19 research outputs found
Fungal Spore Diversity and Abundance in Five Areas in Ibadan, South West, Nigeria
Get PDFBackground: Airborne fungal spores may pose as a potential high risk of fungalrelated health problems in humans, animals, and plants which necessitated the need to constantly monitor the presence and diversity of fungi spores in the atmosphere regularly. This study aims to investigate diversity and abundance of airborne fungal spores across multiple locations for two years in Ibadan, South West, Nigeria.Subjects dan Method: Study descriptive cross-sectional are used to investigate diversity and abundance of airborne fungal spores across multiple locations. The variable in this study were Airborne fungi spores diversity sampled monthly from five different locations in Ibadan, Oyo State, SouthWest Nigeria for two years using the open plate sedimentation method with the petri dishes of Dichloranglycerol 18 (DG18) and Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) media. Monthly Meteorological parameters were equally taken during the duration of sampling. The data were collected and graphical presented using histograms.Results: A total of 39 fungal species were identified throughout duration of study. Aspergillus and Penicillium were the most abundant fungi genera isolated while few Zygomycetes, Ascomycetes, and Basidiomycetes were found. Rainy season period favours high number of fungi in the atmosphere. The highest abundance of fungal spores was recorded in June and July while lower fungi concentration was recorded between December and February.Conclusion: the study revealed the most dominant and abundant spores belong to the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium. The results show the need for people suffering from fungi sensitivity and allergies to be well informed.
Keywords: fungi, health, Ibadan, airborne.
Correspondence: Adeyinka Odebode. Department of Basic Science, Kampala International University, Uganda. Email: [email protected]
Immunologic and inflammatory responses in mice after intranasal instillation of spores of Aspergillus and Penicillium isolated from outdoor air in South West Nigeria
No full textIn this study, a mice model was devised to elucidate and compare the adverse effects caused by fungi isolated from outdoor locations in Lagos, Nigeria. The effects caused by Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus penicilloides, Penicillium chrysogenum and Penicillium citrinum were investigated. Both the doseresponse and time-course of the inflammatory and toxic responses were investigated and histopathological analysis was also performed on the lungs. Biochemical parameters and histopathology revealed that all the microbes studied provoked inflammation after a single dose, but the magnitude and its characteristic features were different. The spores of P. chrysogenum provoked the most intense acute inflammation indicated by a strong and rapid monocytes cells production in the lungs. In summary, the results show that the different fungus have different potential to cause inflammatory and toxic responses after airway exposure in mice and suggest that fungi present in the environments can induce inflammation in lungs and cause systemic toxicity
Fungal spore distribution in two hospitals in Kabale district, Uganda
Get PDFFungi infections are a danger to the value of human life as they cause health issues such as depression, lack of self-confidence and seclusion in infected individuals. To date, the prevalence and distribution of airborne fungi spores are still not well documented in Uganda. Airborne fungi spores in Kabale Referral and Rugarama hospitals were monitored for two months. This study also examined the proportion of fungal infection cases reported in the two hospitals regularly. The fungal colonies were collected for two months using the open plate sedimentation method with Petri dishes of Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) media, cultured and identified morphologically. The obtained results were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and means were separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMTR) with a level of significance at P<0.05. A total of 398 fungal colonies were obtained from the two locations for the period of study. Aspergillus flavus (15.3%) followed by Aspergillus fumigatus (10.6%) recorded the highest number of fungal colonies while Nigrospora (1%), Fusarium spp,(2.3%) and Trichoderma spp, (1.3%) had the least number of species in all the locations sampled. A number of the fungi isolated are opportunistic and are allergens that cause various diseases, irritations and allergic reactions in humans. Therefore, this study recommends routine aerobiological monitoring in both outdoor and indoor hospital environments for better management of fungal infections
Fostering Sustainable Female Participation in STEM Through Ecological Systems Theory: A Comparative Study in Three African Countries
No full textP II – 3–1 Occurrence of airborne fungal spores diversity and allergenicity in two southwestern states of nigeria
No full textEthnographic analysis of round characters’ Onomastics in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman
No full textThis study examines Wole Soyinka‟s Death and the King’s Horseman from an ethnography of communication‟s point of view. The work is designed to break the silence on the dearth of onomastic studies on Soyinka. The playwright infuses his novel with onomastic sensibility such that the names reflect different socio-cultural backgrounds, and, in turn, stress the themes of death and scapegoatism raised in the text. The study further reveals that conversation genre is a major tool which the author has manipulated successfully in exercising his naming power over his characters. In addition, it is clear that informing is the principal illocutionary act underlying all the names. These therefore imply that the playwright is both conversing with and informing his reader/audience through his naming strategies. This is so because there is economy of words in naming and, oftentimes, more is being communicated than said through the few strands of letters woven together as a name. The study finally affirms that names are “identity markers that depend on established convention” (Adams 2009, p. 82) and “whatever difference exists between literature and life can be explained as a difference of the contexts in which naming takes place” (Izevbaye 1981, p. 168).Keywords: Wole Soyinka, horseman, ethnography, onomastics
