Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Community-associated Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Healthy Women in Zaria, Nigeria

Purpose: An investigation of the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from healthy women to ten commonly used antimicrobial drugs was carried out as a basis for a guide for empirical antimicrobial treatment using urine samples. Method: The samples collected from healthy women volunteers in Zaria were cultured and screened for S. aureus using standard microbiological procedures. The antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates was investigated using disc diffusion technique. Result: A total of 54(36%) S. aureus isolates were isolated from 150 urine samples collected. Of the 54 isolates, 16 (29.6%), 15 (27.8%) and 23 (42.6%) were from married but not pregnant, pregnant and single women respectively. The isolates were highly susceptible to ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, ofloxacin, sparfloxacin and pefloxacin in both groups (married and single). The differences observed in all the antimicrobial drugs tested for both groups were not statistically significant (p>0.05). A total of 34 (63%) of the isolates showed multi-drug resistance and only 6 (11%) were susceptible to all the antimicrobial drugs tested. Conclusion: This observation calls for measures to reduce the reservoir of antimicrobial resistant organisms in healthy populations. Keywords: Antimicrobial drugs, community-associated, susceptibility, Staphylococcus aureus, healthy women.Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research Vol. 7 (1) 2008: pp. 929-93

Prevalence and susceptibility pattern of methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates among healthy women in Zaria, Nigeria

Multi-resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MMRSA) has been commonly reported to be one of the commonest causes of nosocomial infections worldwide. Also, recent reports describe methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) carriage in persons in the community. The study investigated its prevalence in urine of healthy women and its susceptibility pattern to other antibiotics. Urine samples collected from healthy women volunteers in Zaria were cultured and screened for S. aureus using standard microbiological procedures. The isolates were then subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing using disc diffusion technique. A total of 54 (36%) S. aureus isolates were isolated from 150 urine samples collected. The prevalence rate for married and single women was 31% and 46%, respectively. Of the S. aureus isolates, 37 (69%) were methicillin-resistant. The MRSA were highly resistant to ampicillin 100%, cephalexin 100%, clindamycin 92%, vancomycin 89% but had low resistance to pefloxacin 35%, ofloxacin 27% ciprofloxacin 27%, sparfloxacin 24% and gentamicin 16%. All the 37 (100%) MRSA isolates showed resistance to at least two antibiotics tested while 33 (89.2%) were multi-drug resistant

Dynamics of Inventory Cost Optimization – A Review of Theory and Evidence

The inventory control models as an estimation tool for optimizing inventory cost and management of inventory is discussed in this paper. Various methods of estimating the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ), Safety Stocks under deterministic and stochastic situations are reviewed. Traditional methods of managing inventory such as accounting ratios analysis, two bin systems, perpetual inventory system and some others form part of this paper. Ratings of inventory or its classification in order of priority by unit and consumption value are also reviewed in the paper. Empirical evidence reviewed in this work tends to support the opinion that modern method of inventory control is far more effective and efficient than the traditional methods of control. Keywords: Inventory Control Models, Inventory Ratios, Economic Order Quantity

Triterpenoids from Gutenbergia nigritana(Benth).Oliv and Hiern

Gutenbergia nigritana (Benth).Oliv and Hein (Asteraceae) is a Nigerian ethnomedicinal plant which has long being used medicinally in traditional systems of medicine.The plant has diverse ethnomedicinal uses which include: The Plant is used in the Ijaw area of Niger Delta region of Nigeria to treat Malaria,convulsion,diarrhea and as a remedy for skin infection. The antibacterial study on dichloromethane extract and chromatographic fractions:dichloromethane soluble part(DC1),ethyl acetate soluble part(E1) and N-butanol soluble portions of methanolic extract were investigated using agar diffusion assay method by measuring the zone of inhibition against clinical isolates: Bacillus subtillis,Escherichia coli,Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Extensive Chromatographic separation and preparative TLC were employed in the isolation steps. Column chromatograpy of the dichloromethane extract, gel filteration on sephadex and preparative TLC led to the isolation of two triterpenoids: Lupenol(1) and Lupenol acetate(2). The structures were elucidatedby NMR spectroscopy and compared with literature. The dichloromethane extract exhibited antibacterial activity against all the test microorganisms with zones of inhibition ranging between 12-26mm. The chromatographic fraction (Fr-6) exhibited activity against E.coli,Ps.aeruginosa and S.aureus but in-active against B.subtilis, while the methanol soluble portions:dichloromethane and ethyl acetate showed weak activity while the n-butanol portion was in active. Dichloromethane extract of Gutenbergia nigritana leaves exhibited anti-bacterial activity, though the compounds isolated did not show activity, it is likely that the activity might reside in other components present in the dichloromethane extract.Key words: Lupenol, Lupenol acetate,antibacterial activity

Influence of Recreation Spaces on the Aged Health in the Urban Fringes of Akure, Nigeria

The study is aimed at investigating the alternative medium of improving the failing health condition of the aged in the urban fringes of Akure through recreation. Two nearby settlements were chosen, each from the two local governments that constitutes Akure. Personal oral interview was the methodological procedure adopted for this study because many of the residents in the study area are not literate. Observations and secondary data were also used to supplement the data collected during the field work. The finding corroborates the literature as it revealed the absence of recreation spaces and inadequacy of health facilities in the study areas. This affirms the need for proper planning policy implementation that will consider the nearby settlements of any city during urban development through the provision of physical infrastructure and creation of recreation spaces for public health support, mostly to help the aged in the community. Keywords: Aged health, Akure, health facilities, planning policy, recreation spaces, urban fringes

