Dementia and the Gap in Nutrition: A Review

Dementia is a disease that is common among elderly all over the world and has shown increase trend based on the WHO estimate. Nutritional status of patients with dementia is greatly affected because dementia patients in the late stage have problem with feeding, swallowing, and there is always increase risk of malnutrition. Malnutrition in dementia patient result in compromised immune system, impaired wound-healing, increased risk of hospitalisation and increase rate of death. Feeding difficulties and malnutrition is one of the complications associated with advanced dementia in elderly and it needs urgent attention so as to prevent other problems such as dehydration and infection. Nurses are responsible for bridging the gap in nutrition both in hospital settings and in home care so, adequate understanding and intervention of the problem is required. Nurses should design a way of helping these patients to feed well and also train other health assistants to do so. The objective of the paper is to review different ways of helping dementia patients to bridge the gap in nutrition and how malnutrition can be detected early in dementia patients

Security Challenges in Nigeria and the Implications for Business Activities and Sustainable Development

The paper examined the insecurity situation in Nigeria and its implications for business investment, operations and sustainable development. The evaluation of the level and dimension of insecurity which was based on secondary data and observations among authors in different places, zones and walks of life as expressed in their comments, as well as, on concrete evidences of insecurity incidence in different parts of Nigeria, indicated that the insecurity challenge in the country is enormous and complex and would continue to be, if the situation remains unabated. We therefore emphasized the need to evolve a safe business environment that allows for effective business activities and a sustainable development process. The security management models recommended to achieve this, are aimed at combating the creators and perpetuators of situations of insecurity, and simultaneously addressing and removing the sources of dissatisfaction and discontentment which spur security breaches and the involvement of all stakeholders both in public and private capacity-government, business organizations, civil society, religious groups, communities and individuals- to supply resources, expertise and information that are required to ensure a safe environment. Keywords: Business environment, Security, Stakeholders, Sustainable development, Nigeri

Green synthesis and antibacterial activities of silver nanoparticles against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus

Background: Over the last two decades infectious agents have become more dangerous, most especially in developing countries, due to their ability to develop resistance against orthodox medicines. Many in these countries are suffering from the debilitating effects of these pathogens without any remedies in sight. The recent researches in nanoparticles derived from medicinal plants seem to be yielding positive results.Methods: We carried out synthesis of silver nanoparticles from AgNO3 and using Hyaluronic acid as a stabilizing agent to avoid aggregation in green synthesis from Ziziphus spinachristi and Garcinia kola. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to determine particle size and shape. Disc diffusion technique was used to study the susceptibility patterns of the particles on the test organisms- Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.Result: The nanoparticles exhibited very high activity against the pathogens at very low concentration and showed remarkable higher activity than the crude extracts and standard antibiotics (control) with very wide zones of inhibition. The zones of inhibition ranged from 12.4±0.11 - 15.1±0.22 for the nanoparticles as against, 8.7±0.21 - 9.2±0.32 for the crude and 10.7±0.22 - 12.7±0.88 for the standard antibiotics. Conclusion: Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles may give the long awaited breakthrough against these infectious agents to ameliorate, if not completely, win the war against these pathogens.

Knowledge and Attitude of Pregnant Women towards Management of Pregnancy-induced Hypertension in Southwest Nigeria

The study explores the knowledge and attitude of pregnant women towards the management of pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). It was a descriptive study, sampling technique was purposive and data was collected using a self-administered structure questionnaire. A sample of two hundred pregnant women was selected and data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Almost half of the participants were between the ages of 21 to 30 years (49.0%), with highest level of education as tertiary (58.0%) and 26.5% are currently pregnant for an average of 21 to 29 weeks. Knowledge and attitudes assessment indicated a high proportion of awareness (82.0%), hospital’s education (65.5%), and the majority (58.0%) believed that anybody can have pregnancy induced hypertension and (75.5%) relate the possible causes to eating too much salt, stress (57.5%) and over weight (49.5%). Most of the participants prefer to visit hospitals/clinics whenever they have headache (63.5%), abdominal pain (72.5%), swollen face and leg (65.5%), reduced foetal movement (77.5%), high blood pressure (65.0%), nausea and vomiting (60.0%) and blurred vision (62.5%). The study recommended that consideration be given to richer advocacy beyond creating awareness on PIH but also advocacy for women and girl children to acquire formal education so as to better appreciate modern medical services in Nigeria. Higher formal education and the urban place of residence of the participants’ accounts for increased application of knowledge on pregnancy induced hypertension; this makes them visit the clinics in the event of any observed issue in relation to their health as pregnant women

