Designing a multi-hop regular virtual topology for ultrafast optical packet switching : node placement optimisation and/or dilation minimisation?

This paper studies the design of multi-hop regular virtual topologies to facilitate optical packet switching in networks with arbitrary physical topologies. The inputs to the virtual topology design problem are the physical topology, the traffic matrix and the regular topology. In this paper, this problem is tackled directly and also by decomposition into two sub-problems. The first sub-problem, dilation minimisation, uses only the physical topology and the virtual topology as optimisation inputs. The second sub-problem considers the traffic matrix and virtual topology as optimisation inputs. The solutions of these two sub-problems are compared with each other and against the results obtained when the global problem is optimised (using all three possible input parameters) for a variety of traffic scenarios. This gives insight into the key question of whether the physical topology or the traffic matrix is the more important parameter when designing a regular virtual topology for optical packet switching. Regardless of the approach taken the problem is intractable and hence heuristics must be used to find (near) optimal solutions in reasonable time. Five different optimisation heuristics, using different artificial intelligence techniques, are employed in this paper. The results obtained by the heuristics for the three alternative design approaches are compared under a variety of traffic scenarios. An important conclusion of this paper is that the traffic matrix plays a less significant role than is conventionally assumed, and only a marginal penalty is incurred by disregarding it in several of the traffic cases considered

RELEVANCE OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING IN OVERCOMING PSYCHO- EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF STUDENTS

Provision of Guidance and Counselling Services is one of the educational policies of the Federal Government to cater for the apparent ignorance of many young people about career prospects and personality maladjustment among school children. This paper, therefore, discusses the relevance and importance of Guidance and Counselling in the implementation of educational policies Vis-a-vis problem areas that Guidance Counsellor could tackle for the purpose of educational development

Age features of O2 mass transfer regimes in adolescents’ body at rest

The results of complex studies of the quantitative relationship between the stage-by-stage mass transfer of O2 and the efficiency of cardiorespiratory system functioning in relation to its consumption in adolescents’ body under conditions of relative rest are presented. The results obtained show that in adolescents, the modes of mass transfer of O2 in the body and the nature of the respiratory and circulatory systems functioning in relation to its consumption have a number of age-related differences compared with adult men. So, in adolescents, the external respiration system at rest functions less economically than in adults. Each liter of O2 consumed by adolescents is extracted from almost 3 liters more than in adults the amount of air ventilated per minute through the lungs. The volumetric indicators of blood circulation are also higher in adolescents, which may indicate the influence of neuro-humoral rearrangements in the body during the pubertal period. The coefficient of oxygen utilization by tissues from arterial blood in adolescents turned out to be significantly higher, which may characterize a higher tension of tissue metabolic processes

Modeling of Heat Transfer in 2D SLAB

Heat transfer in slab is a very important factor especially in the Africa continent. This work modeled the heat transfer in a 2D Slab. It used the Finite Difference Method (FDM) technique. Lines of code were written in Octave and can also be executed in Mat Lab and graph generated. KEYWORDS: finite difference method (FDM), heat, 2d slab, modelin

The comparison between cytological and histological grading of breast cancers in a Nigerian tertiary hospital

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in Nigeria. The tumour grade is an important prognostic factor and is also important in treatment of patients. Fine needle aspiration cytology can be used as an initial diagnostic tool for planning definitive management. Grading of tumours on cytology further guides therapeutic decisions. The aim of this study is to compare the correlation between the cytological and histological grading of malignant breast lumps using the Robinson's cytological grading system and Nottingham histological grading system respectively. The Objectives are, to determine the age distribution of breast cancer in our environment, to grade breast cancers cytologically using the Robinson's cytological grading system and to grade breast cancers histologically using the Nottingham histological grading system.Methods: This was a one year prospective study that involved 30 patients who had malignant smears on fine needle aspiration cytology of their breast lump. These smears were graded using the Robinson's cytological grading system and compared with the Nottingham histological grading systems of same lumps obtained from either tissue biopsies or mastectomies.Results: The mean age of the study participants was 50.23±10.11 years with a range of 35-70 years. Most (56.7%) malignat smears were of cytologic grade 3. The histological grade was 2 in 16(53.3%) and 3 in 14(46.7%) of the same breast tissue samples. The grade 2 tumours had the highest concordance rate of 83.3%. The absolute concordance rate between Robinson's cytological and Nottingham histological grading system of breast cancers was 73.3%.Conclusion: The Robinson's cytological and Nottingham histological grading systems showed good correlation.Keywords: Breast Cancer, fine needle aspiration cytology, cytological grading, histological gradin

Thyroid hormone profile in a population of Nigerian patients with traumatic brain injury

Summary: Traumatic brain injury (T.B.I.) has an annual incidence of 200/100000. There is little or no information on neuroendocrine sequelae following T.B.I. in the Nigerian population. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effect of T.B.I on the thyroid axis and relate it to outcome by outlining the change in thyroid axis of head injured patients. One hundred and fifteen patients were recruited with 85% male and 15% female. Of these patients, 71.7% presented within 24 hours of injury. The head injury was mild in 53%, moderate in 16% and severe in 31% of the patients. Serum T3 was high in 52.2%, low in 7.8% and normal in 40%. Serum T4 was high in 4.3%, low in 68.7%, and normal in 27%. Serum TSH was high in 16.5% TSH levels, low in 6.1% and normal in 77.4%. There was no correlation between the severity of head injury measured by the Glasgow coma score and patterns observed in the thyroid function test. With respect to outcome of head injury, serum T4 was low in patients who died or had persistent vegetative state (p=0.012). Traumatic brain injury in Nigerian patients is associated with an elevation of T3, low levels of T4 and normal TSH values. Death and persistent vegetative state were associated with low T4.Keywords: Caffeine, ischaemia-reperfusion injury, cerebral ischaemia, neuro-inflammation, strokeNiger. J. Physiol. Sci. 33(December 2018) 159-16

