The response of the gut microbial community to therapeutic and nutritional interventions in preterm infants

The gut bacterial community plays a vital role in human health with a diverse and complex composition, sculpted by complex host – microbe interactions. Neonates born prematurely are vulnerable to various infections due to their weak immune system and the immaturity of the gut. The most significant diseases are necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) and sepsis. With the advent of molecular techniques the development of the microbial community were better characterised. Leading to better understanding of the microbial contribution to preterm diseases and how clinical and dietary interventions can be tailored to reduce their incidence. The aim was to study the impacts of clinical and dietary interventions on the community structure and function of the preterm gut microbiota by using high throughput molecular techniques. The microbial communities derived from clinical samples that are implicated in gastrointestinal disease were explored. By utilising ecological theory, high-throughput sequencing, metabolomic profiling, and statistical modelling to identify how the assembly, phylogenetic diversity, and overall function of these communities impact on disease state. The comparison of archeal and fungal diversity between preterm infants diagnosed with NEC and/or sepsis, compared to healthy controls, showed no significant differences in the community profiles between health and disease. To study if microbial load was associated with NEC, independent of community profiles, total bacterial load was quanitified temporally in NEC infants and matched. The results showed no significant differences in the bacterial load between NEC samples before or at diagnosis, compared to healthy controls, with the only difference occurring following diagnosis, with NEC samples showing significant reduced bacterial load. To better understand clinical intervention in shaping the developing microbial community and the resulting contribution to NEC and sepsis disease mechanisms, the commonly administered antibiotics and probiotic supplementation were investigated. The result of the findings confirm existing publications, showing probiotic species administered to preterm infants significantly reduce the abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria associated with NEC and LOS. In the first study of its kind, the study followed the same neonates longitudinally through probiotic administration, including post discharge several months after cessation. Crucially, this novel analysis revealed that supplemented bifidobacteria was able to colonise the gut long-term, but supplemented Lactobacilli did not. As well as changes in the bacterial profiles, further metabolomic profiling of functional small molecules confirmed that probiotic supplementation caused functional changes in the preterm gut microbiota. Antibiotic administration represents the most important element of current clinical practise that causes profound shifts in the gut microbiota. To further explore the routinely used antibiotics in neonatal intensive care units and to what extent this intervention alters the preterm gut microbiome, the infants were followed temporally through different antibiotic courses. This revealed that antibiotics differentially affected the preterm gut microbiome, with no single combination found to cause consistent changes between individuals. At a time when antibiotic use is under scrutiny, the outcomes show that much greater understanding of the short and long-term effects on the developing microbiome is necessary. This thesis has combined a range of molecular methods to explore the microbial community in the developing preterm gut microbiota, including bacteria, fungi, and archaea, finding no association in pathogenesis of NEC. Metabolite profiling was also performed, determining how changes in the gut microbiota cause functional changes in the gut. Combining the data from these powerful analyses revealed probiotics help to modulate a healthy gut microbiome, but antibiotics may disturb the developing bacterial community. Ultimately, better understanding of the consequences of clinical intervention will lead to more refined and personalised care

Phytochemical screening and antifungal potentials of Citrus limon peels against Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizopus stolonifer causing rots in water melon (Citrullus lanatus L.)

This study investigated the phytochemical constituents and antifungal potential of Citrus limon peels using aqueous and methanol extracts against Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizopus stolonifer causing rots in water melon. The result of phytocemical screening revealed the presence of Saponin, Tannin, Phenols, Alkaloid and Flavanoid. Pathogenicity test conducted showed that F. oxysporum and R. stolonifer causes rots of Citrullus lanatus. The extracts inhibited the growth of F. oxysporum (76.67% and 60.00 %) methanol and aqueous respectively. R. stolonifer growth was inhibited (85.93% and 71.11%) methanol and aqueous extracts. The fungitoxicity of synthetic fungicide Benomyl was 95.56%. The methanol extracts has highest inhibitory activity than aqueous extract. The result of the findings indicates the Biofungicide potentials of Citrus limon peels as alternative to synthetic fungicide in management of phyto-pathogens of water lemon

