Assessing the socio-economic impact of gully erosion in Chikun Local Government Area, Kaduna State, Nigeria

The earth’s landforms are closely inter-related and some of the observation which has been made with the passing of time shows that these landforms are acted upon by the processes of erosion causing the landforms to undergo a progressive change from initial forms sequentially to ultimate forms. The aim of this study is to assess the adverse social and economic implications of gully erosion hazards in Chikun local government area, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The study intends to identify the percentage of the residents according to localities that have suffered socially and economically from gully incidents. It also intends to determine the relationship between adverse social and economic effects suffered by the affected people in the various localities of the study area. The settlements studied are in Chikun local government area, Kaduna State Data for the study was collected from two major sources; primary source and secondary source. Primary source of data are direct observation from fieldwork and the use of questionnaire while the secondary source include topographic map and library materials. Descriptive statistical tools were applied to deal with the techniques of summarizing and describing data collected. Percentages, proportion and mean were applied to get other parameters such as expected frequencies. Pearson’s co-efficient of correlation was used to analyze the relationship between the social and economic effects of gully erosion in the area. The study recommended that an integrated catchments drainage system is lacking in the study area and this can be controlled. The control is surface run off and maintenance of stable soil slopes in gullies involves engineering schemes.Keywords: Gully Erosion, Social, Economic, Impacts, Environment, Soi

Drainage basin morphology and terrain analysis of the lower Benue River Basin, Nigeria

The Lower Benue Trough is part of the Benue Trough of Nigeria and it consists of a series of rift basins which form a part of the Central West African Rift System of the Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Sudan Basement fragmentations. This research attempts to evaluate the geomorphological changes on the drainage basin interpreted using several techniques including the use of Remote Sensing and GIS. Several digital image enhancement techniques such as general contrast stretching and edge enhancement were applied to the Landsat image in ARCGIS, after which structures were mapped out on-screen using ArcGIS. The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the Trough was also generated from Shuttle RADAR Topographic Mission and used to enhance geomorphic features. The analysis carried out on the images revealed that the slope tool calculates the maximum rate of changes between each cell and its neighbors. The drainage density calculated shows that the drainage area = 86282.1km2, while the drainage density is 0.39872 km/km-2. The result from the modeling concludes by revealing four sub-basins in the Lower Benue Trough with maximum thickness of 7-10km.Keywords: Benue, Remote Sensing, GIS, Geomorphology, River Basi

“Frenemies” of innovation: understanding the role of coopetition in service innovation in emerging markets

open access articleCoopetition is considered an important strategy for innovation. However, the literature provides limited evidence on how coopetition relates to innovation in service sector, particularly in emerging markets. Moreover, little is known about the effects of the formal and informal aspects of coopetition on innovation and how absorptive capacity of firm may influence this relationship. Against this background, using the official national innovation surveys of Nigeria (2008 and 2011), this study contributes to the ongoing debate by empirically examining the innovation endeavors of 421 Nigerian SMEs. The study employs logistic regression methods to model and explore the relationships between coopetition and innovation in the sample. The results show that that formal coopetition hinders innovation while informal coopetition supports it and absorptive capacity moderates these relationships. The study provides important insights about the concept of coopetition in emerging markets, especially vis-à-vis their institutional idiosyncrasies. Finally, the study highlights its implications and suggests some avenues for future research

Impacts of climate change on rice agriculture in Nigeria

This study employed the Ricardian approach to test the relative importance of climate normals (average long-term temperature and precipitation) in explaining net revenue from Nigerian rice agriculture under irrigation and dry land conditions. A survey was done by interviewing 1200 rice farmers from 20 rice producing states in Nigeria. The states covered all the six geopolitical zones in the country. The results showed that increase in temperature will reduce net revenue for dry land rice farms while net revenue rises with increase in temperature for irrigated rice farms. Precipitation had similar effects on rice net revenue. Increase in precipitation will cause reduction in revenue for dry land rice farms whereas it will cause increase in revenue for irrigated farms. The results clearly demonstrate irrigation as a significant techniques used by the farmers to adapt to the climate change. Other adaptation options include Keeping of livestock, engaging in off farm works and the use of different market channels.El estudio empleó el enfoque Ricardiano para evaluar la importancia relativa de variables climáticas (temperatura promedio a largo plazo y precipitación) para explicar las ganancias netas del cultivo de arroz con o sin riego. Se entrevistó 1200 productores de arroz de 20 estados de Nigeria. Se encontró que un incremento de temperatura reducirá la ganancia cuando no existe riego e incrementa con riego. La precipitación tuvo el mismo efecto y redujo la ganancia en condiciones sin riego y la incremento en condiciones de riego. Los resultados muestran que la irrigación es una estrategia importante para adaptarse al cambio climático. Otras estrategias propuestas son la crianza de animales, trabajo alternos y empleo de differentes canales de mercadeo.Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy in Africa (CEEPA)http://www.veterinaria.uady.mx/ojs/index.php/TSAnf201

