bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF CALIFORNIA BEARING RATIO OF SOILS USED AS SUBGRADE MATERIALS ON THE BENIN-AKURE ROAD, NIGERIA
Authors: CHOKOR U. J. , EDOBOR R. , UMWENI S.
Published: March 2023

An investigation was carried out to assess the suitability of soils brought in for use as subgrade materials for the Benin- Sobe axis of the Benin – Akure road by testing the bearing capacity using the California Bearing Ratio (CBR)test. The road passes through four soil parent materials: - Coastal Plain Sand- CPS, Imo-Shale (IS), BendeAmaki (BA) and the False Bedded or Basement Complex (FB).Soil samples were collected from four profile pits based on the parent materials. Soil samples were also collected about 50 cm from the tarred road representing materials brought in for the subgrade. The soils were analyzed for physicochemical properties and the California Bearing Ratio. Analyses were carried out on soils collected from each section of the parent materials.Results obtained showed that there were more road failures in the Imo Shale,BendeAmeki and to a less extent in the Coastal Plains segment of the road, and least in the False Bedded parent material section.CBR for unsoaked soils showed BendeAmaki having highest values (14.6 and 16.18) for the 2.5 and 5 mm penetration test; however values were not significantly different from the other parent material sections ( p> 0.05).The Imo Shale soils were poorly drained and are seasonally floodedand had the least CBR values (4.64, 5.2 for the 2.5 and 5 mm readings for the top and bottom penetration test. Coastal Plain Sands and BendeAmeki values were not significantly different from the Imo shale but values were higher.Soaking the soil did not significantly affect the soil strength for the False Bedded segment of the road; hence the failure rate was lowest.The False Bedded had higher CBR values for the soaked test, indicating that the parent material through which the road is built had significant effect on the failure rates
MICROBIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICO-CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF FISH PONDS
Authors: OMOGBAI B. A. , OSAROBOMWEN F.
Published: March 2023

The microbiological and physico-chemical analysis of five fish pond water samples in Benin City was conducted using standard methods. The total bacterial and fungal counts were carried out using pour plate technique. Mineral composition was analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry tec hniques. The physico-chemical parameters were carried out using standard methods. The total bacterial and fungal count of the water samples ranged from 0.42x106 to 2.58x106 cfu/ml and 0.5x106 to 0.78x106 cfu/ml respectively. The values obtained for the physicochemical parameters ranged as follows: temperature (26 - 27) 0C, pH (4.76 – 5.74), conductivity (187 - 543) ?S/cm, dissolved oxygen (5.63-9.76) mg/l, BOD (2.31-6.06) mg/l and chloride (14.16-173.76) mg/l. The value of the mineral contents of the water samples such as magnesium was between (3.18mg/l-9.23mg/l) and calcium (6.73mg/l-19.55mg/l). The value obtained for the heavy metal concentrations are as follows; copper (0.56 mg/l-1.63 mg/l), nickel (0.75 mg/l-2.17 mg/l) and iron (2.06 mg/l -5.97 mg/l). The microbial counts obtained indicate that the ponds are heavily contaminated. Hence there is a need for the fish farmers to improve on their fish farming management which includes fish food preparation, environmental sanitation and monitoring the quality of fish yield
EVALUATION OF THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND COMBUSTION EFFICIENCY OF BRIQUETTES PRODUCED FROM SAWDUST OF DIFFERENT WOOD SPECIES USING STARCH AS BINDER
Authors: IZEKOR D. N. , NOTIEMWONMWAN E. O.
Published: March 2023

The study examined the physical properties and combustion efficiency of briquettes produced from sawdust of three selected wood species namely Albizia adianthifolia, Pinus caribbeae and Blighia sapida for household energy utilization. The effect of the binder (cassava starch) on the briquette produced was also assessed. The sawdust and binders were mixed at ratios 150:15, 150:30, and 150:50 in grams respectively. Combustion related properties such as percentage fixed carbon, percentage volatile matter, percentage ash content and calorific values of the briquettes were evaluated. The data obtained were analyzed using 3x3 factorial in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD).The result showed that briquette produced from samples of Pinus caribbeae and Albizia adianthifolia had the highest calorific values of 8559kcal/kg and 7552 kcal/kg respectively. Percentage volatile matter of the wood species varied from 91.44% (Pinus caribbeae), 92.215% (Albizia adianthifolia) and 93.44% (Blighia sapida). Density of the species were 0.009g/cm3 (Blighiasapida), 0.099g/cm3 (Pinus caribbeae), and 0.093g/cm3 (Albizia adianthifolia). The results showed that there was significant differences (p < 0.05) in density and calorific values of the briquettes. There were however no significant differences in percentage ash content, percentage volatile matter and percentage fixed carbon (p < 0.05). The relative high calorific values of briquettes indicate that they can be a good source of domestic and industrial energy use.
CYTOMORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES OF SOME NIGERIAN ASTERACEAE- TRIBE SENECIONEAE
Authors: OMOIGUI I. D.
Published: March 2023

