Assessment of male involvement in emergency contraception in the University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State

Background: Emergency contraception (EC) refers to the use of drugs or a device as an emergency measure to prevent pregnancy. Lack of awareness and appropriate use of emergency contraception after unprotected sexual intercourse can lead to unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions. Male involvement in contraceptive practices could help reduce these sequelae. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude and practice of emergency contraception and extent of partners’ communication with each other on pregnancy prevention among male students in the University of Benin, Benin City.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on 400 male students of the University of Benin selected by multistage sampling technique. Data was obtained with pretested interviewer administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 20 and statistical significance was determined using Chi square and Fishers exact with p value set at < 0.05.Results: Three hundred and thirty-four (95.4%) of the respondents, had incorrect knowledge of Emergency Contraception (EC) while 293 (83.7%) respondents had a good attitude toward EC. One hundred and seventy-five (80.3%) of the respondents’ partners have used emergency contraception and only 93 (43.1%) respondents discussed pregnancy prevention with their partners.Conclusion: The knowledge of emergency contraception among respondents was poor. However, most respondents had positive attitude towards its use and majority of their partners had used EC. Therefore, health education program on pregnancy prevention methods is recommended to improve respondents’ knowledge.Keywords: Emergency contraception, Male involvement, Knowledge, Attitude, Pregnancy prevention

ANNONA MURICATA LINN. ETHANOLIC LEAF EXTRACT AMELIORATES REPRODUCTIVE COMPLICATIONS IN STREPTOZOTOCIN-INDUCED DIABETIC WISTAR RATS

Diabetes mellitus is an endocrine and metabolic disorder of humans and animals characterized by hyperglycemia and low blood insulin levels or insensitivity of target organs to insulin and it’s a major health problem affecting patient’s quality of life due to its many complications. Infertility is one of the major secondary complications in diabetes. Although numerous drugs have been used for intervention studies on diabetes-induced infertility worldwide, there are currently no treatments for diabetes associated infertility in humans. This study was performed to investigate the effects of Annona muricata ethanolic leaf extract (AMELE) on fertility of male diabetic rats and levels of blood glucose. Twenty male Wistar rats (150-200g) were randomly distributed into 4 groups (n=5) treated thus: CTRL (control), DNT, DT1 and DT2 (diabetic, single intraperitoneal injection, streptozotocin, 60 mg/kg). Group DT1 and DT2 received AMELE orally at 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg respectively daily for fourteen days. Data were analysed using ANOVA at α0.05. The animals were sacrificed after 2 weeks via thiopental injection and testicular weights were recorded. Fasting blood glucose was determined using a digital glucometer. Sperm count, motility, viability and morphology were assessed microscopically. Testes were histologically evaluated. The results showed that oral administration of AMELE at 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg to diabetic male rats for fourteen days significantly decreased blood glucose level and also ameliorated diabetes-induced decreases in sperm functions in streptozotocin-induced diabetic male rats.   &nbsp

Antimicrobial Activity, Proximate And Amino Acids Analysis Of Tetrapleura Tetraptera

The fruits of an African spice and medicinal plant, Tetrapleura tetraptera, was analysed for its antimicrobial property, proximate composition and amino acid composition using standard procedures. The sensitivity screen ing revealed that the fruits of Tetrapleura tetmptera exhibited antimicrobial activity against Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Shigella spp and Staphylococcus aureus isolates. The best activity was observed on Escherichia coli. at a concentration of 250mg/ml having a zone of inhibition of 21mrn and the least activity was observed on Shigella spp. with a zone of inhibition of 15mrn at the same concentration. On the other hand, at a lower concentration of 31.25mg/ml, Salmonella spp was more suscep tible with a zone of inhibition of 12mm while the least activity was observed on Shigella spp at a concentration of 31.25mg/ml producing a zone of inhibition of 5mm. these reveals that Shigella spp is more resistant to the extract compared with the other isolates. Upon proximate analysis, Tetrapleura tetraptera had 5% moisture, 14% ash, 11% crude protein, 8% fats and 62% crude fibre. Also, amino acid analysis of the plant revealed that the plant contains about 17 amino acids whose concentrations were expressed in g/100g protein. Among this amino acids, there were 9 essential amino acids which includes Cystine(2.45), Isoleucine(6.21), Leucine (5.57), Lysine (5.97), Methionine (0.83), Phenylalanine(4.05),Threonine(4.75), Valine (5.50) and Tyrosine (3.65) while the remaining 8 were Non-Essential Amino Acids which includes Alanine(6.15), Arginine (6.39), Aspartic acid(11.41), Glutamic acid (13.10), Glycine (6.15), Histidi.ne(3.47), Proline (3.15) and Serine (5.86). This study therefore indicates that Tetmpleura tetmptera fruits could be useful in the treatment of diseases caused by the tes t organisms. Furthermore, the p lant could effectively serve as dietary condiment, particularly at this time when the economies of most nations are on the decline

