can reduce fuel usage while maintaining power supply security. In this study, the efficiency of HSPS, which consists of Grid Supply (GS), Diesel Power Generation (DPG), Solar-Photovoltaic (SPV), and Battery Storage (BS) systems, was evaluated in two economic activity areas (EAAs) in Southern Nigeria. The cross-sectional research design was used, and the research was based on Behera's energy-led growth theory. Urban-residential and Health were the EAAs considered and chosen using a stratified random sample technique. Southern Nigerian states of Oyo and Lagos provided the samples, which were combined and used for the study. Electricity consumption was calculated using electricity load demand for the two EAAs from 2008 to 2017. For each EAA, an Integrated Renewable Energy Mini/Microgrid Model (IREMMM) based on power load demand and solar irradiation was constructed. Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) (/kWh), and Net Present Cost (NPC) (M) were calculated for one hybrid configuration, SPV-DPG-BS-GS, and two standalone configurations, DPG and SPV-BS. Configurations with SPV integrated had lower LCOEs than DPGs in both EAAs. In Southern Nigeria, solar PV combinations with battery storage provided the highest performance for a hybrid power system. In the medical contexts, a hybrid power system achieves higher overall performance.


Evaluation of a hybrid solar power system as a potential replacement for urban residential and medical economic activity areas in southern Nigeria

Characterization Approach of Developed Oil Palm Fiber-Polymer Composites

Titanium and its alloys have significant uses in the biomedical, chemical, and aerospace industries. in this article, the current and gas flow rates were varied using Taguchi’s experiment design. The mechanical properties of the welded joint made using tungsten inert gas (TiG) welding and Ti6al4V eli as filler metal was characterized using the microstructure, microhardness, and tensile strength. The joint was classified into three regions, namely, fusion zone (FZ), heat affected zone (haZ), and base metal (bm). Results show martensitic microstructure within the fusion zone (FZ) and the heat affected zone (haZ), which resulted in an increased hardness within the fusion and heat affected zone.

Soji Akinlabi

Papers

Grey-based taguchi method for multi-weld quality optimization of gas metal arc dissimilar joining of mild steel and 316 stainless steel

Combating MALARIA in Sub-Saharan Africa - The Potential of Local Plant

Evaluation of a hybrid solar power system as a potential replacement for urban residential and medical economic activity areas in southern Nigeria

Characterization Approach of Developed Oil Palm Fiber-Polymer Composites

TIG WeldInG of Ti6Al4V: effecT of Ti6Al4V elI As fIller MeTAl