Functional and physicochemical properties of flours of six Mucuna species

Legume flours were prepared from six species of mucuna bean, M. Veracruz mottle, M. rajada, M. cochinchinensis, M. deerigeana, M. pruriens and M. veracruz white. Physicochemical and functional characteristics were carried out on full fat and defatted flours. Bulk density of the flours increasedfollowing defatting. Isoelectric point of the proteins lies between 4 and 5. Generally, solubility reduced as the pH increases until it reached isoelectric point, followed by progressive increase in solubility with further increase in pH. Defatted flours have higher water and oil absorption capacities compared with full fat samples and M. veracruz white recorded the lowest value (1.40 g/g) while M. veracruz mottle had the highest value (2.20 g/g). Gelation studies revealed that M. veracruz mottle and M. rajada recordedthe highest values (20%) while M. veracruz white and M. deerigeana had the lowest value (14%). The foaming capacity in full fat flours ranged between 9.6% in M. veracruz white and 19.23% in M. pruriens while the foaming capacity in defatted flours ranged from 50.0% in both M. pruriens and M. veracruz white and 84.30% in M. veracruz mottle. In addition, foaming capacities in full fat flours are lower than those of defatted flours. Emulsion capacity ranged between 78-90% in full fat flours and 56-68% indefatted flours

Comparison of clinical profiles and treatment outcomes between vagrant and non-vagrant mentally ill patients in a specialist neuropsychiatric hospital in Nigeria

Objective: Vagrant mentally ill patients are a highly marginalized group that receive limited care and attention from society. There is a dearth of information on the clinical status of this group in low-income countries. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical profiles and treatment outcomes between vagrant and non-vagrant mentally ill patients admitted to Aro Psychiatric Hospital, Abeokuta, Nigeria. Method: We conducted a retrospective review of clinical records charting vagrant and non-vagrant mentally ill patients treated over a five year period from January 2004 to December 2008. Results: The medical records of 61 vagrant and 122 non-vagrant mentally ill patients were reviewed and compared. The vagrant patients were more likely to be older, unmarried and alone, poorly educated, unemployed or performing unskilled labour, and diagnosed with schizophrenia. This cohort was also more likely to have physical co-morbidities compared with the non-vagrant mentally ill patients. The median time to improvement among the vagrants (211.0 days) was significantly longer than for the non-vagrant patients (34.0 days) suggesting more intractable illnesses. Other factors found to prolong the time to improvement among all patients were old age, education, being single, unemployment, the diagnoses of schizophrenia, and substance abuse. Conclusion: The clinical profiles and treatment outcomes were poorer among the vagrant mentally ill patients, underscoring a need for more comprehensive healthcare resources directed to this patient group in Nigeria.Key words: Vagrant; mental illness; clinical profile; outcome; Nigeri

Assessment of the living conditions of rural based people living with HIV/AIDS with clinical presentations in Nigeria

Objective: To describe the living conditions of rural based people living with HIV/ AIDS (PLWHA) and their clinical presentationsDesign: Descriptive cross-sectional studySetting: University College Hospital, IbadanSubjects: PLWHA on anti-retroviral therapyResults: One hundred and fifty PLWHA participated. The mean age of the respondents was 28.7±8.9 years. Majority of the respondents visited had advanced disease (97%), were poor (75%) and presented with opportunistic infections such as oral candidiasis (92%), chronic diarrhoea (70%) and pulmonary tuberculosis (46%). Majority were treated for malaria (72%) and anaemia (61%). All respondents lived in homes predisposed to these opportunistic infections. They drink unsafe water and had poor disposal of their domestic wastes.Conclusion: PLWHA visited lived in homes that predispose them to various opportunistic infections. Improved living conditions and economic empowerment will improve the health conditions of PLWHA

Complete Chloroplast Genome Sequences of Important Oilseed Crop Sesamum indicum L

Sesamum indicum is an important crop plant species for yielding oil. The complete chloroplast (cp) genome of S. indicum (GenBank acc no. JN637766) is 153,324 bp in length, and has a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions consisting of 25,141 bp each. The lengths of the large single copy (LSC) and the small single copy (SSC) regions are 85,170 bp and 17,872 bp, respectively. Comparative cp DNA sequence analyses of S. indicum with other cp genomes reveal that the genome structure, gene order, gene and intron contents, AT contents, codon usage, and transcription units are similar to the typical angiosperm cp genomes. Nucleotide diversity of the IR region between Sesamum and three other cp genomes is much lower than that of the LSC and SSC regions in both the coding region and noncoding region. As a summary, the regional constraints strongly affect the sequence evolution of the cp genomes, while the functional constraints weakly affect the sequence evolution of cp genomes. Five short inversions associated with short palindromic sequences that form step-loop structures were observed in the chloroplast genome of S. indicum. Twenty-eight different simple sequence repeat loci have been detected in the chloroplast genome of S. indicum. Almost all of the SSR loci were composed of A or T, so this may also contribute to the A-T richness of the cp genome of S. indicum. Seven large repeated loci in the chloroplast genome of S. indicum were also identified and these loci are useful to developing S. indicum-specific cp genome vectors. The complete cp DNA sequences of S. indicum reported in this paper are prerequisite to modifying this important oilseed crop by cp genetic engineering techniques

Artificial neural network model for Yoruba character recognition

No Abstract

Utilization of crop residues and Agro-industrial by-products as complete diets for West African dwarf sheep and goats

No Abstract

Amylograph Pasting Properties And Swelling Power Of Six Varieties Of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) Starch

The Amylograph pasting properties and swelling power of starch extracted from six varieties of cowpea were studied. Significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) were found in starch pasting properties and swelling power. Non-distinct peak viscosities characterized starches. The hot paste viscosity at 95oC ranged between 880 – 1320 BU and the cooked paste viscosity, after holding at 95oC for 15 minutes, ranged between 880 – 1200 BU. The set back viscosity on cooling to 50oC ranged between 1780 and 2500 BU indicating strong retrogradation tendency in the starches. All the starches presented restricted, single-stage swelling pattern. Swelling power increased progressively with increasing temperature for all varieties. The hot paste viscosity at 95oC (HTPV) explained 90% of variance in pasting properties and appears to be the most discriminating property among the varieties. The swelling power at 70oC and 95oC accounted for 89% of variance in swelling power and at 70oC, had strong positive correlation with the hot paste viscosity. The properties of hot and cold paste of cowpea starch indicate possible application as thickeners in soup and puddings. Key words: Pasting properties, Swelling power, Cowpea Starch Nigerian Food Journal Vol.22 2004: 33-3