Design and fabrication of an improved plantain processing machine

Nigeria is the largest producer of plantain in West Africa with large percentage of it obtained in the southern part of the country. Plantains are of great nutritional importance, and the proximate analysis reported for plantain shows that per 100g edible portion, plantains contain 67.30 g water, 116 kcal of energy, and 31.15 g of carbohydrate. Although there are several machines that can process plantain but a complete machine that does pulverization, milling, drying, etc. is not readily available in Nigeria. In this research work, an improved plantain processing machine that comprises of all the units was designed and fabricated from available materials in Nigeria. 32kg of plantains were thoroughly peeled, washed, sliced and loaded in the pulverizer unit which pulverized the sliced plantain into paste. The plantain paste was properly dried and ground to obtained plantain flour. Performance evaluation was carried out on the fabricated machine. The results of the performance evaluation show that force, torque, and power of 320N, 33.60Nm, and 2533.7088W were required for operation of the machine. Furthermore, the total mass of flour produced from 32kg of plantain was 4.29kg. It was observed that mass of water in 32kg of plantain was 19.25kg. The total mass of plantain pulp after addition of 5kg of water was 37kg. These values were used to determine the percentage composition of water in the pulverized plantain pulp which was obtained as 65.54%. Besides, the efficiency of the machine and machine throughput capacity were obtained asKeywords: Plantain, Processing machine, Design, Fabrication, Flour, Pulverize

The Role of Oestrogen Receptor Beta (ERβ) in the Aetiology and Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction: Challenges facing the treatment of type 2 diabetes necessitate the search for agents which act via alternative pathways to provide better therapeutic outcomes. Recently, an increasing body of evidence implicates the activation of oestrogen receptors (ERα and ERβ) in the development and treatment of underlying conditions in type 2 diabetes. This article summarizes available evidence for the involvement of oestrogen receptors in insulin secretion, insulin resistance as well as glucose uptake and highlights the potential of ERβ as a therapeutic target. Background: Recent studies indicate an association between the activation of each of the isoforms of ER and recent findings indicate that ERβ shows promise as a potential target for antidiabetic drugs. In vitro and in vivo studies in receptor knockout mice indicate beneficial actions of selective agonists of ERβ receptor and underscore its therapeutic potential. Conclusion: Studies are needed to further elucidate the exact mechanism underlying the role of ERβ activation as a therapeutic approach in the management of type 2 diabetes

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

Brucellosis as an Emerging Threat in Developing Economies:Lessons from Nigeria

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, has a large proportion of the world's poor livestock keepers, and is a hotspot for neglected zoonoses. A review of the 127 accessible publications on brucellosis in Nigeria reveals only scant and fragmented evidence on its spatial and temporal distribution in different epidemiological contexts. The few bacteriological studies conducted demonstrate the existence of Brucella abortus in cattle and sheep, but evidence for B. melitensis in small ruminants is dated and unclear. The bulk of the evidence consists of seroprevalence studies, but test standardization and validation are not always adequately described, and misinterpretations exist with regard to sensitivity and/or specificity and ability to identify the infecting Brucella species. Despite this, early studies suggest that although brucellosis was endemic in extensive nomadic systems, seroprevalence was low, and brucellosis was not perceived as a real burden; recent studies, however, may reflect a changing trend. Concerning human brucellosis, no studies have identified the Brucella species and most reports provide only serological evidence of contact with Brucella in the classical risk groups; some suggest brucellosis misdiagnoses as malaria or other febrile conditions. The investigation of a severe outbreak that occurred in the late 1970s describes the emergence of animal and human disease caused by the settling of previously nomadic populations during the Sahelian drought. There appears to be an increasing risk of re-emergence of brucellosis in sub-Saharan Africa, as a result of the co-existence of pastoralist movements and the increase of intensive management resulting from growing urbanization and food demand. Highly contagious zoonoses like brucellosis pose a threat with far-reaching social and political consequences

Socioeconomic factors in the families of children with lymphoid malignancy in the UAE

Children of subcontinental (Indian and Pakistani) origin living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have previously been shown to have a higher relative frequency of ALL when compared to other ethnic groups. To analyze the possible effect of social class in this difference, a study of socioeconomic factors was conducted through personal interviews with the families of 115 children with lymphoid malignancies. The patients belonged to three ethnic groups: (1) UAE; (2) other Arabs; and (3) Indian subcontinent. UAE parents had the highest income and number of rooms in their house, but the lowest level of education. Occupational categories were significantly different for the three ethnic groups. While 41% of the UAE fathers worked in the army or the police, the majority of Arab and subcontinental fathers worked as government adminstrators or professionals. UAE families had the highest number of children in the family, subcontinental families the lowest. The number of children per family was inversely related to the parents' education level. Multiple regression analysis showed parental education level and house size to be significantly associated with ethnicity, while parental consanguinity was significantly associated with the diagnosis of lymphoma. It is difficult to define social class in the UAE population. While income and property ownership would place the UAE nationals in the highest category and the subcontinental group in the lowest, education level and occupational category would place the Arab and subcontinental groups higher. The smaller family size and higher education level in subcontinental families corresponds to the previously found higher relative frequency of ALL in this ethnic group and could lend support to the possible infectious etiology of the disease

China–Africa Trade Relations: Insights from AERC Scoping Studies

Cet article analyse l'impact des relations commerciales entre la Chine et l'Afrique, tant au niveau régional que national, à travers un échantillon de pays. Il confirme que ces relations commerciales donnent lieu tant à des gains qu'à des pertes. Au delà de cette constatation, l'article souligne que la structure existante des échanges entre l'Afrique et la Chine – renforcée par l'envergure croissante de la place occupée par la Chine – ne sert pas les objectifs de l'Afrique à plus long terme. Autrement dit, ces échanges ne contribuent pas à une diversification de la structure économique et commerciale de la région, et n'assure donc pas l'objectif de développement industriel de pays africains. Cet article suggère que, dans beaucoup de cas, les effets négatifs des relations commerciales entre la Chine et l'Afrique peuvent être plus importants que les effets positifs. En conséquence, des décisions politiques concertées devraient être prises, décision qui soient bien adaptées aux circonstances spécifiques de chaque pays. De façon générale, ces décisions consisteraient de mesures politiques visant le renforcement de l'accès des économies africaines au marché chinois ainsi que l'élimination des contraintes de capacité de production.European Journal of Development Research (2009) 21, 485–505. doi:10.1057/ejdr.2009.28