ANTHROPOMETRIC EVALUATION OF A UNIVERSITY LECTURE HALL’S SEAT

Ergonomics deals with the methods and processes of designing workplaces so that they fit the individuals that make use of them. This paper focuses on the anthropometric evaluation of the lecture hall’s seat of a University. Two anthropometric dimensions, the popliteal height (PH) and the buttock-popliteal length (BP) of 188 undergraduate students using the University lecture hall were taken. The lecture hall’s seat has height of 465mm and depth of 405mm. It was found that 61% of the student population used for the study was in the fit range of the seat height. Examining the seat depth and buttock to popliteal length, it was observed that 53.7% of the students may be comfortable using the present seat depth design of 405mm dimension, while over 46% of the students’ population used for the study might not be able to utilize the backrest of the seat. From this study, it was found that the seat depth of the University lecture hall’s seats were not adequate and a model should be developed to determine the most appropriate seat depth required for the University’s lecture hall’s seats. &nbsp

Gender differences in credit acquisition techniques of rural dwellers in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State

The study assessed gender differences in credit acquisition techniques of rural dwellers in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun state. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select respondents for the study. Data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire covering respondents’ socioeconomic characteristics, sources of information, constraints faced and credit sources available. Data were analyzed using percentages, frequencies and t-test. Result of analysis showed that the mean ages were 43 and 40 for males and females, 51.5% and 38.5% of males and females had access to credit facilities. Farming was a major (64.7% and 76.9%) source of income in the study area. Farm organization was the major source of information, ̅= 2.53 and =2.58 in the study area. Major constraints faced by males were time wasting and undue embarrassment ̅= 2.93 while high interest rate ̅= 2.88 constrained the females most. Family was the major source of credit, ̅=2.9 for both males and females. There was a significant difference (t= 0.96, p< 0.05) in credit acquisition from money lenders between males and females. The study concluded that respondents mostly acquired credits from family sources, hence, recommended that strings and barriers be lessened to enable respondents have access to formal credit sources.

Sonographic soft tissue arthritic changes associated with post-stroke hemiplegic knee pain : utility of musculoskeletal ultrasound in a resource-limited setting

Purpose: Post-stroke arthritic changes that may compromise rehabilitation have been described in the upper and lower limbs. We aimed at evaluating the soft tissue arthritic changes associated with pain in hemiplegic knees of stroke patients in our environment. Material and methods: Hemiplegic and non-hemiplegic knees of 48 stroke patients as well as both knees of 26 apparently healthy controls were evaluated with a 7.5-12 MHz linear ultrasound probe. History of knee pain, and sociodemographic, laboratory, and clinical data were recorded for all study participants. Muscle tone and power as well as functional ambulatory category (FAC) were graded for the stroke patients. Data was analysed using SPSS version 20. Results: Pain was reported more often in hemiplegic than non-hemiplegic knees (n = 16 vs. n = 6, p = 0.021). The frequencies of soft tissue arthritic changes found, which included reduced lateral and medial femoral cartilage thickness, suprapatellar effusion, and irregular cartilage-bone margin, were similar between hemiplegic and non-hemiplegic knees (p > 0.05). Suprapatellar effusion and reduced lateral femoral cartilage thickness were more prevalent in the hemiplegic knees compared to the healthy control knees (p < 0.05). Stroke patients with pes anserinus tendinosis had greater risk of hemiplegic knee pain (HKP) when compared to stroke patients without this lesion (OR = 10; 95% CI: 1.7-61). FAC, muscle tone, and power showed no association with HKP. Conclusions: Soft tissue arthritic changes associated with knee pain are comparable between hemiplegic and non-hemiplegic knees of stroke patients. The risk of knee pain in stroke is higher in the presence of pes anserinus tendinosis

Effect of Xylopia aethiopica, Fiscus mucuso and Anthocleista vogelli extracts on some Biochemical Parameters following ethanol-Induced Toxicity.

A total of forty rats were divided into eight groups (n= 5). Group A were control rats; Group B 27 were administered with absolute ethanol; Group C were ethanol administered rats treated with 28 Xylopia aethiopica; Groups D were ethanol administered rats treated with Fiscus mucuso, Group 29 E were ethanol administered rats treated with Anthocleista vogelli; Group F were normal rats 30 administered orally with Xylopia aethiopica; Group G were normal rats administered orally with 31 Fiscus mucuso; Group H were normal rats administered orally with Anthocleista vogelli. At the 32 end of the experimental period, the animals were sacrificed and serum was obtained for total 33 protein, uric acid, creatinin, urea, Aspartate aminotrasferase (AST) and Alanine aminotransferase 34 (ALT) analysis using respective research kits. 35 The result showed that Xylopia aethiopica had protective effect on the kidney as compared with 36 Fiscus mucuso and Anthocleista vogelli treated rats. Also, The AST and ALT was lowered with 37 the start of Xylopia aethiopia treatment. The total protein, creatinin and urea were slightly 38 (p> 0.05) affected with ethanol, an effect which was normalized with the start of extract 39 treatment. 4