The Biophysics and Flow Haemodynamics in Sickle Cell Patients: A Mathematical Model That Takes into Account Electochemical and Vascular Factors in the Genesis of Vaso-Occlusion

Sickle Cell Disease is inherited genetic disease. An autosomal recessive gene is responsible for the synthesis of Haemoglobin S. The disease manifests usually in Homozygous SS state. Synthesis of the Haemoglobin S is courtesy of beta globin gene mutation in chromosome number 11 within the nucleus of Erythroblast. Valine replaces Glutamic acid in position 6 of beta polypeptide chain of haemoglobin. But deoxygenation of Haemoglobin S results in polymerization of the Haemoglobin and the deformable discoid red cell changes to stiff sickle cell, and this is the hallmark of vaso-occlusion and crises. Intracellular concentration of both Magnesium ions and Potassium ions in red cells correlate positively with lower risk of sickling and crises in SCD according to studies. Introducing a hypothetical equation that determines Vaso-occlusion risk, shortened and christen VASOcclusity, a product of biochemical and biophysical considerations in SCD haemodynamics where the radius of the blood vessel and the Body Mass Index by extension are also considered strong factors and variables. Keywords:  Haemoglobin S, Polymerization, ions, Magnesium, Potassium, radius

Electrolytes and Metabolites Rich Secretion from Laboratory Grown Larvae of Lucilia sericata

Feeding process in biological system involves release of exocrine secretion to modify the pH of the food substrate and the release of protein enzyme for digestion. Digestive secretions contain electrolytes and metabolites of varying nature and source. The aim of this study is to harvest the saprophagous secretion of larvae of Lucilia sericata and to quantitatively as well as qualitatively evaluate the contents. The larvae were grouped and housed in 5 different 200 ml plastic jars, each with a net cover firmly attached round the brim of the jar with elastic band. Each jar contains 300 units of the larvae and they are all kept in a larger bucket whose interior was saturated with the smell of a piece of putrid meat. Half hourly 100ml of Normal Saline was used to wash off the effluent from the larvae of each of the five groups. The analyses show the significantly (p<0.05) increasing and time dependent presence of Na+, K+, Cl-, HCO3-, urea, creatinine,  total protein,  bilirubin and  amylase secreted. Keywords: Lucilia sericata, saprophagous, Electrolytes, Metabolite

A Simple and Effective Laboratory Method of Growing Larvae of Lucilia sericata Using Clean and Moistened Sharp Sand Mixed with Groundnut Powder

Maggot is a general name given to larvae of many different insects. Some of these larvae are biotherapeutically used in debridement of infected, necrotic and non-healing wounds. The laboratory growing and management of many different larvae are important to medical units interested in maggot debridement therapy, research centres interested in studying the physiology of a given larvae and forensic entomology units that use linear regression method of determining time of death of a decomposing body. This study aims at developing an accessible and effective method of growing larvae of Lucilia sericata. A piece of putrid beef is hung out in the open to attract flies that deposit eggs which on hatching were able to burrow into  the clean dried silica-based sharp sand mixed with 1:10 groundnut powder in a 20 litre capacity plastic bucket. The bucket has a cover cut out to allow ventilation over a net. A tinge of iodized salt (0.5 gram) is added to help in metamorphosis. The soil was kept moist by 8 hourly sprinkling of water. The larvae counted were 300 and subsequently they were allowed to metamorphose to pupae and adults. The flies hatched were exposed to cold temperature of 10 oC for 10 minutes to reduce their activity and were then counted and the species identified. The different species identified may be use in growing a second generation of the desired larvae. Of the 286 units of flies, 10 were Musca domestica specie while 276 were Lucilia sericata specie. This effort has produced a 95% successful hatch that metamorphosed into adult flies. This introduces a reliable alternative of growing larvae in the laboratory.

Immunomodulatory Effects of Neem (Azadirachta indica) Leaf Aqueous Extracts in Cockerels Vaccinated and Experimentally Infected with Infectious Bursal Disease Virus

The aim of the present work was to study the immunomodulatory potentials of aqueous extract of Neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf in cockerels vaccinated and/ or infected with infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). Four hundred and eighty (480) day old cockerels were used and allocated into 8 groups. The birds were grouped as vaccinated/ unvaccinated, challenged/ unchallenged, neem leaf treated/ untreated groups. The IBD vaccines (intermediate plus strain) were given at 14 and 28 days of age while the experimental infection using very virulent IBD virus (vvIBDV) was inoculated at 35 days of age and the extracts were given from day old to 6 week old.Serum samples were collected on first day and on weekly intervals while post challenge, onset of the disease, clinical signs and mortality rate were recorded. The results obtained showed higher antibody titre, faster seroconversion, mild clinical sign and very low mortality in the neem leaf treated groups. These results indicated that the neem leaf aqueous extract has immunomodulatory potentials by increasing the antibody titre post vaccination and the ability to prevent mortality

