Bacterial load, composition and succession in the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) held at ambient temperatures.

Microorganisms, especially bacteria are the major causes of spoilage in fresh fish. In the coastal areas of developing tropical countries where ambient temperatures are usually high and access to modern preservation and processing technologies is low, fish is often left under ambient conditions for long periods after capture, resulting in quality deterioration and spoilage with attendant increases in post harvest losses. This study was carried out to identify, characterize and estimate the number of colony forming units (CFU) of microorganisms associated with freshly slaughtered African catfish, Clarias gariepinus held at ambient temperatures. Microorganisms were isolated from the flesh, gills, guts, mouth and skin of fish samples at successive 6-hour intervals post-slaughter for 42 hours when the fish were adjudged spoilt by a 5-member trained assessment panel. Determination of viable bacterial count was carried out by introducing aliquots of three dilutions of samples into nutrient agar plates, incubating at 37oC for 24hrs and counting the number of CFU. Microorganisms were thereafter identified using colonial and morphological characteristics and biochemical tests. Organoleptic assessment of fish samples were carried out by a 5-man trained panel. Results showed that a total of eleven microorganisms of pathogenic and/or spoilage importance were isolated at various intervals from fish samples, including Acinetobacter spp, Bacillus subtilis, B. megaterium, Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella oxytoca, K. pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas lundensis and Staphylococcus aureus. Generally the number of CFU from various parts of fish increased significantly (P < 0.05) as time interval increased

Maternal health challenges and prospects for national development: a case-study of Badagry local government, Lagos State

This study seeks to explore maternal health as a critical aspect of national development. It has long been recognized that the health status of pregnant women is an important indicator of the general state of health of any population. The health of pregnant women also influences the health of their babies. Hence, fetal and infant health is one of the main determinants of health in childhood and adulthood. Countries are ranked by various health and economic indicators to show how they fare compared to others. The decrease in life expectancy is in large part reflective of the increased maternal and infant mortality. The continuous increase in maternal mortality in Nigeria has stimulated a re-examination of the issue in order to identify subtle, yet profound variables that may be responsible for this perennial problem, in order to attain development in health. To this end, the overall aim of the study was to investigate challenges to maternal health during pregnancy as a barrier to national development. Data was generated by questionnaire and in-depth interview and analysis were made by simple percentage and content analysis respectively. The findings were discussed within the Health Belief Model and concluded by highlighting the importance of socio-economic factors in the reduction of maternal mortality in the study area. The study however, revealed that some socioeconomic variables are detrimental to the health of women and their safety during pregnancy. The consequences of these are described in the paper and recommendations made

Modelling and Control of Flow Induced Vibration of Top–Tensioned Marine Risers Using Analytical Methods

For a riser array in deep waters, interference between individual risers in strong ocean current is of operational concern and thereby a key design issue. The lateral deflection is likely to be large, and the risers may experience collision with fatigue or coating damage as a consequence. In this paper, active control of flexible marine riser angle and the reduction of flow induced (forced) vibration under a time varying distributed load were considered using boundary control approach. A torque actuator was introduced in the upper riser package and a boundary control was designed to generate the required signal for riser angle control and vibration reduction with guaranteed closed-loop stability. The design is based on the partial differential equations of the system, which are developed using energy principle. Analytical method of solution was deployed with the aid of a program, developed within the framework of MATLAB, to predict the riser's behaviour by top tensioning. A sensitivity analysis for different values of the control variables was carried out. The results of this work showed that active control of flexible marine riser by top-tensioning reduced flow induced vibration

Spermiogram and testicular morphological studies of the buck after treatment with ethanol leaf extract of Spondias mombin

