Assessment of Management and Breeding Practices among Indigenous Goat Farmers in a Tropical Humid Forest Zone

The study was undertaken to assess indigenous breeding practices and structure of back-yard goat farming in humid tropical forest zone. Pretested questionnaires and interview schedules were used to collect information from farmers in Ekiti, South-west Nigeria. Profile assessed were purpose, management, breeding and reproductive performances, disease prevalence, healthcare and challenges. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics of SPSS, Version 20.0. Bucks run with does on free-scavenging system, mature sexually at 6–10 months, while mature does settle for bucks from about 7 months (52, 44, %). Main goals of farmers were flock multiplication, meatiness and coat color (24, 11, 6, %). Breeding was by natural random mating. Prolificacy was 1–4 kids but resistance to diseases was low. Selection practices were lowly engaged (7.5%), although based on health status and fecundity (19 and 13, %) for bucks and does respectively. Vaccination knowledge was high (77%), but mortality was also high. Drenching, castration and dehorning were performed (47, 24 and 5, %). Official intervention on breeding and improvement was nil. Challenges of farmers were stealing and accidents (46%), diseases and poisons (14%), lack of organized backyard sector, and the poor management system. Intensification of ethnoveterinary practices could promote improved healthcare in backyard goat farming

The antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of methanolic extracts from Njavara rice bran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Free radical-induced oxidative stress is the root cause for many human diseases. Naturally occurring antioxidant supplements from plants are vital to counter the oxidative damage in cells. The main objective of the present study was to characterize the antioxidant and antiproliferative potential of rice bran extracted from an important Indian rice variety, Njavara and to compare the same with two commercially available basmati rice varieties: Vasumathi, Yamini and a non medicinal variety, Jyothi.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Methanolic extracts of rice bran from four varieties; Vasumathi, Yamini, Jyothi and Njavara were used to study their total phenolic and flavonoid contents, <it>in vitro </it>antioxidant activities including total antioxidant activity, scavenging of nitric oxide and 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, reducing power and cytotoxic activity in C6 glioma cells. Correlation coefficient and regression analysis were done by using Sigmastat version 3.1 and Stata statistical package respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Rice bran methanolic extract from Njavara showed the highest antioxidant and cell cytotoxic properties compared to the other three rice varieties. IC₅₀values for scavenging DPPH and nitric oxide were in the range of 30.85-87.72 μg/ml and 52.25-107.18 μg/ml respectively. Total antioxidant activity and reducing power were increased with increasing amounts of the extract. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were in the range of 3.2-12.4 mg gallic acid-equivalent (GAE)/g bran and 1.68-8.5 mg quercetin-equivalent (QEE)/g bran respectively. IC₅₀values of cytotoxic assay (MTT assay) were 17.53-57.78 μg/ml. Correlation coefficient and regression analysis of phenolic content with DPPH and NO scavenging, MTT (-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay, total antioxidant assay and reducing power showed a highly significant correlation coefficient values (96-99%) and regression values (91-98%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of the present study show that the crude methanolic extract from Njavara rice bran contains significantly high polyphenolic compounds with superior antioxidant activity as evidenced by scavenging of free radicals including DPPH and NO. Njavara extracts also showed highest reducing power activity, anti-proliferative property in C6 glioma cells. In conclusion, it is conceivable that the Njavara rice variety could be exploited as one of the potential sources for plant - based pharmaceutical products.</p

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Design and methods for a quasi-experimental pilot study to evaluate the impact of dual active ingredient insecticide-treated nets on malaria burden in five regions in sub-Saharan Africa

