Intelligent Control for Automation of Yam Storage System Using Fuzzy Logic Controller

This paper presents the development of intelligent control technique for yam storage system based on fuzzy logic controller (FLC). The expert control of yam storage system is formulated in the form of fuzzy rules. The inputs to the controller are the outside and inside temperature, wind speed and presences of rain. The output is the window opening angle. Simulations were performed for different typical levels of input parameters and also for extreme fictitious conditions. The results shown that, the controller is capable of responding to the changes in temperature conditions by adjusting the window opening angle to keep the internal temperature within acceptable range. The controller also satisfies security requirements due to sudden changes in wind velocity and presence of rain

Perception of Climate Change and Its Effects on Rural Livelihood in Katsina State, Nigeria

This study investigated the perception of climate change and its effects on livelihood in Katsina state. This study adopted cross sectional research design. Data for this study were generated from the administration of questionnaire in the study area. Data analysis was achieved using the Kruskal Wallis test. Findings of the study include; the locals identified that there are changes in the characteristics of climate elements in the area indicating climate change. The locals also identified that as a result of climate change, they have witnessed increase in the loss of agricultural land and soil quality due to erosion and reduced soil fertility (70%), reduced livestock productivity (55.6%), increase in pest and disease incidence in livestock (70%), increase in the cost of crop production (60.7%), and increase in the rate of farmer poverty (39.3%). The perception of the concept of climate change across the study area was significantly different at P<0.05 (χ2(2) =, 21303.673) implying that, the consequences of climate change in the area also vary. The study strongly advocates, the application of climate smart agriculture, reforestation and massive public awareness about the causes and effects of climate change in the study area. Keywords: climate-change, livelihood, semi-arid, greenhouse-gases DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/10-2-04 Publication date: January 31st 202

Comparison Between Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Coronary Artery Calcification in the Prediction of Atherosclerosis in Diabetic Patients

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease is one of the atherosclerosis etiologies that can lead to death. Diabetes mellitus increases the risk of atherosclerosis. Screening tool is very beneficial for detecting atherosclerotic plaque, especially in subclinical atherosclerotic cases. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and coronary artery calcification score (CACS) are two kinds of tools that are widely used, and each of these tools has its own superiority. This study was aimed to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of both of these tools as screening tools.METHODS: The study was conducted with a cross sectional design involving 43 diabetic and 68 non-diabetic male subjects aged above 45 years old. All subjects fulfilled inclusion criteria. Carotid artery ultrasonography and CACS measurement were performed.RESULTS: Fischer exact test was used to show a significant correlation between CIMT and CACS (p<0.05). Diagnostic test was used to assess the sensitivity of CIMT toward CACS in above 75 percentile. The left common carotid artery (LCCA) showed the highest sensitivity either in diabetic (76.4%) or non-diabetic male subjects (90%).CONCLUSION: CIMT has the same sensitivity with CACS. CIMT can be used as the preferred screening tool for high risk patients and as a substitution tool to CACS for low risk patients in subclinical atherosclerosis detection

Intra Arterial Heparin Flushing Increases Cereberal Blood Flow in Chronic Ischemic Stroke Patients

BACKGROUND: Recently, stroke therapy is focused on reperfusion therapies for restoring cerebral blood flow (CBF) and minimizing the undesired effects of neuron ischemia. However, the thrombolytic therapy to restore CBF was restricted with narrow time window. On other hands, not many patients can reach the treatment immediately after the onset of stroke. A wider time window therapy that might increase CBF would probably helpful. This study aims to investigate the CBF improvement after intra arterial heparin flushing (IAHF) therapy in chronic stroke patients.METHODS: A clinical trial was conducted with time sampling. We collected chronic ischemic stroke subjects (with stroke onset ≥30 days) within periods February-September 2015. We investigated CBF before and after IAHF treatment in 75 chronic stroke patients. The difference before and after IAHF treatment in subgroup which is classified with infarct size and lesion area was tested. CBF was measured using MRI Quality Arterial Spin Labeling (qASL) with region of interest around infarct lesion.RESULTS: We found a significant CBF improvement (p<0.001) around infarct area after IAHF treatment with average 10.39mL/100g/min raised. CBF improvement was found in lacunar infarct (p<0.001) and non lacunar (p<0.001), also in infarct in cortical (p<0.05), subcortical (p<0.001) and both area (p<0.05).CONCLUSION: IAHF is associated with increased CBF around infarct area and IAHF probably offers some benefit for chronic stroke

Ocular injuries caused by improvised explosion devices-case series of patients seen in National Eye Centre, Kaduna Nigeria

Aim: To highlight the pattern of ocular injuries as a result of improvised explosive devises by insurgents in Kaduna metropolis.Background: Ocular trauma is a cause of blindness in approximately half a million people worldwide and many more have suffered partial loss of sight. Trauma is the most important cause of unilateral loss of vision, particularly in developing countries. An improvised explosive device, also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. In line with the insurgency in parts of northern Nigeria, there is need to identify the common associated ocular injuries with the view to recommending preventive measures and providing adequate resources to managing the challenges.Methodology: Consecutive patients who presented with bomb blast associated ocular injuries and consented to the study from December 2011 through November 2012 were prospectively followed up. Demographic, clinical and operative data was entered into preformed questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS V16.Results: Seven eyes of five patients (2 bilateral) met the inclusion criteria with a mean age of 20 years (7-29 years), male to female ratio of 1.5: 1. Only one of the seven affected eyes had presenting VA of 6/60, 2 had NPL and 4 HM. Open globe injury was present in 3 eyes (1-ruptured, 2 corneal laceration) and retinal detachment in two eyes.Conclusion: Bomb blast explosion is associated with catastrophic blinding ocular pathology thus the need to providing needed equipment/manpower to contain it  and seek lasting solutions to the wave violent insurgency

