Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effect of Ficus platyphylla root methanolic extract on a catfish model

The aim of this study was to evaluate the acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effect of Ficus platyphylla metabolic root extract in Clarias gariepinus. The root was extracted with 80% methanol. A toxicity study was carried out on adult catfish. Cholinesterase inhibitoryactivities were also evaluated on the same fishes using Ellman’s method. Result revealed high cholinesterase inhibitory activities of the crude extract with significant differences at p<0.05 between the group treated with crude extract only, group treated with crude extract and exposed to arsenic and group that were exposed to arsenic only as well as group that are maintained in complete media. It can be concluded that low toxicity and high cholinesterase inhibitory effect of the crude extract is responsible for it therapeutic effects of this crude extract. Toxicity screening of this crude extract on a mammal such as mice and rat to reaffirm their toxicity profile are recommended. Antioxidant screening as well as isolation of bioactive compounds present in this plant part is strongly recommended. Keyword: Arsenic, Cholinesterase, Toxicity study, Ficus platyphylla metabolic root extract, Clarias gariepinu

Historical implications of a linguistic environment - towards a systemic approach

The aim of our project B6 “Towards a genesis of the ethnolinguistic situation at the southern and western fringes of lake Chad basin” within SFB 268 “West African Savannah” is to analyse the emergence and development of the complex presentday ethnolinguistic patterns in a region which may be historically labelled as southern and western periphery of the Borno empire. For the first time, a model of migratory routes was put forward based on combined research efforts of the disciplines involved in our project. Below we shall attempt to summarise the main points and reflections of our findings. Our specific approach as a whole is based on applying the respective research methods of the individual disciplines represented in our project, namely anthropology, ethnomusicology, history and linguistics and eventually on integrating the results into a systemically coherent pictur

Analysis of Electromagnetic Pollution due to High Voltage Transmission Lines

The International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) recommends measuring the   electric field and the magnetic field strength for evaluation of electromagnetic pollution from power lines. This paper, therefore practically examined the fields pollution from 132 kV and 330 kV lines in Bauchi/Gombe areas in Nigeria as a case study. The evaluation is based on the safety limits recommendations of International Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP, 1998).  In the measurement, Trifield metre was used to measure the fields in the vicinity of the lines with horizontal distance ranging from 0 – 450 m and vertical distance of 1.5 m. In the assessment, general public and occupational exposure levels from the power lines were sampled. For the general public, the highest magnetic flux density and electric field strength measured is 45 mG and 130 V/m which is 4.5 % and 2.6 % of the ICNIRP, 1998 exposure limit. The highest magnetic flux density and electric field strength measured is 100 mG and 130 V/m respectively which correspond to 2 % and 1.3 % of the ICNIRP, 1998 exposure limit for the occupational worker. The result showed that the measured fields are within safety limit. Keywords: ICNIRP, EMC, Right-of -Way, Safety Distance, Electromagnetic Pollution, Occupational and General Public Exposur

Assessment of passion fruit orchard management and farmers’ technical efficiency in Central-Eastern and North-Rift Highlands, Kenya

In Kenya, passion fruit (Passiflora edulis L.) has emerged as an important high market value horticultural crop over the last decade following the establishment and expansion of large scale processors of fruit juice and increasing population of health conscious consumers.  This has led to increasing interest in the enterprise among farmers. However, many farmers have also withdrawn from passion fruit farming, citing low productivity of orchards.  The objective of this study was to compare management and technical efficiency (TE) of orchards in Central-Eastern (Embu and Meru Counties) and North-Rift (Uasin Gishu County) Highlands of Kenya in order to determine opportunities for increasing and sustaining productivity. Cross-sectional data from 123 randomly selected farmers was collected using a personally administered structured questionnaire and subjected to managerial and stochastic frontier analysis. Management was assessed considering five practices; training of vines and pruning, weeding, watering, disease management and manure/fertilizer application. Meru County had the highest mean TE (65%) followed by Uasin Gishu (57%) while Embu was the least efficient (47%). Mean scores for the five management practices evaluated also followed a similar trend across the three Counties. The five management practices assessed significantly influenced TE. Therefore, the study established a relationship between orchard management practices and TE of farmers. The study recommends promotion of county cross-border farmer linkages as a platform for sharing ideas and success experiences. Further, increased emphasis on frequent farmer update on farming trends through participatory methods (lead farmer approach, training, farm visits and demonstrations) are recommended to increase farmer awareness on appropriate orchard management practices, which would eventually contribute to improved technical efficiencies and productivity. Keywords: Technical efficiency, managerial analysis, stochastic frontier analysi

