Blindness and visual impairment in a rural community in Ogun State, South West Nigeria

Objectives: This is a community-based study in which residents of Coker-Ilepa ward of Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, South-West Nigeria were examined to determine the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment serving as a screening exercise contributing to primary eye care programme of the community. The study aims to find out the prevalence and pattern of blindness and visual impairment in this community and to compare and contrast with other studies.Methods: Five hundred and four (504) residents from 8 villages selected via multi-stage random sampling were interviewed and examined over a 15 day period and results analyzed with WHO Epi-Info 2002 software.Results: Prevalence of blindness was 2.2% (95% CI 0.89 – 3.50, n=504) while that of visual impairment was 8.9% (95% CI 6.36 – 11.44, n=504). Blindness was also higher in the elderly (8.8% in those above 60 years compared to 1.4% in those between 40-49 years and 0% in those less than 40 years) and in females (3.5%) as against males (0.81%). Cataract is the commonest cause of blindness and visual impairment – 72.7% and 46.7% respectively followed by corneal scarring for blindness (18.2%) with refractive error being the second cause of visual impairment (26.7%). Glaucoma is the third most common cause of blindness (9.1%) and visual impairment (11.1%) respectively.Conclusion: - The study shows a very high prevalence of blindness and with cataract responsible. The provision of adequate modern eye care facilities with surgical capabilities in the rural area in order to achieve the goals of Vision 2020 in the country is therefore recommended.Key Words: - Blindness, Visual, impairment, rural

Analysis of some selected toxic metals in registered herbal products manufactured in Nigeria

The use of herbal medicine has been on the increase in many developing and industrialized countries and Nigerians in particular has been using herbal medicine for many centuries. The approval of these herbal remedies by regulatory bodies has further encouraged the use of herbal remedies. The safety of these herbal remedies is however poorly understood. This study investigated the concentration of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in twenty registered ready to use herbal products. Twenty brands of herbal remedies were purchased randomly from the Pharmacy shops in Lagos, digested with aquaregia (3:1 HCl: HNO3) and were analysed using atomic absorption spectroscopy (Buck 205 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer). There was no detectable lead in any of the 20 herbal samples; however, all the samples contained a detectable amount of one or more of the other metals of interest. The Oral Component Limit (OCL) for arsenic, cadmium and mercury as stated by USP are 1.5, 0.5 and 1.5 μg/g, respectively. All the samples contained arsenic and mercury below the USP OCL, while sixtyfive percent contained cadmium out of which fifty-five percent were above USP OCL. The results obtained from this study suggest a significant risk to consumers’ health considering the toxicity of these heavy metals.Key words: Herbal remedies, toxic heavy metals, atomic absorption spectrophotometry

A comparative assessment of public and private dots laboratories in the Lagos state TB control programme

Background: The purpose of the laboratory services within the framework of the NTP is to provide bacteriologic evidence for the diagnosis, follow-up of TB patients and to document cure at the end of treatment. However to be fully functional, laboratory commodities should be available as needed. This study compared the laboratory hygiene practices and availability of laboratory equipment and other consumables for making diagnosis of TB in public and private DOTS laboratories in Lagos State.Methods: A descriptive comparative cross sectional study comparing availability of commodities in public and private laboratories involved in TB services in Lagos State.Results: Seventeen DOTS laboratories and 34 laboratory scientist/technician were recruited for this study. About three quarter and two thirds of the public and private DOTS laboratories respectively had reagents for smear microscopy. A significantly higher proportion of the public DOTS laboratories had separate area for TB work and separate table for smear preparation (p <0.05). A higher proportion (71.4%) of the laboratory scientist/ technicians at the public compared with 38.5% of those at the private DOTS laboratories had good knowledge of the laboratory diagnosis of TB.Conclusion: Laboratories involved in TB service are not functioning optimally and need to be strengthened.Key Words: Laboratory, DOTS, Consumables, Hygiene.French AbstractContexte : L’objet des services des laboratoires dans le cadre du NTP est de fournir les preuves bactériologiques pour le diagnostic, de suivre les patients tuberculeux et de documenter la guérison a la fin du traitement. Toutefois, pour être pleinement fonctionnel, les produits de laboratoire devraient être disponibles au besoin. Cette recherche comparait les pratiques hygiènes de laboratoire et la disponibilité des équipements de laboratoire et autres consommables pour faire le diagnostic de la tuberculose aux laboratoires de DOTS publics et prives dans l’État de Lagos.Méthodes : Une étude transversale comparative et transversale descriptive comparant la disponibilité des produits aux laboratoires publics et prives  concernes a fournir aux services tuberculeux dans l’état de Lagos.Résultats : Dix – sept laboratoires de DOTS et 34 scientifiques/techniciens ont été recrutés pour cette recherche. Environ trois quarts et deux tiers des laboratoires de DOT publics et prives ont eu réactif respectivement pour la microscopie des frottis. Une proportion significativement plus élevée des laboratoires de DOTS publics a eu un espace séparé pour les travaux de la tuberculose et une table séparée pour la préparation des frottis (p<0,05). Une proportion élevée(71,4%) des scientifiques/techniciens des laboratoires publics comparativement a 38,5% de ceux des laboratoires de DOTS prives avaient une bonne connaissance de diagnostic laboratoire de la tuberculose.Conclusion : Les laboratoires qui ont concerné a fournir les services tuberculeux ne fonctionnent pas de la façon optimale et doivent être renforcés.Mots– clés : Laboratoire, DOTS, consommables, Hygiène

Habitual Physical Activity, Peripheral Neuropathy, Foot Deformities and Lower Limb Function: Characterizing Prevalence and Interlinks in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) may have diverse foot problems, but how these problems are linked with physical activity is not clear. This study investigated the prevalence of foot problems among patients with T2DM and investigated how the problems were related to physical activity.Methods: Habitual physical activity, peripheral neuropathy, lower limb functions and foot deformities of 246 T2DM patients were respectively assessed with the Baecke Physical Activity Questionnaire, Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument, Lower Limb Function Scale, and a self-designed foot deformity audit form.Results: Habitual physical activity index (3.2 ± 0.83) was highest in work-related activities; 69 (26.1 %) patients presented with peripheral neuropathy and 52 (19. 7%) had the lowest limb function. Pes planus was the most prevalent foot deformity (20.1%). Significant differences existed in physical activity indices across deformity groups (p < 0.05) and total activity index was related to neuropathic and lower limb function scores (p < 0.05).Conclusion: A higher work-related but reduced participation in sports and leisure time physical activity among the patients was observed. Habitual physical activity was lowest in patients with a forefoot deformity, higher neuropathic scores and lesser lower limb function scores. Patients with T2DM in these categories may be a target for special physical activity intervention programmes.Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus, Foot Complications, Physical Activit

Evaluation of Revenue Channels and Challenges in Sustainable Management of Oyo State Forest Reserves, Nigeria

Forest revenue system is an instrument used by government to achieve various goals and objectives in forest management. This paper evaluates the various challenges of revenue collection and remittance in Oyo forestry service in Nigeria. A total of 94 forest officials were identified and reached (100%) in all the forestry administrative zones in Oyo State, including the headquarters through a set of structured questionnaire and data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logit regression at \u3b10.05. Theaverage age of the respondents was 39.7\ub16.5 years, mostly male (71%), married (75.6%) and had secondary education (63%). Challenges confronting adequate revenue collection included lack of proper law enforcement, payment of cash by revenue collectors and inability of field officers to withstand armed illegal fellers with odds-ratio of 55694.85, 668.78 and 20.79 respectively. Problems facing adequate revenue remittance were remittance by field staff, inaccessibility of bank on time, lack of provision of incentives for running cost by the government and possibilities of field officers indulging in printing of fake receipts with odds-ratio of 140.18, 116.80, 3.65 and 3.44 respectively. The study exposed the various challenges facing adequate revenue collection and remittance in Oyo State forestry service, it is therefore necessary for the forest managers in the State to utilize this information wisely for the betterment of revenue generation

Natural multi-occurrence of mycotoxins in rice from Niger State, Nigeria

Twenty-one rice samples from field (ten), store (six) and market (five) from the traditional rice-growing areas of Niger State, Nigeria were analysed for aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEA), deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisin B1 (FB1) and B2 (FB2), and patulin (PAT) by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) respectively. T-2 toxin was determined using TLC only. AFs were detected in all samples, at total AF concentrations of 28–372 μg/kg. OTA was found in 66.7% of the samples, also at high concentrations (134–341 μg/kg) that have to be considered as critical levels in aspects of nephrotoxicity. ZEA (53.4%), DON (23.8), FB1 (14.3%) and FB2 (4.8%) were also found in rice, although at relatively low levels. T-2 toxin was qualitatively detected by TLC in only one sample. Co-contamination with AFs, OTA, and ZEA was very common, and up to five mycotoxins were detected in a single sample. The high AF and OTA levels as found in rice in this study are regarded as unsafe, and multi-occurrences of mycotoxins in the rice samples with possible additive or synergistic toxic effects in consumers raise concern with respect to public health

Modelling of a total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) system

A robust computer program to simulate X-ray fluorescence (XRF) system and particularly applied to the total reflection mode is presented in this paper. The simulation of the different stages involved in x-ray fluorescence emissions was carried out by writing a suite of computer programs using FORTRAN programming language. These computer simulated XRF stages were then integrated together to generate a general robust model which was run with the digital visual Fortran 6.0 compiler set-up. The model was validated by comparison with experimental spectrum from the TXRF system in the Physics Department of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Trail experiments were carried out with this model to determine optimum conditions for detecting certain elements of interest under various analytical conditions in given samples. Results of these trail experiments show that the detectability of elements improved with increasing applied voltages and atomic number of elements. Variation of geometry such as the glancing incidence angle of the excitation and the nature of the support itself were also observed to effect the detect ability of the elements. Nigerian Journal of Physics Vol. 16(2) 2004: 97-10

Prevalence of malnutrition and high blood pressure amongst adolescents in semi-urban area of Ogun State south- western Nigeria

Globally, underweight in children is projected to decline except in Sub-Sahara Africa. This study assessed the prevalence of malnutrition and its correlation with high blood pressure among adolescents in a semi-urban Nigerian setting. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among adolescent school children in Sagamu, Nigeria. Weight, height and blood pressure  measurements were recorded. Using the cut-off points of -2SD, height for age and weight for height were used to diagnose  stunting and wasting. The nutritional status of the subjects was related to their blood pressure pattern. A total of 572 adolescents were surveyed. Wasting and stunting were diagnosed among 26.7% and 24.8% of the subjects respectively. Pre –hypertension was present in 4.2% and 3.9% of the stunted and wasted  respectively (p<0.05.) while Stage -1 hypertension was observed among adolescents with normal weight. Weight was strongly correlated with blood pressure.(÷2 =0.0249, p=<0.001and ÷2= 0.117 , p= 0.001) in conclusion, wasting and stunting were common in the population studied and were associated with blood pressure abnormalities.Key Words: Adolescents, Blood pressure, Hypertension, Stunting , Wasting

Analysis of some selected toxic metals in registered herbal products manufactured in Nigeria

The use of herbal medicine has been on the increase in many developing and industrialized countries and Nigerians in particular has been using herbal medicine for many centuries. The approval of these herbal remedies by regulatory bodies has further encouraged the use of herbal remedies. The safety of these herbal remedies is however poorly understood. This study investigated the concentration of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in twenty registered ready to use herbal products. Twenty brands of herbal remedies were purchased randomly from the Pharmacy shops in Lagos, digested with aquaregia (3:1 HCl: HNO3) and were analysed using atomic absorption spectroscopy (Buck 205 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer). There was no detectable lead in any of the 20 herbal samples; however, all the samples contained a detectable amount of one or more of the other metals of interest. The Oral Component Limit (OCL) for arsenic, cadmium and mercury as stated by USP are 1.5, 0.5 and 1.5 μg/g, respectively. All the samples contained arsenic and mercury below the USP OCL, while sixtyfive percent contained cadmium out of which fifty-five percent were above USP OCL. The results obtained from this study suggest a significant risk to consumers’ health considering the toxicity of these heavy metals