Spatial Profit Differential of Yam Marketing in Gombe Metropolis, Gombe State, Nigeria.

The study examines the spatial profit differentials of yam marketing in Gombe metropolis. Primary data were collected using questionnaires which were administered to 40 randomly selected respondents, 10 from each selected markets. Farm budget model was used to analyse the data. The result indicated that 60% of the respondents were within the age bracket of 21 to 40 years and the literacy level of the respondents was moderate, where those with primary and secondary education constituted 25% each  out of the total respondent. The highest profit was realised in Pantami market with N19.2/tube and the lowest was in Gombe Old market with N32.5/tube. The major constraints to yam marketing were insufficient capital with 32.5 percent while high cost of transportation and poor storage facilities constituted 25% each. It was therefore recommended that appropriate means of products  preservation and famers should form associations in order to  have access to loans which  would boast yam marketing. Keywords: Spatial, Differential, Marketing, Ya

Magnetism of Two Coupled Harmonic Oscillators

The thermodynamical properties of a system of two coupled harmonic oscillators in the presence of an uniform magnetic field B are investigated. Using an unitary transformation, we show that the system can be diagonalized in simple way and then obtain the energy spectrum solutions. These will be used to determine the thermodynamical potential in terms of different physical parameters like the coupling parameter \alpha. This allows us to give a generalization of already significant published work and obtain different results, those could be used to discuss the magnetism of the system. Different limiting cases, in terms of \alpha and B, have been discussed. In fact, quantum corrections to the Landau diamagnetism and orbital paramagnetism are found.Comment: 25 page

A survey of bacteria and fungi associated with suspected cases of meningitis among children attending some selected hospitals in Kano

Bacterial meningitis is one of the most potentially serious infections occurring in the Children age group, with a high incidence of acute complications and risk of long-term morbidity and mortality. The aim of the research was to Survey the Bacteria and Fungi Associated with Suspected Cases of  Meningitis among Children Attending Some Selected Hospitals in Kano State, hundred samples of cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) were collected through lumbar Children aged 0-12years suspected of having Meningitis. The samples were Nigeria. Three puncture from subjected to macroscopic examination, microscopic examination, culture tests. Bacterial and fungal isolates were confirmed by biochemical tests and serology. The isolates were subjected to antimicrobial sensitivity tests using standard techniques. The results obtained were analysed and a prevalence of 8.0% was obtained for bacteria while that of fungi was 0.33%. Analysis of the result according to age group showed that Children in the age group 0-2years had the highest percentage of Meningitis (7.7%:23/300) while those in the age group 3-4 years (0.3%:1/300) and 11-12 years had the lowest (0.3%:1/300). However there were no significant differences between the age group and the prevalence of Meningitis (0.1042). Analysis of the result according to occurrence of isolated organism showed that gram negative Bacteria Heamophilus influenzae type b had the highest frequency of occurrence (48:12/25) while the least were Neisseria meningitidis C/W135 (4%:1/25), Salmonella paratyphi C (4%:1/25), Streptococcus species (Viridans group) (4%:1/25), Candida famata (4%:1/25). Analysis of the result in relation to the study sites showed that the highest number of positive cases were obtained from Muhammad Specialist Hospital (MMSH) (52%:13/25) while the lowest from Aminu Kano Teaching Hospiatal (AKTH) (4%:1/25). However there was a significant difference between the study sites and the number of positive cases (0.004). Antibiogram of the bacterial isolates showed that ceftriaxone (91.7%:11/12) and ciprofloxacin (91.7%:11/12) were found to be most sensitive to Haemophilus influenzae type b and least sensitive to trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole (8.3%:1/12). The yeast, Candida famata was found to be (100%:1/1) sensitive to ketaconazole, fluconazole, itraconazole and amphotericin B. It can be concluded that the overall prevalence of Bacteria in the study sites was 8.0% while that of fungi was 0.33%. Gram negative bacteria Haemophilus influenzae type b were found to be the major cause of meningitis in the study sites which are most sensitive to cefriaxone (91.7%:11/12) and ciprofloxacin (91.7%:11/12) and least sensitive to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (8.3%:1/12).Keywords: Cerebrospinal fluid, Hospitals, isolates, meningitis, occurrence, paediatrics, sensitivity

