Exercise-induced bronchospasm and its associated factors among secondary school students in an urban community

Introduction: Exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) is a transient narrowing of the airway that usually occurs shortly after exercise. It occurs commonly in people with asthma; however EIB has also been reported in individuals without clinical asthma. The study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with EIB among secondary school students. Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional school- based study involving secondary school students aged between 10 and 17 years without previous history of asthma. Subjects undertook a six-minute running test, spirometry was done and the best of three FEV1 readings were obtained pre-exercise, at 5, 10, 15 and 30 minutes post exercise. The diagnosis of EIB was made when there was a decrease in FEV1 of ≥10% from baseline after exercise. Results: Of the 265participants studied, 34 (12.8%) had EIB at 5 minutes post exercise. EIB was significantly more in the 10–13 years age group (χ2 = 18.416, p = <0.001), there was no significant gender difference. The presence of allergic (vernal) conjunctivitis and rhinitis were both significantly associated with the development of EIB (χ2 = 13.574, p < 0.001 and 0.011 respectively). There was no significant association with previous history of wheeze and exposure to indoor air pollution such as cooking with biomass fuel and parental cigarette smoking. Conclusion: EIB exist among non-asthmatic school children, and it is more frequent in the early adolescent age-group. Students with allergic conjunctivitis and rhinitis are more likely to manifest exercise induced bronchospasm

Evaluation of the potency of Newcastle disease vaccine from veterinary outlets in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

Vaccination against Newcastle disease (ND) is the most reliable tool in its prevention and control, it is therefore important that vaccines used are of good quality. This study was conducted to assess the quality of live ND vaccines sold in Abeokuta over a six months’ period. Live Newcastle disease vaccines were purchased from ten different veterinary sales outlets and their antigenic titres were determined using Hemagglutination assay (HA). The results revealed a difference in antigenic titres amongst the various ND vaccines sold in Abeokuta with only 20.33 % having high titre, 55.9 % having an average titre, and 23.7 % having low titre. The vaccine titres varied between different brands with storage and handling as contributing factors to the variations. Antigenic titre contained in vaccines properly stored showed significantly (p<0.05) higher antigenic titre and vaccines that were close to their expiration dates had lower titres. Newcastle disease vaccines in Abeokuta are of average titres, it is therefore necessary that adequate evaluation of ND vaccines be recommended before use in flocks and owners of vaccine sales outlets be educated on the need for proper handling and storage of these biologicals

Antibacterial Activity of Vanillic Acid against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, and Proteus mirabilis

Aim. This study investigated the efficacy of vanillic acid against selected pathogenic bacteria obtained from clinical samples. Method. The antibacterial efficacy of vanillic acid against selected pathogenic bacteria collected from clinical samples was studied using a broth macrodilution method. The minimum inhibitory concentration was determined by treating each isolate with increasing amounts of vanillic acid ranging from 150 to 2000 µg/ml. Results. The lowest inhibitory concentrations found were 600 µg/ml for Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, and Salmonella Typhi, and the time-kill susceptibility test also demonstrated a significant reduction in viable cells of the bacterial isolates investigated in this study. The findings of this study confirmed the antimicrobial effect of vanillic acid on bacterial growth and its activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, and Salmonella Typhi. Conclusion. Vanillic acid may provide a solution for alternate therapeutic choices for diseases caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, and Salmonella Typhi

IMPACT OF VISUAL ART TO ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STUDIO: STUDENT EXPERIENCE OF LOWER AND UPPER CLASSES

