Multidrug-Resistant and Extremely Drug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Clinical Samples From a Tertiary Healthcare Facility in Nigeria.

Objectives: Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been globally implicated in healthcare-associated infection. The susceptibility pattern of clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa to anti-pseudomonal antibiotics is reported. Materials and Methods: Clinical samples, namely blood, urine, tracheal aspirate, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), wound swabs, high vaginal swabs, eye, and ear exudates were obtained from patients, processed and identified using standard microbiological protocols. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was undertaken using the Kirby Bauer Disc diffusion method. Results were reported following the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Results: Of 104 P. aeruginosa isolates identified, males (52.88%) had a higher incidence of infection than female (47.11%) patients. The highest prevalence was recorded from wound swabs [46 (44.23%)] followed by ear exudates [23 (22.12%)], urine [22 (21.15%)], while eye exudates and samples from the CSF yielded the least [1 (0.96% each)]. From the antibiogram, imipenem had the highest antibiotic activity (91.3%) followed by polymyxin B (84.6%). The isolates exhibited the highest resistance to ceftazidime (73.1%) and piperacillin-tazobactam (61.5%). The antibiotic susceptibility pattern of P. aeruginosa isolates revealed 7.69% susceptible, 26% resistant, 61% multidrug resistance (MDR), 5% extremely drug resistance (XDR), and an absence (0%) of pandrug-resistant phenotypes. Conclusion: The study recorded alarmingly high cases of MDR and some XDR phenotypes of P. aeruginosa in University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. It will help identify existing gaps in antimicrobial resistance surveillance and assist in improving public health policies regarding antibiotic stewardship, initiatives, and interventions.

The effects of tricaine mesylate on arthropods: crayfish, crab and Drosophila.

Tricaine mesylate, also known as MS-222, was investigated to characterize its effects on sensory neurons, synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction, and heart rate in invertebrates. Three species were examined: Drosophila melanogaster, blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), and red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). Intracellular measures of action potentials in motor neurons of the crayfish demonstrated that MS-222 dampened the amplitude, suggesting that voltage-gated Na + channels are blocked by MS-222. This is likely the mechanism behind the reduced activity measured in sensory neurons and depressed synaptic transmission in all three species as well as reduced cardiac function in the larval Drosophila. To address public access to data, a group effort was used for analysis of given data sets, blind to the experimental design, to gauge analytical accuracy. The determination of a threshold in analysis for measuring extracellular recorded sensory events is critical and is not easily performed with commercial software.

How do children make food choices? Using a think-aloud method to explore the role of internal and external factors on eating behaviour.

Research indicates that eating related problems, body weight and eating habits often start in childhood and track through to adulthood. To date, however, little is known about how children conceptualise food and the factors involved in their decision making processes. This qualitative study aimed to explore children's understanding of food and how this influences their food related decisions. Children (n = 27) aged 9-10 took part in a think-aloud study and voiced their thoughts whilst making different meals and snacks using pictures of food. Data were analysed using thematic analysis which described 3 core themes: i) drivers of food decisions (hunger, health, liking, emotions, availability) ii) sources of these drivers (parents, peers, routine); iii) polarised reasoning whereby food was often dichotomised as good or bad. Transcending these themes was the degree of deliberation whereby children showed decision making as automatic, considered or sanctioned. Finally, overarching their accounts was the notion of the transitioning child with children illustrating the shift between being a passive child whose decisions were made for them and an active child with autonomy and agency. The results illustrate the ways in which children begin to internalise the messages of others as they grow older which they incorporate into their own schema. These messages in turn form part of their heuristic system which enable less sanctioned decisions as children take ownership of their own eating behaviour. The results are discussed in terms of the implications for decision making and a framework for developing interventions.

Physiological and Behavioral Indicators to Measure Crustacean Welfare.

This project determined how neural circuits are affected during warming by examining sensory neurons, the neuromuscular junction, and the cardiac function and behavior of the commercially important crustacean species, the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). Rapid inactivation of neural function in crustaceans prior to slaughter is important to limit exposure to noxious stimuli, thus improving animal welfare. This study demonstrated that as a crayfish is warmed at 1 °C/min, the heart beat stops at 44 °C. When temperature is rapidly increased, at 44 °C synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction ceases and primary sensory neurons stop functioning. Even though animals do not respond to stimuli after being warmed to 44 °C, if sensory neurons are returned to 20 °C saline after two minutes, they may regain function. Conversely, the neuromuscular junction does not regain function after two minutes in 44 °C saline. Examining behavior and heart rate while warming at 1 °C/min, 12 °C/min, or 46 °C/min to 80 °C indicated that at approximately 40 °C the heart rate is altered. Within 10 s at 80 °C, the heart stops with the highest heating rate. Directly placing crayfish in boiling water stopped the heart quickest, within 10 s, which likely represents denaturing of the tissue by heat. Using an impedance measure to detect a heartbeat may also be influenced by movements in the denaturing process of the tissue. A rapid increase in the temperature of the crayfish above 44 °C is key to limit its exposure to noxious stimuli.

