Reducing Early Neonatal Mortality in Nigeria—The Solution

The West African nation of Nigeria seems to have run out of ideas on how their neonatal mortality rate may be lowered. This situation has become dare as the country could not make any significant progress even with the great supports of the last 10 years of Millennium Development Goal. Presently, one in every two deceased child under 5 years of age in Nigeria is a neonate. Literature reveals that most of these deceased neonates are classified preterm or low birthweight, of which nearly four in five must die within first 7 days. This clearly identified the categories and stages of highest mortality; however, it is disappointing that the authorities of the Nigerian health care system have for too long been unable to devise a solution for the neonates. Probably, inadequacy of climatic and cultural compatibilities might partly be responsible for the failure of their current conventional ideas and technologies—these being predominantly imported. Yet, there seems to be lack of interest in some home-grown unconventional ideas that have achieved the needed reduction at few centers. In this chapter, we present the unconventional approaches and encourage across-the-nation translation of the applications to achieve accelerated end to this situation

Stochastic analysis of stock price changes as markov chain in finite states

In this work, stochastic analysis of Markov chain model used to examine stock price formation in finite states. The data was subjected to 5-step transition matrix for independent stocks where transition matrix replicated the use of 3-states transition probability matrix. This enables us proffer precise condition of obtaining expected mean rate of return of each stock. Out of the four stocks studied, stock (1), stock (2), stock (3) and stock (4), it  was also discovered that stock (1) has the highest mean rate of return:4.0548 and Stock (4) has the best probability of price increasing in the near future:21%. This informs the investor about the behavior of the stocks for the purpose of decision making. From the stochastic analysis, it is revealed that stock price changes are memory-less satisfying the properties of Markov chain. i.e., it converges to a point or becomes stationary at n=5 ie S1:0.1967-0.2354,S2:0.2053-0.1913,S3:0.1972-0.2051 and S4:0.2023-0.1835. Also all states of the transition communicate and are all time dependent.&nbsp

Ultrastructural studies of acrosomal formation in the testis of male greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus)

Purpose: In furthering the understanding of the process of spermatogenesis in the greater cane rat, this study describes the ultrastructural spermiogenic transformation and acrosomal formation in the testes of this hystricomorphic rodent that is currently undergoing domestication in parts of West Africa. Materials and Methods: Testicular samples were obtained from ten sexually mature cane rats that were perfused-fixed using Karnovsky\u27s fixative (phosphate buffered 2% paraformaldehyde – 2.5% glutaraldehyde fixative at pH 7.4). The samples were processed for ultrastructural analysis and examined under the transmission electron microscope. Results: The testes of the cane rat showed uniqueness in its cellular associations and the ultrastructure of the spermatogenic cells especially in the formation of the acrosome. The spermatid differentiation and acrosomal formation occurred in 12 steps with the first three steps being the Golgi phase and the next three steps making up the cap phase. While the three steps that follow constitute the acrosomal phase, the last 3 steps make up the maturation phase. At the cap and acrosomal phases, the entire acrosomal system comprising the vesicle and granule covers the head of the spermatids with no clear indentation of the nuclear surface by the formed acrosome. Furthermore, elongated spermatids at the maturation phase contained abundance of nuclear vacuoles. Conclusion: This work has not only provided information that will further the understanding of spermatogenesis but also aid the understanding of acrosomal reaction in the reproduction of the greater cane rat

Nutritionally Improved Cookies from Composite Flour: African Walnut (Tetracarpidium conophorum) with Wheat

