Detection of Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii among Gram-Negative Bacteria Isolated from Clinical Samples

Acinetobacter baumannii is an aerobic, Gram -negative cocco-bacilli, non-fermentative, non-motile, and non-fastidious organism belonging to the genus Acinetobacter. The A. baumannii has emerged as a worldwide nosocomial pathogen causing about 80%25 of nosocomial infections comprising ventilator-acquired pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis, urinary tract infections, skin and soft tissues infections associated with high mortality rate of approximately 63.3%25. Although literature shows sufficient information about the drug resistant A. baumannii, there has been inadequate reports on the antibiotic resistance level of this bacterium in the study area. The aim of this research was to detect Multidrug-resistant A. baumannii isolates among Gram-negative bacteria isolated from Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, Nigeria. A total of 1008 clinical samples were collected and cultured on MacConkey agar and Blood agar plates at 37o C for 18-24 hours. Following the incubation period, discrete colonies obtained were subjected to Gram staining. The Gram-negative isolates were identified based on conventional biochemical tests with further use of VITEK 2 COMPACT (BioMérieux, France) for confirmation of A. baumannii amongst the Gram-negative organisms. The results obtained showed that 263 Gram-negative organisms were isolated. A. baumannii accounted for 8.5%25 prevalence. Most of the A. baumannii isolated were from the male patients (75%25) within the age range of 33-48 years. Antibiotic susceptibility test using Kirby Bauer method in accordance with CLSI guidelines was done on 20 A. baumannii isolates. The isolates were more sensitive to levofloxacin (60%25), followed by Gentamicin (55%25), then Ciprofloxacin and Tetracycline (50%25) respectively. High level of resistance to Ceftriaxone (80%25), Cefepime (75%25), Ceftazidime (65%25), Piperacillin-Tazobactam (55%25), Ampicillin%252FSulbactam (60%25), Tigecycline (60%25), Meropenem (55%25) and Amikacin (60%25). This study revealed that 15 (75%25) of the A. baumannii were found to be multidrug-resistant. Therefore, antibiotic stewardship is necessary to combat further dissemination of this organism

Physiological evaluations of maize hybrids under low nitrogen

Open Access JournalAbstract A field experiment was conducted during 2014 and 2016 rainy season at Tudun Wada, Kano and Shika, Zaria in the Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria in order to study the physiological responses of maize hybrids under low nitrogen. The experiment consisted of two nitrogen levels 0 and 120 N kg ha−1 as main plot and 8 drought-tolerant maize hybrids and 2 controls as subplot laid out in a randomized split plot design and replicated three times. Physiological parameters of hybrids were significantly affected by low nitrogen at both locations. Interaction between hybrids and nitrogen was significantly affected at both locations. Based on these results, application of nitrogen significantly increased the physiological growth indices of maize hybrids. The extent of increment in physiological reactions was additionally higher in Zaria in view of higher soil natural carbon and nitrogen and higher precipitation was better dispersed at this area. However recent hybrids were more tolerant to nitrogen stress and out-yielded the older hybrids. Therefore the recently released hybrids were more adapted to abiotic stresses

Cocoa marketing chain in developing countries: how do formal-informal linkages ensure its sustainability in Cameroon?

Open Access Article; Published online: 10 Oct 2020Although liberalization of the cocoa sector has increased internal competition within the marketing chain it has also led to the emergence of informal market actors within the chain. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyse how the cocoa marketing chain operates by measuring and comparing the marketing margins of the formal and informal actors. Qualitative data were used to establish the structure of the marketing chain and quantitative data to estimate the marketing margins. A total sampling size of 76 cocoa market actors was obtained by using a multi-stage sampling technique: 15 for qualitative data and 61 for quantitative data. Descriptive analysis was used to map the marketing chain and economic analysis to compute the costs and margins for both informal and formal market intermediaries from the Centre and South-West regions in Cameroon. The results indicated three market intermediaries (one informal and two formal) and four marketing channels by which cocoa moves from the farmers to the exporters. The calculation of marketing costs indicated that informal actors incurred the highest costs in both regions. The results regarding the marketing margins were twofold: informal actors obtain low net marketing margins when they do not use illicit strategies, but high net marketing margins when illicit strategies are used. Given the significant role of informal actors, we suggest that their actions should be integrated in a suitable manner into those of formal actors to contribute to a better performance of the marketing chain and to the sustainability of the cocoa sector

