Delivery of broadband services to SubSaharan Africa via Nigerian communications satellite

Africa is the least wired continent in the world in terms of robust telecommunications infrastructure and systems to cater for its more than one billion people. African nations are mostly still in the early stages of Information Communications Technology (ICT) development as verified by the relatively low ICT Development Index (IDI) values of all countries in the African region. In developing nations, mobile broadband subscriptions and penetration between 2000-2009 was increasingly more popular than fixed broadband subscriptions. To achieve the goal of universal access, with rapid implementation of ICT infrastructure to complement the sparsely distributed terrestrial networks in the hinterlands and leveraging the adequate submarine cables along the African coastline, African nations and their stakeholders are promoting and implementing Communication Satellite systems, particularly in Nigeria, to help bridge the digital hiatus. This paper examines the effectiveness of communication satellites in delivering broadband-based services

Economics of Groundnut Production among Smallholder Farmers in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria

This study assessed economics of groundnut production among smallholder farmers in Michika local government area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique which involves purposive selection of Michika and simple random selection of farmers from eight wards was embraced in collecting primary data from 172 farmers using structured questionnaire. The analytical tools used were mainly descriptive, gross margin and regression analysis. The analysis found that groundnut production is profitable with an average gross margin of N97,477.80, total revenue of N167,160, and net farm income of N 94,540.64 per hectare. The regression analysis indicated that Cobb-Douglas production function gave the best fit with R2 value of 0.748, implying that the specified factor inputs in the regression equation explained up to 74.8% of the variation in groundnut output and only 25.2% was accounted for by the random error term. Production inputs such as farm size, labour, agrochemicals, seeds and farming experience were statistically significant at varying levels of probability. This means that any increase in such inputs would bring about increase in groundnut output. Resource use efficiency analyses indicate that the ratios of MVP and MFC in respect to seeds, labour and Agrochemicals were greater than unity and hence were under-utilized by the farmers during production period. Therefore, policies aimed at assigning more production inputs to farmers should be introduce by government in order to enhance farmers\u27 output and profitability

Correlates of selected indices of physical fitness and duration of incarceration among inmates in some selected Nigeria prisons

BACKGROUND: Incarceration has been associated with reduced physical activity. However, physical inactivity is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The aim of the present study was therefore, to evaluate the incidence and relationship between the measures of physical fitness and the duration of incarceration in of inmates in Kano-Nigeria prisons. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was done to determine the relationship between the measures of physical fitness and the duration of incarceration of inmates in Kano prisons. Subjects’ physical fitness level (cardio-respiratory fitness, body mass index and waist circumference) was assessed using standardized protocols. Simple percentage, Pearson moment correlation test and student’s t-test were used to analyze variables of interest. RESULT: One hundred and sixteen inmates; 108 (93.1%) males and 8 (6.9%) females participated in the study. The study revealed high (93.1%) prevalence of low cardio-respiratory fitness among inmates and significant correlation between the selected indices of physical fitness (cardio-respiratory fitness, body mass index and waist circumference) and duration of incarceration. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of low cardio-respiratory fitness was high among inmates and long period of inadequate physical activity may be implicated as causative factor of low physical fitness among inmates in Kano prison. Prison administration and staff should encourage healthy inmate behavior. Provision of adequate facilities to encourage physical activity and sports participation is highly needed

Heme oxygenase-1 attenuates cadmium-induced mitochondrial-caspase 3- dependent apoptosis in human hepatoma cell line

