False identification of other microorganisms as Staphylococcus aureus in Southern Nigeria

Purpose: Staphylococcus aureus is the causative agent of many infections and the advent MRSA has drawn much attention to it. However, some organisms have been noted to be wrongly identified as S. aureus through phenotypic identifications leading to wrong treatment of infections. This study is therefore undertaken to evaluate the rate of false identification of other organisms as S. aureus in Southern Nigeria.Methods: 507 microorganisms which have been previously identified as S. aureus in 8 States in Southern Nigeria through characteristic morphology on blood agar, Gram staining, growth and fermentation on Mannitol Salt Agar and coagulase formation were collected. All the isolates were identified in this study through sequencing of 16S rRNA and detection of spa gene. The percentages of true and false identities were determined.Results: Of the 507 isolates previously identified as S. aureus, only 54 (11 %) were confirmed as S. aureus while the rest were coagulase negative Staphylococci (85 % misidentification rate), Bacillus sp. (12 % misidentification rate), and Brevibacterium sp. (3 % misidentification rate).Conclusion: A high rate of false positive identification of S. aureus which could lead to the misuse of antibiotics in emergency situation has been identified in this study. The use of standard methods for the identification of S. aureus at all times is highly recommended.Keywords: Coagulase staphylococci differentiation, misidentification of S. aureus, phenotypic identifications, Southern Nigeri

Antimicrobial and antihelminthic properties of shea butter (Vitellaria paradoxa)

The phytochemical, antimicrobial and antihelminthic screening of the crude extract of three types of Vitellaria paradoxa (shea butter) was investigated in this study. The crude extracts were dissolved in di-methylsulfoxide. The phytochemical constituents of the crude extracts were accessed and compared. Clinical isolates under aseptic conditions were collected from the Medical Microbiology Laboratory, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital and further morphological and biochemical tests were carried out to identify this clinical isolates as; Staphylococcus sp., Escherichia sp., Pseudomonas sp., Klebsiella sp., Streptococcus sp and Candida sp. Inoculums were prepared and adjusted to 0.5ml Mc Farland standard of each test bacterium. It was spread onto sterile Muller Hinton Agar plates so as to achieve even growth. The plates were allowed to dry and a sterile cork borer (6.0mm diameter) was used to bore wells in the agar plates. Ofloxacine and Fluconazole was used as bacteria and fungi control respectively. The crude yellow extracts exhibited inhibitory activities that were found to be higher than crude white and ivory colored extract on all the test organisms. Despite the crude yellow extract exhibited higher inhibitory activities than the other extracts; the antibacterial activity was low in 10-1 to 10-4 dilutions for some bacteria. The crude extracts revealed the presence of Alkaloids, flavonoids, Cardiac glycosides, saponnin, and carbohydrates. Anthraquinnone and phlobatannin were absent in the extracts. This study also revealed that shea butter has no anti-helminth effect after 24hours exposure of the eggs of Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichuria in the shea oil sample rather; the DMSO used as control killed the eggs. This calls for further investigation

Physicochemical Characteristics of the Oils Extracted from Some Nigerian Plant Foods – A Review

Fats and oils are non-volatile substances insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvent. They constitute along with protein and carbohydrates, the major food stuffs and are widely distributed in nature. Oil serves as a good source of protein, lipid and fatty acids for human nutrition including the repair of worn-out tissues, new cells formation as well as a useful source of energy. Oilseeds are those seeds that contain considerably large amounts of oil. Oil can be extracted from oilseed by using traditional methods of extraction (on a very small scale), mechanical expression (hydraulic and screw presses) which can be manual, semi-automated or automated, and solvent extraction (e.g. hexane, fluid carbon dioxide) or a combination of two of these methods. Physicochemical parameters of the oils extracted from some Nigerian plant foods using standard analytical techniques were reviewed. The physicochemical properties of the plant oils reviewed  were found to be at the range concentrations as follows: Saponification value (SV): 5.58 - 249.90 mgKOH/g, peroxide value (PV): 0.45 - 290.00 mEq O2/kg of sample, acid value (AV): 0.34 - 68.88 mg KOH/g, iodine value (IV): 2.65 - 153.00 g I2/100g sample, density (Ds): 0.9031 - 0.9208 g/cm3, viscosity (Vs): 0.43 to 302.39 mm2/sec, specific gravity (SG): 0.830 – 1.710, refractive index (RI): 0.147 – 1.792, free fatty acid (FFA): 0.14 – 34.65 % as oleic acid, ester value (EV): 0.54 – 241.04 mgKOH/g and heat of combustion (HC): 8904.25 – 11303.35 gcal/g. The result of the reviewed work confirms the Nigerian seed oils to be of good quality and can find application either in food industry as food additives or industrial purposes such as cosmetics, soaps, paint and even energy generation. Keywords: Physicochemical parameters, seed oils, Nigeria

Nutritional composition of formulated complementary food produced from blends of malted and unmalted yellow maize (Zea mays), soybean (Glycine max), and tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus) flour

Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) and micronutrient deficiencies among infants and children in developing countries have been a major concern of the World Health Organization. Formulation of complementary food from local sources of raw materials can be of great help in solving the problems of protein energy malnutrition. This study determined the nutritional composition of four formulated complementary foods from malted yellow maize, pre-gelatinized yellow maize, soybean, and tiger nut flour. The results showed an increase in protein content (17.6, 16.9, 20.4 & 19.7 %), crude fat (14.9, 12.9, 13.0 & 12.9 %) and energy (433.1, 419.4, 421.5 & 426.6 %) when compared with the control sample. The functional properties also competed favourably with the control sample, with the formulated samples having water absorption capacity (171.9, 169.0, 184.1 & 167.4 %), swelling power (27.9, 25.2, 29.8 and 28.1 %), and bulk density at the same level for all the formulated samples (0.5 g/ml). The formulated samples contained a higher amount of iron and magnesium, and the anti-nutritional factors fell below the hazard level. In conclusion, formulated complementary food made from locally sourced raw materials has enough nutritional composition to be able to combat PEM and micronutrient deficiencies among infants and children

Well Placement Optimization Using a Basic Genetic Search Heuristics Algorithm and a Black Oil Simulator

In petroleum reservoir management, the essence of well placement is to develop and maintain reservoir pressure in order to achieve maximum production for economic benefits. Large production can be achieved with the placement of multiple wells but this approach is capital intensive and inefficient for the development of a reservoir. A preferable option is the optimal placement of production and injection wells so as to fully capitalize on the imbedded hydrocarbons at a relatively decreased capital investment. The aim of this study is to use developed algorithm and a black oil simulator to place wells in the zones for optimal recovery in the reservoir. Optimal production was determined out of eight scenarios created from well placement in a hypothetical reservoir (finch reservoir) using a black oil simulator, alongside an algorithm developed with java for determining the best possible locations for well placement, taking into consideration the reservoir permeability, fluid saturation, and pay zone thickness. The results of this study reveal that well placement using the engineering judgment coupled with the application of the algorithm using a black oil simulator results in better production compared to other scenarios which consider the combined effect of algorithm and black oil simulator alone

VARIATION IN FLOWERING PHENOLOGY OF CASSIA FISTULA LINN. POPULATION IN OTA, OGUN STATE. NIGERIA

Flowering phenology in the population of Cassia fistula Linn. at Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria was investigated for three years to determine if there was variation in the phenology and the patterns were compared with some environmental factors to determine if there was any correlation. The number of plants flowering each month was monitored for three years. Data for mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures, mean monthly rainfall and number of days with rain per month were obtained from Meteorological Institute, Oshodi, Lagos- Nigeria. In each year, there was synchronous flowering showing early and late flowering plants but the start and end of flowering vary between years. The peak months of flowering vary from year to year so also the period of flowering. Statistical analysis showed significant difference in flowering pattern between two of the years and from month to month. All these show clear variation in the flowering phenology of the species. Commencement of flowering was correlated with the rainfall and temperature in July and August while the end was correlated with the amount of rainfall and number of rainy days. With the overlap of flowering between the years, flowering is continuous in contrast to annual flowering in its country of origin; a phenomenon that has not been reported for the species before. The ecological implication was discusse

