PRELIMINARY TOXICITY EVALUATION OF SOIL CONTAMINATED WITH PETROLEUM DERIVATIVES ON SOME CROP PLANTS

The germination and growth of Zea mays and Sorghum bicolor were investigated on soils contaminated with different petroleum derivatives. This was carried out with a view to ascertaining the toxicity effects of these derivatives on the crop plants. Soil was collected from area with no previous contamination and was filled inside polythene bags. The experimental setup for each contaminant was a complete randomized design with three replicates. Each of the petroleum derivatives which include diesel oil (AGO), spent engine oil and lubricant oil each had three treatments i.e. 0 ml, 50 ml and 100 ml. The 0 ml treatment represents control where the soil was mixed with distilled water only. Five seeds of each crop plant were picked at random and sown on the soils containing the treatments and the experiments were monitored for five weeks. The germination percentage was calculated daily for seven days while the plant height and leaf areas were determined weekly. Results showed that the controls of all the crop plants had the highest percentage germination while the treatment that had 100 ml contaminations had the lowest. It was also observed, the higher the diesel oil contamination, the lower the leaf areas of Zea mays and Sorghum bicolor&nbsp

Phytoremediation and Agricultural Productivity – A mini review

The productivity of Agricultural land has reduced drastically particularly in highly industrialized and oil producing Countries as a result of incessant discharge of toxic compounds from many human activities into the environment. Plants are described as effective organisms for remediating polluted environment mainly due to their exceptional biological features. Some of the popular, modern and commercialized processes that have been used over the years in decontaminating polluted sites are not eco-friendly and are expensive. This is why more emphasis is laid on less-expensive and eco-friendly technique which uses green plants called phytoremediation. This review described phytoextraction, phytostabilization, rhizofiltration, phytodegradation and phytovolatilization as various techniques of phytoremediation with examples of plants that are used for this purpose. It also clearly describes healthy soil as promoter of crops yield and improving the lively hood of man and other organisms in the ecosystem

RESPONSES OF DIFFERENT TOMATO VARIETIES TO DISEASE STRESS UNDER DIFFERENT CONDITIONS OF GRAVITY

A study was carried out to evaluate the responses of different tomato varieties to fungal disease stress under different conditions of gravity, in Lafia, Nasarawa State Nigeria. Seeds of three local tomato varieties namely; UTC, Teema and Dan Syria were plated on plant agar inoculated with culture filtrates of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Pythium ultimum, and rotated on a clinostat at a speed of 20 revolutions per minute (rpm) for 96 hours in a dark growth chamber. Seedlings of Dan Syria subjected to the condition of normal gravity had the highest Frequency of germination (79.61%), seedling height (4.01mm) and stem girth (0.19mm). Teema had thehighest width of vascular bundles (1.18mm) under normal gravity condition. Under conditions of microgravity, the highest number of trichomes (15.38), plant height (3.25mm), width of epidermis (0.19mm), and frequency of germination (66.63%), were observed in the UTC variety. The least frequency of germination (27.75%) and seedling height (1.06mm) was observed in Dan Syria under the condition of microgravity. Trichomes were absent in seedlings of Dan Syria under normal gravity. Seedlings of Dan Syria, UTC, and Teema subjected to disease stress revealed absence of stomata on exposure to microgravity conditions. Differences in effect of gravity conditions on morphological and anatomical features of the seedlings were significant (P≤0.05). The UTC tomato variety showed higher disease tolerance under microgravity stress, and could be considered for genetic studies aimed at selection of stress tolerance genes in the tomato variety, for enhanced yield and productivit

PRELIMINARY BOTANICAL ASSESSMENT OF PRODUCTION CHALLENGES OF CASHEW (ANACARDIUM OCCIDENTALE L.) IN LAFIA, NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

The aim of this study was to investigate the production and challenges of cashew farming in Lafia, Nigeria. The study area was divided into five zones. Fifty semi-structured questionnaires were administered to the farmers. The results showed that only males are engaged in cashew farming and slightly above 95% are married and just about 44% are aged between 21-40 y. Over 95% of farmers disclose that cashew production is seasonal; slightly above 73% disclose that diseases and pests are major challenges in cashew cultivation. Over 64% are of the opinion that these diseases and pests are responsible for yield reduction. Slightly above 52% disclose that yellow cashew is the most tasty and best for consumption. 52% of the farmers agree that 2017 is their best year of harvest because they were more involved in the management. 44% of farmers disclose that they do not apply chemicals and cultural practice in controlling diseases and pests, however majority agree that chemicals are useful in weed control. There was no agreement about the flowering and fruiting periods of cashew as 57% believe that cashew trees flower once, during the dry season and 65% disclosed that flowering occurs between January and March each year