Art history has spanned back to the cave painting age when man had conceived the ability to create imagination, concepts and ideas which are put on mediums. This is termed virtual art. Over the times, the visualization of art had evolved from the traditional art to contemporary art. Virtual art comprises of painting, drawing, sculpture, design, photography, film making, literature, crafts, ceramics and architecture and there has been a direct link between virtual art and architecture, especially in the acquisition of these skills. Training in virtual art has originally been through apprenticeship just as architecture training has originally been by mentorship, both are now been taught at tertiary institutions. Virtual art is being taken as a course or an elective in schools of architecture in Nigeria. This study takes the case study of 100 and 200 level students of Covenant University, Nigeria. It is assumed that the knowledge acquired in virtual art would help students in architectural design. However, how has this translated to students’ scores in design and design output? Also, the study investigates how well the students have been impacted with virtual art knowledge to help them in design. Data for this study is by primary and secondary data. This is done by examining the impact of virtual art as a course on student results in architectural design. This is done by examining students at lower class of 100 levels and the same set of students’ results in 200 levels in design and in virtual art. Questionnaire was administered to students and the results of scores of the student are considered in the study. Finding shows that the skills acquired in virtual art and the knowledge has helped the student in drafting, creativity, which had brought out original design forms. The similarities between virtual art and architecture in terms of background, training and presentation should be explored by schools of architecture to produced better architects

Novel kinase platform for the validation of the anti-tubercular activities of Pelargonium sidoides (Geraniaceae)

Abstract Background Pelargonium sidoides is an important traditional medicine in South Africa with a well-defined history of both traditional and documented use of an aqueous-ethanolic formulation of the roots of P. sidoides (EPs 7630), which is successfully employed for the treatment of respiratory tract infections. There is also historical evidence of use in the treatment of tuberculosis. The aim of this study was to develop a platform of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) kinase enzymes that may be used for the identification of therapeutically relevant ethnobotanical extracts that will allow drug target identification, as well as the subsequent isolation of the active compounds. Results Mtb kinases, Nucleoside diphosphokinase, Homoserine kinase, Acetate kinase, Glycerol kinase, Thiamine monophosphate kinase, Ribokinase, Aspartokinase and Shikimate kinase were cloned, produced in Escherichia coli and characterized. HPLC-based assays were used to determine the enzyme activities and subsequently the inhibitory potentials of varying concentrations of a P. sidoides extract against the produced enzymes. The enzyme activity assays indicated that these enzymes were active at low ATP concentrations. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of an aqueous root extract of P. sidoides against the kinases indicated SK has an IC50 of 1.2 μg/ml and GK 1.4 μg/ml. These enzyme targets were further assessed for compound identification from the P. sidoides literature. Conclusion This study suggests P. sidoides is potentially a source of anti-tubercular compounds and the Mtb kinase platform has significant potential as a tool for the subsequent screening of P. sidoides extracts and plant extracts in general, for compound identification and elaboration by selected extract target inhibitor profiling

Unlocking community capabilities for improving maternal and newborn health: participatory action research to improve birth preparedness, health facility access, and newborn care in rural Uganda

Background: Community capacities and resources must be harnessed to complement supply side initiatives addressing high maternal and neonatal mortality rates in Uganda. This paper reflects on gains, challenges and lessons learnt from working with communities to improve maternal and newborn health in rural Uganda. Methods: A participatory action research project was supported from 2012 to 2015 in three eastern districts. This project involved working with households, saving groups, sub county and district leaders, transporters and village health teams in diagnosing causes of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity, developing action plans to address these issues, taking action and learning from action in a cyclical manner. This paper draws from project experience and documentation, as well as thematic analysis of 20 interviews with community and district stakeholders and 12 focus group discussions with women who had recently delivered and men whose wives had recently delivered. Results: Women and men reported increased awareness about birth preparedness, improved newborn care practices and more male involvement in maternal and newborn health. However, additional direct communication strategies were required to reach more men beyond the minority who attended community dialogues and home visits. Saving groups and other saving modalities were strengthened, with money saved used to meet transport costs, purchase other items needed for birth and other routine household needs. However saving groups required significant support to improve income generation, management and trust among members. Linkages between savings groups and transport providers improved women’s access to health facilities at reduced cost. Although village health teams were a key resource for providing information, their efforts were constrained by low levels of education, inadequate financial compensation and transportation challenges. Ensuring that the village health teams and savings groups functioned required regular supervision, review meetings and payment for supervisors to visit. Conclusions: This participatory program, which focused on building the capacity of community stakeholders, was able to improve local awareness of maternal and newborn health practices and instigate local action to improve access to healthcare. Collaborative problem solving among diverse stakeholders, continuous support and a participatory approach that allowed flexibility were essential project characteristics that enabled overcoming of challenges faced