Effect of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) on the comfort of building occupants in Gauteng, South Africa

Abstract: There is continual argument about the potential negative impacts that poor indoor environmental quality can have on the wellbeing and comfort of occupants. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of indoor environmental quality on the comfort of occupants of social mass housing projects in South Africa. The study was conducted in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) where low-salary earners mostly reside in South Africa. The descriptive survey research method was adopted and the questionnaire used for the study was targeted at occupants of low-salary housing units in South Africa. The convenience sampling technique was employed for the study. The methods of data analysis basically include percentages and mean item scores. The results of the study indicate that furnishing, quality of air and thermal comfort on the fourth floor does not give occupants satisfactory comfort. The thermal comfort on the third floor is also unsatisfactory..

Use of simulators in operative dental education: experience in southern Nigeria

Background: Though the use of simulators in operative dentistry is not new, the teaching and learning practices that take place during clinical sessions in skills laboratories are rarely reported. This study was designed to determine the current practices relating to teaching and learning of dental clinical skills in southern Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the final year dental students in southern Nigeria using anonymous structured questionnaire as instrument for data collection. The questionnaire items included statements relating to existing teaching and learning practices. A five-point Likert scale response option was provided and descriptive summary statistics was computed.Results: There were 56 (34.8%) females and 105 (65.2%) males. Most of the students (41.0%) agreed that the theoretical concept behind clinical skills is taught prior to clinical sessions and most agreed that the objectives of each clinical session are stated and that the procedures are usually demonstrated. Most of the respondents (39.8%) agreed that feedback was sometimes embarrassing and given at the end of clinical sessions (76.6%). Equipment breakdown was a major challenge to learning.Conclusion: Dental education in the skills labs within the region appeared standard. However, feedback should be continuous and constructive. Equipment breakdown was the major constraint to learning.Key words: Simulators, Dentistry, Clinical skills laboratories, Dentistry, Simulator

Impact of design errors on variation cost of selected building project in Nigeria

Abstract: Design error has been adjudged to be the main source of variation. However, e mp irica l studies of the cost impact of design errors on variation are scarce. Therefore, this study aims to determine the impact of design errors on variation cost by investigating the prominent design errors that lead to variation, causes of variation in construction projects and impact of design errors on variation cost. The study was conducted on selected building projects in Nigeria. The mixed method (intervie w and case study) of research was adopted in the collection of necessary data. Interview was conducted among construction experts to obtain informat ion on causes of variation on building projects. Thirty documents which include valuation breakdowns and variation/change orders documents were obtained by convenience sampling technique and used for the extract ion of design errors leading to variat ions and their associated costs. The data were analy zed with frequencies, sums and percentages. The study found that poor working drawing and lack of coordination a mong documents are the major causes of variation. Omission of details on structural dra wing and wrong description in specifications of a rchitectural drawings a mong others are pro minent design errors that lead to variation. The study indicates that design error account for up to 36% of variation cost. The study concludes that variation costs can b e minimized to a large e xtent if govern ment polic ies to ensure proper contract documentation are put in place and professionals are restricted fro m doing the works of others professionals

A longitudinal study of the prevalence of gingival bleeding among selected Nigerian pregnant women

Objective: To assess the prevalence of gingival bleeding following gentle periodontal probing during pregnancy as compared to after child birth in the same set of women. Method: Three hundred and eighty-four consecutive pregnant women in third trimester were selected at the antenatal clinics of Adeoyo Maternity Hospital, and the University College Hospital, both in the city of Ibadan, south western part of Nigeria. An 18-item questionnaire was administered on the subjects to obtain information on their use of oral contraceptive prior to getting pregnant, their experiencing gingival bleeding at any point in time before or during pregnancy and their methods of oral hygiene procedure. This was followed by intra-oral examination to assess the presence or absence of gingival bleeding, which was determined by gentle probing of the gingival crevice with a Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) probe. The appearance of bleeding within 10 seconds indicates a positive score. The same set of women were re-examined at two other occasions following child birth. Result: Seventy-two (20.9%) of the subjects reported that they had been experiencing gingival bleeding during toothbrushing before the study. Two-hundred and sixty-one of the subjects bled during pregnancy and this reduced to 192 and 127 at the 6th and 14th week post-partum examination respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the gingival bleeding on probing during pregnancy in comparison to the 6th and 14th week postpartum periods respectively (p = 0.000). Conclusion: The study shows that pregnancy must have played a major role in the tendency for the gingiva to bleed as there was statistically significant reduction in gingival bleeding following parturition

An Investigation of the Factors Influencing Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) of Residential Buildings in Gauteng, South Africa

The study aims to examine the factors affecting the IEQ of buildings with respect to type of building unit, gender, age, ethnicity and directions that the windows of occupants' building units are facing. The study was conducted in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) of South Africa. The descriptive (questionnaire) survey research design (quantitative method) was adopted in the study. The convenience sampling technique was used to collect data for the study. The method of data analysis includes percentages, mean scores, t-test statistic and one-way analysis of variance. The results of the study indicate that the factors investigated in the study were significantly optimum for the IEQ of buildings. However, inferential statistics show that the respondents differed on some factors of IEQ based on age, gender, ethnicity and building unit. Based on the findings, the study concludes that, the factors affecting IEQ of buildings vary according to age, gender and type of building units occupied. Hence, the factors need to be given dedicated consideration whenever design of buildings are to be done. Despite the existence of standards/assessment tools for determining the IEQ of proposed buildings, gender, age and type of units to be provided for occupants should be put into consideration when building projects are to be designed for IEQ