ETHNOMEDICINAL ASSETS OF PLANTS COLLECTED FROM NASARAWA STATE, NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

An ethno-medicinal survey of plants used in treating various diseases and ailments was carried out in the study area of Nasarawa State, North Central Nigeria to obtain information on their uses and potentials. The ethnomedicinal survey was administered through structured questionnaires among local inhabitants from areas with high plant density and diversity within the various Local Government Areas of the State. A total of 82 (Eighty two) plant species belonging to 43 (Forty Three) families were found to be useful in treatment of various ailments such as diabetes, measles, fever, asthma, jaundice, pneumonia, sexually transmitted diseases(STDs),aches, diarrhea, cough, arthritis, yellow fever, typhoid, erectile dysfunction and excessive bleeding. Different parts of the plant such as the roots, leaves and stems are used in preparing herbal remedies which could be from dry or freshly collected plants. The main methods of preparation are decoction or infusion, while in some cases the plant parts used are consumed directly. Residents in the study areas find the herbal remedy cheaper and more accessible and claimed that there are no side effects compared to orthodox medicine. This study has confirmed the need towards the conscious conservation of plant genetic resources in order to ensure sustained access to these ethno-medicinal plant material

GROWTH AND ANATOMICAL RESPONSES OF TOMATO (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM ) UNDER MICROGRAVITY AND NORMAL GRAVITY CONDITIONS

Microgravity is known to be a major abiotic stress in space which affects plants depending on the duration ofexposure. In this research, tomato seeds were exposed to long hours of simulated microgravity condition usinga one-axis clinostat. The seeds were sown on a 1.5% combination of plant nutrient and agar-agar solidifiedmedium in three Petri dishes. One of the Petri dishes was mounted on the clinostat and allowed to rotate atthe speed of 20 rpm for 72 hours while the others were subjected to the normal gravity vector. The anatomicalsections of both clinorotated and normal gravity plants were made after 72 hours and observed using a Phasecontrast digital microscope. The percentage germination as well as the growth rate of the normal gravity seeds was higher than the clinorotated treatments. The orientation of the clinorotated roots during germination were in different directions unlike the normal gravity which all germinated towards the direction of gravity vector. The clinostat was able to switch off gravistimulation as distinct cellular arrangement was observed for the tomato plants under normal gravity condition unlike those of the clinorotated treatment. The results revealed that the thickness of the epidermis and cortex of the roots of normal gravity are higher than those of clinorotated. This suggests that under long-term microgravity exposure, plants can acclimatize to the stress by changing their internal cellular features such as reduction in the thickness of cells and rate of cell proliferation

SOME ETHNOBOTANICAL USES OF PLANT RESOURCES IN NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

A study was carried out to evaluate the ethnobotanical uses of plant resources in Nassarawa State, Nigeria. A total of 80 plants belonging to 37 families were surveyed through oral interviews of local inhabitants from different locations in the State, who use various plant materials for their livelihood. Uses ranged from Ornamental, food, forage, timber and construction, pest control, and textile. Plants belonging to the families Poaceae and Caesalpinniaceae were mostly used for food (9.76% respectively), Poaceae(42.85%) for forage, Combretaceae, Poaceae and Moraceae (18.18% respectively) for timber, building constructions and fuelwood. Only members of the family Lamiaceae and Malvaceae were used for pest control and textile purposes respectively. Majority of plant use in the study area was for food (51.25%) followed by forage (17.15%). The genus Ficus had the highest number of ethnobotanical uses with four applications, followed by Terminalia and Ceibaboth having three applications each. The rich biodiversity of ethnobotanical significance in the study area needs to be adequately conserved in order to forestall over exploitation and extinction of economically important plant families which is the main source of economy to the inhabitant

Immunoglobulin, glucocorticoid, or combination therapy for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a propensity-weighted cohort study