African walnut seed (Tetracarpidium conophorum) is rich in protein and phytochemical with great potentials for food application, but has limited uses in food industry. The African walnut seed was procured from Oje market and commercial wheat flour in Aleshiloye market, Ibadan. The commercial wheat and African walnut flours were composites of varying ratios; 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30 and 60:40 to prepare cookies and labeled samples X, A, B, C and D respectively. The proximate composition, anti-nutrients (oxalates, phytate and protease inhibitor), phyto-chemical (tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins, and Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) and sensory evaluation of the cookies were determined using standard methods. The result of proximate composition of cookies showed that carbohydrate (47.0-52.36%), protein (16.3-19.6%) and fat (18.5-19.2%) were the major components in the cookie samples. Other components including; moisture (7.7-8.4%), ash (4.1-4.2%) and fibre (0.9-1.8%) were generally low. Anti-nutrient factors of cookie samples ranged from 11.3-17.7mg/100g for Phytate and no traces of oxalates and protease inhibitors in all cookie samples. Control cookie sample had no traces of tannin, flavonoids and saponins, but enriched cookie ranged from 10.3-14.7mg/100g; 3.4-5.7mg/100g and 10.7-15.3mg/100g, respectively. Phytochemical constituents of cookie samples in ORAC ranged from 3.4-12.0mg/100g and alkaloids (3.7-7.7mg/100g). Organoleptic panelists preferred sample X to all other samples, followed by sample A. Inclusion of 10% African walnut flour compared favorably with wheat cookie in terms of sensory quality

Quality Assessment of Surface and Groundwater Sources in Lugbe, Abuja, North-Central Nigeria

Lugbe is one of the satellite towns in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. It is situated between latitudes 08º55´N to 09º00´N and longitudes 07º19´E to 07º26´E covering an area of about 50 km2.  The area is underlain by crystalline rocks of Precambrian age mainly the older granite and the Migmatite-gneiss. Groundwater and surface water samples were collected and analyzed for their physical, chemical and microbial parameters. Results of the analyses indicate that the physical parameters falls within the acceptable limit except pH which ranged from 5.8 and 6.9 indicating slightly acidic environment. Concentrations of the chemical parameters analyzed are within the permissible limits except copper and lead whose concentration in few locations where found to be higher than the WHO and NSDWQ recommended limits for safe drinking water. The water is poor bacteriologically as total coliform and E.coli were determined in both the surface and groundwater samples which is an indication of faecal contamination. The dominant water type from Piper diagram and Schoeller plot is Ca-Mg-Cl-SO4. Due the poor quality of surface and groundwater sources in Lugbe, treatment of the water before domestic usage is recommended. The observed anomalies in the water sources are finger-prints of anthropogenic contamination due to upsurge in population and urbanization without proper sanitary measures as well as rock-water interaction mechanism. Keyword: Quality Assessment, Surface water, Groundwater, Lugbe, Abuja, North-Central Nigeri

The prevalence of and factors associated with tobacco smoking behavior among long-distance drivers in Lagos, Nigeria

Background: Factors associated with tobacco smoking are useful in designing tobacco control programs.Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of and factors associated with tobacco smoking among long-distance drivers.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Stratified cluster sampling approach was used to select drivers based on if they received annual health screening (AHS) or not (non AHS). We used a structured questionnaire to obtain information and weighted the resulting observations to derive population based estimates. Association between tobacco smoking and socio-demographic factors was explored in multivariate models.Results: 414 male drivers, mean age 43.6 (standard error 0.6) years. Population weighted prevalence of current smoking was 18.9% (95% CI: 14.3-23.4) of all drivers, 6.5% (95% CI: 2.6-10.4) of AHS drivers and 19.5 (95% CI: 14.7-24.2) of non AHS drivers (p<0.001). In multivariate models, having close friends that smoked (OR= 6.36, 95% CI= 2.49 - 16.20) cargo driving (OR= 2.58, 95% CI= 1.29 - 5.15) and lower education levels (OR for post-secondary education vs. primary education or less= 0.17, 95% CI= 0.04 - 0.81) were associated with current smoking.Conclusion: Prevalence of tobacco smoking is higher among non AHS compared to AHS drivers. Having close friends that smoked, cargo driving, and lower education levels were associated with current smoking.Keywords: Tobacco smoking behavior, long-distance drivers, Lagos, Nigeri

The Effect of Cd4 Count Level on the Middle Ear Dynamics of Hiv Infected Patients

