Growth And Yield of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) Varities in Sokoto Sudan Savanna of Nigeria

Field trial was carried out during the 2019 rainy season (June to October) at the Dryland Teaching and Research Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto to determine the growth and yield of sorghum varieties in the study area. The treatments consisted of five (5) sorghum varieties (Samsorg 45, Samsorg 46, Janjari, Yartawa and Jardawa), the treatments were laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) replicated three (3) times. Data were collected on the growth and yield of the crop. Janjari and Jardawa varieties were higher in plant height. Jardawa and Yartawa varieties were higher in number of leaves. Janjari and Yartawa varieties were higher in total dry weight. Janjari, Jardawa and Yartawa varieties were higher in harvest index. Yartawa variety was higher in leaf area, leaf area index and 1000-grain weight. Jardawa variety was higher in panicle length. Janjari variety was early in number of days to heading, flowering, and maturity and was higher in dry stalk weight. The grain yield (249 – 1506kg ha-1 ) was higher in Janjari and Yartawa varieties (1268 – 1506 kg ha-1). Based on the findings of this research, it could be concluded that Janjari and Yartawa varieties performed better than other varieties in the study area

CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE OF GMO COWPEAS IN SUB-SAHARA AFRICA

Cowpea is the most important indigenous African grain legume for both home use and as a cash crop. Because of its tolerance to drought it is especially important for the Sahel. Genetic transformation of cowpea with Bachilius Thurengius (Bt) genes to control pod boring insects has many advantages, but little is known of the potential consumer response. This paper analyzes and reports the results of a survey of 200 consumers in northern Nigeria in early 2003 concerning consumer awareness of and acceptance of biotechnology. Ninety percent of the respondents were aware of GM products. Those respondents who were most concerned about the ethics of genetic transformation were likely to disapprove of such products, while those individuals who identified international radio as an information source were more likely to approve of GM technology.Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

Multiangulation position estimation performance analysis using a Bartlett’s Beamforming Method

In this work, a complete multiangulation system was developed and its performance in term of position estimation (PE) was determined. The developed system uses Bartlett’s beam forming method to estimate AOA of the signal impinging on the 16-element sensor array in a uniform linear array (ULA) geometry at each ground receiving station (GRS). The AOA measurements are then used as input to a linear angulation algorithm for PE. The PE accuracy of the developed system was determined using Monte Carlo simulation and compared with the directional rotating antenna multiangulation system using a square GRS configuration. Simulation results shows that the developed multiangulation PE error is 50% lower than that of the directional rotating antenna system. Furthermore, the PE error of the developed system is higher for emitting sources within the system coverage with position bearings within 610 to 1200 and 2400 to 3000 than other emitting source locations.Keywords: multiangulation system, position estimation, beam forming, Monte Carlo Simulation, position bearin

Phytochemistry of methanol seed extract of Abrus precatorius and its effect on spermatogenesis in rats

The methanol seed extract of Abrus precatorius was studied for its acute toxicity and its effect on spermatogenesis in rats as well as its phytochemical constituents. The results of this investigation showed that the LD50 of the methanol seed extract following oral administration was above 5000 mg/kg showing low toxicity. Histological studies of the liver, kidneys and testes of the rats treated with the various oral doses (10 - 5000 mg/kg body weight) showed no remarkable changes in the hepatocytes, kidney cells and testes compared to the control. The effects on sperm cells did not show any significant increase in total sperm head counts. The Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of pharmacologically active compounds such as reducing sugars, tannins, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids, saponins and flavonoids. In conclusion, the methanol seed extract of Abrus precatorius contain important phytochemical constituents possessing pharmacological activities and it is relatively safe but has no effects on sperm cell production.Keywords: Abrus precatorius, acute toxicity, phytochemical constituents, spermatogenesi

Pattern and management of priapism in a tertiary hospital of North-Western Nigeria

Background: Priapism is a persistent penile erection that continues for more than four hours beyond sexual stimulation and orgasm or unrelated to sexual stimulation1. The objective is to document the pattern and management of priapism in our hospital.Methods: This is a retrospective study of patients managed for Priapism by Urology Unit of our hospital, from January 2009 to December 2015.Results: Thirty patients were managed for managed for priapism within the study period. The mean age at presentation was 23.9 ± 12.2 years with a range of 8- 55 years. Fifteen patients (57.7 %) presented beyond 72 hours of the onset of priapism. All the patients had ischaemic priapism. Half of the patients had sickle cell disease, two (7.7 %) had chronic myeloid leukaemia, five (19.2%) used aphrodisiacs and cause was not established in six (23.1%). The most effective forms of treatments were corporal aspiration and glanulocavernosal shunt. Hydroxyurea was used for the patients with leukaemia. Thirteen (50.0%) of the patients were loss to follow-up after their first visits. Three patients (11.5%) developed erectile dysfunction.Conclusion: Sickle cell disease is the commonest cause of ischaemic priapism in our practice. Late presentation is common and is usually associated with the development of erectile dysfunction.Keywords: priapism, sickle cell disease, aphrodisiacs, erectile dysfunction, treatments of ischaemic priapis

