Enema abuse by mothers of children presenting to the emergency room at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital

Enema is largely used and widely abused in our community for various ailments including fever, constipation; abdominal pains vomiting and even diarrhoea.Objectives: To describe the abuse of enema at home in the Calabar area, and the associated findings among children who received enema.Method: Children admitted to the Children Emergency Unit of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital with history of enema use at home were recruited into the study. The presenting symptoms, type of enema used and associated findings were documented. Relevant investigations were carried out where necessary. Tables and simple proportions were used to analyze the data.Results: Twenty two children were seen with enema abuse over a six months period. Diarrhoea diseases and fever were the predominant reasons why enema was given. Types of enema given were herbal concoctions in 13(59.1%) plain water enema in 8(36.4%) and salt water enema in one (4.5%) child. Electrolytes derangements were the commonest associated findings. Others were convulsions/coma, intestinal perforation, acute renal failure and severe dehydration from diarrhoea.Conclusion: Enema abuse is a continuing cultural phenomenon in the Calabar area. It is associated with severe consequences including intestinal perforation. Enema abuse should form part of history taking in this environment and child care practitioners should actively search for possible complications. Most importantly, health education to stem this widespread practice

ECONOMICS AND EFFECT OF REPLACING WHEAT OFFAL WITH CASSAVA PEEL MEAL ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE, NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY OF GROWING PIGS

This study was carried out to determine the feeding value of Cassava Peel Meal (CPM) as replacement for wheat offal in growing pigs’ diets. Five treatment diets were formulated by replacing wheat offal with CPM at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% for treatments T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively. A total of 75 growing pigs of large white breed were allotted on weight equalization basis into the five dietary treatments with 15 pigs per treatment and 3 pigs per replicate in a completely randomized design. The pigs were allowed to acclimatize for two weeks before the commencement of the study which lasted for 14 weeks. Results indicated that wheat offal contained 16.25% crude protein (CP), 18.86% crude fibre (CF) and 1.18% ether extract. The values were higher than cassava peel meal’s 5.18% CP and 15.18% CF and was lower than 1.99% ether extract. The 25, 50, 75% CPM significantly (p0.05) difference in feed intake. Total feed cost/Kg, feed cost/Kg weight gain and returns on investment significantly (p<0.05) decreased as the levels of cassava peel meal increased in the diets. The bled, scalded, eviscerated and dressed weights decreased as the level of CPM increased in the diets. The heart weight increased with the CPM level, while the liver and the kidney decreased with increase in CPM in the diets. Blood glucose and cholesterol increased with increasing levels of cassava peel meal in the diets while albumin and creatinine decreased as the level of cassava peel meal increased in the diets. The packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb) and red blood cell (RBC) counts decreased (p<0.05) as the level of cassava peel meal increased in the diets. White blood cell (WBC) and lymphocyte values were highest for pigs in T3 (50%) and T4 (75%). The study concluded that cassava peel meal could replace 75% of wheat offal in growing pig diets without deleterious effects on growth performance and economic benefit in terms of total feed cost, cost per kilogram and weight gain

ECONOMICS AND EFFECT OF REPLACING WHEAT OFFAL WITH CASSAVA PEEL MEAL ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE, NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY OF GROWING PIGS

This study was carried out to determine the feeding value of Cassava Peel Meal (CPM) as replacement for wheat offal in growing pigs’ diets. Five treatment diets were formulated by replacing wheat offal with CPM at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% for treatments T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively. A total of 75 growing pigs of large white breed were allotted on weight equalization basis into the five dietary treatments with 15 pigs per treatment and 3 pigs per replicate in a completely randomized design. The pigs were allowed to acclimatize for two weeks before the commencement of the study which lasted for 14 weeks. Results indicated that wheat offal contained 16.25% crude protein (CP), 18.86% crude fibre (CF) and 1.18% ether extract. The values were higher than cassava peel meal’s 5.18% CP and 15.18% CF and was lower than 1.99% ether extract. The 25, 50, 75% CPM significantly (p0.05) difference in feed intake. Total feed cost/Kg, feed cost/Kg weight gain and returns on investment significantly (p<0.05) decreased as the levels of cassava peel meal increased in the diets. The bled, scalded, eviscerated and dressed weights decreased as the level of CPM increased in the diets. The heart weight increased with the CPM level, while the liver and the kidney decreased with increase in CPM in the diets. Blood glucose and cholesterol increased with increasing levels of cassava peel meal in the diets while albumin and creatinine decreased as the level of cassava peel meal increased in the diets. The packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb) and red blood cell (RBC) counts decreased (p<0.05) as the level of cassava peel meal increased in the diets. White blood cell (WBC) and lymphocyte values were highest for pigs in T3 (50%) and T4 (75%). The study concluded that cassava peel meal could replace 75% of wheat offal in growing pig diets without deleterious effects on growth performance and economic benefit in terms of total feed cost, cost per kilogram and weight gain