Cytological and morphological studies have so far been carried out on 32 taxa belonging to 19 species and 5 genera of members of the tribe Senecioneae (Asteraceae) from Nigeria. The report of 12 taxa belonging to 10 species and 4 genera are presented in this study. Pollen fertility test of the species studied revealed that meiosis was normal with regular bivalent pairing thus the plants were stable. Chromosome count of 4 species Gynura miniata (n=5), Senecio baberka (n=5), Senecio lelyi (n=10) and S. manni (n=10) are reported for the first time from the Nigerian flora. The presence of 2 cytotypes of Emilia praetermissa, (n=10) and (n = 12) is reported for the first time in the genus. Achene morphology of all the species studied has been drawn and described for the first time. The distribution maps of all the taxa studied have been provided for the first time and they revealed members of the tribe are prevalent at higher altitudes. There is no correlation between chromosome number and annual habit or between achene morphology and growth habit. Base number of 5 has been suggested for the tribe and a probable pathway of the evolution of the Nigerian Senecioneae has been suggested. The report of Gaillardia pulchella Foug an introduced plant is reported for the first time from our flora.
ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF SELECTED CHEMICAL AGENTS AGAINST PHYTOPATHOGENIC ISOLATED FUNGI SPORES.
Authors: OTEGWU T. C. , EHINMIDU J. C. , ADESHINA G. O.
Published: March 2023

Postharvest deterioration has been a major problem associated with yam storage for both famers and traders and it is caused mostly by micro-organisms especially fungi. During the storage of yam, many organisms such as Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium citrinum and Rhizopus stolonifer are often reported to cause rotting of the stored yams. The aim of this research is to find out the antifungal effect of some commonly used anti-dermatophytic agents,(Fluconazole, Terbinafine Hcl, Ketoconazole, Sodium propionate and Griseofulvin) on the above named isolated fungi spores. This was carried out using zone of inhibition, MICs, MFCs, FICs and FFCs to measure the antifungal activities of the test antifungal agents against the isolated phytopathogenic fungi spores. These agents were found to have fungitoxic effects on the test organisms in the order of: Terbinafine Hcl > Fluconazole > Ketoconazole > Sodium propionate > Griseofulvin. This work indicated that the test antifungal agents were able to inhibit the fungi spores that are widely reported to be associated with yams rot when stored. The observation in this study showed that a good and efficient fungicide against the test organisms that are known to cause yam rot during storage can be effectively arrested with combination of these fungicides.
TOXICITY OF COPPER, LEAD, IRON AND ZINC IN OCCUPATIONAL PHOTOCOPIER OPERATORS AND REPAIRERS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BENIN COMMUNITY- A PILOT STUDY
Authors: OSADOLOR H. B. , VITTU O. D. , IDEMUDIA U. O.
Published: March 2023

Photocopying serves as a good source of employment to many Nigerian youths and its importance cannot be overemphasized. Photocopiers are used on a regular basis without any protective measure. Photocopiers emit toner dust which contains certain toxic metals and volatile organic compounds. These toxic metals include Copper, Lead, Iron and Zinc. This study was conducted to ascertain complexicity of Copper, Lead, Iron and Zinc accumulates in the body of occupational users of photocopiers and their possible health hazards via blood analysis. Seventy (70) subjects including test and controls (non users of photocopiers) of 18 years and above were recruited for the study. Plasma was analysed for Copper, Lead, Iron and Zinc using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (FAAS).The mean± standard error of mean of Copper, Lead and Iron in professional operators of photocopiers (91.50 ± 3.66, 0.00 ± 0.00, and 100.2 ± 3.18 respectively) were surprisingly significantly lower when compared with their controls (non-users) (161.48 ± 8.78, 0.01± 0.00 and 140.22 ± 8.78 respectively). The mean ± standard error of zinc was slightly higher in occupational users of photocopiers (98.45 ± 1.59) when compared with controls (98.11 ± 4.39) though this was not significant.Copper deficiency has been known to cause several disorders of the central nervous system including ataxia, tremor, clonic seizure, hypomyelination or demyelination and reduced levels of sphingolipides while low plasma iron is seen in iron deficiency anaemia. Plasma Copper, Lead and Iron were significantly lower in operators of photocopiers who come in contact with toner powders than in their control while plasma Zinc was slightly higher
PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS B ANTIBODY AND CO-INFECTION WITH MALARIA PARASITE AMONG PATIENTS ATTENDING CENTAL HOSPITALBENIN CITY, EDO STATE
Authors: ADAMS A. N. , GWAFAN J. Z.
Published: March 2023

