Industrial Potentials of Bambara Nut

Nigeria is a major producer of bambara nut in Africa.  The plant has outstanding traits such as drought tolerance, nitrogen fixation potentials and the ability to grow in marginal soils.  It is a crop for high attainment of food security and poverty alleviation in Africa as it is highly nutritious.  It is composed of 65% carbohydrate and 18% protein.  The nut can be used in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.  The oil contain fatty acids which are mostly made up of Capric acid (17%), Lauric acid (9.0%), Palmitic acid (10%), Palmitoleic acid (21%) and Oleic acid (18%).  The predominant availability of unsaturated fatty acids and high iodine value index indicate that oil from bambara nut from Nigeria is the unsaturated type.  The high blend of protein and carbohydrate in bambara groundnut make it possible for the nut to be used as an emulsifier.  It can also be used in weaning food formulation.  The flour can also be used as partial replacement of wheat in cereal based confectionaries such as biscuit, cake and bread while the oil can be used in soap making. Keywords: Food, Security, Nutritional Composition, Fatty Acid, Typsin, Bambar

Functional electrical stimulation therapy controlled by a P300-based brain–computer interface, as a therapeutic alternative for upper limb motor function recovery in chronic post-stroke patients. A non-randomized pilot study

IntroductionUp to 80% of post-stroke patients present upper-limb motor impairment (ULMI), causing functional limitations in daily activities and loss of independence. UMLI is seldom fully recovered after stroke when using conventional therapeutic approaches. Functional Electrical Stimulation Therapy (FEST) controlled by Brain–Computer Interface (BCI) is an alternative that may induce neuroplastic changes, even in chronic post-stroke patients. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the effects of a P300-based BCI-controlled FEST intervention, for ULMI recovery of chronic post-stroke patients.MethodsA non-randomized pilot study was conducted, including 14 patients divided into 2 groups: BCI-FEST, and Conventional Therapy. Assessments of Upper limb functionality with Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), performance impairment with Fugl–Meyer assessment (FMA), Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and spasticity through Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) were performed at baseline and after carrying out 20 therapy sessions, and the obtained scores compared using Chi square and Mann–Whitney U statistical tests ( = 0.05).ResultsAfter training, we found statistically significant differences between groups for FMA (p = 0.012), ARAT (p < 0.001), and FIM (p = 0.025) scales.DiscussionIt has been shown that FEST controlled by a P300-based BCI, may be more effective than conventional therapy to improve ULMI after stroke, regardless of chronicity.ConclusionThe results of the proposed BCI-FEST intervention are promising, even for the most chronic post-stroke patients often relegated from novel interventions, whose expected recovery with conventional therapy is very low. It is necessary to carry out a randomized controlled trial in the future with a larger sample of patients

Efficacy of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus Bm86 against Hyalomma dromedarii and Amblyomma cajennense tick infestations in camels and cattle

The recombinant Bm86-based tick vaccines have shown their efficacy for the control of cattle ticks, . Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus and . R. annulatus infestations. However, cattle ticks often co-exist with multi-host ticks such as . Hyalomma and . Amblyomma species, thus requiring the control of multiple tick infestations for cattle and other hosts. Vaccination trials using a . R. microplus recombinant Bm86-based vaccine were conducted in cattle and camels against . Hyalomma dromedarii and in cattle against . Amblyomma cajennense immature and adult ticks. The results showed an 89% reduction in the number of . H. dromedarii nymphs engorging on vaccinated cattle, and a further 32% reduction in the weight of the surviving adult ticks. In vaccinated camels, a reduction of 27% and 31% of tick engorgement and egg mass weight, respectively was shown, while egg hatching was reduced by 39%. However, cattle vaccination with Bm86 did not have an effect on . A. cajennense tick infestations. These results showed that Bm86 vaccines are effective against . R. microplus and other tick species but improved vaccines containing new antigens are required to control multiple tick infestations