Nonlinear TE Electromagnetic Surface Waves in a Ferrite Layered Structure

Characteristics of TE electromagnetic surface waves propagating in a nonlinear dielectric film bounded by a ferrite cover are examined theoretically. A dispersion relation based on Jacobian Elliptic Functions is derived, which describes the behaviour of the nonreciprocal nonlinear waves. ) TE ( . ) Jacobian Function (

Characteristics and Above-Ground Biomass of Mangrove Species in Enggano Island, Bengkulu Sumatra, Indonesia

Estimation of biomass mangrove vegetation plays a vital role in the evaluation of nutrient turnover and potential to act as a carbon sink. Preliminary investigations show that inadequate studies have been conducted on a characterization of mangrove forest. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify species, characterization andaboveground biomass of mangrove vegetation in the Enggano Bengkulu Island of Sumatra, Indonesia. To implement this, the quadrant transect method is applied. The data are collected at 10 m2 quadrat random sampling points along seven stations laid perpendicular to the shoreline. From the experiment, the results show that coverage density of R. apiculata, B. gymnorrhiza, Sonneratia alba, and X. granatum, 63%, 27%, 6% and 4.6% respectively. R. apiculata had the highest values of X. granatum having the lowest. From the data analysis showed linearly increased with an increase of basal area, aboveground biomass was strongly related to the basal area in mangrove forests as results of correlation r = 0,9454 in an equation of Y=1, 7025x-3,6276, with R2 = 8938. When BA increase 1 m2/ha, the biomass increased by 1.7025 ton/ha. The average values for the basal area, estimation based on biomass, B. gymnorrhiza present the highest, at 22 m2/ha, 41,30 t/ha with X. granatum 2,5 m2/ha, 3.95 t/ha lowest. From the findings, it is depicted that there is a significant indirect effect of a change of characteristic of mangrove forest due to human encroachment evidence by the reduction in X. granatum and S. alba species population, Therefore, there is the need for environmental mitigations to preserve the ecosystem

Nutritional Analysis of Three Commonly Consumed Varieties of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) in Bauchi State, Nigeria

Three sorghum samples (yellow, red, and white sorghums) were analyzed for their proximate, vitamin (B1, B3, B6) and mineral element (Mg, Na, K, Ca, Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn) compositions. Vitamins and mineral compositions were determined using HPLC and AAS respectively. The results of the proximate analysis revealed that there was no significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) in the ash, crude fibre, crude protein and carbohydrate content of the three samples. The difference in the moisture and fat content were significant (p ≤ 0.05). The moisture content of white and red sorghum and white and yellow sorghums was significantly different (p ≤ 0.05) while the difference in the moisture of red and yellow sorghums was not significant (p ≤ 0.05). The fat content of white and red sorghum are significantly different (p ≤ 0.05) while the difference between the fat content of white and yellow and red and yellow sorghums were not significant (p ≤ 0.05). White sorghum has higher percentage of moisture and fat 11.90±0.36 & 9.26±1.81 respectively. Red sorghum has higher percentage of ash and protein 2.32±0.68 & 6.08±0.40 respectively. Yellow sorghum has higher percentage of fibre and carbohydrate 2.41±1.44 & 73.53±1.87 respectively. The HPLC vitamin analysis showed that sorghum has low vitamin B1 (thiamine), B3 (niacin), B6 (pyridoxine) content and did not meet the recommended dietary allowance of the world health organization, although red sorghum was richer in all the vitamins analyzed, followed by yellow sorghum and then white sorghum which has the lowest vitamin content. The AAS results for the mineral elements revealed that all the three sorghum varieties contains all the mineral elements analyzed except for white sorghum which does not show any trace of copper. Statistical analysis on the mineral elements of the three sorghum showed that there were no significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) in all the mineral elements analysed with respect to each of the samples except for calcium that showed a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05). The difference in the calcium content between white and red sorghum and red and yellow sorghum was significant (p ≤ 0.05) while the difference was not significant (p ≤ 0.05) between the white and yellow sorghum. It was also found that the three sorghum varieties are richer in potassium, zinc and sodium and low in the other mineral elements analyzed. The proximate analysis revealed that sorghum samples contain appreciable nutrient contents and vitamin analysis shows that red sorghum is nutritionally more valuable than the white and yellow sorghum. Keywords: Mineral elements, Proximate Composition, Sorghum and Vitamin