Bacterial Bloodstream Infections in HIV-infected Adults Attending a Lagos Teaching Hospital

An investigation was carried out during October 2005–September 2006 to determine the prevalence of bloodstream infections in patients attending the outpatient department of the HIV/AIDS clinic at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. Two hundred and one patients—86 males and 115 females—aged 14-65 years were recruited for the study. Serological diagnosis was carried out on them to confirm their HIV status. Their CD4 counts were done using the micromagnetic bead method. Twenty mL of venous blood sample collected from each patient was inoculated into a pair of Oxoid Signal blood culture bottles for 2-14 days. Thereafter, 0.1 mL of the sample was plated in duplicates on MacConkey, blood and chocolate agar media and incubated at 37 °C for 18-24 hours. The CD4+ counts were generally low as 67% of 140 patients sampled had <200 cells/μL of blood. Twenty-six bacterial isolates were obtained from the blood samples and comprised 15 (58%) coagulase-negative staphylococci as follows: Staphylococcus epidermidis (7), S. cohnii cohnii (1), S. cohnii urealyticum (2), S. chromogenes (1), S. warneri (2), S. scuri (1), and S. xylosus (1). Others were 6 (23%) Gram-negative non-typhoid Salmonella spp., S. Typhimurium (4), S. Enteritidis (2); Pseudomonas fluorescens (1), Escherichia coli (1), Ochrobactrum anthropi (1), Moraxella sp. (1), and Chryseobacterium meningosepticum. Results of antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that coagulase-negative staphylococci had good sensitivities to vancomycin and most other antibiotics screened but were resistant mainly to ampicilin and tetracycline. The Gram-negative organisms isolated also showed resistance to ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, and septrin. This study demonstrates that co-agulase-negative staphylococci and non-typhoidal Salmonellae are the most common aetiological agents of bacteraemia among HIV-infected adults attending the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. The organisms were resistant to older-generation antibiotics often prescribed in this environment but were sensitive to vancomycin, cefotaxime, cefuroxime, and other new-generation antibiotics

The development of novel nickel selective amine extractants

A chelating ion exchanger, prepared by functionalising Merrifield resin with 2,2′-pyridylimidazole, was utilized to selectively adsorb and separate nickel from other base metal ions in synthetic sulfate solutions. The sorbent material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), microanalysis, infrared (IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and BET surface area. The distribution ratio (D) and the sorption capacity of the microspheres toward Ni(II), Cu(II), Co(II) and Fe(II) ions was studied by using the batch and column methods, respectively. Ni(II) followed by Cu(II) showed the highest distribution ratio (D) and the highest sorption efficiency of nickel(II) ions around pH 2. The binary separation of nickel(II) from copper(II), cobalt(II) and iron(II) respectively, undertaken in a column study, through loading the metal ions at pH ≈ 2 followed by selective decomplexation, demonstrated the selectivity of the sorbent material for nickel(II). Thus, 2,2′-pyridylimidazole can be regarded as a nickel-specific extractant

Prevalence of obesity and ethno-geographic variation in body sizes of Nigerians with type 2 diabetes mellitus - a multi-centre study

BACKGROUND: Excess weight gain is common in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) but little is known about its ethno-geographic variation among the Nigerian populace. We aimed to report the prevalence and regional variation of overweight/obesity among subjects with type 2 DM in all the six geo-political regions of Nigeria.METHOD: Basic demographic and anthropometric data were consecutively collected from patients with type 2 DM attending out-patient clinics of seven designated teaching hospitals in the six geographic regions of the country using a pre-agreed method of measurement of anthropometry including waist circumference. The study was hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional in design. Body Mass Index (BMI) was categorised using the WHO criteria. Based on recommendations of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) cut-off values for waist circumference, values &gt;94 cm and &gt; 80 cm were taken as abnormal for men and women respectively.RESULTS: A total of 709 subjects with DM comprising 378 (53.3%) females and 331 (46.7%) males (female: male ratio 1:1.14) with an overall mean age (SD) of 51.9 (13.9) years were evaluated. The prevalence of excess body weight among Nigerian subjects with type 2 DM was: peripheral (417 or 58.8%) and abdominal obesity (449 or 63.3%). Also, there was a significant wide variation in excess weight gain (both peripheral and central) across ethno-geographic regions (p=0.001) and between both sexes (p=0.001). In both peripheral and abdominal obesities, whether intra or inter centres, the female subjects with type 2 DM demonstrated relatively higher proportions of anthropometric measures. Generally, subjects from south-south and south-east Nigeria had higher BMI and abdominal obesity compared to those from south-west who had the lowest. The female subjects with type 2 DM were heavier peripherally and centrally compared to their male counterparts.CONCLUSION: The prevalence of peripheral and central obesity among Nigerians living with type 2 DM (especially the female subjects) is unacceptably high. Additionally, there is a wide variation in the proportion and absolute values of both peripheral and central obesity across different parts of Nigeria.KEY WORDS: Obesity, Prevalence, Ethno-Geographic Variation, Nigerians, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitu

