Effect of farmyard manure on senescence, nitrogen and protein levels in leaves and grains of some cowpea vareities

The effect of farmyard manure was studied on senescence, nitrogen and protein content of the leaves and grains of cowpea. The experimental site for this study was situated at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Kano Station, Nigeria. The cowpea varieties used in this experiment were Kanannado a local variety and IT89 KD – 288 an improved variety, two treatments were used for the experiment single manure treatment (manurexl), and double manure treatment (manurex2) at the ratio of 5:1 soil to manure and the control (no manure added). Plastic pots of 250mm diameter and 17.5cm for both length and height were used in this study. The pots were arranged in completely randomize block design and labeled appropriately using white and green plastic tags according to the plant treatment applied. The rainy season trial was carried out between August 2006 to November, 2006 while the dry season trial was carried out between October, 2007 to January, 2008 onset of senescence, days to 50% senescence, 90% senescence and days to total death of the plants occurred earlier in IT89KD – 288 than in Kanannado, while comparison between the treatments showed that senescence started earlier in plant treated with double manure treatment than those treated with single manure treatment. Between the two seasons, senescence started earlier rainy season than in dry season. On the other hand nitrogen and protein content of the leaves and grains were higher in IT89KD – 288 than in Kanannado, also between the treatment double manure treatment induced higher nitrogen protein content of leaves and grains. More nitrogen and protein, content of leaves and grains were obtained during the dry season trial than in the rainy season trial

Anti-diabetic potential of Plectranthus lanuginosus in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Purpose: To determine the antidiabetic effect of methanol extract of Plectranthus lanuginosus leaves in streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemic (HGD) rats. Methods: P. lanuginosus leaves were collected from Saad Medhas, Al Baha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After defatting with n-hexane, they were extracted in vacuo at 40 oC with 75 % methanol. Streptozotocin (50 mgkg−1, i.p.) was used to induce hyperglycemia (diabetes) in the rats. The HGD rats received either standard drug (glibenclamide, 10 mgkg−1, p.o.) or Plectranthus lanuginosus leaf methanol leaf extract (PLLM) at doses of 200 and 400 mgkg−1/day, p.o. for 21 consecutive days. Blood samples were taken from the rat tails 2 h after dosing, and at 7-day intervals (i.e., 0, 7th, 14th and 21st days). The blood samples were used for measurement of fasting blood glucose (FBS), using a glucometer. On the 21st day, the rats were sacrificed via cardiac puncture. The activities of liver marker enzymes (SGPT and SGOT), and serum lipid profile (cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and LDL) were determined using a hemolyzer. Results: Streptozotocin treatment produced significant hyperglycemia in the rats (348.9 ± 5.6) when compared to control (79.2 ± 1.3). However, PLLM (200 and 400 mg kg−1) produced significant and dose-dependent anti-diabetic (166.4 ± 5.6 and 123.86 ± 6.8 respectively) and antihyperlipidemic effects in HGD rats, at levels similar to those produced by the standard drug, glibenclamide (120.6 ± 6.4). Conclusion: P. lanuginosus leaf extract possesses pronounced anti-diabetic and anti-hyperlipidemic properties which may be due to the presence of phenolic and flavonoid constituents in the plant. Therefore, the plant extract can be further developed for the management of diabete

Face Recognition System Based on Kernel Discriminant Analysis, K-Nearest Neighbor and Support Vector Machine

Although many methods have been implemented in the past, face recognition is still an active field of research especially after the current increased interest in security. In this paper, a face recognition system using Kernel Discriminant Analysis (KDA) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) with K-nearest neighbor (KNN) methods is presented. The kernel discriminates analysis is applied for extracting features from input images. Furthermore, SVM and KNN are employed to classify the face image based on the extracted features. This procedure is applied on each of Yale and ORL databases to evaluate the performance of the suggested system. The experimental results show that the system has a high recognition rate with accuracy up to 95.25% on the Yale database and 96% on the ORL, which are considered very good results comparing with other reported face recognition systems

Exploiting Wavelet Transform, Principal Component Analysis, Support Vector Machine, and K-Nearest Neighbors for Partial Face Recognition

Facial analysis has evolved to be a process of considerable importance due to its consequence on the safety and security, either individually or generally on the society level, especially in personal identification. The paper in hand applies facial identification on a facial image dataset by examining partial facial images before allocating a set of distinctive characteristics to them. Extracting the desired features from the input image is achieved by means of wavelet transform. Principal component analysis is used for feature selection, which specifies several aspects in the input image; these features are fed to two stages of classification using a support vector machine and K-nearest neighborhood to classify the face. The images used to test the strength of the suggested method are taken from the well-known (Yale) database. Test results showed the eligibility of the system when it comes to identify images and assign the correct face and name

Best Choices for Enhancing Groundnut Productivity in Nigeria

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), also known as Peanut, is an annual crop commonly grown by smallholder fanners. The name Groundnut can be confusing as the plant is not typically a nut. The plant itself grows above the ground while the nuts (pods) develop and mature underground. It originated from Central America, and its cultivation spread to the rest of the world as an oil-seed crop. In Nigeria, pyramid-like structures made of groundnut sacks were common features in several locations up to the 1970s. These locations included Kofar, Mazugal, Brigade, Bebeji, Malam Madori and Dawakin Kudu. The pyramid structures constituted tourist attractions in Northern Nigeria and symbol of the wealth of the country. These structures gradually disappeared when attention was shifted away from agriculture to crude oil after the 1970s. Recurrent rosette virus outbreaks of 1975,1983,1985 and 1988 also discouraged farmers from groundnut production..

Low referral completion of rapid diagnostic test-negative patients in community-based treatment of malaria in Sierra Leone

ABSTRACT

Insecticide resistance in the sand fly, Phlebotomus papatasi from Khartoum State, Sudan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Phlebotomus papatasi </it>the vector of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most widely spread sand fly in Sudan. No data has previously been collected on insecticide susceptibility and/or resistance of this vector, and a first study to establish a baseline data is reported here.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sand flies were collected from Surogia village, (Khartoum State), Rahad Game Reserve (eastern Sudan) and White Nile area (Central Sudan) using light traps. Sand flies were reared in the Tropical Medicine Research Institute laboratory. The insecticide susceptibility status of first progeny (F1) of <it>P. papatasi </it>of each population was tested using WHO insecticide kits. Also, <it>P. papatasi </it>specimens from Surogia village and Rahad Game Reserve were assayed for activities of enzyme systems involved in insecticide resistance (acetylcholinesterase (AChE), non-specific carboxylesterases (EST), glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) and cytochrome p450 monooxygenases (Cyt p450).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Populations of <it>P. papatasi </it>from White Nile and Rahad Game Reserve were sensitive to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), permethrin, malathion, and propoxur. However, the <it>P. papatasi </it>population from Surogia village was sensitive to DDT and permethrin but highly resistant to malathion and propoxur. Furthermore, <it>P. papatasi </it>of Surogia village had significantly higher insecticide detoxification enzyme activity than of those of Rahad Game Reserve. The sand fly population in Surogia displayed high AChE activity and only three specimens had elevated levels for EST and GST.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The study provided evidence for malathion and propoxur resistance in the sand fly population of Surogia village, which probably resulted from anti-malarial control activities carried out in the area during the past 50 years.</p

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS: Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION: Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks