Effect of mesh size on catch performance of driftnets fishing in Lake Kainji

The studies on effect of mesh size on catch performance of driftnets fishing in Lake Kainji was experimented using 38.1mm, 63.5mm and 88.9mm stretched mesh size for 21 consecutive fishing days. The drifinets were operated by two fishing canoe; the operation was between 14.30 hours- 16.00 hours daily in the afternoon. Twenty-two fish species belonging to ten fish families were caught. The Species Diversity Index (SDI) revealed that 38.1mm stretched mesh size driftnet recorded the highest index of 0.77 next by 63.5mm mesh size with 0.45 and the least index of 0.36 was obtained in 88.9mm stretched mesh size driftnet. A total of 372 fishes were caught, 54.30% of this was caught by 38.1mm mesh size followed by 68.9mm mesh size (26.34%) and lowest (19.35%) was recorded by 63.5mm mesh size driftnet. The seven abundant fish species in the driftnets catches were S. galilaeus, D. rostratus, A. baremoze, S. membranaceus, T. zillii, L. senegalensis and H. fascialus. The total biomass of 25,314g (25.3kg) was obtained, 45.51% of this weight was captured 88.9mm mesh size while the least 24.24% was obtained in 63.5mm mesh size drifinet. S. galilaeus contributed the greatest proportion of weight 49.5% followed by D. rostratus 13.2% and L. senegalensis 10.3%. Recommendation was made for further studies in this aspect. Policies should also be directed to provide social amenities to the communities around the Lake

Healthcare workforce caring for older adults across the world: an overview

This paper evaluates the demand and supply side of healthcare for older adults in a global context and presents a plausible scenario, with examples taken from a number of selected countries, of the current position of the healthcare workforce caring for older adults. This talk will also explore the gap between the current healthcare situation and the actual support and care that are needed to help and ensure a healthy ageing population. While acknowledging that there are a good number of healthcare workers in some countries, it’s also true that they do not receive adequate training or possess the necessary skills to deliver appropriate support and care to elderly people. Findings from a recent survey on the Nigerian care workforce are shared here. The survey highlights the lack of appropriate knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) among this workforce that lead to real barriers for providing services to elderly people within the community. The findings will be of help to other regions of the world when redesigning their health care systems

Effects of bait types on fish congregation and catch efficiency of castnet in Lake Kainji

The effect of baits, rice bran (Oryza sativa L.) and corn bran (Zea mays L.) on fish aggregation and catch efficiency of castnet in Lake Kainji was conducted. 25.4mm stretched mesh size multifilament (PA) nylon net was used for the construction of castnet. The experiment was Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications for nineteen consecutive fishing days. Three treatments were employed; castnetting after baiting with rice bran, with corn bran, and castneting without bait (control). Thirteen fish species were caught from eight families. The number of fish caught was 336, of which 48.5 and 27.1 % were caught with corn bran and without bait while castnetting with rice bran recorded the least (24.4%). The biomass of fish caught was 4627.7g (4.6kg) of which the highest percentages 51.4 and 28.6% followed same trend as that of number of fish caught. Comparison of the overall number and biomass of fish capture indicated that Tilapia zillii ranked highest, followed by Citharinus citharus and Hydrocynus forskalii

Fishing gear survey of Tatabu floodplain

The study was carried out for a period of three months from June to August, 2008. Five fishing villages namely Tatabu, Tsafa, Tunga Fulani, Tunga Sarkin ruwa and Lafiagi were used as study area by administering a total of 50 questionnaires (I.R. 10 questionnaires in each village). The study was conducted to assess the type of fishing gear mostly used by the fishermen in Tatabu floodplain. The greatest proportion (98%) of the fishermen interviewed were within age bracket 25-35 years. Majority of the respondents were Muslims and married form the highest percentage (60%). Three types of fishing gears, gillnet, long line and Malian Trap were used. The fishermen using gillnets had the highest percentage (44.2%) and those using Malian traps were the lowest percentage (23%). the fishermen using mesh size 50.8mm were highest (38.7%) and those are using mesh size of 101.6mmformed the lowest percentage (6.5%). The fishery crafts, 38% of fishermen use 4.3 meters length overall (LOA) and fishermen using 5.5 meters formed the lowest percentage (6%). Most of the respondents (88%) realized about N100-900 as daily income while 12% obtained more than N900 as daily income (54%) of the respondent. The problems militating against successful fishing activities includes lack of provision of social amenities, provision of loan and procurement of fishing inputs at subsidized rate

