Evaluation of Heavy Metal Concentrations in Surface and Ground Water Collected from River Challawa, Kumbotso Tannery Dumpsite and their Vicinity, Kano State, Nigeria.

A study was conducted to determine the concentration of heavy metals in surface and ground water collected from river Challawa and Kumbotso tannery dumpsite. The samples were analyzed for the levels of Co, Ni, Pb, Cr, Cu, Cd, Zn, and Fe using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The result showed that all the metals exceeded the standard limit in the water. The estimated metal levels in the water were compared with the safe limits laid down by the World Health Organization (WHO).Keywords: AAS, Challawa Industrial Area Effluents, Heavy Metals, Tanner

Geo-spatial analysis of crime in Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria

Criminal activities are important concerns for public safety of our contemporary society. Clarifying where different types of crimes occur is one of the many important functions of crime analyses. This research aimed to map and analyse crime in Kaduna metropolis, Nigeria, applying Geo-Spatial Technique. The attribute data were obtained from the Police Divisional Head Quarters in Kaduna. An administrative map of the study area was used to delineate the police districts according to the Divisional Police Headquarters Jurisdiction in Kaduna Metropolis. The study identified and mapped a total of 11 crime types in the study area. The coordinates of each crime incidence were obtained from Google Earth Pro 4.2, this is because the exact location were not captured when the crimes were committed. An overlay analysis was performed and all the acquired coordinates of the crimes were displayed on the composite map. Finally, a GIS database was created where the spatial and attribute data were encoded and query analysis was performed. The study revealed that Theft/Stealing and Hurting/Fight ranks highest with 19.29% and 16.82% respectively. The study also discovered that crime incidence is highest in Tudun Wada with (15.05%), followed by Sabon Tasha and Rigachikun with 10.24% and 10.16% respectively. The study also revealed that Tudunwada, Sabon Tasha, Rigachikun and Rigasa are the major crime hotspots in the metropolis. This research, therefore recommends more effort should be put towards fighting crime especially in the months of December and January as the two months have the highest number of crimes committed. Also, crime cases should be recorded in details alongside their geographical coordinates by the Nigerian police.Keywords: GIS, Mapping, Spatial distribution, Crim

Comorbidities among infertile women at NKST hospital Mkar-Gboko, North-Central Nigeria

Background:  Infertility, a common, non-fatal ailment, is sometimes associated with substantial comorbidity that can add adverse outcomes during treatment or pregnancy and increase costs of care. This study aims to assess the magnitude and pattern of comorbidities in infertile Nigerian women.Method: This descriptive retrospective study was undertaken at NKST Hospital Mkar-Gboko, Nigeria, from 1st January 2005 to 31st July 2013. Clinic records of patients who attended the gynaecological outreach clinic were retrieved and analyzed using descriptive statistics and test of associations with Microsoft Excel 2013.  Jos University Teaching Hospital gave ethical clearance.Results: 1,926 women seen during the study period, 1030 (53.5%) presented for infertility care. 941 (91.4%) women had complete records, among them, 476 (50.5%) met the inclusion criteria, and their records were analyzed. The mean age of the women was 32.6±6.0 years with a range of 20 to 53 years, see Table1. There were 52 comorbid conditions among the 476 women. The comorbidities included uterine myoma, previous appendectomy/pelvic surgeries, genital tract infections/retroviral disease, hypertension, obesity and diabetes, among others, see Table 4. Table 2 and 3 shows there is a significant statistical association between comorbidity type, age, parity, duration of infertility and symptoms complex between infertile women and comorbidities (p<0.05).Conclusion: Comorbidities that can influence treatment and pregnancy outcomes are common among infertile women in central Nigeria. This finding strongly supports the routine assessment of women for comorbidities during infertility care for appropriate multidisciplinary management and counselling

Mechanical properties of silver nanoparticles induced europium doped phosphate glasses for red laser application

Magnesium-zinc-sulfophosphate glasses with varying concentration of Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) composition of 63.5P2O5-20MgO-15ZnSO4-1.5Eu2O3-zAgNps (z = 0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7,0.9 and 1.1 g in excess) was prepared using melt-quenching technique. The as-Quenched glass samples were characterised to ascertain the correlation between physical and mechanical characteristics. The enhanced Young's, shear, and bulk modulus of glasses noted a comparative rise in AgNPs contents. The Poisson's ratio improved from (0.0978 to 0.1416) while Vickers hardness (from 0.0658 to 0. 0.0682 GPa) as well as GC12 (from 0.8350 to 0.8916) were enhanced. Photoluminescence spectra (emission) of the glasses showed four peaks at 593, 613, 654, and 701 nm equivalent to 5D0?7F0, 5D0?7F2, 5D0?7F3, and 5D0?7F4 transitions in europium in which the intense peak was observed at 613 nm (red). High Quantum Efficiency (? = 97.9%) was achieved due to significant PL enhancement. The studied glass may be useful for the development of red laser

Incidence and Factors Associated with Postpartum Anemia at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital

Background: The World Health organization defines postpartum anemia as hemoglobin &lt;11g/dl at 1 week postpartum and &lt;12g/dl at 8 weeks postpartum. Postpartum anemia can also be defined as less than 11.8 g/dl for women aged 12–15 years and less than 12g/dl for women at least age 15 years. In Uganda, 23% of women age 15-49 are anemic, with 18 percent having mild anemia, 5 percent having moderate anemia, and less than 1 percent having severe anemia. Objective: To determine the incidence and factors associated with the new cases of post natal anemia in Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. Methods:  A prospective cohort study of 271 postpartum mothers without anemia enrolled on discharge after delivery. Participants were followed up to determine development of anemia at 10 weeks postpartum and associated factors on the subsequent postnatal visits. Incidence of postpartum anemia in MRRH was 29.9%, 95% CI (24 - 35). Helminthes infestations AOR95%CI; 12.88(5.25- 31.64, P&lt;0.000), malaria infections AOR95%CI 4.74(1.50-14.94, P=0.008), poor hematinic adherence AOR95%CI, 6.81(3.17-14.62, P&lt;0.000), high parity AOR95%CI, 2.48(1.11- 5.54, P=0.026), and husband unemployment AOR 3.92(1.14 – 13.39, P=0.030) were found to be statistically associated with post-partum anemia. Conclusion: The incidence of postpartum anemia in Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital is very high. Hematinics non adherence, husband unemployment, increased parity; malaria infection and helminthes infestation were found to be associated with post-partum anemia at MRRH

Real-time high-resolution heterodyne-based measurements of spectral dynamics in fibre lasers

Conventional tools for measurement of laser spectra (e.g. optical spectrum analysers) capture data averaged over a considerable time period. However, the generation spectrum of many laser types may involve spectral dynamics whose relatively fast time scale is determined by their cavity round trip period, calling for instrumentation featuring both high temporal and spectral resolution. Such real-time spectral characterisation becomes particularly challenging if the laser pulses are long, or they have continuous or quasi-continuous wave radiation components. Here we combine optical heterodyning with a technique of spatiooral intensity measurements that allows the characterisation of such complex sources. Fast, round-trip-resolved spectral dynamics of cavity-based systems in real-time are obtained, with temporal resolution of one cavity round trip and frequency resolution defined by its inverse (85 ns and 24 MHz respectively are demonstrated). We also show how under certain conditions for quasi-continuous wave sources, the spectral resolution could be further increased by a factor of 100 by direct extraction of phase information from the heterodyned dynamics or by using double time scales within the spectrogram approach

CD98 Increases Renal Epithelial Cell Proliferation by Activating MAPKs

CD98 heavy chain (CD98hc) is a multifunctional transmembrane spanning scaffolding protein whose extracellular domain binds with light chain amino acid transporters (Lats) to form the heterodimeric amino acid transporters (HATs). It also interacts with β1 and β3 integrins by its transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains. This interaction is proposed to be the mechanism whereby CD98 mediates cell survival and growth via currently undefined signaling pathways. In this study, we determined whether the critical function of CD98-dependent amino acid transport also plays a role in cell proliferation and defined the signaling pathways that mediate CD98-dependent proliferation of murine renal inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) cells. We demonstrate that downregulating CD98hc expression resulted in IMCD cell death. Utilizing overexpression studies of CD98hc mutants that either lacked a cytoplasmic tail or were unable to bind to Lats we showed that CD98 increases serum-dependent cell proliferation by a mechanism that requires the CD98hc cytoplasmic tail. We further demonstrated that CD98-dependent amino acid transport increased renal tubular epithelial cell proliferation by a mechanism that does not require the CD98hc cytoplasmic tail. Both these mechanisms of increased renal tubular epithelial cell proliferation are mediated by Erk and p38 MAPK signaling. Although increased amino transport markedly activated mTor signaling, this pathway did not alter cell proliferation. Thus, these studies demonstrate that in IMCD cells, the cytoplasmic and extracellular domains of CD98hc regulate cell proliferation by distinct mechanisms that are mediated by common MAPK signaling pathways

Years Old Preschool Children

The aim of this study was to examine the role of parent perfectionism on predicting anxiety level of 5 and 6 years old preschool children. The data were collecded with Preschool Anxiety Scale Parent Form and Multi-dimensional Perfectionism Scale. The study was carried out with parents of 379 5 and 6 years old preschool children in Denizli. The data were analyzed with correlation, multiple and stepwise regression analyses statistical techniques.The results indicated that the social-oriented perfectionism level of mothers and fathers were the meaningful predictor of perceived anxiety level of children. On the other hand, it was found that self-oriented and other-oriented perfectionism levels of parents were not the meaningful predictors of perceived anxiety in children. In the study, implications of the findings were discussed and suggestions were given for educators, researchers and parents

Microvascular Complications of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in an Adolescent: Case Report

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus is a common chronic health problem with microvascular complications such as neuropathy, retinopathy and nephropathy in the pediatric population throughout the life. Screening of these complications should be done regularly, and appropriate preventive strategies should be followed. We present a 17 year old Type 1 diabetic patient who admitted to the hospital with the complaint of unhealed wound of his toe. An integrated and personal care of his clinical status revealed that he had diabetic microvascular complications including diabetic foot, neurogenic bladder, retinopathy, cataract and nephropathy