Mathematical model for the control of infectious disease

We proposed a mathematical model of infectious disease dynamics. The model is a system of first order ordinary differential equations. The population is partitioned into three compartments of Susceptible S(t) , Infected I(t) and Recovered R(t). Two equilibria states exist: the disease-free equilibrium which is locally asymptotically stable if Ro < 1 and unstable if Ro > 1. Numerical simulation of the model shows that an increase in vaccination leads to low disease prevalence in a population.Keywords: Infectious Disease, Equilibrium States, Basic Reproduction Numbe

Survival and response of Oreochromis niloticus to different feeds

The study determined the survival and the response of Oreochromis niloticus to different feeding compositions. 90 Oreochromis niloticus juveniles were fed different diets in triplicated treatments inside glass tanks. Treatment I comprised locally compounded diet; Treatment II, imported pelletized feed; and Treatment III - processed feathermeal based diet. Results showed that there was no significant differences (P>0.05) in the weight gain, feed intake, survival and feed conversion ratio. However, Treatment I had the highest feed intake, while treatment n had the highest weight gain and feed conversion ratio

Atropine exposure in adolescence predispose to adult memory loss in Wistar rats

Some of the brain malfunctions in adulthoods have been linked to the developmental process in their childhood, especially in most adolescent who have been exposed to one form of drug abuse or another. This study investigated the effect of atropine exposure at adolescence on the memory and histology of the frontal cortex of Wistar rats and its effects on adult memory. 20 male adolescent Wistar rats were used for the study. The rats were divided into two groups of 10 rats each. The first group were administered with100 mg/kg body weight of atropine (Atr), and the other 10 rats were given 10 mL/kg body weight of normal saline (NS) for 7 days at adolescence. On 8th day, the rats were subjected to novel object recognition test (NOR) and ‘Y’ maze test to assess their memory function, 5 rats from each group were euthanized using ketamine and were perfused transcardially with 4% paraformaldehyde. Thereafter, the brains were removed and processed for histology using H&E and Giemsa stain. The remaining 5 rats from each group were reared till adult (65 days postpartum) without treatment denoted as Atr-I and NS-I respectively. The same memory tests and histology study were conducted on the rats at adulthood. Data were analysed using Student t test and P<0.05 was set as significant level. Atr and Atr-1showed decline in memory neither index from NOR compared with NS and NS-I respectively. Atr-I shows decline in Y maze compared to NS-I. The study concludes that atropine exposed rats show significant signs of neural cell death in the frontal cortex which progresses into adulthood as evidence from the histological findings

Solution of a deterministic mathematical model of typhoid fever by variational iteration method

The aim of this paper is to apply Variational Iteration Method (VIM) to solve typhoid fever model for a given constant population. This mathematical model is described by nonlinear first order ordinary differential equations. First, we find the solution of this model by using Variational Iteration Method (VIM). In order to show the efficiency of the method we compare the solutions obtained by VIM and RK4. The validity of the VIM in solving the model is established by using the computer in-built classical fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. We illustrated the profiles of the solutions of each of the compartments, from which we speculate that the VIM and RK4 solutions agreed well.Keywords: Typhoid Fever, Variational Iteration Method, Runge-Kutta Metho

The Incidence of Anemia and the Impact of Poor Glycemic Control in Type-2 Diabetic Patients with Renal Insufficiency

Background: Anemia is a common finding in patients with diabetes and renal insufficiency but the effect of poor glycemic control in such patients is not clearly defined. Aim: To determine the impact of poor glycemic control in the incidence of anemia in type-2 diabetic patients with renal insufficiency. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012 and comprised 72 type-2 diabetic patients and 32 non-diabetic controls recruited from diabetes clinics of the Igbinedion University Teaching Hospital, Okada, Edo state, Nigeria. Patients were divided into groups according to glycemic control and renal function. Serum creatinine, hemoglobin concentration, blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin of subjects were measured. The pre­sence of anemia was defined by hemoglobin level &lt;13.0 g/dL in men and &lt;12.0 g/dL in women. Renal insufficiency was defined as serum creatinine level &gt;1.5 mg/dL. Results: Incidence of anemia in the study population was 27%. Diabetic patients with poor glycemic control had greater odds (OR = 3.71; 95% CI, 1.09 – 12.56) for anemia compared to those with good glycemic control irrespective of renal function. Furthermore, patients with poor glycemic control and renal insufficiency were at a greater risk of anemia compared to those with normal renal function (OR = 5.78; 95% CI, 1.34 – 24.92). Conclusion: Higher incidence of anemia is associated with poor glycemic control especially in diabetic patients with renal insufficiency. Keywords: Anemia, Type-2 diabetes mellitus, Glycemic control, Renal insufficienc