Background Vector control tools have contributed significantly to a reduction in malaria burden since 2000, primarily through insecticidal-treated bed nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying. In the face of increasing insecticide resistance in key malaria vector species, global progress in malaria control has stalled. Innovative tools, such as dual active ingredient (dual-AI) ITNs that are effective at killing insecticide-resistant mosquitoes have recently been introduced. However, large-scale uptake has been slow for several reasons, including higher costs and limited evidence on their incremental effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. The present report describes the design of several observational studies aimed to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of dual-AI ITNs, compared to standard pyrethroid-only ITNs, at reducing malaria transmission across a variety of transmission settings. Methods Observational pilot studies are ongoing in Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Rwanda, leveraging dual-AI ITN rollouts nested within the 2019 and 2020 mass distribution campaigns in each country. Enhanced surveillance occurring in select study districts include annual cross-sectional surveys during peak transmission seasons, monthly entomological surveillance, passive case detection using routine health facility surveillance systems, and studies on human behaviour and ITN use patterns. Data will compare changes in malaria transmission and disease burden in districts receiving dual-AI ITNs to similar districts receiving standard pyrethroid-only ITNs over three years. The costs of net distribution will be calculated using the provider perspective including financial and economic costs, and a cost-effectiveness analysis will assess incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for Interceptor® G2, Royal Guard®, and piperonyl butoxide ITNs in comparison to standard pyrethroid-only ITNs, based on incidence rate ratios calculated from routine data. Conclusions Evidence of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the dual-AI ITNs from these pilot studies will complement evidence from two contemporary cluster randomized control trials, one in Benin and one in Tanzania, to provide key information to malaria control programmes, policymakers, and donors to help guide decision-making and planning for local malaria control and elimination strategies. Understanding the breadth of contexts where these dual-AI ITNs are most effective and collecting robust information on factors influencing comparative effectiveness could improve uptake and availability and help maximize their impact

Burden of disease scenarios for 204 countries and territories, 2022–2050: a forecasting analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Future trends in disease burden and drivers of health are of great interest to policy makers and the public at large. This information can be used for policy and long-term health investment, planning, and prioritisation. We have expanded and improved upon previous forecasts produced as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) and provide a reference forecast (the most likely future), and alternative scenarios assessing disease burden trajectories if selected sets of risk factors were eliminated from current levels by 2050. Methods: Using forecasts of major drivers of health such as the Socio-demographic Index (SDI; a composite measure of lag-distributed income per capita, mean years of education, and total fertility under 25 years of age) and the full set of risk factor exposures captured by GBD, we provide cause-specific forecasts of mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) by age and sex from 2022 to 2050 for 204 countries and territories, 21 GBD regions, seven super-regions, and the world. All analyses were done at the cause-specific level so that only risk factors deemed causal by the GBD comparative risk assessment influenced future trajectories of mortality for each disease. Cause-specific mortality was modelled using mixed-effects models with SDI and time as the main covariates, and the combined impact of causal risk factors as an offset in the model. At the all-cause mortality level, we captured unexplained variation by modelling residuals with an autoregressive integrated moving average model with drift attenuation. These all-cause forecasts constrained the cause-specific forecasts at successively deeper levels of the GBD cause hierarchy using cascading mortality models, thus ensuring a robust estimate of cause-specific mortality. For non-fatal measures (eg, low back pain), incidence and prevalence were forecasted from mixed-effects models with SDI as the main covariate, and YLDs were computed from the resulting prevalence forecasts and average disability weights from GBD. Alternative future scenarios were constructed by replacing appropriate reference trajectories for risk factors with hypothetical trajectories of gradual elimination of risk factor exposure from current levels to 2050. The scenarios were constructed from various sets of risk factors: environmental risks (Safer Environment scenario), risks associated with communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNs; Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination scenario), risks associated with major non-communicable diseases (NCDs; Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario), and the combined effects of these three scenarios. Using the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways climate scenarios SSP2-4.5 as reference and SSP1-1.9 as an optimistic alternative in the Safer Environment scenario, we accounted for climate change impact on health by using the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change temperature forecasts and published trajectories of ambient air pollution for the same two scenarios. Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy were computed using standard methods. The forecasting framework includes computing the age-sex-specific future population for each location and separately for each scenario. 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for each individual future estimate were derived from the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles of distributions generated from propagating 500 draws through the multistage computational pipeline. Findings: In the reference scenario forecast, global and super-regional life expectancy increased from 2022 to 2050, but improvement was at a slower pace than in the three decades preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (beginning in 2020). Gains in future life expectancy were forecasted to be greatest in super-regions with comparatively low life expectancies (such as sub-Saharan Africa) compared with super-regions with higher life expectancies (such as the high-income super-region), leading to a trend towards convergence in life expectancy across locations between now and 2050. At the super-region level, forecasted healthy life expectancy patterns were similar to those of life expectancies. Forecasts for the reference scenario found that health will improve in the coming decades, with all-cause age-standardised DALY rates decreasing in every GBD super-region. The total DALY burden measured in counts, however, will increase in every super-region, largely a function of population ageing and growth. We also forecasted that both DALY counts and age-standardised DALY rates will continue to shift from CMNNs to NCDs, with the most pronounced shifts occurring in sub-Saharan Africa (60·1% [95% UI 56·8–63·1] of DALYs were from CMNNs in 2022 compared with 35·8% [31·0–45·0] in 2050) and south Asia (31·7% [29·2–34·1] to 15·5% [13·7–17·5]). This shift is reflected in the leading global causes of DALYs, with the top four causes in 2050 being ischaemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, compared with 2022, with ischaemic heart disease, neonatal disorders, stroke, and lower respiratory infections at the top. The global proportion of DALYs due to YLDs likewise increased from 33·8% (27·4–40·3) to 41·1% (33·9–48·1) from 2022 to 2050, demonstrating an important shift in overall disease burden towards morbidity and away from premature death. The largest shift of this kind was forecasted for sub-Saharan Africa, from 20·1% (15·6–25·3) of DALYs due to YLDs in 2022 to 35·6% (26·5–43·0) in 2050. In the assessment of alternative future scenarios, the combined effects of the scenarios (Safer Environment, Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination, and Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenarios) demonstrated an important decrease in the global burden of DALYs in 2050 of 15·4% (13·5–17·5) compared with the reference scenario, with decreases across super-regions ranging from 10·4% (9·7–11·3) in the high-income super-region to 23·9% (20·7–27·3) in north Africa and the Middle East. The Safer Environment scenario had its largest decrease in sub-Saharan Africa (5·2% [3·5–6·8]), the Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario in north Africa and the Middle East (23·2% [20·2–26·5]), and the Improved Nutrition and Vaccination scenario in sub-Saharan Africa (2·0% [–0·6 to 3·6]). Interpretation: Globally, life expectancy and age-standardised disease burden were forecasted to improve between 2022 and 2050, with the majority of the burden continuing to shift from CMNNs to NCDs. That said, continued progress on reducing the CMNN disease burden will be dependent on maintaining investment in and policy emphasis on CMNN disease prevention and treatment. Mostly due to growth and ageing of populations, the number of deaths and DALYs due to all causes combined will generally increase. By constructing alternative future scenarios wherein certain risk exposures are eliminated by 2050, we have shown that opportunities exist to substantially improve health outcomes in the future through concerted efforts to prevent exposure to well established risk factors and to expand access to key health interventions

