Prevalence of mental morbidity and its associated factors in two communities of Benin metropolis, Nigeria

Background: Mental morbidity is a public health problem that can lead to a great burden of disability in the community. Early detection and treatment of these morbidities could prevent deterioration. The aim of the survey was to determine and compare the prevalence of mental morbidity and its associated factors in two communities in Benin metropolis in Nigeria.Materials and Methods: The study was carried out among 400 residents of two urban communities of Benin metropolis, Benin City, Nigeria, between November 2012 and April 2013. The design of the study was descriptive, cross-sectional. The 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and a questionnaire for socio-demographic variables were used to collect information from participants who were selected using multistage sampling technique. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 16. Statistical test of association used were Chi square, Fisher's exact test and Multivariate logistic regression. P value of < 0.05 was taken as statistically signicant.Results: The overall prevalence of mental morbidity in both communities was 24.0%. However, prevalence of mental morbidity in BDPA and Uwelu communities, were 19.5% and 28.5% respectively. Education, income, type of accommodation, and number of co-habitants were variables found to be signicantly associated with mental morbidity. The two communities were found to differ signicantly on all indices of socio-economic status, and these indices signicantly differentiated between cases (GHQ-positives) in the surveyed communities. None of the socio-demographic variables independently predicted mental morbidity.Conclusion: The need for renewed effort at improving community mental health services and the standard of living of the populace by government and policy makers is emphasized.Keywords: Prevalence, Mental morbidity, Communities, Benin city, Nigeri

Assessing the nutritional status of beef cattle: current practices and future prospects

Accurate determination of nutritional and health status of animals is invaluable in modern animalagriculture. Body weights and body condition scoring are the commonly used methods of assessingnutritional status of animals. This paper discusses drawbacks these methods have and highlights thebenefits for using blood metabolites in assessing nutritional status of beef cattle. Blood metabolitelevels indicate the extent of metabolism of energy, proteins and other nutrients in animals. Glucose,cholesterol, non-esterified fatty acids, protein, urea, creatinine, albumin, globulin, minerals, liverenzymes and haematology can be used objectively, reliably and routinely to assess the nutritionalstatus of cattle. In Southern Africa, the use of these metabolites is rare due to lack of equipment forblood analysis and the high cost of analyzing the blood parameters. However, use of high value Ngunicattle in Southern Africa requires the use of blood parameters to accurately assess their nutritionalstatus. Several factors, such as physiological status of an animal, breed, nutrition, season and ageaffect levels of blood metabolites. Combining body weights, body condition scores and bloodmetabolites increase accuracy of assessing the nutritional state and welfare of beef cattle

Bioflocculant production by a consortium of Streptomyces and Cellulomonas species and media optimization via surface response model

AbstractSpecies of actinobacteria previously isolated from Tyume River in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and identified by 16S rDNA sequence as Cellulomonas and Streptomyces species were evaluated as a consortium for the production of bioflocculant. Sucrose, peptone and magnesium chloride were the nutritional sources which supported optimal production of bioflocculant resulting in flocculation activities of 91%, 82% and 78% respectively. Response surface design revealed sucrose, peptone and magnesium chloride as critical media components following Plackett–Burman design, while the central composite design showed optimum concentration of the critical nutritional source as 16.0g/L (sucrose), 1.5g/L (peptone) and 1.6g/L (magnesium chloride) yielding optimal flocculation activity of 98.9% and bioflocculant yield of 4.45g/L. FTIR spectrometry of the bioflocculant indicated the presence of carboxyl, hydroxyl and amino groups, typical for heteropolysaccharide, while SEM imaging revealed an interwoven clump-like structure. The molecular weight distribution of the constituents of the bioflocculants ranged 494.81–18,300.26Da thus, an indication of heterogeneity in composition. Additionally, the chemical analyses of the purified bioflocculant revealed the presence of polysaccharides and proteins with neutral sugar, amino sugar and uronic acids in the following concentration: 5.7mg, 9.3mg and 17.8mg per 100mg. The high flocculation activity of the bioflocculant suggests commercial potential

In vivo evaluation of the antiviral activity of Cajanus cajan on measles virus

Cajanus cajan, a tropical shrub, serves as source of food and traditional medicines. The evaluation of aqueous and ethanol extracts for activity against measles virus and toxicity to embryonated chicken eggs was carried out in this study. In vivo and in vitro assay techniques using embryonated chicken eggs and tissue culture (Hep-2 cell lines) as media for both virus cultivation and anti-virus assay showed that a hot-water extract yielded higher activity against measles virus. The hot-water extract of the stem yielded a Log2 titre of 0.1 for the in vivo assay and an inhibition of cytopathic effect (CPE) in Hep-2 cells by 100% for the in vitro assay. At all concentrations of the extracts, there was a lowering of virus concentration (p = 0.05), indicated by hemagglutination (HA) titration, which is the advantage of HA titration over the tissue culture technique using CPE. This study validates embryonated chicken eggs as suitable media for anti-virus assay and the use of C. cajan in the treatment of some diseases of viral origin

Diversity of culturable nocardioform actinomycetes from wastewater treatment plants in Spain and their role in the biodegradability of aromatic compounds