Background: Cadmium (Cd) is a well known environmental and industrial toxicant causing damaging effects in numerous organs. In this study, we examined the role of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in modulating the Cd-induced apoptosis in human hepatoma (HepG2) cells after 24 h exposure. Methods: HepG2 cells were exposed to 5 and 10 μM Cd as CdCl2 for 24 h while other sets of cells were pre-treated with either 10 μM Cobalt protoporphyrin (CoPPIX) or 10 μM Tin protoporphyrin (SnPPIX) for 24 h, or 50 μM Z-DEVD-FMK for 1 h before exposure to 5 and 10 μM CdCl2 for 24 h. Expressions of caspase 3, cytosolic cytochrome c, mitochondrial Bax and anti-apoptotic BCL-xl proteins were assessed by western blot. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was determined using the dihydrofluorescein diacetate (H2DFA) method. Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay, while a flow cytometry method was used to assess the level of apoptosis in the cell populations. Results: Our results show that there were a significant increase in the expression of cytosolic cytochrome c, mitochondrial Bax protein, and caspase 3 at 5 and 10 μM compared to the control, but these increases were attenuated by the presence of CoPPIX. The presence of SnPPIX significantly enhanced Cd-induced caspase 3 activities. CoPPIX significantly decreased the level of ROS production by 24.6 and 22.2 % in 5 and 10 μM CdCl2, respectively, but SnPPIX caused a significant increase in ROS production in the presence of CdCl2. HepG2 cell viability was also significantly impaired by 13.89 and 32.53 % in the presence of 5 and 10 μM CdCl2, respectively, but the presence of CoPPIX and Z-DEVD-FMK significantly enhanced cell survival, while SnPPIX enhanced Cd-impaired cell viability. The presence of CoPPIX and Z-DEVD-FMK also significantly decreased the population of apoptotic and necrotic cells compared with Cd. Conclusion: In summary, the present study showed that HO-1 attenuates the Cd-induced caspase 3 dependent pathway of apoptosis in HepG2 cells, probably by modulating Cd-induced oxidative stress

Selection shapes the landscape of functional variation in wild house mice.

BACKGROUND: Through human-aided dispersal over the last ~ 10,000 years, house mice (Mus musculus) have recently colonized diverse habitats across the globe, promoting the emergence of new traits that confer adaptive advantages in distinct environments. Despite their status as the premier mammalian model system, the impact of this demographic and selective history on the global patterning of disease-relevant trait variation in wild mouse populations is poorly understood. RESULTS: Here, we leveraged 154 whole-genome sequences from diverse wild house mouse populations to survey the geographic organization of functional variation and systematically identify signals of positive selection. We show that a significant proportion of wild mouse variation is private to single populations, including numerous predicted functional alleles. In addition, we report strong signals of positive selection at many genes associated with both complex and Mendelian diseases in humans. Notably, we detect a significant excess of selection signals at disease-associated genes relative to null expectations, pointing to the important role of adaptation in shaping the landscape of functional variation in wild mouse populations. We also uncover strong signals of selection at multiple genes involved in starch digestion, including Mgam and Amy1. We speculate that the successful emergence of the human-mouse commensalism may have been facilitated, in part, by dietary adaptations at these loci. Finally, our work uncovers multiple cryptic structural variants that manifest as putative signals of positive selection, highlighting an important and under-appreciated source of false-positive signals in genome-wide selection scans. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our findings highlight the role of adaptation in shaping wild mouse genetic variation at human disease-associated genes. Our work also highlights the biomedical relevance of wild mouse genetic diversity and underscores the potential for targeted sampling of mice from specific populations as a strategy for developing effective new mouse models of both rare and common human diseases

Comparative Analysis of Monetary Policy Shocks and Exchange Rate Fluctuations in Nigeria and South Africa

The study examined a comparative analysis of monetary policy shocks and exchange rate fluctuations based on evidence from the two largest economies in Africa (Nigeria and South Africa) – from 1985 to 2015. Data were derived from various sources which include the National Bureau of Statistics, the Central Banks reports and the World Bank database. Vector Autoregressive (VAR) Analysis was used as the estimation technique. The results indicated that the foreign interest rate in South Africa had higher variations in the short-run. While in the long-run, foreign interest rate has higher percentage variations to exchange rate. In Nigeria the world oil price has the higher influence on exchange rate both in the short-run and longrun periods. Based on these results, the study then recommended that the monetary authorities and policymakers in both countries encourage external currency inflows into the economy. &nbsp