Proximate Composition and Amino Acid Profile of Raw and Cooked Black Variety of Tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus L.) Grown in Northeast Nigeria

Tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus L.) is an underutilized tuber of family Cyperaceae which produces rhizomes from the base of the tuber that is somewhat spherical. The three varieties of yellow, brown and black tiger nut are grown in Nigeria. Proximate and amino acid compositions of raw and cooked black variety of Cyperus esculentus were investigated using standard analytical techniques. The respective proximate composition values (%) for the raw and cooked samples were: Moisture (3.73 and 4.66), ash (2.57 and 3.38), crude fat (8.94 and 9.92), crude protein (12.09 and 9.25), crude fibre (7.02 and 4.52), and carbohydrate (65.66 and 69.29). The calculated fatty acids and metabolizable energy for the raw and cooked samples were 7.15 and 7.94%; 1652.53 and 1702.22 kJ/100g, respectively. The values of metabolizable energy in this study showed that both samples have energy concentrations more favourable than cereals. The amino acid profile revealed that raw and cooked samples of Cyperus esculentus contained nutritionally useful quantities of most of the essential amino acids with total essential amino acid (TEAA) (with His) were 45.69 and 48.25%, respectively. The value of predicted protein efficiency ratio (P–PER) for the raw tuber was 2.77, the value is higher than the reported P–PER values of some legumes in the literature. However, essential amino acid supplementation may be required in Ile, Leu, TSAA and Val when comparing the EAA in this report with the recommended FAO/WHO provisional pattern. The limiting EAAs in the raw and cooked Cyperus esculentus tuber were Leu and TSAA, respectively. Keywords: Proximate, amino acids, tigernu

Assessment of Zn, Cu and Pb Contamination in Soils and Vegetables from Some Farmlands in Lagos Metropolis, Lagos, Nigeria

The contamination of leafy vegetables with heavy metals poses a serious threat to humans but little attention has been given to such studies in Nigeria. Investigated in this study are the levels of concentration of three heavy metals;  Zn, Cu and Pb in some leafy vegetables viz., cockscomb (Celosia argentea), african spinach  (Amarathus viridis), , jute plant (Corchorus olitorus) and lettuce (Lactuca capensis) from four  farmlands designated as Idi - araba, Isolo, Owode - Onirin and Badore in Lagos Metropolis. The concentrations of Cu, Zn and Pb in the leaves, stems and roots of cockscomb, african spinach,  jute plant and lettuce were found to be 1.542 "“ 0.125, 88.417 "“ 17.700, 7.568 "“ 0.028; 1.633 "“ 0.125, 82.417 "“ 18.250, 16.334 "“ 0.083; 1.583 "“ 0.028, 17.542 "“ 8.243, 10.833 "“ 0.167; 0.046 "“ 0.235, 0.00, 0.456 "“ 0.342 mg kg-1 respectively. The concentrations of Pb of the leaves of vegetables at Isolo,  Corchorus olitorus at Idi "“ araba, Celosia argentea and Lactuca capensis at Badore were above the recommended maximum acceptable limits by WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. The Zn and Cu contents of leaves of all vegetables are below the recommended limits in the four farmlands. The estimated daily intake of Cu, Zn and Pb through the consumption of Celosia argentea, Amarathus viridis and Corchorus olitorus are below the provisional tolerable daily intake of heavy metals established by FAO/WHO. This study shows that the vegetables obtained directly from the study sites may not constitute a health hazard for consumers

Management protocol of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria

Coronavirus infection became a global pandemic in March 2020. The number of hospitalized cases in Nigeria and Ogun State has been on a steady increase with a concomitant rise in Mortality. This necessitates a coordinated and a more systemic approach in the management of this deadly disease. As a result of the potential effects of the disease on the socio-economic development of Ogun State, the state government granted Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilishan-Remo the permission to diagnose, admit and manage cases in line with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)/World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. This led to the establishment of a molecular laboratory and a COVID-19 task force to oversee the treatment of confirmed cases of COVID-19 disease. This protocol is developed to serve as a template for the diagnosis, admission, treatment of cases of COVID-19 diseases presenting for care in the hospital and to prevent the spread of the disease among healthcare workers within the hospital environment