Fish species and size distribution and abundance in different areas in Lake Victoria, Tanzania

The study was carried out to investigate fish species distribution and abundance in different areas and size structure variations according to depth in Lake Victoria, Tanzania. Data were collected using a bottom trawl net during rainy and dry seasons in 2002. The results show that there were significant differences in catch rates between rainy and dry seasons (F (12, 12) = 2.69; p 0.05). The distribution of the fish species in different areas recorded a significant difference during the dry season (Q = 18.254, df = 8, P 0.001). Moreover, the results show that small individuals dominated in shallow waters at a mode ranging between 15 cm and 25 cm TL. Larger individuals dominated in deep waters recording a mode at 45.5 cm TL. The study therefore, suggests that in order to have a sustainable fishery, L. niloticus should actively be exploited at depths greater than 20 m where there are larger and mature individuals. Tanzania Journal of Science Vol. 31 (1) 2005: pp. 73-8

A Comparative Assessment of the Epidemiology of Malnutrition among Pupils in Public and Private Primary School in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State

Background: Majority of school children lack adequate amount of food, thereby inducing malnutrition, which now poses a serious threat to education, particularly in developing countries, including Nigeria. The importance of good nutrition in the proper and optimal development in childhood is indispensible because children are at a stage in life when all the tissues and cells are rapidly growing and organs are developed for specific functions in the child's life.Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among pupils of selected Public and Private schools in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau state, Nigeria. A multistage sampling method was used to recruit the calculated sample size of 500 pupils; an interviewer administered questionnaires, weighing scale, measuring tape meter were the instrument used for data collection.Results: The socio demographic data of 290 and 210 pupils of the public and private schools respectively were compared. The pupils' ranged between 5-17years with majority between 6-10 years in all the schools. Pupils in the private school were more nourished and had an appropriate weight-for-age more than 90% of the normal range with an ideal height-for-age of 48.0% more than those in the public school.Conclusion: Nutritional imbalance can affect the educational outcome of the children amongst many other things. Measures such as school feeding should be introduced on a national scale in order to alleviate any deficiency state of the pupils

Current Status of Commune-Level Leadership Cadres and Activities for Enhancing the Capacity of Commune-Level Leadership Cadres in Thai Nguyen Province, VietNam

Thai Nguyen is one of the regional centers of the midland and mountainous provinces in the North of Vietnam. Thai Nguyen Province comprises 9 administrative units, including 3 cities (Thai Nguyen city, Song Cong city, Pho Yen city) and 6 districts (Phu Binh, Dong Hy, Vo Nhai, Dinh Hoa, Dai Tu, Phu Luong) with 177 commune-level administrative units, consisting of 126 communes, 41 wards, and 10 towns. The cadre of commune-level leaders in Thai Nguyen Province is currently fewer than the prescribed number (due to one person holding multiple positions). However, in recent times, the number of commune-level officials and civil servants has increased rapidly, significantly affecting the effectiveness of commune-level government operations. This article focuses on reflecting the current situation of commune-level cadres and the activities of enhancing the capacity of commune-level leaders in Thai Nguyen Province

Evaluation Of The Anti-Arthritic Activity Of The Hydroethanolic Leaf Extract Of Alchornea Cordifolia In Rats

Background: Different decoctions of Alchornea cordifolia leaves are used by Yoruba herbalists (Southwest Nigeria) for the local treatment of ulcers, rheumatic pains, febrile convulsions, and for enhancing physical performance.Materials and methods: In this study, the anti-arthritic effect of 100 – 400 mg/kg/day of the hydroethanolic leaf extract of Alchornea cordifolia (HEAC) was investigated in Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritic rats as a way of evaluating its efficacy in the local management of arthritis. In addition, the effects of HEAC on liver and renal function parameters as well as its effect on the antioxidant enzyme system were investigated. Arthritis was induced using 0.1 ml of 10 mg/ml of Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA) following 1 h oral pretreatment and 8th day postarthritic induction with 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg/day of HEAC and 3 mg/kg/day of celecoxib as the reference drug. The anti-arthritic activity of HEAC was assessed based on the ability of HEAC to alter the paw edema diameter, body weight, full blood count, renal and liver function markers, glycoprotein, lysosomal enzymes and possible antioxidant potential in the arthritic rats.Results: Oral pretreatment with 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg/day of HEAC produced significant (p<0.001, p<0.05 and p<0.01) reductions in the paw edema diameter in a non-dose dependent fashion in ACF-induced arthritic rats with the 100 mg/kg/day of HEAC producing the most significant antiarthritic effect. Similarly, HEAC increased hepatic GSH levels, CAT and SOD activities suggesting possible antioxidant mechanism for its antiarthritic effect.Conclusion: Overall, results of this study lend credence to the folkloric use of water decoction of Alchornea cordifolia leaves against rheumatoid arthritis. However, further pharmacological investigations would be required at isolating and determining the active anti-arthritic molecule(s) in HEAC in the nearest future.Key words: Complete Freund’s Adjuvant, Arthritis, Hydroethanolic leaf extract, Alchornea cordifolia, Rat

