Effect of Magnetic Field and Moringa Seed Powder on Wastewater Treatment

This study was conducted to determine the effect of magnetic field (MF) and moringa seed powder (MSP) on wastewater treatment. Wastewater causes environmental and river pollution that are harmful to aquatic animals and toxic to man. Domestic wastewater was collected from the bathroom, University of Ilorin male hostel (Compound G). The wastewater was divided into four portions. First portion was allowed to flow through MF (100 mT) for 40, 60 and 80s. Second portion, 4 litres of the wastewater was poured into 5 litres capacity containers and 100, 150 and 200 mg/L of MSP was added to each container with 2 replicates. Third portion, 100, 150 and 200 mg/L of MSP was added to the wastewater after the wastewater was passed through MF for 40, 60 and 80 s and the fourth portion was the control experiment. Physical, chemical and bacteriological properties of the wastewater were determined after 2 hours. The range of reduction in turbidity for MSP, MF, combination of MSP and MF compared with the control experiment were 3.08-18.46, 9.00-23.08 and 20.03-23.08%, respectively. Reductions of total coliform were 84.21-88.42%, 36.84-47.37% and 75.26-87.89%. The range in reduction ammonia nitrate for MSP, MF, combination of MSP and MF compared with control experiment were 2.96-9.63, 0.00-1.48 and 6.67-8.89%. The values of BOD were 0.82-7.14, 0.82-2.45 and 2.24-8.37%. The results indicated that combination of MF and MSP  reduced physicochemical and bacteriological properties of the wastewater. Combination of MSP and MF is recommended for treating wastewater before discharging into rivers. Keywords: wastewater, wastewater treatment, moringa, magnetized wastewater, water pollutio

Fatal abomasal sand impaction in a giraffe calf (Giraffa camelopardalis) at the University of Ilorin zoological garden

A post-mortem examination was carried out on a 4-month-old giraffe which was reported dead early hours of the morning in the zoological garden, University of Ilorin. The carcass of the animal appeared slightly emaciated and on opening of the carcass the abomasum was distended with a hard mass felt inside the organ. On opening of the organ, it was filled with sand and weighing 3.8kg. Geophagia due to various  factors were queried in the cause of the condition including seasonal prevalence, nutrient deficiencies,  feeding regimen and also housing inadequacies. Although poor milk intake, absence of maternal nurturing  and inadequate captive conditions are the most likely causes of geophagia which eventually led to the  death of the animal.Keywords: Abomasum, Sand impaction, Geophagia, Giraffe, Nigeri

Atherogenic risk pattern among Nigerian hypertensive and diabetic patients undergoing follow-up visit in a tertiary hospital

Objectives: Cardiovascular risk can be predicted using lipid ratios such as the atherogenic index which is defined as the base 10 logarithm of the ratio of plasma triglyceride (TG) to high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) – it is a useful prognostic parameter for guiding timely interventions and has also been employed as a predictor of cardiovascular risk. However, this is rarely used in the clinical practice in developing countries including Nigeria.Methods: This study was a hospital-based cross-sectional study of 382 hypertensive and diabetic patients attending outpatient clinics of a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Atherogenic risk profile, was categorized as low risk (<0.1), intermediate risk (0.1–0.24), and high risk (>0.24). Predictors were established using regression analysis. Level of significance was set at p-value of <0.05 and 95% confidence interval.Results: The mean age of participants was 56±12 years, 31.4% of participants had high atherogenic risk. This was higher among female patients (60.0%). Participants with high TC, high LDL, uncontrolled blood pressure had odds of 1.64, 1.43 and 1.17 times of developing high atherogenic risk respectively.Conclusion: A significant proportion of participants in this study population were at risk of developing atherosclerosis. Key identified populations at risk of CVD should be considered for routine artherogenic assessment.Keywords: Atherogenic, indices, hypertension, diabete

