Prevalence of Low Back Pain Among Traffic Wardens in Lagos State, Nigeria

Low back pain (LBP) has been found to be common among workers in certain industries and occupations. However, little is known about the prevalence of low back pain among traffic wardens in Nigeria, who are perceived to belong to the group of workers that are exposed to high  occupational risks. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of low back pain and its associated risk factors among traffic wardens. The study design was a cross-sectional descriptive survey. All subjects were  evaluated using a 32-item questionnaire to collect information on the demographic characteristics, years of involvement in working as a traffic warden, history of LBP in the last 12 months, possible causes and management of LBP, and the effect of LBP on work and the activities of daily living. The intensity of the pain was assessed using a verbal ratingscale. The prevalence of low back pain over a 12-month period was observed to be 69.5%. The intensity was described as moderate (49.2%), mild (11.8%), or severe (8.6%). Eighty (61.5%) of the traffic wardens agreed that LBP constitutes some form of impediment to their job  activities. There was a relationship between age and prevalence of low back pain, with age 35 – 54 years having the highest level of prevalence. Years of involvement in regulating traffic also has a significant influence on the severity of LBP. A higher prevalence was identified among males compared to females This study concluded that low back pain is prevalent among traffic wardens and the female wardens are more susceptible than their male counterparts. Also, age and years of involvement in regulating trafficsignificantly influence prevalence of LBP.KEY WORDS: low back pain, traffic warden, occupational healt

Diabetic foot care: Self reported knowledge and practice among patients attending three tertiary hospital in Nigeria

Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) foot complications are a leading cause of mortality in developing countries and the prevalence of diabetes is expected to increase in the next decades in these countries. Theaim of this study was to determine the knowledge and practice of foot care among diabetes patients attending three tertiary hospitals in Nigeria.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out from November 2009 to April 2010. Pre-tested structured questionnaires were administered by medical officers to diabetes patients. The outcome variables were knowledge and practice regarding foot care. The knowledge and practice scores were classified as good if score .70%, satisfactory if score was 50-69% and poor if score was < 50%.Results: Of 352 diabetes patients, 30.1% had good knowledge and 10.2 % had good practice of DM foot care. Majority (78.4%) of patients with poor practice had poor knowledge of foot care. With regard toknowledge, 68.8% were unaware of the first thing to do when they found redness/bleeding between their toes and 61.4% were unaware of the importance of inspecting the inside of the footwear for objects. Poor footpractices include; 89.2% not receiving advice when they bought footwear and 88.6% failing to get appropriate size footwear. Illiteracy and low socioeconomic status were significantly associated with poor knowledge and practice of foot care.Conclusion: This study has highlighted the gaps in the knowledge and practice of foot care in DM patients and underscores the need for an educational programme to reduce of diabetic foot complication

Effects of crude ethanolic extract of Garcinia cambogia on the reproductive system of male wistar rats (

15 male rats were grouped and administered crude ethanolic extracts of Garcinia cambogia seeds to test the effects on the histology of the testis and sperm counts. Group A served as the control while Groups B and C received 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight of extracts, respectively. The administration was done orally once a day, six days a week for six weeks. The routine histological preparation at the end of administration revealed increase in the interstitial spaces, degeneration of the Ledgid cells anddistortion in the arrangement of the cells of spermatogenic series. The sperm counts revealed a significant increase in the experimental groups when compared statistically with the control (

Effects of Phosphorous Application on Growth Performance, Yield and Nutritional Value of Cockscomb ( Celosia argentea L)

Effects of phosphorous (P) level on performance, yield and nutritional value of Celosia argentea L. were evaluated with the aim of determining the P level that supports the best growth, yield and nutritional qualities of the crop. The levels of P were: normal (1.348 mg\ub7kg-1 of P/pot, NP), medium (6.743 mg\ub7kg-1 of P/pot, MP), high (13.48 mg\ub7kg-1 of P/pot, HP) and no P application (control, CP). The crop growth rate (CGR) increased with increase in phosphorus gradients (NP = 0.05 g/m2\ub7d-1, MP = 0.09 g/m2\ub7d-1 and HP = 0.12 g/m2\ub7d-1). High and medium P rates increased the relative growth rate (RGR), HP had the highest RGR (0.05 g\ub7g-1/day) followed by MP (0.04 g\ub7g-1/day). Addition of P increased leaf area (LA) of C. argentea. Crude protein of the control was higher (5.56%) compared to the other P treatments (NP = 5.14, MP = 5.11 and HP = 5.03%). Phosphorus applications were beneficial for growth and enhancement of nutritional quality of C. argentea. NP and MP are recommended for growing this vegetable crop

Preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health in Southwest Nigeria: socio-cultural, magico-religious and economic aspects

Agrarian rural dwellers in Nigeria produce about 95% of locally grown food commodities. The low accessibility to and affordability of orthodox medicine by rural dwellers and their need to keep healthy to be economically productive, have led to their dependence on traditional medicine. This paper posits an increasing acceptance of traditional medicine country-wide and advanced reasons for this trend. The fact that traditional medicine practitioners' concept of disease is on a wider plane vis-à-vis orthodox medicine practitioners' has culminated in some socio-cultural and magico-religious practices observed in preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health management. Possible scientific reasons were advanced for some of these practices to show the nexus between traditional medicine and orthodox medicine. The paper concludes that the psychological aspect of traditional medicine are reflected in its socio-cultural and magico-religious practices and suggests that government should fund research into traditional medicine to identify components of it that can be integrated into the national health system

Omics-based molecular techniques in oral pathology centred cancer: Prospect and challenges in Africa

: The completion of the human genome project and the accomplished milestones in the human proteome project; as well as the progress made so far in computational bioinformatics and “big data” processing have contributed immensely to individualized/personalized medicine in the developed world.At the dawn of precision medicine, various omics-based therapies and bioengineering can now be applied accurately for the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and risk stratifcation of cancer in a manner that was hitherto not thought possible. The widespread introduction of genomics and other omics-based approaches into the postgraduate training curriculum of diverse medical and dental specialties, including pathology has improved the profciency of practitioners in the use of novel molecular signatures in patient management. In addition, intricate details about disease disparity among diferent human populations are beginning to emerge. This would facilitate the use of tailor-made novel theranostic methods based on emerging molecular evidences

Missiles from ‘Kirsten Hall’: Herbert Macaulay versus Hugh Clifford, 1922 – 1931

Anumber of existing studies have examined the career, life and times of Herbert Macaulay in various dimensions. Yet, a lacuna still exists in our knowledge of the nature of the relationship that existed between this foremost nationalist and the colonial government headed by Sir Hugh Clifford (1919-1931). This essay highlights the dynamics of the hostility that characterized the relationship between these two, emphasizing the mutual and deeply personal dimensions of this relationship. The essay uses Herbert Macaulay’s many virulent campaigns against Sir Hugh Clifford to explain the dynamics of two irreconcilable forces that occupied the colonial space of Lagos in the 1920s. Judging from the epilogue of this encounter, the essay concludes that Herbert Macaulay triumphed and as such was able to launch himself, effectively, as the father of Nigerian nationalismKey words: Nationalism, colonialism, political elite, chieftaincy, land,hostility

Serum uric acid level as an independent component of the metabolism syndrome in Type 2 diabetic blacks

No Abstract. Nigrian Journal of Clinical Practice Vol. 10 (2) 2007: pp. 137-14

Growth Indices and Apparent Nutrient Digestibility in Rabbits Fed Graded Levels of Moringa (Moringa oleifera) Leaf Meal.

The chemical composition of moringa leaf meal, growth performance and nutrient digestibility of growing rabbits fed graded levels of moringa leaf meal (MLM) were investigated. The MLM was incorporated in rabbit diet at 0, 5, 10 and 15% levels as replacement for soyabean meal (SBM) which constituted treatments 1(control), 2, 3 and 4, respectively. A total of 36 growing crossbred rabbits, 7-9 weeks old with an average body weight of 801±27.83g were randomly allotted to the treatments in an experiment that lasted for 9 weeks. Each treatment has nine animals in a completely randomised design. Results showed that the chemical composition of MLM contains 27.53% crude protein (CP), 9.93% ether extract (EE), 14.05% crude fibre (CF), 7.98% Ash and 40.51 nitrogen free extract (FE). The final body weight and daily weight gain were not significantly (P&gt;0.05) different among the dietary treatments. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) and dry matter intake of experimental animals were also not significantly (P&gt;0.05) influenced by the dietary treatments, however there was apparent reduction in the value of these parameters as the level of the MLM increases in the diets. The trend observed in the nutrient digestibility indicated that with increase in the level of MLM inclusion in the diets, apparent nutrient digestibility increases significantly (P&lt;0.05) from animals fed control diet to those fed 15% MLM. The CP, CF, EE and Ash digestibility values were significantly (P&lt;0.05) higher in rabbits fed dietary treatments 2, 3, and 4 than those on the control diet. This suggests that Moringa leaf meal (MLM) could be used to replace SBM at 15% level of inclusion in rabbit diets as a non-conventional protein source.Keywords: Moringa leaf meal, growth, rabbits, digestibilit