Assessing reliability of Widal test for typhoid fever case detection amongst outpatients attending two hospitals in Kano State, Nigeria

Background: Typhoid or enteric fever is caused by Salmonella typhi that cause salmonella food poisoning is acquired by ingesting food or water contaminated with faeces of infected humans or animals. The bacteria multiply and spread from intestines into the blood stream affecting many organs. Aim: This study was to assess the Salmonella typhi infection prevalence among outpatients attending two hospitals in Kano State. Secondly, to compare the reliability of Widal test with the blood and stool culture for isolating S. typhi regarded as “gold standard”. Thirdly, determine the co-occurrence of typhoid fever infection with anaemia. Methodology: The sample population (n=200) comprised children (n=118) 3-9 years old and adults (n=82) were screened for typhoid fever. The highest serum dilution with agglutination was taken as positive antibody titre. The blood samples were inoculated into thioglycolate agar for seven days and thereafter sub-cultured in Mac Conkey agar for 18 - 24 hours at 37ºC. Pale yellow to near colourless colonies were identified as Salmonella spp. Anaemia was assessed using blood pack cell volume (PCV). Results: Overall, the Widal test prevalence rate was 89 (44.5%) with male (n=123) having 50 (40.1%) and females (n=87) with 39 (30.7%). There was significant difference (p < 0.05) between Salmonella species isolated from males, 38 (30.9%) and females, 27 (35.1%), and no significant difference between the Widal test kit with 44 (44.0%) and 45 (45%) prevalence with 32 (72.72%) and 33 (73.33%) isolates, respectively. Among the Widal test positive (n=44), 16 (36.4%) had PCV below 30%. Conclusion: This study had shown that Widal test is not definitive and incapable of differentiating active from past exposure to infection compared to isolating S. typhi in culture media. Sole reliance on Widal test for case detection and management should be done with caution considering the clinical prognosis of bacteraemia and anaemia may lead to death

Haematophagous flies, haemoparasites and ecological variables impinging livestock health in three private farms within southern parts of Kano State, Nigeria

A spot check for animal trypanosomosis was conducted in three farms; two from Kiru and one from Bunkure Local Government Areas of Kano State, within the Sudano-Sahelian Ecological Zone in North West of Nigeria. The study was sequel to suspected outbreak of trypanosomosis and biting flies menace in the farms. Severe emaciation and low grade mortalities (often sudden) among the herds were reported. Blood samples were collected from emaciated cattle (n=70) from the study population (n=241) and examined for presence of trypanosomes using the buffy coat technique. Babesia and Anaplasma were analyzed by microscopic examination of thin blood smear fixed in absolute methanol and stained with 10% Giemsa solution. Twenty two samples (30%) were found to have different species of haemoparasites; Trypanosoma theileri (n=2), Anaplasma marginale (n=13) and Babesia bovis (n=7). The mean packed cell volume (PCV) was 25±% with a range between 16-41%; Farm-1 in Kiru and Farm-3 in Bunkure had the lowest and highest values, respectively. It was obvious that ticks infestation posed health and livestock production challenges to the study farms. The likelihood that mechanical transmission of trypanosomosis can be facilitated stemmed from migrating nomadic herds interaction with farm cattle during grazing and presence of biting fly population. The huge negative economic impact of haemoparasites; babesiosis and anaplasmosis to livestock within tsetse free area remains a big challenge. Combining vector (biting flies), haemoparasites and ectoparasites (ticks) control strategy using berenil and chlortetracycline appeared to be highly cost effective and efficient when administered to all animals

Advancing security in IoT-driven critical infrastructure: a focus on smart transportation system.

As new technological platforms such as the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are gradually emerging and being integrated into critical infrastructures which are subjected to digital attacks. i.e., the critical systems are vulnerable to new cybersecurity threatsand thus requires corresponding security approach to challenge the threats.It is therefore imperative to identify the various types of possible cyber-attacks on the systems and develop a security framework to manage the associated security risks. IoT-based critical infrastructure systemslike smart healthcare, smart transportation and smart manufacturing are prone to attacks such as Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, brute-force attacks, Man-in-the-Middle attacks (MiTM), Stuxnet computer virus etc. This paper focuses on a detailed study of the smart transportation system and its security issues; various threat vectors used by the attackers are examinedalongsidecorresponding countermeasures. Additionally,an in-depth analysis on how an identified malicious attack on smart transportationcould be achieved was carried out by using an open-source vehicular network tool called Vehicle in Network Simulation (Veins). A detailed evaluation of the impact of MiTM attack was then carried out based on the evaluation metrics. Results from the simulation results indicate that attacks on the built STSthesis vehicular network have a higher influence on the network. Also, although the STSthesis was a basic network that was run with considerable node, limited time and injected malicious node, the impact of the MiTM attack was still visible. Furthermore, implementing the elliptic-curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) with the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) in the early stage of design and implementation will prevent the MiTM attacks from intercepting messages between legitimate nodes

