Comparative Study of Iron, Manganese and Nickel Contamination Potential of Disc and Hammer Milling Equipment and their Toxic Effect on Rat Kidney

Aim: To investigate the effect of hammer and disc milling equipment on the levels of Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn) and Nickel (Ni) contents in maize (Zea mays) flour and the consequent impact on the kidney of albino rats. Study Design: The rats were randomly divided into groups of five rats per group. Six of the groups were fed with maize flour milled with a hammer mill, while the other six groups were fed with maize flour milled with a disc mill, and the thirteenth group was fed with crushed flour in a mortar and pestle as a control. The rats were sacrificed by decapitation under anesthesia on the 14th and 28th days. Place and Duration of Study: Departments of Biochemistry and Histology laboratories of the University of Jos, Nigeria, between, January to June, 2021. Methodology: For six days, a portion of the maize grains was milled with a hammer mill, another with a disc mill, and a third fraction was crushed into flour with a wooden mortar. The inductive coupled plasma mass spectrophotometric method was used to determine the levels of Fe, Mn, and Ni in maize flour. To avoid lysing the blood, blood samples were carefully collected by allowing it to run down the test tube's wall. The blood was allowed to coagulate at room temperature before being centrifuged and the serum collected and frozen until it was time for biochemical analysis. The kidneys of the rats were excised, cleaned, and preserved in chloroform until histological examinations were required. Results: The results show that Fe (325.16 ± 30.00 mg/kg and 205.05 ± 30.20 mg/kg) and Ni (20.92 ± 5.92 mg/kg and 18.00 ± 2.70 mg/kg) levels were extremely high in both disc and hammer milling machines. The Fe and Mn values in disc milled maize flour were higher than those in hammer milled maize flour. Rats in all groups had significantly higher serum urea, creatinine, K+, Na+, and Cl- levels than the control group. The kidney tissues of all the rats in the control and hammer-milled flour groups were normal, except for group 1 of the disc mill, which showed mild damage, according to the histopathological analysis. Conclusion: The Day 1 group fed with disc-milled flour showed a dense cast, atrophy, and nuclei loss in their kidney tissue. According to the results of the study, hammer milled maize flour is less harmful than disc milled maize flour, as shown by kidney histopathology.

A ten year review of female sterilization at the university of Maiduguri teaching hospital, Maiduguri, Nigeria

Background: In most developing countries like Nigeria, female sterilization is not a popular method of contraception. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of female sterilization and socio-demographic characteristics of women who had sterilization in our setting.Methodology: This was a retrospective study carried out between 1st January 1997 and 31 December 2006.A total of two hundred and one female sterilisation operations were performed but ten case notes were incomplete and therefore, one hundred and ninety one 191 were analyzed. Information retrieved from the case notes included the age, parity, religion, literacy, and type of bilateral tubal ligation. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS Version 16.0 statistical package and the results represented in simple tables and percentages.Results: There were 16,319 deliveries during the study period and 201women had bilateral tubal ligation (BTL), giving a prevalence of 1.2%. The mean age at BTL was 30.18, while the mean parity was 4±0.6. Women between the ages of 30-39 constituted majority of the patients. In most of the women 138 (72.3%) bilateral tubal ligation was performed during caesarean section, while few women 16 (8.4%) had the procedure at laparotomy. The rest, 37(19.4%) women opted for interval BTL. Significantly more literate women (73%) sought for interval tubal ligation compared to non literate (23%) ones. A large number of the Muslims (87.5%) had BTL at laparotomy compared to the Christians (12.5%). P=0.002.Conclusion: The prevalence of bilateral tubal ligation in this study is low. There is need to encourage the uptake of female sterilization in our environment

Utilization of Insecticide Treated Nets among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic in a Suburban Referral Hospital, North-East Nigeria.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and usage of ITNs among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in a referral health facility in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out at the antenatal clinic of the Federal Medical Centre Azare, North-East Nigeria between October and December 2012. A structured questionnaire was administered on consenting consecutive pregnant women until the sample size was reached. Data obtained were analysed and associations were compared using 2 and Fisher’s exact test where applicable, with Pvalue <0.05 considered significant. Results: A total of 197 pregnant women were recruited and interviewed. The maternal age ranged from 17-45 years with mean age of 24.2±5.5 years while the parity ranged from 0-11 with multipara constituting 95 (48.22%) and grand multipara, 29 (14.72%). While only 31 (15.74%) of the respondents had tertiary level of education, 64(32.49%) and 15(7.61%) of them had secondary and primary levels of education respectively. Twenty five (12.69%) had no formal education. Majority of the clients, 162 (82.23%) were unemployed, 14 (7.11%) were civil servants and 17 (8.63%) were petty traders. Although most of the women, 189 (95.94%), had knowledge of ITNs, only 132 (67.01%) owned them and much less, 97 (49.24%), used them. Para 5 and above were significantly more likely to use ITNs than para 1-4 and para 0 (2=21.118; P=0.03). Age, educational status, occupation, ethnic groups and religion (2=1.084; P=0.30) did not influence the use of ITNs. Thirty two (32.00%) and 23 (23.00%) of the ITN non-users gave heat and poverty respectively, as reasons for non utilization. Conclusion: Only few of the clients studied utilized ITNs mainly because of heat and poverty. Education of pregnant women to correct the myths associated with the use of ITNs will improve compliance rate.

Níveis de arsênio total como indicador biológico, na avaliação da qualidade do pescado (Leporinus obtusidens e Pimelodus maculatus) do Lago Guaíba em Porto Alegre RS-Brasil / Total Arsenic levels as a bioindicator in the evaluation of fish quality (Leporinus obtusidens and Pimelodus maculatus) from the Guaiba Lake, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

Foram avaliadas, quanto a presença de arsênio, 27 amostras de Leporinus obtusidens (Valenciennes, 1847) "Piava" e 27 de Pimelodus maculatus (Lacèpéde, 1803) "Pintado", capturados no Lago Guaíba, P. Alegre, RS. Os níveis de arsênio total foram determinados por espectrofotometria de absorção atômica com gerador de hidretos. Os níveis encontrados estavam abaixo de 1,0 mg/kg, limite tolerado pela legislação vigente no Brasil para peixes e seus produtos. A média encontrada nas Piavas foi de 0,14 mg/kg e nos Pintados 0,14 mg/kg. Os resultados sugerem mais estudos de monitoramentos em outras espécies de peixes do lago, para que os dados obtidos possam ser utilizados pelas autoridades de preservação ambiental na proteção da saúde humana e qualidade dos alimentos