Prospects for Industrial Utilization of Tacca (Tacca involucrata) in Nigeria

Tacca involucrata (L.) Kuntze is a species of flowering plant. It is commonly known as Polynesian arrow-root (English).  In Nigeria, the plant is more widely spread in the middle , south west and in the south eastern states. The need to develop non tree forest products that have food and industrial use potentials has become imperative in parts of Africa. This is due to the fact that millions of people in many developing countries do not have enough food to meet their daily requirements. This has led to assiduous research on the development of some non-timber forest plant species to ascertain their food and industrial potentials.  The phytochemical analysis of tacca, reported the presence of reducing sugars, tannins, flavonoids, steroids, glycosides and hydrogen cyanide at 195.65 ± 0.5, 3.44 ± 0.2, 1.29 ± 0.5, 0.83 ± 0.4, 1.36 ± 1.0 and 0.00985 ± 0.3 (mg/100g), respectively. The study on proximate analysis of the marc showed it to contain moisture, ash, fats, fibre, crude protein and carbohydrate in the range of 10.83% ± 0.3%, 1.93% ± 0.6%, 1.06% ± 0.5%, 4.42% ± 0.4%, 6.12% ± 0.6% and 86.07% ± 0.3%, respectively. The proximate analysis also showed it to be a good candidate for nutrition with 76% carbohydrate, 6% protein, 4% fibre, 2% ash and about 1% fats.  Various studies on tacca have shown it to contain about 30% starch.  Most of the studies indicated that the starch had low lipid content (0.09%).  They also reported amylose content of 36% and gelatinization temperature of 52–65 °C for the starch. The biscuit produced from wheat–tacca flour composite at varying compositions of tacca flour ranging from 5 to 20% incorporations levels (TEB5%, TEB10%, TEB15 and TEB20%) showed that all the samples substituted with modified tacca flour had better haematological properties, in vitro antioxidative properties and lipid peroxidative properties compared to the 100% wheat biscuit. Specifically, the sample TEB20% (20% tacca flour incorporation) had the best nutritional qualities. Toxicological studies showed that samples with tacca flour incorporation are better than 100% wheat flour biscuit and basal diet. This indicated that tacca flour could successfully supplement wheat flour in the production of nutritionally rich and toxicologically safe biscuit with over 70% overall sensory acceptability. Likewise, the incorporation of tacca flour in spaghetti production may reduce the risks of obesity, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.  In addition being gluten free, tacca may replace wheat in certain food applications to reduce the incidence of celiac disease (CD) or other allergic reactions to gluten. These developments indicated that tacca can assist in alleviating hunger and the cost of importation of various raw materials, most especially, starch in Nigeria. Keywords: Tacca involucrata, starch, gelatinisation, swelling power, biscuit and pasta. DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/14-13-02 Publication date: December 31st 202

Upgrading of Indigenous Technology for Processing Shea Butter (Vittelaria paradoxa) In Nigeria.

Nigeria has a number of natural resources that can form the backbone of its economic development aspirations. Most of these resources are currently contributing to industrial and economic development, albeit at very low levels. This is due to the current level of their development. Some of them are, most especially, the agricultural resources are still growing in the wild and mostly processed using indigenous technologies which are laborious, low yielding with associated low quality products. This reduces their competitiveness both locally and in the international markets. Among the natural agricultural resources is the shea tree which produces shea butter. While shea butter has a muber of industrial uses globally, its development in Nigeria has not been very encouraging.  The processing of sheaut to shea butter in Nigeria is constrained by the indigenous technology being used for its production while the underdevelopment of the shea tree limits is productivity.  In view of these, a number of mandated research institutes and other stakeholders have being working to improve the shea butter output through the upgrading of the indigenous technology employed locally. A number of processing plants have been designed, fabricated and tested.  Some of these have been deployed for industrial use.  Productivity improvement programmes are being carried out on the shea tree to promote its development in plantations. These developments are leading to the overhauling of the shea nut value chain in Nigeria.  Improved shea butter processing facilities are now being used by small scale industries in parts of the country.  The sustainability of these efforts will assist in making shea butter production a virile industrial activity in Nigeria and in due course assist in foreign exchange generation. Keywords: shea tree, shea butter, indigenous technology, fat, equipment, RMRDC. DOI: 10.7176/IEL/13-1-07 Publication date: December 28th 202