Viral Transport Medium produced for Covid-19 swab samples collection in Nigeria

Accuracy in viral diagnosis depends both on the technology employed for the Assay and the medium used for preservation during transportation to the laboratory. SARS CoV-2 virus causes coronal virus disease (COVID-19) and it spreads from an infected person's mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing or breathe. Hence, swabs collected from nostril and throat are used for its definite diagnosis, by using molecular technique. The challenge to prepare in-country viral transport medium (VTM) to preserve samples collected for COVID-19 testing starred Nigeria Scientists at the face, when the imported VTMs were exhausted shortly after the pronounced global lock-down in the second quarter of 2020. As a way of responding to this challenge, VTM was produced and validated using amino acid substrates, fungizone, gentamycin and phosphate buffer saline. The products were subjected to sterility test using Chocolate agar and Sabouraud dextrose agar. The following bacteria viz: E. coli, Pseudomonas sp., Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp. and Klebsiella sp, were also inoculated into the VTM vials and incubated for 34 consecutive days from which the wire-loop filled inoculums were sub-cultured on Chocolate agar and Sabouraud dextrose agar at 24 hours interval.  No growth was recorded in both situations. Two thousand five hundred vials of the VTM produced were tested in parallel in the NCDC accredited laboratories in Oyo, Lagos, Imo, Ekiti and Osun States; alongside the few imported VTMs in circulation and the performance was 100% the same. This interventional study clearly showed in comparison with imported brands of VTMs, the possibility of using cheap readily sourced materials in low-income setting for the production on in-house VTMs, giving engagement of skillful personnel for the purpose

Surgical Outreach as a Tertiary Hospital’s Corporate Social Responsibility: Shall we do more?

Introduction: The underserved populations of the rural and suburban communities of developing countries are challenged by the twin hurdles of low-income earning and out-of-pocket payment for surgical care services. This study aims at appraising the process, outcome, and impact of a free surgical outreach programme carried out by a Federal Teaching Hospital in South-western Nigeria. Methods: A free day-case surgical outreach programme was announced through a popular radio jingle for a period of 1 week to attract would‐be beneficiaries of the programme. A 2-day screening exercise was conducted by the concerted efforts of various specialists in the department of surgery and ophthalmology to select those who are suitable for day-case surgery. Across-sectional survey of patients who participated in the 5-day surgical outreach programme was carried out. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on biodata, diagnosis, surgical operations, complications, and level of satisfaction. A 3‐point bipolar satisfaction outcome scale was used to assess the level of satisfaction. The data obtained were analyzed using the SPSS software version 20.0. Results: One hundred and fifty‐eight patients were screened, but only 124 participated. Ophthalmic cases constituted 60.5%, whereas the rest (39.5%) were non-ophthalmic cases. Patients with cataract were 73 (58.9%) of all the surgical lesions operated during the outreach programme. Two (1.6%) patients with pterygium were the other ophthalmic cases, whereas the non-ophthalmic cases were mainly hernias. A total of 129 surgical operations were performed in the 124 patients, with 5 (0.4%) of them having bilateral cases. One hundred and seventeen patients (94.4%) expressed satisfaction with their experience of the programme. Conclusions: Optimal corporate social responsibility of tertiary hospitals can be performed effectively and satisfactorily through a properly organized surgical outreach

Mathematical prediction of the compressive strength of bacterial concrete using gene expression programming

The impact of microbial calcium carbonate on concrete strength has been extensively evaluated in the literature. However, there is no predicted equation for the compressive strength of concrete incorporating ureolytic bacteria. Therefore, in the present study, 69 experimental tests were taken into account to introduce a new predicted mathematical formula for compressive strength of bacterial concrete with different concentrations of calcium nitrate tetrahydrate, urea, yeast extract, bacterial cells and time using Gene Expression Programming (GEP) modelling. Based on the results, statistical indicators (MAE, RAE, RMSE, RRSE, R and R2) proved the capability of the GEP 2 model to predict compressive strength in which minimum error and high correlation were achieved. Moreover, both predicted and actual results indicated that compressive strength decreased with the increase in nutrient concentration. In contrast, the compressive strength increased with increased bacterial cells concentration. It could be concluded that GEP2 were found to be reliable and accurate compared to that of the experimental results

Factors Associated with Treatment Success among Pulmonary Tuberculosis and HIV Co-infected Patients in Oyo State, South West-Nigeria

Background The co-existence of Tuberculosis (TB) and Human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is  known to increase morbidity and mortality in patients. The determinants of treatment success in TBHIV co-infection are not yet well studied. Such information can help optimise treatment and reduce morbidity and mortality.Objective To determine factors associated with antitubercular treatment success among TB I HIV coinfected patients.Methods A cross sectional study was carried out in fifty  three DOT clinics and treatment centres  using tuberculosis patient's records from January 2009 to December 2010 in Oyo state, Nigeria. The study population consisted of 7905 tuberculosis patients. Information on variables of interest were obtained with the use of data extraction forms. Chi-square and logistic regression were used to test the relationship between TB I HIV coinfection and socio-demographic variables, clinical characteristics and treatment success.Results Prevalence ofTB I HIV co-infection was found to be 14.2%. Patients with TB-HIV co-infection  were younger and more likely to be females. There were statistically significant association between treatment success and gender, marital status and patient point of care. After adjusting for other variables, it was found that patients receiving treatment in private facilities were independently less likely to be successfully treated compared with those receiving care in Public facilities. Female patients were also independently more likely to have better treatment outcome than male.Conclusion In addition to patients' point of care, gender of the patients can adversely impact on their treatment success. Efforts from the government to strengthening the private public mix, health education and media awareness on adherence to treatment to improve treatment success should be intensified in the country.Keywords: Tube rc ulosis; Human immunodeficiency virus, Directly observe therapy short-course;  Treatment success, Coinfection

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021:a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed.FundingBill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation.<br/

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Disorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021. Methods: We estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined. Findings: Globally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer. Interpretation: As the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio