Archives-December 

Regular environmental monitoring has being going on ever since the operation of the Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1) to ensure both the safety of the workers in that they are not exposed to any harmful radiations and that equipment’s that are used are in good condition. The objective of this work is to know if the right procedures are being followed to ensure that the minimum radiation dose is not being exceeded as well as not exposing the public to any controlled sources. Moreover over the years there have been encroachers on the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) land and this work therefore seek to know the possible effects these radiations have on those people. From the results obtained 2008 had a range of (0.03-3.10)µSv/h, (0.04-2.71)µSv/h for 2009, (0.07-2.81)µSv/h for 2010 and 2011 also had a range of (0.05-5.64)µSv/h. Comparing to the recommend value (For the public the limit is 1 mSv in a year, or in special circumstances up to 5 mSv in a single year provided that the average dose over five consecutive years does not exceed 1 mSv per year), this shows that the radiations recorded are within the recommended value indicating that the right procedures are being followed. Suffice to say this more work has to be done to ensure that there is a sustainability in following procedures and that the encroachers too must be warned off to avoid any consequences in case there is unavoidable accidents in the near future

Background and Objectives: Periodontal flap surgery to eliminate pockets may result in unpleasant consequences such as pain, bleeding and difficulty in eating. The goal of this study was to evaluate the local application of Persica mouthwash mixed with periodontal dressing for a direct and maximal impact on the surgical wound. Materials & Methods: A split-mouth study design was performed on 30 patients who had moderate to severe chronic periodontitis and were periodontal surgery candidates. The Persica-containing dressing was applied to case side and compared to the dressing containing Serum Physiologic Solution on the control side according to the interdental bleeding index, postoperative pain and discomfort during eating, and the data were analyzed by independent t-test. Results: In all cases evaluated, the Persica mouthwash application brought about more unfavorable results than the control dressing (p? 0.05). Conclusions: addition of Persica mouthwash to periodontal dressing has adverse effects on surgical wound healing and therefore is not recommended.

This study focuses on Sô-Ava’s population well-being regarding to drinking water quality especially in the villages of Ahomey- lokpo and Ahomey-ounmey. Samples of water were taken at three kinds of sites (bollard fountains, river sô and shallows) and analysed for searching their physico-chemical and microbiogical characteristics. The differents parameters values obtained are sometimes higher than standards. Indeed for example the averages are ranged from 0,0264mg/L to 0,5247 mg/L for nitrites and from 0,73mg/L to 2,86 mg/L for total iron. Averages microbiological parameters also range in 0-19600 UFC/100mL for faecal coliforms and 42-560 UFC/100mL for total coliforms and finally 0-190 UFC/100mL for faecal streptococcus.

Cassava is a staple food in the world and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A severe cassava epidemic would have long-lasting consequences for the population, which would probably result in malnutrition, reduced work performance, and possible migration to unaffected areas. This situation could be considered a disaster. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the severity of MAM and the bimonthly harvest on the leaf yield of ten cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) cultivars in Gbadolite, North Ubangi Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. The experimental design used was that of randomized complete blocks with 3 replications and 10 treatments, or 10 clones. Leaf yields in tons per hectare were 5.2 for cultivar Amuma; 4.1 for cultivars Mado and Moyindo; 3.9 for cultivar TME 419 or Obama; 3.8 for cultivar Nganza; 3.1 for cultivar RAV; 2.9 for cultivars Badiya and Dabeke; 2.7 for cultivar Khadafi and 2.0 for cultivar Yasegumba. MAM infection levels were in the range of 1 for cultivars Amuma and Dabeke; 2 for cultivars Moyindo, TME 419, and RAV; 3 for cultivar Yasegumba; and 4 for cultivars Badiya, Khadafi, Mado or Madame, and Nganza. The one-way analysis of variance and Duncan's test at the 5% probability level showed a significant difference. Tukey's post hoc test grouped cultivars according to the level of MAM infection. These results certify the level of severity of this virus in this province; for this reason, it is advisable to consider the control of this virus by popularizing resistant varieties and adequate cultivation techniques related to it.

To investigate the antihepatotoxic ability of aqueous leaf extract of Cassia auriculata on antituberculosis drug, rifampicin induced hepatotoxicity. In the present study, the aqueous leaf extract of Cassia auriculata (150, 300 and 600 mg/kg body weight) was examined for its antihepatotoxic ability against rifampicin induced liver injury. Fourty two healthy male albino wistar rats (150-180 g weight) were chosen and divided in to seven groups. Rifampicin and aqueous leaf extract were given 28 days according to the experimental design. After 28 days of treatment, hepatic serum marker enzymes, antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxidation and liver histology were analyzed. Rifampicin induced liver damage showed significantly elevated activities of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), cholesterol and bilirubin whereas protein level was decreased in serum. Moreover hepatic antioxidants like superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and reduced glutathione (GSH) activities were decreased whereas lipid peroxidation level was increased and also necrosis, vacuolization, space formation and loss of cell boundries were observed in liver when compared with control group. Administration of aqueous leaf extract of Cassia auriculata or silymarin could significantly restored to near normal by decrease the activities of serum hepatic marker enzymes and lipid peroxidation level where as enhance the activities of antioxidant enzymes, serum protein and improving towards the normal liver hsitoarchitecture when compared with rifampicin alone treated rats. These present findings suggested that the aqueous leaf extract of Cassia auriculata exhibited antihepatotoxic ability against rifampicin induced hepatotoxicity compared to standard drug silymarin.

