Incidence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of salmonella species in children attending some hospitals in kano metropolis, kano state –Nigeria

A study was carried out to investigate the incidence of Salmonella species among 300 children using stool samples from six hospitals in the metropolitan Kano. The organisms were investigated using cultural, serological biochemical characterization and sensitivity to some antimicrobial agents. The incidence of the bacteria was found to be highest among children of 20-24 months age and least in 5-9 months age group. Out of the total samples positive for Salmonella, 24 were from males and 17 from females. The species of Salmonellae isolated comprised of Salmonella typhimurium which was the most predominant followed by Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi. As at the time of the study, there was significance difference between males and females in the incidence at P> 0.05. Among the antimicrobials used ciprofloxacin was found to be more effective than the others

On Strong Small Loop Transfer Spaces Relative to Subgroups of Fundamental Groups

Let $H$ be a subgroup of the fundamental group $\pi_{1}(X,x_{0})$. By extending the concept of strong SLT space to a relative version with respect to $H$, strong $H$-SLT space, first, we investigate the existence of a covering map for strong $H$-SLT spaces. Moreover, we show that a semicovering map is a covering map in the presence of strong $H$-SLT property. Second, we present conditions under which the whisker topology agrees with the lasso topology on $\widetilde{X}_{H}$. Also, we study the relationship between open subsets of $\pi_{1}^{wh}(X,x_{0})$ and $\pi_{1}^{l}(X,x_{0})$. Finally, we give some examples to justify the definition and study of strong $H$-SLT spaces.Comment: 16 page

Assessment of National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) Curriculum on Implementation of Qur'anic Memorization in North-West, Nigeria

This study assessed the relationship between availability of resources and the implementation of Qur’anic memorization curriculum content of NBAIS in North West, Nigeria. The objectives of the study are to: find out the availability of learning resources and the implementation of Qur’anic memorization curriculum content of NBAIS in senior Arabic and Islamic secondary schools; examine the availability of Qur’anic teachers used in the implementation of Qur’anic memorization curriculum content in senior Arabic and Islamic secondary schools. Two research questions and hypotheses in line with the objectives guided the study. The study was survey design. The instruments were validated by the experts. Mann Whitney u test was used to test the hypotheses. The finding revealed that: there was a significant difference between the availability of learning resources in senior Tahfeez and Islamic secondary schools and that of senior Arabic and Islamic secondary schools in the implementation of Qur’anic memorization curriculum content. There was no significant difference between the availability of teachers in senior Tahfeez and Islamic secondary schools and that of Senior Arabic and Islamic secondary schools in the implementation of Qur’anic memorization curriculum content. The study concludes among others that; available Qur’anic memorization teachers must be provided for effective implementation of Qur’anic memorization curriculum content more especially in senior Arabic and Islamic secondary schools. The study recommended among others that; there is need for to providing more human and material resources especially in senior Arabic and Islamic secondary schools, for qualitative Qur’anic memorizers in the schools

Age-Dependent Fragility and Life-Cycle Cost Analysis of Timber and Steel Distribution Poles Subjected to Hurricanes

Power distribution systems are susceptible to extreme damage from natural hazards especially hurricanes. Hurricane winds can knock down distribution poles thereby causing damage to the system and power outages which can result in millions of dollars in lost revenue and restoration costs. Timber has been the dominant material used to support overhead lines in distribution systems. Recently however, utility companies have been searching for a cost-effective alternative to timber poles due to environmental concerns, durability, high cost of maintenance and need for improved aesthetics. Steel has emerged as a viable alternative to timber due to its advantages such as relatively lower maintenance cost, light weight, consistent performance, and invulnerability to wood-pecker attacks. Both timber and steel poles are prone to deterioration over time due to decay in the timber and corrosion of the steel. This research proposes a framework for conducting fragility analysis of timber and steel poles subjected to hurricane winds considering deterioration of the poles over time. Monte Carlo simulation was used to develop the fragility curves considering uncertainties in strength, geometry and wind loads. A framework for life-cycle cost analysis is also proposed to compare the steel and timber poles. The results show that steel poles can have superior reliability and lower life-cycle cost compared to timber poles, which makes them suitable substitutes

A study of the origin of an indigenous community in central Nigeria: interrogating Akpoto-Igala phenomenon

The Igala lives in a deciduous forest belt to the south and open savannah vegetation to the north. They occupy a triangular tract of land located at the confluence of rivers Niger and Benue. The Igala, like many other ethnic groups in Nigeria, holds several myths and traditions concerning their probable place of origin. Various attempts at tracing the origin of the people have elicited as many traditions as are scholars who attempted to unravel the origin of the people. This paper is therefore, an attempt to examine the various arguments on the origin and the place of Akpoto in the traditions of the people