Breeding Practices and Trait Preferences of Sheep Farmers in a Sub-Humid Tropical Environment

The present study was carried out to determine the livestock breeding practices and the trait preferences of sheep farmers in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. A total of 132 sheep keepers were randomly sampled out of which data from 120 farmers were utilized in the final analysis. Primary data were collected through individual semi-structured questionnaire administration. Categorical and continuous variables including production and breeding traits were statistically tested based on sex of the respondents. Age of respondents, educational status, primary occupation, access to credit, and type of landholding were significantly different between the male and female farmers. Flock size was higher in farms owned by male farmers (19.63±1.04 versus 15.16±1.00). However, both sexes did not differ (p&gt;0.05) in the ranking of meat, religion, income, hides, and skin and cultural purpose as reasons for keeping sheep. As regards management of sheep, control of breeding and access to veterinary services were low among female farmers. Apart from cultural/religious significance which was ranked higher by female farmers (63.38 versus 52.23; p≤0.05), other production traits such as disease resistance, survivability, growth rate, meat quality, fertility, body size, and prolificacy did not vary between sexes. Disease resistance, which the male farmers attached more importance (57.0 versus 70.52; p≤0.05), was the only significant breeding trait between sexes. Categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA) also revealed little influence of sex on the production and breeding traits investigated. The present findings could guide interventions such as the setting up of sustainable community-based breeding&nbsp;schemes to improve sheep production in the study area

Alkali activation of iron-rich fayalite slag:fresh, hardened and durability properties