In Africa, both malaria and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections are common infections, although concurrent infections of these two human pathogens are likely to occur, knowledge about their prevalence and potential significance is poor. In Nigeria, malaria is more commonly reported and appears to be more prevalent than hepatitis. A cross-sectional study conducted to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B antibody and co infection with malaria parasite among the general population attending Central hospital Benin City, Edo state. The Hepatitis B Virus was determined using hepatitis B strip test kit (acumen diagnostic test) while the Plasmodium was examined using microscopy. A total of 150 persons were examined, 6(4%) tested positive to Hepatitis B virus antibody. However the finding shows that malaria was high with prevalence of 108 (72%) of the total test population examined. A co-infection of 6(5.6%) was associated with Hepatitis B and malaria in the study. Age related prevalence showed that the age range 21-25 had the most attendance of 40 and a prevalence of 30 (75%) malaria cases and 2 (5%) for hepatitis B with P value >0.05. Risk factors related prevalence showed that out of 92 patients that take drugs on self-medication 69 (75%) had malaria and 5(5.4%) had hepatitis B antibody. Also, there was no prevalence of Hepatitis B antibodies among those that had tattoo, smokes, transfused with blood and had multiple sex partners. Out of 62 pregnant women examined, 3 (4.8%) had hepatitis B and 42 (67.7%) had malaria parasite. In conclusion this study shows that the relationship of co-infection of Hepatitis B virus and malaria parasite infections among the study population was not significant as P-value was greater than 0.05. Health organizations should organize awareness programs for hepatitis B and its vaccination and government should create good drainage systems that would help reduce flood and pools of water from our surroundings.
POTENTIAL OF COW DUNG AMENDMENT TO ENHANCE LINDANE BIODEGRADATION IN CONTAMINATED AGRICULTURAL SOIL
Authors: ADEBUSOYE S. A. , EBHOHON O. J.
Published: March 2023

Efficacy of cow dung (CD) amendment as potential bioremediation tool for cleanup of lindane contaminated agricultural soil was investigated in microcosms simulated in the laboratory. Microcosm CDS contaminated with 5 mg kg-1 of lindane was fortified with 200 g of CD while CTS1 was similar to CDS except that it received no CD amendment. Setup CTS2 contained uncontaminated soil only and was designed to evaluate the physico-chemical and biological dynamics of the soil under unstressed conditions. The trends observed for the dynamics of the physico-chemistry were much more pronounced in setups CDS and CTS1 when compared with CTS2. This was relatively significant between days 5 and 15 which incidentally were periods of striking microbial population changes, whereas, that of CTS2 remained relatively stable. In spite of the initial population drop at the onset of study (though less pronounced in CDS than CTS1), over 18% lindane degradation occurred in system CDS as against 9% in CTS1. Although overall degradation rates in both soils presented no statistical significant differences (P < 0.05), CDS effected a higher level of degradation. Data presented in this investigation suggest that CD is a potential stimulant of relevant organisms with lindane metabolic functions in the test soil especially at early stages of study. Therefore, utilization of organic wastes in bioremediation of contaminated soil is of great potential that should be exploited. This will help reduce the amount of waste destined for landfill, thus reducing landfill gas emissions. It will also provide a cheaper source of organic supplement for cleanup purposes with the ultimate aim of reducing the cost of bioremediation.
SEROPREVALENCE OF HUMAN PARVOVIRUS B19 IgM AND IgG AMONG ASYMTOMATIC DONORS IN LAGOS, NIGERIA
Authors: AYOLABI C. I. , OSALEYE F. S. , ONALO A. A.
Published: March 2023

Human parvovirus B19 is one of the emerging transfusion transmitted infections. Infection with B19 is widespread. There are limited data concerning Nigerian donors with B19 in spite of implications of such a dearth of data on health policy formation. The aim of the present study was to establish the seroprevalence of parvovirus B19 IgG and IgM antibodies among healthy blood donors in Lagos, Nigeria. Blood samples were collected between October-December 2012 from 170 asymptomatic healthy donors between ages of 20-54 years and screened for IgG and IgM antibodies using recombinant enzyme linked immunorsorbent assay kits (r-biopharm Diagnostics, Darmstadt, Germany). Net prevalence of IgM and IgG antibodies to human parvovirus B19 in this study was 65(37.6%) and 106(61.3%) respectively. A total of 39(22.9%) out of 173 blood donors screened in this research had anti- B19 antibodies (dual positivity) in their sera. Age had no statistically significant effect on anti-B19 seroprevalence among donors screened. The prevalence of parvovirus B19 among healthy donors in our study is high, and may pose adverse transfusion risk among the recipients of blood and blood products who have no detectable antibodies to parvovirus B19. This work therefore recommends routine screening for parvovirus B19 IgM antibody in blood meant for transfusion and accompanying clinical management of positive cases should be made compulsory for all donors.
BIOCHEMICAL CUES FOR SURVIVAL IN ACUTELY TOXIC CONDITIONS
Authors: AMAEZE N. H. , ONADEKO A. , BRAIMOH A.
Published: March 2023