Multi-agent architecture for waste minimisation in beef supply chain

Food waste is an alarming issue pertaining to the rising global hunger, huge environmental footprint, and high monetary value. In developing and developed nations, it occurs primarily due to inefficiencies upstream and downstream of the supply chain respectively. A common factor in both developed and developing nations is product flow within the supply chain from farms to retailers. This study aims to identify the root causes of waste generated across the product flow of the beef supply chain from farm to retailer. A workshop involving twenty practitioners of the beef industry was conducted and the collected information was transcribed and coded to generate a current reality tree, which assisted in identifying root causes of waste in the entire beef supply chain. A multi-agent architecture framework spanning the entire beef supply chain from farm to retailer is proposed, which is composed of autonomous agents capable of bringing all segments of the beef industry on a single platform and collaboratively assist them in mitigating root causes of waste. The proposed framework will aid the practitioners in the beef industry to reduce waste, improve their operational efficiency thereby raising food security, economic development whilst curbing their carbon footprint

Co-morbidities in children hospitalized for community acquired pneumonia in Maiduguri, Nigeria

Background: Pneumonia is one of the commonest causes of morbidity and mortality in children, especially in developing countries. These children are also at risk of other morbidities, thus, increasing the morbidity and mortality.Objective: This study was conducted to examine the prevalence and pattern of co-morbidities in children admitted for community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Maiduguri.Methodology: All children admitted into the Emergency Paediatric Unit (EPU) of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Maiduguri, in 2011, with CAP were prospectively followed until discharge or death. The children were evaluated for co-morbidities clinically and by examination of appropriate specimen where necessary.Result: A total of 115 children aged one month to 14 years were admitted for CAP during the study period. While majority of the children studied were underfive; 107 (93%), 65(56.5%) were males, 101 (87.8%) had one or multiple co morbidities, with about half of them 58 (50.4%) afflicted by malaria. Pre admission medication was commoner for orthodox than traditional medication. No significant difference in mortality outcome was however noticed between children with co-morbidity and those without comorbidity, p > 0.05.Conclusion: The occurrence of comorbid conditions among children hospitalized for CAP in Maiduguri is common; however, the presence of co-morbidity did not significantly affect the mortality outcome of their management. It is recommended that the presence of comorbidity be actively looked for in children hospitalized for pneumonia, so as to effect holistic treatment, and improve the outcome of management.Keywords: Pneumonia, Children. Co-morbidity, Maiduguri, Mortality outcom

Prevalence and Pattern of Malaria Parasitaemia among Under-Five Febrile Children Attending Paediatric Out-Patient Clinic at University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri

Background: Malaria has remained a major public health problem in Nigeria with the under-five aged children and pregnant women being the most affected. The local epidemiological profile of the disease is dynamic owing to the continuous variation in the various determinants and hence the need for periodic re-evaluation. We aim to determine the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia among the under -five aged children and the effect of various determinants.Material and Method: In this cross-sectional study, 433 outpatients aged below 5 years with fever or history of fever in the previous 72 hours were enrolled. Relevant information was obtained and recorded using a questionnaire. Thick and thin films were prepared from a finger or heel prick for each of the patients and subjected to microscopy.Result: The prevalence of malaria parasitaemia was 27.7%. Age, sex, nutritional status, socioeconomic class, temperature at presentation as well as ownership of insecticide treated nets had no significant effect on the prevalence of malaria (p>0.05). Only P. falciparum was seen in all the positive slides. The parasite density was generally low with 48.3% having parasite densities below 100/μl and only 7.5% had parasite density of ≥1000/μl. Parasite density increased significantly with increasing age (p=0041). Nutritional status as well as other studied factors had no significant effect on parasite density (p>0.05).Conclusion and Recommendation: Prevalence of malaria infection was high in the population studied. It is characterized by low density parasitaemia and hence the need to interpret negative results with caution. Age, gender, socio-economic and nutritional status, temperature at presentation as well as ownership of ITN had no significant effect on prevalence of malaria parasitaemia. There is need to strengthen and scale up various malaria control programs while ensuring proper implementations of programs and activities through effective monitoring and evaluation.Keywords: Prevalence, Pattern, Malaria, Parasitaemia, Under-five Febrile Children, Outpatient Clini

Variation at the Klotho gene locus does not affect cognitive function in up to 335,074 British Caucasians in the UK Biobank

Version 2 issued 19 November 2019.Copyright © The Author(s)/Funder. The proportion of older adults in Western populations is increasing and there is, therefore, a need to define factors affecting maintenance of physical and cognitive health in old age. Variations in the Klotho (KL) gene, and specifically the KL-VS haplotype, have been identified by several authors as potentially influencing cognitive function and decline. We have attempted to verify the reported associations between KL variants, including the KL-VS haplotype, and cognitive function in up to 335,074 British Caucasian participants aged 40-79 years from the UK Biobank. We do not find evidence that KL-VS affects cognitive function or its decline with increasing age. We examined a further 244 KL variants and found that rs117650866 was associated with Prospective Memory, but could not replicate this in follow-up samples. In conclusion, there is insufficient evidence in the UK Biobank to support the concept that KL variants affect cognitive function or its rate of decline.Calico LLC (South San Francisco, California, United States)

ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS’ LISTENING DIFFICULTIES AND USE OF STRATEGIES AT MIEN DONG UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, VIETNAM

Through the years, difficulties in English listening and listening strategies have been conducted by many researchers. Most of studies have pointed out the common difficulties and strategies which students often have. Focusing on the same subject with a new perspective, this research aimed at understanding English majors’ difficulties in listening and use of listening strategies. A total of ninety eight freshmen English-majored students at Mien Dong University took part in answering the questionnaire and five students answered the semi-structure interview questions. The data gained from the questionnaire were analyzed by SPSS version 20.0 in terms of descriptive statistic. The findings revealed that English-majored students had many difficulties in listening such as the difficulties related to the listener, the content of the dialogue, the speaker, the physical setting and the linguistic factors. In terms of listening strategies, the finding showed that the cognitive listening strategies were used more frequently than metacognitive and socio-affective strategies. Based on the findings, some implications were made to contribute to the administrations, teachers and students at Mien Dong University of Technology.  Article visualizations

Serological and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium species from humans in Sokoto State, Nigeria

Cryptosporidium species are one of the most common causes of gastrointestinal infection in humans around the world. This study aimed at the characterization of Cryptosporidium species in humans using the 18S rRNA gene. Among the 368 human faecal samples screened using Cryptosporidium antigen Copro-ELISA kit, 61 (16.6%) were positive. The positive faecal samples were subjected to Nested PCR for the amplification of 830 bp fragments of small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene and followed by nucleotide sequencing. Out of the 61 copro-ELISA positive samples, 5 (8.2%) were PCR positive for Cryptosporidium species (3 (4.9%) of C. parvum and 2 (3.3%) of C. hominis). Two HIV patients were found to be harbouring C. parvum and C. hominis, so also as hypertensive and diarrheic patients harbouring C. parvum and C. hominis, respectively. Higher prevalence rates of Cryptosporidium was found in young children (11.1%), males (8.7%), loose faeces (42.9%) than older age groups (8.7%), females (7.9%) and well-formed (3.1%) or mucoid/pasty faeces (0%) based on the data gathered from the close-ended questionnaire also used on each human subject. This study was the first to report C. parvum and C. hominis infecting humans in Sokoto state, Northwestern Nigeria. It is suggested that a multi-locus study of Cryptosporidium species in developing countries would be necessary to determine the extent of transmission of Cryptosporidium in the populations