Knowledge and Attitude of Health Care Workers towards Hepatitis B Infection and Vaccination in a Federal Teaching Hospital in South Western Nigeria

This study was carried out to determine the knowledge and attitude of health care workers in a Federal Teaching Hospital in South West, Nigeria towards Hepatitis B vaccination and infection. This study employed a quantitative descriptive survey design, with a stratified random sampling technique. Data was collected using structured self-administered questionnaire administered to 139 health care workers. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The age distribution of respondents’ showed 41% and 48.9% of the respondents were in the age range of 20-30 years and 31-40 years, respectively. Only 30.2% of the respondents believe that it is vital to recap needles after use while 79.9% believe that Hepatitis B can be transmitted as a nosocomial infection. A total of 38.8% of the respondents believed that after vaccination for Hepatitis B, it is not necessary to have a blood test to confirm immunity against Hepatitis B while 61.9% of them affirmed that 90% of adults and children who are vaccinated achieve 100% protection against Hepatitis B virus. The majority of the respondents (87.1%) were of the opinion that Hepatitis B virus is about 100 times more infectious than HIV. Almost half (48.9%) of theparticipants indicated that a person who has been vaccinated or recovered from previous Hepatitis B infection can still infect other. Also, 44.6% of the respondent strongly agreed that vaccination against Hepatitis B virus should be made available to all healthcare workers for free. About half (48.2%) of the respondents indicated they have not been vaccinated against Hepatitis B virus and of these only 10.8% received the completed 3 dose series. Although the health care workers claimed knowledge of Hepatitis infection, their practice of preventive measures was not commensurate with their knowledge. It is therefore imperative to improve their knowledge to influence their practice. Resources for practice of Hepatitis B preventive measures should be made regularly available to the health care workers in various health institutions to reduce the transmission of Hepatitis B among the health care workers decrease medical as well as financial burden, hence improving the management of cirrhotic patients. These predictors, however, need further work to validate reliability

Impact of the Mandatory Community Midwifery Service on the Utilization of Maternal Health Care by Women in Ondo State, Nigeria

The study explored the perceived impact of the mand atory community midwifery service on utilization of maternal health care by women, using the General Sy stem Theory and the Logic Model. The research was c onducted in three selected Local Government Areas (LGAs). The researc h design for this study was the time-series type of non-controlled experimental design. The researcher assessed record s of maternal health care attendance from the selec ted health facilities from July 2002 to July 2011 to generate data for the stu dy. The study population comprised of 306 women of reproductive age group (15-49) in the three selected communities (who have participated in the programme) where the three pri mary health care centres are located. Multistage sampling technique was adopted to select three Local Government Areas (LGAs) from where data was collected. In-depth interview guide, quest ionnaire and format for recording data from records were used in the study. The result obtained from the study indicated that t here was no significant difference in the levels of utilization of maternal care services before and after the inception of the mand atory community service except for the slight incre ase in antenatal care utilization. Majority of the women expressed satisf action with the services they received from the mid wives. The study also revealed a slight increase in the levels of utiliza tion of antenatal attendance while not much change had occurred in the use of facility based delivery care as well as postnatal c ar

Knowledge and Attitude of Pregnant Women towards Management of Pregnancy-induced Hypertension in Southwest Nigeria

The study explores the knowledge and attitude of pregnant women towards the management of pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). It was a descriptive study, sampling technique was purposive and data was collected using a self-administered structure questionnaire. A sample of two hundred pregnant women was selected and data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Almost half of the participants were between the ages of 21 to 30 years (49.0%), with highest level of education as tertiary (58.0%) and 26.5% are currently pregnant for an average of 21 to 29 weeks. Knowledge and attitudes assessment indicated a high proportion of awareness (82.0%), hospital’s education (65.5%), and the majority (58.0%) believed that anybody can have pregnancy induced hypertension and (75.5%) relate the possible causes to eating too much salt, stress (57.5%) and over weight (49.5%). Most of the participants prefer to visit hospitals/clinics whenever they have headache (63.5%),abdominal pain (72.5%), swollen face and leg (65.5%), reduced foetal movement (77.5%), high blood pressure (65.0%), nausea and vomiting (60.0%) and blurred vision (62.5%). The study recommended that consideration be given to richer advocacy beyond creating awareness on PIH but also advocacy for women and girl children to acquire formal education so as to better appreciate modern medical services in Nigeria. Higher formal education and the urban place of residence of the participants’ accounts for increased application of knowledge on pregnancy induced hypertension; this makes them visit the clinics in the event of any observed issue in relation to theirhealth as pregnant women

Effect of Initial pH on Sulphate and Phosphate Uptake from Wastewater by Selected Bacterial and Fungal Species

This study was aimed at investigating the effect of pH on sulphate and phosphate uptake from wastewater by selected bacterial and fungal species. A total of four each of bacterial and fungal isolates were used under shaking flasks conditions. The wastewater was supplemented with sodium acetate to serve as external carbon source at a concentration of 5 g/L. Immediately after inoculation with the respective isolates and at 24 h intervals, for the next 96 h, aliquot wastewater samples were taken from each flask for the estimation of total phosphate and sulphate in the wastewater, using standard procedures. The results revealed remarkable sulphate removal at pH 12. Apart from the Klebsiellasp. which showed high phosphate removal at pH 6, none of the isolates showed high phosphate removal at the different pH ranges. From an initial concentration of 480.22 mg/L, sulphate levels in the wastewater inoculated with the respective isolates were observed to decrease after 24 h incubation to 256.23 mg/L, 271.23 mg/L, 234.30 mg/L and 254.77 mg/L, in the presence of the Aspergillusniger, Aspergillusflavus, Fusarium and Absidiaspecies, respectively. For bacterial isolates, concentrations of sulphate after 24 h incubation were 290.85 mg/L, 218.14 mg/L, 278.16 mg/L and 298.93 mg/L, in the presence of the Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Lysinibacillus and Staphylococcus species, respectively. The study was able to reveal the optimum pH for sulphate and phosphate uptake by the test microbial species

Knowledge and Practice of Exclusive Breastfeeding amongst Mothers Attending Infant Welfare Clinic, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti

This study examined the knowledge and practice of exclusi ve breastfeeding amongst breastfeeding mothers attending Infant Welfare Clini c, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti Nigeria. The Self-efficacy theory was used as the theoretical foundation for the study. The research design was non-experimental descriptive resea rch design. The sample size was calculated using the Yaro Yamane formula created in 1967 and the sample size was 120. Data was collected using a self-administered structured que stionnaire. Sampling technique was purposive and convenience. Data from the study was anal yzed using descriptive statistics with frequency distributions, Tables and percentages. The findings revealed that almost half (48.8%) of the participants’ decision to breastfeed was influence b y Doctors/Midwives. Also, more than two- third (86.2%) of the participant indicated that they had access to information on breastfeeding. The majority (63%) of the participants in the study were well knowledgeable as they were able to define exclusive breastfeeding and 66.3% are aware of the b enefits of exclusive breastfeeding. Also, almost half (46.3%) of the participants breastfed their babies so as to ensure their wellbeing and 75.0% initiated breastfeeding immediately and within few hours after birth although the majority (58.8%) of the participants weaned their babies betwe en 1-4 months. The socio-economic status of mothers was found to influence their decision to exclusi vely breastfeed their babies as almost all (87.3%) the participants that are practising exclusive breastfeeding had tertiary education and more than two third (74.6%) are employed with highe r family income. The study recommended that Nurses and midwives should create more awareness on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding to mothers and the community at large

Knowledge and Attitude of Pregnant Women towards Management of Pregnancy-induced Hypertension in Southwest Nigeria

The study explores the knowledge and attitude of pregn ant women towards the management of pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). It was a descri ptive study, sampling technique was purposive and data was collected using a self-administer ed structure questionnaire. A sample of two hundred pregnant women was selected and data was a nalysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Almost half of the participants we re between the ages of 21 to 30 years (49.0%), with highest level of education as tertiary ( 58.0%) and 26.5% are currently pregnant for an average of 21 to 29 weeks. Knowledge and attitudes a ssessment indicated a high proportion of awareness (82.0%), hospital’s education (65.5%), and the majority (58.0%) believed that anybody can have pregnancy induced hypertension and (75.5%) r elate the possible causes to eating too much salt, stress (57.5%) and over weight (49.5%). Mo st of the participants prefer to visi