The relative susceptibility to toxicants is dependent on an organism’s survival strategy either innate or acquired. An assessment of the biochemical responses induced in three aquatic animals; Poecilia reticulate, Paleamonetes africanus and Clarias gariepinus exposed to acute concentrations of a petrol additive was conducted using in a 96hrs bioassay. C. gariepinus was found to be the most susceptible to the additive; having the lowest 96 hrs LC50 value (101.9mg/L) and surviving individuals of this species equally had the highest levels of lipid peroxidation damage. Although no definite interspecies trend could be inferred from the activities of the anti-oxidative stress enzymes, there was evidence of inhibition catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione-s-transferase relative to the control individuals in all three species. The levels of the lipid peroxidation product, malondaildehyde, showed significant (P<0.05) dose dependent relationships. Overall, the biochemical responses observed in surviving animals showed evidence of relationships with concentrations of exposure. Their use in comparing interspecies responses however, must be with caution
PREVALENCE OF Escherichia coli PATHOTYPES IN FAECES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS IN BENIN CITY, NIGERIA
Authors: ENABULELE O. I. , EGHOMWANRE A. F.
Published: March 2023

One hundred and sixty–four feacal samples from six different kinds of animals (chickens, cow, pigs, goats, cats and dogs) were examined for enterotoxin producing Escherichia coli and Enetrohaemorhagic strain 0157:H7, using Suckling mouse assay, ligated rabbit illeal loop assay and 0157:H7 antiserum respectively. A total of 90(54.9%) Escherichia coli strains were isolated. EHEC 0157:H7 strain was not detected, but 6(6.7%) isolates were found positive for heat-stable enterotoxins (ST) and 5(5.6%) isolates for heat- labile enterotoxins (LT). The Escherichia coli isolates were tested for susceptibility to 10 antibiotics using the disc diffusion method. Gentamycin appeared to be the most active antibiotic as only 5.5% of the isolates were resistant to it, while penicillin was the least effective with 84.4% of the isolates resistant to it. All strains showed multiple resistance to at least 7 antibiotics. Many of the animals screened had antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli most of which were however not Enteropathogenic
PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF AMARANTHUS HYBRIDUS L. UNDER SALINITY STRESS
Authors: ODJEGBA V. J. , CHUKWUNWIKE I. C.
Published: March 2023

Soil salinity is an abiotic factor that adversely affects growth and development of plants. To evaluate the physiological responses of Amaranthus hybridus L. under salinity stress, seedlings were exposed to 0, 0.1 and 0.2M NaCl for a period of 6 weeks. Whole plant dry weight, relative water content (RWC), total chlorophyll, lipid peroxidation, protein level and antioxidant enzymes activities were evaluated after the treatment period. The results of the study showed that salinity caused a significant decrease in whole plant dry weight, relative water content, total chlorophyll and protein content while an increase in malondialdehyde content, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase activities were observed. The severity of these effects was concentration dependent. The biomass accumulation of the control plants was 11.67±0.39 g, while those that received 0.1 and 0.2 M NaCl had 9.22±0.28 and 6.94±0.07 g respectively. The increase in malondialdehyde content and antioxidant enzymes activities were indications that salinity stress induced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which caused oxidative damage to macromolecules in living cells
ASSESSMENT OF NEPHROTOXIC EFFECTS OF Strophanthus hispidus STEM BARK EXTRACTS (AQUEOUS AND ETHANOL) IN NORMAL RATS
Authors: OSIBEMHE M. , EBHOHIMEN I. E. , ONOAGBE I. O.
Published: March 2023

The nephrotoxic effects of Strophanthus hispidus stem bark extracts (aqueous and ethanol) in normal rats were assessed. Male rats (wistar strain) numbering 45 were randomly selected into nine groups of five rats each. Four groups were given 100, 200, 500, and 800 mg/kg body weight aqueous extract, while another four groups received similar doses of the ethanolic extract. One group served as untreated normal control. After 28days of daily administration of the extracts and water, the animals were sacrificed. Urea, creatinine and some electrolytes (Na+, K+, Cl-, & HCO3-) were assessed. Both extracts produced significant increases (P?0.05) in urea concentration at 800 mg/kg when compared with the control group. At the same dose, significant increases (P?0.05) were observed in creatinine concentration for the aqueous and ethanolic extracts treated groups while the ethanolic groups at 500 mg/kg body weight also showed significant increases (P?0.05) in creatinine. Similarly, K+ significantly increased at 800 mg/kg for both extracts while Na+ produced a significant increase at the same dose for the aqueous extract treated groups. However, a significant increase in Na+ was observed in the ethanol treated groups at the doses of 500 and 800 mg/kg. Interestingly, no significant effects (P?0.05) were observed in the levels of Cl-, & HCO3- at all the doses of aqueous extract administration. The ethanol extract treated groups however showed a significant increase (P?0.05) in Cl- content and a significant decrease (P?0.05) in HCO3- content at the highest dose administered when compared with the control. The findings from this study suggest that higher doses of S. hispidus are inimical to kidney function. It also indicates that ethanol extract may be more deleterious to the nephrons than aqueous extract.
DEFENSE ANTIOXIDANTS AND LIPID PERIOXIDATION IN AMIETOPHRYNUS MACULATUS AND PTYCHADENA PUMILIO AS A POLLUTION BIO-MONITORING TOOL IN SELECTED AREAS OF LAGOS STATE
Authors: OSUALA F. I. , ONADEKO A.
Published: March 2023

The sensitivity of African amphibians; Amietophrynus maculatus and Ptychadena pumilio were exploited in determining oxidative stress induced by heavy metals pollution; lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn) and nickel (Ni), which is one of the factors that may have contributed to amphibian population decline.  The study investigated the overall mean concentration of the selected heavy metals in the heart, liver, kidney and activities of Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT) and Glutathione (GSH) as well as the level of lipid peroxidation product; malondialdehyde (MDA), in the liver of the sampled animals in five selected locations in Lagos State (Ibafo, Iwaya, Makoko 1, Makoko 2 and Unilag). Three healthy and  matured P. pumilio (62.00 ± 5.00g) and A.maculatus (79.00 ± 5.00g) were randomly collected from three points of each selected locations. The results showed that the overall mean concentration (mg/kg) of the selected heavy metals in descending order in A. maculates and P. pumilio were as follows: Heart (Zn >Mn>Pb/Ni > Cr > Cd; Zn >Mn>Pb> Ni > Cd > Cr), Liver (Zn >Mn>Pb> Cd > Ni > Cr; Zn >Mn>Pb> Cd > Cr > Ni) and Kidney (Zn >Mn>Pb> Cd > Cr > Ni; Zn >Mn>Pb> Cd > Cr > Ni) respectively. In addition, the overall range of antioxidant activities (U/mg) in A. maculates and P. pumilio sampled in the various locations varied significantly (P < 0.05) as follows; SOD (4.42-42.70; 5.14-30.62); CAT 10.84-17.82; 7.94-19.72); GSH (3.74-33.11; 4.42-12.17) and MDA (0.01-0.05;0.01-0.05) respectively. GSH was most depleted in both animals sampled from Ibafo. Therefore the sensitivity of the amphibians and the role of these biomarkers could be a good battery of monitoring tools in assessing the environmental health in environmental toxicology studies
COMPARISON OF THE DILATING EFFECT OF THREE MYDRIATIC AGENTS ON DARK IRIDES
Authors: GEORGE G. O. , AMIEBENOMO O. M. , OSAGHAE O. C.
Published: March 2023

Dilation of pupil has been a major component of diagnostic eye examination inOptometric practice. Although mydriatic agents are used in clinical procedures, thereis no satisfactory explanation for the preference of one over another. This studycompared the dilating effect of three different mydriatic agents on dark irides ofninety healthy subjects; comprising 48 males and 42 females aged 16-30 (mean age18.77±0.52) years divided into three groups of 30 subjects each. One drop of 1%tropicamide eye drop was instilled into the right eye of Group 1 subjects, One drop of1% homatropine eye drop was instilled into the right eye of Group 2subjects, whileOne drop of 2.5% phenylephrine eye drop was instilled into the right eye of Group 3subjects, The left eye (control eye), received a placebo of one drop of 10mg/mlBenzyl Alcohol in all the subjects in the three groups. Baseline measurements wererecorded prior to instillation, thereafter mydriatic effect was assessed over a periodof 40 minutes starting at 5 minutes and thereafter at 10 minute interval using thehand held pupillometer. Results showed that after 40 minutes of instilling the 3mydriatic agents to the right eyes, there was a statistically significant difference(p<0.05) in the pupil diameter of all the subjects in the three groups .Maximum meanpupillary dilation was 7.10±0.27mm, 6.00±0.56mm, and 4.80±0.36 mm for 1%tropicamide, 1% homatropine, and 2.5% phenylephrine respectively after 40minutes. Therefore it can be concluded that significant differences exist in themydriatic effect of the three mydriatic agents.
EFFECT OF ORAL ADMINISTRATION OF Emilia coccinea LEAF EXTRACT ON ETHANOL INDUCED GASTRIC DAMAGE IN ADULT WISTAR RATS
Authors: IDEMUDIA O. U. , INNIH S. O. , OYEDEJI T. J. , IMAFIDON E. O.
Published: March 2023

