Biology of Hepatitis C virus: a review

Background: HCV is a spherical, enveloped, positive-strand ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that is approximately 55 nm in diameter. It is a member of the family Flaviviridae, yet distinct to be classified as a separate genus, Hepacivirus. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major health burden that affects more than 170 million people around the world. Aim: The aim of this review is to describe the virology, epidemiology, transmission, high risk groups, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and management of HCV associated with human diseases. Methodology: Previous studies where reviewed which showed that HCV screening and initial diagnosis are usually determined according to clinical symptoms and elevated liver enzymes (especially alanine aminotransferase [ALT]), and positive enzyme immunoassay (EIA) or chemiluminescence immunoassay (CIA) for anti-HCV antibodies in patients with known risk factors. Conclusion: The high burden of HCV and its significant health consequences associated with chronic infection make HCV a critical public health priority. Early diagnosis and suitable treatment of HCV patients are important. Development of new techniques with the ability of rapid diagnosis and quantitative assessment of HCV infection can decline HCV burden in humans. Keywords: HCV; Flaviviridae; RNA; diagnosis

A Review of Emergent Masculinities: Gendered Power and Social Change in the Biafran Atlantic Age. By Ndubueze L. Mbah. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2019. 307 p. $ 33.20.

For a long period of time, women played significant roles in many pre-colonial African societies, serving in various capacities as religious, political, and economic leaders. The exact roles and status of these women, however, differ contrastively from one society to another based on factors such as religion, culture, and social organization. Though this unpopular fact about African history receives little or no attention from scholars, few studies offer some insights into the history and transformation of the powers of female leaders in Africa (Weir, 2000; Ogbomo, 2005; Weir, 2006; Achebe, 2011; Akyeampong & Fofack, 2014). Along this intersection, Mba\u27s Emergent Masculinities is no doubt a significant contribution, especially to the pre-colonial and colonial history of the Igbo at the Bight of Biafra (1750-1920), focusing mainly on how certain Western influences such as the Trans-Atlantic Slavery, legitimate trade, and colonialism shaped the peoples\u27 socio-political and economic institutions

Digital Archiving and the Establishment of Open Access Digital Repositories in Selected Nigerian Universities

This paper focuses on digital archiving and the establishment of open Access digital repositories in three selected Nigerian Universities. Despite the abundance of vital information kept in the traditional archives of Nigerian universities, many researchers cannot easily access it due to the seeming absence of proper digitization and online visibility. It is also observed that the practice of archiving and the management of information in the repositories in Nigerian universities is limited to the central library, which makes access to information in the satellite archives across the departments and in the administrative units very difficult. This paper therefore, intends to; determine the nature, existence and the roles of digital repositories in the three selected Nigerian universities and to identify the types of information sources and resources available in their digital repositories, among others. Qualitative research methodology was adopted. Data was purposefully obtained from the websites of the three Selected Nigerian universities. The findings of this study indicate that the Digital Repositories existed in the three selected universities studied with different names, and were found to contain volumes of scholarly information sources and resources, which were organized in a systematic and chronological order, but it is not well structured to specifically link resources in the departments, faculties and other units of the universities with the central repositories. It was also found that Digital Repositories were not always accessible, possibly due to inadequate ICT infrastructure and necessary staff skills for their effective maintenance. It was concluded that the repositories existed for over a decade and were providing information services to its users. It was recommended that, the management of the universities studied should imbibe strong maintenance culture to effectively manage the Digital Repositories for sufficient access to scholarly information sources and resources and should consider the installations and deployment of necessary ICT infrastructure, as well as the right software configurations including the provision of regular staff training for proper digitisation and digitalisation of work processes and procedures in the repositories for efficient results and the promotion of Digital Data Literacy in Africa

Crop Coefficient of Tomato under Deficit Irrigation and Mulch Practices at Kano River Irrigation Project, Nigeria

This work determined the effects of deficit irrigation and mulching practices on crop coefficient (Kc) of tomato in the Kano River Irrigation Project (KRIP) Kadawa, Kano, Nigeria. Experiments comprised of four levels of water application depths (40, 60, 80, and 100% of weekly reference evapotranspiration) and four levels of mulching (No-Mulch (NM), Rice-Straw-Mulch (RSM), Wood-Shaving-Mulch (WSM) and White-Polyethylene-Mulch (WPM)) was conducted to examine changes in Kc value. The mean Kc values (early, developmental, mid and late stages) of fully irrigated treatments were 0.70, 0.81, 1.07 and 0.78; 0.64, 0.76, 0.99 and 0.71; 0.60, 0.73, 0.94 and 0.69; and 0.53, 0.66, 0.86 and 0.62 for NM, RSM, WSM and WPM respectively while that of deficit irrigation ranged from 0.17 to 1.13 across the treatments, noting that the highest Kc was observed under NM treatments. Statistical analysis reveals that the effect of various levels of irrigation and mulching practices on Kc of tomato was highly significant at P＜0.05 level of significance with a high mean value of 1.13 obtained at I100 and NM respectively. It was concluded to encourage tomato farmers in KRIP to adopt the use of their rice straw for mulching cum deficit irrigation (20%) towards conserving irrigation water for sustainability. Also, results obtained from this study can be used as a guide to farmers in irrigating tomato crop and to engineers in the design of irrigation systems

