Microbial Analysis of Biomedical Wastes From Selected Health Facilities in Parts of Edo South and Its Public Health Implication

This study, aimed at the microbial analysis of biomedical waste (BMW) was carried out using 100 samples of 10 different BMW collected in duplicates from 5 busy primary healthcare centers (PHCs).The research findings showed a high prevalence of E.coli (39%) and S.aureus (32%) which were both statistically significant at P≤0.05, while the least isolated organisms were K. pnuemoniae (10%) and B. subtilis (4%) and were statistically not significant at P≥0.05. Samples from dressings and beddings were found to contain the highest microbial loadof 25 and 13 respectively while the least number of isolates were from expired cytotoxic drugs (2) and lancets (1).The biochemical tests showed the presence of Gram positive and negative organisms with record of both aerobic and anaerobic isolates from the BMW. The investigation revealed that BMW contains mixed bacterial community with some being pathogenic and pose a public health hazard to both health workers and other community members, therefore adequate treatment measures should be given to all BMW before disposal

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of polyphenols from ethnomedicinal plants of Nigeria

The antioxidant properties and antimicrobial potential of three ethnomedicinal plants, (Momordica charanta, Senna alata and Nauclea lafifolia) extracted with acetone were investigated. Polyphenols fromthe medicinal plants were screened for their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities against pathogenic micro organisms (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Esherichia coli and Candida albicans). The medicinal plants displayed different polyphenols contents and antioxidant activities. In addition, varying antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were exhibited. The highest amount of total phenolic compounds was shown by S. alata and the lowest one was M. charanta. The extract of S. alatashowed the highest antioxidant activity. Some micro organisms (S. aureus and C. albicans) were susceptible to the polyphenol extracts with minimum inhibitory concentration values between 1.25 to 5.00 mg/ml while other microorganisms (S. pyogenes and E. coli) appeared to be resistant to theextracts. The results suggested that these plants are not only potential sources of phenolic antioxidants but also potentially, good source of antimicrobial agents

Do hip precautions after posterior-approach total hip arthroplasty affect dislocation rates? A systematic review of 7 studies with 6,900 patients

Background and purpose — Hip precautions limiting flexion, adduction, and internal rotation have been prescribed traditionally to minimize dislocation rates following THA. We assessed the prevalence of hip dislocation following posterior approach total hip arthroplasty without postoperative hip precautions. Methods — A systematic review of multiple medical databases was performed using the PRISMA guidelines and checklist. All clinical outcome studies that reported dislocation rates and postoperative instructions following posterior approach, primary surgery, published within the last 6 years, were included. Results — 6,900 patients were included from 7 Level I–IV studies, with 3,517 treated with and 3,383 without precautions. There was no statistically significant difference in the rates of dislocation between groups (2.2% in restricted group vs. 2.0% in unrestricted group). All but 1 study demonstrated no statistically significant differences in patient-reported outcome scores between restricted and unrestricted groups, including those pertaining to return to function, confidence, and pain. Interpretation — The review found no impact on dislocation rates following total hip arthroplasty performed through a posterior approach, regardless of the use of hip precautions. We also found no impact of the prescription of hip precautions on patient-reported outcome scores

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A VIRTUAL CLASSROOM SYSTEM

In the last few decades, education has witnessed some advances in technologies involving computeraided learning that promises to drastically change the methods of teaching and learning. The World Wide Web has played a major role in information storage and dissemination in the educational community. Conventional classroom based teaching involves the delivery of course materials by the lecturer in a particular place at a defined time. Hence it imposes a constraint of time and place on both the instructor and the student. Due to human factor arising from the traditional classroom method, the lecturer may not always be able to put in optimum effort towards preparing and delivering course materials. There may also be inconsistencies in the pedagogy and learning style due to repetitive nature of teaching/learning. The objective of this paper is to develop a virtual classroom system to enhance learning on campus. The system was developed using PHP and MySQL as server side programming and database respectively. The web-based virtual classroom provides a web enabled interactive model for e-learning in which the course material is presented using multimedia and hypermedi

An Assessment of the Wear Element Contamination of Food Processed by Wet Milling Using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Technique