Physico-chemical and anti-nutritional characterization of the kernels of some mango (Mangifera indica) cultivars grown in Western parts of Nigeria

Ten mango (Mangifera indica) cultivars grown in western parts of Nigeria were identified as Alphonso, Indesina, Julie, Kent, Mabranka, Magadugu, Peach, Peter, Taymour, and Oori. The percentage weight ratio (PWR) of kernel to fruit, seed to fruit and kernel to seed of the mangoes ranged between 2.38 – 10.79%, 6.36 – 17.21% and 36.22 – 63.35% respectively. The PWR of kernel to fruit (10.79%), seed to fruit (17.21%) and kernel to seed (63.35%) of “Oori” cultivar were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than other cultivars, except the values of PWR of kernel to seed of Indesina (60.05%) and Kent (62.72%). Values of Julie cultivar on the parameters measured were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than others. The range of nutrients of the kernels were protein (6.24 – 8.19%), fat (5.92 – 13.50%), fibre (2.22 – 3.95%), ash (0.52 – 3.54%) and carbohydrate (75.02 – 83.04%). The protein of Julie (7.88%), Indesina (8.05%) and Oori (8.19%) and fat of Mabranka (13.10%) and Alphonso (13.50%) were significantly higher (p< 0.05) than other cultivars. The carbohydrates in the mango kernels was high; although values recorded for Mabranka (75.02%) and Alphonso (75.09%) were significantly lower (p< 0.05) than other cultivars. The pH of fresh mango kernels ranged between 4.10 and 5.80, while titratable acidity was between 9.92 – 64.35mg/100g. The anti-nutrients in the mango kernels were tannin, flavonoid, phenolic compound, oxalate and phytate. Tannin (37.30 – 163.33g/kg), phytate (0.442 – 0.897mol/kg) and oxalate (18.74 – 54.24mg/100g) were significantly different (p< 0.05) among the mango cultivars. Tannin and oxalate contents of Oori (157.33; 54.24g/kg), Alphonso (163.33; 49.55g/kg) and Phytate content of Mabranka (0.442mol/kg), Alphonso (0.453mol/kg) and Indesina (0.478mol/kg) respectively were significantly higher (p< 0.05) compared with other cultivars. Key words: Mango cultivars, percentage weight ratio, nutrients, anti-nutrients

An Assessment of the Competence and Experience of Dentists with the Management of Medical Emergencies in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

Background: Previous reports show that medical emergency events have ocurred in Teaching Hospital Dental centres, with attendant mortality and morbidity. Objectives: (1) To study the pattern of medical emergencies encountered by clinical dental staff of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (2) To evaluate their training ,perception of their training and competence as undergraduates and postgraduates to manage such events Methods: All the clinical staff viz: Dental surgeons of different cadres – consultants, registrars, house surgeons and dental nurses of Lagos University Teaching Hospital. A structured questionnaire requesting to know demographic data, respondents attendance of life support training viz: Basic life support (BLS), advanced trauma life support (ATLS),intensive care support (ICS). A self rating in the competence of management of medical emergencies and previous personal encounter with medical emergencies with success/failure in the management with/or without medical colleage assistance were sought. In addition adequacy of their dental clinic/centres for drugs, equipments and their perceived readiness to deal with emergencies were enquired. Results: Among the dental surgeons,20(26.6%)were consultants,40(53.3%)were registrars and 35(46.6%)were house-officers. Thirty five (43.7%) had previous knowledge of basic life support (BLS) training, while 45(56.2%) denied such knowledge. The figures for other trainings such as advanced trauma life Support (ATLS) was 8(10%) and intensive care support (ICS) 2(2.5% 73.3% of the respondents felt inadequate in the management of cardiovascular emergencies, while only 15.4% felt adequately prepared. Similar ratings for respiratory emergencies are 63.1% inadequacy, 16.9% adequacy, and only 3.3% felt very adequate. The availability of oxygen extension tubing and ambu bagwas nil in all departments . Emergency drugs were claimed to be present by 28.5% oral surgery respondents and, 34.7% Child Dental Health respondents. Most of the respondents felt their clinics are not adequately prepared to deal with medical emergencies.Conclusion: The study showed that syncope is the commonest medical emergency event in dental surgery practice in our teaching hospital; others are bleeding, seizure disorders and asthmatic attacks. The constitution of hospital emergency team (consisting of cardiologists, anaesthetists) as done in advanced countries is advocated and dentists should ensure that the departmental staff are adequately trained to provide basic life supportKeywords: Assessment, Dentists, Management, Medical emergencies, Nigerian Teaching Hospital