Twelve sexually matured West African Dwarf bucks from were used for the experiment. Plant extraction was by cold extraction method using hexane and ethanol as solvents. All the goats had bilaterally well descended free testicles. They were kept in standard goat pen, were served water ad libitum, centrosema plant and ration. They were stabilised for two weeks after which pre-treatment spermiogram was done followed by 14 days of oral administration of 800mg/kg ethanol leaf extract of Spondias mombin. Spermiogram was repeated after treatment. Two randomly selected goats were then castrated through a midline pre-scrotal incision for morphological study and histology of the testes and epididymides. Total spermatozoa morphological abnormalities in pre-treatment of 17.1% was significantly (p≤0.05) higher than the 10% recorded for post-treatment. Curved mid-piece (1.8%) and bent tail (1.8%) constituted the highest abnormalities post-treatment while curved tail (3.5%) was highest pre-treatment. Mean values of progressive motility and percentage liveability were significantly higher (p≤0.05) in post- treatment (96.17±3.10% and 98.25±1.36% respectively) compared to pre-treatment (80.83±11.84% and 78.75±9.56% respectively). Post-treatment sperm concentration (2.50±0.32 x109 cells/ml) compared with pre-treatment (2.32±0.36 x109 cells/ml) was not significantly different. Post-treatment gross and histological features of the bucks’ testes and epididymis were normal. The work revealed that Spondias mombin at 800mg/kgBW improved semen quality in bucks indicating its usefulness as a potential profertility agent.Keywords: Buck, Morphological, Spondias mombin, Spermiogram, Testicula

Diagnosis and surgical management of acanthomatous ameloblastoma in a 5-month-old female Boerboel puppy

A five-month-old female Boerboel puppy presented with a rapidly expanding fibrous growth around the canine tooth of the right maxilla was diagnosed as having acanthomatous ameloblastoma based on findings from skull radiography, cytology of fine needle aspiration, biopsy and histopathology of resected growth. Lateral radiograph of the skull revealed moderate osteolysis of the maxilla with presence ofun-erupted maxillary canine teeth. Cytology of fine needle aspirate from the growth showed clusters of epithelial cells that were&nbsp; hyperchromatic and showing palisade arrangement. The mass was surgically resected using diathermy instrument following general anaesthesia using combination of intramuscular injection of xylazine (0.5mg/kg), and intravenous injection of propofol (4mg/kg). Post-operative management included Ibuprofen suspension (100mg) administered for 3-days, intravenous vincristine (0.5mg/m2 ) once weekly and oral cyclophosphamide (50mg) was administered twice weekly for six weeks. Histopathology of the growth showed odontogenic epithelium embedded in pulp ectomesenchyme. Features of odontogenic epithelium include palisading epithelium with anti-basilar nuclei and centrally located cells having features of stellate reticulum. This is probably the first reported case of acanthomatous ameloblastoma in a Boerboel puppy that was successfully managed. Keywords: Acanthomatous, Ameloblastoma, Boerboel-puppy, Chemotherapy, Odontoi

PATHOMORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES AND BACTERIAL PATHOGENS ASSOCIATED WITH SWINE PNEUMONIAS IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

Pneumonia is a major economic threat to swine industry worldwide, however, there is still dearth of information on the pathology and associated pathogens in Nigeria, and these were therefore investigated. Lungs from 408 slaughtered pigs were randomly collected from abattoirs in Abeokuta, Ibadan and Lagos. The lung samples were cultured for bacterial pathogens using standard techniques, while formalin-fixed tissues were processed for histopathological examination. Grossly, the most consistent lesion was bronchopneumonia (35.3%). The main histopathological findings were lymphoid hyperplasia of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) (88.2%), suppurative bronchopneumonia (63.6%), suppurative bronchitis and bronchiolitis with concurrent epithelial hyperplasia (57.1%), as well as thickened alveolar septa due to cellular infiltration consisting predominantly of neutrophils (54.1%). Ten different species of bacteria were isolated from the lung samples in which two or more pathogens were isolated from each sample (82.7%). Pasteurella multocida was the most frequently isolated bacterium (54.8%). Among the bacteria isolated, there were significant (P &lt; 0.05) differences in the frequencies of isolation of β-haemolytic Streptococci, P. multocida, Haemophilus species and Escherichia coli between the pneumonic lungs and apparently normal lungs. The results of bacterial culture, gross and histopathological changes recorded in this study are consistent with bacterial pneumonia possibly caused by most of the bacteria identified in the present study. &nbsp; &nbsp