Investigating heat stress in gari frying

One of the greatest discomforts widely reported in gari frying is heat stress experienced by the processors.  The effects of this risk, among other inherent risks, on the workers call for detailed investigation into the cause and effects with a view to mitigating them.  When excessive, this can cause heat stroke, a condition that can either threaten our lives or cause dire consequences.  This study was carried out in 40 gari-frying workstations in Ifo Local Government area of Ogun State and its environs.  Data were collected with questionnaire and oral interview, together with the use of a heat stress assessment checklist.  Further qualitative analysis was done using Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT).  Statistical analysis was performed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to test hypothesis on the WBGT.  The mean value of WBGT index recorded was 35oC, which is above the permissible WBGT of 31oC, indicating the prevalence of heat stress.  The use of other low level but more effective source of heat has been recommended, such that workers would have less contact with heat during the frying task.   Keywords: heat stress, gari frying, wet bulb globe temperature index, check list, ergonomics

Characterisation of Small Scale Feed Mills in a Developing Country

There are many cottage scale animal farms in Nigeria that are sustained by the existence of small scale feed mills. The growth of these small scale feed mills is affected by some problems. A study to investigate some of the technical problems in small scale feed mills was conducted using Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria as a case study. Ten feed mills were randomly selected and investigated while thirty workers were assessed. The characteristics of the feed mills were investigated in terms of capacity, number of workers, mill operations and equipment used and the problems were investigated by studying four different areas which include; power source; unit operations/equipment; energy utilization pattern and workplace safety/hygiene. A questionnaire was designed to elicit their operations and activities and to gather the necessary data required to ascertain problems being encountered while empirical formulas were used in energy analysis. The average capacity of the small scale feed mills is 2.87 tonnes/day with an average of 6 workers of which 4 are male. 12.3 litres of diesel, 120.19kWh of electricity from the national grid and 92.64 MJ of manual energy is consumed daily. The maximum amount of energy available is approximately 1620MJ/day. 80% of the workers questioned have suffered from some minor respiratory problems. Other problems identified include; high cost of power, high rodent infestation, dirty and dusty mill environs, etc. Good management and good equipment design are some of the specific interventions suggested to solve the problems identifie

Experimental Characterization of Maize Cob and Stalk Based Pellets for Energy Use

The quest for alternative energy sources is gradually shifting from natural fossil fuel to alternative bio-resources especially agricultural waste products due to their reduced pollution risk and sustainability. This study seeks to investigate the suitability of plant residue pellets to produce biomass. The plant residues investigated include corn cob and corn stalk. Three samples produced include 100% granulated corn cob residues, 100% granulated stalks and a composite of 50:50% granulated corn cobs and stalk residues. The mixed residues were pelletized using cassava starch as a binder. The pellets were experimentally analyzed using ultimate, proximate and calorimetry analyses. Among three sets of maize residue pellets investigated, the result of the cob-stalk 50:50% combination show that it has 0.64% nitrogen, 48.57% carbon, 0.38% Sulphur, 6.22% hydrogen, 55.81% oxygen, 3.25% moisture content, 2.20% ash content, 80.0% volatile matter, 17.80% fixed carbon percentage, HHV of 32.9 kJ/kg, an average CO2 value of 563±50 PPM, an average CO value of 100±50 PPM, an average value of 69±4% relative humidity and an average temperature of 27.5±0.5%. The study reiterates that corn stalk is a good bio-fuel and should be encouraged to address the current energy shortfalls in the country

Adapting television satellite dish for low-temperature solar thermal application: Experimental evaluation

Digital television broadcasting is currently becoming popular and as a result, the purchase of television cable dishes and other accessories are on the rise. Abandoned television satellite dishes continue to litter our environment due to obsolescence. Finding alternative use stands as a control measure for this inevitable environmental degradation. This paper, therefore, investigates the adaptation for low temperature solar thermal application. The TV satellite dish selected for this study has a diameter of 33.9 cm, depth of 9 cm and a focal point of 31.2 cm. The components added to the dish include; a reflective surface, pot stand, adjustable chain, dish support stand and base, control arm. This system was used in carrying out stagnation test on three different types of pots (aluminium, iron and stainless steel pots) positioned at the focal point. Other performance parameters studied include; standard stagnation temperature (SST) and the rate of change of pot temperature. The maximum stagnation temperatures attained by the inside of the iron, aluminium and stainless steel pots were 68, 80 and 82 °C respectively after 10, 13 and 40 minutes respectively; while their respective maximum SST were 100, 57 and 50 oC. The maximum temperature change inside the iron, aluminium and stainless steel pots were above 9, 12 and 10 oC/min. The result gathered shows that this system will be suitable for lower temperature applications like pasteurization, sterilization, household water heating, etc

