Effects of Intra-Row Spacing on Herbage Yields of Two Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Varieties in Sokoto, Semi-Arid Zone, Nigeria

Field experiments were conducted during 2009 and 2010 rainy seasons at the Dry Land Teaching and Research Farm of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto to study the effects of intra-spacing on herbage yields of two groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) varieties in Sokoto, in the semi-arid zone of Nigeria. Treatments consisted of factorial combinations of three intra-row spacing (10, 20 and 30 cm) and two groundnut varieties (Ex-Dakar and RMP-12) laid out in a randomized complete block design replicated three times. Data was collected in respect of haulm and total dry matter yield. Results revealed that, the closest intra-row spacing (10 cm) significantly (P<0.05) produced higher herbage yield than the wider intra-row spacing (20 cm and 30 cm) Ex- Dakar was superior to RMP-12 in terms of total dry matter, while RMP-12 was superior to Ex-Dakar in terms of haulm yield. The closest intra-row spacing (10 cm) was the best for optimum herbage yield production.Key wards: Groundnut, yield, Intra-row spacing, variety and Semi- arid

Foetal wastage in camels slaughtered at Sokoto municipal abattoir

The Slaughter of camels at the Sokoto municipal abattoir was evaluated over a five months period from March July, 2007 with the aim of determining foetal wastage due to the slaughter of pregnant camels. Out of the 1174 camels slaughtered during the study period, 592 (50.4%) were females. A total of 137 foetuses were recovered which represent a foetal recovery rate of 23.99%. Attempt was also made to recover some conceptus and embryos by flushing the uterus. Fifty three (53) uteri from genitalia with positive signs of pregnancy were flushed during and 12 (22.64%) had conceptus. Estimated economic loss due to the slaughter of pregnant camels in Sokoto abattoir stands at N24, 960,000 for a period of 10 years. It was concluded that Law against the slaughter of pregnant animals should be enforced. Adequate ante-mortem inspection, literacy campaign amongst butchers should be intensified as effort to improve camel population in this country

Bioenergy generation from co-digestion of food waste and rumen fluid: impact of varying quantities of rumen fluid on biogas yields

This paper examines the effect of mixing varying quantities of rumen fluid with food waste (FW) to generate biogas energy at ambient temperature (37oC) in a batch anaerobic digestion process. The researchers adopted an anaerobic digestion process for the study. Food waste was obtained from selected fast food establishments at Auchi, Edo State, South-South, Nigeria. The rumen fluid was obtained from an abattoir located at Auchi, Nigeria. Anaerobic digestion of food waste without rumen fluid served as control experiment while 4 other digesters contained 20, 40, 60 and 80ml of rumen fluid for co-digestion experiment. The digesters were labelled FW1-FW5 based on their compositions. The laboratory experiment lasted for a retention time of 17 days without pH control and mixing. Cumulative biogas yield was measured daily by water displacement technique. The values were 2220, 2280, 1860, 1600 and 1420ml respectively. The results obtained showed that addition of rumen fluid did not have any positive impact on biogas yields in digesters FW3-FW5 when compared with the control. Digester FW2 was only 2.70% higher than FW1 which was not a significant increase. Generally, there were antagonistic effects in the codigestion of food waste with rumen fluid as the quantity added increased. This implied that monodigestion of food waste could produce significant quantity of biogas with impressive production rate. Co-digestion should be carried out at a lower quantity of rumen fluid to improve biogas yield and the performance of the process. This article contributed to the body of knowledge by bridging the gap of limited literature in the domain of food waste management techniques in Auchi and Nigeria in general

Hepatitis b, c and hiv serological markers in children with sickle cell anaemia in a tertiary hospital, Gusau, North-Western Nigeria

Sickle Cell Anaemia patients are considered to be among the high-risk groups for hepatitis B and C viral infections. These viruses and HIV share common routes of transmission and similar risk factors and their infections coexist. Objective: This study was aimed at determining the seroprevalence of hepatitis B, C and HIV viral markers of infections in children with SCA. Methodology: A cross sectional Hospital based study conducted on 89 confirmed SCA Children aged 6 months – 13 years in steady state attending Haematology Clinic in a Specialist Hospital Gusau from July 2017 to March 2018. Approval for the study was obtained from the Research and Ethics Committee of the Hospital. The age, gender, history of blood transfusion, traditional scarification, uvulectomy, circumcision and immunization of the subjects were recorded. Serological test was carried out to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B, C and HIV using the viral markers and HIV 1& 2 rapid test kits. Results: Eighty-nine subjects were recruited with 46(51.7%) males and 43(48.3%) females. The mean age was 5.06 ±3.4 years. The seroprevalence of HBsAg, HBsAb, HBcAb, HBeAg, HBeAb, AntiHCV and HIV 1& 2 were 3(3.4%), 3(3.4%), 5(5.7%), 1(1.1%), 6(6.9%) and 0% respectively. No co-infection among the studied subjects. There is no significant difference in the age or gender distribution and seroprevalence of the viruses among SCA children. p = > 0.05 Conclusion: Hepatitis C infection is found to be high as opposed to Hepatitis B which is lower among SCA Children in this community

