Preliminary Evaluation of Guava (Psidium guajava L.) Tree Branches for Truss Fabrication in Nigeria

Rosana G. Moreira, Editor-in-Chief; Texas A&M UniversityThis is a paper from International Commission of Agricultural Engineering (CIGR, Commission Internationale du Genie Rural) E-Journal Volume 8 (2006): Preliminary Evaluation of Guava (Psidium guajava L.) Tree Branches for Truss Fabrication in Nigeria. Manuscript BC 05 010. Vol. VIII. May, 2006

High-Protein Intake during Weight Loss Therapy Eliminates the Weight-Loss-Induced Improvement in Insulin Action in Obese Postmenopausal Women

SummaryHigh-protein (HP) intake during weight loss (WL) therapy is often recommended because it reduces the loss of lean tissue mass. However, HP intake could have adverse effects on metabolic function, because protein ingestion reduces postprandial insulin sensitivity. In this study, we compared the effects of ∼10% WL with a hypocaloric diet containing 0.8 g protein/kg/day and a hypocaloric diet containing 1.2 g protein/kg/day on muscle insulin action in postmenopausal women with obesity. We found that HP intake reduced the WL-induced decline in lean tissue mass by ∼45%. However, HP intake also prevented the WL-induced improvements in muscle insulin signaling and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, as well as the WL-induced adaptations in oxidative stress and cell structural biology pathways. Our data demonstrate that the protein content of a WL diet can have profound effects on metabolic function and underscore the importance of considering dietary macronutrient composition during WL therapy for people with obesity

A five‑year survey of cesarean delivery at a Nigerian tertiary hospital

Background: Caesarean section is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures in obstetrics and certainly one of the oldest operations in surgery; the incidence of caesarean section is steadily rising. The increasing use of CS as a mode of delivery is due to improved safety of the procedure because of increasing use of antibiotics, blood availability, and improved anesthetic techniques. Despite all these, problems of safety and cost still pose some concern, particularly in resource‑poor countries.Objective: To evaluate the incidence, indications, and outcomes of caesarean section in this hospital during the period under review.Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive analysis of all the caesarean sections carried out at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada from 1st January 2012 to 31st December 2016. The labor ward delivery register and theatre operation register were also reviewed. The nature and indications for the procedure were analyzed. Other parameters reviewed included booking status of the patient, parity, and fetal outcome. Results were presented using simple percentages and ratios.Results: Out of 9,604 deliveries during the study period, 2,053 cases were by caesarean section, giving a caesarean section rate of 21.4%. Most cases 1647 (80.2%) were by emergency caesarean sections and elective caesarean section accounted for 406 (19.8%) cases. The rate of caesarean section was higher among unbooked patients 1304 (63.5%) than booked patients 749 (36.5%). Cephalopelvic disproportion was the most common indication 633 (30.8%) followed by fetal distress 484 (23.6%) and severe pre‑eclampsia/eclampsia 224 (10.9%). Anemia was the most common postpartum morbidity and there were 17 maternal deaths and the maternal case fatality rate was 0.8%, and there were 62 (2.9%) perinatal deaths due to birth asphyxia following emergency caesarean section.Conclusion: The rate of caesarean section has been increasing gradually and is associated with maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. There is need for education of the  populace to reduce late presentation.Keywords: Cesarean section; incidence; indications; outcome