Trends in prevalence of HIV infection: a 4-year review of the general population in Plateau State, Nigeria

Background: Plateau state is among the HIV hot zones with HIV prevalence above national average and the 6th state with the highest HIV burden in Nigeria. The study sought to determined the trend of HIV prevalence in the general population and the pattern by age and sex in Plateau state.Methodology: The study was a 4-year descriptive analysis of the trend in Prevalence of HIV in the general population of Plateau state, Nigeria based on the data generated between January 2012 and December 2015. The data on HIV services were managed through the electronic Nigerian National HIV/AIDS Response Information Management System (eNNRIMS) which was a web-based software. The data analyses were done using excel to obtain the proportions and trend of HIV prevalence in the general population and by year, age and sex.Results: Out of a total of 495,718 tested for HIV, 30,450 people tested positive, with the highest (13.1%) HIV prevalence recorded in 2012 and the lowest (3.2%) HIV prevalence recorded in 2015. The age groups 25 – 49 years and 50 years and above accounted for higher HIV prevalence, and the female population had higher HIV prevalence for most of the age groups.Conclusion: The HIV prevalence is on a downward trend with relatively less decline among the older female population in Plateau state.Keywords: HIV, Prevalence, Infection, Trends, Plateau Stat

Evaluation of Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Information Accessibility among Farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria

This study evaluated the socio-economic factor influencing information accessibility in Oyo State. Primary data were obtained from 50 farmers with the aid of structured questionnaire. The result showed that, 100% of the farmers got their information from Radio, 90% TV, 20% Friend, 30% Non-Governmental Organisation and 26% got information through their ADP. Therefore, majority of the farmers obtained their agricultural information through the Radio which indicates that information plays a vital role in the life of the farmers, especially in fertilizer application, pest and disease in crop production and economic development. The determinants of factors influencing information were age, education and extension contact. Therefore, the study recommends that farmers in Oyo State should be encouraged financially to have access to information to enhance crop production. Keywords: Determinant, Socioeconomic factor, agricultural information, extension contact

Automated Bus Crew Rescheduling for Late for Sign-On (LFSO) Event using Multi-Agent System

Unpredictable events (UE) are major factors that cause crew rescheduling to be performed. One of the UE is when a crew is late for duty. In this research, it is termed as Late for Sign-On (LFSO). When LFSO occurred, the reschedule is needed to make sure available crew take the duty. Currently, there is no automated mechanism to handle the LFSO. Real time rescheduling approaches mostly are not supported due to static schedules constraint. Mathematical approaches require extensive computational power therefore delayed the real-time results. Meanwhile, manual rescheduling is prone to error and not optimum. This research objective is to develop a new approach in automating the crew rescheduling process using multiagent system. The agents dynamically adapt their behaviour to changing environments quickly and find solutions via negotiations and cooperation between them. Experiment is conducted using AgentPower simulation tool. The result concluded that the proposed technique is capable to reschedule quickly. The distribution of a duty also plays a major role in achieving rescheduling success

Sonografski prikaz dimenzija bubrega u bolesnika s esencijalnom hipertenzijom u sveučilišnoj bolnici Abubakar Tafawa Balewa u gradu Bauchi u Nigeriji