The Effects of Chloride Flux on Drosophila Heart Rate.

Approaches are sought after to regulate ionotropic and chronotropic properties of the mammalian heart. Electrodes are commonly used for rapidly exciting cardiac tissue and resetting abnormal pacing. With the advent of optogenetics and the use of tissue-specific expression of light-activated channels, cardiac cells cannot only be excited but also inhibited with ion-selective conductance. As a proof of concept for the ability to slow down cardiac pacing, anion-conducting channelrhodopsins (GtACR1/2) and the anion pump halorhodopsin (eNpHR) were expressed in hearts of larval Drosophila and activated by light. Unlike body wall muscles in most animals, the equilibrium potential for Cl- is more positive as compared to the resting membrane potential in larval Drosophila. As a consequence, upon activating the two forms of GtACR1 and 2 with low light intensity the heart rate increased, likely due to depolarization and opening of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. However, with very intense light activation the heart rate ceases, which may be due to Cl- shunting to the reversal potential for chloride. Activating eNpHR hyperpolarizes body wall and cardiac muscle in larval Drosophila and rapidly decreases heart rate. The decrease in heart rate is related to light intensity. Intense light activation of eNpHR stops the heart from beating, whereas lower intensities slowed the rate. Even with upregulation of the heart rate with serotonin, the pacing of the heart was slowed with light. Thus, regulation of the heart rate in Drosophila can be accomplished by activating anion-conducting channelrhodopsins using light. These approaches are demonstrated in a genetically amenable insect model.

Antimicrobial Evaluation of Bacterial Isolates from Urine Specimen of Patients with Complaints of Urinary Tract Infections in Awka, Nigeria.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) account for one of the major reasons for most hospital visits and the determination of the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of uropathogens will help to guide physicians on the best choice of antibiotics to recommend to affected patients. This study is designed to isolate, characterize, and determine the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of the pathogens associated with UTI in Anambra State Teaching Hospital, Amaku, Anambra State, Nigeria. Clean catch urine samples of inpatient and outpatient cases of UTI were collected and bacteriologically analyzed using standard microbiological procedures. Antibiogram was done by the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The most prevalent isolates were S. aureus (28%), E. coli (24.6%), and S. saprophyticus (20%). The antibacterial activities of the tested agents were in the order of Augmentin < Ceftazidime < Cefuroxime < Cefixime < Gentamicin < Ofloxacin < Ciprofloxacin < Nitrofurantoin. It was found that all the organisms were susceptible in varying degrees to Nitrofurantoin, Ciprofloxacin, and Ofloxacin. It was also observed that all the bacterial species except Streptococcus spp. have a Multiple Antibiotic Resistance Index (MARI) greater than 0.2. For empiric treatment of UTIs in Awka locality, Nitrofurantoin, Ciprofloxacin, and Ofloxacin are the first line of choice.

Safety warnings and first aid instructions on consumer and pharmaceutical products in Nigeria: has there been an improvement?

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the adequacy of safety warnings and first aid instructions on the labels of pharmaceutical and consumer products in Nigeria. METHODS: A market basket method (total collection of all available samples) was used to investigate the adequacy of safety warnings and first aid instructions on the labels of 600 pharmaceutical and consumer products in Nigeria. RESULTS: The results showed that 69.8% of the products had adequate warnings whereas 385 (64.1%) of the products screened had legible product warnings. Only 52 (8.7%) of the total number of products had appropriate first aid instructions while only 25 (4.12%) of the products described symptoms and full treatment of poisoning by the product and 319 (53.2%) products surveyed recommended calling a health professional. A total of 31 (5.2%) products had labels that were considered too technical (non English). Of the 600 products, 386 (64.3%) had dosage instructions that were considered adequate while 538 (89.6%) had adequate storage instructions. About 68% of the products had partially correct warnings while 44 or 7.3% had partially correct first aid instructions. Some products had neither warnings nor first aid instructions. CONCLUSION: This study suggests a not too impressive improvement in the correctness and appropriateness of label information.