Beam broadened radial line slot array antenna for fifth generation (5g) mobile broadband communication

Radial line slot array antenna with broad beam is easily realized at frequencies in the lower part of super high frequency band. But emerging broadband mobile communication systems like the fifth generation target frequencies in the upper part of the band and beyond. Therefore, this paper presents the design of beam broadened radial line slot array antenna at 28 GHz for fifth generation broadband mobile communication system. Surface slot distribution synthesis was carried on beam squinted standard single layer radial line slot array design to achieve the broad beam. Using computer simulation technology microwave studio 2014 software, 85 mm radius antenna having polypropylene (ɛr = 2.33) as cavity material was realized. Simulated results shows a gain of 15.8 dB, impedance bandwidth of 1.6 GHz, radiation efficiency of 96 % and 3 dB half power beamwidth of up to 32.3o

Geochemical assessment of toxic metals stocking in top-soil within the area of limestone quarry in Gombe of North-eastern Nigeria

This work presents an assessment of geochemical toxic metal stocking in top-soil within the area of a limestone quarry in Gombe State. Samples of topsoil from the area of a limestone quarry in Gombe (North-eastern Nigeria) were collected to analyse levels of hazardous substances such as of Hg, Fe, Zn, Ni, Mn, Cu, Cr, Cd and Pb. A total of 24 topsoil samples were collected around the radius of 0.5 km from the blasting arena. Additionally, six background samples were also collected from an unexploited reserved area that was ~6 km far from the main sampling location. Two rocks of limestone samples from blasting area were also collected and analysed for heavy metals as a reference. All the samples were processed and extracted with nitrate acid solution and analysed using smart spectrophotometer methods. The results suggested varying organic contents in soil, sand, silt, clay and pH. All these parameters are correlated with those of unexploited samples. Limestone rocks samples displayed a high concentration of Fe and Mn improvement. Toxic metals concentrations (mg/kg) in top-soil with background levels were discovered in Hg, Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn, Cd, Cu, Cr and Pb. Residual phases exhibited the lowest enrichment for most metals possibly, because of high loamy sand content. The situated enrichment advocates influence from mining activities. The results especially geoaccumulation index assessment exhibit below detected limit to 0.20 mg/kg for Pb which is uncontaminated by Lead when compared with the USA threshold limit of particulate metal concentration. Conversely, the other hazardous metals ranged from 1 to 2, indicating the area is contaminated moderately. The exposure to dust containing high silica in quarry workers leads to deterioration of pulmonary function and hence suggesting a need for protective measures of the quarry workers.Key words: Top-soil, heavy toxic metal, limestone quarry, air pollution

Journalism Education, Practice and Gender Issues in Nigeria: Factors Determining Journalism Career Consideration by Female Graduates of Mass Communication

