Effect of Set Size and Fertilizer Types on Early Growth and Development of Plantain Suckers

Inspite of increase in demand for plantain and its products, its production still remain low as a result of unavailability of high quality suckers at the right time. In order to circumvent this problem, this present research was carried out to evaluate the effects of set sizes and organic growth medium on proliferation, growth and development of plantain suckers. The study was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho. Three propagule sizes (S1, S2 and S3) and five nitrogen rates using compost (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 kg N/ha) were evaluated.  The emerged suckers were allowed to grow for a period of 12 weeks. During the growth period, data were collected on pseudo stem height and number of leaves and leaf length. At six weeks after fertilizer application, leaf samples were taken for dry matter assessment and leaf tissue nutrient content. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (P≤0.05) and Duncan multiple range test was used to separate the significant means. Corm sizes and compost application had significant effects on growth and development of the suckers’ response variables. Stem girth, pseudo stem height and number of leaves increased with the level of compost application. In addition, it was observed that corm size three (S3) gave the highest number of leaves and highest leaf tissue nutrient uptake even though it has the least value of stem girth and height. Application of 90 and 120 kg N/ha compost to corm size three (S3) gave the highest nutrient content that was not significantly different from each other. Planting of corm size three (S3) with application of 90 kg N/ha compost is therefore recommended for use by the local farmers. Keywords: corm, fertilizer, Nigeria, plantain

Invasive bacterial infections in Gambians with sickle cell anaemia in an era of widespread Pneumococcal and Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccination

Background: There is relatively little data on the aetiology of bacterial infections in patients with sickle cell anaemia (SCA) in West Africa, and no data from countries that have implemented conjugate vaccines against both Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of SCA patients admitted to the Medical Research Council Unit, The Gambia during a five-year period when there was high coverage of Hib and Pneumococcal conjugate vaccination. We evaluated 161 admissions of 126 patients between April 2010 and April 2015. Results: Pathogenic bacteria were identified in blood cultures from 11 of the 131 admissions that had cultures taken (8.4%, 95% CI 4.5-14.1%). The most frequent isolate was Salmonella Typhimurium (6/11; 54.5%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (2/11; 18.2%) and other enteric Gram-negative pathogens (2/11; 18.2%) and there was one case of H. influenzae non-type b bacteraemia (1/11; 9.1%). There were no episodes of bacteraemia caused by S. pneumoniae or Hib. Conclusions: The low prevalence of S. pneumoniae and Hib, and the predominance of non-typhoidal Salmonella as a cause of bacteraemia suggest the need to reconsider optimal antimicrobial prophylaxis and the empirical treatment regimens for patients with SCA

A Comparative Study of Students’ Access to and Utilization of Learning Resources in Selected Public and Private Universities in Southwest, Nigeria

The study investigated students’ access to and utilization of some learning resources in selected public and private universities in southwest Nigeria. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 585 (295 public and 290 private) students from 12 (six public and six private) universities in southwest Nigeria. Two instruments-Cost and Quality of University Education Questionnaire (CQUEQS) with a reliability coefficient of 0, 87 and Availability of Learning Resources Observation Schedule (ALROS) which had been used in a previous study-were used to collect data for the study. Frequency counts and simple percentages were used to analyse the data while t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed a significant difference between public and private universities in terms of access to learning resources while there was no significant difference between public and private universities in the utilization of some learning resources. It was recommended that public universities should endeavour to provide more learning resources in their institutions while university authorities should ensure that learning resources that are provided are adequately utilised by students. Keywords: Accessibility, utilization, learning resources, public and private  universities, southwest Nigeria

Managing Network Security with Snort Open Source Intrusion Detection Tools

Organizations both large and small are constantly looking to improve their posture on security. Hackers and intruders have made many successful attempts to bring down high-profile company networks and web services for lack of adequate security. Many methods have been developed to secure the network infrastructure and communication over the Internet such as the firewall and intrusion detection systems. While most organizations deploy security equipment, they still encounter the challenge of monitoring and reviewing the security events. There are various intrusion detection tools in the market for free. Also, there are multiple ways to detect these attacks and vulnerabilities from being exploited and leaking corporate data on the internet. One method involves using intrusion detection systems to detect the attack and block or alert the appropriate staff of the attack. Snort contains a suite of tools that aids the administrators in detecting these events. In this paper, Snort IDS was analysed on how it manages the network from installation to deployment with additional tools that helps to analyse the security data. The components and rules to operate Snort were also discussed. As with other IDS it has advantages and disadvantages

Knowledge of birth defects among nursing mothers in a developing country

Background: In the absence of established guidelines, where formal screening is unavailable for birth defects, a lot of responsibility is placed on parents in the recognition of these defects.Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the awareness of mothers about birth effects in a developing country and assess what they know about the prevention, detection and treatment of children with birth defects.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 714 mothers consecutively selected at two major hospitals in Nigeria between May and December, 2012. Data were collected with interviewer administered questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using SPSS and statistical significance set at p <0.05Results: The participants were aged 17 to 42 years. Only 183 (25.6%) were aware of birth defects. Factors associated with awareness of birth defects were older age, religious belief, better education, higher socioeconomic class, early age at booking and registering at a tertiary care facility. Education, socioeconomic class as well as month and location of booking were found to be independent predictors of awareness of birth defects.Conclusion: Mothers in Ibadan, Nigeria, a country without a formal newborn screening programme, have a poor level of awareness about birth defects.Keywords: Awareness; Mothers; Birth defects; Developing countr