Comparative study on composition of insect in close and open nursery of Federal College of Forestry Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

Nursery being an area where young plants are raised before sowing or transplanting in gardens or field contains rich insect assemblages whose composition and abundance is under researched even in research institutes. Thus, the comparative study on the composition of insect in close and open nursery of Federal College of Forestry Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria was carried out in May 2015 in relation to the abundance and diversity of insect using pitfall trap and hand-picking sampling techniques. A total of 2,052 individuals distributed into 13 orders, 39 families, 50 genera and 55 species were collected. 1,557 (75.9%) individuals were collected from the open nursery (with: 13 orders, 39 families, 41 genera and 46 species) while, 495 (24.1%) individuals were found in the close nursery (with: 11 orders, 27 families, 38 genera and 47 species). Five individuals could not be identified beyond class and order levels. The distribution of insect taxa in descending order showed that Hymenoptera (62.8%), Coleoptera (11.1%) and Orthoptera (10.1%) are the most dominant, with Hymenoptera occurring the most in both sites. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the pooled abundance of insect from both sampling techniques between the two nursery types. Although, insect abundance from pitfall trap collection between the two nursery types showed a significant difference (t= -2.494, df = 8, P = 0.03729) while, no significant difference (t= 1.0263, df = 8, P= 0.3348) for hand-picked insect between the two nursery types. To this end, this study shows that the nursery of Federal College of Forestry Jos is healthy due to the abundant and diverse insect species recorded in which the phytophagus individuals are the most dominant group, but are kept under check by the predaceous ones. The pitfall trap was a more efficient collection technique and should be used by insect collectors.Keywords: Close and open nursery, insect, pitfall trap, hand-pickin

Assessment of early-maturing maize hybrids and testing sites using GGE biplot analysis

Article Purchased; Published: 7 Sept. 2017Identification of outstanding maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids for target environments is complicated by genotype × environment interactions. Thirty-two early-maturity maize hybrids were evaluated at eight locations in Nigeria and six locations in Ghana for 2 yr to (i) identify high-yielding, stable hybrids across locations and/or hybrids specifically adapted to different locations, and (ii) identify ideal test sites for selection of superior hybrids in the two countries. Genotype, country, year, location (country), and their interactive effects were significant (P < 0·01) for grain yield, days to anthesis and silking, anthesis-silking interval, plant and ear aspects, and ears per plant. Mean grain yield of the hybrids ranged from 3177 kg ha−1 for EWH-5 to 4596 kg ha−1 for EWH-29. The genotype main effects plus genotype × environment interaction (GGE) biplot analysis revealed that EWH-29, EWH-8, and EWH-30 did not differ significantly in grain yield and were the most stable hybrids in both countries, whereas EWH-26 and EWH-32 were the most stable hybrids only in Ghana. The GGE biplot analysis identified Samaru, Kafin Soli, and Minjibir in Nigeria and Nyankpala, Damongo, and Fumesua in Ghana as the most discriminating locations. Minjibir (Nigeria) and Nyankpala (Ghana), being most discriminating and representative locations, were considered the ideal testing sites for the respective countries. The type of cultivars evaluated determined the most suitable locations for multilocation testing within Ghana and Nigeria. Whereas hybrids EWH-29, EWH-8, and EWH-30 should be suitable for production in Nigeria, EWH-26 and EWH-32 should be promoted for production in Ghana

Genetic analysis of male sterility genes in different A and B sorghum lines

Hybrid seed production requires use of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). Without this system, hybrid seed production would not be economically feasible. There is, therefore, need for developing A and B sorghum lines, as an essential step for development of hybrid sorghum industry. A genetic study of male sterility in different A and B sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) lines was conducted at the research farm Institute for Agriculture Research in Samaru and Kadawa. Chi-square test revealed goodness-of-fit to single gene of observed proportion of sterile and fertile plants to the expected ratio in all the backcross generations, thereby upholding the assumption of single gene inheritance for the traits studied. Stability of male sterile genes across generations of backcrosses indicated that sterility was inherited 68 to 95% among the different genotypes. Based on high number of sterile plants, crosses 159 x 160 and 421 x 422 are the best in terms of breeding potential for male sterility.La production des semences hybrides n\ue9cessite l\u2019utilisation de la st\ue9rilit\ue9 m\ue2le cytoplasmique (CMS). Sans ce syst\ue8me, la production des semences hybrides ne serait pas \ue9conomiquement faisable. Il y a donc, un besoin pour d\ue9velopper des lign\ue9es A et B du sorgho, comme une \ue9tape essentielle dans le d\ue9veloppement d\u2019industrie de sorgho hybride. Une \ue9tude g\ue9n\ue9tique de la st\ue9rilit\ue9 m\ue2le dans diff\ue9rentes lign\ue9es A et B du sorgho ( Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) a \ue9t\ue9 conduite \ue0 la ferme d\u2019exp\ue9rimentation de l\u2019Institut des Recherches Agricoles de Samaru et Kadawa. Le test de Chi-carr\ue9 a r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 la qualit\ue9 d\u2019association d\u2019un seul g\ue8ne de la proportion observ\ue9e de plants st\ue9riles et fertiles au ratio observ\ue9 dans les g\ue9n\ue9rations de r\ue9trocroisement, ainsi soutenant l\u2019hypoth\ue8se de l\u2019h\ue9ritage d\u2019un g\ue8ne pour les traits \ue9tudi\ue9s. La stabilit\ue9 de g\ue8nes de la st\ue9rilit\ue9 m\ue2le \ue0 travers les g\ue9n\ue9rations du r\ue9trocroisement a indiqu\ue9 que la st\ue9rilit\ue9 \ue9tait h\ue9rit\ue9e entre 68 \ue0 95% entre les diff\ue9rents g\ue9notypes. Sur la base du nombre \ue9lev\ue9 de plantes st\ue9riles, les croisements 159 x 160 et 421 x 422 sont les meilleurs en termes du potentiel d\u2019am\ue9lioration g\ue9n\ue9tique pour la st\ue9rilit\ue9 m\ue2le

Stability analysis of maize cultivars adapted to tropical environments using AMMI analysis

Genotype × environment interactions complicate selection of superior genotypes for narrow and wide adaptation. Eighteen tropically-adapted maize cultivars were evaluated at six locations in Nigeria for 2 yrs to (i) identify superior and stable cultivars across environments and (ii) assess relationships among test environments. Environment and genotype × environment interactions (GEI) were significant (P −1 for TZL COMP4 C3 DT C2 with an average of 2555 kg ha−1. Cultivar DT SYN2-Y had the least additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) stability value of 7.4 and hence the most stable but low-yielding across environments. AMMI biplot explained 90.5% and classified cultivars and environments into four groups each. IWD C3 SYN F3 was identified as the high-yielding and stable cultivar across environments. ZA15, ZA14, BK14, BK15 and IL15 had environment mean above the grand mean, while BG14, BG15, LE14, LE15, IL14, LA14 and LA15 had mean below the grand mean. ZA, BK, BG, LE and LA were found to be consistent in ranking the maize cultivars. However, Zaria, Birnin Kudu, and Ilorin were identified as the best test locations and could be used for selecting the superior maize cultivars. The identified high-yielding and stable cultivar could be further tested and promoted for adoption to contribute to food insecurity in Nigeria

Astroparticle Physics with a Customized Low-Background Broad Energy Germanium Detector

The MAJORANA Collaboration is building the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, a 60 kg array of high purity germanium detectors housed in an ultra-low background shield at the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead, SD. The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge while demonstrating the feasibility of a tonne-scale experiment. It may also carry out a dark matter search in the 1-10 GeV/c^2 mass range. We have found that customized Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors produced by Canberra have several desirable features for a neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment, including low electronic noise, excellent pulse shape analysis capabilities, and simple fabrication. We have deployed a customized BEGe, the MAJORANA Low-Background BEGe at Kimballton (MALBEK), in a low-background cryostat and shield at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility in Virginia. This paper will focus on the detector characteristics and measurements that can be performed with such a radiation detector in a low-background environment.Comment: Submitted to NIMA Proceedings, SORMA XII. 9 pages, 4 figure

Measurement of the polarisation of W bosons produced with large transverse momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment

This paper describes an analysis of the angular distribution of W->enu and W->munu decays, using data from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 35 pb^-1. Using the decay lepton transverse momentum and the missing transverse energy, the W decay angular distribution projected onto the transverse plane is obtained and analysed in terms of helicity fractions f0, fL and fR over two ranges of W transverse momentum (ptw): 35 < ptw < 50 GeV and ptw > 50 GeV. Good agreement is found with theoretical predictions. For ptw > 50 GeV, the values of f0 and fL-fR, averaged over charge and lepton flavour, are measured to be : f0 = 0.127 +/- 0.030 +/- 0.108 and fL-fR = 0.252 +/- 0.017 +/- 0.030, where the first uncertainties are statistical, and the second include all systematic effects.Comment: 19 pages plus author list (34 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, revised author list, matches European Journal of Physics C versio

Observation of a new chi_b state in radiative transitions to Upsilon(1S) and Upsilon(2S) at ATLAS

The chi_b(nP) quarkonium states are produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb^-1, these states are reconstructed through their radiative decays to Upsilon(1S,2S) with Upsilon->mu+mu-. In addition to the mass peaks corresponding to the decay modes chi_b(1P,2P)->Upsilon(1S)gamma, a new structure centered at a mass of 10.530+/-0.005 (stat.)+/-0.009 (syst.) GeV is also observed, in both the Upsilon(1S)gamma and Upsilon(2S)gamma decay modes. This is interpreted as the chi_b(3P) system.Comment: 5 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 1 table, corrected author list, matches final version in Physical Review Letter