Obstructive urolithiasis in ouda-yankasa ram: case report

Obstructive urolithiasis is the retention of urine subsequent to the lodgement of calculi inthe urinary tract from the kidney up to the urethral orifice. This report describes the postmortem findings and chemical analysis findings of the calculi in an 18-month old Ouda-Yankasa cross ram presented at the Large Animal Clinic of the Veterinary TeachingHospital, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. The patient was presented on 20th ofMarch, 2013 with reports of anorexia, disinclination to drink water and anuria thatdeveloped four days before presentation at the clinic. On clinical examination, urethralblockage and mild ascites were observed. Cystocentesis was performed to relieve thepatient and plain radiograph taken but was not diagnostic. The patient died beforedefinitive diagnosis was made for rational treatment. The post mortem findings includefrothy exudate in the trachea and bronchial airways, congestion of the lungs,hydroperitoneum with recovered fluid measuring 2,350 ml, splenomegaly,hydronephrosis, distended urinary bladder, severe haemorrhagic cystitis, urinary calculiin the bladder and throughout the urethral length and urethral stricture. The urinarycalculi recovered were white, friable and amorphous, ranging from small particles to 5mm in diameter. Histopathologic section of the kidney showed atrophied glomeruli. Itcan thus be concluded that the atrophied glomeruli in turn impaired glomerular filtrationthat invariably pre-disposed the patient to uraemia leading to its death. The chemicalanalysis of the calculi showed that the calculi was either oxalate, phosphate or silicate, orany of these mixtures.Keywords: Ouda-Yankasa ram, Obstructive urolithiasis, Calculi, Urethral blockage, Ascites, Uraemi

Obstructive urolithiasis in a 11/2 – year old Ouda–Yankasa ram: case report

Obstructive urolithiasis is the retention of urine subsequent to the lodgement of calculi in the urinary tract from the kidney up to the urethral orifice. This report describes the post-mortem and chemical analysis findings of the calculi in an 18-month old Ouda-Yankasa cross ram presented at the Large Animal Clinic of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. The patient was presented on 20th of March, 2013 with reports of anorexia, disinclination to drink water and anuria that developed four days before presentation at the clinic. On clinical examination, urethral blockage and mild ascites were observed. Cystocentesis was performed to relieve the patient and plain radiograph taken but was not diagnostic. The patient died before definitive diagnosis was made for rational treatment. The post - mortem findings include frothy exudate in the trachea and bronchial airways, congestion of the lungs, hydroperitoneum with recovered fluid measuring 2,350 ml, splenomegaly, hydronephrosis, distended urinary bladder, severe haemorrhagic cystitis, urinary calculi in the bladder and throughout the urethral length and urethral stricture. The urinary calculi recovered were white, friable and amorphous, ranging from small particles to 5mm in diameter. Histopathologic section of the kidney showed atrophied glomeruli. It can thus be concluded that the atrophied glomeruli in turn impaired glomerular filtration which invariably pre-disposed the patient to uraemia leading to its death. The chemical analysis of the calculi showed that the calculi was either oxalate, phosphate or silicate, or any of these mixtures.Keywords: calculi, obstruction, phosphate, uraemi

Study on dielectric properties of gel polymer electrolyte based on PVA-K2CO3 composites

The advance of gel polymer electrolyte (GPEs) based on conducting salt-polymer has been a subject of concern recently due to their significant applications. This work presents a study of dielectric properties of GPE based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and potassium carbonate (K2CO3) (PVA-K2CO3) electrolyte for electrochemical applications. The electrolyte material was synthesized by mixing a conducting salt (K2CO3) with PVA in different proportions (from 10 - 50 wt. %) in order to study the effect of the salt on the dielectric properties of the electrolyte. The synthesized GPE was characterized using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) to study electrolyte's crystal phase. Both complex permittivity and complex modulus formalism (dielectric behaviour) of the electrolyte were analysed through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The characterization result shows that the peak intensity of the PVA is significantly reduced with the increase of K2CO3 wt.%. which could be attributed to the decrease of PVA crystallinity which can enlarge the amorphous region of the polymer due to the strong plasticizing effect of the salt. High values of complex permittivity (dielectric constant and dielectric loss) were observed at low frequencies, which increased with increasing temperature, indicating an increase in conductivity. From the real part of electric modulus, the material is featured to be highly capacitive. Based on the asymmetrical peak shape of the imaginary part of electric modulus, the non-Debye type relaxation is predicted. Straight-line graphs were observed from the frequency dependency of loss tangent (tan 6), showing no single relaxation process is present

Stool bacterial load in preterm infants with necrotising enterocolitis

Resected gut tissue in necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) has a higher bacterial load than controls. Quantitative PCR was performed on longitudinal NEC and control stool samples (n = 72). No significant difference in the total bacterial load was found between samples at diagnosis compared to controls or temporally within NEC

Unveiling the effects of nickel loading on methane dry reforming: Perspectives from Ni/fibrous Zeolite-Y catalysts

