Outbreak of Fatal Childhood Lead Poisoning Related to Artisanal Gold Mining in Northwestern Nigeria, 2010.

Background: In May 2010, a team of national and international organizations was assembled to investigate children's deaths due to lead poisoning in villages in northwestern Nigeria. Objectives: To determine the cause of the childhood lead poisoning outbreak, investigate risk factors for child mortality, and identify children aged <5 years in need of emergency chelation therapy for lead poisoning. Methods: We administered a cross-sectional, door-to-door questionnaire in two affected villages, collected blood from children aged 2-59 months, and soil samples from family compounds. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed with survey, blood-lead, and environmental data. Multivariate logistic regression techniques were used to determine risk factors for childhood mortality. Results: We surveyed 119 family compounds. One hundred eighteen of 463 (25%) children aged <5 years had died in the last year. We tested 59% (204/345) of children, aged <5 years, and all were lead poisoned (≥10 µg/dL); 97% (198/204) of children had blood-lead levels ≥45 µg/dL, the threshold for initiating chelation therapy. Gold ore was processed inside two-thirds of the family compounds surveyed. In multivariate modeling significant risk factors for death in the previous year from suspected lead poisoning included: the child's age, the mother performing ore-processing activities, community well as primary water source, and the soil-lead concentration in the compound. Conclusion: The high levels of environmental contamination, percentage of children aged <5 years with elevated blood-lead levels (97%, >45 µg/dL), and incidence of convulsions among children prior to death (82%) suggest that most of the recent childhood deaths in the two surveyed villages were caused by acute lead poisoning from gold ore-processing activities. Control measures included environmental remediation, chelation therapy, public health education, and control of mining activities

Incidence and sociodemographic, living environment and maternal health associations with stillbirth in a tertiary healthcare setting in Kano, Northern Nigeria. Short title: Incidence and factors associated with stillbirth in Kano, Nigeria

Background Almost two million stillbirths occur annually, most occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Nigeria is reported to have one of the highest stillbirth rates on the African continent. The aim was to identify sociodemographic, living environment, and health status factors associated with stillbirth and determine the associations between pregnancy and birth factors and stillbirth in the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, Kano, Nigeria. Methods A three-month single-site prospective observational feasibility study. Demographic and clinical data were collected. We fitted bivariable and multivariable models for stillbirth (yes/no) and three-category livebirth/macerated stillbirth/non-macerated stillbirth outcomes to explore their association with demographic and clinical factors. Findings 1,998 neonates and 1,926 mothers were enrolled. Higher odds of stillbirth were associated with low-levels of maternal education, a further distance to travel to the hospital, living in a shack, maternal hypertension, previous stillbirth, birthing complications, increased duration of labour, antepartum haemorrhage, prolonged or obstructed labour, vaginal breech delivery, emergency caesarean-section, and signs of trauma to the neonate following birth. Interpretation This work has obtained data on some factors influencing stillbirth. This in turn will facilitate the development of improved public health interventions to reduce preventable deaths and to progress maternal health within this site

Carbon nanotube for solar energy applications: a review

This paper reports the recent researches of carbon nanotube application in solar collectors. The efficiency of different stationary solar collectors (Flat plate collector FPC, Evacuated tube solar collector ETSC and Direct absorber solar collector DASC) was found to improve with the use of single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) respectively. From literatures many comparisons were reported with other nanoparticles, it has shown that carbon nanotube display higher thermal conductivity compared to other solid nanoparticles. Effect of thermal conductivity, stability and production cost of SWCNT and MWCNT was thoroughly reviewed and investigated for application in stationary solar collectors

RESPONSE OF MAIZE (Zea mays L.) GENOTYPES GROWTH CHARACTERS UNDER DROUGHT AND HEAT STRESS CONDITIONS EVALUATED IN SUDAN SAVANNA, NIGERIA

