Fertility Parameters in Crossbred Sows Treated with Cloprostenol Sodium (Synchromate®) in Zaria, Nigeria

This study was carried out to evaluate fertility parameters in crossbred sows in Zaria, following treatment with Cloprostenol sodium (Synchromate®). Ten (n = 10) apparently healthy crossbred sows were randomly assigned to two equal treatment groups based on number of injections of 500μg Synchromate®. Group 1 received two injections on days 0 and 13, while Group 2 received three injections on days 0, 7 and 13. Oestrus was monitored visually for signs of oestrus twice daily from 0700 – 1000h and 1500 – 1800h. The fertility parameters evaluated were: oestrus response rate (ORR), time to onset of oestrus (TOO), duration of oestrus (DOO), conception rate (CR), pregnancy rate (PR), farrowing rate (FR) and litter size (LS). Data on ORR, CR, PR and FR were expressed in percentages while TOO, DOO and LS were expressed as mean ± SEM. Student t-test and Tukey’s post-hoc test were used to compare the percentages and mean values between the groups. The Graphpad Prism® data package was used for statistical analysis and values of P<0.05 were considered significant. Fertility parameters TOO, DOO, LS, ORR, CR, PR, FR for Group 1 (187.20 ± 8.98h, 87.60 ± 4.49h, 7.25 ± 1.44, 100 %, 60 %, 80 % and 100 % respectively) and Group 2 (176.00 ± 40.00h, 86.60 ± 13.36h, 7.50 ± 1.50, 60 %, 100 %, 80 % and 66.67 % respectively). The differences in fertility parameters between the groups were not statistically significant. It is recommended therefore that double injections of cloprostenol sodium (Synchromate®) should be used for oestrus synchronization as it increases fertility parameters in cross bred sows at 13 days apart.Key words: Fertility parameters, crossbred sows, cloprostenol sodium, Zaria

A New Formula for Groundwater Recharge Estimation in Yola, Nigeria

In this paper,relationship between rainfall and groundwater recharge estimation was evaluated. A standard numerical formula that relates rainfall to groundwater recharge estimation was proposed with the aim of providing error-free groundwater estimate from rainfall. Rainfalls measured in a selected location in Yola, Nigeria and standard formula were used to fix the constants (A,B and c) in the new numerical formula using Microsoft Excel Solver. The constants were used to establish new numerical formula. The new numerical formula was used to estimate groundwater recharge from the rainfall. The accuracy of the new numerical formula was evaluated statistically using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), relative error; the degree of accuracy, numerical reliability, Model of Selection Criterion (MSC) and Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and compared with the previous formulae in use for field groundwater recharge estimation with Uttar Pradesh (UP) as the reference value of groundwater recharge. The study revealed that groundwater recharge estimated using the formula was similar to groundwater recharge estimated using standard formulae (UP, Modified Chaturvedi, Kumar and Seethapathi and Rao). In all cases there were significant differences between the groundwater recharge estimated using all the formulae. The new formula provided the lowest relative error of 0.887%, the highest MSC of 4.911; the degree of accuracy of 99.113 % and the lowest AIC of 436.306.  The accuracy of the formulae was in the order of new formula greater than Chaturvedi formula greater than Kumar and Seethapathi formula greater than Rao formula. It was concluded that modelling of groundwater recharge using the numerical formula is a promising tool for estimating groundwater recharge with minimum error in water resources management

Multilevel Regression Analysis of Age at First Birth

Knowledge about the factors associated with age at first birth plays a major role in controlling the rate of population growth. This paper presents Hierarchical Linear Modeling known for its robustness not only in dealing with hierarchical data structure but also in its ability to explain the effects of the shared variances present in the study on the variable of interest.  Data from 2013 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), collected via a hierarchically clustered sampling scheme were used. It investigated the factors that were thought to be associated with variation in age at first birth among Nigerian women were investigated. The model provided parameter estimates as well as estimates of the random effects variances at all the levels. It was observed that the average age at which a Nigerian woman gives birth to her first child without considering any factor effect is 19 years which is a teenage year. 22% and 18% in the variation of ages at first birth resides in the differences in the states and zones in the country

