ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF IRISH POTATO (Solanum tuberasum) PRODUCTION UNDER IRRIGATION SYS- TEM IN KATSINA METROPOLIS, KATSINA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KATSINA STATE

A survey on economics analysis of Irish Potato (Solanum tuberasum) Production under irrigation sys- tem in Katsina Metropolis Katsina Local Government Area was carried out. Six communities were purposively selected due to the production of Irish potato. The communities were Kofar Sauri, Kofar Durbi, Kofar Marusa, Filin Samji, Rafukka and Yammawa. A simple random sampling was employed in selecting the farmers were by ten (10) farmers were randomly selected from each community which gave a total of sixty respondents. The data were obtained using structured questionnaire and sub- jected to descriptive statistics, gross margin and net farm income analysis. The research describes the socio economic characteristic of the respondents in which the respondents were within the mean age of 41 years. The result also showed hundred percent of the respondents were male, 66.6% were mar- ried, 30%, 31.6%, 33.3% and 5% had qur«¤??anic, primary, secondary and tertiary education respectively. The result also showed that 90% of the respondents«¤?? source their initial income for production of Irish potato from personal saving and 48.3% source information from mass media. The research also de- scribed the production characteristic of the respondents were majority (51.6%) cultivate 0.2-0.4ha, 81.6% acquired their land by inheritance, 88.3% practice sole cropping and 48.3% used family labor. Net Farm Income analysis revealed that Irish potato production in the study area is profitable with Net Farm Income of N5798.83, «¤?¢Ã21555.35 and «¤?¢Ã65399.48 for 0.2-0.4ha, 0.5-0.7ha and 0.8-1ha. The result further reveals that manure and fuel contributed toward the output for 0.2-0.4ha, manure, fuel, water and labour contributed for 0.5-0.7ha and manure, water and labour for 0.8-1ha. The result also identified some constraints to Irish potato production such as inadequate fertilizer, poor storage facili- ties, pest and diseases, inadequate extension advice, poor canal maintenance, inadequate capital, poor cooperation, adulteration of farm input, and marketing problem. Conclusively, net farm income result shows that Irish potato production is profitable in the study area. It is recommended that re- search into way of improving the method of storage should be promoted

Serum Adenosine Deaminase Level Is High But Not Related with Disease Activity Parameters in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) has been previously proposed to predict disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this study was to investigate the level of serum ADA, and the relationship between ADA and disease activity markers, in a group of patients with RA., A hundred and 10 patients with a diagnosis of RA were recruited from outpatient clinic of Rheumatology Unit. Demographic properties comprising age, gender, disease duration and drugs were recorded. Disease activity based on disease activity score (DAS)28-erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and DAS28- C reactive protein (CRP,) ESR, CRP levels, as well as pain by visual analog scale and rheumatoid factor (RF) were recorded. Serum ADA levels (IU/L) were determined in all RA patients and in 55 age and sex similar healthy control subjects., Ninety-six female and 14 male RA patients with a mean age of 54.32±11.51, and with a mean disease duration of 11.5±9.13 years were included to the study. The control group comprised of 48 female and 7 male healthy subjects. 35.5% of the patients were on methotrexate (MTX) and 64.5% of patients were on combined DMARDs or combined MTX and anti-TNF therapies. The mean serum ADA level was statistically higher in RA patients than in control subjects (27.01±10.6 IU/L vs 21.8 ±9.9 IU/L). The mean values of ESR (23.2±14.8 mm/h), CRP (1.71±1.11mg/dL), pain by VAS (37.2±27.1), DAS28-ESR (2.72±0.77), DAS28 CRP (1.37±0.5) were not correlated with ADA levels (p>0.05)., Our results have shown that serum ADA levels are higher in RA patients than in controls but were not related with any of the disease activity markers. We conclude that ADA in the serum may not be a reliable biochemical marker to predict disease activity in patients with RA.PubMedScopu