Computational Dynamic Features Extraction from Anonymized Medical Images

Images depict clearer meaning than written words and this is reason they are used in a variety of human endeavors, including but not limited to medicine. Medical image datasets are used in medical environment to diagnose and confirm medical disorders for which physical examination may not be sufficient. However, the medical profession's ethics of patient confidentiality policy creates barrier to availability of medical datasets for research; thus, this research work was able to solve the above stated barrier through anonymization of sensitive identity information. Furthermore, the Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) using texture as the content was developed to overcome the challenge of information overloading associated with data retrieval systems. Images acquired from various imaging modalities and placed into Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) formats were obtained from several hospitals in Nigeria. The database of these images was created and consequently anonymized, then a new anonymized database was created. On anonymized images, feature extraction was done using textures as content and the content was considered for the implementation of retrieval system. The anonymized images were tested in DICOM view to see if all files were successfully anonymized; the result obtained was 100%. A texture retrieval test was performed, and the number of precisely returned search images using the Similarity Distance Measure formulae resulted in a significant reduction in image overload. Thus, this research work solved the problem of non-availability of datasets for researchers in medical imaging field by providing datasets that can be used without violating law of patient confidentiality by the interested parties. It also solves the problem of hackers obtaining useful information about patients’ datasets. The CBIR using texture as content also enhances and solves the problem of information overloading

On Some Properties of a Class of Analytic Functions Defined by Salagean Differential Operator

In this work,the upper bounds for Fekete-Szego functional and Second Hankel Determinant are obtained for a class of analytic functions definedby Salagean Differential Operator.The estimates obtained are sharp. &nbsp

On a subordination result for analytic functions defined by convolution

In this paper we discuss some subordination results for a subclass of functions analytic in the unit disk U

Exploration of Cocoa (<em>Theobroma cacao</em>) By-Products as Valuable Potential Resources in Livestock Feeds and Feeding Systems

High cost of feeds and feeding management remain unresolved challenges facing livestock production globally specifically in developing countries. More than half of the production cost is associated with feeds and feeding alone; hence, it becomes imperative for livestock production science to explore lesser known or poorly exploited resources for use in animal feeds and feeding systems to reduce cost and increase productivity. One of such strategies is the use of alternative or nonconventional feed resources. Cocoa by-products have been reported as one of such nonconventional feed resources that can replace expensive and competitive conventional feed resources in livestock diets. Cocoa bean meal, cocoa bean shells, and cocoa pod husks are all potential but unexploited nutritive resources that can be considered as animal feed materials. Although their use is severely restricted by antinutritional factor (ANF) theobromine, which is toxic to livestock, there exist modern nutritional technologies capable of being applied to improve application of these resources in livestock feeding systems. Therefore, this chapter presents cocoa by-products as potential tropical feed resources in animal feeds and feeding systems with a view to providing solution to waste management problems associated with cocoa processing factories while increasing animal productivity and reducing cost of animal production

Survival Analysis of Cancer Patients in North Eastern Nigeria from 2004 – 2017 – A Kaplan - Meier Method

BACKGROUND: Cancer is a deadly malignant disease and is prevalent in Sub Saharan Africa. The North East part of Nigeria in particular and the country, in general, are struggling to cope with the increasing burden of cancer and other communicable and non-communicable diseases. The situation is worsened by the ongoing insurgency and terrorist activities in the area. AIM: The aim of this paper is to present the research findings from a cohort study aimed at the analysis of the estimation of the survivorship time of the real data of cancer patients in the North-eastern part of Nigeria and to establish if the insurgency in the region has contributed negatively to the life expectancy of its inhabitants. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The record of 1,090 patients from medical records departments of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), located in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State in northeast Nigeria was obtained. The record showed patients that were diagnosed and died of one type of cancer or the other from 2004 to 2017. All the cancer cases included in the present study were grouped into sex, age, marital status, occupation, date admitted and date of death/discharge. Descriptive statistics and Kaplan-Meier method were used to analyse the data using SPSS version 23 while Microsoft EXCEL and Minitab 16.0 were used for data cleansing and organisation. RESULTS: Of the 1,090 patients analysed, 920 (84.40%) experienced the event, i.e. death, while 170 (15.60%) patients were censored. The data were analysed based on the ages and sex of the patients. 50.20% of the patients were of ages 21-50 years. The proportions of patients in this age bracket surviving past 7 days are 75%, while those between ages 80 years and above is 12 days. Others are of survival time of 5 days (ages 0-20 years) and 7 days (51-79 years). Using sex, 75% of the patients’ survival time is 7 days in the case of male and 6 days for females. It is safe to say that the survival time for cancer patients of the university the Maiduguri is 6 days and the result reflects the Northeastern part of Nigeria. This is because the hospital is one of few tertiary healthcare facilities in that area and consequently, cancer cases are often referred there. CONCLUSION: Cancer incidence is high, and the probability of survival reduces as the survival time increases. This is a dire situation in need of urgent intervention from the government, groups and individuals to tackle the scourge of cancer, thereby improving on the life expectancy battered by the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency in that region

Current situations of animal data recording, dairy improvement infrastructure, human capacity and strategic issues affecting dairy production in sub-Saharan Africa

An online survey on the state of existing dairy data, dairy improvement infrastructure and human capacity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was undertaken with the aim of assessing whether the state of existing animal recording, dairy improvement methods and key issues facing dairy production together with means of addressing the issues differ among countries and regions of SSA. Respondents comprised experts and practitioners in livestock production and genetic resources from research institutes, animal breeding companies, universities, non-governmental organisations and government agricultural ministries. The main dairy farming system in which the respondents were involved was mixed crop-livestock system (30.2%), and this was mainly practised in the private land tenure system (46.3%). Data were analysed using linear model and paired Student t test in R software package. Respondents identified key issues affecting dairy production as poor genetic assessment of imported exotic breeds and crosses in Africa (62.3%), fluctuations in milk prices within both the formal and informal markets (50.9%), no comprehensive sire ranking systems (39.6%), housing and health management regimes which adversely affect milk yield (32.1%), poor market networks for dairy products (25.5%), poor feeding (13.3%), inadequate genetic technologies (9.4%) and poor animal performance recording systems (9.4%). Respondents emphasised the need for updated breeding policies, sire ranking systems, adequate farm management systems, capacity building, across-country collaborations and joint genetic assessments of dairy breeds found in sub-Saharan Africa. The current situation of dairy production though similar for the different countries, differed in order of emphasis and magnitude across the countries and regions in sub-Saharan Africa.</p