Influence of Planting methods and Pinching on growth and vegetative yield of drumstick (Moringa oleifera Lam).

Field trials were conducted during the 2010 and 2011 cropping seasons at Federal College of Forestry Mechanization farm, Afaka located (10o 371N and 74o 71E) in the Northern Guinea savannah ecological zone of Nigeria to study the influence of planting method and pinching on growth and vegetative yield of drumstick (Moringa oleifera Lam). The experiment consisted of six treatments, viz direct sowing+ pinching at 2 weeks after sowing (WAS); direct sowing + pinching at 2 and 4 WAS; direct sowing+ no pinching; transplanting at 2 WAS +pinching at 2 weeks after transplanting (WAT); transplanting at 2 WAS + pinching at 2 and 4 WAT; transplanting at 2 WAS + pinching at 2WAT; transplanting at 4 WAS + pinching at 2 and 4 WAT. The treatments were laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design replicated three times. The plant had significantly vigorous plant with stem diameter at 3 and 9 WAS. However, numbers of leaves, canopy spread and number of branches were not significantly affected by planting methods. Fresh vegetative yield were obtained with direct sowing + pinching at 2 and 4 WAS and transplanting at 2 WAT and pinching at 2 WAT respectively

Studies on Urinary Schistosomiasis in Selected Villages around Gusau Dam Site, Zamfara State, Nigeria

A study on urinary schistosomiasis was conducted to determine its prevalence and intensity in five villages around Gusau Dam, Gusau Local Government Area, Zamfara state. A total of five hundred (500) urinesamples were examined for the eggs of Schistosoma haematobium using standard filtration technique. The overall prevalence was 47%. However, the highest prevalence (65.47%) of the infection was recorded in Bokawa. The mean egg count for the whole study area was 237.94 eggs/10ml of urine. Koramar Gora had comparatively high mean egg count of 330.46 eggs/10ml, than other villages. Prevalence of the infection based on the sources of drinking water has indicated that, those persons who use river (60.00%), pond (50.37%) and dam (46.15%), respectively as their sources of water had higher prevalence than those who use well (38.05%), borehole (19.35%) and others (18.75%) who use tap and packaged water, at Gusau (capital city) during their business. However, a highly significantassociation (x2 = 36.571; df=5; P<0.01) was found between prevalence of infection and source of drinking water. This study revealed that, the study area is endemic for urinary schistosomiasis and there is therefore, the need for government intervention to effectively control the disease in the area.Keywords: Urinary, S. haematobium, Inhabitants, Gusau, Dam Sit

An ensemble CRT, RVFLN, SVM method for estimating Propane Spot Price

In this paper, we propose an ensemble of the CRT-RVFLN-SVM (Classification and Regression Tree (CRT), Random Variable Functional Link Neural Network (RVFLN), and Support Vector Machine (SVM)) to improve robustness and effectiveness in estimating propane spot price. The propane spot price data which are collected from the Energy Information Administration of the US Department of Energy and Barchart were used to build an ensemble CRT-RVFLN-SVM model for the estimating of propane spot price. For the purpose of evaluation, the constituted intelligent computing technologies of the proposed ensemble methodology in addition to Multilayer Back-Propagation Neural Network (MBPNN) were also applied to estimate the propane spot price. Experimental results show that the proposed ensemble CRT-RVFLN-SVM model has improved the performance of CRT, RVFLN, SVM, and MBPNN. The can help to reduce the level of future uncertainty of the propane spot price. Propane investors can use our model as an alternative investment tool for generating more revenue because accurate estimations of future propane price implies generating more profit

Removal of nutrients from pulp and paper biorefinery effluent : operation, kinetic modelling and optimization by response surface methodology

This study investigated the effectiveness of extended aeration system (EAS) and rice straw activated carbon-extended aeration system (RAC-EAS) in the treatment of pulp and paper biorefinery effluent (PPBE). RAC-EAS focused on the efficient utilization of lignocellulosic biomass waste (rice straw) as a biosorbent in the treatment process. The experiment was designed by response surface methodology (RSM) and conducted using a bioreactor that operated at 1–3 days hydraulic retention times (HRT) with PPBE concentrations at 20, 60 and 100%. The bioreactor was fed with real PPBE having initial ammonia-N and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations that varied between 11.74 and 59.02 mg/L and 31–161 mg/L, respectively. Findings from the optimized approach by RSM indicated 84.51% and 91.71% ammonia-N and 77.62% and 84.64% total phosphorus reduction in concentration for EAS and RAC-EAS, respectively, with high nitrification rate observed in both bioreactors. Kinetic model optimization indicated that modified stover models was the best suited and were statistically significant (R 2 ≥ 0.98) in the analysis of substrate removal rates for ammonia-N and total phosphorus. Maximum nutrients elimination was attained at 60% PPBE and 48 h HRT. Therefore, the model can be utilized in the design and optimization of EAS and RAC-EAS systems and consequently in the prediction of bioreactor behavior