Promoting Ginger Oleoresin Production in Nigeria for Economic Growth and Sustainable Supply to User Industries

Nigeria ranks 2nd amongst top 10 ginger producers in the world with a production of 691,239 tonnes and its ginger is among the best, with its aroma, pungency and high oil and oleoresin content as distinct features. The most important form of ginger commercially is the dried form because it can be further processed in the industry to ginger powder, ginger oil and ginger oleoresin.  There is an increasing international demand for ginger oleoresins, especially for the production of alcoholic beverages, ginger ale and gingerbread. The global ginger oil market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.41 % from 2020 to 2025 to reach a total market size of US$189.431 million by 2025, increasing from US$110.435 million.  Nigeria, with the volume of ginger production and distinctive features of its ginger, should tap into this market demand. However, ginger is exported from Nigeria in the split-dried form while value-added products such as ginger powder, essential oils and oleoresin are imported at high cost. According to the Nigeria Customs Service data, 700,891 kg of resinoids and mixtures of odoriferous substances were imported to Nigeria from 2016 to 2019 at a value of ₦1.24 billion. To take advantage of the ever expanding global oleoresin market, formation of farmers clusters/cooperatives, development of farmers-processors linkages, quality assurance through Good Agricultural Practices, technology development, Public-Private Partnerships, development of Nigeria Industrial Standards (NIS) for oleoresins and import restrictions on ginger oleoresin are recommended. There is need for synergy amongst government agencies to harmonize and integrate various development plans and strategies for ginger value chain. Establishment of an institutional framework for proper coordination is also recommended to harmonize all the activities in the sector for greater impact. Keywords: Ginger, value addition, oleoresin, resinoids, ginger oil, export, import DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/12-22-03 Publication date: November 30th 202

Towards Achieving Sugar Self-Sufficiency in Nigeria: A Review

Sugar is produced in 120 countries with about 110 countries producing from either cane or beet, and eight countries produce sugar from both cane and beet. The global sugar production in 2020/2021 was about 179 million tonnes with Brazil as the highest producer with 42 million tonnes. Sugarcane, on average, accounts for nearly 80% of global sugar production. Nigeria’s sugar industry has always faced challenges with national sugar requirements met through imports of raw sugar for local refining. The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) was therefore set up in 1993 to catalyze the development of the sugar industry with a view to ensuring that Nigeria attains at least, 70% self-sufficiency in sugar requirement within the shortest possible time. Despite efforts by the Sugar Council, Nigeria still ranks among the top 10 sugar importing countries. The National Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) was launched in 2013 by the NSDC as a 10-year plan designed to transform the Nigerian sugar industry. This paper is aimed at reviewing the implementation of the Plan 8 years down the line. The efforts of the government to attain self-sufficiency in sugar through the National Sugar Master Plan have yielded little result. Production of sugar in Nigeria is yet to meet domestic demand thereby creating a huge supply gap that is met through import. According to NSDC data, sugar import increased from 955,675 tonnes in 2010 to 1,531,471 tonnes in 2020. The country spent an estimated USD 433.4 million on sugar importation in 2020, an increase from USD 382.3 million in 2019. Challenges of raw materials production include environmental constraints, lack of quality seed cane and suitable varieties, poor irrigation, lack of farm mechanization and poor capital. To improve sugarcane productivity, the cane industry should be restructured to improve efficiency and yields. Measures should also be put in place to promote the establishment of cane mills around the sugar estates and across the sugarcane producing areas. Keywords: Sugar, Sugarcane, Self-Sufficiency, Domestic demand, import, Master Plan DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/82-02 Publication date: January 31st 202

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Global Retinoblastoma Presentation and Analysis by National Income Level.

