URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Nigerian cities are witnessing high rate of environmental deterioration and are rated among urban areas with the lowest livability index in the world. It is estimated that between 20 percent and 30 percent of the urban population enjoy decent urban life in the country. Although studies have identified various environmental problems in Nigeria, little attention has been given to their implications for sustainable development in literature. This paper therefore examined the causes and implications of increasing environmental deterioration for sustainable development in the country. Relying on archival records and observations, this paper identified colonial antecedents of Nigerian cities, rapid urbanization and poor psychological orientation of residents as being responsible for the current situation. The paper highlighted the three –fold effects on the human health, the economy and ecological system and suggested that the application of planning, economic, legal, institutional as well as educational tools will address the situation

Microbiology of post-operative wound infection in implant surgery

Background: Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of fractures with implants and prosthesis has become the first line in the management of fractures in most trauma centres. Incidentally, this is associated with post-operative wound infection which is accompanied by significant morbidity, cost and mortality. The objective of this paper was to identify the pattern of the bacteriological isolates responsible and their antimicrobial sensitivityMethod: We prospectively studied two hundred and fifty-four patients who had ORIF with implants and prosthesis that fulfilled a set of inclusion criteria. Post-operative wound infection was diagnosed based on the criteria of the National Research Council and follow-up was for twelve weeks. Aerobic and anaerobic cultures were carried out on each specimen.Results: Two hundred and fifty-four patients were recruited and 19 had post-operative wound infection. The infection rate was 7.5%.Plates and screws were the commonest implant. Thirty-six bacterial isolates were recovered. Staphylococcus aureus was the commonest in 16 cases (44%), Bacteroides fragilis 4(11%), Escherichia coli 4(11%), Proteus spp.4 (11%).Others were Pseudomonas spp, Klebsiella spp. and Peptostreptococcus. Cephalosporins were found to be the most potent against Staphylococcus aureus while the anaerobes responded favourably to metronidazole.Conclusion: Staphylococcus aureus remains the most important microorganism responsible for POWI in implants and prosthesis. Resistant strains have emerged and previously reserved drugs have become first line. Anaerobic organisms remain important isolates were such are feasible. Metronidazole should be a component of the antibiotic regimen where such cultures are not feasible

Pollen grain morphology of three species and a variety of Ocimum linn.(Lamiaceae) in Southwestern Nigeria

Pollen grains from fresh anthers of three species and a variety of Ocimum occurring in South-western Nigeria were collected and acetolysed. This was in an attempt to use the pollen charac-teristics to delimit, classify and trace probable evolutionary relationships among the taxa. The structural morphology of the pollen grains carried out with a light microscope is reported. Characters measured on the pollen grains were pollen diameter, pollen wall thickness, depth of colpi, distance between colpi and pore diameter. This was done with the aid of an ocular micrometer. Number of pores per pollen was counted. Pollen grain sizes of the species and the variety of Ocimum studied fall into two groups, Media (diameter 25-50μm) and Magna (diameter 50-100μm). All the species and the variety had acolpate and hexacolpate pollen grains. Heptacol-pate and octacolpate pollen grains which are advanced types of pollen grains were encountered in O. canum only. These advanced types of pollen grains are a mark of recent evolutionary de-velopment in the species.Keywords: Ocimum, pollen grains, morphology, acetolysis, evolutio

Morphological Survey of the Fruits of the Cultivated (Solanum Lycopersicum Linn.) and Wild (Solanum Pimpinellifolium Miller) Tomatoes in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

The last few years have recorded an increase in the forms of the cultivated tomato fruits available in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The morphological survey of the fruits of the cultivated garden tomato Solanum lycopersicum Linn. and its wild relative, Solanum pimpinellifolium Miller was carried out with the aim of documenting the various forms available on the basis of their different shapes and sizes. The qualitative morphological characters observed were, fruit colour and shape while the quantitative data taken were, the number of ribs present on the fruits, length and diameter of fruits. In this study, thirty-one (31) fruit forms were reported for the cultivated species based on the differences in shapes, presence or absence of ribs on fruits, number of ribs and colour of fruits. The shapes observed in Solanum lycopersicum were ellipsoid, spheroid, obovate, oblate, rhomboidal, elongate and clavate while the shape for Solanum pimpinellifolium was consistently round. The colours observed for Solanum lycopersicum were red, red with yellow patches, and yellowish-red while colour in S. pimpinellifolium was consistently red. Number of ribs on the fruits of the cultivated species ranged from 0–12 while rib was absent in the wild species. Noteworthy, were the fruit forms with beak-like protrusions at the apices of the cultivated species. The length-to-diameter ratio of fruits of the cultivated species was a reliable parameter for differentiating the elongated fruit forms from the other forms in the cultivated species

