Determinants of House Ownership Among University of Uyo Staff: Emerging Lessons

Man has consistently tried to build his immediate environment so as to provide a means to cover and protect himself from the external elements. Despite man’s effort to provide decent accommodation, his effort seems unrealizable with processes that are too cumbersome. This paper seeks to investigate determinants of house ownership among University of Uyo Staff. For the purpose of collecting data, a population size of 2494 Staff was identified through the Department of Establishment, University of Uyo. However, one hundred and fifty (150) copies of questionnaire were distributed among the University staff using simple random technique. A Factor Analysis technique was used to analyze fourteen factors which five components were extracted and their factor loadings were used in examining the determinants. The factors were renamed to include family life cycle, identity, cost saving resources, socioeconomic, and catalyst of determination. Conclusion were reached that some individuals are oblivious or lack determination to build their own houses or they await a time where considerable savings will propel them to build a house but such opportunities are scanty. The study recommended that Physical Planners and Planning Agencies should advice government on the technological innovation needed to be in place to facilitate housing development which are not limited to computerized land information system, Geographic Information System and other relevant tools that can aid efficiency of work in the agencies. Also, people should invest in real estate knowing that housing is a veritable item of economic investment. Keywords: House, Determinants, University of Uyo Staff, Ownership

Early outcome of open locked intramedullary nailing of femoral diaphyseal fractures in a resource – poor setting

Background: Closed locked intramedullary nailing is largely considered the preferred treatment option for fractures of the femoral diaphysis, owing to its associated high union and low complication rates. In resource poor regions where intraoperative imaging is not readily available, most of these injuries are treated by open locked intramedullary nailing and plate osteosynthesis. This study was designed to assess the outcome of open locked intramedullary nailing of femoral diaphyseal fractures.Methods: Medical records and radiographs of all adult patients who had open locked intramedullary nailing of fractures of the femoral diaphysis between January 1, 2013 and July 31, 2017 were retrieved. A total of 45 patients with 46 fractures of the femoral diaphysis were retrospectively studied. Each patient was followed up for at least 12 months. Early outcome of treatment was assessed using the Thorresen's criteria.Results: A total of 45 patients (24 male; 21 female) with 46 femoral diaphyseal fractures were studied. The age range of the patients was 18 years to 80 years, with a mean age of 33.56 (SD=12.87) years. Forty two (91.3%) cases were closed fractures. Twenty four (53.3%) patients had right femoral diaphyseal fracture. The overall union rate was 95.7%. The range of time to fracture union was 12 weeks to 34 weeks, with an overall mean time to fracture union of 13.65 ± 3.57 weeks. Ipsilateral knee joint stiffness (n=4, 8.7%) and osteomyelitis (n=3, 6.5%) were the commonest complications recorded. Overall infection rate was 10.8%. Using the Thoresen's criteria, the overall outcome of treatment in this study was excellent in 37 (80.4%) patients.Conclusion: There is no significant difference between the outcome of open nailing compared to closed nailing of femoral diaphyseal fracturesKeywords: Locked intramedullary nailing, femoral diaphyseal fracture

Frequency of percutaneous achilles tenotomy in the treatment of idiopathic clubfoot using the Ponseti method

Background: Percutaneous Achilles tenotomy is an integral component of congenital clubfoot treatment using the Ponseti method. This study was designed to assess the frequency and outcome of percutaneous Achilles tenotomy in the conservative treatment of congenital clubfoot by the Ponseti method.Patients and methods: A prospective study of all congenital clubfoot patients between the ages of zero and two years who attended our clubfoot clinic between January, 2013 and December, 2017 was carried out. At presentation, each clubfoot was assessed clinically and scored using the Pirani scoring system, and treated using the Ponseti method. Percutaneous Achilles tenotomy was performed for feet with persistent equinus deformity. Statistical analysis of the distribution and associations of percutaneous Achilles tenotomy was done using IBM SPSS version 22 was done.Results: A total of 97 patients with 147 clubfeet were studied. The median total Pirani score (TPS), midfoot contracture score (MFCS) and hindfoot contracture score (HFCS) at presentation were 4.5, 2.5 and 2.5 respectively. Percutaneous Achilles tenotomy was performed on 97 (66.4%) feet belonging to 63 patients. Eighty five out of 108 feet with initial total Pirani score of 3.0 and above required percutaneous Achilles tenotomy to achieve correction (p < 0.001).Conclusion: Treatment of congenital clubfoot using the Ponseti method was associated with a tenotomy rate of 66.4%. High Pirani scores as well as increasing age at presentation were associated with the need for percutaneous Achilles tenotomy.Keywords: Congenital, Clubfoot, Pirani scoring system, Ponseti method, Achilles tenotom