Effect of spent mushroom substrate on the growth performance and economy of production of rabbits

A nine week feeding study was conducted to determine the effect of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) as a replacement for wheat offal on the growth performance and economy of production of rabbits. The study was conducted at the rabbitary unit of the department of animal production, School of Agriculture, Lagos state polytechnic, Lagos. A total of twenty-four rabbits were allotted to four treatment groups, replicated three times with two rabbits per replicate in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). SMS was incorporated into the rabbit diets at 0%, 25%, 50% and 75% level of inclusion to replace wheat offals. Performance was evaluated based on feed intake, live weight gain, feed conversion ratio, protein intake and protein efficiency ratio. The economy of production was also determined. Feed intake increased as the level of SMS inclusion increased. The weight gain/day of those rabbits fed diet 3 (15.08g) was the highest while those fed diet 2 (12.83g) had the lowest weight gain. The feed conversion ratio adjudged diet 1 (4.72) better than other diets. The cost /kg of feed reduce as the level of inclusion of SMS increased, from N90.06 to N79.85. Rabbits on the control diet had the best cost of feed /kg weight gain (N425.08) followed by those on diet 4. Best returns/profit was in diet 4. Conclusively SMS can be used to replace wheat offal at 75% level with no adverse effects on rabbit performance.Keywords: Spent Mushroom Substrate, Wheat offals, Weaned Rabbits, performance cos

Studies on the efficacy of Spigelia anthelmia extract as anthelminthic in growing goats

Spigelia anthelmia is an important herbal remedy for worm infestation, neurologic disorder, pericarditis and other diseases of the heart that is continuously being used in traditional medical and homeopathic practices. Aqueous extract of Spigelia anthelmia leaf (AESAL) was administered orally to growing goats to determine its effect on gastrointestinal parasite of growing goats. Eighteen  growing goats were randomly allotted to three treatments with each treatment replicated thrice. Goats in treatment served as the control receiving no treatment, those in treatment 2 and 3 were administered with AESAL at a dose of 1.5ml/Kg body weight and 2ml/Kg body weight respectively. The phytochemical content of AESAL was determined using standard analytical procedure. Result revealed that AESAL contained 8.14±0.26 mg/g alkaloids, 145±1.49 mg/g tannin, 19.26±1.25 mg/g Saponin, and  6.7±0.92 mg/g flavonoid and 1.65±0.02 mg/g polyphenol. Round worm and liver fluke are the prevalent helminthes in the study area and the different doses of AESAL significantly (P&lt;0.05) reduced the mean egg count (epg) of helminthes. The study revealed that AESAL is an effective anthelmintic in goats and dosage of 2ml/Kg body weight is the most effective as it resulted in total deparatization at 21 days post treatment.Keywords: Spigelia anthelmia; leaf extract; phytochemical; anthelminthic; growing goats

Growth performance, haematological characteristic and serum biochemistry of Japanese quails fed with diets containing African pear seed meal

The growth, haematological characteristics and serum biochemistry of one hundred and thirty-five Japanese quails fed diets    containing African Pear Seed Meal (APSM) was investigated in a completely randomised design experiment with five treatments and each treatment was replicated three times. APSM was fed at 0%, 15%, 30%, 45% and 60% levels of inclusion as partial and  total replacement for maize. Data collected included average feed intake (AFI), average weight gain (AWG), specific growth rate (SGR), operating protein efficiency ratio (PER), feed conversion ratio (FCR), haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell (RBC), Mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean   corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) serum total protein (PRO), Albumin (ALB), glucose (GLU), creatinine (CREAT), cholesterol (CHOL) and Alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Results revealed that the increasing level of inclusion of APSM significantly (P&lt;0.05) depressed the weight gain, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, and feed conversion ratio of the birds. The   increasing level of APSM significantly (P&lt;0.05) influenced all the haematological variables except RBC and serum biochemical variables except ALB and CREAT. Birds fed with diet containing 15% had the optimum performance; hence, APSM can be   included at 15% in the diets of quails.Keywords: African pear seed, quail birds, Nutritional values, Haematology, Blood Biochemistr