[EN] Currently, municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are mainly focusing on reduction of biological oxygen demand and on the removal of nutrients. However, there are microorganisms that interfere with the process. In this environment, there is a large diversity of microorganisms that have not been studied in detail and that could provide real and practical solutions to the foaming problems. Among such microorganisms, Gram-positive actinomycete bacteria are of special interest because they are known for producing secondary metabolites as well as chemically diverse compounds and for their capacity to degrade recalcitrant pollutants. Three different media were chosen to isolate actinomycetes from 28 WWTPs in Spain. A total of 189 activated sludge samples were collected; 126 strains were isolated and identified to belong to 1 suborder, i.e. Corynebacterineae, and 7 genera, i.e. Corynebacterium, Dietzia, Gordonia, Mycobacterium, Rhodococcus, Tsukamurella and Williamsia. Furthermore, 71 strains were capable of biodegrading at least 1 aromatic product, and that 27 of them amplified for catA gene. The results of this research help us understand the complexity of the foam-forming microbial populations in Spain and it shows that WWTPs can be a good source of microorganisms that can degrade phenol or naphthalene.This work was supported by grants from Entidad Publica de Saneamiento de Aguas Residuales (EPSAR) de la Comunitat Valenciana.Soler Hernández, A.; García Hernández, J.; Zornoza-Zornoza, AM.; Alonso Molina, JL. (2017). Diversity of culturable nocardioform actinomycetes from wastewater treatment plants in Spain and their role in the biodegradability of aromatic compounds. Environmental Technology. 39(2):172-181. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2017.1296897S17218139

Assessment of Bioflocculant Production by Bacillus sp. Gilbert, a Marine Bacterium Isolated from the Bottom Sediment of Algoa Bay

The bioflocculant-producing potentials of a marine bacteria isolated from the bottom sediment of Algoa Bay was investigated using standard methods. The 16S rDNA sequence analysis revealed 98% similarity to that of Bacillus sp. HXG-C1 and the nucleotide sequence was deposited in GenBank as Bacillus sp. Gilbert with accession number HQ537128. Bioflocculant was optimally produced when sucrose (72% flocculating activity) and ammonium chloride (91% flocculating activity) were used as sole sources of carbon and nitrogen, respectively; an initial pH 6.2 of the production medium; and Mg2+ as cation. Chemical analysis of the purified bioflocculant revealed the compound to be a polysaccharide

Antibiotic Producing Potentials of Three Freshwater Actinomycetes Isolated from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Crude extracts of three actinomycetes species belonging to Saccharopolyspora (TR 046 and TR 039) and Actinosynnema (TR 024) genera were screened for antibacterial activities against a panel of several bacterial strains. The extracts showed antibacterial activities against both gram-negative and gram-positive test bacteria with inhibition zones ranging from 8 to 28 mm (TR 046); 8 to15 mm (TR 039); and 10 to 13 mm (TR 024). The minimum inhibitory concentrations ranged from 0.078 to 10 mg/mL (TR 046); 5 to >10 mg/mL (TR 039); and 1.25 to 5 mg/mL (TR 024). Time-kill studies revealed that crude extract of TR 046 showed strong bactericidal activity against Bacillus pumilus (ATCC14884), reducing the bacterial load by 104 cfu/mL and 102 cfu/mL at 4× MIC and 2× MIC, respectively, after 6 h of exposure. Similarly, against Proteus vulgaris (CSIR 0030), crude extract of TR 046 achieved a 0.9log10 and 0.13log10 cfu/mL reduction at 5 mg/mL (4× MIC) and 1.25 mg/mL (2× MIC) after 12 h of exposure. The extract was however weakly bactericidal against two environmental bacterial strains (Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus epidermidis); and against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 19582): the extract showed bacteriostatic activities at all concentrations tested. These freshwater actinomycetes appear to have immense potential as a source of new antibacterial compound(s)

Studies on Bioflocculant Production by Arthrobacter sp. Raats, a Freshwater Bacteria Isolated from Tyume River, South Africa

A bioflocculant-producing bacteria was isolated from Tyume River in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa and identified by 16S rRNA gene nucleotide sequence to have 91% similarity to Arthrobacter sp. 5J12A, and the nucleotide sequence was deposited in GenBank as Arthrobacter sp. Raats (accession number HQ875723). The bacteria produced an extracellular bioflocculant when grown aerobically in a production medium containing glucose as sole carbon source and had an initial pH of 7.0. Influences of carbon, nitrogen and metal ions sources, as well as initial pH on flocculating activity were investigated. The bacteria optimally produced the bioflocullant when lactose and urea were used as sole sources of carbon and nitrogen respectively with flocculating activities of 75.4% and 83.4% respectively. Also, the bacteria produced the bioflocculant optimally when initial pH of the medium was 7.0 (flocculating activity 84%), and when Mg2+ was used as cation (flocculating activity 77%). Composition analyses indicated the bioflocculant to be principally a glycoprotein made up of about 56% protein and 25% total carbohydrate

Optimisation of Cooking Time for Two Varieties of Foodstuffs using Single- and Double-Cavity Cooking Pots

The increase in the shortage of firewood due to deforestation, skyrocketing of electricity tariffs and fuel pump prices in recent times have propelled scientists to search for alternative measures of cooking that can reduce electric energy and fuel consumption. Double-cavity cooking pots have emerged in recent times to reduce the prolonged duration arising from the sequential cooking of different foodstuffs/ dishes using a single-cavity pot. However, experimental reports are rarely available to sensitise users about the advantages of using the double-cavity pot. The present work describes a simple and informative experimental report that compares the cooking time for two varieties of foodstuffs (rice and beans) using single- and double-cavity pots. It was found that the average time rate of cooking in the double-cavity pot was 1.33 ◦ C/min less than in the single-cavity pot. The total time taken to concurrently cook equal masses of rice and beans in separate cavities of the double-cavity pot was found to be 9.98 min less than that of the single-cavity pot. The double-cavity pot proved to be economically viable by reducing the cooking time, electric energy, and fuel consumption that arise from the successional cooking of a variety of foodstuffs using the single-cavity pot