Comparative evaluation of the physicochemical composition and microbial quality of seven different water sources used in processing root and tuber crops in Umudike, Nigeria

The physicochemical composition and microbial quality of 7 different water sources (Umudike ukwu bore hole (B5), Umuariaga borehole (B3), Nidoro spring water (S2), Umudike bore hole (B4), Umudike school borehole A (B7), Umudike school bore hole B (B6) and Ahiaeke bore hole (B9) used for root and tuber crop processing in Umudike, Nigeria were investigated using standard techniques. The chloride, sulphate, phosphate, dissolved substances, hardness of water, ammonium nitrate and conductivity in all the water samples, fell within the range recommended by the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) or the World Health Organization (WHO) while the values obtained for pH and nitrites were lower than the range given by WHO and NIS. Most of the samples had higher organic carbon contents than permitted. In terms of dissolved oxygen (D) and total hydrogen (TH), S2 had the highest, B5 and B6 had the least for DO (P > 0.05) while B6 had the least in addition for TH. The biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of B3 was the highest among the water samples analyzed (P < 0.05) while that of B5 and B6 were the least (P > 0.05). Sensory evaluation of the samples showed that they were clear, tasteless and odorless. Microbial analysis carried out indicated the presence of coliforms in the water samples although this does not give any cause for concern as they fell within the standards for coliform in water. The total plate count of the samples ranged from 8.00 to 19.09cfu/100ml with B9 having the highest while B7 had the least. Some of the microorganisms isolated include: E.coli, salmonella, shigella, fungi and staphylococcus, indicating microbial contamination of these water samples and thus highlights the need for their urgent sterilization. The absence of Vibrio cholerea in all the water samples indicate the non-prevalence of cholera in the study area. Finally, most of the water sources used by these communities in processing their root and tuber crops did not meet the recommended standards for nitrites, biochemical oxygen demand, organic carbon and nitrites in water, underscoring the need for regular checks and on these water sources.Key words: Water, microbial, coliform, physicochemical, root crops, tuber crops

Kinetics and Equilibrium of Crude Oil Sorption from Aqueous Solution Using Borassus Aeothopum Coir

In this study, Borassus aethopum coir (BAC) which is an abundant, cheap, readily available and biodegradable agricultural waste was modified by acetylation using acetic anhydride and NBS catalyst at room temperature. This was to increase their hydrophobic properties and improve their sorption capacity in aqueous environment. The crude oil sorption kinetic data were fitted by intra-particle diffusion and pseudo-first order for raw BAC but the pseudo-second order kinetic model best fits crude oil sorption data for acetylated BAC.  The Langmuir and Freundlich models were used to elucidate the sorption behaviour of crude oil with raw and acetylated BAC. Freundlich isotherm gave the best fit for the equilibrium crude oil sorption data for acetylated BAC and raw BAC. Fourier transform infrared and scanning electron microscope analyses showed clear evidence of successful acetylation. The results presented and discussed in the study suggests that acetylated BAC (ABAC) is more suitable for crude oil sorption than raw BAC, therefore, possesses more potential for application and further development in treatment of oil spillage. Keywords: acetylated borassus aethopum coir, kinetics, crude oil sorption, sorbents, sorption capacity. DOI: 10.7176/CMR/11-2-02

The Anti-Nutritional and Proximate Composition of Rain Tree (Samanea saman) Pod Samples

The anti-nutritional and proximate composition of pods of Samanea saman were determined. About 600g of wholesome, cleaned and dried pods were divided into two portions: one portion was ground as whole pod meal while the other portion was deseeded and ground as seedless meal. The removed seeds were ground separately as a sample to obtain three samples namely: whole pod, pulp and seed samples. Triplicate data obtained were subjected to One-Way ANOVA using SPSS software of version 21. Mean values and Fisher’s least significant difference (LSD) were determined for the separation of the means at (p≤0.05). The whole pod had 1.49mg/100g oxalate, 1.97mg/100g hydrogen cyanide, 0.71mg/100g tannins, 27.07mg/100g saponins, 0.51mg/100g flavonoids and 1.71mg/100g alkaloids, which were significantly(p≤0.05) different from that of pulp (1.89mg/100g oxalate, 1.51mg/100g hydrogen cyanide, 0.86mg/100g tannins, 28.46mg/100g saponins, 1.00mg/100g flavonoids and 1.41mg/100g alkaloids) and seed samples (1.39mg/100g oxalate, 1.61mg100g hydrogen cyanide, 0.56mg/100g tannins, 26.51mg/100g saponins, 0.49mg/100g flavonoids and 1.86mg/100g alkaloids). The moisture contents were pulp (19.30%), whole pod (15.50%) and seed (9.20%). Ash content were whole pod (4.70%), pulp (2.90%) and seed (2.60%); Ether extract of whole pod, pulp and seed were 3.31%, 2.52% and 2.66% respectively. The crude proteins were whole pod (13.21%), pulp (10.98%) and seed (21.55%); crude fibre of the plant were whole pod (15.95%), pulp (6.77%) and seed (8.47%). The whole pod had 47.33% carbohydrate which was significantly (p≤0.05) lower than the carbohydrate of pulp (57.53%) and seed (55.52%). The utilization of the pods of S. samana is a significant source of bioactive that if harnessed in the formulation of nutraceutical beverage could offer a whole lot of health benefit to the users