This paper ‘Assessment of Wear Elements in Food Products by Wet Milling Using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Technique’ was carried out to determine the levels of Wear Elements introduced into food consumed by humans after being wet milled. Samples were collected from a selected milling house in Yelwa area in Bauchi State Nigeria and were analyzed. The presence of heavy metals such as Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) as well as trace elements; Copper (Cu) and Zinc (Zn) contents in milled beans, tomatoes, sweet pepper and onions were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. The wear elements detected ranged from 0.008 to 0.017 mgkg?1 of Pb and 12.42 to 17.63 mgkg?1 of Fe and Cd went undetected being lower than the detection limits of 0.003 mgkg1.. However, the trace elements ranged from 6.75 to 11.84 mgkg?1 of Cu and 9.35 to 81.25mgkg?1 of Zn. The highest values of Pb, Cu, Zn and Fe in the milled products were observed in Onion paste (0.017mgkg?1), Tomato slurry (11.84mgkg?1), Beans paste (81.25 mgkg?1) respectively. The level of Fe and Zn in most of the samples was found to be above the permissible level of 15 mgkg?1 and 60 mgkg?1 respectively as set by WHO (2003). Other wear elements were found to be within the safe levels. Keywords: Wear Element, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, and Wet Milling

The Dilemmas of Adopting Performance Related Pay as a Reward Strategy for Academic Staff in Nigerian Public Higher Institutions of Learning

In today organizations, many employers of labour in private driven and public driven organizations seems to be attracted to performance related pay (PRP) as a means of reward and compensation. Even though PRP strategy is claimed to have distinct advantages over automatic pay increase (formal and transparent reward systems linked to tenure and promotion), they are still not without problems. Among these problems envisage in Nigerian higher institutions of learning are the issue of acceptability of performance related pay as a means of reward and compensation, and low level of motivation and performance. These aforementioned problems were raised in the study research questions and also answered. This was achieved by assessing the extent to which academic staff through administered questionnaire in Nigerian higher institutions of learning believe that the introduction of performance related pay will indeed bring about the claimed motivational and performance enhancement benefits

Investment Strategies, Performance, And Trading Information Impact

This paper examines a set of investment strategies based on past market information to evaluate performance and trading impact on the Canadian Market. In doing so, we assess whether trading information adds value to the effectiveness of these strategies. Utilizing variant models of four different methodologies, we find strong evidence that supported the Momentum Investment Strategy, which buys past winner stocks and sells past loser stocks. Our evidence did not support Contrarian Investment Strategy, which posits that investors overreact to good and bad news. Our winners’ portfolios outperform our losers’ portfolios.  The Negative Volume Effect Strategy did not work, which is contrary to the Foerster, Prihar and Schmitz (1995) study. We found that winners’ stocks did not reverse in cases of heavy volume; nor did loser stocks reverse in a high volume context. However, we did find that trading information has an impact on stock returns and thus adds value to investment strategies for the 1990 to 2000 investment period.  Investors who combine past price and trading volume information in constructing their investment strategies would achieve higher returns than investors who base their portfolio construction decisions solely on stock prices.University

Parathyroid hormone 1-34 and skeletal anabolic action: The use of parathyroid hormone in bone formation

Intermittently administered parathyroid hormone (PTH 1-34) has been shown to promote bone formation in both human and animal studies. The hormone and its analogues stimulate both bone formation and resorption, and as such at low doses are now in clinical use for the treatment of severe osteoporosis. By varying the duration of exposure, parathyroid hormone can modulate genes leading to increased bone formation within a so-called ‘anabolic window’. The osteogenic mechanisms involved are multiple, affecting the stimulation of osteoprogenitor cells, osteoblasts, osteocytes and the stem cell niche, and ultimately leading to increased osteoblast activation, reduced osteoblast apoptosis, upregulation of Wnt/β-catenin signalling, increased stem cell mobilisation, and mediation of the RANKL/OPG pathway. Ongoing investigation into their effect on bone formation through ‘coupled’ and ‘uncoupled’ mechanisms further underlines the impact of intermittent PTH on both cortical and cancellous bone. Given the principally catabolic actions of continuous PTH, this article reviews the skeletal actions of intermittent PTH 1-34 and the mechanisms underlying its effect