Impact of Advertisement on the Use of Library Information Resources in Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri Library

This study is focused on the impact of advertisement on the use of library information resources in Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri library. The study aims at ascertaining the impact of advertisement on the use of library information resources. Three research objectives and three research questions were adopted for this study. A total of twenty three (23) library staff formed the population of the study. The study was carried out using four point rating scale as instrument for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using mean scores and presented in tables. The result of this study revealed that library information resources available in the library are basically book materials while electronic information materials are lacking except computers; advertisement really has impact in the marketing of library information resources in the library, however, it doesn’t aid in the launching of new services in the library studied. It was also revealed that inadequate ICT facilities, fund and fine, language and cultural differences and fear of technology are heavy challenges faced by library in the advertisement of her information resources. Based on the findings, it was recommended that electronic information resources should be provided in order to enable users to be versatile in knowledge; the library should have a public relation officer that will be advertising and marketing library information resources having seen its vital importance and as well, the management of the institution should encourage the library to engage in advertising their information resources and services by providing adequate funds that will enable the library to carry out the operations

Two-position measurement of intraocular pressure by PT100 noncontact tonometry in comparison with Goldmann tonometry

Kelechi C Ogbuehi, John C Chijuka, Uchechukwu L Osuagwu Department of Optometry & Vision Science, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaBackground: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the precision of intraocular pressure measurements obtained by PT100 noncontact tonometry in a handheld and slit lamp-mounted position in comparison with that of Goldmann applanation tonometry in healthy young adults.Methods: Sixty eyes from 60 subjects (30 men and 30 women) aged 22 ± 1 (range 20–24) years participated in this study. Triplicate intraocular pressure measurement of a randomly selected eye was obtained by a noncontact tonometer in a handheld and slit lamp-mounted position in a randomized order, with the Goldmann applanation tonometer always performed last. A second measurement session was carried out after one week to assess repeatability.Results: The mean ± standard deviation of intraocular pressure readings in the first and second session, respectively, with the three techniques were: handheld position, 14.52 ± 3.28 mmHg and 15.26 ± 2.11 mmHg; slit lamp-mounted position, 14.01 ± 2.80 mmHg and 15.16 ± 2.34 mmHg; and Goldmann applanation tonometer, 14.86 ± 3.26 mmHg and 15.16 ± 2.42 mmHg. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between the techniques in the intraocular pressure measurements returned (Goldmann applanation tonometer vs handheld and Goldmann applanation tonometer vs slit lamp-mounted). The Goldmann applanation tonometer measured intraocular pressure 0.34 mmHg higher than handheld and 0.85 mmHg higher than slit lamp-mounted in session 1, and in session 2 Goldmann applanation tonometer intraocular pressure measurement was the same as with the slit lamp-mounted method but lower than with the handheld method by 0.11 mmHg. In PT100 handheld vs slit lamp-mounted comparisons, there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between intraocular pressure measurements returned by both techniques in sessions 1 and 2. Intrasession and intersession repeatability coefficients for Goldmann applanation tonometer intraocular pressure and slit lamp-mounted intraocular pressure were similar, and better in comparison with those for handheld intraocular pressure.Conclusion: The Goldmann applanation tonometer and PT100 noncontact tonometer in both positions studied here are reliable, consistent techniques for measurement of intraocular pressure, and can be used interchangeably for obtaining intraocular pressure values in young normal subjects. Repositioning of the PT100 tonometer from hand-held to slit lamp-mounted improved its precision and reduced variation with respect to the Goldmann applanation tonometer.Keywords: intraocular pressure, Goldmann applanation tonometry, Reichert PT100 noncontact tonometer, handheld, slit lamp-mounted, repeatabilit