Investigation Of Thermal Properties Of Naturally Seasoned Dry Macaranga Barteri Timber Board

Steady-state thermal conductivity measurements of naturally seasoned African thorn tree (Macaranga barteri) timer boards were carried out. Other thermal and physical properties such as specific heat capacity, thermal resistivity, density, thermal absorptivity and diffusivity as well as percentage of dead air space (v/v) were also determined for the wood samples. The results showed that Macaranga barteri timber board, naturally seasoned to dryness has thermal conductivity of 0.0692±0.0061 Wm-1K-1 mean specific heat capacity value of 1898.389±19.831JKg- 1K-1, thermal absorptivity and diffusivity values of 18.4226±1.3332m-1 and (1.0731±0.1560) x 10-7m2s-1 respectively. It has a bulk density of 339.82±15.49Kgm-3 and particle density of 413.53±28.18 with 17.82±1.81% as mean percentage volume of dead air space. These results are comparable with those of the conventional insulators, hence the wood material is a potential thermal insulator for building design

Design And Implementation Of An Interactive Website; A Case Study Of The Department Of Physics, University Of Uyo.

An interactive website has been designed for the Department of Physics, University of Uyo, using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) involving structuring, coding, and testing. This will enable the Department to gather, process, store and disseminate an up- to- date information to the whole world on the academic programmes, research activities as well as the general functioning of the Department. In the design, provisions have been made for the website of the rest of the University. In the mean time, the implementation is carried out within the limited facilities of the free server. KEY WORDS: Interactive Website, Hypertext Markup Language, Database, Internet, Hosting. Global Journal of Engineering Research Vol.3(1&2) 2004: 47-6

Dermatologic conditions in teenage adolescents in Nigeria

Eshan B Henshaw,1 Olayinka A Olasode,2 Evelyn E Ogedegbe,3 Imaobong Etuk4 1Dermatology Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Calabar, Calabar, Cross River State, 2Department of Dermatology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, 3Cedarcrest Hospital, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, 4Department of Pediatrics, University of Calabar, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria Background: Skin disorders are common in adolescents, and the impact on quality of life can be enormous, particularly when viewed against the backdrop of the visibility of skin diseases and the psychologically vulnerable period of adolescence. However, few studies have documented the magnitude of skin disorders in this subset of individuals. We therefore estimated the point prevalence and pattern of dermatologic conditions in adolescents attending various secondary schools in Calabar, Southern Nigeria. Methods: Using a structured questionnaire, relevant sociodemographic information was obtained from 1,447 teenage adolescents from eight secondary schools. Thereafter, a whole body examination was conducted to determine the presence and types of skin disorders seen. Results: Skin diseases were seen in 929 students. The point prevalence was higher in males (72.1%) than in females (58.3%). Private schools had a higher prevalence than public schools. The six most common dermatoses were acne vulgaris, pityriasis versicolor, nevi, tinea, miliaria, and keloid/hypertrophic scars, and accounted for over 80% of the dermatoses seen. Conclusion: The point prevalence of dermatoses in senior secondary school adolescents was 64.2%. Although a large number of skin disorders were observed, only a handful accounted for a significant proportion of the diseases seen. This increases the ease of training community health workers in the recognition and treatment of common skin diseases. Age, race, and climatic factors are important determinants of skin diseases in adolescents in Nigeria. Keywords: skin diseases, adolescents, Nigeri