Abstract Fayalite slag (FS) is an Fe-rich by-product generated during non-ferrous metallurgy refining processes. Currently, the annual global production of FS is 58 million tons, and this is likely to increase soon due to the increasing demand for non-ferrous metals for varied applications. Regrettably, only a small fraction of FS is utilized in low value applications with most of it ending up in landfills. The aim of this thesis is to fully utilize FS as precursor for alkali-activated materials (AAMs). AAMs are alternative cementitious materials that could provide environmental benefits compared to Portland cement concrete. Although FS contains a large amount of iron (>50%) and low amounts of calcium, aluminium, and amorphous material compared to blast furnace slag, which is a commonly used AAM precursor, the results of this thesis show that this low reactive material can be used as a sole precursor (aggregate and binder source) for AAMs. Furthermore, the mineralogical investigation of different particle size fractions of FS revealed a variation in the amorphous content. Fine fractions of FS had a higher amorphous content, and this resulted in higher reactivity and better mechanical and microstructural properties compared to the coarse fractions of FS. AAMs containing FS as an aggregate and binder had superior mechanical and microstructural properties compared to those containing standard sand as aggregates. Further optimization of the particle size distribution and elevated temperature curing improved the properties of FS-based AAMs. To avoid the use of curing at elevated temperatures, the incorporation of co-binders into the FS matrix was investigated as a means to improve the properties of FS-based AAMs at an ambient temperature and facilitate their practical application. The incorporation of co-binders significantly modified the gels formed and improved the fresh, hardened and durability properties of FS-based AAMs when exposed to different aggressive environmental conditions and high temperature. The outcome of this thesis work can provide detailed information on the full utilization of FS with high potential for construction applications.Tiivistelmä Fayaliittikuona on ei-rautametallien jalostusprosesseissa syntyvä rautapitoinen sivutuote. Tällä hetkellä fayaliittikuonaa tuotetaan maailmanlaajuisesti 58 miljoonaa tonnia, ja määrän odotetaan kasvavan ei-rautametallien kysynnän lisääntyessä erilaisissa sovelluksissa. Vain pieni osuus fayaliittikuonasta pystytään hyödyntämään vähäarvoisissa sovelluksissa suurimman osan päätyessä kaatopaikoille. Tämän väitöskirjan tavoitteena on hyödyntää fayaliittikuonaa kokonaisvaltaisesti alkaliaktivoitujen materiaalien (AAM) raaka-aineena. AAM:t ovat vaihtoehtoisia sementtipohjaisia materiaaleja, jotka voivat tarjota ympäristöhyötyjä portlandsementtibetoniin verrattuna. Fayaliittikuona sisältää suuren määrän rautaa (>50 %) ja vähän kalsiumia, alumiinia sekä amorfista ainetta verrattuna masuunikuonaan, joka on yleisesti käytetty AAM:ien raaka-aine. Tämän väitöskirjatyön tulokset kuitenkin osoittavat, että tätä matalareaktiivista fayaliittikuonaa voidaan käyttää sekä aggregaattina että sideaineena AAM-laasteissa. Lisäksi fayaliittikuonan eri kokojakeiden mineraloginen tutkimus paljasti vaihtelua amorfisessa aineen määrässä. Pienien fayaliittikuonapartikkelien amorfinen pitoisuus oli korkeampi kuin isojen partikkelien, mikä johti pienen kokojakauman korkeampaan reaktiivisuuteen sekä sideaineen parempiin mekaanisiin ja mikrorakenteellisiin ominaisuuksiin. Fayaliittikuona sisältää suuren määrän rautaa (>50 %) ja vähän kalsiumia, alumiinia sekä amorfista ainetta verrattuna masuunikuonaan, joka on yleisesti käytetty AAM:ien raaka-aine. Tämän väitöskirjatyön tulokset kuitenkin osoittavat, että tätä matalareaktiivista fayaliittikuonaa voidaan käyttää sekä aggregaattina että sideaineena AAM-laasteissa. Lisäksi fayaliittikuonan eri kokojakeiden mineraloginen tutkimus paljasti vaihtelua amorfisessa aineen määrässä. Pienien fayaliittikuonapartikkelien amorfinen pitoisuus oli korkeampi kuin isojen partikkelien, mikä johti pienen kokojakauman korkeampaan reaktiivisuuteen sekä sideaineen parempiin mekaanisiin ja mikrorakenteellisiin ominaisuuksiin. Fayaliittikuonaa aggregaattina ja sideaineena sisältävillä laasteilla oli ylivoimaiset mekaaniset ja mikrorakenteelliset ominaisuudet verrattuna laasteihin, jotka sisälsivät aggregaattina tavallista hiekkaa. Lisäksi partikkelikokojakauman optimointi ja kovettaminen korkeassa lämpötilassa paransivat laastien mekaanisia ominaisuuksia. Korkeassa lämpötilassa kovettamista pyrittiin välttämään tutkimalla, voitaisiinko fayaliittikuonapohjaisten laastien kovettumista parantaa lisäämällä rinnakkaissideaineita. Seosaineiden käyttö muutti merkittävästi muodostuneita sideainegeelejä ja paransi laastien tuoreita, kovettuneita ja kestävyysominaisuuksia, kun ne altistettiin erilaisille aggressiivisille ympäristöolosuhteille ja korkeille lämpötiloille. Tämän väitöskirjatyön tulokset tarjoavat yksityiskohtaista tietoa fayaliittikuonan kokonaisvaltaisesta hyödyntämisestä ja sen mahdollisuuksista rakentamisen eri sovelluksissa

