The Primary Sectors of the Economy and the Dutch Disease in Nigeria

This study examines whether the Dutch Disease—a resource boom leading to the decline of the erstwhile tradable sector—is present in Nigeria in the light of the rejection of the Dutch Disease thesis in other studies on Nigeria. Quarterly data for our variables of interest were predominantly sourced from the International Financial Statistics of the IMF. The data are analysed through the use of vector autoregressive (VAR) modelling consisting of impulse response functions and variance decomposition analyses. Our results show that the Dutch Disease was diagnosed, albeit, as a delayed occurrence. This suggests that the government should lay more emphasis on the agricultural sector hitherto not given deserved attention.

Phytochemical Screening and in vivo antioxidant activity of Ethanolic extract of caesalpinia bondus (L.) Roxb

Phytochemical screening, antioxidant activity in vivo and lipid peroxidation of 75 % ethanolic extract of young twigs and leaves of Caesalpinia bonduc were carried out by chemical test, and assessment of catalase and peroxidase activities and lipid peroxidation in Wistar rats after oral administration of different concentrations of the plant extract for ten days. Phytochemical screening of the extract revealed the presence of all major classes of phytochemicals: tannins, flavonoids, saponin, steroids, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides, glycosides, except phlobatannins. There were significant (p<0.05) graded increase in catalase and peroxidase activities and decrease in TBARS concentrations in the extract tested rats in comparison with normal control, Vitamin C and amodiaquine tested rats. The various pharmacological activities of C. bonduc may be due to its antioxidant activity

The Primary Sectors of the Economy and the Dutch Disease in Nigeria

This study examines whether the Dutch Disease—a resource boom leading to the decline of the erstwhile tradable sector—is present in Nigeria in the light of the rejection of the Dutch Disease thesis in other studies on Nigeria. Quarterly data for our variables of interest were predominantly sourced from the International Financial Statistics of the IMF. The data are analysed through the use of vector autoregressive (VAR) modelling consisting of impulse response functions and variance decomposition analyses. Our results show that the Dutch Disease was diagnosed, albeit, as a delayed occurrence. This suggests that the government should lay more emphasis on the agricultural sector hitherto not given deserved attention

The distributional properties of the family of logistic distributions

The distributional properties of half logistic distribution and Type I generalized logistic distribution were studied, bringing out the L-moments (up to order four) of each of these. Skewness and Kurtosis were obtained

Antioxidant and DPPH-Scavenging Activities of Compounds and Ethanolic Extract of the Leaf and Twigs of Caesalpinia bonduc L. Roxb.

Antioxidant effects of ethanolic extract of Caesalpinia bonduc and its isolated bioactive compounds were evaluated in vitro. The compounds included two new cassanediterpenes, 1α,7α-diacetoxy-5α,6β-dihydroxyl-cass-14(15)-epoxy-16,12-olide (1)and 12α-ethoxyl-1α,14β-diacetoxy-2α,5α-dihydroxyl cass-13(15)-en-16,12-olide(2); and others, bonducellin (3), 7,4’-dihydroxy-3,11-dehydrohomoisoflavanone (4), daucosterol (5), luteolin (6), quercetin-3-methyl ether (7) and kaempferol-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1Ç2)-β-D-xylopyranoside (8). The antioxidant properties of the extract and compounds were assessed by the measurement of the total phenolic content, ascorbic acid content, total antioxidant capacity and 1-1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and hydrogen peroxide radicals scavenging activities.Compounds 3, 6, 7 and ethanolic extract had DPPH scavenging activities with IC50 values of 186, 75, 17 and 102 μg/ml respectively when compared to vitamin C with 15 μg/ml. On the other hand, no significant results were obtained for hydrogen peroxide radical. In addition, compound 7 has the highest phenolic content of 0.81±0.01 mg/ml of gallic acid equivalent while compound 8 showed the highest total antioxidant capacity with 254.31±3.54 and 199.82±2.78 μg/ml gallic and ascorbic acid equivalent respectively. Compound 4 and ethanolic extract showed a high ascorbic acid content of 2.26±0.01 and 6.78±0.03 mg/ml respectively.The results obtained showed the antioxidant activity of the ethanolic extract of C. bonduc and deduced that this activity was mediated by its isolated bioactive compounds

