Assessment and Adoption of Tomato Charcoal Cooler Storage Bin for Farmers in The Tropics

The study tends to study the postharvest technological evaluation of different tomato storage environments/media for domestic preservation of fresh and fleshy tomato quality to improve its shelf life with emphasis on charcoal cooler storage bin (CCB). It involved the preliminary investigation of farmers’ knowledge and skill with regard to tomato preservation and storage with different tomato storage environments, adoption of developed CCB: design capacity was 40kg/batch storage for 7days in Nsukka. These were conducted between April to September, 2019. The field studies were carried out through structured questionnaire to know the adaptive knowledge and skill of farmers with regard to tomato preservation and storage. Comparative study of the developed CCB with other environmental storage conditions namely: open-air (ambient) storage (OAS), refrigerator (RF), freezer (FR), (room) laboratory storage (LS), and thatched house storage (THS) were carried out. The four varieties of fresh and fleshy harvested tomato fruits: Copra, Nindo F1, Yolings, and UTC locally cultivated were set into the 6 treatments (media), each treatment was replicated twice. The study showed that the quality attributes such as cracking, yellowing, weight loss, rottening, hardness, and brix value were determined. Based on the physicomechanical parameters of the tomatoes under seven days investigation, FR (0 °C,95%) and RF (10 °C, 85%) had better quality and prolonged shelf life, followed closely by the tomato CCB storage (12 °C,85%) and THS(12 °C,78%) then LS(25 °C,78%) and OAS(30 °C,78%). FR storage inhibited/delayed (cold stress) ripening with minimum weight loss, as compared to the other treatments in terms of stability in all parameters. Similarly, CCB was close to RF storage and performed significantly better than ambient OAS and LS. OAS and LS exhibited higher weight loss, and rapid ripening to deterioration due to tropical temperature and relative humidity fluctuation. Therefore, CCB is recommended for rural small scale farmers

Hysterosalpingographic Interrogation of Infertility at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Nigeria

Background: The African traditional society places a high premium on fecundity and therefore, views infertility as a personal tragedy. Prolonged infertility might lead to suicidal tendencies, stigmatization, marital instability, and enormous psychological stress. In recent times in Nigeria, there appears to be an upsurge in the number of couples investigated for infertility using hysterosalpingography (HSG). Objective: To observe the trend of HSG findings at a foremost tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Methods: A consecutive enlistment of HSG radiographs concluded and reported on between July 2014 to December 2018. Using an inclusion criteria of patients who had an initial ultrasound scan prior to HSG as noted from radiologists reports, a sample size of 623 radiographs was enlisted from a HSG population of 2,624 cases. Patients’ demographic information were extracted from their request cards and radiologists’ reports. Results: Patients were aged 22 – 54 (mean: 36.30 ± 6.00) years, with a modal age range of 31 – 40 year (58.5 %) showing the highest throughput. Hysterosalpingography abnormalities were in two broad sites of uterus and fallopian tubes with the former showing a higher frequency ((n = 362, 58.11 %). Specifically, fibroid (n = 198, 31.80 %) and congenital anomalies (n = 24, 3.80 %) were the most and least prevalent abnormalities, respectively. Conclusions: Women aged 31 – 40 years were the most common patients for HSG, and uterine fibroid was the most common abnormality found in this study

Sonographic features of radiologically non-functioning kidneys on intravenous urography (IVU) in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria

Background: Despite technological advancement in uro-radiology, renal ultrasonography remains the imaging modality of choice for evaluating various pathological conditions affecting urinary tract (GIT) system.Aim: This study was aimed at evaluating sonographic features of radiologically nonfunctional kidneys in Kano metropolis, Nigeria.Methods: A prospective study involving 94 each of disease and control group were conducted in Kano metropolis from January 2019 to January 2021. Renal scans were performed using a digital ultrasound imaging system; model DP-8800Plus fitted with a 3.5MHz curvilinear transducer. The maximum length, width, and thickness were measured. The renal echogenicity was assessed and graded. Data was analyzed using SPSS Version 22.0Results: The mean values of the right and left renal volumes among adult patients was 400.5 ± 527.3 cm3 and 177.6 ± 174.3 cm3 respectively. For pediatric patients it was 272.3 ± 308.6 cm3 and 241.6 ± 228.7 cm3 for the right and left kidney respectively. The renal parenchymal echogenicity of the right kidney among adult patients were sored as grade II 2 (5.3%), grade III 27 (71%), and grade IV 9 (23.7%), while that pediatric patients were Grade 0 (11.1%), and 8 (88.9%) as grade III. The adults left kidney were scored grade II 2 (6%), and 16 (47%) each as grades III and IV, while the pediatric group scored 3 (25%) as grade II, and 9 (75%) as grade III.Conclusion: Increased renal volume, shrunken kidney, increased renal parenchymal echogenicity, and severe hydronephrosis were strong sonographic indicators of nonfunctional kidneys

Effectiveness of Climate Change Adaptation Measures used by Women Garden Egg Farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria

This study investigated the effectiveness of climate change (CC) adaptation measures used by women in garden egg production in Enugu State, Nigeria.  Multistage sampling procedure was used to select Eighty respondents for the study. Data were collected through the use of semi-structured interview schedule and analyzed with descriptive statistical tools such as frequency count & percentage, mean scores and standard deviation. The major effects of climate change on the garden egg production were scarcity of adequate floral resources (M =3.00), increased spread of pests and pathogens ( M=2.78), reduced pollen production in flowers ( M=2.68), reduced behavior and distribution activities, increase garden egg susceptibility to pathogens and decreased quantity and quality of garden egg production (M =2.67) and others. The most effective adaptation strategies used by women in garden egg production were change of the sites for farming (M=2.97), establishment of water reserve and farming close to irrigated area (M=2.92). The identified constraints to adapting to the present climate change scenario included: unstable weather (M=3.00), unavailability of modern harvesting techniques (M=2.75), increased pest and disease pathogens (M=2.68), poor access to materials and equipment (M=2.63), among others.  Hence, this study recommends awareness and training of garden egg farmers on how to improve the effects of the adaptation measures

Effectiveness of Climate Change Adaptation Measures used by Women Garden Egg Farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria

This study investigated the effectiveness of climate change (CC) adaptation measures used by women in garden egg production in Enugu State, Nigeria.  Multistage sampling procedure was used to select Eighty respondents for the study. Data were collected through the use of semi-structured interview schedule and analyzed with descriptive statistical tools such as frequency count & percentage, mean scores and standard deviation. The major effects of climate change on the garden egg production were scarcity of adequate floral resources (M =3.00), increased spread of pests and pathogens ( M=2.78), reduced pollen production in flowers ( M=2.68), reduced behavior and distribution activities, increase garden egg susceptibility to pathogens and decreased quantity and quality of garden egg production (M =2.67) and others. The most effective adaptation strategies used by women in garden egg production were change of the sites for farming (M=2.97), establishment of water reserve and farming close to irrigated area (M=2.92). The identified constraints to adapting to the present climate change scenario included: unstable weather (M=3.00), unavailability of modern harvesting techniques (M=2.75), increased pest and disease pathogens (M=2.68), poor access to materials and equipment (M=2.63), among others.  Hence, this study recommends awareness and training of garden egg farmers on how to improve the effects of the adaptation measures

Physico-Mechanical and Fuel Properties of Sawdust Briquettes using Abelmoschus esculentus Waste as a Binder

Various physicomechanical, and fuel properties of sawdust briquettes with Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) waste binder additive were determined. Elemental analysis was done to determine the oxygen (O), hydrogen (H), and carbon content of the briquettes.  Volatile matter, ash content, fixed carbon, heating value, density, compressive strength, stability, durability, and shatter resistance. 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% Abelmoschus esculentus composition per weight of the biomass were used. The 5% Okra briquette had the highest volatile matter and heating value of 85.46% and 17.82 MJ/kg, while maintaining the lowest ash content and moisture content of 1.59% and 7.6%, respectively. The briquette with 5% Abelmoschus esculentus (Okra) composition had the highest carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) contents of 42.7%, 5.64%, and 42.7%, respectively. The results were within international standard limits for briquettes. Based on the results obtained, the sawdust-Abelmoschus esculentus briquette can adequately replace firewood in sub-Saharan Africa. Okra showed great potential as a binder with a very high hardness level of 7 days in water without disintegration.  Increased utilization of agro-wastes briquettes will ensue while carbon emissions from the open burning of wastes will reduce. Equally, the use of clean cookstoves will increase with the production of these briquettes and will lead to a reduction in the present rate of deforestation that will result from domestic heating processes

Computational Modeling of Trombe Wall Solar Chick Brooding House for Optimal Poultry Production

Computational modeling, simulation and validation were carried out on Trombe wall solar chick brooder used for optimal poultry production. Predictive linear differential equations based on physical, mathematical principles and relationships governing thermo-physical properties of the components of the brooder were formulated, discretized and expressed in their finite different forms using SCILAB 5.5.2. T-test statistics was carried out on predicted and measured mean data: temperature of Trombe wall glaze (TG1), temperature of pebble glaze (TG2), temperature of the pebble bed bin (Tp), temperature of the brooding room (TBr), and temperature of the Trombe wall outer surface (Tw (outer surface))then separated using Levene test for equality. The model adequately predicted the measured temperature of the brooding brooder at 5% probability level

Reliability of sonographic estimation of fetal weight: A study of three tertiary hospitals in Nigeria

Context: There is a dearth of sonologists in Nigeria, yet sonographic estimation of actual birth weight (ABW) is important in antenatal care. Aim: To determine the reliability of estimated fetal weight (EFW) by sonographers and sonologists in Lagos Nigeria. Settings and Design: In the cross-sectional study, a convenience sample of 663 healthy women with singleton pregnancy at term was selected. Ethical approval for the study design and consent of participants were obtained. Subjects and Methods: Three sonographers and three sonologists used a single ultrasound scanner with Hadlock-3 algorithm to measure biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference, and femur length in three centers while three midwives used a single neonatal weighing scale to measure ABW. Statistical Analysis Used: Medical® statistical software version 12.5 was used to analyze data. Descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as Bland/Altman plots were used to determine reliability of EFWs. Results were tested for statistical significance at P ≤ 0.05. Results: Majority (76.2%) of babies had normal weight while mean EFW and ABW were 3.50 ± 0.10 kg and 3.45 ± 0.12 kg, respectively and the difference between them is not statistically significant (P > 0.05). For sonographers and sonologists in each center, mean error and coefficient of variation were very small while Pearson's correlation coefficient as well as intra- and interclass correlation coefficients was very high. Conclusion: Independent estimation of ABW by sonographers in Lagos metropolis was very reliable. Sonography was also highly reliable in predicting macrosomia