SCREENING OF CRUDE EXTRACTS OF TWELVE MEDICINAL PLANTS AND “WONDER-CURE” CONCOCTION USED IN NIGERIA UNORTHODOX MEDICINE FOR ACTIVITY AGAINST MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS ISOLATED FROM TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS SPUTUM

The antimicrobial activity of extracts of twelve Nigerian medicinal plant species and a “wonder cure” concoction [Epa –Ijebu]; used in traditional medicine for the treatment of tuberculosis and cough were screened for activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from tuberculosis patient sputum and the control strains of M. tuberculosis (H37RV). Both ethanolic and aqueous solution of the extract of Allium ascalonicum, Terminalia glaucescens, Allium cepa and Securidaca longepedunculata (ethanolic extract only) at 0.05g/ml as well as aqueous solution of “wonder cure” concoction at same concentration inhibited the growth of M. tuberculosis. However at lower concentration of 0.2 µg/ml (critical proportion level of the control drug (isoniazide), M. tuberculosis was resistant to both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the plants as well as the aqueous solution of the wonder-cure concoction. The phytochemical analysis of the plant extract and the Epa-Ijebu showed the presence of bioactive compounds: tannin, flavonoid, alkaloids, phlobatannin, anthocyanin, reducing sugar, saponin and anthraquinone. Our results offer a scientific basis for the traditional use of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Allium ascalonicum, Terminalia glaucescens, Allium cepa, Securidaca longepeducunlata (ethanolic extract only) and aqueous solution of the “wonder cure” concoction at higher concentration against M. tuberculosis. However local herbs such as Nicotiana tabacum, Allium sativum, Aframomum melegueta, Aprus precatorius, Xylopia aethiopica, Tetrapleura tetraptera, Crinium jagus, and Garcinia kola were ineffective

Internal and external drivers of inflation in Nigeria

This study contributes to the literature on inflation dynamics by examining whether internal or external factors drive inflationary pressure in Nigeria. Using the annual time series data from 1981 to 2017 and applying Johansen cointegration analysis, the vector error correction mechanism and the impulse response function, the study reveals some compelling evidence to suggest that external forces are responsible for inflationary pressure in Nigeria. The results, amongst others, reveal that: external drivers– exchange rate, imported inflation and openness – induce a positive and direct relation to inflation. This is because a percentage change in these variables results in an increase in inflation of 0.49%, 0.47% and 4.28%, respectively, on average, ceteris paribus; the internal drivers – government expenditures, net food exports and lending interest rate – dampen inflation by 0.48%, 1.70% and 0.02%, respectively, on average, ceteris paribus; there is evidence of cointegration indicating that 57.48% of short-run errors will be corrected in the long run; imported inflation contributes to a deviation of about 33% deviation in the first five periods and accounts for cumulative average of over 100% deviation in inflation. Policy implications are discusse

Bethune round table 2012: 12th annual conference: filling the gap

Background: Our aim was to highlight the impact of collaboration between 2 linked tertiary hospitals in Nigeria and India. Methods: We conducted a review of a collaboration between the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre (AIMS), Kochi, India, and the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Ilorin, Nigeria, to exchange personnel for the purpose of further training from August 2007 and December 2011. Results: One neurosurgeon, 2 pediatric surgeons and 1 orthopedic surgeon had additional exposure at AIMS for periods of 3 months to 1 year. Four neurosurgery and 3 pediatric surgery perioperative nurses have also been trained at AIMS for periods of 3 months. A pediatric surgeon was invited as faculty for laparoscopic training at Ilorin in 2010. The collaboration has resulted in exposure to surgical procedures not usually done in our centre. Our pediatric surgery unit has commenced laparoscopic surgery and pyeloplasty for pelvic ureteric junction obstruction in children. The orthopedic surgeon has commenced interlocking nailing and joint replacement. The neurosurgeon has successful done endoscopic third ventriculostomy and microscopic resection of brain tumour. Conclusion: This international collaboration has led to capacity building with significant impact on surgical services at UITH. An international collaboration and exchange program is a feasible and desirable strategy for technology transfer between technology-advanced settings and resource-constrained centres