Autism spectrum disorder in a community-based sample with neurodevelopmental problems in Lagos, Nigeria

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a globally prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder for which early diagnosis and intervention is the mainstay of management. In the African continent, limited data is available regarding the non-clinic based samples. Lack of information available to caregivers and inadequate skilled manpower often limit early detection and access to the few available though under resourced services in the community. Community based screening can be an important drive to create awareness and improve information dissemination regarding services available for those living with this disorder. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study utilizing data obtained from participants of a community-based autism screening exercise. The surveillance exercise was part of the annual Orange Ribbon initiative for autism awareness and screening held in 2014. Data was obtained from 85 participants involved in the Autism Surveillance screening exercise within the Lagos community. Community public service radio announcements state wide and word of mouth were used to invite and enroll eligible participants to the screening and consultation exercise. A second stage screening and a brief sociodemographic questionnaire followed by a third stage clinical interview and evaluation using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - 5 Edition (DSM 5) were used. Appropriate consultation and referrals to services in the community were given. Participants had a mean age of 7.53 years (SD 4.35). Twenty-nine (34.5%) met the diagnosis of ASD. Other diagnosis included attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), language and speech disorder, intellectual disability (8.3%) and learning disorders (9.5%). Main health concerns to caregivers were poor language development in all (100%), of which 11 (40.7%) were non-verbal; gaze avoidance was seen in 14 (48.3%) and challenging behavior in 12 (42.9%). Comorbidities included seizure disorders (3.4%) and ADHD (6.9%). Persons with autism had history of ASD behavior more often when compared to the other neurodevelopmental disorders and these findings were statistically significant. Referrals were given to caregivers to engage in services within the community. As seen in this study, community understanding of ASD is poor in such locations, in which many persons with other neurodevelopmental disorders are often presented as having autism. Caregivers in the study location are distressed by many symptoms associated with autism and their comorbid conditions. Currently there is an evident role for frequent large scale community based screening and autism awareness exercises possibly using inter-sectoral collaboration as a strategy.Yewande O. Oshodi, Andrew T. Olagunju, Motunrayo. A. Oyelohunnu, Elizabeth A. Campbell, Charles S. Umeh, Olatunji F. Aina, Wellington Oyibo, Folusho E.A. Lesi, Joseph D. Adeyem

PHYSIOLOGICAL AND YIELD RESPONSE OF SOME UPLAND RICE VARIETIES TO RE-WATERING AFTER IMPOSED SOIL MOISTURE STRESS

A pot experiment was conducted in the Screen house of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, October, 2011 (late dry season) to study drought recovery ability of 13 upland rice varieties exposed to soil moisture stress (20 days) at three growth stages (vegetative, reproductive and grain filling stage). The experiment was in completely randomized design, with three replicates. Under moisture stress significantly higher growth recovery, more erect canopy and flatter leaf surface were obtained in all the rice varieties at vegetative growth stage than other growth stages with increasing duration of re-watering. Under stress condition NERICA 4 maintained a significantly higher leaf area (27.50 cm2 and 40.18 cm2), plant height (53.45 cm and 67.62 cm) and number of tillers (1.67 and 1.67), but with a depressed number of leaf, slanted leaf posture and curved leaf especially during the later stage of its growth (Reproductive and grain filling stage respectively). It could be concluded that NERICA 4 had higher recovery ability than other rice varieties in drought prone upland ecology

