Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Isolated from Healthy Inhabitants of Uturu Rural Communities, Abia State, Nigeria

The antimicrobial resistance ability and extraordinary virulence of community acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus which allow it infect healthy persons are major medical issues worldwide. A total of 84 (nose and ear swabs, urine) samples were collected from healthy individuals and screened for Staphylococcus aureus using standard microbiological techniques. Susceptibility testing of the isolates to oxacillin and to other conventional antimicrobial sensitivity discs of some antibiotics readily accessible in the study area was done using the discs diffusion method. Staphylococcus aureus was grown from 69(82.1%) samples while 51(60.7%) of the cultures were methicillin-resistant. The 51(60.7%) community acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates showed a percentage resistance pattern which included 100% resistance to ampicillin followed by amoxicillin (64.7%)?  vancomycin (35.3%)? erythromycin (19.6%)? ceftriaxone (17.6%)? gentamycin (13.7%)? ciprofloxacin (11.8%)? ofloxacin (7.8%). High resistance to vancomycin (35.3%) was recorded in the study area. Ofloxacin was the best antibiotic of choice in the treatment of disorders associated with community acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the study area. Other antibiotics such as gentamycin, and ciprofloxacin proved to be potent in the management of MRSA infections. Ten solates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus obtained showed multidrug resistance to at least 4 antibiotics tested and this necessitates caution in the prescription of antibiotics without proper indication. The high prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the study area is of great public health importance and calls for effective measures including public enlightenment to discourage indiscriminate use of antimicrobials. Keywords: Community acquired methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, prevalence, antibiotics susceptibility pattern, ofloxacin, Nigeria

Effects of Replacing Soybean (Glycine Max) with Fermented Sickle Pod (Senna Obtusifolia) on the Productive Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Domestic Rabbits

An experiment was conducted for 56 days to determine the productive performance and carcass characteristics of domestic rabbits fed fermented Senna obtusifolia seed meal (FSOSM)-based diets. A control soybean meal-based diet and diets containing 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% FSOSM as a replacement for soybean were formulated for the study. Twenty (20) domestic growing rabbits with an initial weight range of 605.25 – 662.75 g were randomly allotted to the five dietary treatments in a Completely Randomized Block Design with four replicates of one rabbit each. The productive performance was not significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by the diets. The daily weight gain ranged from 11.11 – 12.09 g/d, total weight gain 622.16 – 677.01 g/d, daily feed intake 55.15 – 61.41 g and feed conversion ratio ranged from 4.83 – 5.02. The carcass characteristics were similarly not affected (P < 0.05) by the dietary treatments. Dressing percentage ranged from 50.05 – 59.70% and retail cuts for shoulder, rack, loin and thigh were 17.73 – 18.99, 5.20 – 6.28, 13.26 – 14.17 and 20.28 – 22.33 percent body weight. It was concluded from this study that replacement of soybean with FSOSM up to 100% had no adverse effects on the productive parameters and carcass characteristics of domestic rabbits

Public Dialogue in Disaster Situations and Physical Planning Inadequacies: Focus on the Devastating June 16, 2018 Bauchi Rainstorm

Bauchi experienced a catastrophic disaster event on 16 June, 2018. Consequently, there have been public discussions and irritations about the event and the inadequacies of public-sector town planning practitioners. 130  residents of Bauchi metropolis were sampled randomly and their concerns documented. The study revealed that poor housing conditions, urban poverty, corruption in planning authorities, substandard infrastructural provision and the non-adherence to development control regulations were the major human and administrative contributions to the catastrophic outcome of the disaster. Keywords: Disaster, Physical planning, Rainstorm, Public, Dialogue, Inadequacies

The center cannot hold: A Bayesian chronology for the collapse of Tiwanaku.

The timing of Tiwanaku's collapse remains contested. Here we present a generational-scale chronology of Tiwanaku using Bayesian models of 102 radiocarbon dates, including 45 unpublished dates. This chronology tracks four community practices: residing short- vs. long-term, constructing monuments, discarding decorated ceramics, and leaving human burials. Tiwanaku was founded around AD 100 and around AD 600, it became the region's principal destination for migrants. It grew into one of the Andes' first cities and became famous for its decorated ceramics, carved monoliths, and large monuments. Our Bayesian models show that monument building ended ~AD 720 (the median of the ending boundary). Around ~AD 910, burials in tombs ceased as violent deaths began, which we document for the first time in this paper. Ritualized murders are limited to the century leading up to ~AD 1020. Our clearest proxy for social networks breaking down is a precise estimate for the end of permanent residence, ~AD 1010 (970-1050, 95%). This major inflection point was followed by visitors who used the same ceramics until ~AD 1040. Temporary camps lasted until roughly ~AD 1050. These four events suggest a rapid, city-wide collapse at ~AD 1010-1050, lasting just ~20 years (0-70 years, 95%). These results suggest a cascading breakdown of community practices and social networks that were physically anchored at Tiwanaku, though visitors continued to leave informal burials for centuries. This generation-scale chronology suggests that collapse 1) took place well before reduced precipitation, hence this was not a drought-induced societal change and 2) a few resilient communities sustained some traditions at other sites, hence the chronology for the site of Tiwanaku cannot be transposed to all sites with similar material culture

Style, Aesthetics, and Politics: Polychrome Ceramic Iconography in the Tiwanaku Valley, AD 500-1100

During the period referred to as the Middle Horizon, approximately AD 500 to 1100, a particular style of iconography, depicted on polychrome ceramics, textiles, and stone carvings, was produced, exchanged, and consumed over much of the Andes region of South America. Two ancient political projects lie at the heart of this phenomenon: the Wari Empire based in the Ayacucho region of Peru, and the Tiwanaku polity, on which I focus, based in the Southern Titicaca Basin region of western Bolivia. The relationship between the Middle Horizon materials and Tiwanaku’s political history presents a good case with which to examine the intersection of aesthetics and politics in an ancient state. Thus, this dissertation answers the question: what roles did the aesthetic qualities of Tiwanaku style polychrome ceramic iconography play in the construction, consolidation, and expansion of Tiwanaku, the city and state? The empirical basis of my arguments is an analysis of Tiwanaku ceramics and iconography, in which I categorized and compared various motifs and elements that appear on polychrome serving wares throughout the heartland of the polity. While I investigate the relationship between aesthetics and politics at Tiwanaku over 7 chapters, my overarching argument is that Tiwanaku style ceramics played different roles and produced different effects in different social contexts. Thus, each chapter focuses on a unique—yet interrelated—set of methodological and theoretical concerns. In the center of Tiwanaku, where megalithic monuments were the site of large-scale feasts, people consumed ceramics that were decorated with a relatively uniform iconography, indicating that solidarity by way of ‘common sense’ was constructed at these events. The diverse and elegant iconography found on ceramic vessels placed in ruling class tombs, alternatively, illustrates that the production and acquisition of skillfully crafted objects were important foundations for social power at Tiwanaku. Finally, as evidenced by their curation of Tiwanaku style vessels and their creative, playful reproductions of Tiwanaku’s iconographic canon, peoples beyond the ceremonial core of the city found pleasure in the aesthetic qualities of Tiwanaku ceramics, which drew them more deeply into Tiwanaku’s political community. The fall of the Tiwanaku state in the 12th century coincided with the end of Tiwanaku style material production, ultimately manifesting the deep relationship between the political project and its visual culture