Safety of researchers in life and natural sciences is of paramount importance especially in university setting. This research aim at investigating knowledge, awareness and compliance of student researchers to laboratory safety procedures. A three section questionnaire was administered to students undergoing postgraduate training. Section A consists of 11 socio-demographic information. Section B however consist of 14 likert-scale questions on knowledge and awareness of basic laboratory safety procedure while section C consists of 12 likert - scale questions on compliance with safety practices in the laboratory. Thirteen volunteer students from six different laboratories took part in this study. Retrieved questionnaires were statistically analyzed. Analyzed result obtained showed that 61.5% (n=8) were MSc students, 38.5% (n=5) PhD students and spend an average of 5 hours in the laboratory every day. 38.5% (n=5) respondent were international students, 61.5% (n=8) local students and they are at least in the second year of their studies. 62% are aware and have the knowledge of laboratory safety practices. However, 80% of respondents are compliant to these procedures. All respondents wash their hands after working in the lab. 61.5% (n=8) often disinfect their workbenches before and after working. 38.5% (n=5) always wear their lab coat and 69.2% wash their lab coat every month. 53.8% (n=7) work with disease causing microorganisms in the lab. It can be concluded from this study that more awareness needs to be created and compliance strictly mandated for postgraduate researchers especially those working with pathogens as some do not comply with these safety procedures.
In recent years, medical science has turned to a variety of new products and technologies to halt the spread of infections. The most effective and promising antimicrobial agents being embraced by modern medical science today is silver, which is also one of the oldest. In 1940s breakthroughs in antibiotics such as penicillin, actinomycin and streptomycin, medical science began to shift its attention away from preventative compounds such as antimicrobial silver and focused instead on antibiotic treatments. With increasing drug-resistance and growing concern regarding the over-prescribing of antibiotics, there has been a resurgent interest in the use of antimicrobial silver. Unlike antibiotics, silver appears to be immune to resistance. Thus, the conjugation of antibiotic with AgNP (Silver nanoparticles) would prevent development of resistance by microbes and enhance the antimicrobial property of the antibiotic. This study is based on the synergistic effect of Cephalexin antibiotic with AgNP. The nanoparticles were evaluated for their increased antimicrobial activities with Cephalexin antibiotic against E.coli and S. aureus. The antibacterial activity of Cephalexin was increased in the presence of AgNPs against test strains. The results showed that the combination of antibiotics with AgNPs have better antimicrobial effects.
The studies on the habitat characteristics, classification of habitat and preparation of mammalian checklist were done in Nameri National Park from 1999-2010. Study revealed that the habitat of Nameri National Park was dominated by Moist-mixed semi-evergreen (163.22 km2) forest followed by short and tall grasslands (15.7 km2). The entire forest habitat was classified into eight distinct classes based on satellite imagery and ground survey methods viz., (a) Mixed moist-evergreen forests, (b) Mixed moist semi-evergreen forests, (c) Grasslands, (d) Scrubland/Degraded forests, (e) Cultivated land, (f) Miscellaneous forests, (g) Riverine forests and (h) Deciduous forests. The Mixed moist evergreen forest covers only 0.20 km2 in Nameri National Park. The park has supported high diversity of mammalian fauna owing to dense vegetation structures. Altogether 54 mammalian species has been encountered in the park during study period. The concentration of Asiatic Bison and wild Elephants was another important finding of the present study. Yet again, the park harbours various endangered and threatened mammalian and avian faunas.
