iosr-JPBS   Volume-5 ~ Issue-3

Abstract: Morphometric studies were conducted using eleven quantitative body parameters of six species of Puntius genus – Puntius chola, P. gelius, P. conchonius, P. sophore, P. sarana sarana and P. ticto ticto occurring from Assam, India, in order to study the morphometric variation and interrelationship among these species. All measurements were taken on a continuous scale using digital vernier caliper parallel to the anterior-posterior body axis except for the body depth that was taken perpendicular to the body axis between dorsal and ventral margins. The means of all measurements were standardized. A correlation study between total length vs. other morphometric parameters and a multivariate principal component analysis were conducted using MS Excel and bdpro32 software. The results obtained showed a significant correlation between total length and other morphometric parameters (p < 0.05) except for total length and pre-orbital length. The scores of PC1, PC2 and PC3 were found to be most similar for P. sarana sarana and P. gelius indicating these two species to be most closely related followed by P.ticto ticto , P. chola and P. conchonius, while the PC scores of P. sophore were the most dissimilar. The findings of this study will help in developing new strategies for conservation and breeding programmes of these species.

Keywords: Morphometric studies, Puntius genus, morphometric variation, interrelationship, principal component analysis.

Abstract :Nutrient management is one of the most important factors in successful cultivation of plants. Biofertilizers can affect the quality and quantity of crop. Low phosphate solubility is one of the most important factors limiting the plant growth in various soils. Many microorganisms can enhance phosphate solubility, but little is known about the magnitude of their phosphorus solubilizing ability. The native populations of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria and fungi were studied in different rhizospheres soil samples obtained from banana plant and its effect on spinach plant (Amaranthus cruentus L.) in order to compare the results. The present study focuses on the phosphate-solubilizing capacity of bacteria and fungi in rhizospheres soil samples obtained from banana plant, revealing the dominance of Aspergillus species (234.12 mm) as major phosphate solubilizers, along with Bacillus subtilis (160.82 mm) followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa 126.11, Penicillium sp., 99.02 and Micrococcus sp., 89. 4. In the present study potent solubilizers were identified as A. niger and B. subtilis. Hence an attempt was made to optimize the phosphate solubilization of the potential solubilizers at different pH with temperature. It is found out that both bacteria and fungi showed maximum phosphate solubilization at pH 3.0 with its specific temperature at 280 C and 370 C.

Keywords: Aspergillus, Bacillus, phosphates, Amaranthus cruentus, rhizospheres soil

Abstract :In vitro transcorneal permeation of itraconazole from oil drops and ophthalmic ointments was studied using freshly excised goat and sheep corneas. Permeation of itraconazole from castor oil was found maximum and minimum with kardi oil formulation. The higher permeation of itraconazole from castor oil formulation could be attributed to the lower partition coefficient of drug between oil and aqueous phase. The addition of benzyl alcohol, a preservative, in oil drops, increased the permeation of itraconazole. Partition experiments indicated increased partitioning of itraconazole in the aqueous phase in the presence of benzyl alcohol. The addition of phenyl mercuric acetate, phenyl mercuric nitrate and thiomersal as preservative, in castor oil drop decreased the permeation of itraconazole. Corneal hydration was within the desired limit below 80 %. Permeation of itraconazole from ointment containing dissolved drug was higher than the ointment containing solid drug. In antifungal study, the castor oil formulation showed maximum zone of inhibition against Candida albicans. Stability study conducted at 400 C and 70% RH indicated the formulations as quite stable to ensure 2 years shelf life.

Keywords: - itraconazole, partition coefficient, permeation, preservative, stability.

Abstract :Bacteriological analysis was conducted on sixteen samples of Hamburger patties from eight (A-H) f ast-food restaurants in Umuahia. Eight of the samples were made of ground chicken (A1-H1) and the other eight samples were made of ground beef (A2-H2). Both C1 and E1 samples gave the highest Escherichia coli count of 3.9 Log10 cfu/g while sample E2 gave the highest count of 3.7 Log10 cfu/g amongst the beef samples. Samples C1 and C2 gave the highest Staphylococcal count of 3.95 Log10 cfu/g and 3.7 Log10 cfu/g respectively. The Salmonella count of 2.4 Log10 cfu/g was recorded by samples C1 and E2. The highest total aerobic plate count was 4.29 Log10 cfu/g from sample E2 while the lowest was recorded by sample D1 with a count of 3.3 Log10 cfu/g. Bacterial species isolated includes; S.aureus, E.coli, Bacillus spp, Proteus spp, Micrococcus spp, Pseudomonas spp and Salmonella spp. The presence of food-borne pathogens beyond the acceptable limit is of public health importance.