Association of Meniscal Status, Lower Extremity Alignment, and Body Mass Index With Chondrosis at Revision Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

BACKGROUND: Knees undergoing revision anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (rACLR) have a high prevalence of articular cartilage lesions. HYPOTHESIS: The prevalence of chondrosis at the time of rACLR is associated with meniscal status and lower extremity alignment. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: Data from the prospective Multicenter ACL Revision Study (MARS) cohort were reviewed to identify patients with preoperative lower extremity alignment films. Lower extremity alignment was defined by the weightbearing line (WBL) as a percentage of the tibial plateau width, while the chondral and meniscal status of each weightbearing compartment was recorded at the time of surgery. Multivariable proportional odds models were constructed and adjusted for relevant factors to examine which risk factors were independently associated with the degree of medial and lateral compartment chondrosis. RESULTS: The cohort included 246 patients with lower extremity alignment films at the time of rACLR. Mean (+/-SD) patient age was 26.9 +/- 9.5 years and body mass index (BMI) was 26.4 +/- 4.6. The medial compartment had more chondrosis (grade 2/3, 42%; grade 4, 6.5%) than did the lateral compartment (grade 2/3, 26%; grade 4, 6.5%). Disruption of the meniscus was noted in 35% of patients on the medial side and 16% in the lateral side. The mean WBL was 0.43 +/- 0.13. Medial compartment chondrosis was associated with BMI (P = .025), alignment (P = .002), and medial meniscal status (P = .001). None of the knees with the WBL lateral to 0.625 had grade 4 chondrosis in the medial compartment. Lateral compartment chondrosis was significantly associated with age (P = .013) and lateral meniscal status (P \u3c .001). Subjects with intact menisci were found to decrease their odds of having chondrosis by 64% to 84%. CONCLUSION: The status of articular cartilage in the tibiofemoral compartments at the time of rACLR is related to meniscal status. Lower extremity alignment and BMI are associated with medial compartment chondrosis

Genetic Variation for Striga hermonthica Resistance and Yield Among Sorghum Accessions in Nigeria

Striga hermonthica (Delile) Benth., commonly referred to as witch weed, is a major constraint to sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) production in the Northern region of Nigeria because of high yield losses due to infestation. To identify parental lines useful in breeding for S. hermonthica resistant sorghum genotypes adapted to Nigeria, twenty-five sorghum accessions were evaluated in Nigeria across three test environments. Both phenotypic and genetic components influenced the variation observed in the sorghum accessions. The estimates for the genetic coefficient of variation, heritability and genetic advance for the area under Striga number progress curve (ASUNPC), Striga emergence counts, yield and other agronomic traits, obtained in this study revealed that genetic gain for resistance to S. hermonthica could be realized through selection. Based on the performance of the 25 sorghum accessions SRN39, Danyana, Sepon82, and SAMSORG40 were the top four accessions found to be most resistant to S. hermonthica. Assessment of resistance was based on the low Striga emergence counts and the ASUNPC values. These accessions can be used as donor sources of S. hermonthica resistant genes for introgression into cultivars adapted to Nigeria, followed by recombination breeding for pyramiding the different resistance mechanisms

Marker Assisted Foreground Selection for Identification of Striga Resistant Backcross Lines in Sorghum bicolor

Striga is a major constraint to sorghum production causing high yield loss due to increasing infestation. Locally-adapted cultivars with resistant genes/QTLs could be an effective control strategy for Striga. Marker-Assisted Foreground Selection was used to select backcross lines possessing Striga resistance QTLs from N13. Marker polymorphism was conducted for the donor parent N13 and 10 recurrent parents using 10 Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers. Recurrent parents with SSR alleles, polymorphic to the donor parent allele were selected. F1 lines were developed by making a cross between the selected recurrent parent and the donor. The F1 were confirmed for heterozygosity using SSR markers. Selected heterozygote F1s were backcrossed to their recurrent parent to develop backcross populations (BC1F1 and BC2F1). BC1F1 and BC2F1 populations were genotyped using SSR markers flanking the Striga resistant QTLs in N13. Forty two DANYANA-N13 BC2F1 lines (with 4 QTLs in 3 lines, 3 QTLs in 10 lines and other 28 lines having 1 to 2 QTLs) were selected for the presence of N13 QTLs. Forty three SAMSORG39-N13 BC2F1 lines (with 3 QTLs in 2 lines while 41 lines had 1 to 2 QTLs) were also selected for the presence of N13 QTLs. Although, selected lines will be genotyped for the recovery of recurrent parent background and evaluated to identify elite genotypes for possible release as varieties, the successful introgression of Striga resistance QTLs using Marker Assisted Selection suggests that in developing superior sorghum varieties, breeders could make use of molecular marker technologies to speed up breeding programmes