Introduction: Hypertension is one of the commonest non-communicable diseases worldwide; it is the second most common cause of end-stage renal disease. Objective: To evaluate the renal dimensions and volume of essential hypertension patients in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi and to compare the dimensions with that of apparently healthy volunteers. Materials and Methods: A total of two hundred and eleven individuals (comprising 121 females and 90 males) with essential hypertension attending an outpatient clinic in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi, and an equal number of healthy volunteers (comprising of 172 females and 49 males) were studied as controls. Both the healthy volunteers and the Hypertensive patients’ renal length, renal width, antero-posterior diameter, and parenchymal thickness were assessed. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20.0) was used for data analysis. Results: Study show the mean renal length for hypertensive patients to be 9.1 ± 0.79 cm and 9.1 ± 0.73 cm, the mean renal width of 3.5 ± 0.48 cm and 3.8 ± 0.68 cm, and mean renal volume of 87.22 ± 19.58 cm3 and 95.08 ± 22.93 cm3 for the right and left kidneys respectively. Results equally show statistically significant difference in anteroposterior diameter (p<0.05), parenchymal thickness (p<0.05) and renal volume (p<0.05) between the hypertensive group and the volunteer group for both right and left kidneys. Conclusion: This study has established baseline renal dimensions for hypertensive in our population (Bauchi Metropolis). The hypertensive subjects showed a decrease in renal anteroposterior diameter, parenchymal thickness and volume compared to control group.Uvod: Hipertenzija je jedna od najčešćih nezaraznih bolesti u svijetu; drugi je najčešći uzrok završnog stadija bubrežne bolesti. Cilj: Procijeniti dimenzije bubrega i bubrežni volumen kod hipertenzivnih bolesnika u Sveučilišnoj bolnici Abubakar Tafawa Balewa u gradu Bauchi i usporediti ih s dimenzijama kod naizgled zdravih ispitanika koji su se dobrovoljno javili za sudjelovanje u istraživanju. Materijali i metode: Uzorak se sastojao od dvjesto jedanaest ispitanika (121 žena i 90 muškaraca) koji boluju od esencijalne hipertenzije i na ambulantnom su liječenju u Sveučilišnoj bolnici Abubakar Tafawa Balewa u gradu Bauchi i jednakog broja zdravih ispitanika (172 žene i 49 muškaraca), koji su bili kontrolna skupina. Proučavana je duljina i širina bubrega, anteroposteriorni promjer i debljina parenhima kod ispitanika s hipertenzijom i kod zdravih ispitanika. Za analizu podataka primijenjen je statistički paket za društvene znanosti (SPSS verzija 20.0). Rezultati: Studija pokazuje da je prosječna dužina bubrega kod hipertenzivnih bolesnika 9,1 ± 0,79 cm i 9,1 ± 0,73 cm, prosječna bubrežna širina 3,5 ± 0,48 cm i 3,8 ± 0,68 cm, a prosječni bubrežni volumen 87,22 ± 19,58 cm3 i 95,08 ± 22,93 cm3 za desni i lijevi bubreg pojedinačno. Rezultati također pokazuju statistički značajnu razliku u anteroposteriornom promjeru (p < 0,05), debljini parenhima (p < 0,05) i bubrežnom volumenu (p < 0,05) između hipertenzivne skupine i kontrolne skupine za desni i lijevi bubreg. Zaključak: Ovom su studijom utvrđene osnovne bubrežne dimenzije kod hipertenzivnih bolesnika u populaciji grada Bauchi, glavnog grada Savezne države Bauchi u Nigeriji. Kod ispitanika koji boluju od hipertenzije ustanovljeno je smanjenje anteroposteriornog promjera bubrega, debljine parenhima i bubrežnog volumena u usporedbi s kontrolnom skupinom

Mapping geographical inequalities in childhood diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000–17 : analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background Across low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), one in ten deaths in children younger than 5 years is attributable to diarrhoea. The substantial between-country variation in both diarrhoea incidence and mortality is attributable to interventions that protect children, prevent infection, and treat disease. Identifying subnational regions with the highest burden and mapping associated risk factors can aid in reducing preventable childhood diarrhoea. Methods We used Bayesian model-based geostatistics and a geolocated dataset comprising 15 072 746 children younger than 5 years from 466 surveys in 94 LMICs, in combination with findings of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017, to estimate posterior distributions of diarrhoea prevalence, incidence, and mortality from 2000 to 2017. From these data, we estimated the burden of diarrhoea at varying subnational levels (termed units) by spatially aggregating draws, and we investigated the drivers of subnational patterns by creating aggregated risk factor estimates. Findings The greatest declines in diarrhoeal mortality were seen in south and southeast Asia and South America, where 54·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 38·1–65·8), 17·4% (7·7–28·4), and 59·5% (34·2–86·9) of units, respectively, recorded decreases in deaths from diarrhoea greater than 10%. Although children in much of Africa remain at high risk of death due to diarrhoea, regions with the most deaths were outside Africa, with the highest mortality units located in Pakistan. Indonesia showed the greatest within-country geographical inequality; some regions had mortality rates nearly four times the average country rate. Reductions in mortality were correlated to improvements in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) or reductions in child growth failure (CGF). Similarly, most high-risk areas had poor WASH, high CGF, or low oral rehydration therapy coverage. Interpretation By co-analysing geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden and its key risk factors, we could assess candidate drivers of subnational death reduction. Further, by doing a counterfactual analysis of the remaining disease burden using key risk factors, we identified potential intervention strategies for vulnerable populations. In view of the demands for limited resources in LMICs, accurately quantifying the burden of diarrhoea and its drivers is important for precision public health