Temperature Dependence Of The Electrical Resistivity Of LaxLu1-xAs

We investigate the temperature-dependent resistivity of single-crystalline films of LaxLu1-xAs over the 5-300 K range. The resistivity was separated into lattice, carrier and impurity scattering regions. The effect of impurity scattering is significant below 20 K, while carrier scattering dominates at 20-80 K and lattice scattering dominates above 80 K. All scattering regions show strong dependence on the La content of the films. While the resistivity of 600 nm LuAs films agree well with the reported bulk resistivity values, 3 nm films possessed significantly higher resistivity, suggesting that interfacial roughness significantly impacts the scattering of carriers at the nanoscale limit. (C) 2013 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.Microelectronics Research Cente

Production and Storage of Cassava Chips for Reconversion into Gari

Cassava chips (7% moisture level) produced from cassava root (IITA 94/0561) was stored for 6 months in high density polyethylene bag. Stored chips were coarse milled, rehydrated to 62.51% and seeded with fresh cassava mash (FCM) at levels of 5%, 10% and 20%. The resulting mash was fermented for 72 hr, with pH monitored every 24 hr, and processed to gari. Yield and swelling capacity of gari were determined. Sensory evaluation was carried out on water soaked gari and gari paste (‘eba’). While least values for pH was obtained in FCM throughout the fermentation period, there was reduction in values in all samples with increase in fermentation time from 30.01 to 33.40%. Yield of gari from the seeded chips ranged from 64.4-72.3%, while that of FCM was 18.7%. Swelling capacity of gari ranged from 2.0 - 3.0 in FCM and that seeded with 20% FCM, respectively. Sensory evaluation result revealed that gari produced from cassava chips seeded at 10% level is adequate for making ‘eba’ while that seeded at 5% level is adequate for consumption as soaked gari (p<0.05). Use of stored cassava chips with 10% FCM for gari production could be encouraged to reduce postharvest problem of cassava roots and the drudgery of gari processing. Keywords: Cassava chips, cassava mash, gari, ‘eba’, postharvest losses, storag

Growth performance, nutrient digestibility and health status of broilers fed varied levels of Xylopia Aethiopica phytoadditive.

Phytoadditives have gained potential role as one of the alternatives to antibiotics in animal nutrition since it has been confirmed to have no residual effect on the animal tissue and this study was therefore conducted to investigate the effect of inclusion levels of Xylopia aethiopica (Negro pepper) as a replacement of antibiotics on growth performance, blood profile, nutrient digestibility and organs response of boiler chickens. Two hundred and forty (240) day old chicks were randomly divided into five treatments of 48 birds each and housed in 4 replicates of 12 birds each. This experiment lasted for a period of 8 weeks and birds were placed on the same feed ad libitum except the inclusion of test ingredient in treatments 2-5. Diet without Xylopia aethiopica served as the control (T1). Diets in T2 to T5 were supplemented with 10g, 20g, 30, 40g of Xylopia aethiopica per kg feed. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design. All data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance using SPSS version 21 and significant means were separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test of the same software. The response of the broilers to dietary treatment were measured by feed intake, final weight, FCR, Cost/kg Weight gain, blood profile, organ responses and nutrient digestibility. There were significant differences (P<0.05) across the treatment in growth parameters except total feed intake and daily feed intake. The final live weight of broilers fed 10g of Xylopia aethiopica per kg feed (T2) was the highest (1858.50g/bird) while those fed 40g of Xylopia aethiopica per kg feed (T5) had the least (1411.33g/bird). This result suggested limit to the inclusion levels of the Xylopia aethiopica in the diet of broiler chickens. Addition of Negro pepper reduced the cost of per kg weight gain. Dietary treatment significantly (P<0.05) increased serum aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, globulin, cholesterol, but significantly reduced alkaline phosphatase. The nutrient digestibility of broiler chickens fed varied level of Xylopia aethiopica were significantly affected (P<0.05) in all parameters across the treatments and the broiler on treated groups had better nutrient digestibility. Relative organ weight of broiler chickens fed varied levels of Xylopia aethiopica were not significantly affected (P>0.05) across the treatments. It is recommended that supplementation of 10g of Negro pepper should be added to broiler diet for improved body weight gai

