Protein and amino acid requirements of warm-water fishes: a tool to efficient and low-cost fish feed production in Nigeria

Numerous investigations have utilized various semi-purified and purified diets to estimate the protein and amino acid requirements of several temperate fishes. The vast literature on the protein and amino acid requirements of fishes has continued to omit that of the tropical warm water species. The net effect is that fish feed formulation in Nigeria have relied on the requirement for temperate species. This paper attempts to review the state of knowledge on the protein amino acid requirements of fishes with emphasis on the warm water species, the methods of protein and amino acid requirement determinations and the influence of various factors on nutritional requirement studies. Finally evidence are presented with specific examples on how requirements of warm water fishes are different from the temperate species and used this to justify why fish feed formulation in Nigeria are far from being efficien

IS THE MEDIA A FRIEND OR ENEMY OF THE STATE?

The mass media have always been huge blessings to any society they are found. They are agents of socialisation and education as well as development. The important roles of the media earned them the title of the ‘Fourth Estate of the realm’ which implies that after the three arms of government; executive, legislature and the judiciary, the media are the next. The media socialise the people, get them informed of happenings around them, analyse issues of national importance to them and help them to take right decisions and at the same time, help to transmit the norms of values of the society from one generation to another. Mass media is the vehicle through which government developmental messages and ideas get to the people and on the other hand, the people use it to express their feelings, motives, dissatisfactions and needs to the governments or representing bodies. It is used by the government or people to set agenda on important issues relating to the public for either the government to be aware and take actions or for the people to know and be informed. The mass media surveys the environment for news, interprets issues to the people, provide entertainment and also help the propagation of the societal cultural norms and values. The media not only transmit cultural values and norms from one generation to another, they help to enforce such values and norms through the mental pictures they establish in our minds. This study however seeks to find out how the media can be use to propagate developmental course, be more effective in playing the watchdog role as well as serving as agents of cultural transmission. This study also will reveal ways on how the media can keep to it social responsibility functions by putting honesty, truthfulness, fairness and balance up above any personal interest and also adhere to the ethics of the profession in their performance. The media should establish high trust level with the people for smooth interactions and collaborations for effective outputs

The media as both friend and enemy of the state

The mass media – radio, television newspaper, magazine and the internet – are very relevant in every society. They are the channels through information and messages are propagated simultaneously to large number of people in different areas. They are agents of socialisation and education as well as development. The mass media surveys the environment for news, analyse issues of people‟s interest, provide entertainment and also help the propagation of the societal cultural norms and values. However, in spite of the important roles of the media in the society, they as well have their disadvantageous roles in the society. The study evaluated the mass media as both friend and also as enemy of the state. According to this paper, the media act as friend of the state by serving as watchdogs, agents of cultural transmission and agents of political orientation to the people in the society. However, the media act as enemy of the state as they are used as channels for people, especially politicians to throw abusive words at one another, huge contributors to decadence in our society and they aid the spread of violence and hatred through propagation of hate speeches and words that can incite people into violence. The researcher concluded that the media have been both constructive (friend) and destructive (enemy) to the society. The study recommended that the media should keep to their social responsibility functions and adhere to the ethics of the profession in all their operations

CD4+ T-Lymphocytes cell counts in adults with human immunodeficiency virus infection at the medical department of a tertiary health institution in Nigeria

Objectives: To evaluate the CD4+ cell counts in adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections presenting at the medical department of the Federal Medical Centre, Ido-Ekiti, Nigeria. Methods: This study was carried out at the medical department of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ido-Ekiti, Nigeria, in the period July-December 2006. FMC, Ido, was recently upgraded to serve as the only center for HIV/AIDS referral, diagnosis and treatment in Ekiti State. The center offers free antiretroviral therapy. All patients with a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, either diagnosed at the center or referred from other hospitals, admitted to the medical department within the study period had their blood sample taken for CD4 cell counts estimation at the first visit to the center, as part of the routine workup to assess their disease status and need for antiretroviral therapy. Results: A total of 87 patients comprising of 54 (62.1%) females and 33 (37.9%) males had their CD4+ T-Lymphocytes cell counts evaluated within their first week of presentation. The total mean age of the population studied was 33.17 \ub1 7.01 years. The mean age of the females was 31 \ub1 5.6 years, while that of the males was 36.5 \ub1 8.2 years. The difference between the mean ages of females and males was statistically significant (P = 0.0004). The female: male ratio was 1.6:1. Out of the 87 patients, 30 were referrals from other hospitals within the state. The total mean CD4+ cell count was 230.7 \ub1 311.9 cells/\ub5L. The mean CD4 cell count of females was 212.17 \ub1 264.96 cells/\ub5L, while that of males was 261.0 \ub1 389.19 cells/\ub5L. This difference was not significant (P = 0.4876). Majority of the patients (75, [86.2%]), had CD4 cell count < 350 cells/\ub5L, comprising of 48 females and 27 males. Of the 75 patients, 57 (76%) had a CD4 cell count < 200 cells/\ub5L (33 females vs. 24 males). Conclusion: At the time of HIV diagnosis, majority of our patients had a CD4+ cell count < 200 cells/\ub5L. This was consistent with a relatively advanced disease. More women than men in the population were found positive for HIV. More sustained and vigorous awareness campaigns need be embarked upon in the HIV propaganda in the Ekiti State on one hand and Nigeria on the other hand to bring down this Hydra-headed monster called HIV/AIDS