Government Ownership and Adaptation in Scale-Up: Experiences from Community-Based Family Planning Programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

A systematic approach to scale-up was applied to expand an integrated  package of family planning and primary healthcare services from the  Democratic Republic of the Congo‘s South Kivu province to health zones in Lomami, Lualaba, and Kasai Central provinces. This approach was based on recommendations from the ExpandNet/WHO guide Beginning with the end in mind. The approach emphasized application of three  recommendations: engaging government stakeholders, ensuring the relevance of the intervention, and tailoring the innovation to the setting. This approach led to successful scale-up of community-based family planning, increasing access to and uptake of contraception and  demonstrating potential for sustainability; 231,566 new acceptors were recruited and 149,826 couple-years of protection were generated. The systematic scale-up approach led to integration of community-based family planning indicators in the national health information system and transferred ownership of the interventions to the government, creating and strengthening government platforms with potential to sustain the interventions.Keywords: DRC, family planning, communities, systematic scale-up, integration, adaptatio

A Review on Required Catalysts Composition and its Effective Preparation Method for Hydrodeoxygenation of Bio-oil

The hydrodeoxygenation of bio-oil performance is dependent on the efficiency and effectiveness of the applied catalyst. The effectiveness of a catalyst in hydrodeoxygenation reaction heavily depends on its composition. In this review, an overview of hydrodeoxygenation catalyst composition and its effective preparation methods are highlighted and discussed. Various catalyst compositions such active metals,&nbsp; promoters, and catalyst supports used for hydrodeoxygenation of bio-oil to saturated hydrocarbon fuels are discussed. Furthermore,&nbsp; effective synthesis methods for nickel-based catalysts as well as factors that can enhance better distribution and dispersion of active nickel species over catalyst support at various developmental stages, i.e. during deposition, drying and activation (which involve calcination and reduction of catalysts synthesis) are discussed

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&amp; 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&amp; 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 = &gt; 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

EFFECT OF TREATED SEWAGE SLUDGE ON THE QUALITY OF OKRA FRUIT

Treated sewage sludge (Defective) has been identified to increase heavy metals in the soil which are in turn transferred to plants. In view of this, the study is aimed at assessing the effects of treated sewage sludge on the quality parameters of okra fruits. The randomized block design was employed in raising okra plants with three treatments (0t/ha, 10t/ha, and 20t/ha sewage sludge amendment) over a land area of 56.3m2. Soil analysis was used to determine the level of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the soil. After 2months, the okra fruits were harvested by cutting the pods off, slicing, oven drying, milling, and labeled correctly prior to laboratory analysis. The heavy metal content in the okra fruit were analysed using atomic absorption spectrometer. The parameters analyzed were Cd, Pb, Cu, Fe, and Zn. The concentration of the selected heavy metals was subjected to descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The transfer factor was also determined. Most soils in the okra field was sand. Study found out that the soil was deficient in phosphorus and potassium. Bioaccumulation of heavy metals were not found in the okra fruit since Cu, Zn and Fe have transfer factors of less than 1. In addition, transfer factor order in okra fruit were Zn&gt;Cu&gt;Fe&gt;Cd&gt;Pb. The study revealed that the application of sewage sludge at 10t/ha and 20t/ha resulted in high uptake of Zn and Fe whereas cadmium and lead were not detected. The study concluded that consumption of the okra fruit grown on 10t/ha and 20t/ha were very safe since Cu, Fe, and Zn in the okra fruit were less than desirable limit as recommended by FAO and WHO. There is need to determine hazard quotient, the health risk index, morbidity status the enrichment factor and degree of contamination in okra fruit. Effect of sewage sludge at different application rates between 25t/ha and 60t/ha be seriously investigated so as to determine the optimal level of heavy metal in the okra frui

Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: a Rare Neoplasm Presenting with Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are rare tumors of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that arise from primitive mesenchymal cells. GISTs occur throughout the GI tract but are usually located in the stomach and small intestine. GISTs are known with myoid, neural or mixed features of differentiation. Clinical findings are gastrointestinal bleeding, abdominal pain, and weight loss. GISTs express a heterogeneous clinical course not easily predicted. The histologic features that correlate best with development of recurrence and metastasis are mitotic activity, tumor size and the presence of tumor necrosis and most recently, mutation in the c-kit gene. Some authors specifically use the term GIST to refer to only those mesenchymal tumors that express CD117, whereas others believe that the diagnosis can be made in the absence of CD117 positivity based on clinical and morphologic features. Surgical resection remains the treatment of choice, since chemotherapy and radiation are ineffective. Long-term follow-up is imperative and recurrence rates are high. We report the case of a 60 years old female patient who presented with intermittent melena, chronic dyspepsia, and anemia. Upper digestive tract endoscopy showed a submucosal tumor, broad-based, centrally ulcerated, projection of &gt;5 cm in the gastric corpus-antral wall as the cause of the upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Endoscopic biopsies were negative for neoplastic changes. After triple eradication therapy of Helicobacter pylori and treatment continued with proton pump inhibitor agent, the patient underwent distal gastrectomy with Billroth-I reconstruction. Histopatological studies on the surgical resection specimen revealed a GIST of smooth muscle with spindle cell, no evidence of mitotic activity but of uncertain biological behavior. One year after surgery the patient is was improved with no signs of residual Malignancy. However, metastases were found later in the liver in the next two year