Extraction of the pulse width and pulse repetition period of linear FM radar signal using time-frequency analysis

A common technique used by military to realize low probability of intercept (LPI) is linear frequency modulation (LFM) in the field of electronic intelligence (ELINT). This paper estimates the pulse width (PW) and the pulse repetition period (PRP) of LFM signal using instantaneous powers. The instantaneous powers were obtained either using time-marginal or power maxima approximated from a modified version of the Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD). The instantaneous power was also gotten directly from the signal by multiplication with its conjugate. Measurement was then carried out when the instantaneous power is ‘ON’ (the PW) and when it is ‘OFF’ (the PRP) at carefully selected thresholds. Thereafter, the mWVD-based algorithm was tested in the presence of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) at various signal-to-noise ratios. Results obtained during the test showed that the time marginal method emerged the best with minimum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of -5dB followed closely by the direct method with minimum SNR of -1dB at different thresholds. The results show that the proposed algorithm based on this modified WVD can be deployed in the practical field to determine radar’s performance and functio

Effect of Dietary Replacement of Maize with Yam and Irish potato peel meals on the Growth and Economic Performance of Growing Rabbits

An eight-week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding yam and irish potato peel meals on the growth performance and economic analysis of cross-bred (Dutch x New Zealand white) growing rabbits aged between five to seven weeks. Thirty rabbits were randomly allocated to six dietary treatments with five rabbits per treatment. Diets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 contained 100% maize, 50% maize and 50% yam peel meal, 50% maize and 50% irish potato peel meal, 50% yam peel meal and 50% irish potato peel meal, 100% yam peel meal and 100% irish potato peel meal, respectively. The response showed that the growth parameters were not significantly (P>0.05) different among the treatment groups except mean final body weight which was significantly (P>0.05) different. The mean final body weight of rabbits fed T3 diet (50% maize and 50% irish potato peel meal) was significantly (P< 0.05) higher than those fed T2 (50% maize and 50% yam peel meal) and T6 (100% irish potato peel meal) diets, but were similar (P>0.05) to other diets. However, the lowest mean final body weight was obtained in rabbits fed T6 (100% irish potato peel meal) diet. The cost per kg feed decreased progressively as the levels of yam and irish potato peel meals increased in the diets. The cost per kg gain also declined from  ₦ 249.59 in T1 (100% maize) to ₦ 181.95 in T4 (50% yam peel meal and 50% irish potato peel meal), which showed the best cost per kg weight gain. The study demonstrated that the yam and irish potato peel meals can replace maize up to 100% as energy source for growing rabbits without adverse effect on performance.Keywords: Growth Performance, Yam and Irish Potato peel meals, Economic Analysi

In vivo formation of natural HgSe nanoparticles in the liver and brain of pilot whales

Acknowledgments Z.G. thanks to the College of Physical Sciences at University of Aberdeen and Chevron USA for the provided studentship. P.M.K. is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT120100277). Parts of this research were undertaken on the XFM beamline at the Australian Synchrotron, Victoria, Australia. The assistance of Daryl Howard (XFM beamline, Australian Synchrotron) is acknowledged. Although EPA contributed to this article, the research presented was not performed by or funded by EPA and was not subject to EPA's quality system requirements. Consequently, the views, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect or represent EPA's views or policies. MRCAT operations are supported by the Department of Energy and the MRCAT member institutions. This research used resources of the Advanced Photon Source, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. The authors declare no competing financial interests. F.L.R. and A.B. acknowledge Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme and Marine Scotland for funding. Author Contributions E.M.K and J.F. designed the experiments. Z.G. measured total Hg and conducted Hg speciation. Total Se was determined by A.R. and Z.G. M.M.L. performed Se speciation and 2D imaging by LA-ICP-MS was done by D.S.U. XANES was performed by K.S. and XRF by E.L. and P.M.K. Samples were obtained by E.M.K. through A.B. and age determination was done by F.R. spICP-MS was performed by E.H.L., K.L., G.W. and Z.G. The manuscript was written by Z.G. and all authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Clinical management of dietary induced urolithiasis associated with balanoposthitis in a Boer goat

A Boer-Kajang cross male goat was presented to the Veterinary Hospital, University Malaysia Kelantan with a history of dysuria, hematuria and restlessness. The goat was intensively managed (confined to the pen) and fed with only palm kernel cake for the last three months. Physical examination revealed that the goat was dull, depressed, having an inflamed penis and prepuce with blood stained urine dripping from the penis. The differential diagnoses were obstructive urolithiasis, urinary tract infection and balanoposthitis. Based on the history, clinical signs, physical examination, urinalysis, ultrasonagraphy and feed analysis, the goat was diagnosed with obstructive urolithiasis and balanoposthitis. Treatment was instituted by amputation of the urethral process and retrograde urohydropulsion to relieve the blockade. Sulfadiazine-trimethoprim (Norodine®24) 15mg/kg, I.M; flunixin meglumine 2.2mg/kg, I.M; vitamin B complex 1ml/10kg, I.M and ammonium chloride 300mg/kg orally were administered. The goat responded well to treatment and was recovering well during a follow up visit

