Screening and Bioassay-guided Isolation of Antimicrobial Components from Laggera mollis

There are about 20 identified species in the genus Laggera and only few have been extensively investigated. The study was aimed at evaluation the antimicrobial activity of Laggera mollis and isolation of the bioactive component(s) for new potent antimicrobial agent. Four fractions each from the leaves and stem-root of the plant were sequentially extracted with petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethanol using soxhlet extraction scheme, while the marcs were decocted for the aqueous extracts. Phytochemical screening of four extract fractions each from the leaves and stem-root of the plant revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, flavanoids, saponins, steroids, terpenoids and reducing sugar distributed across the fractions. Disc diffusion method of Antimicrobial Sensitivity Test (ATS) was adopted in testing the bioactivity of the plant extracts against seven bacteria and one fungus. Bioassay-guided isolation from the petroleum ether fraction (LM1-01) of the leaves of the Laggera mollis using column chromatography, led to the isolation of two pure compounds. The results of the antimicrobial activity of the isolated compounds indicted that LM1-1-10 was more potent against Salmonella typhi (11 mm) at 40 μg/disc followed by Streptococcus pyogens (10 mm) at 40 μg/disc and Staphylococcus aureus (10 mm) at 40 μg/disc. The spectra of the activity exhibited by the isolates signified their potency for the development of therapeutic agents against these pathogenic microorganisms.Keywords: Bioassay-guided isolation, antimicrobial activity, Laggera mollis, clinical isolates, extracts

Physicochemical and Microbiological Qualities of the Abattoir Wastewater in Part of Minna Niger State

The study was aimed at Physicochemical and Microbiological composition of the abattoir wastewater in parts of Minna, Niger State. Based on morphological and biochemical tests using API kits, the yeast isolates were identified as species of Candida, Cryptococcus and Trichosporon. The most frequently isolated species was Candida lusitaniae (29.42%), followed by Cryptococcus neoformans (17.76%) while Candida tropicalis, Candida zeylanoides, Candida gulliernondii and Candida fermata had 11.72% frequency of occurrence each. Trichosporon mucoides had the least frequency of occurrence of 5.8%. Analysis of the abattoir wastewater revealed the mean value of 5257.50 mg/l, 2630.00 mg/l and 5830.00 mg/l for total suspended solids (TSS), Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and Chemical oxygen demand (COD) respectively. These values are above WHO standard limits of 20 mg/l, 20mg/l and 1000mg/l respectively. The pH of 7.90 and temperature 26.75 0C obtained for wastewater are within the limit allowed by the WHO. Besides, the concentrations of the heavy metals, copper, lead, magnesium, nickel and zinc in the samples were higher than permissible limit by the WHO except chromium. The study also revealed that the wastewater had mean total viable bacteria, yeast and coliform counts of 2.16× 107, 5.82 x 105 and 1.62 ×105 cfu/ml respectively. The results observed suggest therefore, the organisms particularly; C. neoformans and C. lusitaniae can be suitable candidates for bioremediation of abattoir waste water in the tropics. Keywords: Abattoir; Heavy metal; Wastewater and Yeast

Monetering of Infectious Diseases in Katsina and Daura Zones of Katsina State: A Clustering Analysis

In this paper, data of infectious diseases were collected from the two senatorial zones of Katsina state, and analyzed using cluster analysis, a multivariate technique. This necessitated a partition of the set of diseases into groups such that the diseases with similar degree of prevalence were identified. The result of the cluster formation shows that Malaria is more prevalent in all of the two zones, followed by Cholera and Typhoid fever using the Single Linkage and Centroid methods. The Complete Linkage and Ward methods showed that Malaria is the most prevalent followed by Typhoid fever and Cholera in Katsina zone, while in Daura zone Typhoid fever is more prevalent followed by Malaria and Cholera. The number of clusters tends to vary from one zone to another. This is achieved by using Chi-square test for independence. The study concludes that the use of clustering methods provides a suitable tool for assessing the level of infections of the disease

Modeling of Sokoto Daily Average Temperature: A Fractional Integration Approach

Autoregressive fractional integrated moving average modeling strategy was used to model the daily average temperature (DAT) series of Sokoto metropolis for the period of 01/01/2003 to 03/04/2007. The time plot suggests that there is persistence dependence in the series. The order of fractional integration was found to be 0.6238841. The correct model for the daily average temperature data (DAT) of Sokoto metropolis was built. Two models were found to be more adequate for describing, explaining and forecasting the temperature, ARFIMA (3, 0.6238841, 1) and ARFIMA (1, 0.6238841, 3). But by checking the forecastability, ARFIMA (3, 0.6238841, 1) model was found to be the best optimal model that will best forecast Sokoto metropolis temperature. The fitted model should be used for future forecast of temperature of Sokoto metropolis. Forecasting temperature is important to Agriculturist, Geographers and Hydrologist. Air temperature determines the rate of evapotranspiration