Iron removal in waste water using expanded polystyrene as an artificial media

This study focused on the use of Expanded Polystyrene as an artificial media for the removal of iron from raw water. The experimental set-up consisted of continuous flow process and the mechanism for iron removal was by adsorption. Water sample of initial concentration 5.5mg/l was stored in a 50l container situated at an elevation of 4.4m above the floor and was connected to a plastic transparent container which contained the filter media” Polystyrene”. The effects of adsorbent dosage, contact time, pH and temperature were studied. Results showed that adsorption capacity increased with time for the time range of 0.68-47.6mins investigated and slightly with an increase in temperature until 40oC when it began to decrease, suggesting favorable adsorption at medium temperatures. The results showed that the procedure was efficient in reducing iron concentration from 5.5mg/l to 3.5mg/l within contact time of 5minutes. Better efficiencies could be achieved at higher contact times. The use of EPS material would also offer an avenue for recycling polystyrene widely used in packaging of equipment.Keywords: Contamination, contact time, adsorption, residual iron concentration, pollutants

Prevalence and risk factors of acute gastroenteritis caused by Rotavirus among children in tertiary hospitals, southeastern Nigeria

Background: Diarrhea is a worldwide problem and rotavirus is the commonest viral etiologic agent. In Nigeria, diarrhea causes more than 315,000 deaths of preschool-age children annually. In Ebonyi State, it is among the leading causes of pediatric emergency visits and one of the major causes of infant morbidity and mortality. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence and associated risk factors of acute gastroenteritis due to rotavirus infection among under-five children in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study of 275 children under 5 years of age hospitalized for acute watery diarrhea, who were consecutively recruited into the study. Stool samples were collected from each child for rotavirus antigen detection using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Socio-demographic information of each child and selected risk factors were collected using structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done on SPSS software version 20.0, and association of demographic characteristics and risk factors with rotavirus diarrhoea was measured using Chi-square test, odds ratio (and 95% confidence interval). Significant value was set at p < 0.05. Results: The prevalence of rotavirus diarrhea among children under 5 years of age in this study was 26.5% (73/275). Aside from educational level of the mothers, there was no significant association between any of the sociodemographic characteristics and prevalence of rotavirus diarrhoea (p>0.05). Although the prevalence of diarrhoea in the children was lower with the use of maize gruel (pap) as weaning feed (26.3%, 71/270) compared to the use of other complementary feeding such as ‘Cerelac’ and ‘NAN’ (40%, 2/5), this association did not reach a significant level(OR=0.5352, 95% CI=0.0875-0.3270, p=0.6110), probably due to the small number of children weaned using other complementary feeds. Conclusion: The relatively high prevalence of rotavirus diarrhea in children under 5 years of age in this study is an indication of the need for the parents/guardians of these children to improve child feeding hygiene

Descriptive and Vegetative Characterization of fifteen ecotypes of Snake Gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerina L.) in Nigeria

The descriptive and vegetative characterization of fifteen ecotypes of Trichosanthes cucumerina L (snake gourd) in Nigeria was carried out. The field study was done in two locations Markurdi and Umudike to evaluate the descriptive and vegetative characters of fifteen ecotypes of T. cucumerina from Middle Belt of the country, the South-South, South Eastern part and South Western part of Nigeria. Randomized Completed Block Design was adopted for the experiment at the exploration farm of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike and Federal University of Agriculture, Makurd at the same growing season. Descriptive and vegetative analysis was done using Minitab 16. The qualitative vegetative characteristic of snake gourd accessions vigour levels ranged from low, moderate and high. Leaf colour was from deep/pale/light green, stem colour was light, pale and deep green. The mean of the vegetative characters ranged from 2.7660-1575 ±0.48-99; cumulative variation percentage 7.65-64.75;. The germination percentage of all the accessions was significant (p<0.05). CRS – IKM (100+00), Osu – OSH – 2 (91.67±4.82).EKT – OYE was higher than Ben-MKDI (58.36±8.34). The plant height among the accessions was not significant, block was significant (P≤0.05). Leaf sizes (cm) of all the accessions were not significant (P>0.05), while main vine length (cm) at 5% probability was not significant and their treatment interaction was insignificant (P>0.05). The main vein length was highest in ABI-UKW with 636.0±164.0, followed by EKI-OYE 514.0±84.3 and least from RIV-ELE 275.7±26.4. The fruit colour at ninety days (90) of ten (10) accessions of snake guard was orange green or strip orange green and remaining accessions was milky green or light green. The fruit shape was long, thick and cylindrical. The seed colour was speckled russet

Familial adenomatous polyposis with synchronous invasive colonic carcinomas and metastatic jejunal adenocarcinoma in a Nigerian male

