Irrigation Water as Possible Source of Food Borne Pathogens in Raw Vegetables

The effects of different sources of water on the microbial quality of raw leafy vegetables were studied. Two vegetables, lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) were planted in a sterile soil in the screen house, irrigated with rain, sewage-polluted stream, tap and well waters, for 60 days and harvested. Coliform and bacterial loads were counted on vegetable leaf surfaces and in the different water samples. The total bacterial counts of vegetable leaf surfaces ranged from 5.46log10 cfu/g to 6.11log10 cfu/g while coliform counts ranged from 0.00 to 5.43log10 cfu/g. The total bacterial counts of the irrigation water samples ranged from 5.60log10 cfu/ml to 6.12log10cfu/ml while coliform counts ranged from 0.00 to 5.48log10cfu/ml. Pathogenic bacteria observed in the samples were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp, Shigella dysenteriae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Aeromonas hydrophila and Enterobacter aerogenes. This study shows that irrigation waters are possible sources of contamination of edible vegetables; therefore the irrigation of food crops with water of unknown microbial quality should be avoided.&nbsp

PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERIZATION AND IN VITRO SCREENING OF LACTIC ACID BACTERIA FROM GOAT MILK FOR PROBIOTIC USE

A study was carried out to isolate and identify probiotic Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from milk of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. Fifty LAB strains were isolated from WAD goat milks and tested for in- vitro antibiotics susceptibility, tolerance to bile, resistance to low pH values and haemolytic activity. Sixteen isolates were found to possess probiotic characteristics and these isolates were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum (44%), L. acidophilus (38%) and L. fermentum (18%). These isolates were resistant to most of antibiotics tested, showed the survivability (8.00 ± 0.05 to 72.60 ± 0.1%) at high bile acid concentration and resistance to pH 1.5 (0.00 to 46.00 ± 0.2%), pH 2.0 (30.60 ± 0.15 to 63.00 ± 0.6%) and pH 2.5 (48.60 ± 0.03 to 85.20 ± 0.6 %). None of the LAB isolates produced hemolysin. Among the probiotic isolates, Lactobacillus acidophilus displayed strong bile acid and low pH tolerance, followed by Lactobacillus plantarum. From the results obtained, L. acidophilus and L. plantarum could be used as probiotic starter cultures for fermented dairy foods as well as feed additives in livestock production due to high tolerance to high bile and acidic medium.Â

PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERIZATION AND IN VITRO SCREENING OF LACTIC ACID BACTERIA FROM GOAT MILK FOR PROBIOTIC USE

A study was carried out to isolate and identify probiotic Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from milk of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. Fifty LAB strains were isolated from WAD goat milks and tested for in- vitro antibiotics susceptibility, tolerance to bile, resistance to low pH values and haemolytic activity. Sixteen isolates were found to possess probiotic characteristics and these isolates were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum (44%), L. acidophilus (38%) and L. fermentum (18%). These isolates were resistant to most of antibiotics tested, showed the survivability (8.00 ± 0.05 to 72.60 ± 0.1%) at high bile acid concentration and resistance to pH 1.5 (0.00 to 46.00 ± 0.2%), pH 2.0 (30.60 ± 0.15 to 63.00 ± 0.6%) and pH 2.5 (48.60 ± 0.03 to 85.20 ± 0.6 %). None of the LAB isolates produced hemolysin. Among the probiotic isolates, Lactobacillus acidophilus displayed strong bile acid and low pH tolerance, followed by Lactobacillus plantarum. From the results obtained, L. acidophilus and L. plantarum could be used as probiotic starter cultures for fermented dairy foods as well as feed additives in livestock production due to high tolerance to high bile and acidic medium.Â

Trend Analysis of Teenage Pregnancy in Nigeria (1961-2013): How Effective is the Contraceptive Use Campaign

Teenage pregnancy (TP) is a recurrent global and public health problem. It poses both social and health challenges. Considering the massive campaign on the use of modern contraceptives to prevent TP in recent decades, we assessed trends in TP in Nigeria between 1961 and 2013. Pregnancy and contraception history of 70,811 women who were at least 20 years old when the Nigerian DHS was conducted in 1990, 2003, 2008, and 2013 respectively were used for the study, and descriptive statistics, time analysis techniques and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the data at 5% significance level. The overall prevalence of TP between 1961 and 2013 was 49.5% which fluctuated insignificantly during the studied period. The TP prevalence among women who entered adulthood in 1961 was 39.2%; it peaked in 1978 at 58.9% before its unsteady decline to 39.6% in 2012, and then rose sharply to 55.6% in 2013. We predicted TP prevalence as 49.0%, 49.9% and 51.0% in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. The odds of TP were over 4 times higher in the North East and 5 times higher in the North West than in the South West. Teenagers with no education had higher odds of TP and it was higher among teenagers from the poorest households (OR=5.64, 95% CI: 5.36-5.94). Rather than reducing with the worldwide acknowledged increase in contraceptive campaigns, TP increased over the years studied. As far as TP is concerned in Nigeria, the impact of the campaign on MC use is far from being effective. To achieve the objective of fewer TPs, fewer resources should be spent on access to contraception and instead diverted to areas more likely to achieve results such as improvements in educational achievement amongst girls