Effect of Different Sources of Heat on Nutritional Composition of Tilapia Fish (Oreochromis niloticus)

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of traditional smoking methods on fresh tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus). For this purpose, proximate, mineral and amino acid compositions of tilapia fish smoked with sawdust, rice bran, melon husk and electric oven (control) heat treatments were determined using standard analytical technique. The results showed that crude protein content (%) ranged between 55.10 to 64.16% with the highest value recorded in sample smoked with rice bran heat treatment while crude fat had the highest value (18.10%) also in rice bran smoked sample. Sodium was found to be more abundant in all the samples (5.75 – 10.10 mg/100g) compared with magnesium (5.45 – 9.15 mg/100g), potassium (4.55 – 6.45 mg/100g) and phosphorus (4.70 – 6.00 mg/100g) while the least abundant mineral was chromium (0.05 – 0.15 mg/100g). The harmful metals such as cadmium and lead were not at detectable range of atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The amino acid profile revealed that only Oreochromis niloticus fish sample smoked with sawdust enhanced the contents of total amino acid (TAA), total essential amino acid (TEAA) and total sulphur amino acid (TSAA) by 3.77, 3.95 and 7.03%, respectively while melon husk and rice bran heat treatments reduced TAA, TEAA and TSAA. The limiting amino acid (LAA) for all the samples with different heat treatments was Ile except sample smoked with rice bran which has Val as LAA. Generally, all the smoked samples contained nutritionally useful quantities of total essential amino acids. Keywords: Oreochromis niloticus, agricultural wastes, smoke, proximate, amino acids

In vitro cytotoxic study for partially purified Lasparaginase from fresh leaves, unripe and ripe fruits of Withania somnifera plant

This work aimed to study the cytotoxic effect of L-asparaginase isolated from local Withania somnifera plant on lymphocyte leukemia cells. To achieve this goal, L-asparaginase was purified from W. somnifera fruits by two purification steps, ion-exchange chromatography using DEAE-cellulose and gel filtration chromatography using Sephadex G-150, and the study utilized an in vitro evaluation for the cytotoxic effect of the partially purified L-asparaginase with concentrations ranging (12.5 to 100 μg/ml) in a two fold serial dilutions on some cell suspension culture including, acute lymphocyte leukemia and chronic lymphocyte leukemia culture at different concentrations (12.5 to 100 μg/ml) and different exposure time of treatment (24, 48 and 72 h). This two purification steps raised the specific activity from 1.73 U/mg in crude extract to 2.29 U/mg after ion-exchange and 10.5 U/mg after gel filtration; the purification fold was 1.32 after ion-exchange and 6.06 after gel filtration, the enzyme recovery was 56% after two purification steps and the results, pointed that acute lymphocyte leukemia culture showed highest sensitivity toward the cytotoxic effect (62.3±0.9%) of the partial purified L-asparaginase (100 μg/ml) than other culture after 48 h in a dose dependent manner, and highest cytotoxic inhibitory effect (73.2±1.6%) after 48 h of exposure on chronic lymphocyte leukemia culture, while healthy lymphocyte culture showed novel behavior. The lowest concentration of cell treatment gave the most significant (P< 0.01) inhibitory effect. The conclusion is that there is enough evidence to support the claim that Lasparaginase from W. somnifera may be considered chemotherapeutic agent against cancer, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphosarcoma.Keywords: Acute lymphocyte leukemia (ALL), chronic lymphocyte leukemia (CLL), L-asparaginase, cytotoxic assay