Isolation of 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)methylpropenoate and bioactivity evaluation of Gomphrena celosioides extracts

The efficacy of Gomphrena celosioides extracts in traditional medicine in the treatment of infectious diseases was evaluated by biological assays. The bioactivities of the extracts of this plant were tested against organisms. The ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of the plant displayed inhibition activities on Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi. Methanol extract was active against Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and Trichophyton species with diameter zones of inhibition between 14 and 20 mm. Fractionation of the methanol extract produced 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) ethylpropenoate with mild antimicrobial activity against the test microorganisms. The anthelmintic assay showed ethyl acetate and methanol extracts to be active against Fasciola gigantica, Taenia solium and Pheretima pasthuma. Ethyl acetate was the most toxic of the extracts causing paralysis of Taenia solium within 15 minutes and the death of Fasciola gigantica within 20 minutes of application. The brine shrimp assay gave an LC50 of 52.15 and 77.98 μg/ml on hexane and methanol extracts respectively. The result of this work corroborated the folkloric use of Gomphrena celosioides in the treatment of infectious diseases

An Exploratory Study of the Impact of Government Policies on the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises in Developing Countries

This paper explores the effects of government policies on the development of Small and Medium Enterprises in developing countries through the examination of the case of Nigeria. Many research studies reported that SMEs in Nigeria have not benefited from the policies formulated by the government. This paper investigates the impediments to manufacturing SMEs growth and the needed pre-requisite environment for SMEs to benefit from government specific policies. The study adopted a qualitative methodology depending on face to face interviews with 20 SME owners and/or managers in five of the six geographical arears of Nigeria, 20 bank managers in the capital city of Lagos and 20 government officials located in the federal capital city of Abuja. The study unveils unique contextually novel insights, including particularly the distinctive processes and different relationships related to lenders decision. The research findings are consistent with those reported by other scholars in the field, and confirm that government policies and support in the areas of technology, infrastructure and finance affects the performance of SMEs to a great extent in Nigeria

THE COMPARATIVE ROLE OF ASCORBATE AND CHELATORS IN REVERSING OXIDATIVE STRESS, HEPATIC AND RENAL DYSFUNCTION IN SUB-ACUTE LEAD POISONING

Lead has been implicated in the induction of reactive species production, leading to organ dysfunctions. The ameliorative roles of ascorbate and chelators in acute lead poisoning were comparatively studied in thirty-five male Wistar rats (150-200g), segregated into 5 groups (n=7/Group): group 1(administered normal saline),ª¤? groups 2-5 were orally exposed to 75mg/kg body weight lead acetate (PbAc) daily for 14 days. Pre-therapy blood samples were collected to ascertain blood lead level (BLL) and catalase activity 24hours after the last PbAc exposure. Groups 3, 4, and 5 were then treated with 30mg/kg body weight D-penicillamine; 30mg/kg body weight succimer; and 500mg/kg body weight ascorbate respectively for 10 days, followed by the assay for indices of oxidative stress, hepatic and renal dysfunctions.ª¤? Results obtained showed significantly elevated BLL in the four groups exposed to PbAc. which were significantly reversed about 2 folds in groups 3-5 after therapeutic interventions. Pre-therapy blood catalase activity of the PbAc treated groups was significantly (p<0.05) reduced by 39% when compared with the control group, however ascorbate significantly (p<0.05) increased catalase activity by 2 folds above the control; decreased plasma activities of alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine among the groups administered therapeutics. These findings indicate that ascorbate is more effectiveª¤

Lassa fever awareness and knowledge among community residents in Ondo State, Nigeria

Background: The Lassa fever outbreak in Ondo State in 2018 recorded high morbidity and mortality. This study was conducted to assess awareness and knowledge of Lassa fever preventive measures among community residents in the affected areas in order to guide risk communication interventions.Methods: A community-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in six affected Local Government Area (LGAs), involving heads of households selected using a multistage sampling technique. A structured pre-tested questionnaire was administered to 2992 consenting study participants and data was analysed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0.Results: Over three quarters 2, 537 (84.8%) of respondents were aware of Lassa fever of which 2, 363 (93.1%) knew that multimammate rat transmits the disease to humans. Also, 1804 (71.1%) knew that washing hands regularly could prevent the disease. However, only 845 (33.3%) of the respondents who reported awareness of the disease knew that cooking all foods properly before eating could prevent the disease. The predictors of good knowledge of Lassa fever were being a female (p= 0.017), having secondary or tertiary education (p=0.001), and currently married or divorced (p=0.01).Conclusion: A high level of awareness, but inadequate knowledge of some preventive measures of Lassa fever were observed among community members. Risk communication messages should focus more on preventive measures of the disease targeting young males with low education in these LGAs, the epicentres of the outbreak.Keywords: Awareness; Knowledge; Lassa fever; Risk communication; Ondo Stat