Testicular and Epididymal Characteristcs of Rabbit Bucks Fed Diets Containing Cottonseed Cake Supplemented with Carrot (Daucus carota) or Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)

This experiment was conducted to investigate the reproductive characteristics of rabbit bucks fed cottonseed cake-based diets supplemented with carrot or ginger. Twenty four (24) cross bred (New Zealand White X Chinchilla) 6-8 weeks old rabbit bucks were involved in the study. The bucks were balanced for weight and allocated to four dietary treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4. Treatment T1 (control) contained soyabean meal (SBM) as the main plant protein source denoted as (SBM or 0% CSC). T2 had 100% SBM replaced with cottonseed cake (CSC), while T3 and T4 had T2 supplemented with carrot and ginger respectively. Except for testicular width, testicular characteristics were not significantly (P>0.05) affected. Testicular width decreased from 2.20cm in the control (T1) to 1.63cm in T2 (100% CSC). Mean epididymal weight and mean epididymal length were significantly (P<0.05) affected with mean epididymal length decreasing from 13.72cm in the control to 8.32cm in T2 (100% CSC). Supplementing T2 with either carrot or ginger increased the epididymal characteristics significantly (P<0.05). It could be concluded from this study that CSC with or without carrot or ginger supplementation may not have adverse effect on testicular characteristics. However CSC depressed epididymal characteristics which were corrected by carrot or ginger supplementation with ginger proving more effective. Keywords: Rabbit buck, Reproductive characteristics, Cottonseed cake, Carrot and Ginger

Bus Rapid Transit and Socioeconomic Condition of Bus Commuters in Lagos State

Road transport is one of the most common means of transportation across the world. Bus transportation in Nigeria had witnessed many problems for the past decades considering the growing population with the attendant loss of lives and properties in most cities like Lagos in Nigeria. This paper focuses on the adequacy of services provided by Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Lagos State with respect to the extent to which it influences the socioeconomic conditions of bus commuters.  It examines the effect of services rendered by BRT on cost reduction potential, income and safety. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 20 samples each from all respondents in all local government area in Lagos State to reach a total of three hundred and thirty (330) samples. The data collection instrument was the questionnaire which was validated. Data collected were analysed with the use of descriptive statistics such as means, percentages and standard deviation and inferential statistics such as regression and analysis of variance techniques. Findings showed that BRT services has reduced the cost of bus commuters and also increased safety and security thereby increasing the socioeconomic condition of Lagosians. The study recommends improvements in BRT services through the deployment of technology as it had been used in developed countries. &nbsp

In-silico identification of differentially expressed genes in Type 1 diabetes mellitus

The incidence of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus T1DM varies markedly in different geographical populations but seems to be increasing globally. The focus of this research is to screen for T1D-associated differentially expressed genes (DEGs). A meta-analysis was conducted using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. The datasets included samples from T1DM and normal patients. The Robust Multichip Averaging (RMA) procedure was used for background correction, normalization and summarization to obtain expression level data and to discover differentially expressed genes. Box plots, Density plots, RNA degradation plots and recommended procedures from Affymetrix for quality control were implemented. The DEGs were screened and the exclusively expressed genes were uncovered through the Venn diagrams and heat maps functions in R language. 3,824 genes were classified, as DEGs of which 2,030 were upregulated and 1,794 were downregulated. Seven key genes (TLN1, ANPEP, F13A1, SPARC, SPTBN1, IGHA2 and IGHA1) were exclusively expressed in the whole progression. 58 DEGs were revealed through the Venn diagrams while the Heatmaps showed the differential expression data for 35 genes. IGHA1, IGHA2, IGKV4-1 were significantly expressed and upregulated. Although some of these genes have been previously associated with T1D, many other genes were identified for further studies

Ethnobotanical Study of Economic Trees: Uses of Trees as Timbers and Fuelwoods in Ilorin Emirate of Kwara State, Nigeria