Background: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a hyperinflammatory condition associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, has emerged as a serious illness in children worldwide. Immunoglobulin or glucocorticoids, or both, are currently recommended treatments. Methods: The Best Available Treatment Study evaluated immunomodulatory treatments for MIS-C in an international observational cohort. Analysis of the first 614 patients was previously reported. In this propensity-weighted cohort study, clinical and outcome data from children with suspected or proven MIS-C were collected onto a web-based Research Electronic Data Capture database. After excluding neonates and incomplete or duplicate records, inverse probability weighting was used to compare primary treatments with intravenous immunoglobulin, intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, or glucocorticoids alone, using intravenous immunoglobulin as the reference treatment. Primary outcomes were a composite of inotropic or ventilator support from the second day after treatment initiation, or death, and time to improvement on an ordinal clinical severity scale. Secondary outcomes included treatment escalation, clinical deterioration, fever, and coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN69546370. Findings: We enrolled 2101 children (aged 0 months to 19 years) with clinically diagnosed MIS-C from 39 countries between June 14, 2020, and April 25, 2022, and, following exclusions, 2009 patients were included for analysis (median age 8·0 years [IQR 4·2–11·4], 1191 [59·3%] male and 818 [40·7%] female, and 825 [41·1%] White). 680 (33·8%) patients received primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin, 698 (34·7%) with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, 487 (24·2%) with glucocorticoids alone; 59 (2·9%) patients received other combinations, including biologicals, and 85 (4·2%) patients received no immunomodulators. There were no significant differences between treatments for primary outcomes for the 1586 patients with complete baseline and outcome data that were considered for primary analysis. Adjusted odds ratios for ventilation, inotropic support, or death were 1·09 (95% CI 0·75–1·58; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids and 0·93 (0·58–1·47; corrected p value=1·00) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Adjusted average hazard ratios for time to improvement were 1·04 (95% CI 0·91–1·20; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, and 0·84 (0·70–1·00; corrected p value=0·22) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Treatment escalation was less frequent for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids (OR 0·15 [95% CI 0·11–0·20]; p<0·0001) and glucocorticoids alone (0·68 [0·50–0·93]; p=0·014) versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Persistent fever (from day 2 onward) was less common with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids compared with either intravenous immunoglobulin alone (OR 0·50 [95% CI 0·38–0·67]; p<0·0001) or glucocorticoids alone (0·63 [0·45–0·88]; p=0·0058). Coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution did not differ significantly between treatment groups. Interpretation: Recovery rates, including occurrence and resolution of coronary artery aneurysms, were similar for primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin when compared to glucocorticoids or intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids. Initial treatment with glucocorticoids appears to be a safe alternative to immunoglobulin or combined therapy, and might be advantageous in view of the cost and limited availability of intravenous immunoglobulin in many countries. Funding: Imperial College London, the European Union's Horizon 2020, Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Foundation, UK National Institute for Health and Care Research, and National Institutes of Health

Diabetes and the Risk of Multi-System Aging Phenotypes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

[[abstract]]Background: Observational studies suggested an association between diabetes and the risk of various geriatric conditions (i.e., cognitive impairment, dementia, depression, mobility impairment, disability, falls, and urinary incontinence). However, the magnitude and impact of diabetes on older adults have not been reviewed. Methodology/Principal Findings: MEDLINE and PSYCINFO databases were searched through November 2007 for published studies, supplemented by manual searches of bibliographies of key articles. Population-based, prospective cohort studies that reported risk of geriatric outcomes in relation to diabetes status at baseline were selected. Two authors independently extracted the data, including study population and follow-up duration, ascertainment of diabetes status at baseline, outcomes of interest and their ascertainment, adjusted covariates, measures of association, and brief results. Fifteen studies examined the association of DM with cognitive dysfunction. DM was associated with a faster decline in cognitive function among older adults. The pooled adjusted risk ratio (RR) for all dementia when persons with DM were compared to those without was 1.47 (95% CI, 1.25 to 1.73). Summary RRs for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia comparing persons with DM to those without were 1.39 (CI, 1.16 to 1.66) and 2.38 (CI, 1.79 to 3.18), respectively. Four of 5 studies found significant association of DM with faster mobility decline and incident disability. Two studies examined the association of diabetes with falls in older women. Both found statistically significant associations. Insulin users had higher RR for recurrent falls. One study for urinary incontinence in older women found statistically significant associations. Two studies for depression did not suggest that DM was an independent predictor of incident depression. Conclusions/Significance: Current evidence supports that DM is associated with increased risk for selected geriatric conditions. Clinicians should increase their awareness and provide appropriate care. Future research is required to elucidate the underlying pathological pathway. 2009 Lu et al