The effect of the aqueous extract of Emilia coccinea leaves on ethanol- induced gastric damage was investigated on adult wistar rats for four weeks. 30 experimental animals weighing between 180g and 250g were used and they were divided into five groups of six animals each; groups A,B,C,D and E. Group A animals served as negative control, group B animals served as the positive control and they were given ethanol only, group C to E animals were administered with 1ml/kg of ethanol each to inducegastric erosion and they were later administered with the aqueous extract of Emilia coccinea leaves orally for four weeks. Group C animals were the low dose group and they were administered 200mg/kg body weight of the extract; Group D animals were the moderate dose group and were administered 400mg/kg body weight of the extract while Group E was the high dose group given 600mg/kg body weight of the extract.The animals were sacrificed after 4 weeks and the stomach tissue was harvested fortissue processing and histological observations.The experiment showed that the aqueous extract had ameliorative effects on ethanolinduced gastric damage in a dose- dependent- manner in the experimental animals.
THE MOMENTARY EFFECT OF XYLOPIA AETHIOPICA ON INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE
Authors: OSAIYUWU A. B. , EDOKPA G. D. , IGUMA A. J.
Published: March 2023

Xylopia aethiopica is an important item of local trade throughout Africa as a spice, flavouring for food and for medicine. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of aqueous extract of its fruit on intraocular pressure (IOP) of normotensive subjects. A total of eighty (n=80) ocular normotensives between 18 and 50 years, with mean age of 27.28±7.84years and mean body weight of 64.45±12.70kg consisting of forty (40) (50%) males and forty (40) (50%) females, were recruited for this study. Their baseline intraocular pressure was measured and intraocular pressure was taken for 30, 60 and 90 minutes after ingestion of either distilled water or aqueous extract of Xylopia aethiopica fruit. The mean baseline intraocular pressure was 13.52±1.70mmHg; 30minutes after ingestion of the aqueous extract of Xylopia aethiopica, there was a significant increase in mean intraocular pressure to 15.55±2.00mmHg (p< 0.05); after 60minutes the mean IOP decreased to 14.43±1.62mmHg and then returned close to mean baseline IOP of 13.45±1.80mmHg.There was no significant change in mean IOP (p> 0.05) when males were compared withfemales. Xylopia aethiopica causes a transient fluctuation in IOP which may affect thefindings and analyses of IOP. Eye care providers should be cautious of raised IOP inducedby spices like X. aethiopica; and ask patients about their meals or medications before IOPmeasurements are taken.
BIOACCUMULATION OF COMMONLY DETECTED METALS IN THE SILVER CATFISH (CHRYSICHTHYS NIGRODIGITATUS) COLLECTED FROM MAKOKO RIVER, LAGOS NIGERIA
Authors: SALIU J. K. , BAWA-ALLAH K. A. , SHOPADE O. C. , AKINMUSIRE I. A.
Published: March 2023

This study investigated the bioaccumulation of selected essential and non essentialmetals in the silver catfish (Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus) collected from Makoko River,dead end of the Lagos Lagoon. Concentrations of Iron (Fe), Lead (Pb) and Calcium(Ca) were found to be higher in liver of Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus with mean valuesof 34.52± 6.52 mg kg-1, 1.02± 0.16 mg kg-1and 63.45± 8.62 mg kg-1respectivelycompared to concentrations detected in its gills with mean values of 32.64± 5.71 mgkg-1, 0.10± 0.01 mg kg-1 and 41.58± 6.56 mg kg-1 respectively. While concentrationsof Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn) and Magnesium (Mg) were found to be higher in itsgills with mean values of 2.09±1.61 mg kg-1, 1.79±1.84 mg kg-1, and 12.84±11.90 mgkg-1respectively compared to concentrations detected in its liver with mean values of0.74±0.53 mg kg-1, 1.79±0.94 mg kg-1 and 8.36± 4.67 mg kg-1 respectively. Theconcentrations of the metals in the tissues were found to be higher than respectiveconcentrations detected in water or sediments of the fish habitat indicative ofbioaccumulation. Concentrations of light metals Ca and Mg were also observed to behigher than concentrations of heavy metals Fe, Pb, Cu and Mn in the tissues of thefish species. Bioaccumulation of metals in tissue of edible fish species can havedeleterious effects on nutritional values of the fish and also pose a public healththreat to final consumers. The need for continuous monitoring of levels of harmfulpollutants in water bodies and edible aquatic species supported.
IMPLICATION OF HEAVY METAL TOLERANCE ON MICROBIAL COLONY SIZE
Authors: NJOKU K. L , OBIDI O. F. , AKINYEDE R. O.
Published: March 2023

