Sand dredging impact on macrobenthic invertebrates of a hallowed river in Delta State of Nigeria

River Ethiope is one of the most revered water bodies in Delta State by communities along its course. Macroinvertebrate samples were collected from threes communities; Obi- Iloh, Ebedei-Adonishaka, Ebedei Obi-Ukwuole designated as Station 1, 2 and 3 respectively, that forbids women entrance but allows men folk to sand dredge. The survey conducted between March and April, 2015, identified 17 taxa of macro invertebrate with 219 individuals. Of the nine order, Hemiptera constituted the most abundant set 42.25%, followed by Decapoda 16.90%, Coleoptera 11.74%, Plecoptera and Arachnida 6.57%, Odonata 5.16%, Diptera 4.23%, Annelida(Lumbriculida and Arhynchobdelida) 3.76% and the least Trichoptera 2.82%. However, non-statistical significant richness exists among these organisms at the stations (p ≥0.05). Computed biological indices and lower macro invertebrates census revealed that the macro invertebrates were more abundant in stations 3 and 1 than in station 2, identifying the last two stations as unstable and moderately deteriorated. The enlisted significant correlated variables expressed manifold hydrological factors pinpointing human disturbance as impact

Hygienic quality of ready-to-eat salads sold in the street and a modern restaurant in Lomé, TOGO

Poisoning following salads consumption was often reported in Lomé. This study was carried out to evaluate contamination of salads sold in Lomé. Sixty salad samples from modern restaurant (Domino), seventy from street sellers and forty of fresh vegetables from two markets were randomly collected. Microbiological quality of samples was examined on the basis of AFNOR methods and criteria. Salad selling occurs in room temperature. That modern restaurant uses cold to preserve foods. Microbial analyzes revealed that, Total viable count (TVC) load ranged from 2.15x104 – 9.2x1010 and 1.8x103 – 2.7x107 with 10% and 86.66% of satisfactory quality samples respectively for Domino and Street salads. Total and thermo-tolerant coliforms load ranged from 60-3.4x106 and 0-6.2x103 respectively for street salads with 14.28% and 57.15% of satisfactory samples. Domino samples located between 0-7x103 and 0-2.5x103 with 96.66% and 81.33% of conformity respectively. E. coli and S. aureus were isolated (0-2.5x103 and 0-103) respectively with 77.14% and 84.28% of satisfactory samples for street salads. These bacteria did not induce any conform samples. Salmonella spp were not found in salads and raw vegetable. Application of good hygiene practices rules would help to reduce disease risk related to the presence of pathogenic germs like E. coli and S. aureus.© 2015 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Food poisoning, Vegetable food, microbiological safet

Herbal Remedies And Their Adverse Effects In Tem Tribe Traditional Medicine In Togo

In Africa, up to 80% of the population relies on herbal concoctions for their primarily health care. In Togo, western Africa, Tem tribe is a population with old knowledge of medicinal plants, however, still very little is known about their medical practices. The present study was conducted to access for the apprehension of adverse effects of traditional remedies by Tem traditional healers (TH). Enquiry was performed by interviews with healers from August to October 2007 in Tchaoudjo prefecture (Togo). The study allowed us to interview 54 TH including 41(75.93%) males and 13(24.07%) females, who cited 102 recipes assumed to have adverse effects. The recipes were used alone to cure several diseases including haemorrhoids (22.55%), female sexual disorders and infertility (21.57%), gastrointestinal disorders (18.63%), and malaria (6.86%). A total of 34 plants belonging to 21 families were cited to be components of the recipes. Euphorbiaceae and Mimosaceae families were the most represented, however, Nauclea latifolia, Khaya senegalensis, Pseudocedrela kotschyi and Xeroderris stuhlmannii were the main components of recipes linked to adverse effects. A total of 20 adverse effects were linked to the administration of theses drugs, and among them; diarrhoea, abdominal pains, polyuria, general weakness and vomiting were the most frequently encountered. These findings were in accordance with several reports of the literature concerning medicinal plants, although they were based on empirical observations. Laboratory screenings are needed to access for the effectiveness as well as the possible toxic effects of the recipes. Keywords: traditional concoctions, medicinal plants, adverse effects, Togo

