Neonatal infections caused by Escherichia coli at the National Hospital, Abuja: a three-year retrospective study

Background: Escherichia coli (E.coli) has been implicated as a common cause of both early and late onset neonatal infections. The emergence of different strains of E.coli that are multiply resistant to commonly used antibiotics has made continuous antibiotics surveillance relevant. Knowledge about common infections caused by E.coli as well as its antibiotics susceptibility pattern will guide paediatricians in choosing appropriate antibiotics for empirical treatment of neonatal infections.Methods: A retrospective study of E.coli neonatal infections in NHA was conduct for the period 1st January 2010 to 31st December 2012. The records of all specimens submitted to the Medical Microbiology laboratory within the neonatal period (first 28 days of life) were examined and data about E.coli isolates and their antibiotics susceptibility pattern were retrieved and evaluated.Results: 251(33.2%) bacteria were isolated out of a total of 757 specimen submitted for analysis within the period under review. 17(6.8%) were E.coli; 16 were from soft tissue specimen and one from blood. There was no isolate of E.coli from CSF. Most of the isolates were resistant to commonly used antibiotics for treatment of neonatal infections. Three isolates were resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanate and ceftriaxone. One isolate was resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanate, ceftriaxone and imipenem. 100% and 80% of the strains tested were susceptible to amikacin and imipenem respectively.Conclusion: E.coli is third among the gram negative bacteria isolated within the period under review. Most of them were resistant to commonly used antibiotics for treating neonatal infections but, susceptible to amikacin and imipenem. There is need for regular antibiotics resistance surveillance and stewardship.Keywords: Neonates, E.coli Infections, Antibiotics Resistance, Abuja

Critical literacy as a pedagogical goal in English language teaching

In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of the area of critical literacy as it pertains to second language pedagogy (curriculum and instruction). After considering the historical origins of critical literacy (from antiquity, and including in first language education), they consider how it began to penetrate the field of applied linguistics. They note the geographical and institutional spread of critical literacy practice as documented by published accounts. They then sketch the main features of L2 critical literacy practice. To do this, they acknowledge how practitioners have reported on their practices regarding classroom content and process. The authors also draw attention to the outcomes of these practices as well as challenges that practitioners have encountered in incorporating critical literacy into their second language classrooms

Novel Common Genetic Susceptibility Loci for Colorectal Cancer

BACKGROUND: Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 42 loci (P < 5 × 10-8) associated with risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Expanded consortium efforts facilitating the discovery of additional susceptibility loci may capture unexplained familial risk. METHODS: We conducted a GWAS in European descent CRC cases and control subjects using a discovery-replication design, followed by examination of novel findings in a multiethnic sample (cumulative n = 163 315). In the discovery stage (36 948 case subjects/30 864 control subjects), we identified genetic variants with a minor allele frequency of 1% or greater associated with risk of CRC using logistic regression followed by a fixed-effects inverse variance weighted meta-analysis. All novel independent variants reaching genome-wide statistical significance (two-sided P < 5 × 10-8) were tested for replication in separate European ancestry samples (12 952 case subjects/48 383 control subjects). Next, we examined the generalizability of discovered variants in East Asians, African Americans, and Hispanics (12 085 case subjects/22 083 control subjects). Finally, we examined the contributions of novel risk variants to familial relative risk and examined the prediction capabilities of a polygenic risk score. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: The discovery GWAS identified 11 variants associated with CRC at P < 5 × 10-8, of which nine (at 4q22.2/5p15.33/5p13.1/6p21.31/6p12.1/10q11.23/12q24.21/16q24.1/20q13.13) independently replicated at a P value of less than .05. Multiethnic follow-up supported the generalizability of discovery findings. These results demonstrated a 14.7% increase in familial relative risk explained by common risk alleles from 10.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.9% to 13.7%; known variants) to 11.9% (95% CI = 9.2% to 15.5%; known and novel variants). A polygenic risk score identified 4.3% of the population at an odds ratio for developing CRC of at least 2.0. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insight into the architecture of common genetic variation contributing to CRC etiology and improves risk prediction for individualized screenin