Prevalence of Urinary Schistosomiasis among School Aged Children in Wushishi Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria

An investigation was conducted to determine the prevalence of urinary Schistosomiasis in two localities namely,Wushishi and Zungeru of Wushishi local government of Niger State. Urine samples were collected from 100 school children of each of the two localities and investigated for eggs of Shistosoma haematobium using standard filtration techniques. The water contact activities of the inhabitants whose samples were collected were also obtained, using questionnaire method. Result obtained showed that 80 (40.0%) inhabitants were infected with a mean egg count. The infection rate was found to be higher among males (47.5%) than the females (28.75%) but the mean eggs count tend to be higher among the females (7.5 eggs/10ml of urine) than males (5.8 eggs/ml of urine). The results also showed that children aged 10 – 15 yrs old had the highest infection rate of 48.75% with 16.0 eggs/10ml of urine.Key words: prevalence, urinary schistosomiasi

AN EXAMINATION OF THE EMPIRICAL PROPERTIES OF DUALITY BETWEEN THE RESTRICTED PROFIT, UNRESTRICTED PROFIT, AND PRODUCTION FUNCTIONS

This research examines the empirical properties of duality theory. A comparison of the Hessian matrices calculated from the normalized unrestricted and restricted profit, and production functions indicate that duality is highly sensitive to measurement error and relative price variability. Keywords: duality, restricted and unrestricted profit functionsduality, restricted and unrestricted profit functions, Demand and Price Analysis, Production Economics,

Heavy metals resistance potential of some Aspergillus spp. isolated from Tannery wastewater

Wastewater from three functional tanneries within sokoto  metropolis, Nigeria, was investigated to determine the  physicochemical properties as well as the distribution of fungal species in the untreated wastewater samples. Samples collected  were designated (a-c) representing three sampling points. The isolated fungal species were; Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus tamarii and Aspergillus oryzae. Of the fungal species, Aspergillus flavus was the most prevalent (17%) of the total count on the isolation plate, followed by Aspergillus niger (12%) and the least was Aspergillus oryzae. High levels of pH (9.6±1.7-9.9±1.2); electrical conductivity (4656 μs/cm ±886-5933μs/cm± 228); total dissolved solids (2024 mg/l±514-2934 mg/l±113) and nitrate (88.7 mg/l±2.2-94.7 mg/l±4.5) was observed in all the sampling points. The fungal species were screened for their ability to resist and grow in the presence of different concentrations of Pb (lead), Cr (chromium) and Cd (cadmium) in the laboratory. The result  revealed that the majority of the isolates were resistant to Pb and Cr, whereas to Cd, only a few were able to resist and grow. A. niger, A. flavus and A. terreus had the highest level of resistance and tolerance to all the heavy metals, with a strong growth often exceeding the control (PDB without test heavy metals). Therefore, it was concluded that these species of Aspergillus could be  performing an essential role in the mycoremediation of these  metals present in the tannery wastewater during their period of acclimatization through bioaccumulation.Keywords: Aspergillus sp., Bioaccumulation, Mycoremediation, NESRE

Cytotoxicity, Total Phenolic Contents and Antioxidant Activity of the Leaves Extract of Annona Muricata

The leaves of Annona muricata were extracted using ethanol and the extracts were evaluated for cytotoxicity using Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay, total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity using DPPH radical scavenging assay. The crude extract showed 73.33 % mortality at 1000 μg/mL concentration and its LC50-value was 1.59 μg/mL against brine shrimp larvae. The crude extract exhibited a significant toxicity in comparison with the positive control, the potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) with LC50-value 0.57 μg/mL. The TPC assay of the extracts was expressed as mg of tannic acid equivalent per gram of sample and mg of gallic acid equivalent per gram of sample, the result showed the content of phenolic compounds as 266.86 ± 2.21 mg·TAE/g and 278.60 ± 4.21 mg·GAE/g respectively. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of the ethanol extracts displayed a signigicant free radical scavenging capacity with the IC50 value of 2.58 μg/ml compared with the standard drugs, the ascorbic acid (IC50 0.563 μg/mL) and the butylated hydroxytoluene (IC50 0.570 μg/mL). The result suggested that the antioxidant property exhibited by the ethanol extract could be associated with its high total phenolic contents.Keywords: Annona muricata, Antioxidants, Cytotoxicity, Total Phenolic Content