A review of gestational trophoblastic diseases in a tertiary hospital

Background: Gestational trophoblastic diseases (GTD) result from abnormal proliferation of trophoblastic tissue and although rare, are a recognizable cause of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, prognosis is good when diagnosed and treated early.Objectives: To describe the prevalence, pattern of presentation, management practices and outcome of Gestational Trophoblastic Diseases at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: Case notes of women with a diagnosis of Gestational Trophoblastic Disease from 1st January 2009 and 31st December 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Relevant information was extracted and entered into structured proformas. The data processing and analysis was done with the aid of SPSS for windows version 20.0. Results were expressed as percentages, means and range.Results: A total of 51 cases of Gestational Trophoblastic Diseases were reviewed, giving a prevalence rate of 4.4/1000 deliveries. The prevalence of molar pregnancy and choriocarcinoma were 2.4 and 1.6 per thousand deliveries respectively. The age group with the highest frequency of occurrence was the 25-29 years {18(35.3%)} and 25(49%) were para 1-4. The commonest antecedent pregnancy event was a miscarriage in 74.5% of cases while the commonest symptoms were amenorrhoea 46(90.2%) and vaginal bleeding 45(88.2%). These were complicated by anaemia in 18(35.5%) of cases. Thirty (58.8%) women had suction evacuation, 16(31.4%) had chemotherapy and 3(5.9%) had hysterectomy. Loss to follow up was 33(64.7%) and case fatality rate was 19.6%.Conclusion: Morbidity and mortality resulting from Gestational Trophoblastic Diseases is still high in University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Abuja. Significant contributing factors were late presentation and poor compliance. Efforts have to be made to reeducate patients and health workers so as to address challenges related to early diagnosis and compliance.Keywords: Gestational Trophoblastic diseases, Hydatidiform mole, choriocarcinoma, Abuja, Nigeria. Short Title: Gestational trophoblastic diseases in Abuja

SIMULATED ANNEALING FOR SOLVING THE TRAVELLING SALESMAN PROBLEM

In this paper we considered the use of Simulated Annealing for solving the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) which is NP-Complete. The algorithm searches solutions for the global minimum by perturbing existing solutions and replace if the new solution is better than the existing solution. The annealing process is controlled by some algorithmic parameters and thus the solution relies on the parameters set. Different parameters were used to know the best set of parameters. Generally the algorithm was tested and proved to be a good solver of TSP

HIERARCHICAL CLASSIFICATION OF MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF TILAPIA CABREA

This article proposes an effective data visualization of multidimensional data. These displays are useful to represent the existence or absence of relationships among objects corresponding to hierarchical classifications, bifurcation or evolutionary structure. The display in this article used some morphological features of Tilapia Cabrea, as represented in the dendrogram or cluster tree which illustrates the successive fusions of objects into groups or divisions made at each successive stage of the analysis. Effectively, this clustering reduces the dimensionality and makes interpretations easier.Â

Pregnancy outcome in elderly primigravidae at a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital: a five-year review

Background: Pregnancy though a physiologic process also comes with its complications. This has been found to be related to factors associated with the mother and fetus. Maternal age at first pregnancy is a determining factor which could affect pregnancy outcome. Objective of present study was to determine the effect of maternal age on obstetric outcome.Methods: A five-year retrospective case control study involving primigravid women aged 35years and above (elderly primigravidae) and the younger primigravidae aged below 35 years who delivered at the University of Abuja Teaching hospital (UATH) between 2012 and 2016. Data were collected from their case notes, antenatal and delivery registers. For comparative purposes, obstetric and perinatal parameters including antenatal, labour, delivery, postpartum factors were collected for both the elderly primigravidae and younger primigravidae. A total of 6,052 deliveries, of which 2,456 were primigravidae and 42 of them were ≥35years of age. Out of 42 cases, only 30 folders were found and analyzed. The matched controls were selected consecutively after each elderly primigravidae in the register without prior knowledge of their pregnancy outcome. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Chi square test X2 and student T test were used for comparison of the two groups. Statistical significance was set at P values of ≤ 0.05 at 95% confidence interval.Results: The incidence of elderly primigravidae was found to be 1.2% in this study. There was increased risk of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, caesarean delivery and low APGAR scores in the elderly primigravidae group but these were not statistically significant. No other differences in obstetrics and neonatal outcome were found between the two groups.Conclusions: Elderly primigravidae are at increased risk of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and caesarean delivery than in younger primigravidae. On the other hand, neonatal outcome of the two groups were comparable.

Outcome of intrauterine adhesion management at a Nigerian tertiary hospital: a five-year review