Serum Uric Acid Levels in Oral Cancer Patients Seen at Tertiary Institution in Nigeria

Introduction: Toxicity by oxygen radicals has been considered as an important cause of cancer. It is proposed that the antioxidant properties of uric acid may act to prevent formation of oxygen radicals and thereby protect against carcinogenesis. This study aims to assess the role of uricacid in the aetiology of oral cancer.Materials and Methods: Thirty one oral cancer patients and thirty normal patients had serum uric acid measured using spectophotometer. The data obtained was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 19.0 (SPSS19). Statistical significance was determined at P < 0.05. Results: The mean serum uric acid level in oral cancer patientswas 5.18 mg/dl (SD±1.96) while the mean was 7.09 mg/dl (SD±1.84) for the control group and this difference was statistically significant (p=0.000, t= -3.914, C.I. = - 2.885 to - 0.933). The risk of oral cancer was 3.98 times more in patients who had low serum uric acid.Conclusion: This study showed that serum uric acid was lower in oral cancer patients compared with healthy volunteers and low serum uric acid was associated with increased risk of oral cancer development. However, further prospective cohort studies are suggested to better understand the role of serum uric acid in aetiology of oral cancer

Effects of Sowing Date on Yield and Yield Parameters of Some Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Cultivar Under Rainfed Condition in Ogbomoso, Nigeria

The study examined the variation in number of flowers, number of nodules, number of pods and seed yield of some groundnut cultivar as affected by planting date in Ogbomoso, Oyo state, Nigeria under rainfed condition. This is necessary to determine when moisture availability will be at optimum starting from the onset of rainfall, to avert loss which could arise from improper timing of planting. Teaching and Research Farm of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Ogbomoso with average annual rainfall of 1000 mm and temperature ranging from 28 to 33 ºC was used for the experiment. A 4 by 4 factorial experiment with four varieties of groundnut (three improved varieties Samnut-10, Samnut-23, Samnut-22 and Kampala (local variety)) and four planting dates of a week interval (29th April, 6th May, 13th May and 20th May, 2016) were tried without chemical amendment. All the parameters evaluated were affected by the planting date.  Samnut-23 and Samnut-10 planted on 29th April produced the highest mean number of flowers (15.67) and number of nodules (116.00) respectively which were significantly higher than others. Cultivar type did not have significant influence (p≤0.05) on the growth parameters. However, number of pods and seed yield was influenced by the cultivar. The highest number of pods (103.00) from this study was produced by Samnut-23 planted on 29th April. It was observed that the high number of pods produced by Samnut-23 did not translate to seed yield because Kampala produced the highest seed yield (73.51 g/plot) which was significantly higher than yield from other cultivars tried. Groundnut cultivars responded differently to planting date tried, with best planting period being early month of May. It was observed that all the cultivars produced their least seed yield when planted towards the end of month of May, therefore, should be discouraged for the tried cultivars at the trial location. KEYWORDS: Sowing date, Rainfed, Pod, Seed yield and Groundnut Production DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/9-18-06 Publication date:September 30th 201

Hepatorenal toxicity studies of sub-chronic administration of calyx aqueous extracts of hibiscus sabdariffa in albino rats

Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn has been reported to have a broad range of therapeutic effects. Subchronic effects of calyces aqueous extracts of H. Sabdariffa were studied in albino rats. Twenty four (24) albino rats were randomly divided into six (6) groups of four rats each. Group A, was fed with growers mesh and distilled water as control. Groups B to F were administered orally with the aqueous extract at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5g /kg body weight respectively and the treatment period was 28 days. A decreased in weights of the animals were observed at all dose levels. The activities of liver maker enzymes (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase) and direct bilirubin increased significantly (p0.05) increase in concentrations of total protein and albumin were observed in comparison to the control. The renal indices, urea, uric acid and creatinine in the treated groups were significantly increased compared to the control but a significant decrease (

Integrating project based learning components into woodwork technology education curriculum at colleges of education in Nigeria

The main aim of this paper is to investigate project-based learning components suitable for integration into woodwork technology education curriculum (WTE) at Colleges of education (COE) in Nigeria. The study employed an intrinsic case study design. The population for the study comprised 12 respondents involving woodwork technology education lecturers and curriculum planners in north western Nigeria. Semi structured Interview protocol was the instrument used for collecting data for the study, while NVIVO 12 was used to analyse the qualitative data. Findings from the study revealed that the curriculum structure of WTE at COE does not include PoBL. The findings also revealed 21st century skills, inquiry and innovation, publicly presented product among the PoBL components suitable for integration into WTE curriculum at COE in Nigeria. Findings also revealed relevance of integrating PoBL in WTE curriculum, and equally showed from the responses of the participants that involvement of WTE students in investigation, collaboration grouping, and provision of adequate resource facilities as ways through which PoBL components can enhance student skill when integrated into WTE curriculum. Therefore, integrating components of PoBL into WTE curriculum affords students’ the opportunity to enhance their skills in WTE, and bridge the skill gap existing between WTE graduates and the industries