Seroprevalence of avian influenza in free-range domestic ducks in some selected households in Oyo State, southwestern Nigeria

Since the report of the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Nigeria, surveillance of the disease has mostly been in chickens, with minimal focus on ducks. This work aimed to conduct a longitudinal study to determine the prevalence and temporal patterns of antibodies against Avian Influenza viruses (AIV) in healthy, unvaccinated scavenging ducks in some Local Governments Areas (LGAs) in Oyo State. We used a competitive ELISA to identify AI virus antibodies in a total of 200 duck sera collected from different households in Akinyele, Iseyin and Ibarapa Central Local government areas (LGAs) during dry and wet seasons as part of ongoing research on AI in the southwest, Nigeria. The overall seroprevalence obtained by ELISA was 42.5% (85/200). A significantly higher seroprevalence of 60% (60/100) of AI was found in the dry season than in the wet season with 25% (25/100). This study provides evidence of ongoing circulation of Avian influenza in the indigenous duck population in some selected local government areas in Oyo State, which may be a risk factor for future outbreaks of AI in chickens and possibly humans. Proper biosecurity and continuous surveillance are hereby advocated for effective prevention and control. Additionally, keeping ducks and chickens together should be discouraged both on farms and in households, particularly during the dry season

Malaria vectors resistance to commonly used insecticides in the control of malaria in Bichi, northern Nigeria

This study was carried out in 2015 to assess the level of resistance of sibling species of Anopheles gambiae complex the principal malaria vector from Bichi in Kano state to three classes of insecticides; (DDT, Permethrin and Bendiocarb) approved by World Health Organization (WHO) for vector control with the aim of obtaining baseline susceptibility and resistance data by evaluating the potency of brands of insecticides used against the mosquito vector in the area where the disease is prevalent. An. gambiae larvae collected from ecologically contrasting breeding sites were reared to adults in the laboratory. Adults from the F1 progeny were assayed for resistance using the WHO adult insecticide susceptibility bioassay protocol. The mosquitoes were exposed to DDT, permethrin and bendiocarb belonging to 3 classes of insecticides. The individual sibling species were identified molecularly and the molecular resistance mechanisms characterized by SINE and kdr PCR methods respectively. The An. gambiae populations tested revealed high level of resistance to DDT and permethrin but less resistant to bendiocarb. Analysis of the genetic composition of the vector population revealed predominance of An. coluzzii (> 77%). L1014F and L1014S kdr mutations correlated to insecticide resistance phenotype expression. This study indicates differential distribution of the resistant genotype of Anopheles malaria vector between ecologically different habitats in the area. This insecticide resistance represents a threat to vector control tool and should be monitored. The information obtained could be useful in decision and planning making for vector control programs in the region.Keywords: Anopheles coluzzii, Anopheles gambiae, Insecticides, Malaria control, resistance, Susceptibilit

Global overview of the management of acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic (CHOLECOVID study)

Background: This study provides a global overview of the management of patients with acute cholecystitis during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: CHOLECOVID is an international, multicentre, observational comparative study of patients admitted to hospital with acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on management were collected for a 2-month study interval coincident with the WHO declaration of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and compared with an equivalent pre-pandemic time interval. Mediation analysis examined the influence of SARS-COV-2 infection on 30-day mortality. Results: This study collected data on 9783 patients with acute cholecystitis admitted to 247 hospitals across the world. The pandemic was associated with reduced availability of surgical workforce and operating facilities globally, a significant shift to worse severity of disease, and increased use of conservative management. There was a reduction (both absolute and proportionate) in the number of patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 3095 patients (56.2 per cent) pre-pandemic to 1998 patients (46.2 per cent) during the pandemic but there was no difference in 30-day all-cause mortality after cholecystectomy comparing the pre-pandemic interval with the pandemic (13 patients (0.4 per cent) pre-pandemic to 13 patients (0.6 per cent) pandemic; P = 0.355). In mediation analysis, an admission with acute cholecystitis during the pandemic was associated with a non-significant increased risk of death (OR 1.29, 95 per cent c.i. 0.93 to 1.79, P = 0.121). Conclusion: CHOLECOVID provides a unique overview of the treatment of patients with cholecystitis across the globe during the first months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The study highlights the need for system resilience in retention of elective surgical activity. Cholecystectomy was associated with a low risk of mortality and deferral of treatment results in an increase in avoidable morbidity that represents the non-COVID cost of this pandemic