Pathogenic potential of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from cattle faeces in Adoekiti

Listeria monocytogenes is an opportunistic food-borne pathogen causing listeriosis especially among immune-compromised persons. Its high rate of morbidity and mortality has classed the organism among the top watch list in foods. It is known to produce several virulence factors which aid its survival in harsh conditions and its dissemination within host cells. The pathogenicity of L. monocytogenes, isolated from cattle faeces in Ado-Ekiti, was determined in Wister albino rats for two weeks and the relative virulence was calculated. Rats were challenged with isolates producing listeriolysin O and phospholipase orally, intraperitoneally and subcutaneously. Biochemical parameters and haematoxylin and eosin (H and E) stained sections of selected organs were examined for significant changes (p < .05) and histopathological effects post-experiment. Relative virulence was recorded at 0% with rats showing no signs of infection or death. However, significant changes in total protein, lipid profile and some selected antioxidant enzymes, as well as cytological changes in the examined H and E sections of organs showed that an infection had occurred. Bacteria may have however been eradicated by the immune-competent rats. This study therefore concludes that isolates may be pathogenic especially for persons tagged ‘high risk’ due to low immunity.Keywords:  L. monocytogenes, listeriosis, pathogenicity, histopathology, cattle feace

Geospatial analysis of urban sprawl in Ile-Ife city, Nigeria

This paper assesses the effects of urban expansion of Ile-Ife city and appraises the changes that occurred in the landscape from 1986 to 2009. The study made use of information extracted from Landsat TM 1986, ETM+ 2002 and Ikonos 2009 images. GPS observations of notable points within and around the city were overlaid on the topographic map and on the satellite imageries in order to appraise the changes in the land use and land cover over the period. The land consumption was analyzed using the computed land consumption rate (LCR) and land absorption coefficient (LAC) from 1986 to 2009. The average annual rate of urban expansion of Ile-Ife is 3.5% which translated to a gain of 2256.7 ha in the surrounding rural areas from 1986 to 2002 and about 1434.7 ha between 2002 and 2009. The land is being transformed as shown by the land consumption rate which progressed from 1.1% in 1986 to 1.2% in 2002 and remained stable till 2009. The land absorption coefficient has increased from 0.013 to 0.014, confirming the high demand for land both within the city and in the suburbs.Keywords: Urban Sprawl; Land Consumption Rate; Land Absorption Coefficient, Ile-Ife; Remote Sensin

Inflation and Standard of Living in Nigeria

Standard of living is very germane to every economy. It gives a broad view of how the economy is fairing on a global scale. If an individual cannot get required basic necessities due to low purchasing power, his/her marginal propensity to consume (MPC) rises which makes it more difficult for the individual to live comfortably hence the standard of living dips Several researches have been carried out but the standard of living still remains abysmally low. From empirical review we find that several countries in sub-Sahara Africa, Nigeria inclusive suffers from low standard of living. The case of Nigeria being evidently sever as the Nigeria currently the poverty capital of the world with over 91 million people living below in abject poverty. Time series data on inflation rate and standard of living proxied by the Human Development Index (HDI) between 1998 and 2017 was used for this research. Augmented Dickey Fuller and Phillip-Perron unit root tests were used to test for stationarity of the data. Based on findings, the Auto Regressive Distributed Lagged (ARDL) model was adopted for inferential analyses. Descriptive statistics employed include skewness, kurtosis, Jarque-Bera test and Breuch-Pagan-Godfrey serial correlation LM test, Breuch-Pagan test for heteroscedasticity and the Durbin-Watson test. Results indicated that there exists a long-run relationship between Inflation and standard of living. Inflation exhibited a negative and significant effect with a coefficient of -0.034 against a P-value of 0.017 which implied that a unit increase in inflation brings about 0.034unit decrease in standard of living over the period of study. Based on findings we recommend that a proper blend of fiscal and monetary policies should be employed to improve the standard of living of Nigerians. Keywords: Inflation rate, Monetary policies, Poverty, Standard of living, Fiscal policies DOI: 10.7176/DCS/10-4-06 Publication date: April 30th 202

Evaluation of Proximate, Minerals, Vitamins and PhytochemicalComposition of Moringa oleifera Lam. Cultivated in Ado Ekiti, Nigeria

Moringa oleifera is a plant that is in high demand for its nutritional and medicinal values. This studywas aimed at assessing the nutritional and phytochemical constituents of the leaf ofMoringa oleiferacultivated in Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. Samples of leaf ofM. oleifera were obtained from six different moringacultivating locations in Ado Ekiti. The proximate analysis of dried leaf of M. oleifera showed that it is highlyrich in protein (28.00±0.33%) and metabolizable energy (2625.25±79.30 Kcal/Kg), with appreciable levels of fat(3.88%), ash (9.88%), crude fibre (12.57%) and carbohydrate (37.87%). The leaf was found to be rich in mineralsand vitamins. It contained high concentrations of Zn , Mg , Ca , K and PO , respectively, 64.17±2.04,2+2+2++3-4643.33±6.06, 82.50±6.89, 430.00±8.37 and 50.43±2.05mg/100g. Low, but appreciable levels of Fe , ascorbic2+acid, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin were equally obtained. Phytochemical analysis revealed high concentrationsof alkaloids, flavonoids and saponins; 446.67±12.11, 846.67±11.07 and 844.17±27.82mg/100g respectively.The concentrations of phytates and tannin were high, but with low oxalate content. No cyanogenic glycosidewas detected. A satisfactory oxygen radical absorption capacity level of 37.23% and very low anti-proteaseactivity (0.13±0.06mg/100g) were obtained. The rich array of results obtained in this study displays thatM. oleifera is a multipurpose plant that could contribute immensely towards meeting both human and livestocknutritional requiremen

Multivariate Analysis of Household Decision Making, Contraceptive Use and Fertility Behaviour among Ever-Married Men in Nigeria

The study examined the effect of household decision making on the use of contraceptives and fertility behaviour of ever-married men in Nigeria. Men’s Recode Dataset of 2013 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) dataset was used. A sample size of 8,981 ever married men aged 15-49 were analyzed using Chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression. The study revealed that majority of men who take a sole decision on their earning and are using contraceptives want more children. Other factors influencing men’s fertility behaviour included age, education, wealth status, age at marriage, religion, the number of living children, ethnicity and media exposure. The study concluded that women empowerment in decision making and in the use of contraceptive methods should be promoted to reduce men’s fertility behaviour.Key Words: Contraceptive, decision making, fertility behaviour, ever-married Men, Nigeri

Fortification of dough with moringa, coriander, and amaranth improves the nutritional composition, health-benefiting properties, and sensory attributes of Nigerian wheat bread

Consumption of bread can be associated with some health issues, which can be improved by fortifying it with plants that are good sources of nutrients and bioactive compounds. This study investigated the effects of fortifying bread with 3 leafy vegetables on the quality of Nigerian wheat bread. Leave powders of coriander, moringa, and amaranths were added to wheat dough at 0% (control), 1%, 3%, 5%, or 7%, and the blends obtained were used to bake vegetable breads, which were then analyzed for proximate, minerals, total phenolics, antioxidant activity, reducing sugars, glycemic index, and sensory evaluation. Results showed that vegetable fortification significantly increased bread ash (from 0.84% in control up to 1.93% in fortified bread), crude fiber (from 1.68% to 3.29%), and nutritionally important minerals Ca, Mg, P, Fe, and Zn (up to 5.2-fold, 5.1-fold, 18.1-fold, 4.1-fold, and 14.0-fold, respectively); it reduced carbohydrates (from 65.65% down to 43.16%), crude lipids (from 2.25% down to 0.44%), and caloric value (from 1239.65 down to 1125.19 kJ/100 g), with little or no effect on proteins and moisture content. The fortification also improved the bioactive properties of the bread, as evidenced by a considerably higher phenolic content (from 0.40 up to 13.95 mg/100 g GAE) and increased antioxidant activities. There was a significant 1.1-to 3.4-fold decrease in the reducing sugars of composite breads with 5% and 7% vegetable powder, and the selected bread formulation with Moringa 7% lowered the glycemic index of rats by 3.5-fold. Fortification did not generally affect the appearance and taste of the breads but decreased other sensory parameters and overall acceptability; the bread sample enriched with 1% amaranth received the highest general acceptance. In conclusion, fortifying wheat bread with the 3 vegetables improves its nutritional quality and can be recommended as a new pathway for the development of more nutritious and healthy bread

The Attitude of Older Patients to Deprescribing Polypharmacy in Ogun State, Nigeria

