Antimicrobial activities of methanolic extract of Gongronema latifolia stem on clinical isolate of Escherichia coli from diarrhoea patients

This study was carried out to investigate the antimicrobial activities of Gongronema latifolia stem extract on clinical isolates of Escherichia coli from diarrhoea patients. Twenty five isolates of E. coli were obtained from stool samples of diarrhoea patients within the ages of 1-5 in Nsukka Health Centre, Nsukka. The antimicrobial activity of the methanolic extract was then carried out using agar cup diffusion technique. The result of the study showed that the E. coli was moderately sensitive to methanolic extract of G. latifolia stem. This shows that in the treatment of infections caused by E. coli, methanolic extract of G. latifolia stem may be used

Contamination of Sachet Water in Nigeria: Assessment and Health Impact

Adequate supply of fresh and clean drinking water is a basic need for all human beings. Water consumers are frequently unaware of the potential health risks associated with exposure to water borne contaminants which have often led to diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid fever, legionnaire’s disease and parasitic diseases. The inadequacy of pipe borne water-supply in Nigeria is a growing problem; as a result people resort to buying water from vendors, and sachet or bottled water became a major source of drinking water. Although, portable and affordable, the problems of its purity and other health concerns have begun to manifest. Sachet water have been reported to contain bacteria such as Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Klebsiella sp., Streptococcus sp., and oocysts of Cryptosporidia sp. Apart from environmental contaminants, improper storage and handling by vendors also poses a serious threat to the health of the ignorant consumers. This paper tends to review the quality of these ‘pure water’; its physical examination, microbial assessments, its impacts on health, and the various strategies adopted by the concerned authorities to regulate this thriving industry

Power Relations Influencing Catholic Religious Sisters’ Identity Construction: A Study of Intersubjective Exchange in Religious Community Living

Catholic religious sisters live community life in which they encounter communal relationship with each other, intertwined with power relations and dominance. The religious community context provides the sisters with on-going dialogical relationships laden with the discourse of religious obedience and practices associated with diverse status of being ‘superior/formator’, ‘senior/older sister’, ‘final professed’ or ‘temporary professed sister’. Within this discourse and practice of the vow of religious obedience, superiors/formators and senior/older sisters hold the power to instruct others on what to do. Thus, each of these statuses influences the sisters’ voices whereby some voices dominate others. Using 18 sisters’ self-narratives (based on a doctoral thesis) collected from two religious congregations in Nigeria this paper argues that the dominated voices negotiate their sense of identity either as resistant or submissive. Based on the I-positions dynamism of appropriation or rejection of positions, these sisters negotiate their self-identity either by subjugating their own voice, in which case they allow their voice to be silent or by presenting themselves as resistant, in that they oppose the voices that position them into subordinate or subservient roles. As a consequence the sisters’ construction of identity manifests itself in tension, in which the polar opposite status of superior/formator, and final professed sister dominates the voice of other sisters

Sonographic evaluation of the spleen among sickle cell disease patients in a teaching hospital in Nigeria

Background: Regional variations in size and parenchyma echo-texture of the spleen among sickle cell disease (SCD) patients have been documented in various publications. The objectives of this study were to assess the size and parenchyma echo-texture of the spleen of SCD patients and ascertain the relationship of age, height and weight with the spleen sizes.Methods: This was a cross sectional study involving 103 each of SCD and age matched control subjects. Aloka ST- 550 -3500 ultrasound machine with 3.5 and 5 MHz convex transducers was used to scan the subjects over a 15 months period (September, 2012 to November, 2013). The age, height and weight of each subject were recorded.Results: The spleen sizes of SCD patients were generally larger than those of the controls (p < 0.05). Abnormal spleen parenchyma of varied appearances was found among the SCD subjects. There were negative correlations between mean spleen sizes and height, weight and age in SCD patients but positive correlations were found between them in the controls.Conclusion: Routine sonographic assessment of spleen size and echo-texture is useful in the management of SCD patients.Key words: sickle cell disease, sonography, spleen morphology, patient management, Nigerian population

Relationship Between Nutritional Status and Intensity of Common Intestinal Helminths Among Children in Enugu, South‑East Nigeria

Background: Intestinal helminthiasis is associated with malnutrition in children.Aim: The objective of this study was to determine the intensity and effect of the common intestinal helminths on the nutritional status of children in Enugu, Nigeria.Subjects and Methods: A cross‑sectional study of 460 children conducted in Enugu metropolis, south‑east Nigeria between August and September 2003. Their stools were analyzed at the research laboratory of the Federal Ministry of Health, National Arbovirus and Vector Research Center, Enugu. The intensity of the common intestinal helminths was determined using the standard Kato‑Katz method of fresh stool samples. The classification intensity of helminthic infestation was according to the World Health Organization classification. Data were analyzed using Statistical Software for Social Sciences version 11.0 (Chicago IL, USA). P < 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. Results: 452 of 460 children (98.3%) had normal height for age, weight for age and weight for height Z‑scores. Six of the 460 children (1.3% were wasted), 1/460 stunted (0.2%) and 1/460 wasted and stunted (0.2%). 150 out of 460 (32.6%) studied were infected with helminths. There was no significantrelationship between the intensity of helminth infection and the nutritional status of the children. Conclusion: Although the prevalence of helminthiasis in children in Enugu was high, intensity of helminthiasis in these children was mainly mild. Hence, majority of them had normal weight and height measurements for age and sex.Keywords: Anthropometry, Children, Helminthic infectio

Effectss of aqueous and ethnlic extracts and the concentrations of four agrobotanicals and gibberellic acid(GA3) on the shelf llife of the white guinea yam Dioscorea rotundata

No Abstract. Bio-Research Vol. 4(1) 2006: 67-7

Studies on identification of yam (Dioscorea Spp) food forms and factors that determine choice criteria for consumption in Nigeria

No Abstract.Nigeria Agricultural Journal Vol. 36 2005: pp. 145-15

Nutritional food content of seed and effects of five different growing media on the seed germination and seedling growth of Afzelia africana SM Caesalpiniaceae

Nutritional food content of seed and effect of five different growing media: Top forest soil (TS), sawdust (SD), 2:1 mixture of; TS+SD, TS+composted poultry manure (TS+PM) and 2:1:1 mixture of TS+SD+PM on the seed germination and seedling growth of Afzelia Africana SM Caesalpiniaceae were investigated. Thirteen chemical food nutrients were detected in the species seed. These occurred in varying percentages. The mixed growing media (2:1:1 mixture of TS+SD+PM, 2:1 mixture of TS+SD and TS+PM) consistently had: higher percentages of: water holding capacity and nitrogen than the single media (TS and SD). Shorter periods of initial and final seed germination were achieved when seeds were sown in the mixed growing media than in the single growing media. The highest percentage seed germination (87.4%) was achieved when seeds were sown in 2:1:1 mixture of TS+SD+PM growing medium, while the poorest percentage seed germination (30.5%) was obtained when seeds were sown in the TS growing medium, the control. Comparatively, the mixed media induced higher percentage seed germination responses than the single growing media. After four weeks growth in the nursery, values of seedling growth parameters showed that seedlings grown in the mixed growing media had better growth attributes than seedlings grown for the same period in the single media. The results also showed that the best growth attributes were developed by seedlings grown in 2:1:1 mixture of TS+SD+PM (mean: Seedling height 22.4cm., number of leaves, 22 and mean leaf area 120.6cm2).Keywords: Afzelia Africana, seed nutrient content, growing media, seed germination, and seedling growth attribute