Design and Preliminary Evaluation of a Dry Cowpea Dehuller

Cowpea dehulling is an important operation in the processing of cowpea. Traditional cowpea dehulling methods recognize the soaking of cowpea in water for a significant amount of time before manual abrasion is carried out either through the use of mortar and pestle, hands, or legs. Existing mechanical alternatives also require prolonged soaking of cowpea before dehulling occurs in addition to being expensive and beyond the reach of many rural populations. This study designed and fabricated a dry cowpea dehulling machine using engineering principles and with locally available materials. Components of the machine include the hopper, power transmission drive, dehulling chamber, polishing chamber, sieves, discharge chute, and agitator. Dry cowpea varieties of Brown Drum (15%Mc dB) and Oloyin (17.5%Mc dB) cowpea weighing 500 g each were fed into the machine at a constant speed of 358 rpm. Preliminary tests showed the “Brown Drum” cowpea variety recorded a maximum dehulling efficiency of 97.44% in 7 minutes while the Oloyin variety was completely dehulled in 7 minutes at 98.75% efficiency. The throughput capacity recorded was 450kg/hr and this machine raises the possibility of producing dry dehulled cowpea for domestic and industrial end-users

Distinct monkeypox virus lineages co-circulating in humans before 2022

The 2022 global mpox outbreak raises questions about how this zoonotic disease established effective human-to-human transmission and its potential for further adaptation. The 2022 outbreak virus is related to an ongoing outbreak in Nigeria originally reported in 2017, but the evolutionary path linking the two remains unclear due to a lack of genomic data between 2018, when virus exportations from Nigeria were first recorded, and 2022, when the global mpox outbreak began. Here, 18 viral genomes obtained from patients across southern Nigeria in 2019-2020 reveal multiple lineages of monkeypox virus (MPXV) co-circulated in humans for several years before 2022, with progressive accumulation of mutations consistent with APOBEC3 activity over time. We identify Nigerian A.2 lineage isolates, confirming the lineage that has been multiply exported to North America independently of the 2022 outbreak originated in Nigeria, and that it has persisted by human-to-human transmission in Nigeria for more than 2 years before its latest exportation. Finally, we identify a lineage-defining APOBEC3-style mutation in all A.2 isolates that disrupts gene A46R, encoding a viral innate immune modulator. Collectively, our data demonstrate MPXV capacity for sustained diversification within humans, including mutations that may be consistent with established mechanisms of poxvirus adaptation.</p

SARS-CoV-2 variants-associated outbreaks of COVID-19 in a tertiary institution, North-Central Nigeria: Implications for epidemic control.

The COVID-19 global pandemic is being driven by evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants with consequential implications on virus transmissibility, host immunity, and disease severity. Continuous molecular and genomic surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 variants is therefore necessary for public health interventions toward the management of the pandemic. This study is a retrospective analysis of COVID-19 cases reported in a Nigerian tertiary institution from July to December 2021. In total, 705 suspected COVID-19 cases that comprised 547 students and 158 non-students were investigated by real time PCR (RT-PCR); of which 372 (~52.8%) tested positive for COVID-19. Using a set of selection criteria, 74 (~19.9%) COVID-19 positive samples were selected for next generation sequencing. Data showed that there were two outbreaks of COVID-19 within the university community over the study period, during which more females (56.8%) tested positive than males (47.8%) (p<0.05). Clinical data together with phylogenetic analysis suggested community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through mostly asymptomatic and/or pre-symptomatic individuals. Confirmed COVID-19 cases were mostly mild, however, SARS-CoV-2 delta (77%) and omicron (4.1%) variants were implicated as major drivers of respective waves of infections during the study period. This study highlights the importance of integrated surveillance of communicable disease during outbreaks

Emergence and spread of two SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest in Nigeria.

Identifying the dissemination patterns and impacts of a virus of economic or health importance during a pandemic is crucial, as it informs the public on policies for containment in order to reduce the spread of the virus. In this study, we integrated genomic and travel data to investigate the emergence and spread of the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.318 and B.1.525 (Eta) variants of interest in Nigeria and the wider Africa region. By integrating travel data and phylogeographic reconstructions, we find that these two variants that arose during the second wave in Nigeria emerged from within Africa, with the B.1.525 from Nigeria, and then spread to other parts of the world. Data from this study show how regional connectivity of Nigeria drove the spread of these variants of interest to surrounding countries and those connected by air-traffic. Our findings demonstrate the power of genomic analysis when combined with mobility and epidemiological data to identify the drivers of transmission, as bidirectional transmission within and between African nations are grossly underestimated as seen in our import risk index estimates

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance.

Investment in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing in Africa over the past year has led to a major increase in the number of sequences that have been generated and used to track the pandemic on the continent, a number that now exceeds 100,000 genomes. Our results show an increase in the number of African countries that are able to sequence domestically and highlight that local sequencing enables faster turnaround times and more-regular routine surveillance. Despite limitations of low testing proportions, findings from this genomic surveillance study underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic and illuminate the distinct dispersal dynamics of variants of concern-particularly Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron-on the continent. Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve while the continent faces many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century