Adapted motivational interviewing to improve the uptake of treatment for glaucoma in Nigeria: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Glaucoma is a chronic eye disease associated with irreversible visual loss. In Africa, glaucoma patients often present late, with very advanced disease. One-off procedures, such as laser or surgery, are recommended in Africa because of lack of or poor adherence to medical treatment. However, acceptance of surgery is usually extremely low. To prevent blindness, adherence to treatment needs to improve, using acceptable, replicable and cost-effective interventions. After reviewing the literature and interviewing patients in Bauchi (Nigeria) motivational interviewing (MI) was selected as the intervention for this trial, with adaptation for glaucoma (MIG). MI is designed to strengthen personal motivation for, and commitment to a specific goal by eliciting and exploring a person's reasons for change within an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion. The aim of this study is to assess whether MIG increases the uptake of laser or surgery amongst glaucoma patients where this is the recommended treatment. The hypothesis is that MIG increases the uptake of treatment. This will be the first trial of MI in Africa. METHODS: This is a hospital based, single centre, randomized controlled trial of MIG plus an information sheet on glaucoma and its treatment (the latter being "standard care") compared with standard care alone for glaucoma patients where the treatment recommended is surgery or laser.Those eligible for the trial are adults aged 17 years and above who live within 200 km of Bauchi with advanced glaucoma where the examining ophthalmologist recommends surgery or laser. After obtaining written informed consent, participants will be randomly allocated to MIG plus standard care, or standard care alone. Motivational interviewing will be delivered in Hausa or English by one of two MIG trained personnel. One hundred and fifty participants will be recruited to each arm. The primary outcome is the proportion of participants undergoing laser or surgery within two months of the date given to re attend for the procedure. MIG quality will be assessed using the validated MI treatment integrity scale. DISCUSSION: Motivational interviewing may be an important tool to increase the acceptance of treatment for glaucoma. The approach is potentially scalable and may be useful for other chronic conditions in Africa. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN79330571 (Controlled-Trials.com)

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Determinants of Acceptance among Healthcare Workers, Academics and Tertiary Students in Nigeria

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in millions of human deaths, prompting the rapid development and regulatory approval of several vaccines. Although Nigeria implemented a COVID-19 vaccination program on 15 March 2021, low vaccine acceptance remains a major chal-lenge. To provide insight on factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH), we conducted a national survey among healthcare workers, academics, and tertiary students, between 1 September 2021 and 31 December 2021. We fitted a logistic regression model to the data and exam-ined factors associated with VH to support targeted health awareness campaigns to address public

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

Fabrication of a GSM-based intruder detection system prototype based on ultrasonic sensor

The design and construction of GSM based ultrasonic intruder detection system for detecting an intruder through a protected environment was carried out and presented in this paper. An alarm is triggered when intrusion is detected through the use of ultrasonic sensor. Also, SMS is sent in the form of text to the owner’s mobile number via the GSM module being installed. The configuration and coordination required for the system units to function effectively were carried out by a programmed ATMEGA16 microcontroller. AC and DC voltage supplies were incorporated into the system to provide a constant power supply. The fabricated system was tested and found to work successfully in accordance with the target design specifications carried out as the intruder was successfully detected and SMS sent

Selenium supplementation in patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy : a proof-of-concept trial

Background: We studied the efficacy and safety of selenium supplementation in patients who had peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) and selenium deficiency. Methods: We randomly assigned 100 PPCM patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) &lt; 45% and selenium deficiency (&lt; 70 mu g/L) to receive either oral Selenium (L-selenomethionine) 200 mu g/day for 3 months or nothing, in addition to recommended therapy, in an open-label randomised trial. The primary outcome was a composite of persistence of heart failure (HF) symptoms, unrecovered LV systolic function (LVEF &lt; 55%) or death from any cause. Results: Over a median of 19 months, the primary outcome occurred in 36 of 46 patients (78.3%) in the selenium group and in 43 of 54 patients (79.6%) in the control group (hazard ratio [HR] 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.43-1.09; p = 0.113). Persistence of HF symptoms occurred in 18 patients (39.1%) in the selenium group and in 37 patients (68.5%) in the control group (HR 0.53; 95% CI 0.30-0.93; p = 0.006). LVEF &lt; 55% occurred in 33 patients (71.7%) in the selenium group and in 38 patients (70.4%) in the control group (HR 0.91; 95% CI 0.57-1.45; p = 0.944). Death from any cause occurred in 3 patients (6.5%) in the selenium group and in 9 patients (16.7%) in the control group (HR 0.37; 95% CI 0.10-1.37; p = 0.137). Conclusions: In this study, selenium supplementation did not reduce the risk of the primary outcome, but it significantly reduced HF symptoms, and there was a trend towards a reduction of all-cause mortality.Errata: Karaye, K.M., Sa’idu, H., Balarabe, S.A. et al. Correction to: Selenium supplementation in patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy: a proof‑of‑concept trial. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 21, 4 (2021). DOI: 10.1186/s12872-020-01782-w </p