An examination of the weaknesses in current online help systems and a proposed solution using an integrated information base

This thesis reports results of a research study into the usefulness of On-line Help Systems for application software users. The main objective of the research was to examine existing On-line Help systems, identify their weaknesses, and propose a means of rectifying the problems identified. A study of the available relevant literature revealed that both users and designers have divergent views as to the overall usability and efficacy of On-line Information, and this diversity has contributed to the problems inherent in On-line Help systems. An initial user survey was conducted with a group of computer users who were professionals in their own areas, many of whom also have considerable experience in the applications examined. The results are in agreement with the hypothesis that in spite of the long history of software development and the existence of research in the area, users of On-line Help Systems still find them unsatisfactory. The results also revealed that even experienced users find some aspects of existing Online Help Systems difficult to use, and that, in general current versions are not well received. A set of exploratory experiments has been carried out with users interacting with Microsoft Excel, using the On-line Help system at one sitting and the User Manual at another. These investigations revealed the existence of design and accessibility problems. Three terms best describe the problems identified - Vocabulary, Compartmentalisation, and the lack of an Integrated Base. An optimal approach to the design of On-line Help systems that will overcome these problems is proposed and a prototype system implemented and evaluated. The research has achieved its aim of providing a contribution to the design and implementation of On-line Help Systems that should enhance both the usability and efficacy of On-line support systems

Association of Dietary Acid Load with Insulin Sensitivity Index among Apparently Healthy Nigerians

The possible role of regular consumption of diets with high acid forming potential in decreasing cellular sensitivity to insulin and its associated complications has been investigated. However, findings across different study groups are conflicting. It is likely that the association is affected by genetic and environmental factors that differ among different populations. We investigated the impact of diet-induced acidosis on the degree of insulin sensitivity among apparently healthy adult Nigerians. Assessment of dietary intake was done using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and the Nigerian Food Composition Table. Acid forming potential of our local diets were estimated as Potential Renal Acid Load (PRAL) scores. Fasting plasma glucose and insulin were measured. Degree of insulin sensitivity was calculated as Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI). About 35 (16.2%) of the study subjects were observed to have insulin resistance. Across the study groups, there was a statistically significant trend with higher intake of dietary acid associated with decreased insulin sensitivity (p for trend < 0.05). We conclude that among apparently healthy adult subjects in this study, regular consumption of diets with high acid forming potential might be linked with worsening of insulin sensitivity.&nbsp

INSECTICIDE RESIDUES IN SOME STORED GRAINS IN MUBI, ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA AND THEIR POTENTIAL HEALTH HAZARDS ON THEIR CONSUMER

The study was conducted to assess the level of residue of permethrin (pifpaf), Aluminium phosphide (cyclone) and Dichlovors (dakshi) in protected grains of cowpea, maize and bambaranut groundnut each stored for 1 month, 3 month, and 6 months in Mubi (10° 16 N, 13° 10 E) Nigeria. Based on grain type and time of storage, the pesticide were extracted from 2g of powdered grains using acetonitrite and methanol (4:1) and then analyzed for the composite fractions using the high performance liquid chromatography technique. The result shows that each of the grains has residues of all the insecticide considered in the study. On average, cowpea had higher levels of insecticide residues while maize had lower over the study period. The lowest residue of any of the insecticide (1.0mg/kg of dakshi, 1.04mg/kg of cyclone and 1.11mg/kg of pifpaf) 6 months after storage was higher than the FAO no-observed adverse effect level, even though residue levels decreased with storage time. The implications of the findings on insecticide based stored grains protected by Nigerian merchants/farmers are discussed.    Â

In-Vitro Anthelmintic Efficacy Of Crude Aqueous Extracts Of Neem (Azadirachta Indica) Leaf, Stem And Root On Nematode

The anthelmintic efficacy of the aqueous extracts o neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf and stem and root barks against the hatching of eggs and the survival of larvae of nematode parasites of small ruminants were studied. The results of the in vitro egg hatch assay showed that the aqueous extracts of the leaf and stem bark produced significant anthelmintic effect through reduction in nematode egg hatch. The reduction in egg hatch was concentration dependent being highest (51 % and 50 % for the leaf and stem bark extracts respectively) at the highest concentration (100 mg/ml) of the extracts but inferior to those produced by albendazoe (100 % at 40 mg/ml). Aqueous extracts of the leaf and root bark produced significant reduction in larval survival within 60 minutes at ambienttemperature (30 – 35 ºC). Larval death was similar in both extracts and concentration dependent, increasing with increasing concentration of the leaf and root bark extracts. The reduction in larval survival due to the extracts was similar to that produced by albendazole. In general, the aqueous extract of neem leaf was more efficacious in limiting nematode larvae survival and in-vitro egg hatch. The results confirm the folkloric claims that neem has anthelmintic effect and thus suggest its possible usefulness as an anthelmintic. Keywords: Anthelmintic efficacy, Aqueous extract, Leaf, Stem, Root, Bark, Azadirachta indicaAnimal Research International Vol. 3 (3) 2006 pp. 549-55

Modified water-cement ratio law for compressive strength of rice husk ash concrete

