Antenatal Care Booking Pattern at a Tertiary Hospital in South- Eastern Nigeria

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Antibiogram and plasmid profiling of carbapenemase and extended spectrum Beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in Abeokuta, South western, Nigeria

Background: The increased reports of ESBL dissemination from various centres in south western, Nigeria and the recent emergence of carbapenem resistant bacteria prompted the conception of this study.Objectives: To demonstrate the relationship between high molecular weight plasmids and the expression of antibiotic multi-resistance including ESBL and carbapenemase.Methods: We investigated 97 isolates of selected organisms consisting of 67 E. coli and 30 Klebseilla spp for the presence of plasmids expressing ESBL including carbapenem-hydrolysing enzymes. Beta-lactamase was determined using acidometric method, while ESBL and carbapenemase activity was determined using the double-disk diffusion test as well as the Modified Hodge test (MHT). Plasmid profiles of ESBL and carbapenemase positive isolates were determined according to standard protocols.Results: An ESBL prevalence rate of 21.6% and carbapenem- resistance rate of 9.3% was recorded. Antibiotic susceptibility profile of ESBL isolates showed 100.0% resistance against Amoxicillin, Cotrimoxazole and Erythromycin. Moderate susceptibility was recorded against the Quinolone class of antibiotics; Meropenem remained the most active antibiotic against ESBL isolates with 62.5% against E. coli and 60% against K. pneumoniae. The plasmid profiles of our study isolates ranged from 11.8kbp to 35.5kbp. Conclusion: Due to the relationship between high molecular weight plasmids and multi-drug resistance, we hereby recommend regular molecular surveillance of this form in our study setting.Keywords: Carbapenem-resistance, ESBL isolates, Plasmid profile, AbeokutaAfrican Health Sciences 2013; 13(4): 1091 - 109

Costs and returns analysis of improved and alternative cassava production technologies in Enugu State, Nigeria

There has been scientific research into new technologies. Increased Agricultural Productivity depends on the acceptability of the innovations and the willingness to invest on them. For farmers to adopt and successfully use improved farming techniques, effective agricultural extension service is needed. This will go a long way in helping the Nigerian government to address the national food question. The specific objectives of the study was an analysis of the costs and returns of improved and alternative technologies available in the study area by farmers and their level of adoption of the new technologies. Data were collected from a random sample of 250 farmers and 30 extension Staff in the three (3) agricultural zones of Enugu State. Data collected were analyzed with Descriptive Statistics and Cost and Returns analysis principle. The result showed that the improved cassava technologies is more profitable when compared to the farmers alternative technology. The ratio of the gross margin of improved cassava technology to the gross margin from the farmers alternative technology was found to be 3:1. This implied that the improved cassava technologies is three times more profitable than the farmers alternative technology. This holds some promise for the improved cassava technologies and has implication for farm level investment by the farmers in the study area. International Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development Vol. 7(1) 2006: 67-7

Determinants Of Adoption Of Improved Cassava Production Technologies Among Farmers In Enugu State Of Nigeria

The broad objective of this study was to isolate the determinants of improved cassava production Technologies in Enugu State, Nigeria. Data were collected from a sample of 250 farmers from 10 local government Areas of Enugu State. Data were collected by personal interviews using questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the field data The identified cassava production technologies at different stages of adoption by the respondents are use of improved cassava cuttings, use of herbicides/pesticides, Alternate row/crop geometry in a cassava /maize/yam intercrop, planting distance, use of fertilize, machinery, weeding interval, harvesting time, improved storage and processing and planting angle. The overall mean adoption score and index was 0.96 and 0.191 respectively. The low level of adoption was attributed to cost of the technologies, its inappropriateness, scarcity or non-availability of the extension agents in the study area. The results also showed that level of Education, age of farmers, farm size, farm income and extension visits were the major determinants of cassava production technologies at 5% level of significance. Keywords: Adoption, improved cassava production technologiesGlobal Approaches to Extension Practice Vol. 2 (1) 2006: pp. 37-4

Chapter 4. Extract of Africa: Towards the Equitable and Ecologically Sound Governance of Mining and Drilling

Background: Economists and political scientists have long recognised four kinds of goods: private, public, common-pool and club, the assumption being that category membership is determined by the physical properties of the goods themselves. But in the theory of plural rationality—the approach taken in this chapter—where specific goods end up is, to the extent that that is not determined by their physical properties, the outcome of a never-ending struggle between four kinds of social solidarity: individualism (which works towards privatisation), hierarchy (which favours the creation of public goods), egalitarianism (which is supported by common-pool goods) and fatalism (whose upholders enable club goods by the ease with which they can be excluded). Methodology: The study uses historical surveys and case-studies of different contexts where natural resource governance has upset harmonious relationship between different stakeholders. Application/Relevance to systems analysis: Our argument is that policy and governance, particularly in Africa, have allowed (indeed encouraged) individualism and hierarchy to dominate, thereby drowning out the other two institutional “voices”. The result, as we show by way of a continent-wide historical survey and three case-studies—REDD+ in the Democratic Republic of Congo, acid mine drainage in South Africa and oil extraction in Nigeria—has been “crap” governance (in contrast to good governance, which requires that all four voices are both heard and responded to by the others). Put another way, the “resource curse” is not the inevitable consequence of a country being heavily reliant on extractive industries; it stems from insufficient “clumsiness”: exemplified, as Kofi Annan has recently pointed out, by just two solidarities—multinational companies (individualism) and political leaders (hierarchy)—colluding to swindle the citizens out of their just rewards from their natural resources. Policy implications: Of policy implication, is the bringing-in of the two currently excluded voices, and we conclude by showing how, in relation to our case-studies, this can be achieved. Conclusion: Analyses of resource-related conflicts, especially in Africa, have often ignored the voices of the excluded social solidarities. Analysing this problem through a systems perspective will allow the incorporation of all voices as a way of constructing a more harmonious system in natural resource governance