Background: Deprescribing has been suggested as a beneficial intervention to reduce polypharmacy among older patients. However, little is known about the willingness to accept this intervention among patients in resource-limited settings. Objective: To evaluate the attitudes of older patients to deprescribing polypharmacy. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was carried out among consecutively selected ambulatory patients aged ≥65 years who were on ≥5 chronic medications in two secondary healthcare facilities in Ogun State, southwest Nigeria. The 22-item revised Patients Attitude Towards Deprescribing questionnaire was used to evaluate the participants' attitudes toward deprescribing, while another ten-question tool explored participants' sociodemographic and clinical data. Logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with willingness to deprescribe among the participants using the global question, "If my doctor said it was possible, I would be willing to stop one or more of my regular medicines”. Results: Out of the 341 participants, the majority were females (60.7%), and 90.0% were on 5-7 medications. About three-quarters (71.8%) strongly agreed or agreed that they would be willing “to stop one or more of their medicines if the doctor said it was possible”. Female gender and caregivers’ involvement in medication management were significantly associated with participants' willingness to accept deprescribing (p = 0.07 and p = 0.01). Conclusions: Most participants were willing to accept the deprescribing of their medications. Female gender and caregivers’ involvement in medication management were predictive factors for the participants' willingness to accept deprescribing

Experience with full-thickness rectal biopsy in the evaluation of patients with suspected Hirschsprung’s disease

Background and purpose Rectal biopsy is the main modality for the diagnosis of Hirschsprung’s disease (HD). In Africa, transanal full-thickness rectal biopsy is commonly performed. We aimed to audit our practice of rectal biopsy in the evaluation of HD.Materials and methods A retrospective review was carried out of the records of children (r15 years) who were evaluated for HD between 2007 and 2011. Clinical presentation, details of the operation, and histologic result were analyzed using SPSS version 15.0.Results Fifty-seven children were evaluated for suspected HD during the period. Thirty-six children underwent a rectal biopsy. There were 29 (80.6%) males and nine (19.4%) females, of which two were preterm. Neonates and infants accounted for 72.2% (n= 26). The median age at biopsy was 90 days (range, 5 days to 9 years). Delayed passage of meconium was present in 64.7%, constipation in 85.7%, abdominal distension in 88.6%, and bilious vomiting in 55.9%. Thirty biopsies (83.3%) yielded a histologic diagnosis. Twenty-six (72.2%) confirmed HD, whereas four (11.1%) yielded normal rectal histology. In six (16.7%), the sample taken was deemed inadequate for opinion. None of the symptoms assessed was associated significantly with a diagnosis of HD, stalling further analysis. Where a single biopsy was taken, 20% (n =5) were inadequate for analysis; where more than one sample was taken, a histologic diagnosis was possible in 100% (n =11). Consultant surgeons and trainees returned inadequate samples in 15.8% (n= 3) and 12.5% (n= 2), respectively. An inadequate sample was obtained in four infants (15.4%) and one child older than 1 year of age (10%). Distance of biopsy from the dentate was not indicated in 63.9% (n= 23).Conclusion No clinical parameter can accurately predict a diagnosis of HD. More than one sample at a sitting may improve the diagnostic yield. Larger prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.Keywords: full-thickness biopsy, Hirschsprung’s disease, rectal biops

Wilms’ tumour: an 18-year treatment outcome and challenges faced in managing this tumour in developing countries

Background: The survival rate of nephroblastoma (Wilms’ tumour) has significantly improved, but the outcome of managing it in developing countries leaves much to be desired, mortality and morbidities still are high.Objectives: The aim of this study is to review the treatment outcome of nephroblastoma in Nigerian children and to identify factors that play a role in the poor outcome in our setting.Materials and Methods: This is an 18-year retrospective study of children aged 15 years with Wilms’ Tumour (WT) in two federal tertiary hospitals in northeast Nigeria. Data was obtained from patients’ medical records and the operating registers. Kaplan- Meier test was used to estimate the 2- and 5-year survival rate and the Log Rank analysis employed for the significance of survival rate according to the stage of the tumour.Results: There were 44 children, 25 (56.8%) boys and 19 (43.2%) girls in a ratio of 1.3:1 with a median age of presentation of 4 years, and only 3 (6.8%) patients presented in less than 2 months of onset of symptoms. Painless abdominal swelling was the most prominent symptom in 35(79.5%) children followed by weight loss in 15(34.1%). All the patients were managed according to the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) protocol. Twenty-five patients (25, 60.9%) had a full course of post operative chemotherapy out of whom 11 (44.0%) of them were referred for radiotherapy. Eight (19.1%) patients defaulted post-operative chemotherapy. Twentyone (47.7%) patients died; 14(66.7%) of their tumour, and 7(33.3%) from treatment related complications. Thus the overall survival rate was 52.3% after a median follow up of 24.5 months. Two- and 5-year survival rates were 43.2% (CI 28.5-57.8%) and 11.4% (CI 2.0-20.7%) respectively.Conclusion: Our study revealed poor treatment outcome from WT, probably because of associated late presentation and incomplete treatment