Antimicrobial activities of Carica papaya leaf against diarrhoea causing agents

The advent of science to the search for antibiotics principally depends on medicinal plants as raw materials. This present study evaluated the antimicrobial effect of Carica papaya leaf extracts against bacterial and fungal agents that causes diarrhoea. Fresh tender roots and leaves of this plant was collected, air-dried, powdered and percolated in n-hexane, methanol and aqueous solvents. The antimicrobial activities of the extract against test organisms were tested by using agar well diffusion assay and the MIC, MBC and MFC values were determined by agar dilution assay. The results revealed that the crude methanol and aqueous extracts of Carica papaya had no anti-fungal activity, but have antibacterial activity. N.hexane extract of C. papaya had most activity than other solvents with MIC ranged from 25 mg/ml to 50 mg/ml and MBC ranged from 50 mg/ml to 100 mg/ml.These results suggest that paw paw leaf extract is recommended as a diarrhoea disease remedy

Amoebic liver abscess: Drained by ultrasound guided percutaneous aspiration

Summary: Amoebic Liver Abscess in a 20-month-old child: A case of amoebic liver abscess in a Nigerian child is presented. Management consisted of 10days course of Metronidazole and 5days course of Tinidazole without improvement. This was followed by four sessions of ultrasound guided percutaneous needle aspirations over a period of 4 weeks with subsequent resolution and recovery. This high lights another method of dealing with difficult cases of amoebic liver abscess that may be employed when necessary

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF QUOTED OIL AND GAS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

The study sought to establish the relationship between environmental reporting and financial performance from 2002-2022 in quoted oil/gas companies in Nigeria.  Environmental reporting served as the independent variable with study dimensions as Employee Health/Safety Cost (EHC), Waste Management Cost (WMC) and Environment Compliance/Protection Cost. (ECC)., whereas the dependent variable included financial performance with Return on Assets (ROA) as proxy. The study adopted the ex-post facto research design and used secondary data. The data spanned the period between 2002 and 2022. The data used for the analysis was the average annual figures and was obtained from annual publish statement of account and Nigeria Stock Exchange statistical data. The data was analysed using E-view-10 statistical software package. This study established positive and significant relationship between the variables studied. Management of oil/gas downstream companies should ensure that environmental reporting is strongly implemented since it improves the quality of financial reports. The research recommended as follows: shareholders of oil/gas downstream companies in Nigeria should provide all necessary resources needed to understand the import of environmental reporting on their organisation and train staff on changes in accounting framework. Government should empower the financial reporting council of Nigeria (FRCN) to monitor and enforce standards and training to smoothen the introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards. This process would enhance credible and qualitative financial statements, promote growth and development of capital market in Nigeria. The Financial Reporting Council in conjunction with various professional bodies should place more premium on continuing professional education and training. As much as possible, the professional accountancy bodies should align their continuing professional education requirements with environmental reporting guidelines

Prostate disorders in an apparently normal Nigerian population 1: Prevalence

Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) constitutes a lot of health burden for adult males. Prevalence statistics are well documented in the developed world, but not so well documented in Africa, especially in Nigeria. This study was therefore carried out to provide information on the prevalence of BPH in this locality. Adult males (aged forty years or older) who reside in Nsukka, Enugu State Nigeria, who had no apparentsymptoms of ill health, were used for the study. The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) index was used to establish the presence of BPH, respondents’ choice of most troublesome symptom and respondents’ perception of their quality of life. The results show that 25.35% of the studied population had symptoms suggestive of BPH. The severity of symptoms was seen to increase with age. Therespondents regarded Nocturia as the most troublesome symptom of BPH, while storage symptoms were seen to be more troublesome than voiding symptoms. Also 18.91% of the studied population had poorquality of life, while 81.08% were satisfied with their quality of life. The prevalence of BPH in the studied population shows that one in four apparently normal men have BPH. This is comparable to figures from the developed world. Sadly the awareness of the problem in Nigeria is not comparable to that in the developed world. This calls for a concerted effort to reverse this trend. This would check the devastating effect of BPH on the quality of life of men and thereby enhance productivity

ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIDIARRHOEAL ACTIVITY OF Manniophyton africanum LEAF EXTRACT IN MICE

The antidiarrhoeic activity of the methanolic leaf extract of Manniophyton africanum (MEMA) has been evaluated out in mice using different models (Castor oil-induced diarrhoea, effects on gastrointestinal motility, and castor oil-induced gastric enteropooling). MEMA (200,400 and 600 mg/kg, p.o.) inhibited at 5% significance level, the frequency of defecation and reduced the wetness of faecal droppings in castor oil-induced diarrhoea, markedly inhibited the movement of charcoal meal plug through the gastrointestinal tract, in a dose dependent manner, comparable to diphenoxylate and atropine. It however had no effect in the intra luminal fluid content in the castor oil-induced gastric enteropooling. Diphenoxylate (5 mg/kg) and atropine (3 mg/kg) were used as the reference drugs. MEMA were also found to be possessing marginal (52-66%) free radical scavenging activities in vitro using the DPPH and FRAP models. The remarkable antidiarrhoeal property of MEMA in vivo gives credence to its use in the management of a wide range of diarrhoeal state

A critique of the legal framework for arresting the threat of internal displacement of persons to Nigeria’s national security

Internal displacement of persons is a phenomenon that uproots people from their social, economic, cultural and educational environment and turns them into wanderers within the territory of their country. It is a situation that brings varying degrees of hardship to different categories of people. The aged, sick and children are tossed into the difficult condition of losing the social assistance from their loved ones. Family units and ties of kinship are broken. The working population is thrown into unemployment with the attendant loss of income for their sustenance and the support of their dependents. The youths are uprooted from school and the other formative programs in their communities. The serious human rights deprivations engendered by internal displacement is witnessed in Nigeria amongst the thousands of people displaced on account of the Boko Haram terrorism together with herdsmen persecution and sacking of people in different parts of the country. This situation causes serious insecurity in the country which is a grave deficit to national development. The visible difficulties of these unfortunate citizens ask the question, what is government doing to ameliorate the pains of these people? Thus this paper critically reviewed the effectiveness of the legal framework for arresting the threat of internal displacement in Nigeria, especially the National Policy on IDPs in Nigeria. With doctrinal methodology adopted, the finding of the paper is that the policy is inefficient due to some crippling defects.Keywords: internally displaced persons (IDPs), security, Nigeria, national policy, legal framework, legal institutio

Object recognition memory and anti-anxiety potentials of stem-bark extract of Nauclea latifolia (African peach), taurine and vitamin E on Albino rats exposed to water immobilisation stress

Memory loss is a typical symptom of generalized anxiety disorder, a condition that affects millions of individuals. Memory loss with anxiety can be quite distressing, but if you can find strategies to address the anxiety, your memory may improve as well. In this study, the effects of Nauclea latifolia extract, taurine and vitamin E supplementation on object identification and stress-induced anxiety in Albino rats exposed to water immobilisation stress were investigated. 24 rats weighing between 100 and 120 grams were employed. The control group (A), received 1ml/kg pure water. Vitamin E was given to Group B at a dosage of 0.2 ml/kg. Group C received 200mg/kg taurine, while Group D received 200mg/kg Nauclea latifolia extract. For three weeks, the administration was completed. The rats were famished for 24 hours before the stress process began. The rats were sedated with chloroform vapour, and then restrained using a hardwood board (25 by 18 cm) with the four limbs fixed sideways, then dipped for two hours in water up to the xiphoid level. During the training phase, the taurine group examined the novel object the most (64.9 percent), followed by the Vitamin E group (63.90 percent), when compared to the Nauclea latifolia (52.75 percent) and the control groups (54.76 percent). The consolidation phase similarly, revealed that, taurine and Vitamin E groups explored the novel object the most (71.52 percent) and (70.05 percent) accordingly. In the anxiety model, Nauclea latifolia, taurine and vitamin E groups showed significant increase in time spent on closed arms. This study has shown that, when rats are treated to water immersion restraint stress, administration of Nauclea latifolia extract, taurine, and vitamin E, may decrease stress-induced anxiety-like behaviours. The significance of this study is that, administration of taurine, vitamin E and Nauclea latifolia extract may prevent stress-induced memory impairment