Pooled analysis of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89.6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60.6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0.17, 95 per cent c.i. 0.14 to 0.21, P <0001) or low (363 of 860, 422 per cent; OR 008, 007 to 010, P <0.001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference -94 (95 per cent c.i. -11.9 to -6.9) per cent; P <0001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+121 (+7.0 to +173) per cent; P <0001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0.60, 0.50 to 073; P <0.001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low- and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries.Peer reviewe

Global variation in anastomosis and end colostomy formation following left-sided colorectal resection

Background End colostomy rates following colorectal resection vary across institutions in high-income settings, being influenced by patient, disease, surgeon and system factors. This study aimed to assess global variation in end colostomy rates after left-sided colorectal resection. Methods This study comprised an analysis of GlobalSurg-1 and -2 international, prospective, observational cohort studies (2014, 2016), including consecutive adult patients undergoing elective or emergency left-sided colorectal resection within discrete 2-week windows. Countries were grouped into high-, middle- and low-income tertiles according to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). Factors associated with colostomy formation versus primary anastomosis were explored using a multilevel, multivariable logistic regression model. Results In total, 1635 patients from 242 hospitals in 57 countries undergoing left-sided colorectal resection were included: 113 (6·9 per cent) from low-HDI, 254 (15·5 per cent) from middle-HDI and 1268 (77·6 per cent) from high-HDI countries. There was a higher proportion of patients with perforated disease (57·5, 40·9 and 35·4 per cent; P < 0·001) and subsequent use of end colostomy (52·2, 24·8 and 18·9 per cent; P < 0·001) in low- compared with middle- and high-HDI settings. The association with colostomy use in low-HDI settings persisted (odds ratio (OR) 3·20, 95 per cent c.i. 1·35 to 7·57; P = 0·008) after risk adjustment for malignant disease (OR 2·34, 1·65 to 3·32; P < 0·001), emergency surgery (OR 4·08, 2·73 to 6·10; P < 0·001), time to operation at least 48 h (OR 1·99, 1·28 to 3·09; P = 0·002) and disease perforation (OR 4·00, 2·81 to 5·69; P < 0·001). Conclusion Global differences existed in the proportion of patients receiving end stomas after left-sided colorectal resection based on income, which went beyond case mix alone

Effects of Harmattan on erythrocyte osmotic fragility and Malondialdehyde concentration in goats administered with Resveratrol

No Abstrac

Gender and Age-Specific Prevalence of Urinary Schistosomiasis in selected Villages near a Dam Site in Gusau Local Government Area, Zamfara State, Nigeria

Urinary schistosomiasis study was conducted to determine its prevalence and intensity in five villages around Gusau Dam, in Gusau Local Government Area, Zamfara State. A total of five hundred (500) urine samples were examined for the eggs of Schistosoma haematobium, using standard filtration technique. People within the age group of 10-19 years had the highest prevalence of infection 63.51% and the prevalence decreasing steadily thereafter. Males with a prevalence of 56.41% were significantly more infected than females with a prevalence of 31.38%. Mean egg count for the whole study area was 237.94 eggs/10ml of urine. Koramar Gora had comparatively high egg mean count, 330.46 eggs/10ml, than other villages. The age-specific prevalence showed that age group 10-19 years had the highest egg mean count of 367.06 eggs/10ml. Gender-specific prevalence indicated higher egg mean count 247.57 eggs/10ml in males than in females with 209.22 eggs/10ml. This study revealed that, the study area was endemic for urinary schistosomiasis, higher among males than females and higher among ages of 10-19 years. Therefore, the need for Government intervention to effectively control the disease in the area.Keywords: Age-specific, Urinary Schistosomiasis, filtration technique, Mean egg count, interventionNigerian Journal of Parasitology, Vol. 32 [1] March 2011, pp. 55-5