Importance: Early diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular cancer, can save both a child's life and vision. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children across the world are diagnosed late. To our knowledge, the clinical presentation of retinoblastoma has never been assessed on a global scale. Objectives: To report the retinoblastoma stage at diagnosis in patients across the world during a single year, to investigate associations between clinical variables and national income level, and to investigate risk factors for advanced disease at diagnosis. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 278 retinoblastoma treatment centers were recruited from June 2017 through December 2018 to participate in a cross-sectional analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Age at presentation, proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, and tumor stage and metastasis. Results: The cohort included 4351 new patients from 153 countries; the median age at diagnosis was 30.5 (interquartile range, 18.3-45.9) months, and 1976 patients (45.4%) were female. Most patients (n = 3685 [84.7%]) were from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Globally, the most common indication for referral was leukocoria (n = 2638 [62.8%]), followed by strabismus (n = 429 [10.2%]) and proptosis (n = 309 [7.4%]). Patients from high-income countries (HICs) were diagnosed at a median age of 14.1 months, with 656 of 666 (98.5%) patients having intraocular retinoblastoma and 2 (0.3%) having metastasis. Patients from low-income countries were diagnosed at a median age of 30.5 months, with 256 of 521 (49.1%) having extraocular retinoblastoma and 94 of 498 (18.9%) having metastasis. Lower national income level was associated with older presentation age, higher proportion of locally advanced disease and distant metastasis, and smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma. Advanced disease at diagnosis was more common in LMICs even after adjusting for age (odds ratio for low-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 17.92 [95% CI, 12.94-24.80], and for lower-middle-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 5.74 [95% CI, 4.30-7.68]). Conclusions and Relevance: This study is estimated to have included more than half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017. Children from LMICs, where the main global retinoblastoma burden lies, presented at an older age with more advanced disease and demonstrated a smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, likely because many do not reach a childbearing age. Given that retinoblastoma is curable, these data are concerning and mandate intervention at national and international levels. Further studies are needed to investigate factors, other than age at presentation, that may be associated with advanced disease in LMICs

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified

The global retinoblastoma outcome study : a prospective, cluster-based analysis of 4064 patients from 149 countries

DATA SHARING : The study data will become available online once all analyses are complete.BACKGROUND : Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular cancer worldwide. There is some evidence to suggest that major differences exist in treatment outcomes for children with retinoblastoma from different regions, but these differences have not been assessed on a global scale. We aimed to report 3-year outcomes for children with retinoblastoma globally and to investigate factors associated with survival. METHODS : We did a prospective cluster-based analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed between Jan 1, 2017, and Dec 31, 2017, then treated and followed up for 3 years. Patients were recruited from 260 specialised treatment centres worldwide. Data were obtained from participating centres on primary and additional treatments, duration of follow-up, metastasis, eye globe salvage, and survival outcome. We analysed time to death and time to enucleation with Cox regression models. FINDINGS : The cohort included 4064 children from 149 countries. The median age at diagnosis was 23·2 months (IQR 11·0–36·5). Extraocular tumour spread (cT4 of the cTNMH classification) at diagnosis was reported in five (0·8%) of 636 children from high-income countries, 55 (5·4%) of 1027 children from upper-middle-income countries, 342 (19·7%) of 1738 children from lower-middle-income countries, and 196 (42·9%) of 457 children from low-income countries. Enucleation surgery was available for all children and intravenous chemotherapy was available for 4014 (98·8%) of 4064 children. The 3-year survival rate was 99·5% (95% CI 98·8–100·0) for children from high-income countries, 91·2% (89·5–93·0) for children from upper-middle-income countries, 80·3% (78·3–82·3) for children from lower-middle-income countries, and 57·3% (52·1-63·0) for children from low-income countries. On analysis, independent factors for worse survival were residence in low-income countries compared to high-income countries (hazard ratio 16·67; 95% CI 4·76–50·00), cT4 advanced tumour compared to cT1 (8·98; 4·44–18·18), and older age at diagnosis in children up to 3 years (1·38 per year; 1·23–1·56). For children aged 3–7 years, the mortality risk decreased slightly (p=0·0104 for the change in slope). INTERPRETATION : This study, estimated to include approximately half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017, shows profound inequity in survival of children depending on the national income level of their country of residence. In high-income countries, death from retinoblastoma is rare, whereas in low-income countries estimated 3-year survival is just over 50%. Although essential treatments are available in nearly all countries, early diagnosis and treatment in low-income countries are key to improving survival outcomes.The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and the Wellcome Trust.https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/homeam2023Paediatrics and Child Healt

Identification of neurotherapeutic constituents in Ocimum gratissimum with cholinesterase and mono amine oxidase inhibitory activities, using GC-MS analysis, in vitro, and in silico approaches

Neuroprotective activities of various extracts of Ocimum gratissimum (OG), have been reported, but there is paucity of information on its neurotherapeutic constituents. This study is aimed at identifying the neurotherapeutic constituents in OG leaves using in vitro assays, GC-MS chemical investigation and in silico studies including molecular docking, ensemble-based docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, clustering and ADMET filtering analysis. Methanol extract of O gratissimum (MEOG) and solvent-partition (n-hexane, ethylacetate, and methanol residue fraction) of MEOG were investigated for in vitro acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibition at concentration of 0.65, 12.5, 2.5, 5, and 10 mg/mL, using donepezil, phenazine methosulfate and selegiline as reference inhibitors for AChE, BChE and MAO B respectively. n-hexane solvent partition fraction was further investigated using GC-MS analysis. Identified compounds were screened against human AChE, BChE and MAO-B activities using molecular docking and molecular dynamics. The lead phytochemicals were further analysed for ADMET in silico analysis. MEOG and the 3 fractions (n-hexane, ethylacetate, and methanol residue fraction) inhibited the activities of AChE, BChE and MAO-B in a concentration-dependent manner with AChE (IC50 = 2.380, 2.022, 2.066 and 1.079 mg/mL respectively), BChE (IC50 = 2.261, 2.126, 2.630 and 1.465 mg/mL respectively) and MAO-B (IC50 = 2.345, 1.584, 2.933 and 2.935 mg/mL respectively). From the 38 GC-MS identified compounds, 7 hit compounds were further subjected to ensemble-docking, the lead phytochemicals (LP): cholestane and 3-methoxy-morphanin presented highest multiple binding tendencies to the three enzymes. Cholestane had the highest binding energies of −9.9, −9.0 and −11 kcal/mol, while 3-methoxy-morphanin presented the second-best binding energies of −9.3, −8.2 and −10.1 kcal/mol respectively. When compared with the binding pattern of reference inhibitors of the enzyme, lead phytochemicals were orientated in the catalytic sites of the enzyme and interacted with important catalytic residues. The LP-enzyme complexes were stable during the MD simulation analysis. Cholestane and 3-methoxy-morphanin presented favorable ADMET properties over several molecular descriptors and filters, with druggable properties and ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Hence, cholestane and 3-methoxy-morphanin, in part, or in synergy with other hit phytochemicals, may be responsible for the neurotherapeutic activities of MEOG leaves

Identification of diffusion routes of O/EA-3 topotype of foot-and-mouth disease virus in Africa and Western Asia between 1974 and 2019 - a phylogeographic analysis.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) affects the livestock industry and socioeconomic sustainability of many African countries. The success of FMD control programs in Africa depends largely on understanding the dynamics of FMD virus (FMDV) spread. In light of the recent outbreaks of FMD that affected the North-Western African countries in 2018 and 2019, we investigated the evolutionary phylodynamics of the causative serotype O viral strains all belonging to the East-Africa 3 topotype (O/EA-3). We analyzed a total of 489 sequences encoding the FMDV VP1 genome region generated from samples collected from 25 African and Western Asian countries between 1974 and 2019. Using Bayesian evolutionary models on genomic and epidemiological data, we inferred the routes of introduction and migration of the FMDV O/EA-3 topotype at the inter-regional scale. We inferred a mean substitution rate of 6.64&nbsp;×&nbsp;10 &nbsp;nt/site/year and we predicted that the most recent common ancestor for our panel of samples circulated between February 1967 and November 1973 in Yemen, likely reflecting the epidemiological situation in under sampled cattle-exporting East African countries. Our study also reinforces the role previously described of Sudan and South Sudan as a frequent source of FMDVs spread. In particular, we identified two transboundary routes of O/EA-3 diffusion: the first from Sudan to North-East Africa, and from the latter into Israel and Palestine AT; a second from Sudan to Nigeria, Cameroon, and from there to further into West and North-West Africa. This study highlights the necessity to reinforce surveillance at an inter-regional scale in Africa and Western Asia, in particular along the identified migration routes for the implementation of efficient control measures in the fight against FMD.</p