Environmental and Socioeconomic Determinants of Child Mortality: Evidence from the 2013 Nigerian Demographic Health Survey

Abstract Despite the global decline in under-five mortality rate from 91 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990 to 43 deaths per 1000 live births in 2015 and Nigeria&apos;s under-five mortality reduction from 201 per 1,000 live births in 2009 to 128 per 1,000 live births in 2013 as against the Sustainable Development Goal target of 25 per 1,000 live births, child mortality rate still remain unacceptably high in Nigeria and thereby has a long way to go in achieving this target. This study explores the household&apos;s environmental, socio-economic characteristics, maternal demographic and their effect on child mortality. Data from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2013 was used to investigate the predictors of child (aged 0-4 years) mortality in Nigeria. Data for the currently married women who had experienced child mortality and those who have not, totaling 20,192. Cross-tabulation and binary logistic regression techniques were employed in the statistical analysis. The result indicated that child mortality rate was highest (46.0%) among mothers with no educational and lowest (13.6%) among mothers with tertiary education and was statistically significant in reducing the child mortality rate. Children born in households with unimproved toilet experienced highest mortality rate (41.0%) compared to those who were born in households with improved toilet (30.4%) and have substantial impact on child mortality. Maternal education and provision of sanitation facilities should be advocated as a strategy to reduce child mortality

Genetic Diversity of Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) Population in South Eastern Nigeria Using Microsatellite Markers:

A study was conducted to estimate the diversity that exists among three rabbit populations adapted to the South-Eastern part of Nigeria. Blood samples were collected from 75 matured, mixed-sex, and unrelated three rabbit breeds selected across the zone. Eight microsatellites (Sol30, Sol33, and Sol44, Sat3, Sat7, Sat8, Sat12, and INRA) markers were used for the study. These microsatellites were uniformly distributed among rabbit genomes for genotyping. Subsequently, genetic variability within and between breeds was calculated. Allelic frequencies and Hardy-Weinberg equilibriums as well as Analysis of Molecular Variance, were also estimated using GenAlEX 6.41 software. Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components (DAPC) for the population structure of the rabbit breeds was performed in R v.3.5.0 using the R package adegenet. All the 8 loci amplified in this study were found to be 100% polymorphic, the observed allele sizes and their frequencies for the microsatellite markers in every three breeds showed that the highest frequency was 0.330 for the allele with the size of 470bp at Sol33 locus in New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits. The Nei’s genetic identities and distances between Chinchilla (CHI) and Dutch (DUT), CHI and NZW, DUT and NZW obtained in this study were [0.173, 0.185, and 0.189] and [1.753, 1.689, and 1.666] respectively. The dendrogram and biplot revealed that the three breeds were identified at two separate clusters. In addition, the admixture level of an individual rabbit among the three breeds indicated that the breeds were not pure and also the existence of more polymorphism within the breed than among the breed diversity