Themes and Associations Concerning The COVID-19 Pandemic: Autoethnography

Per the college of nursing, my proposed project will discuss living during uncertain times and unusual times of change. This APA formatted paper will be an autoethnography, meaning that we will review the perspectives of COVID through the lens of culture, research, and our own perspectives and experiences. Everyone has experienced changes during the COVID-19 pandemic due to self-isolation. Examples of change include changes in learning, working, thinking, teaching, and behaving. Using acquired nursing skills such as critical thinking, reflection, inquiry, and evidenced-based practice; my partner and I will dissect and discuss these changes and how they have affected ourselves, others, and our culture. This will be done by incorporating personal narratives with scholarly inquiries academically correlate personal narratives with research and evidence

Contamination Of Sachet Water Produced Within Industrial Area Of Ikeja, Lagos Nigeria.

Industries produce a lot of pollutants and effluent which have effects on the quality of earth water. The effect of these pollutants and industrial effluent in sachet water produced in industrial area of Ikeja was studied. This was done by assessing the physical parameters and inorganic constituents. Six samples of sachet water produced within Ikeja were randomly purchased from the open market and were examined in the course of the study. Results obtained showed that the samples were odorless and tasteless. The turbidity varied between 0.11 to 0.91NTU. The conductivity ranged from 309 to 642?s, while pH ranged from 4.96 to 6.5. It was observed that the sachet water samples were acidic and high in calcium and magnesium ions probably due to the discharged from the industries. Keywords: Effluent, Industry, Pollutants, Sachet water

Technical efficiency of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) production in Ogun State, Nigeria

This study was designed to measure the level of technical efficiency, its determinants in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) production and the constraints in the production system in Yewa North Local Government of Ogun State using a stochastic frontier production function. A combination of purposive and random sampling technique was used to select 80 watermelon farmers for the study. The socio-­‐economic characteristics show that the farmers are predominantly males, mostly (78.8%) married with majority (87.6%) having at least primary school education. The cost and return analysis shows a high net farm income per hectare of ₦25, 574.24. The estimated farm level mean technical efficiency was found to be 65 percent. This result indicates that great opportunities exist for the farmers to increase their productivity and income through improvement in technical efficiency. Age and off-­‐farm income were found to be positively and significantly related to the technical efficiency while education was negatively signed, as expected, but significant. Policies aimed at improving farmers’ access to education through aggressive awareness campaigns and mass mobilizations are recommended by the study

Assessment of the contamination potentials of some foodborne bacteria in biofilms for food products

AbstractObjectiveTo assess biofilms formed by different bacterial strains on glass slides, and changes in biofilm mass and biofilm-associated cell populations after brief contacts between biofilms and either media agar or food products.MethodsTwo Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains and a single Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) strain were inoculated separately in tryptic soy broth containing glass coupons incubated for 24, 48 or 72 h at 37 °C. The biofilms formed by individual bacterial strains and biofilm-associated cell populations were determined. Biofilms were subsequently allowed to have brief contacts (1-3 times), through gentle touching, with either agar, meat or soft white cheese (2 cm3). Changes in biofilm mass on glass slides and cell populations embedded in biofilms were quantified.ResultsA nonpathogenic E. coli formed more biofilms than an E. coli O157:H7 strain. Biofilms formed by S. aureus and Listeria monocytogenes were essentially similar. The biofilm mass increased as incubation time increased within 48 h of incubation and was not positively correlated with cellulose production. Biofilm mass at 48 and 72 h of incubation was not significantly different. More frequent contacts with agar or foods did not remove more biofilms or biofilm-associated cells from glass slides. More S. aureus biofilms were removed followed by Listeria and E. coli biofilms. Mean contamination of agar or food models was 0.00 to 7.65 log CFU/cm2. Greater contaminations in cell populations were observed with S. aureus and Listeria biofilms.ConclusionsThe results provide a clearer assessment of contaminating potential of foods that comes in contact with them