Preliminary experience in the management of tracheobronchial foreign bodies in Lagos, Nigeria

Aspiration of tracheobronchial foreign bodies commonly affects young children, is potentially life threatening and requires early intervention for extraction. Access to facilities and skill manpower for bronchoscopic extraction is however limited in Nigeria. The aim of this study is to describe the experience in our institution with bronchoscopic removal of tracheobronchial foreign bodies and highlight the challenges encountered. This is a retrospective study of all patients referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital with a diagnosis of tracheobronchial foreign body within the period of February 2008 and February 2013. Data extracted from the medical records were age, sex, time interval between aspiration and presentation, location of tracheobronchial foreign body, bronchoscopic technique, complications and outcome. A total of 24 patients were referred and confirmed at bronchoscopy to have tracheobronchial foreign bodies. Mean age was 6.6 + 5 years. Male to female ratio was 1:1. Delayed presentation was common with 22 patients (91.7%) presenting more than 24 hours after aspiration. Aspirated material was inorganic in 17 patients (70.8%) and organic in 7 patients (29.2%). Location of tracheobronchial foreign bodies was right main bronchus in 16 patients (66.7%), left main bronchus in 6 patients (25%) and the trachea in 2 patients (8.3%). Challenges to speedy and safe removal of the foreign bodies were delayed presentation and a limited range of bronchoscopic equipment early in the series which caused prolonged procedures and increased complications. Two mortalities occurred early in the series; one from airway obstruction and the other from respiratory failure caused by tracheobronchial oedema. Extraction of tracheobronchial foreign bodies was faster, more complete and safer later in the series due to a wider range of bronchoscopy equipment which included both flexible and rigid videobronchoscopy with the use of optical forceps. This preliminary experience suggests that an adequate armamentarium of bronchoscopy equipment is required to increase the chances of complete extraction, speed up the procedure and reduce the risk of complications of Tracheobronchial Foreign Bodies in our environment. Delayed presentation increases the difficulty of the procedure so earlier referral of these patients would help reduce the risk involved in  their management.Key words: Bronchoscopy, Tracheobronchial Foreign Bodies, Lagos, Nigeri

Conjugate Gradient Method Approach to Multi-Channel Queuing Theory

In this paper we examine the application of the classical conjugate gradient method to queue theory. The parameters of the symmetric definite positive linear operator of a quadratic cost functional were obtained from the various characteristic features of a multi-channel queue system. The outcome was tested with numerical values and a comparison was made for systems with two, three and four service points. The numerical computations were carried out in a Maple 14 environment. The results obtained validate previous work done with a single-channel syste

Design and Development of Student Data Retrieval System via GSM

Remote data access and machine to machine communication are some of the value added services made possible by the GSM communication technology. With this service, automated access to records, information and updates can be achieved by the use of the GSM short message system (SMS) queries. This work presents the development of a remote access platform for remote access to a database. The system utilizes the GSM-SMS technology and an interactive voice recorder system to access data. The database contains students result, financial status and information on the number of exeats taken. This data is accessed by calling dedicated phone number and following the voice prompt voice prompt, the user is able to access the desired information from the database. Once the required data is accessed, the GSM module transmits this query result back to the caller in SMS format. The system provides a cost effective channel for accessing data from remote databases

Adansonia digitata (Baobab) fruit pulp as substrate for Bacillus Endoglucanase production