The development of new technologies that employ greenhouse gases, such as CO2 and CH4, is becoming more important in the fight against global warming. Catalytic methane dry reforming (MDR) is one straightforward way to reduce CO2 and CH4. In this study, the influence of nickel (Ni) loading on the catalytic performance of fibrous zeolite-Y catalysts (Ni/FHY) for MDR was explored. The study involved the synthesis and testing of Ni/FHY with varying Ni loadings (1 wt% to 10 wt%). The results demonstrate that the metal loading significantly affects the catalysts' performance through metal-support interaction. The catalytic activity showed that the performance of FHY increased with optimum metal loading of 5 wt% where the CO2 conversion increased to 90.3% from 82.2%, and CH4 conversion to 94.2% from 79.6%. The findings suggest that the 5 wt% optimal Ni loading showed the critical role of the metal-support interaction in shaping catalytic properties. Hence, this work provides insights into catalyst optimization for sustainable industrial processes, highlights the importance of the synergistic metal-support interaction, and provides insights into the relationship between Ni content and catalytic behavior. Thus, it offers a basis for optimizing catalysts in MDR and contributes to the advancement of sustainable industrial processes

A survey of contagious ecthyma and molecular characterization of Orf virus in sheep and goats in Nigeria (2014–2016)

Background: Outbreaks of contagious ecthyma (CE) are frequently reported in sheep and goat flocks in Nigeriawith severe clinical outcomes. CE is a debilitating and economically important disease primarily affecting sheep and goats caused by the Orf virus (ORFV). Despite field reports of CE in the country, there is no concise country-wide epidemiological data on the disease and limited genetic data of circulating Nigerian ORFV are available in the public domain.Aim: An epidemiological survey of CE and molecular characterization of ORFV circulating in Nigeria from 2014 to 2016.Method: Data were collected using designed questionnaires, administered to veterinarians and farmers in selected States of Nigeria. Samples were collected during passive surveillance for CE from 2014 to 2016 which were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The A32L and B2L genes of circulating ORFV were also characterized.Results: Analysis of the questionnaire showed that 69.54% (n = 82/118) of the farmers claimed to have experienced CE in their flocks with average morbidity and mortality rates of 25% and 15%, respectively. A total of 113 veterinarians participated in the study, with 69.9% (n = 79) familiar with CE and claimed CE causes morbidity rates of 25%–37% and mortality rates of 10%–15% in sheep and goats. Laboratory results revealed that ORFV was detected in 72% (18/25) of outbreak samples analyzed by real-time PCR. Phylogenetic analysis of A32L and B2L genes revealed that Nigerian ORFV sequences belong to clusters I and II and are similar to viruses from India, Ethiopia, and China.Conclusions: This study is the first nationwide epidemiological data on the status of CE in sheep and goats in Nigeria. It is also the first report of molecular characterization of two genes of ORFV circulating and causing outbreaks in small ruminants in the country. This study showed that CE is under-reported, widespread and of economic importance to sheep and goat farmers in Nigeria

A concise review on surface and structural modification of porous zeolite scaffold for enhanced hydrogen storage

Investigating zeolites as hydrogen storage scaffolds is imperative due to their porous nature and favorable physicochemical properties. Nevertheless, the storage capacity of the unmodified zeolites has been rather unsatisfactory (0.224%–1.082% (mass)) compared to its modified counterpart. Thus, the contemporary focus on enhancing hydrogen storage capacities has led to significant attention towards the utilization of modified zeolites, with studies exploring surface modifications through physical and chemical treatments, as well as the integration of various active metals. The enhanced hydrogen storage properties of zeolites are attributed to the presence of aluminosilicates from alkaline and alkaline-earth metals, resulting in increased storage capacity through interactions with the charge density of these aluminosilicates. Therefore, there is a great demand to critically review their role such as well-defined topology, pore structure, good thermal stability, and tunable hydrophilicity in enhanced hydrogen storage. This article aimed to critically review the recent research findings based on modified zeolite performance for enhanced hydrogen storage. Some of the factors affecting the hydrogen storage capacities of zeolites that can affect the rate of reaction and the stability of the adsorbent, like pressure, structure, and morphology were studied, and examined. Then, future perspectives, recommendations, and directions for modified zeolites were discussed

Public Dialogue in Disaster Situations and Physical Planning Inadequacies: Focus on the Devastating June 16, 2018 Bauchi Rainstorm

Bauchi experienced a catastrophic disaster event on 16 June, 2018. Consequently, there have been public discussions and irritations about the event and the inadequacies of public-sector town planning practitioners. 130  residents of Bauchi metropolis were sampled randomly and their concerns documented. The study revealed that poor housing conditions, urban poverty, corruption in planning authorities, substandard infrastructural provision and the non-adherence to development control regulations were the major human and administrative contributions to the catastrophic outcome of the disaster. Keywords: Disaster, Physical planning, Rainstorm, Public, Dialogue, Inadequacies