BACTERIAL QUALITY AND CYTOTOXICITY SCREENING OF FRESH VEGETABLES IRRIGATED WITH POLLUTED WATERS

The mutagenic effects of raw vegetables irrigated with polluted water and their bacterial quality were studied. Two vegetables, lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and fluted pumpkin (Telfaria occidentalis) were planted in sterile soil and irrigated with sewage-polluted stream, rain, tap and well waters, and harvested. The presence of pathogenic bacteria on the vegetable leaf surfaces was determined. The Allium cepa assay was then used to evaluate the genetic and acute effects of the vegetable leaf extracts. The heavy metal concentrations of the vegetables were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Pathogenic bacteria isolated were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella paratyphii, Shigella dysenteriae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Aeromonas hydrophila and Enterobacter aerogenes. In A. cepa assay, none of the treatments induced chromosome aberration at the tested concentrations, but retardation of growth and suppression of mitotic activity occurred. The concentrations of heavy metals in the vegetables were lead (0.261-0.531mg/kg), zinc (0.142-1.618mg/kg), cadmium (0.00-0.13mg/kg), copper (0.021-0.057mg/kg), iron (0.711-1.122mg/kg) and chromium (0.00-0.14mg/kg). This study shows that irrigation waters could have effects on the quality of edible vegetables.Â

Comparative Analysis of Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory Based Item Parameter Estimates of Senior School Certificate Mathematics Examination

The study compared Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT)-estimated item difficulty and item discrimination indices in relation to the ability of examinees in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in Mathematics with a view to providing empirical basis for informed decisions on the appropriateness of statistical and psychometric tests. The study adopted ex-post-facto design. A sample of 6,000 students was selected from the population of 35,262 students who sat for the NECO SSCE Mathematics Paper 1 in 2008 in Osun State, Nigeria. An instrument consisting of 60-multiple-choice items, May/June 2008 NECO SSCE Mathematics Paper 1 was used. Three sampling plans: random, gender and ability sampling plans were employed to study the behaviours of the examinees scores under the CTT and IRT measurement frameworks. BILOG-MG 3 was used to estimate the indices of item parameters and SPSS 20 was used to compare CTT- and IRT-based item parameters. The results showed that CTT-based item difficulty estimates and oneparameter IRT item difficulty estimates were comparable (the correlations were generally in the -0.702 to -0.988 range in large sample and -0.622 to - 0.989 range in small sample). Results also indicated that CTT-based and two-parameter IRT-based item discrimination estimates were comparable (the correlations were in the 0.430 to 0.880 ranges in large sample and 0.531 to 0.950 range in small sample). The study concluded that CTT and IRT were comparable in estimating item characteristics of statistical and psychometric tests and thus could be used as complementary procedures in the development of national examination

RISK SURVEILLANCE OF MULTIDRUG RESISTANT PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA IN WATER AND PLASMID RELATEDNESS WITH CLINICAL STRAINS IN ABEOKUTA, SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

Pseudomonas aeruginosa as an opportunistic pathogen has been a subject of investigation due its intrinsic drug resistance.ª¤?ª¤? Its frequent presence in drinking, domestic and recreational water highlights its significance to public health.ª¤?ª¤? This study was aimed at risk surveillance of multidrug resistant environmental P. aeruginosa in water and their plasmid relatedness with clinical strains in Abeokuta, southwestern Nigeria.ª¤?ª¤? A total of forty-one (41) strains with prevalence: well water (29.3%); swimming pool (22.0%) hospital storage tank (19.5%); tap water (14.6%); sachet water (12.2%); and bottled water (2.4%) respectively were isolated from two hundred and eighty eight (288) water samples and were compared with 43 clinical strains from wound (37.3%), blood (11.6%), ear swab (20.9%)ª¤? and urine (20.9%)ª¤? and eye swab (9.3%).ª¤?ª¤?ª¤?ª¤? Both environmental and clinical strains were all multidrug resistant, though with different plasmid profile.ª¤? Plasmid with molecular weight size of 2010bp was detected in only 1 (2.5%) out of the 41 environmental strains as against 9 (20.93%) of the 43 clinical strains having between 22520-23130bp molecular weight.ª¤? All strains harboring plasmid were resistant to varied types of more than seven drugs out of the eleven tested (gentamycin 10ª¤?g, erythromycin 15ª¤?g, ampicillin 10ª¤?g, augmentin 10ª¤?g, cotrimoxazole 25ª¤?g, tetracycline 30ª¤?g, streptomycin 10ª¤?g, ciprofloxacin 5ª¤?g, cloxacillin 5ª¤?g, amoxicillin 25ª¤?g, and cefuroxime 30ª¤?g). ª¤?Strains without plasmid were also multidrug resistant.ª¤? This finding would be important in the control of multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in Nigeria

RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORHIC DNA TYPING OF MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT CLINICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL Pseudomonas aeruginosa STRAINS FROM ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a multidrug-resistant organism is responsible for most opportunistic infections. Genetic relatedness between clinical and environmental strains has always been limited to hospital settings.ª¤? This study utilized RAPD-PCR typing method to evaluate genetic relatedness between multidrug-resistantª¤? P. aeruginosa strains from diverse water samples (bottled water, tap water, sachet water, well water, hospital storage tank, and swimming pool water) and clinical strains (wound, blood, urine, eye and ear swab) collected from different locations in Abeokuta, Nigeria.ª¤?ª¤?ª¤? Polymorphic DNA bands with sizes ranging between 250 and 3000bp were generated from both clinical and environmental strains.ª¤? Within each population, both clinical and environmental strains were divided phylogenetically into two groups of Pc1 and Pc2 at 55% and Ps1 and Ps2 at 70% respectively.ª¤?ª¤?ª¤? Genetic similarities between clinical and environmental strains yielded a total of 7 unique fingerprints.ª¤?ª¤? Cluster 2 (51.2%) had the largest number of strains in which strains from wound, blood and ear, clustered with strains from hospital storage tank, tap water, swimming pool water, sachet water and well water.ª¤? ª¤?ª¤?These fingerprints proof genetic relatedness between clinical and environmental strains in Abeokuta, southwest Nigeria which is of public health significance, particularly, for immunocompromisedª¤?individuals.ª¤?ª¤

Challenges confronting construction project management system for sustainable construction in developing countries: professionals perspectives (a case study of Nigeria)

The success of the Nigerian construction industry can be aligned with the use of construction project management systems, although, the industry has been maligned by issues such as building collapse, incessant delays, abandonment and cost overrun. It is therefore imperative to examine the challenges confronting construction project management system in Nigeria. In this study the descriptive survey method was adopted and data were obtained by means of inquiries using questionnaires. A sample size of fifty nine (59) construction professionals was used for the study. The study reveals that location of a project majorly influences Project Manager’s decision making on project planning. It asserted the crucial importance of Management skills required in practicing construction project management. In conclusion, the result identified that passive participation from Project Manager, lack of client involvement in making decisions, provision of substandard materials, design error, lack of effective communication and poor treatment of workforce are challenges hampering the use of construction project management. The study recommends the institutionalization of construction project management practice, compulsion of adequate training and skill modification programs for construction professionals to aid the sustainability of construction project management systems in Nigeria

EFFECT OF GROUNDNUT CAKE AND SOYA BEANS ON ENHANCED CITRIC ACID PRODUCTION FROM PAWPAW AND ORANGE PEEL BY MUTANTS OF ASPERGILLUS NIGER

This present study was concerned with the biosynthesis of citric acid (CA) with mutant strain of Aspergillus niger using pawpaw and orange peel as substrates by solid state fermentation process. The A. niger strain isolated from spoilt orange was identified, screened for CA production on Czapek-Dox Agar and subjected to mutation by ethidium bromide. The effect of carbon sources, nitrogen sources and substrates were also determined.  Among the mutant strains, A. niger PJ-02 A120 was found to be the best mutant that produced citric acid (65.00±0.58f) after 48 hours in Vogel’s medium. The effects of carbon sources (sucrose and glucose) on CA production from each substrate (orange and pawpaw peel) using mutant A. niger PJ-02 was determined and sucrose, the best carbon source was combined with two the nitrogen sources (groundnut cake and soyabeans) to determine the most suitable supplement for CA production. Groundnut cake enhances the production of citric acid while soyabeans was inhibitory. Citric acid was further produced in pawpaw peel and orange peel medium containing sucrose (5 %) groundnut cake (2 %), methanol (1.5 %) and the mutant strain. The orange peel substrates yielded 112.07g/kg of CA while 107.17g/kg was recorded for pawpaw peel when fermented for 5 days at 30°C. The Production of citric acid with mutant Aspergillus niger proved better with orange peel than pawpaw peel when optimized with alcohol.     &nbsp