Comparative Analysis of Characteristics of Drought over Some West Africa Regions Based On Selected Drought Assessment Indices

Prolonged absence of moisture exacerbates drought and assessment indices such as Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) are critical tools. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the comparative characteristics of drought over West Africa using SPI and SPEI. The data used in this work was established on four monthly time scales of 3, 6, 12, and 24 and covered a period between 1979 and 2021 (42 years) at five regions in Hyper-Arid region, Sahelian region, Sudano region, Dry-Sub-humid region, Moist-Sub-humid region. The data was further analyzed and the characteristics of the drought were assessed. Data obtained revealed that there were some differences between SPI and SPEI in regional drought characteristics. Most of the regions considered experienced extreme drought in 1982. The result also revealed that more droughts were experienced in the eighties than in the nineties. Likewise some regions experienced severe drought in 2021 due to increase in drought intensity in the year 2021 as recorded by SPI and SPEI. Therefore it is vital for frequent assessment of meteorological drought characteristics in West Africa using recent data in order to explore its impact because climate change prediction can cause places that are currently experiencing mild or moderate drought to become more severe in the future, and the total impact of drought in West Africa will increase.  This study could also assist water resource planners to better understand the drought events

AMELIORATION OF ARSENIC-INDUCED TOXICITY BY ETHANOL LEAF EXTRACT OF PHYLLANTUS AMARUS LINN AND VITAMIN C IN MALE ALBINO RATS

The ameliorative effect of ethanol leaf extract of Phyllantus amarus (EEPA) and vitamin C in arsenic-induced toxicity was studied. Thirty-six (36) male albino rats divided into six groups of six (6) rats each were used for the study. Arsenic toxicity was induced in three of the groups by daily intake of 100 ppm of arsenic as Dimethylarsenate (DMA) in their drinking water.  Two of the arsenic-exposed groups were treated with 200 and 500 mg/kg bwt of EEPA and vitamin C respectively. The third group was not treated during arsenic exposure. The fourth and fifth groups were positive control for P. amarus and Vitamin C respectively, while another group served as the normal control. All treatments were done orally for six weeks. The effects of treatments on lipid profile, lipid peroxidation and liver function were thereafter studied. Increased levels of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and malondialdehyde (MDA) were observed in plasma and lymphocytes of untreated arsenic-exposed rats compared to the control group. Arsenic increased total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol concentrations, while triacylglycerol concentration was reduced significantly. Treatments with EEPA and Vitamin C however ameliorated the dyslipidemia observed in arsenic-exposed groups. Exposure to DMA increased plasma activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) of the animals, while plasma activity of ALT in rats treated with Vitamin C was not different compared to the control. Both treatments however, had no significant effect (p > 0.05) on the activity of plasma AST. P. amarus may therefore play a role in ameliorating arsenic-induced dyslipidemia in male albino rats.     &nbsp

Cryoablation of low-flow vascular malformations

PURPOSEWe aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of cryoablation in the treatment of low-flow malformations, specifically venous malformation (VM) and fibroadipose vascular anomaly (FAVA).METHODSWe conducted a retrospective review of 11 consecutive patients with low-flow malformations (14 lesions; 9 VM, 5 FAVA), median lesion volume 10.8 cm3, (range, 1.8–55.6 cm3) with a median age of 19 years (range, 10–50 years) who underwent cryoablation to achieve symptomatic control. Average follow-up was at a median of 207 days postprocedure (range, 120–886 days). Indications for treatment included focal pain and swelling. Technical success was achieved if the cryoablation ice ball covered the region of the malformation that corresponded to the patient’s symptoms. Clinical success was considered complete if all symptoms resolved and partial if some symptoms persisted but did not necessitate further treatment.RESULTSThe technical success rate was 100%. At 1-month follow-up, 13 of 14 lesions (93%) had a complete response and one (7%) had a partial response. At 6-month follow-up 12 of 13 (92%) had a complete response and 1 (8%) had a partial response. A total of 6 patients underwent primary cryoablation. Out of 9 VM cases, 7 had prior sclerotherapy and 2 had primary cryoablation. Out of the 5 FAVA cases, 1 had prior sclerotherapy and the remaining 4 cases underwent primary cryoablation. There were 3 minor complications following cryoablation including 2 cases of skin blisters and 1 case of transient numbness. These complications resolved with conservative management.CONCLUSIONCryoablation is safe and effective in the treatment of low-flow vascular malformations, either after sclerotherapy or as primary treatment