In this study, we evaluated the effect of heavy metals on colony size of microbes isolated from mechanic workshop soils in Iganmu and Bariga areas of Lagos state, Nigeria. Heterotrophic microbial counts in Bariga samples ranged from 3.74 × 105 to 2.98 ×106 and 9.5 × 104 to 5.4 × 105cfu/ml for bacterial and fungal isolates respectively. While for Iganmu, heterotrophic counts ranged from 2.73 × 105 to 1.46 × 106 and 5.1 × 104 to 3.8 × 105cfu/ml for bacteria and fungi respectively. To evaluate heavy metal tolerance and establish its relationship with colony morphology especially colony size, the isolated strains were subjected to PbCl2, NiSO4 and CdCl2 and a combination of the three heavy metal salts in the same ratio. After 96 hours, larger bacterial and fungal colonies (>100?m) were observed from 100-400mg/L and moderate (>50?m) to small (<25?m) colonies from 800-3200mg/L of individual heavy metals. The combination of heavy metals produced greater reduction in colony size at concentrations ranging from 300-1500mg/L. The various heavy metal tolerant bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, B.megaterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, P.fluorescens, Acinetobacter baumanniiand Staphylococcus aureus) were identified using analytical profile index (API) kits while fungi (Aspergillus niger, A. tamari, A.flavus, Rhizopusstolonifer, R.arrhizusand Fusarium oxysporium) were identified by standard microbiological methods. The study established a positive correlation between microbial colony size and heavy metal concentration
Case report of coexistence of two variant anatomy, hypoplastic rostral superior sagittal sinus and hypoplastic right side transverse sinus and internal jugular vein
Authors:   Department of Radiology, Hamad Medical Corporation and Hamad General Hospital, 3050, Qatar., Koko Alaa Osman , Alyafei Tahiya Salim ,   Department of Radiology, Hamad Medical Corporation and Hamad General Hospital, 3050, Qatar.
Published: March 2023

Both the hypoplasia of rostral part of superior sagittal sinus and right transverse sinus are uncommon normal variant, so the frequency of occurrence of both in one person is more less. This is what have reported here.
3D virtual clipping: A personalized planning and rehearsal tool for off-clamp partial nephrectomy
Authors:   Global Medical Director, Digital Surgery Platform, Johnson and Johnson MedTech, Norderstedt, Germany., Grange Philippe , Fryrear Ray ,   Vice President, Head of Robotics Advanced Imaging and Digital Surgery, Johnson and Johnson MedTech, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Published: March 2023

Kidney cancer treatments result in a loss of nephron mass. Nephron sparing surgery can reduce such loss through application of on- and off-clamp techniques. The on-clamp technique is widely used but resulting warm ischemia has a negative impact on long-term patient outcomes. The alternative off-clamp technique mitigates negative effects on renal function but is often considered a technique for expert hands in select cases only.
Piriformis syndrome caused by rare intramuscular lipoma: A case report
Authors:   Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy., Gnesutta Aroa , Atria Maria Giovanna ,   Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy., Calvi Marco ,   Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Insubria, Medical Clinical Institute Intermedica-Columbus, via Buonarroti 48, Milano, 20145, Italy., Celentano Angelica ,   Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Insubria, Medical Clinical Institute Intermedica-Columbus, via Buonarroti 48, Milano, 20145, Italy., Genovese Eugenio Annibale ,   Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Insubria, Medical Clinical Institute Intermedica-Columbus, via Buonarroti 48, Milano, 20145, Italy.
Published: March 2023

We present the case of a 73-year-old man with history of back and left sciatic nerve pain, who came to our hospital centre due to perform a lumbar spine MRI. The MRI scan didn’t reveal compression of the left nerve roots by hernia formations, but collaterally showed a well-defined lesion, with MRI characteristics of adipose tissue, localized in the left piriformis muscle, compatible with a lipoma that displaced the ipsilateral sciatic nerve but did not invade it.
Patient’s non-disclosure, can be harmful in the management of magnet foreign body swallowing?
Authors:   General Surgery Senior Specialist, Al Hammadi Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia., Alhaddadin Majd Nawash , Adulkareem AlAbed Mahmoud ,   General Surgery Resident, Alhammadi Hopsital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia., Alhaddadin Mohannad ,   General Practitioner, Jordanian Ministry of Health, Amman, Jordan.
Published: March 2023

The ingestion of foreign body is quite common in the daily emergency room practice. The vast majority of patients who visit the emergency room with foreign body ingestion belong to the pediatric age group, the other group of patients have either mental impairment, dementia or psychiatric diseases.
A case report of nosocomial myiasis caused by Musca domestica and literature review
Authors:   Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology, LR19DN03, Military Hospital of Tunis, Tunisia., Bousbia Chiraz , Mtibaa Latifa ,   Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology, LR19DN03, Military Hospital of Tunis, Tunisia.
Published: March 2023