The implications arising from the suddenness of emergence and rapid onset of the COVID-19 on business have been remarkable in disruptions to traditional employment, with the extreme virulence and fear of mortality of the disease. The aim of this qualitative, case study was to explore the strategies by the management of the Middle East (MEA) organizations and discern encountered by company management managers in the proactive adaptations necessary for complying with the healthcare mandates on safe distancing with business sustainability. The target population involved interviews of 5 managers in the MEA, who have provided insight into the strategies in addressing the challenges imposed by the pandemic. The key themes of this study were a) focus on maintaining business sustainability during the tough and debilitating period; b) pay more attention to employees' morale, motivation, and empathy; c) ensure training for employees to cope with innovation and to show prowess. The findings from this study may contribute to emerging knowledge of business adaptations in negotiating the difficult terrain of achieving business sustainability while protecting employees and by default, the community.

External auditory canal cholesteatoma is a very rare entity, representing 0.1 to 0.5% of the otological pathology, carrying the same characteristics as that the middle ear cholesteatoma. Its location may be associated to other affections due to the large variety of differential diagnosis, benign or malignant cases which are far more frequent than the cholesteatoma. The diagnosis is mainly clinical, the therapeutic management consists on a surgical procedure which depends on the stage of the disease. Known for its slow evolution, and the risk of recurrence, the external auditory canal cholesteatoma requires a clinical and radiological surveillance that can extend over several years. Our work focuses on the study of diagnostic modalities and therapeutic management through two hospitalized cases treated in the ENT and CCF department of Rabat Specialty Hospital.

Migration of fishermen is common in the Kenyan waters of Lake Victoria. It affects the way people use and manage this natural resource. But little attempt has been made to relate migratory behavior of fishermen and the impacts of migration on fisheries conservation and management. This paper observes that fisheries related migration has some triggers. The paper therefore analyses the causes as well as demographic characteristics of fishermen using neoclassical economic theory and Logit model. Results show that fishermen have fishing as a primary source of income and are likely to be less literate. It is also shown that migration among fishermen is male dominated and has a clear gender-labour division. Further investigation revealed that migration reduces the positive attitude towards management of the common property. It is always assumed that population is the main driving force behind migration. But this paper further reveals that age, income and educational level, experience and family size are the main determining factors towards long/ permanent fisheries related migration. In relation to educational level, it is noted that those who have been for long and still in fishing is because they are illiterate and have been involved in fishing from their childhood and therefore lack other skills. It is concluded that there is a significant relationship between migration variables of fishermen and the reduced efforts towards conservation in Lake Victoria fishery. It is thus recommended that, since there is no clear sign to halt fishermen’s migration in Lake Victoria, there is therefore a need to create public awareness to improve knowledge of the dangers of migration to fisheries conservation and management.

Elderly become more vulnerable to malnutrition and ill health as they grow older. This study was done to assess the functional and nutritional status of institutionalized elderly. The study was conducted in 100 (65 females) elderly aged 78.6 ± 6.9 years. Males had higher height, weight, fluid intake and better functional status (p<0.05). Females had higher fasting blood sugar, HDL cholesterol and proteins (p<0.05). In Mini Nutritional assessment (MNA), females were found more malnourished (p<0.05). Institutionalized Males have better functional and nutritional status as compared to females.

Development of molecular markers for various desirable traits related to disease resistance, drought tolerance, compact canopy, higher yield, etc hold great potential for crop improvement of Casuarina equisetifolia L. This work focuses on the analysis of genetic relationship between 24 first generation colones of C. equisetifolia. Total genomic DNA was isolated by CTAB method and amplified with random oligonucleotide primers (Ten arbitrary 10-mer primers from Oberon Technologies Primer, USA) using PCR. The polymorphic bands were detected on agarose gels. Each random primer used in this study produced distinct bands. These were used for the final analysis. Six primers (OPM-05, OPM-13, OPB-18, OPE-06, OPE-07 and OPE-08) yielded 39 scorable bands. These bands were then constructed using the RAPD distance v1.04 package. Following this, SHAN method in NTSYSpc v2.02 was used to generate a pair wise distance matrix between various clones of C. equisetifolia. The highest genetic similarity co-efficient value (0.91) was observed between clones APSKLM-25 and APVSP-14 while the lowest co-efficient value (0.04) was seen between clones APKKD-11 and APKKD-9. The RAPD study was helpful to establish clonal identify.