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality. Methods Prospective cohort study in 109 institutions in 41 countries. Inclusion criteria: children <18 years who were newly diagnosed with or undergoing active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumour, glioma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma. Of 2327 cases, 2118 patients were included in the study. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 30 days, 90 days and 12 months. Results All-cause mortality was 3.4% (n=71/2084) at 30-day follow-up, 5.7% (n=113/1969) at 90-day follow-up and 13.0% (n=206/1581) at 12-month follow-up. The median time from diagnosis to multidisciplinary team (MDT) plan was longest in low-income countries (7 days, IQR 3-11). Multivariable analysis revealed several factors associated with 12-month mortality, including low-income (OR 6.99 (95% CI 2.49 to 19.68); p<0.001), lower middle income (OR 3.32 (95% CI 1.96 to 5.61); p<0.001) and upper middle income (OR 3.49 (95% CI 2.02 to 6.03); p<0.001) country status and chemotherapy (OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.86); p=0.008) and immunotherapy (OR 0.27 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91); p=0.035) within 30 days from MDT plan. Multivariable analysis revealed laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 5.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 23.84); p=0.029) was associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusions Children with cancer are more likely to die within 30 days if infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, timely treatment reduced odds of death. This report provides crucial information to balance the benefits of providing anticancer therapy against the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with cancer

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME AS VIABLE POLICY FOR RURAL AGRARIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA

Youth Empowerment is a systematic process/policy for rural agrarian community development in Nigeria. Katsina State was purposively chosen. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 190 respondents each from participating trainee on dyeing, pottery, catering, welding and blacksmithing and non-participating farmers to assess the impact of the programme in community development. Information was obtained by the use of structured questionnaires guided by trained enumerators. Descriptive statistics, foster-greer-thorbecke (FGT) index, propensity score marching (PSM) were used to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, measure their poverty status and the impact as a result of participation in the programme respectively. The results revealed that majority respondents were agile and fell between age bracket of 26 and 27 with higher percentage of male (76 and 75), with a good number marked (64% and 63%), and a higher proportion of educationally advantage (88% and 87%) of both the participant and non-participant. Similarly, the poverty depth index were 0.326 and 0.412, which showed higher poverty among non-participant (0.412) of the programme. The result further indicated the average programme effect on poverty status, test index of youth participating is between 5.9 to 7.2% higher than the non-participant which makes it significant at 1% level of probability and has impacted on poverty status of the participant. Therefore, among the recommendation were advocating for both Government and Non-governmental organization to facilitate community driven development through empowerment programmes for sustainable development

Earth Observation-based Damage Assessment of 2018 Flood in Parts of Hadejia-Jama’ are River Basin, Nigeria

Floods, Landslides, Forest fire, Volcanoes, Hurricanes and Tsunami among others are indeed considered as the most natural hazards that cause loosed of resources which includes human lives. Hadejia-Jama’ are River Valley has a well-known seasonal occurrence of floodings with maximum interval of five years incidents historically. Among these disasters floods especially along the river basin particularly in developing nations like Nigeria became a regular disaster with state of frequent occurrences almost seasonally. This study assessed pre-flood and post-flood nature of floodplain along Hadejia-Jama’ are from Jigawa to Tiga Dam in Kano State. Remotely sensed sentinel 2 satellite data and ALOS Digital Surface Model (DSM) was used for the study. The sentinel images were subjected to image pre-processing activities such as geometric correction and radiometric correction. To focus on the flood plain, a 5 km buffer of the area around Hadejia-Jama’are River Basin from Jigawa to Tiga dam were extracted from the data by using the extract/clip tools in ArcGIS 10.3 software. Findings of the study revealed that dominant land use along the floodplain prior to flood include bare surface, patches of agriculture/vegetation, settlement, water body. The study also revealed that patterns of flood damages vary irrespective of the risk with areas like Dawakin Kudu and Garun mallam were witnessing more flood damages than Miga LGA of Jigawa State. It is, therefore, concluded that Earth observation and its applications are useful tools/methods for flood damages assessment and evaluation as well as a basis for taking proactive steps in mitigating flood hazard along floodplains and another flood prone environment

Delineation of Soil Fertility Management Zones for Site-specific Nutrient Management in the Maize Belt Region of Nigeria

Site-specific nutrient management can reduce soil degradation and crop production risks related to undesirable timing, amount, and type of fertilizer application. This study was conducted to understand the spatial variability of soil properties and delineate spatially homogenous nutrient management zones (MZs) in the maize belt region of Nigeria. Soil samples (n = 3387) were collected across the area using multistage and random sampling techniques, and samples were analyzed for pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), macronutrients (N, P, K, S, Ca and Mg), micronutrients (S, B, Zn, Mn and Fe) content, and effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC). Spatial distribution and variability of these parameters were assessed using geostatistics and ordinary kriging, while principal component analysis (PCA) and multivariate K-means cluster analysis were used to delineate nutrient management zones. Results show that spatial variation of macronutrients (total N, available P, and K) was largely influenced by intrinsic factors, while that of S, Ca, ECEC, and most micronutrients was influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors with moderate to high spatial variability. Four distinct management zones, namely, MZ1, MZ2, MZ3, and MZ4, were identified and delineated in the area. MZ1 and MZ4 have the highest contents of most soil fertility indicators. MZ4 has a higher content of available P, Zn, and pH than MZ1. MZ2 and MZ3, which constitute the larger part of the area, have smaller contents of the soil fertility indicators. The delineated MZs offer a more feasible option for developing and implementing site-specific nutrient management in the maize belt region of Nigeria