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AS A DETERMINANT OF WORKERS’ JOB COMMITMENT IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined organisational culture as a determinant of workers’ job commitment in public secondary schools in Ogun State. The  study adopted an ex-post facto design approach. The population consists of all workers (teaching and non-teaching staff) in secondary schools in Ogun State, Nigeria. A multi-stage random sampling technique was adopted where five (5) public secondary schools (comprising of both junior and senior) were randomly selected from each of the local government area s from twenty (20) local government areas in Ogun State, making a total of ten (10) secondary schools were selected for the study. Stratified random sampling technique was used in selecting ten (10) workers (teaching and non-teaching) from each junior and secondary  schools respectively, making a total number of twenty (20) workers from each of the selected ten (10) secondary schools. A total number of 200 workers was selected  for the  study. The  instrument  used for this study is a questionnaire which is sub-divided into three sections. Section A was used to collect information on personal characteristics of the respondents while Section B contained Workers Organisational Commitment Scale which was designed to measure workers’ job commitment. Section C contained Organisational Climate Index (OCI) and was used to measure organisational culture.  Data was analyzed using regression and T-test analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that organisational culture has significant relationship with public secondary school workers’ job commitment and that there was no significant difference in public secondary school workers’ job commitment between senior and junior school employees. It is concluded that organisational culture determines job commitment of public secondary school employees in Ogun State. Based on the findings, it is therefore recommended  that motivation strategies should adopted to improve teachers’ salaries and promotions. Teachers should positively change their attitude s to work and view their job as more of a  call than a profession.     &nbsp

Prevalence of community-associated multi-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among healthy women in Abuja, Nigeria

Antimicrobial resistance has become a great public health problem worldwide and multi-drugvresistance Staphylococcus aureus has been widely reported. This study determined the pattern of resistance to ten commonly used antibiotics. Urine samples collected from healthy women volunteersin the Abuja were cultured and screened for S. aureus using standard microbiological procedures. The antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates was investigated using disc diffusion technique. A total of 60 (40%) S. aureus isolates were isolated from 150 urine samples collected. Of these, 19 (32%), 22 (36%) and 19 (32%) were from married but not pregnant, pregnant and single women, respectively. The isolates were highly resistant to ampicillin (91.7%), clindamycin (78.3%), cephalexin (75%), methicillin (71.7%) and vancomycin (68.3%) but had very low resistance to gentamicin (3.3%), ciprofloxacin (3.3%), ofloxacin (3.3%), sparfloxacin (3.3%) and pefloxacin (10.0%). A total of 43 (71.7%) of the isolates showed multi-drug resistance and only 3 (5%) were susceptible to all the antibiotics tested. Multi-drug resistant S. aureus is highly prevalent in the urine of healthy women investigated in Federal Capital Territory. This calls for effective measures against irrational use of antibiotics

Uncertainty of Output Gap and Monetary policy Making in Nigeria

A major challenge of monetary policy is the attainment of sustainable output level but in setting the optimal monetary policy rate information of the output gap but how uncertainty of the gap affects the path of monetary policy rate is crucial for policy use. The investigation of this phenomenon in Nigeria was mostly concerned with how monetary policy affects output. In view of the dearth of studies on uncertainty and monetary policy in Nigeria, this paper investigates the effect of output gap uncertainty on monetary policy rate in Nigeria-1991Q1-2014Q4. The paper relies on the New Keynesian economics and employs the GARCH-GMM econometric technique for analyses. Evidence from the study shows that real output gap and inflation uncertainty are statistically significant with estimated values of        respectively. The coefficient of the real output variable is significant with a coefficient estimate of    while we found no strong evidence to support the effect of inflation on monetary policy rate.  The inference from our findings is that monetary policy is less responsive to uncertainty of real output gap. We therefore recommend that the Central Bank of Nigeria should consider uncertainty of both inflation and output variables when setting the policy rate.&nbsp

Evaluation of efficacious activities of aqueous extract of Phyllanthus niruri against acetaminophen-induced hepatitis in rats

The efficacy of aqueous extract of Phyllanthus niruri against acetaminophen-induced hepatitis in rats was evaluated. The hepatic injury was induced with 200 mg/kg, p.o. of acetaminophen, which led to rise in serum levels of the biochemical parameters observed. These are the aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) which were elevated by 22% compared to respective negative control. Treatment with the plant extract (500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg, p.o.) lowered the biochemical parameters of the respective serum AST 31 to 38%, ALT 20 to 31%, Bilirubin -2 to 4%, protein 5 to 15%, cholesterol 0.2 to 0.5%, and albumin 5 to 12%. The histopathological results indicated that, the effect of the extracts on the condition of the liver as compared to the normal control ranges from mild to moderate. The biochemical variations were as a result of the different treatment involved in the study. The result therefore, shows lowering of the elevated parameters in the serum and possible reversal of hepatic cell damage with aqueous extract of Phyllanthus niruri. The trend of the study shows that, the longer the period of treatment at lower doses, the better the efficacy of the plant extract.Keywords: Phyllanthus niruri, hepatitis, acetaminophen, biochemical, histopathology, rat

Knowledge Management System in Higher Institution Libraries

This paper outlines the basic concepts of knowledge management System (KMS) in higher institution libraries, and gives a summing up of previous scientific works in the field of knowledge management. Previous knowledge management frameworks are reviewed and a knowledge management system is adopted to ensure it provide an effective and efficient understanding of knowledge management for an ever-changing environment. We present systematic process by which knowledge needed for an organization to succeed is created, captured, shared and leveraged. Current higher institutions libraries will recognize their valuable intelligences and have adopted their changing role in a society. The twenty first century pace of evolution is high and as such effectiveness of libraries will be on its ability to collect and connect knowledge. Keywords:  knowledge management System, higher institutions libraries, knowledge management framework