Optimizing Blood Transfusion Service Delivery across the West Africa Sub-Region

The sub-continent of West Africa is made up of 16 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Togo. As of 2018, the population of the sub-continent was estimated at about 381 million. The main challenge associated with blood transfusion service delivery across the sub-region concerns adequacy and safety. In this chapter, we highlighted the challenges associated with the delivery of a quality blood transfusion service in countries in the sub-region including: implementation of component therapy rather than whole blood transfusion, effective cold chain management of blood and blood products, alloimmunization prevention, implementation of column agglutination and automation rather than the convention manual tube method in blood transfusion testing, effective management of major haemorrhage, optimization of screening for transfusion transmissible infections, optimizing blood donation, implementation of universal leucodepletion of blood and blood products, effective management of transfusion-dependent patients, pre-operative planning and management of surgical patients, management of Rhesus D negative pregnancy and women with clinically significant alloantibodies, implementation of haemovigilance system, implementation of alternatives to allogenic blood, availability and use of specialized blood products, optimizing safe blood donation, enhancing blood transfusion safety, operating a quality management system-based blood transfusion service and implementation of non-invasive cell-free foetal DNA testing. There is the urgent need for the implementation of evidence-based best practices in blood transfusion service delivery across the sub-region to allow for excellent, safe, adequate and timely blood transfusion service delivery across the sub-region

DAILY COST CONSIDERATIONS IN THE OPERATIONS OF COMMERCIAL MOTORCYCLES IN NIGERIA: A LOCATIONAL ANALYSIS FOR AKURE TOWNSHIP

Commercial motorcycles, locally called Okadas, have started to play an important role in public transportation in developing countries such as Nigeria. This paper presents empirical estimates of some of the factors that explain the costs of daily operations of commercial motorcyclists in Akure, Nigeria. Results show that the most important determinants of daily operational costs of Okadas include: various levies imposed by union officials (garaging costs); motorcycle age; ownership level of operations; the cordiality of the relationship between the hired operators and owners of business; the repair skills of operators; and the various problems encountered daily by operators at the hand of law enforcement agents. Empirical analysis also indicates that various estimates are inelastic since all coefficients are less than unity. These results have important policy implications for the continuity of operations and the management of Okadas

Some factors affecting daily profits of commercial motorcycles in Akure, Nigeria

One factor responsible for the continuous prominence of commercial motorcycles (locally called Okadas) in Nigeria today, is the relentless drive by operators to make good profits everyday. Any planning prescription designed to improve this mode of public transport will fail if it does not recognise adequately factors affecting operators' daily profits. This paper estimates some factors that affect daily profits of commercial motorcycles in Akure, Nigeria. The Okadas are regarded to have contributed to improved public transportation in the city. Empirical estimates show that factors that significantly affect daily profits of the Okadas include: the number of passengers that operators carry at a time; the various daily traffic-related problems they go through; and the average time spent on a trip. Other important factors include ownership of machines, and peak hour operations. Some policy implications of the findings are discussed.

SOME FACTORS AFFECTING DAILY PROFITS OF COMMERCIAL MOTORCYCLES IN AKURE, NIGERIA

A major factor responsible for the continuous prominence of commercial motorcycles in Nigeria is the relentless drive by operators to make good profits everyday. Planning considerations designed to improve this mode of public transport will not succeed unless they adequately recognize factors affecting operators\u27 daily profits. This paper estimates some factors that affect profits of commercial motorcycles in Akure, Nigeria. Empirical estimates show that factors significantly affecting daily profits of Nigerian motorcycle operators include: the number of passengers that can be carried at one time; the various daily traffic-related problems they go through; and the average time spent on a trip. Other important factors include ownership of machines and peak hour operations. Some policy implications of the findings are discussed