A survey of the five local government areas that make up Ilorin Emirate in Kwara State, Nigeria, revealed extensive use of economic trees as timber woods and fuel woods. The forest resources are indiscriminately exploited by the poor inhabitants who solely depend on the forest to earn their livelihood. Tree species such as Pterocarpus erinaceus, Parkia biglobosa, Prosobis africana, Trichilia emetica, Anogeissus leiocarpus, Danielia oliveri, Khaya senegalensis, Tectonia grandis, Milicia excelsa and Vitellaria paradoxa are popular among the inhabitants as fuelwoods, with Vitellaria paradoxa being the most frequently used. Among timber woods, Pterocarpus erinaceus is the most highly demanded by artists, casket builders and furniture workers. The hitherto harmonious relationships between the people and the plants whereby the people of a particular culture use plant to cure many inherent diseases and for other natural benefits have been defeated. Presently, the relationships have turned to destruction of many forests and endangering of many species of trees. Thus many forests have been turned to mere woodlands in the study areas

Willingness of Herbal Medicine Practitioners and Herbs Vendors to Contribute Financially to Conservation of Medicinal Plants in Ibadan, Nigeria

Erratum: The earlier version of this paper had some errors. It included references of later than 2014, the year of its publication. These references have been removed in the whole document and replaced with others of 2014 or earlier. Further, in paragraph 1 of the Discussion, after the sentence starting with Male…, the following statement “In contrast, studies in China showed that 59.8%of acupuncturists were females (Robinson et al., 2012)” has been inserted to replace the previous one. In paragraph 6 of Discussion, the words “capita income of $2,748 in 2010. Currently, the poverty level in Nigeria is 83.9% (Akinboade, 2010).” have been added to replace previous text. In paragraph 7 of the Discussion, the words “plants, provide employment” have been added after the word “medicinal” to replace previous text. This is therefore the correct version.The study evaluated the willingness of Herbal Medicine Practitioners (HMPs) and Herb Vendors (HVs) in Ibadan, Nigeria to contribute financially to medicinal plants conservation projects. Data was collected using structured questionnaires administered on 124 HMPs and 83 HVs randomly selected from fourteen herbal associations and marketers respectively. Results showed that 79.03%of all HMPs were males and 20.97% females while 83.13% of HVs were females and 16.87% males. All the HMPs and 97.59% of HVs were willing to contribute financially and provide useful information to conservation projects. Majority (54.84%) of the interviewed HMPs were willing to contribute between N500 - N1500 annually while most of the HVs (51.8%) were willing to contribute between N201 - N500 annually. Lack of financial power and land were identified as major constraints to holding private gardens. A total of 38 commonly used medicinal plant species was identified in the existing small scale private gardens of HMPs. There is need to organise the HMPs and HVs into formidable cooperative societies for easy access to fund and institute awareness campaign on the need for conservation of important local medicinal plants if the health for all dream is to be achieved

Assessment of Protective Effect of Turmeric on Aspirin Induced Gastric Injury on Wistar Rats

Turmeric (from Zingiberaceae family) is highly regarded as a universal panacea in the herbal medicine with a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities. Forty eight adult rats (150g-200g body weight) were randomly divided into six (control, treatment, 3 post treatment and recovery) groups of eight rats each. Gastric injury were induced with the administration of different concentration of Aspirin and co treated with different concentration of Turmeric for a period of 14-28 days. It was histologically revealed that Aspirin can induced gastric injury and Turmeric protect gastric layers. There is need for more research work on the protective effect of Turmeric on gastric layers against gastric injury

Impact of Abandoned Structures on Residents in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria

The increasing incidence of abandoned structures coupled with the associated seemly insurmountable environmental, psychosocial and economic risks in a developing country like Nigeria is a nerve racking problem of concern to the government and the communities. The study therefore, within the context of the three residential densities the study examined the incidence, causes and impacts of abandoned structures with a view to providing information on the extents and effects of abandoned structures on residents in Ilorin. The study utilized primary data obtained with the aid of questionnaire from 428 residents collected in the ratio 3:2:1 in high, medium and low density residential areas. Four indices were developed: ‘Environmental Impact of Abandonment’ (EIAI), ‘Psycho-Social Impact of Abandoned Structures’ (PSIASI), ‘Economic Impact of Abandonment’ (EcIAI) and ‘Suggested Solutions to Abandonment’ (SSA). It is observed that the incidence of abandoned structures varies significantly among the residential neighbourhoods of Ilorin metropolis (F = 9.458 and p = 0.036 at 95% confidence level). The magnitude of the six categories of abandonment in Ilorin metropolis is more in the high density area then in medium and low density. Residents of different residential densities of Ilorin do not have the same or similar views about the environmental effect of abandonment in their areas (F= 4.604 and p= 0.0160. The study recommends as suggested by respondents increase in basic salary (SSA =, 4.31) local planning authority should work on blight control (SSA = 4.29) and there should be proper site selection before commencement of building projects (SSA =.4.28). DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/9-18-08 Publication date:September 30th 201