Submarine deposits from pumiceous pyroclastic density currents traveling over water: an outstanding example from offshore Montserrat (IODP 340)

Pyroclastic density currents have been observed to both enter the sea, and to travel over water for tens of kilometers. Here, we identified a 1.2-m-thick, stratified pumice lapilli-ash cored at Site U1396 offshore Montserrat (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program [IODP] Expedition 340) as being the first deposit to provide evidence that it was formed by submarine deposition from pumice-rich pyroclastic density currents that traveled above the water surface. The age of the submarine deposit is ca. 4 Ma, and its magma source is similar to those for much younger Soufrière Hills deposits, indicating that the island experienced large-magnitude, subaerial caldera-forming explosive eruptions much earlier than recorded in land deposits. The deposit’s combined sedimentological characteristics are incompatible with deposition from a submarine eruption, pyroclastic fall over water, or a submarine seafloor-hugging turbidity current derived from a subaerial pyroclastic density current that entered water at the shoreline. The stratified pumice lapilli-ash unit can be subdivided into at least three depositional units, with the lowermost one being clast supported. The unit contains grains in five separate size modes and has a >12 phi range. Particles are chiefly subrounded pumice clasts, lithic clasts, crystal fragments, and glass shards. Pumice clasts are very poorly segregated from other particle types, and lithic clasts occur throughout the deposit; fine particles are weakly density graded. We interpret the unit to record multiple closely spaced (<2 d) hot pyroclastic density currents that flowed over the ocean, releasing pyroclasts onto the water surface, and settling of the various pyroclasts into the water column. Our settling and hot and cold flotation experiments show that waterlogging of pumice clasts at the water surface would have been immediate. The overall poor hydraulic sorting of the deposit resulted from mixing of particles from multiple pulses of vertical settling in the water column, attesting to complex sedimentation. Slow-settling particles were deposited on the seafloor together with faster-descending particles that were delivered at the water surface by subsequent pyroclastic flows. The final sediment pulses were eventually deflected upon their arrival on the seafloor and were deposited in laterally continuous facies. This study emphasizes the interaction between products of explosive volcanism and the ocean and discusses sedimentological complexities and hydrodynamics associated with particle delivery to water

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Effect of different concentrations of aqueous Ascophyllum nodosum extract on flowering and fruiting in some vegetables

A study was conducted in 2013 at the Screen House of Teaching and Research Farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Bayero University, Kano to test the effect of aqueous extract of of Ascophyllum nodosum extract on flowering and fruiting in watermelon (Cowlak) and okra (NHB-AI-13). Treatment consisted of four levels of the extract (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0g/L) and a control. These were replicated three times. Results obtained on the number of days to flowering in both plants showed significant effect of the extract. Plants treated with 1.5 and 2.0g/L seaweed extract flowered earlier and produced greater number of flowers and subsequently more number of fruits. Average number of flowers were greater in both plants treated with 2.0g/L. However, the average number of fruits per plant was observed to be 5.33 and 2.33 in okra and watermelon respectively treated with 2.0g/L which is greater than 2.00 and 0.33 observed in the same plants given 0g/L. Replications treated with 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 also showed greater effect on the onset of flowering, number of flowers as well as the fruit yield when compared with the control treatment.Keywords: Watermelon, Okra, Seaweed, flowering, fruitin

Epicotyl grafting in mango (Mangifera indica L.) as influenced by length of scion, scion type and rootstock

The increased demand for high quality mango in Nigeria requires for provision of qualitative fruits with superior characters. This could be achieved by grafting of cultivars with the desired qualities onto and adapted and available rootstocks. In view of addressing the demand deficit, two trials were conducted in 2015 rainy season at the Kano Institute of Horticulture screen house, Bagauda to study the influence of scion length, scion type and root-stock on epicotyl grafting in mango. Treatments consisted of scion lengths (6, 8 and 10 cm), scion types (Alphonso, Julie and Mabrouka) and local rootstocks (Dankamaru and Gwaiwarrago). These were factorially combined and laid in a completely randomized design with three replicates. Results of the study revealed that grafting was most successful in 8 and 10cm scions and these produced more leaves and longest grafted saplings. Alphonso and Gwaiwarrago were most compatible as they recorded the highest graft success. Experiments involving many scions and rootstocks is recommended to determine suitable combination of scion and rootstock for successful epicotyl grafting in mango.Keywords: Cleft, scion, rootstock, venee

A switching mechanism to mitigate scan blindness in phased arrays

International audienceThis paper presents a novel solution to extend the scanning range of a cavity-backed stacked-patch phased array subject to scan blindness. Two main aspects are investigated. The first section is a thorough description of the scan blindness mechanism occurring in the reported array, taking into consideration the characteristics of the associated mutual coupling scheme. The second section introduces a revised array topology that allows extending the scanning range. The proposed solution is based on the switching between two operating modes of the structure, each one covering a distinct scanning range. Taken together, they potentially allow freeing the structure from scan blindness. In the present case, the scanning capability of the array has been extended by 10° in the scanning plane of interest. © 2017 Euraap

Implementation of a correcting coupling mechanism to mitigate surface wave in phased arrays

International audienceThis paper presents a solution to extend the scanning range of a phased patch array whose scanning performances are limited by surface wave coupling. Two main aspects are investigated. The first section is a thorough description of the coupling mechanism occurring in the reported array. The second section introduces a revised array topology that extends the scanning range. The proposed solution is based on the introduction of an additional coupling mechanism within the structure. Its goal is to compensate the harmful effect of the surface wave, and it is implemented by means of additional microstrip lines connecting the array sources. © 2018 Institution of Engineering and Technology.All Rights Reserved

Antibiotic prescribing habits among primary healthcare workers in Northern Nigeria: a concern for patient safety in the era of global antimicrobial resistance

Introduction: antibiotic overprescribing is associated with antibiotic resistance worldwide but worst in developing nations. Minimal information exists on the antibiotic prescribing habits of essentially all cadres of healthcare workers in Nigeria, but particularly primary healthcare (PHC) workers. Our aim was to explore antibiotic prescribing habits of Nigerian primary healthcare workers in the context of increasing antibiotic resistance which has a direct effect on healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) and patient safety worldwide. Methods: a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 442 primary healthcare workers across three Northern Nigerian states of Gombe, Sokoto and Kwara. Data obtained was analysed using SPSS version 20. Results: antibiotic prescription rate was 98.2%. The most commonly prescribed antibiotics were amoxicillin (71.7%) and ampicillin/cloxacillin (70.1%) while the least was meropenem (4.1%). Major indicators of antibiotics abuse include unconfirmed typhoid fever (96.1%), non-specific vaginal discharge (95.4%), fresh trauma wound (91.3%), non-specific diarrhoea (87.1%) and common cold (85.9%). Additionally, about one-third of the respondents also routinely prescribe antibiotics to healthy birds (31.5%) and animals (18.3%). Identified reasons attributed to antibiotic overprescribing from the participants´ perspectives include lack of awareness (87.0%), lack of penalty (79.4%), desire to help patients (76.5%), pressure from sales representatives (61.0%) and patients´ pressure (58.3%). Overall, majority (85.8%) of respondents agrees that overprescribing is a cause of antimicrobial resistance. Conclusion: overprescribing of antibiotics is common among PHC workers and could contribute significantly to the rising scourge of antimicrobial resistance and poses a threat to patient safety and associated increased burden of HCAIs