Impact of Age, Gender and Discipline on Undergraduates’ Perception of Causes of Youth Restiveness in Delta State of Nigeria

This study set out to investigate impact of age, gender and discipline on undergraduates’ perception of causes of youth restiveness in Delta State of Nigeria.  One research question and two hypotheses guided the study.  Literature was reviewed.  The sample size was 275 respondents who were drawn using multi-stage random sampling technique.  A thirty item questionnaire was used to collect data.  The instrument has face and content validity.  It has a reliability index of 0.75.  The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA.  The results revealed that the variables of gender and age have no impact on undergraduates’ perception of the causes of youths’ restiveness.  But the discipline of students has impact on their perception of the causes of youth’s restiveness in Delta State.  Recommendations were made based on findings

Determinants of behavior of inflation rate in Nigeria

Inflation is an important macroeconomic issue that has continued to dominate discussions at major economic fora over time. Governments all over the world are concerned about its rising trend because of its pervasive effect on economic performance. One intriguing fact about inflation is that it is both the cause and effect of certain policy actions of government. Several studies have been conducted on the effect of inflation on economic activities in developing and developed nations, but studies on its cause, particularly in developing nations, are scant. This paper aims at identifying major factors that cause inflation in Nigeria. Based on the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) estimation method, the study shows empirical support for significant impact of external debt, exchange rate, fiscal deficits, money supply and economic growth on inflation. It further shows previous period or lagged inflation rate as a significant determinant of current inflation rate. However, the study produced no evidence of significant longrun impact of interest rate on the rate of inflation in Nigeria. The study recommends economic reforms that target foreign exchange inflow through increased export trade, as well as a paradigm shift away from deficit budgeting. There is also a need for infrastructural and institutional reforms to eliminate or, at least, minimize the impact of structural inequity on output prices

Lung microbiota dysbiosis and the implications of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy

There are a great number of beneficial commensal microorganisms constitutively colonizing the mucosal lining of the lungs. Alterations in the microbiota profile have been associated with several respiratory diseases such as pneumonia and allergies. Lung microbiota dysbiosis might play an important role in the pathogenic mechanisms of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as well as elicit other opportunistic infections associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). With its increasing prevalence and morbidity, SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant mothers is inevitable. Recent evidence shows that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) act as an entry receptor and viral spike priming protein, respectively, for SARS-CoV-2 infection. These receptor proteins are highly expressed in the maternal-fetal interface, including the placental trophoblast, suggesting the possibility of maternal–fetal transmission. In this review, we discuss the role of lung microbiota dysbiosis in respiratory diseases, with an emphasis on COVID-19 and the possible implications of SARS-CoV-2 infection on pregnancy outcome and neonatal health

Brucellosis in Sub-Saharan Africa:Current challenges for management, diagnosis and control

Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella and affecting domestic and wild mammals. In this paper, the bacteriological and serological evidence of brucellosis in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and its epidemiological characteristics are discussed. The tools available for the diagnosis and treatment of human brucellosis and for the diagnosis and control of animal brucellosis and their applicability in the context of SSA are presented and gaps identified. These gaps concern mostly the need for simpler and more affordable antimicrobial treatments against human brucellosis, the development of a B. melitensis vaccine that could circumvent the drawbacks of the currently available Rev 1 vaccine, and the investigation of serological diagnostic tests for camel brucellosis and wildlife. Strategies for the implementation of animal vaccination are also discussed.Publishe

Subsea Blowout Preventer (BOP): Design, Reliability, Testing, Deployment, and Operation and Maintenance Challenges

Subsea blowout preventer (BOP) is a safety-related instrumented system that is used in underwater oil drilling to prevent the well to blowout. As oil and gas exploration moves into deeper waters and harsher environments, the setbacks related to reliable functioning of the BOP system and its subsystems remain a major concern for researchers and practitioners. This study aims to systematically review the current state-of-the-art and present a detailed description about some of the recently developed methodologies for through-life management of the BOP system. Challenges associated with the system design, reliability analysis, testing, deployment as well as operability and maintainability are explored, and then the areas requiring further research and development will be identified. A total of 82 documents published since 1980's are critically reviewed and classified according to two proposed frameworks. The first framework categorises the literature based on the depth of water in which the BOP systems operate, with a sub-categorization based on the Macondo disaster. The second framework categorises the literature based on the techniques applied for the reliability analysis of BOP systems, including Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Reliability Block Diagram (RBD), Petri Net (PN), Markov modelling, Bayesian Network (BN), Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS), etc. Our review analysis reveals that the reliability analysis and testing of BOP has received the most attention in the literature, whereas the design, deployment, and operation and maintenance (O&M) of BOPs received the least