Correlation between team and co-worker relationship and employee engagement

The objective of this study was to examine the correlation between team and coworker relationship and employee engagement in Federal University of Technology, Nigeria. Social exchange theory (SET) was utilized in developing the research framework. A total of 150 non-academics staff from Federal University of Technology, representing a response rate of 63.3% participated in this study. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaire. one hypothesis was tested using SPSS 2.0. The findings indicated that the relationship between team and co-worker relationship and employee engagement is low (r = .252). Theoretical and practical implications of the study as well as suggestions for future research were discussed

Susceptibility to Soil Erosion and Risk Assessment at Hilly Farms Using Geospatial Techniques

Soil erosion is a serious environmental challenge which persistently diminishes available land resources globally. The impact of soil erosion is more severe at hilly regions where various techniques are deployed to evaluate its risk levels. However, the traditional approach of estimating the magnitude of erosion is tedious, costly, and considerably time consuming. This study was intended to assess the risk associated with soil erosion at hilly areas of Cameron Highlands through geospatial means. The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with 5m resolution from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IfSAR) was utilized to generate the slope in the highlands. Soil erosion rates was estimated using Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), while information about land use and cover were sourced from relevant government agencies. Inversed Distance Weighted (IDW) method of spatial interpolation was applied to predict the values of unknown pixels. The analysis shows that, there is 217.5 km2of the highlands which is greater than 45-degreeaccounted for about 30.5% of the total land area. Moreover, erosion risk assessment indicated that 66.3%, 11.4%, 11.7% and 10.8% are respectively classified as very low, law, moderate and high susceptible to soil erosion. In general, the risk of soil erosion is relatively low and could be attributed to dense vegetation coverage within the study water shed despite the steep slopes where it was found to be at very high risk to soil erosion susceptibility. However, there is need to deploy best management practices to reduce the effect of soil disturbances at hilly areas and prevent excessive soil loss in future

Assessing the Impact of Work Environment on Employee Engagement among Non-Academic Staff of the University

Aim of the Study - The objective of this study was to access the impact of work environment on employee engagement among the non-academic staffs of the university in Nigeria. Social exchange theory (SET) was utilized in developing the research framework.  Methodology - A total of 150 non-academics staff from l University, representing a response rate of 63.3% participated in this study. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. The correlation and the hypothesis were tested using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS 2.0). The Cronbach’s Alpha value for the variables ranging from 0.724 to 0.804 indicates very good reliability of the research instrument.  Findings - The findings indicate a moderate relationship between the work environment and employee engagement, and the hypothesis is not supported.   Practical Implications - The study will provide direction to both the management and the university staff for them to proactively focus on providing a healthy and comfortable working environment that will boost engagement, which lead towards enhancing the performance of university staff, and also the university administrators in various ways

Epidemiological profile of the Ebola virus disease outbreak in Nigeria, July-September 2014

Introduction: In July 2014, Nigeria experienced an outbreak of Ebola virus disease following the introduction of the disease by an ill Liberian Traveler. The Government of Nigeria with the support of Technical and Development Partners responded quickly and effectively to contain the outbreak. The epidemiological profile of the outbreak that majorly affected two States in the country in terms of person, place and time characteristics of the cases identified is hereby described. Methods: Using field  investigation technique, all confirmed and probable cases were identified, line-listed and analysed using Microsoft Excel 2007 by persons, time and place. Results: A total of 20 confirmed and probable cases; 16 in Lagos (including the index case from Liberia) and 4 in Port Harcourt were  identified. The mean age was 39.5 ± 12.4 years with over 40% within the age group 30-39 years. The most frequent exposure type was direct physical contact in 70% of all cases and 73% among health care workers. The total case-fatality was 40%; higher among healthcare workers (46%) compared with non-healthcare workers (22%). The epidemic curve initially shows a typical common source outbreak, followed by a propagated pattern. Conclusion: Investigation revealed the size and spread of the outbreak and provided information on the characteristics of persons, time and place. Enhanced surveillance measures, including contact tracing and follow-up proved very useful in early case detection and containment of the outbreak

Modelling erosion and landslides induced by farming activities at hilly areas, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

This work was conducted at hilly farms of Cameron Highlands to model the incidences of soil erosion and landslides using historical data and field observations. IfSAR data with spatial resolution of 5 m was used which enable clear observation and delineation of the geographic features within the study area. Field visits were conducted to various places where landslides occurred on agricultural farms in order to validate the model. Also, the rate of soil erosions was evaluated using geospatial techniques. The potential landslide event and its probability of occurrence were combined using bivariate statistical analysis. The results revealed that most of the landslides incidents were occurred at areas with intensive agricultural activities with no proper erosion control measures. It was gathered that more than 75% of landslides occurred in agricultural activities areas are under sheltered farms. The annual soil erosion rates in both Telom and Bertom Catchments ware 38 ton /ha/year and 73.9 ton /ha/year respectively. It was revealed that, there is high risk of erosion-induced landslides in agricultural farms. However, the erosion induced landslide map shows that most the landslide occurred close to the rivers. This indicated that both agricultural operations and proximity to rivers are influencing factors for the incidences