Effects of Na2Cr2O7 Inhibitor on the Corrosion Potential Response of Steel Reinforced Concrete in Saline Medium

Electrochemical monitoring method of the open circuit potential was used to investigate the effect of the concentrations of Na2Cr2O7 on the corrosion potential response of steel reinforced concrete in sodium chloride medium. In the study, five different concentrations of Na2Cr2O7 admixtures were employed in a system of replicated samples of steel-reinforced concrete specimens partially immersed in 3.5% NaCl to simulate marine and saline environments. Forty days measured responses from these were subjected to the statistical analyses of the Normal and the Weibull distribution functions and tested using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov goodness of fit criteria. Results obtained from the analyses identified 4 g Na2Cr2O7 with optimal averaged potential response inhibition performance by the Normal model which showed better agreements in its models of Na2Cr2O7 potential test data than that obtained from the Weibull model of the same data. These bear pertinent implications on the need for suitability studies of appropriate statistical distribution for studying performance of corrosion inhibitors even as suggestions were proffered for addressing results conflicts among replicates of steel reinforced concrete samples employed

Determinants of entrepreneurial propensity of Nigerian undergraduates: an empirical assessment

The specific factors that influence the entrepreneurial inclination of students were studied with a view to designing appropriate policies on entrepreneurship within tertiary institutions. The sample for the study consisted of 7,560 students from a total of 25 tertiary institutions with 83% response rate. While we found that entrepreneurial interest among Nigerian students is quite high, the expression of this interest in practice is rather low. The main factors found to significantly explain entrepreneurial interest are parents‟ educational qualifications, family entrepreneurial history, family socio-demographics, students‟ entrepreneurial experience, and students‟ socio-demographics. Of the fourteen variables identified as being central in encouraging students‟ entrepreneurial interests, only five can be defined as necessary, though but not sufficient, conditions to stimulate interest: gender, number of children by father, position among mother's children, father's monthly income and entrepreneurial education. This has policy implications both for government and the institutions. The study is the first of its magnitude in Nigeria and provides baseline information for researchers and policy makers who need to better understand the dynamics of entrepreneurship among Nigerian youth.entrepreneurship; entrepreneurial interest; students; tertiary institutions; Nigeria

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori IgG and stool antigen detection from dyspeptic patients in Jos, Nigeria

Helicobacter pylori is a helical shaped gram negative microaerophilic bacterium, that can inhabit various areas of the stomach. The study was carried out to determine the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among dyspeptic patients attending Endoscopy unit, Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH). The prevalence of H pylori; antibodies in plasma and antigen in stool samples of 80 patients examined was studied using ELISA (DIA PRO, Italy) and ICA (BIOTEST China) respectively. Sociodemographic and clinical information was obtained through the assistance of attending  gastroenterology staff. Blood grouping was also performed by slide  agglutination test for all patients. Helicobacter pylori IgG antibodies were detected in plasma of 28 (35%) patients of which 27 patients out of the sero-positive cases were antigen positive while Helicobacter pylori antigen was detected in the stool of 31 (38.8%) patients of which 27 patients out of the antigen positive cases were also seropositve. No significant association was found between Helicobacter pylori and age, sex, ABO blood group,  economic status, source of water and consumption of alcohol. Thus,  Helicobacter pylori seropositivity with respect to blood groups was found to be 32.6%, 46.7%, 33.3% and 33.3% in blood groups O, B, A and AB  respectively, while Helicobacter pylori stool antigen test positive results was found to be 33.3%, 33.3%, 46% and 39.5% in blood groups O, B, A and AB respectively. Hence, no statistical association was found between   Helicobacter pylori infection and blood groups of the patients (P>0.05). However, marital status was significantly associated with Helicobacter pylori antibody test (P<0.05). There is need for government to encourage people about the Helicobacter pylori screening test since it is one of the etiologic agent of ulcer.Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, Jos, Peptic ulcer, Prevalence