Ethanol extract and chromatographic fractions of Tamarindus indica stem bark inhibits Newcastle disease virus replication

Context: The plethora of ethnomedicinal applications of Tamarindus indica Linn. (Leguminosae), tamarind, includes treatment of human and livestock ailments; preparations are recognized antipyretics in fevers, laxatives and carminatives. African folklore has various applications of tamarind. However, in Nyasaland, domestic fowl are fed with preparations for prophylactic properties. Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate the antiviral properties of T. indica extract. Materials and methods: Tamarindus indica stem bark was extracted through ethanol maceration over 24 h, and the crude extract was fractionated by gravity-propelled column chromatography. Newcastle disease virus (NDV) inhibitory activity of extract and fractions were evaluated in vivo using 10-d-old embryonated chicken egg (ECE) as the medium for virus cultivation and antivirus assay. About 240 ECE were grouped into eight (three controls and five experimental) and, 200 μL of the extract and fractions respectively inoculated into NDV pre-infected eggs and incubated at 37 °C. Allantoic fluid was harvested 5 d post-virus infection and assayed for haemagglutination (HA). Results: Anti-NDV assessment showed 62.5 mg/mL of crude extract and fractions: TiA, TiC and TiD to yield a HA titre of 1:128 each, while TiB showed 1:64 HA titre. At 125 mg/mL, a titre of 1:16 was recorded against TiB and TiD and, 1:8 against TiA. Similarly, crude extract and TiC, each recorded 1:4 HA titre. However, the minimum concentrations of extract and fraction for virus inactivation were 0.24 mg/mL and 0.49 mg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: The antiviral activity shown by T. indica portends novel antiviral drugs and, perhaps, as scaffold for new drugs

Heat induced epitope retrieval for rabies virus detection by direct fluorescent antibody test in formalin-fixed dog brain tissues

There is a great need for a chemical method of tissue preservation that would allow sample storage for extended periods at room temperature. This study aimed at retrieving and detecting rabies virus antigen by direct fluorescent antibody test (DFAT) in formalin-fixed dog brain tissues. Forty fresh dog brain specimens were collected as paired samples from rabies suspected cases that were received for postmortem detection of rabies in the Central Diagnostic Laboratory, National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom. One portion of each paired sample was prepared for fresh fluorescent antibody testing and the other portion was prepared for epitope retrieval and florescent antibody testing following fixation in 10% neutral buffered formalin. DFAT on formalin-fixed tissue exhibited a sensitivity of 100% in comparison to DFAT on fresh-tissue. No false positive result was obtained in formalin-fixed DFAT procedure, demonstrating 100% specificity. There was no apparent difference in the intensity of fluorescence in DFAT on fresh sample and formalin-fixed DFAT following heat induced epitope retrieval (concordance = 98%; 95% C.I. 0.9660 to 0.9903). The strength of agreement between DFAT on formalin-fixed and DFAT on fresh tissue was very good (Cohen’s kappa coefficient value= 1.000; 95% C.I. 1.000-1.000). This study provides new information on the retrieval of rabies antigen by heat induced epitope retrieval for DFAT on formalinized tissues. Formalin could therefore, be used henceforth to fix tissues of rabies suspected cases for routine diagnosis, transportation or archival purposes. The heat induced epitope retrieval can be routinely used to retrieve rabies virus antigen for DFAT in cases where only formalin-fixed tissues are available or when preservation by freezing is difficult

Assessment of Tamarindus indica Extracts for Antibacterial Activity

Abstract: Ethanolic and aqueous (hot and cold) extracts of the fruit pulp, stem bark and leaves of Tamarindus indica were evaluated for antibacterial activity, in vitro, against 13 Gram negative and 5 Gram positive bacterial strains using agar well diffusion and macro broth dilution techniques, simultaneously. The fruit pulp extracts exhibited a wide spectrum of activity; the cold water extract against 95.5 % of the test bacterial strains; and the hot water and ethanolic extracts against 90.9 % and 86.4%, respectively. In contrast the cold water extract of the leaves and stem bark, each was active against 16.7%; while the ethanolic extract of each was active against 75 % of the test strains. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranged from 7.81 mg/mL against Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6051 to 31.25 mg/mL against Escherichia coli ATCC 11775; and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) ranged from 125 mg/mL against Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 10145 to 250 mg/mL against Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6051