Fault Identification-based voltage sag state estimation using artificial neural network

© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.09.596© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This paper presents an artificial neural network (ANN) based approach to identify faults for voltage sag state estimation. Usually ANN cannot be used to abstract relationship between monitored data and arbitrarily named fault indices which are not related at all logically in numerical level. This paper presents a novel approach to overcome this problem. In this approach, not only the networks are trained to adapt to the given training data, the training data (the expected outputs of fault indices) is also updated to adapt to the neural network. During the training procedure, both the neural networks and training data are updated interactively. With the proposed approach, various faults can be accurately identified using limited monitored data. The approach is robust to measurement uncertainty which usually exists in practical monitoring systems. Furthermore, the updated fault indices are able to suggest the difference of the impact of various faults on bus voltages. .Published versio

Advances in crop insect modelling methods—Towards a whole system approach

A wide range of insects affect crop production and cause considerable yield losses. Difficulties reside on the development and adaptation of adequate strategies to predict insect pests for their timely management to ensure enhanced agricultural production. Several conceptual modelling frameworks have been proposed, and the choice of an approach depends largely on the objective of the model and the availability of data. This paper presents a summary of decades of advances in insect population dynamics, phenology models, distribution and risk mapping. Existing challenges on the modelling of insects are listed; followed by innovations in the field. New approaches include artificial neural networks, cellular automata (CA) coupled with fuzzy logic (FL), fractal, multi-fractal, percolation, synchronization and individual/agent based approaches. A concept for assessing climate change impacts and providing adaptation options for agricultural pest management independently of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenarios is suggested. A framework for estimating losses and optimizing yields within crop production system is proposed and a summary on modelling the economic impact of pests control is presented. The assessment shows that the majority of known insect modelling approaches are not holistic; they only concentrate on a single component of the system, i.e. the pest, rather than the whole crop production system. We suggest system thinking as a possible approach for linking crop, pest, and environmental conditions to provide a more comprehensive assessment of agricultural crop production.Peer reviewe

Performance of Bt maize event MON810 in controlling maize stem borers Chilo partellus and Busseola fusca in Uganda

Stem borers are major insect pests of maize in Uganda. A study was conducted in 2014–2016 to assess the performance of Bt hybrids expressing Cry1Ab (event MON810) against the two major stem borer species in Uganda – the African stem borer (Busseola fusca) and the spotted stem borer (Chilo partellus) – under artificial infestation. The study comprised 14 non-commercialized hybrids, including seven pairs of Bt and non-Bt hybrids (isolines), three non-Bt commercial hybrids and a conventional stem borer resistant check. All stem borer damage parameters (leaf damage, number of internodes tunneled and tunnel length) were generally significantly lower in Bt hybrids than in their isolines, the conventionally resistant hybrid, and local commercial hybrids. Mean yields were significantly higher by 29.4–80.5% in the Bt hybrids than in the other three categories of non-Bt hybrids. This study demonstrated that Bt maize expressing Cry1Ab protects against leaf damage and can limit entry of stem borers into the stems of maize plants, resulting in higher yield than in the non-transgenic hybrids. Thus, Bt maize has potential to contribute to the overall management package of stem borers in Uganda

Engaging men to support the resilience of Syrian refugee children and youth in Lebanon

Refugee men’s experiences as parents have been one of the least explored areas of psychosocial interventions with refugee families, yet there is a great need for engagement with men, including in their role as fathers. “Engaging Men” interventions seek to challenge the social norms, attitudes, and practices that increase the risk of gender-based violence against girls and women while also harnessing positive male power to prevent violence and promote safety. This chapter examines the impact of an “Engaging Men” intervention in Lebanon that involved 1028 Syrian refugee and 440 Lebanese men in a 12-week training course structure with the aims of promoting peaceful family and community relations, reducing violence and gender-based violence, and enhancing child protection and caregiving. The chapter focuses on the impact of the intervention on Syrian refugee children and adolescents through men’s reflections on the stressors in their own lives and how this impacted their role as fathers. The challenges of addressing child-specific protection risks of early marriage and child labor are discussed

