Possible antimicrobial activity of Morinda lucida stem bark, leaf and root extracts

Inhibitory activities of both aqueous and methanolic extracts of the root, stem bark, and leaf of Morinda lucida on Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi, and Salmonella typhorium was investigated in vitro. In vitro experiment was carried out using the agar well diffusion and disc diffusion methods with Gram-negative enterobacteria. M. lucida extracts were more active against all the tested bacteria than the standard antibiotics, chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin even at the same concentrations of 5, 10 and 20 mg/ml. The results of this study show that the extracts of M. lucida has the potentials of inhibiting the growth of E. coli and Salmonella species, thereby suggesting its potency in the treatment of infections in which E. coli and Salmonella species are implicated.Keywords: Gram-negative, inhibitory activity, Escherichia coli, Salmonella species, enterobacteria, infections, antibioticsAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 13(3), pp. 471-475, 15 January, 201

The Role of Affinity Group Membership For Marginalized Music Therapy Students and Professionals

Little research has been done exploring the significance of affinity group membership in the profession of music therapy. In this study, 48 music therapy students and professionals who identified as a part of an affinity group connected to their marginalized identities were surveyed, answering open- and closed-ended questions related to their experiences of a sense of belongingness, acculturative stress, and burnout in professional environments. Quantitative data were analyzed using cross-tabulation descriptive statistics through Google Forms and qualitative data were analyzed through thematic analysis. The quantitative data highlighted how affinity group membership plays a significant role in the sense of belongingness for marginalized music therapy students and professionals. They also suggested that many participants experienced similar challenges and feelings in differing spaces (e.g., work, school) related to their marginalized identities. Thematic findings revealed that affinity group membership promoted feelings of belongingness, confidence in expressing one’s marginalized identity, increased comfort in advocacy for self and others, reduced inclination to assimilate to dominant societal norms, and increased cultural sensitivity in music therapy practice. This research suggests that music therapy educational and professional environments should be more intentional about providing affinity spaces and access to resources for marginalized students and professionals. More research can be done to explore the relationship between the sense of belongingness among marginalized music therapy students and professionals and job satisfaction, higher education, burnout levels, and sociocultural location

The pragmatic import of ‘Orí’ in Yorùbá conversational discourse

Among the Yorùbá of Nigeria, of all the parts of the human body, Orí [English: head] features most frequently in linguistic thought and action, but although numerous researchers have considered its spiritual values, orí’s conversational worth has been greatly overlooked. While acknowledging the spiritual associations of this top part of the body, this paper uses fragments of naturally occurring speech-in-context – surreptitiously collected among several Yorùbá interlocutors – to generate a tentative typology for Orí and concludes that the invocation of the head, whether in reference to one’s own or to that of another, has socio-pragmatic significance, and can serve various discourse functions, e.g., as a strategy for opening, commenting on, marking, and closing talk sequences. The discussion identifies perspectives – other than spiritual – from which this vital detail of the human frame could be ex-amined, given its frequency in much Yorùbá conversational discourse

Socio-Economic Determinants Of Small Ruminants Production Among Farmers In Osun State, Nigeria

In the study, the socio-economic determinant of small ruminants’ production in rural setting in Nigeria was investigated.  Structured questionnaire was used for data collection from 120 small ruminants’ farmers and analysed with descriptive statistics and regression analysis.  Findings show that older farmers (55%) dominated ownership of goats and sheep.  Semi intensive system was still practiced with majority dependent on forage grazing for the animals.  Major identified problems constraining small ruminant production included lack of capital/credit, land, pests/diseases and feed shortage.  A regression analysis result showed that certain socio-economic variables such as income, years of rearing experience and educational level had direct impact on small ruminant production (R2=0.78).  The findings suggest that improved small ruminant production could be achieved by giving considerations to those significant variables; creating enabling environment through the provision of micro-credit and extension services to ameliorate the problems faced by the farmers.     &nbsp

The meeting point between fisheries science and traditional ecological knowledge in fisheries

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is the sum of data and ideas acquired by a human group on its environment. Over the years, there has been a growing lack of confidence in centralized scientific fisheries management. Traditional ecological knowledge is recognized as a valuable tool for understanding trends of marine resources, ecosystem management and conservation. Some reseachers and policy-makers have called for TEK to play an increased role in fisheries management decisions. TEK helps to develop management practices which allow economic development without the over-exploitation of natural resources. However, the acceptance of TEK in fisheries management has been partly hindered by difficulties in translating local ecological knowledge into a form that can be applied dierectly to conventional top down approach of western fisheries management. For full integration of TEK and scientific knowledge in fisheries management, there must be constant communication, continuous education, mutual trust, collaborative validation of knowledge and respect for a workmg relationship to be sustained

Macroscopic gonad staging and reproductive seasonality in the Gorean snapper, Lutjanus goreensis a gonochoristic West African Lutjanid

In Nigeria, the Gorean snapper Lutjanus goreensis is an important component of artisanal fisheries and trawl landings although substantial gap exists on some aspects of the species’ reproductive biology in the entire Gulf of Guinea. The main objective of the study was to characterize the sexual differentiation and ratio, spawning seasonality and pattern through observation of three somatic indices: gonadosomatic index IG, hepatosomatic index IH and the Relative Condition Factor (Krel), macroscopic staging and size at first sexual maturity of the species. Spawning seasonality and pattern were best determined from temporal trends of IG and macroscopic gonad stage frequencies. The fish is monogamous with sex ratio of 1 male: 1 female. Five distinct gonad maturity stages and lack of population synchrony in gonadal development were distinguished. Mean sizes at first sexual maturity were 34.61cm TL and 34.21 cm TL for females and males, respectively. Multiple spawning peaks reflected by high IG occurred in December, May to June and August indicated protracted spawning while lowest IG occurred in March-April, denoted a resting phase. The species is a multiple spawner as evinced from asynchronous development of the gonads. It showed continuous reproduction throughout the year, particularly at higher intensity during the heavy rains (May to September). While these findings imply continuous recruitment into fishery, it is recommended that for optimal exploitation, minimum capture size has to be increased above sizes at sexual maturity

Farmers' involvement in agricultural problems identification and prioritization in Ogun State, Nigeria

The main objectives of the study were to determine the level of farmers involvement in their (farmers) agricultural problems identification and prioritization for research and extension intervention, the willingness of farmers to participate in their own agricultural problems identification and prioritization and to identify those constraints which prevent involvement of farmers in problems and need identification and prioritization. Using multistage random sampling, 240 farmers were selected. Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire and a structured interview schedule and analyzed through descriptive and regression analyses. The study concluded that the level of farmers' involvement in agricultural problems identification and prioritization was low, farmers were very willing to be involved in their agricultural problem identification and prioritization. Majority of the technologies disseminated were not based on farmers' identified problems and felt needs. Some of the constraints that might have militated against farmers' involvement were poor motivation and encouragement of farmers by researchers and extension officers, lack of adequate knowledge of research and extension processes, ineffective and inefficient linkages between researchers, extension agents and farmers and lack of formal education by farmers. The study recommended that the management of the Ogun State Agricultural Development Programme (Extension sub-programme), agricultural research stations and universities conducting agricultural researches in Ogun State, especially Yewa North, should initiate policies and processes that will mandate their personnel to involve farmers in participatory agricultural problem identification and prioritization and other stages of agricultural research and extension processes. Developmental policies should be implemented in a bottom-up approach rather than a purely top-down approach so that farmers' opinion would be known. South African Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.32 2003: 45-5