This work examines the modification of age long water – cement ratio law of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) concrete to cater for concrete with Rice Husk Ash (RHA). Chemical analysis of RHA produced under controlled temperature of 600°C was carried out. A total of one hundred and fifty (150) RHA concrete cubes at five different water/binder ratios and at six replacement levels of RHA (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%) were produced with specific attention given to cement/water (c/w) content and RHA/water (r/w) content. The cubes were subjected to compressive strength test at 56 days of curing producing a compressive strength in the range of 3.77 N/mm² to 34.04N/mm². A linear polynomial model was fitted into the experimental data using Minitab Package and was found adequate with an adjusted coefficient of determination of 73.0%.Test results show that the compressive strength of hardened RHA concrete depends on cement/water content by weight on one part and RHA/water content by weight on the other part. This indicates that the model equation is suitable to evaluate the compressive strength of RHA concrete at 95% confidence interval and the linear model has the capability of explaining the variability in the data by 73%.Keywords: water-cement ratio, compressive strength, rice husk ash, model

Formulation of a mathematical model for the analysis of the emission of carbon dioxide from gaseous fuel using least square method

In this paper we formulate a model for the emission of Carbon Dioxide from gaseous fuel in Nigeria. We considered a third degree polynomial model using a least square method using the actual data set of twenty one years on State level Carbon Dioxide emissions in Nigeria from 1994-2014. The residual analysis was used to predict the short and medium term total Carbon Dioxide emissions trend. From the results the state of affairs of Carbon Dioxide Emission for subsequent years was forecast and this will help the Government to take control measures in curtailing the emission of Carbon Dioxide in the country.Keywords: Gaseous fuel, Automobile, Fossil fuels, Pollutants, Carbon Dioxide, Emission

Magnetic Exploration of the Upper and Lower Benue Trough for Metallic Deposits and Hydrocarbons using 2D/3D

Digital Aeromagnetic data for Lower Benue Trough (Afikpo and Nkalagu) have been analyzed to locate specific basement targets for investigation using seismic methods in deep hydrocarbon exploration. This is motivated by the call of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to re-investigate all the basins in the country for hydrocarbon accumulation. In the Lower Benue Trough depths of the intrusive range from 3.2km to 3.9km while depths of deep structures range from 8.7km to 19.2km. The susceptibilities of the intrusive suggest that they are composed of granite, basalt, dolerite and rhyolite. Depths of deep structures in the Lower Benue Trough show thick sedimentary deposits that have potential for hydrocarbon exploration. Keywords: Cretaceous age, megastructure, forward and inverse modeling, geometrical shape

Antioxidant and Antipyretic Activities of Adansonia Digitata (African Baobab) Fruit, Leaf And Bark Extracts

The   study   was   conducted   to   evaluate the   antioxidant   and antipyretic activity of Adansonia digitata (African Baobab) fruit, leaf and bark extracts.  Antioxidant activity of plant part extracts were determined by free radical   Diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay   while   the   antipyretic activity was assessed using experimental animals. Antioxidant activity of leaf extract showed a value of 13.40±0.77, bark extract 29.23±1.69 while fruit extract gave a value of 39.21±2.26. For the Antipyretic activity results, the average temperature of Albino Wister rats was   21.65±0.96 oC   before   fever   inducement   and 30.64±1.37 oC   after inducement. Following the administration of the leaf extract (400 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg), bark   extract (400 mg/kg   and   800 mg/kg) and   fruit   extract (400 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg), the body temperature of the albino rats fell to25.96±1.16 oC vs.   25.28±1.13 oC, 26.06±1.17 oC vs. 25.02±1.12 oC, and 25.78±1.15 oC vs. 24.30±1.09 oC respectively. The   results   showed   that   the   fruit   extract   has   a   higher antioxidant and antipyretic activity than bark and leaf extracts

Necrotizing enterocolitis associated with dysbiosis of preterm gut microbiome: A review

Preterm birth is defined as any birth before 37 weeks of completed weeks of gestation. Preterm infants are said to have an imbalanced intestinal and immune system. Alteration of the gut microbiota in preterm infants has been associated with the development of short term diseases such as sepsis or Necrotizing enterocolitis. Necrotizing enterocolitis is a catastrophic disease affecting the preterm infants. Although its pathogenesis is poorly known, risk factors like gestational age, birth weight, formula feeding and bacterial colonization of the gut are found to be associated with its emergence. This review was aimed at describing the latest literature related to Necrotizing enterocolitis and its association with dysbiosis of preterm gut microbiome. Moreover several studies have shown the use of fecal samples in detecting the presence of Necrotizing enterocolitis. Microbial dysbiosis preceding Necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants is characterized by increase relative abundances of Firmicutes and Bacteriodetes .Immune responses like Toll-Like Receptors also  trigger  the severity  of Necrotizing enterocolitis. Necrotizing enterocolitis can be reduced through administration of probiotics, thus, reducing the rate of morbidity and mortality of preterm infants.Keywords: Dysbiosis, Microbiota, Necrotizing enterocolitis, Preterm infant, Probiotic

Disease Outbreaks: Tuning Predictive Machine Learning

Climate change is expected to exacerbate diarrhoea outbreaks in developing nations, a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in such regions. The development of predictive models with the ability to capture complex relationships between climate factors and diarrhoea may be effective for diarrhoea outbreak control. Various supervised Machine Learning (ML) algorithms and Deep Learning (DL) methods have been used in developing predictive models for various disease. Despite their advances in a range of healthcare applications, overall method task performance still largely depends on available training data and parameter settings which is a significant challenge for most predictive machine learning methods. This study investigates the impact of Relevance Estimation and Value Calibration (REVAC), an evolutionary parameter optimization method applied to predictive task performance of various ML and DL methods applied to ranges of real-world and synthetic data-sets (diarrhoea and climate based) for daily diarrhoea outbreak prediction in a regional case-study (South African provinces). Preliminary results indicate that REVAC is better suited for the DL models regardless of the data-set used for making predictions