Prevalence of malaria infection in children in Anambra state, Nigeria after change of policy from presumptive/clinical to confirmed diagnosis

In 2011, WHO change malaria case-management policy from presumptive treatment of fevers to parasitological diagnosis and targeted treatment with artemisinin combination therapy (ACTs). Between 2010 and 2012, a series of activities were undertaken to support the implementation of the new policy. Regular monitoring of the quality of malaria case-management was carried out to inform policy makers, implementers and donors agencies on the implementation progress. This study was carried out to estimate the effects of this new WHO policy on the prevalence of malaria parasite infection in children from selected communities in Anambra State, Nigeria. This study was conducted in thirteen communities purposively selected from thirteen local government areas in Anambra State using children aged 0 – 14.90 years. Venous blood samples were collected from 82 and 166 children from the communities and hospitals, respectively for thick films blood smears for microscopy. Chi-square (χ2) and Fisher least significance difference test were used to analyse the data collected. The overall prevalence of malaria based on the community survey in Anambra State was 46.30 %, while the prevalence of malaria based on hospital survey was 94.60 %. The result of this study showed that there was no significant difference in infection rate in relation to age in both community and hospital survey. There should be proper management of childhood malaria in the homes and hospitals. This could be achieved by training and retraining of health care workers and mothers/care givers in the formal health care delivery systems to ensure quick and accurate diagnosis of malaria parasite infection of children in Anambra State, Nigeria.Keywords: Prevalence of malaria, Children, Anambra State, Nigeria, Presumptive policy, Confirmed diagnosis, Hospital malaria vs. Community malari

Assessment of the bacteriological quality and efficacy of two hand sanitizers sold within Ilishan-Remo Community of Ogun State, Nigeria

Background. Hand sanitizers have been recognized as an effective means of reducing bacterial load and transmission. It is needful to periodically assess the bacteriological status of individual products due to batch variation. Aim. This study was designed to assess the bacteriological quality and efficacy of two hand sanitizers sold within the Ilishan-Remo community of Ogun State, Nigeria, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology. Samples of two brands of hand sanitizers were procured and assessed using standard bacteriological methods, including Sterility test, Surface viable count, Gram-stain, Motility test, Biochemical tests, Quantitative suspension test, and Agar diffusion test. Data were analyzed with paired-samples T-Test using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences -Version 20.0 (SPSS-20.0) to assess for significant variation between the effectiveness of the two hand sanitizers. P-values <0.05 was considered significant. Results. The study's outcome showed the satisfactory bacteriological quality of both hand sanitizers tested. However, the mean bacterial load was not significantly reduced after sterilization using both hand sanitizers. The hand sanitizers' bactericidal activity was also considered unsatisfactory since the Log reduction was less than 5. Brand B hand sanitizer proved to be more potent than Brand A at the contact time. Each of the products displayed varying inhibitory activities against the bacterial isolates. Conclusion. The study highlighted the need to periodically assess the bacteriological quality and efficacy of hand sanitizers to guarantee the general safety of the end users and ensure proper infection control

Effectiveness of botanical powders against Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) in some stored leguminous grains under laboratory conditions

The study investigated the comparative efficacy of some botanicals (Aframomum melegueta (K. M. Schumann) seed, Capsicum nigrum (L.) seed, Allium sativum (Woodwill) bulb, Zingiber officinale (Roscoe) rhizome, Azadiracta indica (A. Juss) leaves and Ocimum gratissimum (L.) leaves) and pirimiphos methyl powder in the suppression of Callosobruchus maculatus (Fabricius) damage in some stored legume (Vigna unguiculata (L.), Vigna subterranea (L.) and Cajanus cajan (L.) seeds. The botanicals were applied at the rate of 0 and 1 g. The pirimiphos methyl powder was applied at 0.1 g. The experiment was laid out in split plot design of eight treatments replicated ten times. Five pairs of one-day old adult C. maculatus were introduced into each jar. Mortality of adult C. maculatus was recorded daily. O. gratissimum was more effective in causing C. maculatus mortality. The LD50 revealed O. gratissimum powder to be the most effective biopesticide. All treatments recorded higher significant (p<0.05) mortality than the experimental control. The proximate analysis of the legumes revealed that the protein content of V. unguiculata was more than others. The phytochemical analysis revealed that alkaloids, steroids, glycosides and terpenoids were present in the botanicals. Out of the six botanicals investigated, O. gratissimum powder was the most effective biopesticide and thus recommended.Keywords: Botanical powders, phytochemicals, Callosobruchus maculatus, stored leguminous grains, mortality, proximate compositionAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(12), pp. 1384-139

