Traumatic long bone fractures in children seen in a metropolitan tertiary hospital in Enugu, Nigeria

Injuries in children are a well-known occurrence and often lead to fractures. The fractures may affect long bones, occur in all ages and could be accidental or non-accidental with associated injuries that may cause disability or permanent deformity. Lack of epidemiological research on causes, mechanism of injury and site of long bone fractures in children in our environment prompted this study. The study evaluates variables that maybe responsible for long bone fractures in children and document them accordingly for use in planning injury prevention strategies in children. The study was carried out in a tertiary hospital in a metropolitan city (Enugu State University of Science and Technology [ESUT] Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria). Medical records of patients, ward admission register, accident and emergency register and theatre registers were used for data collection. Children under 16 years who presented to the hospital with long bone fractures between January 2015 and December 2017 were part of the study. Eighty-five children with 86 long bone fractures out of 258 children that presented and were admitted into the orthopedic service were noted. Mean age of patients was 7.2 years + 1.8 years. The commonest long bone fractured was the femur n- 23 (26.7%). Males-female ratio was 1.15:1. Fall from height was the commonest cause of injury and abrasion/laceration the commonest associated injuries. Long bone fractures in children occur mostly due to falls from height and affects the femur more than any other bone. Bimodal annual occurrence rate has been noted and caregivers ought to be more vigilant during those times to help reduce the rate of long bone fractures in children

Production Optimization of Fortified Foam-Mat Dried Yoghurt

This experimental study examines the effect of different production parameters such as moringa seed flour, ginger extract, forming agent, mixing time and drying temperature on the selected proximate and microbiological qualities of foam-mat dried yoghurt. The design and analysis of the experiment were conducted with the central composite design technique of the Design Expert statistical software. The study aimed at fortifying and optimizing the production of foam-mat dried yoghurt, which involves powdered milk, water, starter culture and flavour which are kept constant and followed by the addition of moringa seed flour, ginger extract and forming agent (egg white). Twenty-five experimental runs with the control experiment inclusive were carried out based on the mixture-process design matrix and the nutritional properties evaluated include moisture content, crude protein, fat content, ash content, carbohydrate content, total lactic acid, bacteria and fungi. Numerical optimization, via the desirability approach, was utilized to determine the optimum production parameters for the fortified foam-mat dried yoghurt. Graphical optimization was also used to display the prediction of all responses in the mixture-process factors space. Results got revealed that foam-mat dried yoghurt with 10.79 % moisture content, 12.115% crude protein, 0.552% ash content, 2.196% fat and 16.409% carbohydrate could be produced from 80% of fresh yoghurt, 5.466% of moringa seed flour, 7.534% of ginger extract, 7% of foaming agent, mixing duration 2.53mins, drying temperature at 50oC and 0.721 desirability index gave the optimum quality. The results of this work are of great use to the food and beverage industries as they provide a basis for selecting process parameters for optimal foam-mat dried yoghurt production. Prospects for more studies were suggested

Rupture of an incisional hernia with evisceration of the gut: A case report

Spontaneous rupture of the abdominal wall hernia is very rare and usually occurs in incisional and recurrent groin hernias. Here, we report the case of rupture of a large incisional hernia with the evisceration of small bowel in a 56-year-old female. This surgical emergency was successfully managed using the current standard tension-free prosthetic mesh

The burden of diabetes in America: a data-driven analysis using power BI

Background: High blood glucose levels in diabetes lead to devastating damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. It affects millions of Americans and costs the healthcare system billions of dollars. The disease’s causes, risk factors, and effective prevention and treatment methods are still unknown despite its prevalence. Methods: This descriptive study used US census and CDC data to describe diabetes in America. The US census and CDC provided this study’s population and diabetes data. This study used two datasets. The first dataset contains 73054 2020 US population records. This dataset’s second type was strings and decimals, including state, county, and 2020 affected population percentage. Diabetics are represented by 3154 data points. Power BI was used to visualize decision support data. Results: According to our analysis, millions of Americans suffer from diabetes, which costs billions in healthcare costs annually. Diabetes is most prevalent in California, with 28.9 million people affected. Most cases are 45-64 years old, and the number has increased over the past decade. These findings suggest that America’s growing diabetes epidemic requires more resources and facilities. Conclusions: Finally, our study covers diabetes’s prevalence, incidence, and trends in America. Our findings show that America’s growing diabetes epidemic need more money, manpower, and infrastructure. We advise the government to monitor diabetes and plan for future healthcare needs

Seed certification and maize, rice and cowpea productivity in Nigeria: An insight based on nationally representative farm household data and seed company location data