ROOT RESPONSE OF SOME SELECTED RICE VARIETIES TO SOIL MOISTURE STRESS AT DIFFERENT PHENOLOGICAL STAGES

Physiological adjustment in plant root system is a determinant for survival and crop productivity in situation of moisture stress. A screen house experiment was conducted to access response of rice roots to moisture stress. Thirteen  varieties of rice comprising six NERICAs, WAB 56-104, CG 14, ART26-3-1-B, AC 103549, MOROBEREKAN, ART19-25-1-B and a local check (OFADA) were subjected to twenty-day moisture stress once at  each phenological stage. Results indicated that root growth generally showed preference over shoot growth. Moisture stress did not affect root volume (RV), deep root numbers (DRN), root dry weight (RDW) and root depth (RD) of all the rice varieties at reproductive stage. CG14 however recorded 67.6% increase in RD at this stage while NERICA 3, CG14 and OFADA recorded an increase in root depth: shoot length. At vegetative and grain filling stages, RV, DRN, RDW, RD, and RMC were significantly (p&lt; 0.05) increased by moisture stress in most rice varieties. NERICA2, NERICA7, ART26-3-1-B, MOROBEREKAN and WAB56-104 however recorded 54%, 76.5%, 72.7%, 57.1%, and 56.3% significant reduction in DRN respectively at vegetative stage. Correlation analysis showed that plant height, leaf area, and number of tillers depend highly on, RD, RV, RDW and deep root weight. Therefore, attention should be focused on these parameters in selection for moisture stress tolerance in rice

Disparities in the survivorship experience among Latina survivors of breast cancer

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144236/1/cncr31342_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144236/2/cncr31342.pd

Global, regional, and national burden of chronic kidney disease, 1990–2017 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background Health system planning requires careful assessment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) epidemiology, but data for morbidity and mortality of this disease are scarce or non-existent in many countries. We estimated the global, regional, and national burden of CKD, as well as the burden of cardiovascular disease and gout attributable to impaired kidney function, for the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017. We use the term CKD to refer to the morbidity and mortality that can be directly attributed to all stages of CKD, and we use the term impaired kidney function to refer to the additional risk of CKD from cardiovascular disease and gout. Methods The main data sources we used were published literature, vital registration systems, end-stage kidney disease registries, and household surveys. Estimates of CKD burden were produced using a Cause of Death Ensemble model and a Bayesian meta-regression analytical tool, and included incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability, mortality, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). A comparative risk assessment approach was used to estimate the proportion of cardiovascular diseases and gout burden attributable to impaired kidney function. Findings Globally, in 2017, 1·2 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 1·2 to 1·3) people died from CKD. The global all-age mortality rate from CKD increased 41·5% (95% UI 35·2 to 46·5) between 1990 and 2017, although there was no significant change in the age-standardised mortality rate (2·8%, −1·5 to 6·3). In 2017, 697·5 million (95% UI 649·2 to 752·0) cases of all-stage CKD were recorded, for a global prevalence of 9·1% (8·5 to 9·8). The global all-age prevalence of CKD increased 29·3% (95% UI 26·4 to 32·6) since 1990, whereas the age-standardised prevalence remained stable (1·2%, −1·1 to 3·5). CKD resulted in 35·8 million (95% UI 33·7 to 38·0) DALYs in 2017, with diabetic nephropathy accounting for almost a third of DALYs. Most of the burden of CKD was concentrated in the three lowest quintiles of Socio-demographic Index (SDI). In several regions, particularly Oceania, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, the burden of CKD was much higher than expected for the level of development, whereas the disease burden in western, eastern, and central sub-Saharan Africa, east Asia, south Asia, central and eastern Europe, Australasia, and western Europe was lower than expected. 1·4 million (95% UI 1·2 to 1·6) cardiovascular disease-related deaths and 25·3 million (22·2 to 28·9) cardiovascular disease DALYs were attributable to impaired kidney function. Interpretation Kidney disease has a major effect on global health, both as a direct cause of global morbidity and mortality and as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. CKD is largely preventable and treatable and deserves greater attention in global health policy decision making, particularly in locations with low and middle SDI