Familial adenomatous polyposis is rare. Three cases were previously reported in Nigeria. An intriguing feature of this case is an ulcerated jejunal carcinoma which was metastatic rather than synchronous carcinoma. This patient presented with partial large bowel obstruction and the pathological analysis revealed 4 invasive adenocarcinomas, 3 in the colon and 1 in the jejunum (Dukes stage D). Palliative pancolectomy and jejunal tumour resection with chemotherapy was offered to him. He died eight months after surgery from disease progression. The challenges of managing a hereditary cancer syndrome in a resource poor country are highlighted

Suboccipital craniotomy in the surgical treatment of Chiari I malformation

The object of this study was to present craniotomy for Chiari type I patients. Six patients with Chiari type I underwent suboccipital craniotomy. All patients showed clinical improvement, and none had any complications. Two patients had syringomyelia; it disappeared in entirety. We describe the procedure for posterior fossa decompression. Three-dimensional volumetric analysis using Vitrea workstation for postoperative posterior fossa volumes was calculated and was seen to have been increased on an average, from pre-operative (168 cc) to postoperative volume (192 cc). We thus conclude that suboccipital craniotomy results in resolution of the Chiari symptoms yet achieves effective expansion of posterior fossa

Human Body Burden of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Antibiotics Susceptibility Pattern and Presence of Extended Spectrum β-lactamase and Carbapenemase encoding Genes in Lagos State, Nigeria

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, frequently associated with a wide range of community and nosocomial infections, is notorious for being resistant to several classes of antibiotics with only a handful of antibiotics still effective. This study determined the human body burden of P. aeruginosa as well as antibiotics susceptibility pattern and presence of extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and carbapenemase encoding genes in Lagos state, Nigeria using standard methods. Out of 103 bacterial cultures collected, 31 P. aeruginosa isolates were obtained, mostly originating from wound and urine samples. High rates of antibiotics resistance were observed to fluoroquinolone and cephalosporins with 24 (77.4%) resistant to ciprofloxacin, 19 (61.3) to cefotaxime, and 18 (58.1%) to ceftriaxone as well as amoxicillin clavulanic acid. However, resistance to ceftazidime and meropenem were low with only 6 (19.4%) and 5 (16.1%) resistant isolates respectively. ESBL production was detected in 10 (32.3%) of the isolates with ESBL genes detected in 6 (60%) of the 10 isolates. Ceftazidime and meropenem are viable therapeutic options for P. aeruginosa infections. Selection and dissemination of ESBL producing P. aeruginosa must be curtailed to prevent the loss of efficacy in currently available viable therapeutic options

Assessment of knowledge, practice and guidelines towards the novel COVID-19 among eye care practitioners in Nigeria : a survey-based study

The aim of this study was to explore knowledge, practice of risk and guidelines of the novel corona virus disease (COVID-19) infection among the eye care practitioners and the potential associated factors. A cross-sectional self-administered online survey was distributed via emails and social media networks between 2nd and 18th May 2020 corresponding to the week of the lockdown in Nigeria to eye care practitioners (ECPs). Data for 823 respondents were analyzed. Knowledge and risk practice were categorized as binary outcome and univariate and multivariate linear regression were used to examine the associated factors. The mean score for COVID-19-related knowledge of public health guidelines was high and varied across the ECPs. Ophthalmic Nurses, Ophthalmologists and Optometrists showed higher COVID-19-related knowledge than other ECPs (p < 0.001), particularly those working in the private sector. More than 50% of ECPs stated they provided essential services during the COVID-19 lockdown via physical consultation, particularly the Ophthalmologists. Most respondents reported that the guidelines provided by their Association were useful but expressed their lack of confidence in attending to patients during and after the COVID-19 lockdown. Compared to other ECPs in Nigeria, more Ophthalmic Nurses received training in the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). This survey is the first to assess knowledge, attitudes and practice in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. ECPs in Nigeria displayed good knowledge about COVID-19 and provided eye care services during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria, despite the majority not receiving any training on the use of PPEs with concerns over attending to patients. There is need for the government to strengthen health systems by improving and extending training on standard infection prevention and control measures to ECPs for effective control of the pandemic and in the future as essential health workers