Background: Intrauterine adhesion is a cause of menstrual abnormalities and infertility, which are leading complaints in gynaecological practice in Nigeria. Determining the aetiology and management option would help reduce this problem. The objective of this study was to determine the aetiology, mode of presentation, management option and outcome of intrauterine adhesionsMethods: A retrospective analysis of intrauterine adhesions at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital over a five-year period from 2012 to 2016 was carried out. The case notes of the patients were retrieved from the records department and information extracted from these case notes using a questionnaire included the age, level of education, marital status, parity, complaints, predisposing factors, method of diagnosis, treatment method and outcome. Additional information was obtained from the theatre registered. The least follow up period was one year.Results: There were 82 patients diagnosed with Intrauterine Adhesion over the study period giving an incidence of 1.6%. Fifty-nine case notes were available for analysis. The case note retrieval rate was 72%. Majority of the patients were between the age range of 30-34 years (21, 35.6%). Those with tertiary level of education constituted the majority (34, 57%). Nullipara constituted 54.2% (32) of the total population. Menstrual abnormalities were the most common complaint with 93.2% and this includes those with menstrual abnormalities and other complaints. The commonest predisposing factor identified was a history of dilatation and curettage or uterine evacuation (28, 47.5%). Majority of the patients had partial intrauterine adhesions (51, 86.4%). All patients were treated with adhesiolysis, Foleys catheter insertion and hormonal therapy for 3 cycles. There was not statistical significance between those who had blind adhesiolysis and hysteroscopic adhesiolysis in terms of outcome. Restoration of menstrual flow was in 25, (42.4%) while 3, (5.1%) had miscarriges and an equal no of patients had term delivery.Conclusions: Dilatation and curettage is still a major predisposing factor in the development of intrauterine Adhesions. Blind adhesiolysis still has its place in the management of intrauterine adhesion in developing countries

Effectiveness of Teflon as roller material for a prototype rice processing machine

ABSTRACT The main aim of this research was to assess the effectiveness of using Teflon material in search of locally available quality/effective roller material for a prototype rice roller dehusking /destoning machine developed in Nigeria making use of four locally cultivated rice varieties. This required determination of the effectiveness of Teflon material as roller for the developed prototype dehusker/destoner.  Microsoft Excel 2007 and Minitab 16 were used to analyze the ANOVA of two main factors (paddy varieties and moisture content). The dehusker cleaning efficiency was found to be 94.73 %, coefficient of dehusking was 0.63, coefficient of wholeness was 0.85, dehusking efficiency was 50.54 %, dehusking capacity was 10.56 kg/h. Also the effect of moisture content and test paddy on coefficient of wholeness and dehusking efficiency were significant at p ≤ 0.05, while only moisture content effect was significant on cleaning efficiency. Further search for better roller material to replace the Teflon material to improve the prototype dehusking performance for different rice varieties was recommended

Ginseng and Ginsenoside Re Do Not Improve β-Cell Function or Insulin Sensitivity in Overweight and Obese Subjects With Impaired Glucose Tolerance or Diabetes

OBJECTIVE Ginseng and its active component, ginsenoside Re, are popular herbal products that are advocated for treatment of diabetes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether ginseng or ginsenoside Re improves β-cell function and insulin sensitivity (IS) in insulin-resistant subjects. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Overweight or obese subjects (BMI = 34 ± 1 kg/m2) with impaired glucose tolerance or newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes were randomized to 30 days of treatment with ginseng root extract (8 g/day), ginsenoside Re (250–500 mg/day), or placebo. β-Cell function was assessed as the disposition index (DI) and measured by a frequently sampled oral glucose tolerance test, and IS was assessed as the relative increase in glucose disposal during a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp procedure plus stable isotope tracer infusion. RESULTS Values for DI and IS after therapy (Post) were not different from values before therapy (Pre) in the placebo (DI: Pre, 5.8 ± 0.9 × 10−3 and Post, 5.8 ± 0.8 × 10−3, P = 0.99; IS: Pre,165 ± 29% and Post, 185 ± 24%, P = 0.34), ginseng (DI: Pre, 7.7 ± 2.0 × 10−3 and Post, 6.0 ± 0.8 × 10−3, P = 0.29; IS: Pre, 171 ± 72% and Post,137 ± 59%, P = 0.88), and ginsenoside Re (DI: Pre, 7.4 ± 3.0 × 10−3 and Post, 5.9 ± 1.1 × 10−3, P = 0.50; IS: Pre, 117 ± 31% and Post, 134 ± 34%, P = 0.44) groups. Ginsenosides Re, Rb1, and Rb2 were not detectable in plasma after treatment with ginseng root extract or ginsenoside Re. CONCLUSIONS Oral ginseng or ginsenoside Re therapy does not improve β-cell function or IS in overweight/obese subjects with impaired glucose tolerance or newly diagnosed diabetes. Poor systemic bioavailability might be responsible for the absence of a therapeutic effect. </jats:sec