Keywords- Bacteriological quality, Fast-food, Hamburger patties, Umuahia

Abstract :The microbiological quality of raw milk from four locations (Umudike, Lokpa, Umuahia and Aba) in Abia State, Nigeria was investigated. The result of the different counts showed that the Umudike sample gave the lowest Total Heterotrophic count (THC) of 9.88 x 107 cfu/ml while the Lokpa sample gave the highest THC of 1.26 x 108cfu/ml. The coliform count ranged from 5.40 x 106cfu/ml to 9.50 x 106 cfu/ml with the lowest count from Umudike while Lokpa sample recorded the highest count. The staphylococcal count had the highest and lowest counts to be 1.07 x 108cfu/ml (Lokpa sample) and 6.70 x 107cf/ml (Umudike sample) respectively. The fungal count ranged between 6.40 x 107 and 9.20 x 107 cfu/ml with Aba sample being the lowest and Lokpa sample being the highest. The bacterial isolates include Escherichia coli, Streptococcus spp, Staphylococcus aureus, while the fungal isolates were Candida spp and Mucor spp. The results indicated poor hygienic standard of raw milk from uncontrolled environments and the increased public health risk of those consuming raw milk from such uncontrolled sources.

Keywords: Aba, Lokpa, Microbiological quality, Umuahia, Umudike, raw milk

Abstract :This study was carried to assess the prevalence and death resulting from iron deficiency anemia among children of 0-5 years in Ondo State, Nigeria. This study further examined the contribution of infant feeding practices and dietary intakes of mothers to the prevalence and mortality from iron deficiency anemia. Four State Specialist Hospitals in the State were used for the study.

Key words: Iron Deficiency Anemia, Prevalence, Ondo State, Food, Mortality

Abstract :This study was carried out to find out the consumption of iron-rich foods by teenage students and to know their nutritional status. A total of 120 students were randomly selected from four secondary (2 private and 2 government) schools, i.e. 30 students from each school. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from the students. Anthropometric measurements of the students were taken using the standard techniques described by World Health Organization (20). Weights were recorded to the nearest 0.1kg using a standard bathroom scale; and their height were measured to the nearest 0.1cm with the use of a standard tape rule. The result revealed that 41.7% (50) of the respondents were males, 58.3% (70) were females. The result also showed that 94.2% of the respondents were in good health, 23.3% had some knowledge about anaemia; 5% had taken blood transfusion, 67.5% usually take iron supplements while 32.5% do not. The anthropometric parameter showed that 26.7% of the respondents were underweight, 65% had normal weight and 8.3% were overweight in private schools; while 53.3% were underweight, 41.7% had normal weight and 5% were overweight for the government schools. It was observed that many of the students (53.3%) from the government schools had lower BMI, compared to that of students (26.7%) from the private schools; which implies that the students from the private secondary schools are better nourished than those from the government schools. As regarding iron-rich foods, 31.7% of the respondents eat vegetables (3.8mg/100g) three times daily, 23.3% eat meat (3.1mg/100g) thrice daily, and 15.8% eat legumes (5.0mg/100g) thrice daily. Generally, we conclude that their diet is adequate in iron nutrient; being that they consume vegetables, fish, meat, cereals and legumes several times per day. We recommend that they take more meat, fish and poultry (chicken) because the body absorbs the most iron from these foods, and prevents the incidence of anaemia.

Key words: Iron, Anaemia, Teenage, Anthropometry, Nutritional Status

[1] Alleyne M, Horne MK, Miller JL (2008). Individualized treatment for iron-deficiency anemia in adults. Am J Med. 121:943-948.
[2] Ascherio, A., et al (1994). Dietary iron intake and risk of coronary disease among men. Circulation 89:969.
[3] Awobajo F.O., Olatunji-Bello I.I., Obilade T.T. and Odugbemi T.O. (2010). Knowledge of the Nutritional and Medicinal Use of
Some Vegetables among a Cross Section of Market Women in Two Major Food Markets in Lagos State. Pakistan Journal of
Nutrition 9 (3): 216-221
[4] Brady PG (2007). "Iron deficiency anemia: a call for". South. Med. J. 100 (10): 966–7.
[5] Brittenham G. (2008). Disorders of Iron Metabolism: Iron Deficiency and Iron Overload. In: Hoffman R, Benz EJ, Shattil SS, et al,
eds. Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; :chap 36.
[6] Calis JC, Phiri KS, Faragher EB, et al. (2008). "Severe anemia in Malawian children". N. Engl. J. Med. 358 (9): 888–99.
[7] Dey I, Biswas R, Ray K, Bhattacherjee S, Chakraborty M, and Pal PP (2011). Nutritional status of school going adolescents in a rural block of Darjeeling, West Bengal, India: Department of Community Medicine, NRS Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata, West
Bengal, India. The Health, 2(3):75-77
[8] Harper JL et al (2011), Iron Deficiency Anemia, Medscape, Nov 2011
[9] Higdon J. (2006). Iron. Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center.
[10] Lecos, Chris. (1983). Tracking Trace Minerals. FDA Consumer, July-Aug. 1983.