Obesity, overweight and under weight in suburban northern Nigeria

Weight has long been known to be a determinant of health and disease. Both overweight and underweight are associated with health consequences. We report the results of a community survey of underweight, obesity and overweight in two suburban communities in northern Nigeria. We studied an adult population sample in suburban northern Nigeria. Obesity was defined as BMI >/= 30KgM[-2] while overweight was defined as BMI >/= 25.0 but

Stability of sulphacetamide sodium in eye preparations

The effects of light, temperature, pH and additives on the stability of Sulphacetamide sodium in eye preparations have been studied. The Sulphacetamide eye drops are stable at room temperature and lose potency at elevated temperature. The stability is also affected by light and pH of the solution. The eye drops are more stable when Sodium mctnbisulphitc and Phenyl mercuric nitrate are used as preservatives

Feather Pecking in laying hens due to stress of housing conditions

The present study was aimed to investigate the possible relation between high rates of feather pecking and increased stress. 16 groups of 11 hens [White Lohman selected Leghorn Hybrids] were kept in pens with or without long cut straw as foraging material from 19 to 30 weeks after hatching and provided with food in the form of pellets or mash. The estimation of stress was done by egg production, tonic immobility [TI], weight gain and Heterophil/Lymphocyte [H/L] ratio. The rates of feather pecking were found to be maximum in the groups housed without straw and fed on pellets. Decreased egg production was observed in the pens without straw but was not affected by food form. TI and H/L ratios were increased in pens without straw but not influenced by food form. It was concluded that foraging material and food form affected the feather pecking as an indicator of stress. The association between feather pecking and stress was noted

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for dexamethasone in equine urine

A simple and sensitive competitive Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay [ELISA] with a colorimetric end point has been developed for the measurement of dexamethasone in equine sample. Use of pre-mixed reagent of untreated sheep antiserum and donkey antisheep alkaline phoshatase-labelled second antibody enables analysis of 40 duplicate urine sample within 75 minutes. The assay has good precision [Sr less than 5% for within and between assay runs] and is sensitive [LOD equivalent to 173 ng ml-l of diluted equine sample]. The assay has been used to detect the drug in urine over 20 hours in urine from a race horse following intramuscular [i.m.] injection of 20 mg of dexamethasone sodium phosphate

Antibacterial activity of prosopis juliflora Dc

The antibacterial activity of the hexane, chloroform, ethanol and water extracts of the leaves of Prosopis juliflora were studied in vitro. The hexane and chloroform extracts did not exhibit antibacterial activity against any of the micro-organisms used during the present investigation. The ethanol extract exhibited antibacterial activity against all gram positive and gram negative micro-organisms tested. Ethanol extract exhibited maximum antibacterial effect when compared with the standard antibiotics i.e., ampicillin and streptomycin. The aqueous extract was active against all gram positive and gram negative bacteria except Pseudomonas aeruginosa