Evaluation of beach seine net by-catch in Lake Kainji, Nigeria

Studies on the evaluation of Beach Seine net by-catch in Lake Kainji was conducted in Yuna fishing village. The beach seine net of 306m long and 12m depth was used for this experimental fishing trial. The seining took about 2 hours and was done three times in three different sampling locations in the Lake. A total of 24 fish species were caught, two target species, P. afzeliusi and S. leonensis, and 22 fish species obtained from the by-catch. The overall total number of fish caught was 34,939 of which 96.9% was obtained from the target fish Clupeids while the remaining percentages 3.1% were the by-catch fish. The total weight obtained was 66.2kg, out of which the greatest proportion 50.7% was obtained from target fish and the rest percent 49.3% was recorded from the by-catch and discards fish. About 90% of the by-catch was undersized fish from the commercially important freshwater fishes of Lates, Citharinus, Labeo, Tilapias ctc. Recommendation was made on how to improve the use of this fishing gear in order to conserve and sustain the fisheries resources of Lake Kainji

Dataset of allelopathic effects of Casuarina equisetifolia-L leaf aquatic extract on seed germination and growth of selected plant crops

In agricultural fields that are surrounded by dunes, the Casuarina tree is usually used as windbreaks. In addition, it plays a significant role in inhibiting nearby vegetation growth. In this dataset, the effect of Casuarina equisetifolia-L leaf aquatic extract on seed germination and growth of four selected plant crops (Maize, Lentil, Mustard, and Wheat) was tested. Seed germination test and a greenhouse experiment were conducted to study the effects of Casuarina equisetifolia aquatic leaf extract on seed germination and seedling growth. Various concentrations of leaf extract were used (0, 1.25%, 2.5%, and 5%). Results revealed that aqueous leaf extract of Casuarina equisetifolia-L affected significantly seed germination of all selected plant crops under laboratory conditions. Both wheat and maize have a comparable reduction in root length at 2.47 cm and 2.45 cm, respectively, but show a remarkable difference in percentage at 92% and 54% respectively under the effect of 5% aqueous solution. Similarly, lentil shows the highest drop in shoot length (SL) of 69% while no significant reduction observed in Mustard (SL) at the same aqueous solution concentration (5%). In the greenhouse experiment, dried leaf powder was mixed with soil in different concentrations (0, 15, 30, and 45 g kg?1 soil). Greenhouse experiments demonstrated that C. equisetifolia exhibited significant inhibition on wheat germination and seedling characteristics under all treatments. However, soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were examined and showed a relative reduction in pH and marked an increase in (EC). - 2019 Qatar UniversityThe authors want to thank Prof Hamad Al-Kuwari, Director of the ESC, for his continued help and support. All appreciations also go to Ms. Hajer Alnaimi (Technical Manager) for her assistance. This project was supported by Qatar University Internal Grant No. QUS-CAS-FALL-15/16-3 . The findings achieved herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.Scopu

Identification of genomic markers correlated with sensitivity in solid tumors to Dasatinib using sparse principal components

Background: Differential analysis techniques are commonly used to offer scientists a dimension reduction procedure and an interpretable gateway to variable selection, especially when confronting high-dimensional genomic data. Huang et al. used a gene expression profile of breast cancer cell lines to identify genomic markers which are highly correlated with in vitro sensitivity of a drug Dasatinib. They considered three statistical methods to identify differentially expressed genes and finally used the results from the intersection. But the statistical methods that are used in the paper are not sufficient to select the genomic markers. Methods: In this paper we used three alternative statistical methods to select a combined list of genomic markers and compared the genes that were proposed by Huang et al. We then proposed to use sparse principal component analysis (PCA) to identify a final list of genomic markers. The sparse PCA incorporates correlation into account among the genes and helps to draw a successful genomic markers discovery. Results: We present a new and a small set of genomic markers to separate out the groups of patients effectively who are sensitive to the drug Dasatinib. The analysis procedure will also encourage scientists in identifying genomic markers that can help to separate out two groups

The Opinion and Awareness of Citizens on the Commitment of Bakers, Butchers, and Food Sellers to Health Instructions and their Application during COVID-19 Outbreak