Use of Improved Production Technologies Among Goat Farmers in Abia State Nigeria

The study provided an empirical evidence on the use of improved goat production technologies among rural farmers in Abia State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondent, ascertain the extent of use of improved goat production technologies, determine factors influencing use of improved goat production technologies and identify the constraint to access and use of improved goat production technologies in the study area. A multi-stage random sampling technique was adopted in selecting the sample size 120 respondents. Data for the study were collected through the use of questionnaire. The data collected for the study were analysed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The result on awareness of improved goat production technologies revealed that, the respondents were aware of dipping (100%), deworming (99.2%) fostering of kids (93.3%), colostrum feeding (71.7%) among others. The result on extent of use of improved goat production technologies, revealed that the respondents highly used most of improved goat production technologies as affirmed with the grand mean of  = 3.20. On constraint to use of improved goat production technologies, all the respondents 100% agreed that lack of access to credit was a constraint to use, 100% agrees on lack of credibility from source of technological information, 99.2% agreed that they were afraid of taking risk, 93.3% agreed on difficulty in technology application among others. The OLS regression estimates of the influence of socioeconomic characteristics the respondents on the use of improved goat production technologies in the study area, revealed that age at 10%, education at 1%, household size at 1%, farming experience at 1%, farm size at 1%, income at 1% and access to credit at 5% were the determinants of use of improved goat production technologies in the study area and the null hypotheses rejected. In conclusion, greater use of available improved technologies will promote productivity, and therefore there is need for proper sensitization and awareness by relevant agencies. Again credit should be made available to farmers by relevant governmental and non- governmental agencies to increase the level of use of available improved technologies

Use of Improved Production Technologies Among Goat Farmers in Abia State Nigeria

The study provided an empirical evidence on the use of improved goat production technologies among rural farmers in Abia State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondent, ascertain the extent of use of improved goat production technologies, determine factors influencing use of improved goat production technologies and identify the constraint to access and use of improved goat production technologies in the study area. A multi-stage random sampling technique was adopted in selecting the sample size 120 respondents. Data for the study were collected through the use of questionnaire. The data collected for the study were analysed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The result on awareness of improved goat production technologies revealed that, the respondents were aware of dipping (100%), deworming (99.2%) fostering of kids (93.3%), colostrum feeding (71.7%) among others. The result on extent of use of improved goat production technologies, revealed that the respondents highly used most of improved goat production technologies as affirmed with the grand mean of  = 3.20. On constraint to use of improved goat production technologies, all the respondents 100% agreed that lack of access to credit was a constraint to use, 100% agrees on lack of credibility from source of technological information, 99.2% agreed that they were afraid of taking risk, 93.3% agreed on difficulty in technology application among others. The OLS regression estimates of the influence of socioeconomic characteristics the respondents on the use of improved goat production technologies in the study area, revealed that age at 10%, education at 1%, household size at 1%, farming experience at 1%, farm size at 1%, income at 1% and access to credit at 5% were the determinants of use of improved goat production technologies in the study area and the null hypotheses rejected. In conclusion, greater use of available improved technologies will promote productivity, and therefore there is need for proper sensitization and awareness by relevant agencies. Again credit should be made available to farmers by relevant governmental and non- governmental agencies to increase the level of use of available improved technologies

Determination of Heavy Metals in Selected Fish Species found in Kwalkwalawa River, Dundaye. Sokoto State

Abstract: This work reports the concentrations of heavy metal