Mothers’ Action and Preferences of Treatment of Febrile Illnesses among under- five -year- old Children in Osun State.

This study examined the maternal actions and preferences of treatment of febrile illnesses among the under- five- year old children.   Purposive sampling method was used to select 150 respondent comprisingof mothers who brought their children to seven selected health institutions in Osun State. An interview guide was used in the collection of data. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics.Results of the study showed that fever was the main reason for taking action and 122 (81%) had taken first level home care before going to the clinic. As the first line of action 89 (59%) bought drugs from the chemists while only 29(19%) displayed correct knowledge of drug schedules and doses. Respondents’ preferences   increase from 33% as first line of action to 95% as second line of action and 99.3% as the third line of action. It was found that those respondents that had no formal education accounts   for more than half (8.5%) of those that used herbs(14,9%).  Using Pearson product moment correlation analysis, educational status of mothers was also significantly associated with initial treatment of febrile illnesses ( ?2 39.46 P <0.01).  Summarily, these findings showed high prevalence of home treatment and that chemists were the main source of obtaining  drugs.Thus, the study concluded that there is a need for training of mothers on treatment of febrile illnesses especially use of drugs, and the chemists and patent medicine vendors should be exposed to periodical trainings especially on essential drugs for treating febrile illnesses in under five- year -old children.

Phycosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Chlorella vulgaris Metabolites: Its Antibacterial, Anti-Biofilm and In-Vitro Cytotoxicity Potential and Effect of Optimized Conditions on Biosynthesis.

The adverse effects of multidrug resistant and biofilm forming microbes on human health is of major concern; therefore a search for potential alternative in nanoparticles is required. Green phycosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (SNP) using The Clear Supernatant (TCS) of blue-green algae, Chlorella vulgaris (Cv) was investigated. The greenly synthesized Chlorella vulgaris TCS SNPs (CvTCSSNPs) were characterized using UV-Vis spectrophotometry, SEM, TGA, DLS, EDX and XRD. The antibacterial, antibiofilm and in vitro cytotoxicity against brine shrimp was evaluate. Colour change from light green to chocolate brown indicate CvTCSSNPs biosynthesis and surface Plasmon resonance peak was observed at 300 nm. CvTCSSNPs was 10 μm in size, spherical in shape, and can withstand high temperature without totally losing its weight. DLS shows the particle diameter average of 82.19 nm and 505.3 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.505. The EDX analysis confirmed a strong signal of silver element. The CvTCSSNPs had strong antibacterial activity and profoundly antibiofilm activity against Citrobacter sp., S. aureus ATCC 29213, E. coli ATCC 35218 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853. CvTCSSNPs toxicity to Artemia salina (brine shrimp) LC50 was 1256. 69 μg/mL, it was observed to be insignificant with the highest mortality rate at 2000 μg/mL and the lethality was dose dependent. pH 10, 37˚C, 40 mL extract, 5 mM AgNO3 supported optimum CvTCSSNPs production. In conclusion, the phycosynthesized CvTCSSNPs had strong antibacterial and antibiofilm activity against the test pathogens. CvTCSSNPs may be used as safe and alternative to antibiotics against MDR biofilm producing pathogens

Some effects of simultaneous administration of crude aqueous extracts of Mangifera indica leaves and tetracyline on the liver of adults wistar rats

This study was designed to determine the simultaneous effect of Mangifera indica crude aqueous extract and the therapeutic dose of tetracycline on some hepatic enzymes (ALT and AST) and histology of the liver of adult wistar rats. 25 wistar rats were divided into 5 groups: Group A was untreated and served as control group, group B was treated with only 2mL of mango leaves decoction, group C was treated with only 5.4mg/kg of tetracycline, group D was treated with 1mL of mango leaves decoction and 4.8mg/kg of tetracycline and group E was treated with 3mL of mango leaves decoction and 7.7mg/kg of tetracycline simultaneously. The administration period lasted for only 14 days which was given gavagely and the rats were sacrificed on the 15th day by cervical dislocation. The liver was removed, fixed in 10% formal saline and stained in H and E. The transaminase enzymes (the AST and ALT) were measured to determine possible changes in their hepatic leaves. The result shows that the crude aqueous extract of mango levels has adverse effect on the morphology and some hepatic enzyme (ALT and AST) of the liver (such as enlargement of the central vein, reduction in the size of sinusoids), the therapeutic dose of the tetracycline have no detrimental effect on the morphology and the hepatic enzymes of the liver. In conclusion, the extract of mango leaves decoction has adverse effect on the liver histology and the therapeutic dosage of tetracycline has no adverse effect on the histology of the liver.Keywords: Mango leaves, Tetracycline, Liver histology, Liver enzymes (AST and ALT