Background: HIV infection, a multi systemic disease has been identified as one of the causes of hearing loss in man. Objectives: To compare the effect of HIV infection on the middle ear dynamics of HIV infected and non-HIV infected individuals using tympanometry. Design: A prospective cross sectional study Setting: HIV Clinic at University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) in 2010. Subjects: Tympanometry was done on adults (18-45year old) patients with confirmed retroviral disease (RVD) infection and confirmed non-HIV infected adults (18-45year old) as the control group. All the patients certified the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Main Outcome Measures: More women were found with HIV infection than men at a ratio of 1:3.7(men = 21% and females = 79%). There was preponderance of type “B” tympanogram among HIV-infected individuals. Result: There was a significant correlation between CD4 cell count and type “B” tympanogram (P=0.03). The CD4 cell count measured severity of HIV infection while the type “B” tympanogram detected middle ear effusion. Conclusions: Middle ear effusion is the genesis of middle ear pathology in HIV infected population

Thermodynamic properties of Aharonov-Bohm (AB) and magnetic fields with screened Kratzer potential

In this study, the Schrodinger equation (SE) with screened Kratzer potential (SKP) in the presence of external magnetic and AB-flux fields is investigated using the factorization method. The eigenvalue and eigenfunction for the system are obtained in closed form. It is found that the present of the magnetic field partially removes the degeneracy when the screening parameter of the potential was small but the addition of the AB field removed the degeneracy faster and better. The magnetization and magnetic susceptibility of the system are evaluated at zero and finite temperatures and other thermodynamic properties of the system are discussed. More so, the presence of the AB-flux field makes the system to exhibit a both a paramagnetic and diamagnetic behavior. A straight forward extension of these results to three dimension shows that the present result is consistent with those obtained in literature.Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1911.0199

Effects of pharmaceutical effluents on germination, growth and development of Amaranthus hybridus L

The growth and development of Amaranthus hybridus polluted with pharmaceutical effluents were studied. Preliminary experiments were carried out in the Laboratory and Screen house with Paracetamol (P) and Amoxicillin (B) effluents. Distilled water served as the control. Media utilized for the main experiment was remediated with poultry manure and compost from Delonix regia leaves. Results from the preliminary experiments in the laboratory showed that seedlings germinated on effluent P had significantly (p < 0.05) higher shoot length, root length and percentage germination. Results from screen house experiments showed yellowed, stunted seedlings for the polluted treatments at week 3; control had significantly (p < 0.05) the highest leaf area, shoot and root lengths. Seedlings grown on effluent P had the lowest growth parameters. In the experiment with remediated soil, both polluted and unpolluted plants showed morphological similarities. T3 (Soil + Poultry manure + effluent B) recorded the highest mean fresh weight of leaves, stem and root at week 7. T2 (Soil + Poultry + effluent P) recorded the highest mean leaf area, plant height, stem girth and root circumference at week 10. A. hybridus adapted to and utilized pharmaceutical pollutants better while under natural attenuation (outdoor, with access to unsterilized soil and direct sunlight). These findings suggest caution in the use of effluents in agricultural practices

Connective tissue, glial and neuronal expressions in testis of the African giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus)

Introduction: This study was carried out to investigate the expression of connective tissue (Collagens I and III), glia and neuronal markers in the testis of the African giant rat using histology and immunohistochemistry techniques. Materials and Methods: Eight (8) apparently healthy wild male African giant rats were used for this experiment, divided into 2 groups (juvenile and adult) of 4 animals each. The testes were harvested following intracardial perfusion of the rats and histology was performed using Haematoxylin-Eosin stain and Mallory-Heideinhain rapid one- step staining for connective tissue. Immunohistochemical identification was achieved using the following antibodies: anti-collagen type I, anti-collagen type III, anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein and anti-p75 nerve growth factor for the expression of collagen type I, collagen type III, astrocyte-like cell and neuronal cells respectively. Photomicrography was achieved using Axioskop® microscope and quantitative data were analyzed using student t-test. Results: The cyto-architecture of the testis was typical in the African giant rat. The connective tissue expressed in the juvenile and adult group, signaling of glial-like cells were seen in the perivascular region across the experimental groups. Immuno-localization of neuronal cells were seen in the interstitial spaces across all the groups, but with more expressions in the juvenile. Conclusion: This work has provided a clear description of the expression of connective tissue, neuronal and glial cells in the testis of the African giant rat and their possible relationships across juvenile and adult groups