Parental Factors Associated With the Decision to Participate in a Neonatal Clinical Trial

Importance: It remains poorly understood how parents decide whether to enroll a child in a neonatal clinical trial. This is particularly true for parents from racial or ethnic minority populations. Understanding factors associated with enrollment decisions may improve recruitment processes for families, increase enrollment rates, and decrease disparities in research participation. Objective: To assess differences in parental factors between parents who enrolled their infant and those who declined enrollment for a neonatal randomized clinical trial. Design, setting, and participants: This survey study conducted from July 2017 to October 2019 in 12 US level 3 and 4 neonatal intensive care units included parents of infants who enrolled in the High-dose Erythropoietin for Asphyxia and Encephalopathy (HEAL) trial or who were eligible but declined enrollment. Data were analyzed October 2019 through July 2020. Exposure: Parental choice of enrollment in neonatal clinical trial. Main outcomes and measures: Percentages and odds ratios (ORs) of parent participation as categorized by demographic characteristics, self-assessment of child's medical condition, study comprehension, and trust in medical researchers. Survey questions were based on the hypothesis that parents who enrolled their infant in HEAL differ from those who declined enrollment across 4 categories: (1) infant characteristics and parental demographic characteristics, (2) perception of infant's illness, (3) study comprehension, and (4) trust in clinicians and researchers. Results: Of a total 387 eligible parents, 269 (69.5%) completed the survey and were included in analysis. This included 183 of 242 (75.6%) of HEAL-enrolled and 86 of 145 (59.3%) of HEAL-declined parents. Parents who enrolled their infant had lower rates of Medicaid participation (74 [41.1%] vs 47 [55.3%]; P = .04) and higher rates of annual income greater than $55 000 (94 [52.8%] vs 30 [37.5%]; P = .03) compared with those who declined. Black parents had lower enrollment rates compared with White parents (OR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.17-0.73). Parents who reported their infant's medical condition as more serious had higher enrollment rates (OR, 5.7; 95% CI, 2.0-16.3). Parents who enrolled their infant reported higher trust in medical researchers compared with parents who declined (mean [SD] difference, 5.3 [0.3-10.3]). There was no association between study comprehension and enrollment. Conclusions and relevance: In this study, the following factors were associated with neonatal clinical trial enrollment: demographic characteristics (ie, race/ethnicity, Medicaid status, and reported income), perception of illness, and trust in medical researchers. Future work to confirm these findings and explore the reasons behind them may lead to strategies for better engaging underrepresented groups in neonatal clinical research to reduce enrollment disparities

A Subjective and Objective Assessment of Sound Insulation in Newly Converted Dwellings

The results are presented of a programme of measurement and analysis concerning the physical performance and subjective assessment of a range of sound insulating techniques commonly used in housing conversions. The work is underpinned by: 1. A comprehensive review of sound insulation prediction models which are used for comparison with field measurements, 2. A critical discussion of the measurement techniques and criteria used, and 3. A full account of legislative matters concerning sound insulation of relevance to those concerned with minimising disturbance due to noise intrusion. The field measurements are used to compare five general classes of sound insulation, drawing data from 224 self-contained dwellings. They provide statistical information on those factors which affect performance such as ceiling drop, surface density, fibre infill and floor covering. Details are given of a complimentary subjective survey of performance based on a questionnaire. A comparison of the results with field measurements shows that there is only a small correlation between them and that such subjective assessment cannot be used as a substitute for direct measurement. The work concludes with the construction details of the insulation techniques examined and a review of their performance comparing such factors as ease of installation, disturbance to the household and cost