Despite the potential importance of seed quality to agricultural productivity growth, many governments in sub-Saharan Africa lack the capacity to expand quality assurance systems even where there is expressed interest. This study aims to evidence the value of quality assurance systems with an analysis of efforts to produce and distribute certified seed in Nigeria. We assess the associations between quantities of certified seeds produced and spatial variations in production locations proxied by headquarter locations of seed companies producing certified seeds, on the one hand, with spatial variations in the use of certified seed, yields, and output at the farm level, on the other hand. Our analysis covers three crops that are important to food security in Nigeria: maize, rice, and cowpea. Our analysis integrates information on seed quantities produced and locations of seed companies with nationally representative panel data from a survey of farm households and spatially explicit rainfall and temperature data. We find a positive relationship between certified seed production in proximity to farm households and farm-level use of certified seeds, yields, and output, although this effect is diminishing at the margin. These diminishing marginal effects may be partly due to two factors. First, the yield gains from certified seeds tend to vary considerably within each state, suggesting that either quality issues persist in the seed supply chain or farmers are not using complementary inputs or appropriate management techniques when using quality seed. Second, it may be that as certified seed becomes more available to farmers, its use spreads from higher-return farms to lower-return farms, thereby diminishing the gains on the extensive margin. Although more rigorous assessments of causal effects and cost-effectiveness are needed to validate these findings, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that there are diminishing returns to seed quality assurance. Policymakers, regulators, and seed providers may benefit from identifying optimal, crop-specific target quantities or rates for certified seed production rather than aiming for certification of all seed produced in a market

Initial agronomic benefits of enhanced weathering using basalt: a study of spring oat in a temperate climate

Addressing soil nutrient degradation and global warming requires novel solutions. Enhanced weathering using crushed basalt rock is a promising dual-action strategy that can enhance soil health and sequester carbon dioxide. This study examines the short-term effects of basalt amendment on spring oat (Avena sativa L.) during the 2022 growing season in NE England. The experimental design consisted of four blocks with control and basalt-amended plots, and two cultivation types within each treatment, laid out in a split plot design. Basalt (18.86 tonnes ha−1) was incorporated into the soil during seeding. Tissue, grain and soil samples were collected for yield, nutrient, and pH analysis. Basalt amendment led to significantly higher yields, averaging 20.5% and 9.3% increases in direct drill and ploughed plots, respectively. Soil pH was significantly higher 256 days after rock application across cultivation types (direct drill: on average 6.47 vs. 6.76 and ploughed: on average 6.69 vs. 6.89, for control and basalt-amended plots, respectively), likely due to rapidly dissolving minerals in the applied basalt, such as calcite. Indications of growing season differences in soil pH are observed through direct measurement of lower manganese and iron uptake in plants grown on basalt-amended soil. Higher grain and tissue potassium, and tissue calcium uptake were observed in basalt-treated crops. Notably, no accumulation of potentially toxic elements (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel) was detected in the grain, indicating that crops grown using this basaltic feedstock are safe for consumption. This study indicates that basalt amendments can improve agronomic performance in sandy clay-loam agricultural soil under temperate climate conditions. These findings offer valuable insights for producers in temperate regions who are considering using such amendments, demonstrating the potential for improved crop yields and environmental benefits while ensuring crop safety

Analiza troškova primene modifikovane mašine za ljuštenje kod mehanizovane obrade casave

This paper assessed the benefits of adopting a modified cassava attrition peeling machine in mechanised Cassava (Manihot Esculenta) processing. The parameters evaluated and compared between the modified cassava attrition peeling machine, existing attrition peeler and manual peeling technique include the specific energy consumption, peeling efficiency, flesh loss, throughput capacity, payback period and benefit cost ratio. The results showed that the improved machine has a payback period of one year and four months with Benefit Cost Ratio, BCR of 2.56. Significant improvements on its performance parameters was evident with 43% increase in peeling efficiency, 74.8% increase in throughput, 67% tuber flesh recovery, 12 % energy cost savings and 10.6% reduction in specific energy consumption over the existing attrition peeler.U ovom radu su ocenjene prednosti usvajanja primene modifikovane mašine za ljuštenje kod mehanizovane obrade kasave (Manihot Esculenta). Parametri koji se procenjuju i upoređuju između modifikovane mašine za piling -ljuštenje kasave, postojećeg alata za ljuštenje i tehnike ručnog ljuštenja uključuju: specifičnu potrošnju energije, efikasnost ljuštenja, gubitak mase, propusni kapacitet mašine, period otplate i procenu troškova koristi. Rezultati pokazuju da poboljšana – modifikovana mašina ima rok vraćanja troškova od jedne godine i četiri meseca, a odnos koeficijenta koristi i troškova (BCR) od 2,56. Značajna poboljšanja parametara performansi mašine bila su evidentna sa povećanjem efikasnosti ljuštenja do 43%, povećanje protoka zrna od 74,8%, protokom mase od 67%, sa uštedom troškova energije od 12% i smanjenja potrošnje specifične energije od 10,6% u odnosu na postojeći aparat-uređaj za ljuštenj