Natural Products Modulating Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) as Potential COVID-19 Therapies

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a potentially fatal multisystemic infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Currently, viable therapeutic options that are cost effective, safe and readily available are desired, but lacking. Nevertheless, the pandemic is noticeably of lesser burden in African and Asian regions, where the use of traditional herbs predominates, with such relationship warranting a closer look at ethnomedicine. From a molecular viewpoint, the interaction of SARS-CoV-2 with angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the crucial first phase of COVID-19 pathogenesis. Here, we review plants with medicinal properties which may be implicated in mitigation of viral invasion either via direct or indirect modulation of ACE2 activity to ameliorate COVID-19. Selected ethnomedicinal plants containing bioactive compounds which may prevent and mitigate the fusion and entry of the SARS-CoV-2 by modulating ACE2-associated up and downstream events are highlighted. Through further experimentation, these plants could be supported for ethnobotanical use and the phytomedicinal ligands could be potentially developed into single or combined preventive therapeutics for COVID-19. This will benefit researchers actively looking for solutions from plant bioresources and help lessen the burden of COVID-19 across the globe.We appreciate the support and resource provided by staff and postgraduate members of the Center for Advanced Medical Research and Training (CAMRET), Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria. DU acknowledges the postgraduate scholarship awarded to him (CAMRET/ 2019/MSc/SCH003) by CAMRET. NC-M. acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the Horizon 2020 Program (PTDC/PSI-GER/ 28076/2017). The work was also supported by Taif University Researchers Supporting Program (Project number: TURSP-2020/93), Taif University, Saudi Arabia

Conference summary report of the 10th Annual General and Scientific Meeting of the Nigerian Society of Neonatal medicine (NISONM) held in Ibadan, Nigeria on 4th -7th July, 2017

The 10th Annual General and Scientific Meeting (AGSM) of the Nigerian Society of Neonatal Medicine (NISONM) took place in Ibadan, South -West Nigeria. The theme of the conference was: Imperatives in neonatal survival initiatives in Nigeria: The current state. The conference addressed a variety of topics relevant to newborn health from eminent speakers from across the globe. The four-day conference included preconference workshops and community mobilization/ health outreach in Lagelu local government area

Myocardial ultrasonic tissue characterization in patients with thyroid dysfunction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Structural myocardial abnormalities have been extensively documented in hypothyroidism. Experimental studies in animal models have also shown involvement of thyroid hormones in gene expression of myocardial collagen. This study was planned to investigate the ability of ultrasonic tissue characterization, as evaluated by integrated backscatter (IBS), to early identify myocardial involvement in thyroid dysfunction.</p> <p>Patients and Methods</p> <p>We studied 15 patients with hyperthyroidism (HYPER), 8 patients with hypothyroidism (HYPO), 14 patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) and 19 normal (N) subjects, who had normal LV systolic function. After treatment, 10 HYPER, 6 HYPO, and 8 SCH patients were reevaluated. IBS images were obtained and analyzed in parasternal short axis (papillary muscle level) view, at left ventricular (LV) posterior wall. The following IBS variables were analyzed: 1) the corrected coefficient (CC) of IBS, obtained by dividing IBS intensity by IBS intensity measured in a rubber phantom, using the same equipment adjustments, at the same depth; 2) cardiac cyclic variation (CV) of IBS - peak-to-peak difference between maximal and minimal values of IBS during cardiac cycle; 3) cardiac cyclic variation index (CVI) of IBS - percentual relationship between the cyclic variation (CV) and the mean value of IBS intensity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CC of IBS was significantly larger (p < 0.05) in HYPER (1.57 ± 0.6) and HYPO (1.53 ± 0.3) as compared to SCH (1.32 ± 0.3) or N (1.15 ± 0.27). The CV (dB) (HYPO: 7.5 ± 2.4; SCH: 8.2 ± 3.1; HYPER: 8.2 ± 2.0) and the CVI (HYPO: 35.6 ± 19.7%; SCH: 34.7 ± 17.5%; HYPER: 37.8 ± 11.6%) were not significantly different in patients with thyroid dysfunction as compared to N (7.0 ± 2.0 and 44.5 ± 15.1%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>CC of IBS was able to differentiate cardiac involvement in patients with overt HYPO and HYPER who had normal LV systolic function. These early myocardial structural abnormalities were partially reversed by drug therapy in HYPER group. On the other hand, although mean IBS intensity tended to be slightly larger in patients with SCH as compared to N, this difference was not statistical significant.</p

Topologically protected localised states in spin chains

We consider spin chain families inspired by the Su, Schrieffer and Hegger (SSH) model. We demonstrate explicitly the topologically induced spatial localisation of quantum states in our systems. We present detailed investigations of the effects of random noise, showing that these topologically protected states are very robust against this type of perturbation. Systems with such topological robustness are clearly good candidates for quantum information tasks and we discuss some potential applications. Thus, we present interesting spin chain models which show promising applications for quantum devices