Preliaminary Comparison of the Effects of N-(1, 3 dimethybutyl)-N- phenyl-p-phenylene diamine (DPPD), Galic Powder (GP) and N-isopropyl-n-phenyl-p-phenylene diamine (DPPD) on the Properties of Natural Rubber Compound

The effects of N-(1,3-dimethyl butyl)-N- phenyl-p-phenylene diamine, DPPD (anti-oxidant), garlic powder, GP and N-isoprophy N- phenyl-p-phenylene diamine, PPPD (anti-degradant) have been examined.  Garlic powder shows comparable tensile strength, hysteresis, (heat build-up) hardness, scorch time (resistance to pre-vulcanization), crosslink density and reversion resistance to the DPPD (anti-oxidant), but better tensile strength, cure time, hysteresis and hardness compared to the PPPD (anti degradant).  Garlic powder exhibits comparable ability to resist pre-vulcanization and reversion to both the antioxidant and the antidegradant

Grain yield stability of new maize varieties in Nigeria

Seven early maturing open pollinated (OP) and five yellow hybrid maize varieties were evaluated in 1996 under the auspices of the Nationally Coordinated Research Project (NCRP) on Maize. The experiment was conducted in 22 locations representing the different agro-ecologies of Nigeria. Significant location effects were observed for grain yield in the two sets of maize varieties tested. Grain yield was significantly higher in the northern/southern guinea savanna agro-ecologies when compared to the other agro-ecologies. Highly significant varietal differences were found among the OPs and the yellow hybrids. The highest yielding OP variety was TZE Comp.4 DMR BC1 with an average grain yield of 2.43 t ha-1 while the best yellow hybrid was 8522-2 with a mean grain yield of 2.82 t ha-1. Comparison of the results of the OPs and the hybrids showed that the hybrid had an average of 18.2% yield advantage over the OPs. The hybrid maize varieties and four of the seven OPs were found to be stable in grain production across the locations. Significant genotype x location interaction was also observed for both sets of maize varieties. The best hybrid (8522-2) combined stability with high grain yield and wide adaptability. This variety may thus be introduced to farmers throughout the country. RÉSUMÉ Sept variétés librement pollinisés précoces (OPs) et cinq variétés d'hybrides jaunes de maïs ont été évaluées en 1996 sous les auspices du Project National de Coordination de Recherche pour le maïs. L'essai a été conduit dans 22 localités représentant les differentes régions agro-écologiques du Nigeria. Des effets significatifs de localités ont été observés pour le rendement grain dans les deux groupes de variétés de maïs testés. Le rendement grain était significativement plus élevé dans les zones nord/sud de la savanne guinéene comparativement aux autres régions. Des differences variétales significativement très élevées ont été trouvées entre les OPs et les hybrides jaunes. La variété OP au plus haut rendement était TZE Comp. 4 DMRBC1 avec un rendement moyen de 2.45 t ha-1 alors que le meuilleur hybride jaune était 8522-2 avec un rendement moyen de 2.82 t ha-1. La comparaison des résultats des variétés OPs et des hybrides jaunes a montré une moyenne de 18.2% d'avantage de rendement sur les OPs. Les variétés d'hybrides jaunes et les quatre des sept OPs ont été trouvées plus stables en production des graines à travers les localités. Une interaction entre génotype et environnement était significative pour les deux groupes de variétés de maïs. Le meilleur hybride (8522-2) combinait la stabilité avec le rendement élevé et une large adaptabilité. Cette variété peut être introduite aux agriculteurs à travers tout le pays. (Af Crop Science and Production: 2001 9(4): 685-692