Advancing PoC Devices for Early Disease Detection using Graphene-based Sensors

Early detection of diseases is key to better disease management and higher survival rates. It aims at discovering conditions that have already produced biochemical changes in body fluids, but have not yet reached a stage of apparent physical symptoms or medical emergency. Therefore, early disease detection relies majorly on biochemical testing of biological fluids such as serum, in the body. The laboratories for these tests require biochemical-based instrumentations that are bulky and not commonly available especially in developing countries. Moreover, the tests are expensive and require trained personnel to conduct and interpret results. On the other hand, Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) biosensors have a potential to miniaturize the entire biochemical/laboratory methods of diagnostics into versatile, inexpensive and portable devices with great potential for low-cost Point-of-Care (POC) applications. They are capable of providing accurate and precise information on the measured health indices for sub-clinical level of diseases. Nanotechnology-inspired biosensors have further advantages of low limit of detection (required for early diagnosis), real-time analysis and lesser sample volume requirement. Of all other nanomaterials, graphene is said to be the most promising, suitable for biosensing due to its biocompatibility and consistent signal amplification even under the conditions of harsh ionic solutions found in the human body. This paper reviews the potentials, fundamental concepts and related works in using Graphene-based Field Effect Transistors (GFETs) as biosensors for early disease diagnosis. This paper also highlights a low-cost patterning mechanism for preparing SiO2/Si substrate for metal deposition (of the source and drain electrodes of FETs)

Effects of co-administered dexamethasone and diclofenac potassium on pain, swelling and trismus following third molar surgery

BACKGROUND: The apparent interactions between the mechanisms of action of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and steroids suggest that co-therapy may provide beneficial inflammatory and pain relief in the absence of side effects. The aim of the study was to compare the effect of co-administered dexamethasone and diclofenac potassium (diclofenac K) with diclofenac K alone on the postoperative pain, swelling and trismus after surgical removal of third molars. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective randomized double-blind study was conducted at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. A total of 100 patients were randomly allocated to two treatment groups of dexamethasone (prophylactic 8 mg and postoperative 4 mg IV) and diclofenac K (50 mg Oral before and after surgery), and diclofenac K alone (as with first group). The overall analgesic efficacy of the drug combinations was assessed postoperatively by determination of pain intensity using a category rating scale. Facial swelling was measured using a tape measure placed from tragus to gonion to tragus, while interincisal mouth-opening of patients was measured using a vernier calibrated caliper pre-operatively and post-operatively. RESULTS: Co-administration of dexamethasone and diclofenac K was significantly superior to diclofenac alone for the relief of pain (P < 0.05), and facial swelling up to post-operative 48 hour (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference for trismus relief between the two medication protocols (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study illustrates enhanced effects of co-administered dexamethasone and diclofenac K on short-term post-operative pain and swelling, compared to diclofenac potassium alone in third molar surgery

Technical aspects of CT imaging of the spine

This review article discusses technical aspects of computed tomography (CT) imaging of the spine. Patient positioning, and its influence on image quality and movement artefact, is discussed. Particular emphasis is placed on the choice of scan parameters and their relation to image quality and radiation burden to the patient. Strategies to reduce radiation burden and artefact from metal implants are outlined. Data acquisition, processing, image display and steps to reduce artefact are reviewed. CT imaging of the spine is put into context with other imaging modalities for specific clinical indications or problems. This review aims to review underlying principles for image acquisition and to provide a rough guide for clinical problems without being prescriptive. Individual practice will always vary and reflect differences in local experience, technical provisions and clinical requirements