Tuberculosis In A Nigerian Medium Security Prison

Introduction: Prisons worldwide have been cited as reservoirs for tuberculosis and also an ideal setting for interventions but little is known about the epidemiology and control of tuberculosis in Nigerian Prisons. Objective: To determine the prevalence of tuberculosis, role of prison in its control and the mortality from tuberculosis among prison inmate in Kuje prison, Abuja, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This study was a retrospective study of cases of tuberculosis in Kuje prison between April, 2004 and December, 2008. Data was collected from their medical records. The inclusion criterion was: (1) Cases of tuberculosis in which the diagnosis was based on clinical history, smear positive test and chest x-ray radiograph. (2) Cases where the treatment of tuberculosis was according to treatment strategy recommended by World Health Organization. Results: A total of forty-eight inmates, aged 20 to 45years, were diagnosed with tuberculosis within the period of interest. The prevalence rate was 2.4%, based on a total prison population of 2002. Majority of cases 93.8% were first detected in Prison and the remaining 6.3% were detected prior to incarceration. Out of the 6.3% diagnosed prior to incarceration, 2.1% and 4.2% of cases have defaulted from DOTS for 2weeks and more than 4weeks respectively. Majority (66.7%) completed the treatment before discharging from prison, 29.2% were discharged from prison at various level of treatment and 4.2% of cases died while on reatment. Those who died were co-infected with HIV Conclusion: It was evident from this study that: The prevalence of tuberculosis in Kuje prison was high, prison has a role in diagnosis and treatment, adherence and treatment outcome were good and the main indicator for mortality was HIV infection. Primary prevention measures specifically targeting prisoners are needed to reduce prevalence of tuberculosis and also to achieve the objectives of National Health Policy on tuberculosis and leprosy. Keywords: Prison, tuberculosis, control, mortalit

A Comparison of the Semi Analytical and Numerical Method in Solving the Problem of Magnetohydrodynamics Flow of a Third Grade Fluid between Two Parallel Plates

The main purpose of this study is to compare a semi-analytical method and numerical method namely the homotopy perturbation method (HPM) and finite difference method (FDM) respectively. These methods were employed for solving the nonlinear problem of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) couette flow of third-grade fluid between the two parallel plates. The comparison was made between a solution of HPM and FDM against a solution obtained from regular perturbation and the results are tabulated. From a computational viewpoint, it is revealed that the HPM is more reliable and efficient than FDM. Also, the results show that the FDM requires slightly more computational effort than the HPM, although the HPM yields more accurate results than the FDM. &nbsp

Evaluation of Agronomic and Physiological Characteristics of Ten Castor Bean Plant Accessions in Ogbomoso, Nigeria

In spite of numerous industrial benefit of castor plant (Ricinus communis L.), its production is hindered due to lack of adequate agronomic practices. Field experiments were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria during 2014 and 2015 cropping seasons to evaluate the performance of ten accessions of castor plant. The treatments consisted of nine improved accessions of castor plant and a local variety. In each year, the 10 treatments were laid out in completely randomize block design and replicated three times. Data were collected on growth, seed yield and yield attributes parameters. Data collected in 2014 and 2015 were pooled and subjected to analysis of variance while means were separated using Least Significant Difference at 5% probability level. Growth, yield and yield attributes parameters of castor plant accessions were significantly influenced (p≤0.05). NCRICAS041 produced the tallest plant (190.0 cm) at harvest which was significantly taller than others. The highest mean number of capsules per raceme (150.33) produced by NCRICAS056 was significantly higher than others. NCRICAS056 produced the highest seed yield (1,919 kg/ha) while NCRICAS057 gave the least (1,047 kg/ha). The results of accessions seed yield attributes did not followed any specific other. In conclusion, variability among the accessions in growth and seed yield were apparent. Accessions NCRICAS041 and NCRICAS056 performed better than the locally sourced CASGPMAN. They are therefore recommended for the study area. Keywords: Castor, Accessions, Growth parameter, Seed, Seed attributes, DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/9-18-03 Publication date:September 30th 201