Over the past two to three decades, journalism education at advanced levels is increasingly gaining popular acceptance despite being gendered, with more institutions of higher learning (such as universities and polytechnics) offering courses in Mass Communication and Journalism across Nigeria. Also, since the deregulation of the Nigerian broadcast media industry in 1992, many public and commercial broadcast outlets have been established across Nigeria, thus providing a bustling market for journalism career. This development could have encouraged those who studied Mass Communication and Journalism especially women (who are often discriminated against) to consider adopting journalism as a career after graduation. However, it is not known whether that is obtainable, and what factors could be affecting that. To solve that research gap, this study examined the factors impeding the adoption of journalism as a career among female graduates of mass communication in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. The study attempted to finding out the rationale behind non-pursuance of journalism by women. A qualitative survey approach, specifically the key informant interview (KII) approach was adopted. Using the snowball sampling method, 12 women mass communication graduates who were selected for interviews, and their responses were analysed using the thematic approach. The study found that: there was a great deal of perceived discrimination senior colleagues at places of work and by the general society toward women that are into journalism practice in Nigeria; female roles as mothers and wives; religious and cultural beliefs; and poor salary/wages were some of the critical factors impeding women mass communication graduates in Maiduguri from adopting journalism-related careers. The study concluded that women mass communication graduates in Maiduguri have negative perception toward journalism-related careers. The study, therefore, recommended that media organisations should make it as a duty to employ offer employment opportunities to more women and formulate and implement viable and strong gender equality policies. Keywords: Career consideration, Journalism career, Mass communication graduates, Media organisations, Nigerian news media, Women journalists DOI: 10.7176/NMMC/98-01 Publication date:September 30th 2021

Antiplasmodial Efficacy Of Methanolic Root And Leaf Extracts Of Morinda lucida

Development of antimalarial drugs from medicinal plants continues to be a very appealing option. Morindalucida, commonly known as “Ugigo” by the Ebira people in Kogi State North-Central Nigeria, is used in the treatment of malaria, fever, amongst other ailments. Therapeutic effects of the methanolic root extract and a combination of extracts of the leaf and root parts were evaluated in Plasmodium bergheiinfection in mice. Percentage suppression of parasitaemia for the methanolic root extract was 56.30, 59.84, 67.72 and 81.80% for doses of 100, 200, 400mg/kg body weight of the extract, and 5mg/kg chloroquine respectively. The mean survival period in days were 15.00 ± 0.70, 18.75 ± 0.5, 19.75 ± 1.39, 23.25 ± 1.38 and 8.75 ± 1.25, for 100, 200, 400mg/kg body weight of the extract, 5mg/kg chloroquine, and the untreated control respectively. Effective dose dependent inhibitions of parasitaemia were also observed in the curative test. In the combination study, it was observed that, the antimalarial activity for leaf and root was slightly more, compared to that of each of the extracts, as seen in parasite inhibition, after 5days of treatment (26.00, 20.00, 25.28, 21.35, 27.00, 19.50, 8.5 and 85.00), for 100, 200mg/kg leaf extract alone, 100 and 200mg/kg root extract alone, 50, 100mg/kg leaf and root extracts, 5mg/kg chloroquine and control groups respectively. It is concluded that the methanolic root and leaf extracts of Morindalucida are potentially useful for the development of antimalarial drug. Key words: Antimalaria, Percentage suppression, Morinda lucida, Plasmodium berghei, Parasitaemi

African neuroscience on the global stage: Nigeria as a model

Of the 572 neuroscience-related studies published in Nigerian from 1996 to 2017, <5% used state-of-the-art techniques, none used transgenic models, and only one study was published in a top-tier journal

Linking HIV-positive family planning clients to treatment and care services in Kenya

A project from the Population Council’s USAID-funded FRONTIERS program found that integrating HIV counseling and testing into family planning (FP) services was feasible and acceptable to clients and providers, and led to significant improvement in the quality of care provided. However, a major limitation was that FP clients who tested HIV-positive were not actively linked to care and treatment services, including antiretroviral treatment, and screening and management of sexually transmitted infections. A new initiative aimed to design and test a referral framework for linking HIV-positive FP clients to treatment and care in selected health facilities; assess the acceptability of the proposed referral framework to providers; and assess its effectiveness in increasing the number of eligible HIV-positive FP clients receiving HIV care and treatment services. The findings of the project evaluation show that the referral mechanism put in place was effective and the study recommends that the Division of Reproductive Health, NASCOP, and other units within the Ministry of Health, such as the Health Management Information System, support the provincial and district health management teams to scale up the use of the referral form developed under this project to other FP clinics within Central and other provinces