Gynaecological malignancies in Azare, North-East Nigeria: an assessment of types, stage at presentation and treatment affordability

Background: In many parts of the world, presentations for most gynecological cancers are late; this makes treatment difficult due to the cost of chemotherapy or radiotherapy which form the bedrock for cure or palliation. Objective of this study was to determine the types, stage at diagnosis, affordability of care and outcome of treatment of gynaecological cancers in Federal Medical Centre Azare, Bauchi State, Nigeria.Methods: All cases of gynaecological cancers seen over a ten-year period, from 1st January, 2003 to 31st December, 2012 were reviewed retrospectively. The number of all gynaecological cases seen during the period was also extracted.Results: Gynaecological cancer cases accounted for 11.84 % of 8,642 gynaecological cases seen during the period of study.  The mean age and parity of the women were 42±5 SD years and 5±1 SD respectively. Cervical cancer accounted for 55 %, ovarian cancer 30%, endometrial cancer 6%, choriocarcinoma 5%, secondaries/ cancers of undetermined origin were 4%.  Ninety-two percent presented with advanced stage of diseases. Only 25.3% could afford the cost of full treatment, and 8.4% attained cure of their disease. The modalities of treatment available were surgery and chemotherapy.Conclusions: Cervical and Ovarian Cancers remain the leading types of gynaecological cancers in our environment and late presentations are frequent occurrence. Late presentation and unaffordability of treatments are major challenges associated with the management of these patients. Early presentation and funding mechanisms for gynaecological cancers are keys to improved cure rate and reduced mortality

Isolation and Identification of Bacteria Associated with Pre and Post Processing of Groundnut Cake in Sokoto State, North-Western Nigeria

This study was conducted to assess the bacterial contamination between the groundnut cakes and paste obtained from Rural areas (Bodinga, kware) and that obtained within the metropolis at Urban areas (Arkilla and ‘Yargoriba) of Sokoto metropolis. A total of 8 samples of ready to eat groundnut cake and pastes were purchased, 4 of which were cake packaged in polythene and 4 paste packaged in plastic rubbers. The samples were analyzed microbiologically using standard procedures. Bacteria species associated with the samples collected from the rural areas were identified as Bacillus lentus, B. megaterium, B. licheniformis, Listeria monocytogene, Staphylococcus aureus while those associated with samples collected from the urban areas were identified as Bacillus lentus, B. megaterium, B. licheniformis, Listeria monocytogene, Staphylococcus aureus and S. hominis. There was higher bacteria count on samples from rural areas compared to those from urban areas. This might be as a result of unhygienic practices during the processing of the product which may range from methods of obtaining and quality of raw materials including sources of water, packaging, handling and distribution of the finished product to the final consumers. Based on these, it is recommended that Producers of groundnut cake should use good hygienic places, raw material and equipment to reduce the risk of microbial contamination. Keywords: Isolation, Identification, Bacteria, Processing, Groundnut DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/10-12-03 Publication date:June 30th 202

Economics of Livestock Marketing in Gamawa Local Government Area, Bauchi State, Nigeria

The study examined the profitability of livestock marketing in Gamawa Local Government Area, Bauchi State in the year 2012. A combination of both purposive and simple random sampling techniques was employed to collect data from one hundred and twenty marketers, using structured questionnaire. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, farm budgeting and multiple regression analysis. The result showed that goat and cattle marketers had the mean age, marketing experience and household size of 46 and 40 years, 11 and 13 years, 9 and 13 persons, respectively. In addition, marketing margin and returns per Naira invested per goat and cattle in the study area were N 4,016.66 and N38, 816.6, and N0.14 and N0.26, respectively. The findings revealed that cost of goat acquisition, medication, and labour were significant at P ≤ 0.01, P ≤ 0.05 and P ≤ 0.1, respectively; while in the case of cattle marketing, cost of cattle acquisition, feeding, medication, and labour were significant at P ≤ 0.01, P ≤ 0.05, P ≤ 0.1 and P ≤ 0.1, respectively. The study identified inadequate credit facilities, lack of market information, high cost of transportation and inadequate housing facilities as the most pressing constraints affecting the system. It was therefore recommended that provision of adequate housing facilities, sources of market information and easing access to credits as well as lowering transportation costs in order to improve in the areas of shortcoming

Effect of mastitis on some hematological and biochemical parameters of Red Sokoto goats

Aim: This research project investigates the effect of mastitis on some hematological and biochemical parameters of Red Sokoto goats (RSGs). Materials and Methods: In this investigation, 16 clinically and subclinically diagnosed mastitic and 20 non-mastitic RSGs, within Sokoto metropolis, were sampled. Blood samples were collected both in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and anticoagulant free sample bottles for hematology and biochemical analysis, respectively. Results: A statistical analysis of the results revealed no significant difference in all the hematological parameters analyzed for both the mastitic and non-mastitic goats except mean corpuscular hemoglobin where significant difference (p<0.05) was observed. Similarly, no significant difference was recorded in the serum biochemistry except for the increase in total protein (p<0.001), globulin (p<0.05), and alanine aminotransferase activity (p<0.05). Conclusion: This finding is a pointer to the fact that mastitis could be regarded as a localized problem affecting the udder without serious systemic or metabolic involvement in RSGs

Determination of some heavy metals in groundwater and table water in Tudun Murtala, Nassarawa Local Government Area, Kano-Nigeria

This study determine the level of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, Fe) in water samples obtained from different sources (well water, borehole water and table water) in Tudun Murala, Nassarawa local government area, Kano state. The concentrations of heavy metals in the water samples were determined using flame Atomic Absorption spectrometer. Results showed that the concentration of Pb, Cd, Cr and Fe in water samples were within the range: 0.295- 0.579, 0.471- 0.529, 0.550- 1.000, 0.3636 - 0.4545mg/l respectively, which were above the permissible limits set by WHO. Whereas the concentration of Zn (0.0814 - 0.173) was within the limit set. The elevated concentration of heavy metals could be linked to environmental factors and industrial pollution in the area

Estimation of annual effective dose due to ingestion of natural radionuclides in cattle in tin mining areas of jos plateau, nigeria: are large mammals really affected?

We have read with great interest the paper which was published in Natural Science, 2014 issue number 6 titled “Estimation of annual effective dose due to ingestion of natural radionuclides in cattle in tin mining area of Jos Plateau, Nigeria” [1]. The paper motivated us to use state-of-the-art computational technique to investigate the risks of the tin mining activity in Jos-Plateau, Nigeria on large mammals (e.g. cattle). The Tier 2 Erica Tool assessment was used to estimate the total dose rate and risk quotients of these reference terrestrial animals. Our investigation revealed that the expected and conservative risk quotients of large mammals due to internal and external exposure to enhanced level of radioactivity are 0.05 and 0.16, respectively. Since the risk quotients are less than unity, this indicates that there is less than 5% probability that the screen dose rate (10 μGy•h–1) is exceeded. The estimated total dose rate to large mammals is 0.52 μGy•h–1 which is not statistically significant. A critical analysis of [1] is presented in the introductory part of this paper