Mitigating Turbulence-Induced Fading in Coherent FSO Links: An Adaptive Space-Time Code Approach

Free space optical communication systems have witnessed a significant rise in attention over the last half a decade owing largely to their enormous bandwidth and relative ease of deployment. Generally, free space optical communication systems differ in their detection mechanism as various detection mechanisms are being reported, including intensity modulation/direct detection FSO, differential FSO and coherent FSO. In this chapter, we explore the prospect of obtaining an optimally performing FSO system by harnessing the cutting-edge features of coherent FSO systems and the coding gain and diversity advantage offered by a four-state space-time trellis code (STTC) in order to combat turbulence-induced fading which has thus far beleaguered the performance of FSO systems. The initial outcomes of this technique are promising as a model for various visible light communication applications

Factors Influencing Initiation of Breast Feeding among Post-Partum Mothers in a Teaching Hospital of Osun State, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION:- Breastfeeding is well recognized as the best food source for infants. It has been advocated as a cost effective means of improving the child’s health, mother’s health and mother - infant bonding. The study was carried out to determine the factors that influence the initiation of breast feeding among post partum mothers in a teaching hospital of Osun State, Nigeria. METHOD: - A descriptive cross sectional research design was used, with 317 respondents selected randomly. Data were collected using a self-designed questionnaire. The data were analyzed using statistical product and service solutions window version 21. Six research hypotheses were set and analyzed while only one research questions was answered. RESULT: Results showed that maternal age was the only factor found to influence breast feeding initiation. Majority of respondents lack adequate understanding of the factors that are major predictors of breast feeding initiation. CONCLUSION:- It was concluded that mothers should be given health information on factors that can influence initiation of Keywords:Factors influencing, Initiation, Post partum mothers, breast feeding

Educational data mining: enhancement of student performance model using ensemble methods

Nowadays, Educational Data Mining (EDM), begun as a new research area due to the broadening of numerous statistical approaches that are used to perform data exploration in educational settings. One of the applications of EDM is the prediction of performance of students. In a web based education system, the behavioural features of learners are very significant in showing the interaction between students and the LMS. In this paper, our aim is to propose a new performance prediction model for students which is based on data mining methods which includes new features known as behavioural features of students and based on sequential feature selection which is used to identify most important features. The proposed performance model is evaluated using classifiers such as Support Vector Machine (SVM), K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) and Decision Tree (DT). Furthermore, so as to enhance the classifiers performance, the ensemble methods such as Bagging, Boosting and Random Forest were applied. The achieved results show that there exists a strong relationship between behaviour of students and their academic performance. An accuracy of 91.5% was gotten when the ensemble methods were applied to the classifiers to improve the academic performance. Thus, the result gotten shows the reliability of the proposed model

REVIEW ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND VALOURIZATION OF WASTE COOKING OIL

 There is a large volume of waste cooking oil (WCO) in the world, which has made waste management extremely difficult. The main purpose of the large-scale organized collection of WCO is the synthesis of biodiesel. Although alternative applications are equally important and necessitate attention, the majority of studies focus primarily on the synthesis of biodiesel from WCO. The major objective of this review paper is to draw attention to the potential environmental implications of used cooking oil as well as its potential for reuse in products other than biodiesel. It can be transformed into direct-burn energy, biodiesel, hydrogen gas, pyrolytic oil, or hydrogen. Applications like combined heat and power generation (CHP) are where WCO is most useful. Additionally, it can be chemically processed to create biodegradable polyurethane sheets, soaps, alkyd resins, greases, and lubricants. WCO is a carbon source that can be used in fermentation processes to create polyhydroxybutyrate and rhamnolipid biosurfactant after being completely cleaned and sterilized. Therefore, waste cooking oil can be viewed as a waste that can be converted into energy or used as a catalyst for biological or chemical processes