Many countries follow the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) by practicing physical gathering avoidance as one health measure to decrease COVID-19 the spread. The current study identifies the opinions and awareness of citizens about the commitments of workers (bakers, butchers, and food sellers) to health instructions and prevention. This descriptive cross-sectional study was done in different premises in Kurdistan Region-Iraq from 20.9.2021 to 20.4.2022 using online platforms and printed forms. The study included socio-demographic characteristics, citizens' opinions, and commitment related-questions. A thousand copies were collected and analyzed. The results showed that the majority of citizens have positive opinions and awareness and agreed that workers (bakers, butchers, and food sellers) are committed to COVID-19 regulations. There was a significant correlation between the variables of opinions and awareness of the commitments of workers to the prevention of COVID-19. All professional workers have a good obligation to prevention from COVID-19 so that the population in the Erbil city has accepted those workers to deal with food and meat and with complete prevention from Covid-19. These perfect commitments of workers to prevention may help to break down the chain of COVID-19 infection which consequently reduces mortality and morbidity rate

Influence of Sunflower Whole Seeds or Oil on Ruminal Fermentation, Milk Production, Composition, and Fatty Acid Profile in Lactating Goats

This study aimed to investigate the effect of sunflower seeds, either as whole or as oil, on rumen fermentation, milk production, milk composition and fatty acids profile in dairy goats. Fifteen lactating Damascus goats were divided randomly into three groups (n = 5) fed a basal diet of concentrate feed mixture and fresh Trifolium alexandrinum at 50:50 on dry matter basis (Control) in addition to 50 g/head/d sunflower seeds whole (SS) or 20 mL/head/d sunflower seeds oil (SO) in a complete randomized design. Milk was sampled every two weeks during 90 days of experimental period for chemical analysis and rumen was sampled at 30, 60, and 90 days of the experiment for ruminal pH, volatile fatty acids (tVFA), and ammonia-N determination. Addition of SO decreased (p = 0.017) ruminal pH, whereas SO and SS increased tVFA (p<0.001) and acetate (p = 0.034) concentrations. Serum glucose increased (p = 0.013) in SO and SS goats vs Control. The SO and SS treated goats had improved milk yield (p = 0.007) and milk fat content (p = 0.002). Moreover, SO increased milk lactose content (p = 0.048) and feed efficiency (p = 0.046) compared to Control. Both of SS and SO increased (p<0.05) milk unsaturated fatty acids content specially conjugated linolenic acid (CLA) vs Control. Addition of SS and SO increased (p = 0. 021) C18:3N3 fatty acid compared to Control diet. Data suggested that addition of either SS or SO to lactating goats ration had beneficial effects on milk yield and milk composition with enhancing milk content of healthy fatty acids (CLA and omega 3), without detrimental effects on animal performance. (Key Words: Fatty Acid Profile, Lactating Goats, Milk Composition, Sunflower Seeds, Sunflower Oil

The Prevalence, Pattern, and Burden of Multimorbidity Among Older Adults in Niger State, Northern Nigeria

Objective: While public health planners and practitioners are increasingly aware of the role of inequity in health, the burden of disease measures have not kept pace with this knowledge. Hence, the aim of this study is to determine the prevalence, and patterns of multimorbidity and to understand the burden of multimorbidity in Niger State Nigeria. Method: Data were collected on a cross-section of 734 older adults 60 years and older in Niger northcentral Nigeria. The morbidity was assessed by adopting the list of chronic diseases used in prospective urban and rural epidemiology studies. Collected data was entered electronically via JISC online survey software between October 2021 and February 2022. The data were analyzed by IBM SPSS version 27. Relational association rules were used for determining the pattern of multimorbidity. Results: The prevalence of multimorbidity for the study was 51.9%. The commonest dyad combination of multimorbidity among the respondents is hypertension and diabetes mellitus. The top triad of multimorbidity combinations for three disease conditions is hypertension, diabetes, and stroke. Hypertension, diabetes, and peptic ulcer represent the highest disease burden respectively. Conclusion: Health conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and acid-peptic diseases are commonly occurring in clusters of multimorbidity. And they represent the greatest disease burden. To reflect the clinical reality of older adults, identifying the common pattern will provide insight for a more integrative multidisciplinary approach focusing on prevention and better management of these disease conditions in groups