Drought stress and heat stress are two major limiting factors affecting maize productivity in the tropical regions. High temperatures and changes in rainfall pattern can cause significant decline in maize yields under rain fed conditions with Africa being one of the worst affected areas. Heat tolerance can be accomplished through genetic management approach. The aim of the research is to assess the extent of variation in tolerance to drought stress and heat tolerant stress and their performance on growth and yield characters. The trials were conducted on genetic analysis of Maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines under combined (drought and heat stress) conditions. The parental materials comprises eight inbred lines that were crossed in a partial diallel pattern; thereafter, the checks, parents and resultant F1 generations were evaluated at two locations, Kano University of Science and Technology and farmers field at Dambatta local government area Kano state during 2021 dry seasons. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design and replicated three times. The results indicated the crossing of P4 X P9 and P3 X P4 to produce significantly to produce significantly better growth attributes like plant height ear height, plant aspect and grain yield. These parental lines might be used in maize breeding programs in Nigeria as sources of drought and or heat tolerance

RESPONSE OF MAIZE (Zea mays L.) GENOTYPES GROWTH CHARACTERS UNDER DROUGHT AND HEAT STRESS CONDITIONS EVALUATED IN SUDAN SAVANNA, NIGERIA

Drought stress and heat stress are two major limiting factors affecting maize productivity in the tropical regions. High temperatures and changes in rainfall pattern can cause significant decline in maize yields under rain fed conditions with Africa being one of the worst affected areas. Heat tolerance can be accomplished through genetic management approach. The aim of the research is to assess the extent of variation in tolerance to drought stress and heat tolerant stress and their performance on growth and yield characters. The trials were conducted on genetic analysis of Maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines under combined (drought and heat stress) conditions. The parental materials comprises eight inbred lines that were crossed in a partial diallel pattern; thereafter, the checks, parents and resultant F1 generations were evaluated at two locations, Kano University of Science and Technology and farmers field at Dambatta local government area Kano state during 2021 dry seasons. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design and replicated three times. The results indicated the crossing of P4 X P9 and P3 X P4 to produce significantly to produce significantly better growth attributes like plant height ear height, plant aspect and grain yield. These parental lines might be used in maize breeding programs in Nigeria as sources of drought and or heat tolerance

CORRELATION AND PATH COEFFICIENT ANALYSIS BETWEEN GRAIN YIELD AND SOME GROWTH AND YIELD COMPONENTS OF MAIZE (ZEA MAYS L.) GENOTYPE AS INFLUENCED BY DROUGHT AND HEAT STRESS CONDITIONS IN SUDAN SAVANNAH OF NIGERIA

Experiments were conducted at the Teaching and Research farm of the Department of Crop Science Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil and on a farmer’s field at Dambatta Local Government Area, with eight maize genotypes to assess the character associations among the genotypes for yield attributes. The experiment was conducted during February to June 2021 and also 2022, in a lattice design with three replications in both years and locations and are made to determine the performance of the genotypes in interacting environments. The genotypes differed significantly for most of the studied traits. Grain yield was significantly associated with plant height, anthesis silking interval, days to maturity, ear height, ears per plant, grain weight per plant in a positive direction and associated negatively with tassel blast, barren plant and leaf senescence. Path co-efficient analysis revealed that the maximum positive direct contribution towards yield was through grain weight per plant, plant height, and ears per plant whereas ear height showed negative direct contribution to grain yield due to negative indirect effects of several other parameters such as ear height via grain weight per plant, plant height via grain weight per plant

A fiber Bragg grating-based inclinometer probe with enhanced sensitivity for a higher slope profiling resolution

A fiber Bragg grating (FBG)-based inclinometer probe with enhanced sensitivity has been developed for slope or ground movement monitoring. The inclinometer probe utilized six FBGs for the tilt measurement and a strain-free FBG that provided the temperature compensation factor. The inclinometer probe was fabricated entirely using a 3D printer and can fit into the standard inclinometer casing, which can be placed into the boreholes. The dimension of the probe is similar to the conventional inclinometer probe, with a total length of 70 cm. Additionally, this design was equipped with three highly compact tilt sensors within the same probe length, providing a better resolution of the inclination profile. Each tilt sensor possesses a flexible middle shaft fabricated using thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and was equipped with two FBGs for bi-directional tilt angle measurement (+x and -x). Initially, the tilt sensor was calibrated in the laboratory, which yielded a sensitivity value of 0.0215 nm/°. This value is higher than most previous designs by a factor of two because of the middle shaft's elasticity, which can induce a more significant strain on the FBG. The horizontal displacement of a conventional inclinometer casing could be observed during the field test, which proves the device's functionality. The results have indicated that the inclinometer can be applied in several geotechnical applications, particularly ground movement monitoring