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Airborne fungi spores distribution in various locations in Lagos, Nigeria
No full textExposure to outside air microorganisms especially fungi has been linked with illness such as allergic respiratory symptoms, rhinitis, asthma, and infection such as mycosis. Airborne fungal composition was sampled from five locations in Lagos State, Nigeria, between May 2014 and April 2016. Fungi spores were collected using the sedimentation plate method with the Petri dishes of dichloran-glycerol 18 (DG-18) and potato dextrose agar (PDA) media. Fungi sporulated faster on DG-18 agar plate as compared with PDA. The abundances of fungal spores collected monthly at the locations varied. The most abundant spores came from the fungi were Aspergillus niger (14.47%), Aspergillus sydowii (10.37%), and Aspergillus flavus (7.93%). Additional species were present in the collections including Ascomycetes: Penicillium funiculosum (5.49%), Neurospora crassa (5.32%), Penicillium oxalicum (4.71%), Penicillium pinophilum (2.88%), Fusarium verticillioides (3.05%), Penicillium simplicissimum (1.83%), Aphaderanum sp. (0.22%), Curvularia sp. (0.22%), Aspergillus oryzae (0.22%), and Paecilomyces sp. (0.61%) and the Mucoromycotina Zygomycetes: Rhizopus oryzae (4.10%) and Mucor sp. (3.44%). Fungal concentrations were significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) during the rainy season compared with the dry season. Aspergillus and Penicillium were the most predominant airborne fungal genera while Mucor, Alternaria, and Cladosporium were some of the least observed. Generally, abundance of fungi was significantly high during the wet season in all the studied locations
ETHNOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF ROUND CHARACTERS’ ONOMASTICS IN WOLE SOYINKA’S DEATH AND THE KING’S HORSEMAN
Get PDFThis study examines Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman from an ethnography of communication’s point of view. The work is designed to break the silence on the dearth of onomastic studies on Soyinka. The playwright infuses his novel with onomastic sensibility such that the names reflect different socio-cultural backgrounds, and, in turn, stress the themes of death and scapegoatism raised in the text. The study further reveals that conversation genre is a major tool which the author has manipulated successfully in exercising his naming power over his characters. In addition, it is clear that informing is the principal illocutionary act underlying all the names. These therefore imply that the playwright is both conversing with and informing his reader/audience through his naming strategies. This is so because there is economy of words in naming and, oftentimes, more is being communicated than said through the few strands of letters woven together as a name. The study finally affirms that names are “identity markers that depend on established convention” (Adams 2009, p. 82) and “whatever difference exists between literature and life can be explained as a difference of the contexts in which naming takes place” (Izevbaye 1981, p. 168). Keywords: Wole Soyinka, horseman, ethnography, onomastic
Policy, classroom practice and teacher training in the education of children with calculation operation skills difficulties: a case study in South Western Nigeria
Get PDFThe author of this thesis is a lecturer in Special Education in a teacher education
institution in South Western Nigeria, and this research addresses problems which he
has observed in the course of his practice with teachers of children with calculation
operation skills difficulties. Some teachers were untrained and unprepared for the
challenges they face when teaching young learners with calculation operation
difficulties in mainstream classrooms. The research addressed this problem by
carrying out a training intervention, validated by research evidence, to introduce new
methods to teachers working in regular schools.
A multi-site case study was carried out in three schools, each in a different state in
South Western Nigeria, making use of a qualitative methodology. The investigation
was structured by Stake’s ‘countenance of education’ model, which provides a
method for the evaluation of educational interventions.
The main findings of the research are that there is a gap between policy and practice
in the support for learners with calculation operation difficulties in South-Western
Nigeria. Two particular barriers to learning are identified. Firstly, the use of English in
teaching learners with calculation operation difficulties is a problem for learners, and
it is recommended that teachers should switch between the first languages of the
learners and English, according to the pedagogic needs of the learner. The use of
abstract teaching methods also hinders learners in acquiring calculation operation
skills. The research shows that training can lead to changes in both the use of
language and in the use of abstract methods.
Two additional findings are that the way that education is organized in Nigeria makes
it very hard to obtain a clear picture of practice, and that the value of the Teaching
Practice Analysis Report checklist, which is widely used in South Western Nigeria,
should be reassessed