In recent years the cost of carbon source for microbial enzymes production has necessitated a drive towards cheaper and sustainable sources. In this study, Adansonia digitata (Baobab) fruit pulp was utilized as substrate for Bacillus endoglucanase production and the effects of varying temperature, pH, incubation period, inoculum size and substrate concentration on endoglucanase production were investigated. The cellulolytic activity of the isolates was screened base on halo of clearance on Carboxymethyl  cellulose agar, while the endoglucanase activity of the selected Bacillus species was monitored using 3, 5 - dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) method. Out of 4 Bacillus species screened, only Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Bacillus subtitis showed cellulolytic activity with B. amyloliquefaciens having the highest activity of 20.0 mm. Therefore B. amyloliquefaciens was selected  for studies on the effect of fermentation conditions on endoglucanase activity. The maximum yield of endoglucanase was produced at temperature of 55 oC, pH 2, 1% inoculum size and 1% substrate concentration for 4 days incubation period. The results of this study  suggest that Adansonia digitata fruit pulp can be harnessed at low concentration for large scale endoglucanase production by Bacillus, and the endoglucanase produced by B. amyloliquefaciens could be a thermostable enzyme with novel characteristics suitable for application in biofuel and textile industry

A Study of Nine High-Redshift Clusters of Galaxies: IV. Photometry and Sp ectra of Clusters 1324+3011 and 1604+4321

New photometric and spectroscopic observations of galaxies in the directions of three distant clusters are presented as part of our on-going high-redshift cluster survey. The clusters are CL1324+3011 at z = 0.76, CL1604+4304 at z = 0.90, and CL1604+4321 at z = 0.92. The observed x-ray luminosities in these clusters are at least a factor of 3 smaller than those observed in clusters with similar velocity dispersions at z <= 0.4. These clusters contain a significant population of elliptical-like galaxies, although these galaxies are not nearly as dominant as in massive clusters at z <= 0.5. We also find a large population of blue cluster members. Defining an active galaxy as one in which the rest equivalent width of [OII] is greater than 15 Angstroms, the fraction of active cluster galaxies, within the central 1.0 Mpc, is 45%. In the field population, we find that 65% of the galaxies with redshifts between z = 0.40 and z = 0.85 are active, while the fraction is 79% for field galaxies at z > 0.85. The star formation rate normalized by the rest AB B-band magnitude, SFRN, increases as the redshift increases at a given evolving luminosity. At a given redshift, however, SFRN decreases linearly with increasing luminosity indicating a remarkable insensitivity of the star formation rate to the intrinsic luminosity of the galaxy over the range -18 >= ABB >= -22. Cluster galaxies in the central 1 Mpc regions exhibit depressed star formation rates. We are able to measure significant evolution in the B-band luminosity function over the range 0.1 <= z <= 1. The characteristic luminosity increases by a factor of 3 with increasing redshift over this range.Comment: 64 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal on May 25, 2001. Scheduled to appear in Sept 2001 issu

The H Beta Index as an Age Indicator of Old Stellar Systems: The Effects of Horizontal-Branch Stars

The strength of the H$\beta$ index has been computed for the integrated spectra of model globular clusters from the evolutionary population synthesis. These models take into account, for the first time, the detailed systematic variation of horizontal-branch (HB) morphology with age and metallicity. Our models show that the H$\beta$ index is significantly affected by the presence of blue HB stars. Because of the contribution from blue HB stars, the H$\beta$ does not monotonically decrease as metallicity increases at a given age. Instead, it reaches a maximum strength when the distribution of HB stars is centered around 9500 K, the temperature where the H$\beta$ index becomes strongest. Our models indicate that the strength of the H$\beta$ index increases as much as 0.75 {\AA} due to the presence of blue HB stars. The comparison of the recent Keck observations of the globular cluster system in the Milky Way Galaxy with those in giant elliptical galaxies, NGC 1399 and M87, shows a systematic shift in the H$\beta$ against metallicity plane. Our models suggest that this systematic difference is understood if the globular cluster systems in giant elliptical galaxies are several billion years older, in the mean, than the Galactic counterpart. Further observations of globular cluster systems in the external galaxies from the large ground-based telescopes and space UV facilities will enable to clarify whether this difference is indeed due to the age difference or other explanations are also possible.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal, August 2000 issue, Postscript files are available at http://csaweb.yonsei.ac.kr/~hclee/Hbet