Evaluation of the antibacterial properties of the extracts and fractions of Ipomoea triloba l. (Convolvulaceae) on selected enteric diarrheagenic bacteria

Diarrhoea is a leading killer of young children accounting for approximately 8% of all deaths among children ˂ 5 years worldwide and causes neonatal mortality and hospitalization in geriatrics. Ipomoea triloba L. has been claimed to have antidiarrheal properties. This study evaluated antibacterial properties of the ethanol / aqueous extracts and fractions of I. triloba on diarrheagenic bacteria to validate its use in trado-medical treatment of diarrhoea. Aqueous and ethanol extracts of pulverized I. triloba were prepared by cold maceration and phytochemical screening was performed using standard procedures. Diarrheagenic bacteria were isolated from twenty (20) composite diarrhoeal stool samples by community bioprospecting using appropriate selective and differential media. In vitro antibacterial activity of extracts and fractions of I. triloba was determined by the modified agar-well diffusion technique, while minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) was determined by reference standard agar-dilution technique (ADT) after re-incubation of MIC samples at 37o C for 24 h. A total of 74 isolates, belonging to six genera, were identified with their numbers and percentages of occurrence as follows: Escherichia coli, 26 (35.1%), Staphylococcus aureus, 4 (5.4 %), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 9 (12.2%), Shigella dysenteriae, 18 (24.3%), Salmonella typhi, 8 (10.8%) and Vibrio cholera, 9 (12.2%). Flavonoids, saponins, terpenes, carbohydrates and steroids were detected in both extracts. Ethanol extracts (≥30 mm) showed more potent broad-spectrum antibacterial activity than aqueous extract (≥18 mm). The MIC and MBC values ranged from 250 to 500 mg/mL and 500 to 1000 mg/mL respectively, thus establishing a time-dependent bactericidal mode of antibacterial activity. The best antibacterial activity was elicited by dichloromethane fraction. From the study, I. triloba possesses antibacterial potentials and may be exploited in the chemotherapy of bacterial diarrhoea

Detection of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis IgM and IgG Antibodies and Associated Risk Factors Among Apparently Healthy Undergraduate Students of a Private University in South-West Nigeria

Background: Infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) is frequent among Nigerians. Many people are infected without realizing it (asymptomatic) and thus provide a risk of transmission to others. Not only will early treatment prevent TB complications, but it will also help to break the infection cycle in a community. Objective: The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis IgM and IgG antibodies and associated risk factors among apparently healthy undergraduate Students of Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State. Methodology: The serum samples of 100 consenting participants were collected randomly and screened for TB antibodies using Aria TB IgG/IgM Combo Rapid Antibody Test Cassette (CTK Biotech Inc. Poway, CA 92064, USA). A structured questionnaire was administered to consenting students to obtain information on their bio-data (e.g, the age, sex, study level etc.), as well as clinical information regarding their health (History of TB, history of BCG vaccination, use of anti-TB medications, alcohol consumption, smoking habits etc.). Results: The outcome of this study shows that 15 (15%) out of the 100 participants screened, were positive for TB IgG antibody, while, only 1 (1%) person was positive for TB IgM antibody. There was no significant association (P>0.05) between percentage TB IgG positivity and the socio-demographic characteristics of the study participants (gender, age, study level and tribe), except for religion. The percentage of TB IgG positivity among the study participants was found to be significantly higher than of TB IgM positivity (P<0.05). None of the 15 participants who tested positive to TB IgG indicated any of the signs and symptoms (persistent cough, chest pain, nausea, fever, chills, loss of appetite, fatigue and night sweat) associated with TB), however the only person who tested positive for TB IgM indicated all, except night sweat. Identified risk factors associated with the occurrence of TB IgM include history of TB, lack of BCG vaccination, history of diabetes and physical unfitness. Conclusion: The findings of this study show that asymptomatic and latent tuberculosis infection exists among the study participants, and that if left untreated, it will progress to active tuberculosis with all of its associated complications, including death. This emphasizes the importance of ongoing public health education, BCG vaccination, and periodic screening to detect asymptomatic cases in the study population in order to break the infection cycle