Genetic diversity assessment of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) accessions using single nucleotide polymorphism markers

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is an important resource to the national economy and it is essential to assess the genetic diversity in existing sorghum germplasm for better conservation, utilization and crop improvement. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of genetic diversity within and among sorghum germplasms collected from diverse institutes in Nigeria and Mali using Single Nucleotide Polymorphic markers. Genetic diversity among the germplasm was low with an average polymorphism information content value of 0.24. Analysis of Molecular Variation revealed 6%variation amonggermplasmand 94%withingermplasms.Dendrogramrevealed threegroupsof clusteringwhich indicatevariationswithinthegermplasms. Privatealleles identified inthesorghum accessions from National Center for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Ibadan, Nigeria and International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Kano, Nigeria shows their prospect for sorghum improvement and discovery of new agronomic traits. The presence of private alleles and genetic variation within the germplasms indicates that the accessions are valuable resources for future breeding programs

Epidemiological Assessment of Vesical Schistosomiasis in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria

A survey was carried out between January and July 2002 to determine the prevalence of vesical schistosomiasis in Bende Local government area of Abia State. A total of 2406 persons in eleven communities aged between 6 and 60 years were examined. Prevalence rates in the eleven communities ranged between 25.5% and 52.3% with an overall prevalence of 41.5%. More males (42.6%) than females (39.4%) were infected in all the age groups, and high rate of haematuria (78.2%) was observed among the infected subjects. Infection prevalence was significantly higher (65.3%) among those in the age group of 11 - 20 years (P < 0.05) than those above 60 years. More than 70% of those infected excreted above 50 eggs/10ml urine. Malacological studies conducted along water bodies in the study area indicated that infection was localised. Bulinus globosus is implicated as the potential disease intermediate host. @JASE

Molecular expression patterns in the synovium and their association with advanced symptomatic knee osteoarthritis

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major source of knee pain. Mechanisms of OA knee pain are incompletely understood but include synovial pathology. We aimed to identify molecular expression patterns in the synovium associated with symptomatic knee OA.Design: Snap frozen synovia were from people undergoing total knee replacement (TKR) for advanced OA, or from post-mortem (PM) cases who had not sought help for knee pain. Associations with OA symptoms were determined using discovery and validation samples, each comprising TKR and post mortem (PM) cases matched for chondropathy (Symptomatic or Asymptomatic Chondropathy). Associations with OA were determined by comparing age matched TKR and PM control cases. Real-time quantitative PCR for 96 genes involved in inflammation and nerve sensitisation used TaqMan® Array Cards in discovery and validation samples, and protein expression for replicated genes was quantified using Luminex bead assay.Results: Eight genes were differentially expressed between asymptomatic and symptomatic chondropathy cases and replicated between discovery and validation samples (P3-fold change). Of these, matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-1 was also increased whereas interleukin-1 receptor 1 (IL1R1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were decreased at the protein level in the synovium of symptomatic compared to asymptomatic chondropathy cases. MMP1 protein expression was also increased in OA compared to PM controls.Conclusion: Associations of symptomatic OA may suggest roles of MMP1 expression and IL1R1 and VEGF pathways in OA pain. Better understanding of which inflammation-associated molecules mediate OA pain should inform refinement of existing therapies and development of new treatments

Update to the Vitamin C, Thiamine and Steroids in Sepsis (VICTAS) protocol: statistical analysis plan for a prospective, multicenter, double-blind, adaptive sample size, randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Observational research suggests that combined therapy with Vitamin C, thiamine and hydrocortisone may reduce mortality in patients with septic shock. METHODS AND DESIGN: The Vitamin C, Thiamine and Steroids in Sepsis (VICTAS) trial is a multicenter, double-blind, adaptive sample size, randomized, placebo-controlled trial designed to test the efficacy of combination therapy with vitamin C (1.5 g), thiamine (100 mg), and hydrocortisone (50 mg) given every 6 h for up to 16 doses in patients with respiratory or circulatory dysfunction (or both) resulting from sepsis. The primary outcome is ventilator- and vasopressor-free days with mortality as the key secondary outcome. Recruitment began in August 2018 and is ongoing; 501 participants have been enrolled to date, with a planned maximum sample size of 2000. The Data and Safety Monitoring Board reviewed interim results at N = 200, 300, 400 and 500, and has recommended continuing recruitment. The next interim analysis will occur when N = 1000. This update presents the statistical analysis plan. Specifically, we provide definitions for key treatment and outcome variables, and for intent-to-treat, per-protocol, and safety analysis datasets. We describe the planned descriptive analyses, the main analysis of the primary end point, our approach to secondary and exploratory analyses, and handling of missing data. Our goal is to provide enough detail that our approach could be replicated by an independent study group, thereby enhancing the transparency of the study. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03509350. Registered on 26 April 2018