Pattern and severity of menopausal symptoms experienced by middle-aged Nigerian women attending the family medicine clinic of the university of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, north-Central Nigeria

Background: The burden of caring for women experiencing severe menopausal symptoms is increasing due to increasing life expectancy globally, and partly due to more awareness of its tremendous impacts on their quality of life. The aim of the study was to describe the pattern and severity of menopausal symptoms among middle-aged women attending a clinic in Nigeria with a view to early detection of symptoms and appropriate management. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study involving 322 women between 40 to 60 years of age. Data was collected using mainly the Menopausal Rating Scale, and data analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS Version 21 statistical software. Results: The mean age of the participants was 48 ± 5 years, and 60.0% of them were postmenopausal. The overall prevalence of menopausal symptoms among the participants was 51.1% and the top-three most prevalent menopausal symptoms among them were joint discomfort (83.9%), physical exhaustion (67.4%), and depressive mood (64.0%). However, anxiety, hot flushes, and sleep problems were found to be the most severe menopausal symptoms among them with prevalence of 77.3%, 74.5%, and 62.1% respectively. Conclusion: We have provided evidence that middle-age Nigerian women suffer menopausal symptoms similar in pattern and severity to the ones reported in studies among African, African-American, Asian, and South-American women. Consequently, we suggest that middle-aged women should be screened regularly for menopausal symptoms so that those with severe symptoms can b

Quantitative exploration of factors influencing psychotic disorder ailments in Nigeria

In this data article, records on demographic data, family problem issues, as well as results of medical tests from five major classes of psychotic disorder namely: bipolar; vascular dementia, minimal brain dysfunction; insomnia; and schizophrenia, were collected on 500 psychotic patients carefully selected from the pool of medical records of Yaba Psychiatric Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria, for the period of 5 years, between January 2010 and December 2014, were examined. X-squared Statistic was used to examine each of psychotic disorders to identify demographic (age, gender, religion, marital status, and occupation) and family issues (loss of parent, history of such ailment in the family (family status), divorce, head injury, and heredity of such ailment (genetic) factors that influence them. A clear description on each of these psychotic disorders (bipolar; vascular dementia, minimal brain dysfunction (MBD), insomnia and Schizophrenia) was considered separately using tables and bar diagrams. Data analysis results are as follows: firstly, 40.2%, of the 500 psychotic patients tested positive to bipolar, 40.6% to insomnia, 75.0% to schizophrenia, 43.6% to MBD and 69.2% to vascular dementia. Secondly, female patients were more prone to all the psychotic indicators than their male counterpart except in MBD. Thirdly, the oldest age group (> 60 years) is more prone to bipolar and insomnia ailments, while the mid age group (30 – 60 years) is prone to schizophrenia and vascular dementia, and the youngest group (< 30 years) is prone to MBD. Lastly, the factors that influence the ailments are listed: bipolar (age, occupation, marital status, divorce, and spiritual consultation); insomnia (age, occupation, marital status, divorce, and spiritual consultation); schizophrenia (age, occupation, religion, marital status, hereditary, and divorce); MBD (gender, age, occupation, and marital status); and vascular dementia (history of the ailment and spiritual consultation). Bipolar and insomnia are influenced by the same set of factors, which implies that any patient having one is most likely to be at risk of having the other