Myiasis disease was defined by Zumpt as a parasitic invasion of the tissues of humans by diptereous larvae. Myiasis agents, affect mainly the uncovered areas of the body. In addition to their medical importance as mechanical vectors of parasitic disease agents’ dipteran true flies can make myiasis in hospital environment called nosocomial myiasis which is rarely reported. In this paper we report the first case of anal nosocomial myiasis in a Tunisian patient caused by Musca domestica.
Autism diagnostic criteria, symptoms, child diagnosis and evaluation scales
Authors:   Occupational Therapy Department, University of Western Makedonia, Greece., Antonis Theofilidis
Published: March 2023

Autistic children have not withdrawn from reality due to some mental illness, rather they have failed to come out in reality due to a serious, and to a large extent, developmental disorder. As a result, autism is not currently considered psychosis, but is classified as a pervasive developmental disorder. This means that it is classified along with the other developmental difficulties rather than the mental illnesses themselves.
Knowledge and perception of university students on drug Abuse in Delta State, South-South, Nigeria
Authors:   Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Management, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Nnamdi Azikiwe Awka, Nigeria., R Abazie Nneka , Nnenna Ajagu ,   Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Biopharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria.
Published: March 2023

Drug is an essential part of health care services yet their misuse and/or abuse constitutes a very serious public health and security problem that obstructs the socio-economic development of people, especially youths in the society.
Atlantoaxial subluxation of the C1/C2 vertebrae in the pediatric patient: A case study
Authors:   NJ Pediatric Neuroscience Institute, 131 Madison Avenue, Third floor, Morristown NJ 07960, USA, A Mazzola Catherine
Published: March 2023

A nine-year-old male presenting with neck pain and head tilt was referred for neurosurgical evaluation. According to the referring pediatrician
O lúdico no ensino de Matemática: uma revisão sobre o uso de jogos didáticos no processo de ensino-aprendizagem
Authors: Medran Rangel Eduarda , Medran Rangel Adrize
Published: March 2023

A educação é a chave do desenvolvimento pleno de qualquer cidadão, a escola acompanha esse desenvolvimento ao longo de muitos anos, buscando associar as disciplinas com a vida cotidiana dos estudantes. A disciplina de Matemática está presente em todo o período escolar, muitas vezes sendo vista como a mais difícil pelos estudantes, fator esse que está associado à dificuldade que os estudantes têm de ver a aplicação da Matemática no cotidiano, o que dificulta ou até mesmo distancia o interesse do estudante pelo conteúdo. A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo descrever a importância do uso de jogos didáticos em aulas de Matemática para a aprendizagem dos estudantes. Para ter um panorama de como os jogos e materiais lúdicos podem auxiliar no ensino de matemática foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica e após uma análise de artigos nacionais e internacionais disponíveis em bancos de dados como Google Acadêmico, Pubmed e Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) com dados dos últimos 20 anos (2003-2023). Na literatura encontramos várias revisões, mas poucos estudos de casos, experimentos práticos com estudantes das séries finais do ensino fundamental. Nos artigos analisados todos os estudos apresentaram resultados favoráveis para a aplicação de jogos e recursos lúdicos no ensino de matemática. É possível concluir que os jogos e os recursos didáticos lúdicos auxiliam no ensino de matemática, ajudando o professor a aproximar o conteúdo desenvolvido a realidade cotidiana dos estudantes, mostrando que a matemática está presente em todos os campos da nossa vida, podendo ser aprendida de forma divertida e dinâmica.
Statistical Aspects of Deep Learning
Authors: Banks David
Published: March 2023

Most of the methodology for Deep Learning (DL) has been built by computer scientists, and they have done an amazing job—DL is changing the world in powerful ways. But computer scientists look at the world differently from statisticians, and I think there is value in both perspectives. This talk describes some of the many contributions statistics can make to DL techniques.
Hubungan Antara Rasa Syukur Terhadap Tingkat Depresi, Cemas, Stres Pada Mahasiswa Tingkat Akhir di Masa Peralihan Pandemi Covid-19
Authors: Andeslan Salim , Uyun Qurotul
Published: March 2023

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between gratitude and depression, anxiety, and stress in final-year students during the pandemic transition. This study uses quantitative methods with correlation test analysis techniques. The sampling technique used in this study was convenience sampling. The DASS-21 adaptation was used to measure psychological stress, and the gratitude scale was used to measure gratitude. The results of the analysis show that gratitude has a negative and significant correlation with psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress) in students. This indicates that the higher the gratitude of the students, the lower their symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety. The results of this study are expected to serve as a reference for teaching staff to provide socialization, assistance, and reduce the burden of lecturing to respondents, allowing them to maintain the emotional stability of students.
An Emotional Analysis Method Based on Multi Model Ensemble Learning
Authors: Chang-You Zhang Chang-You Zhang , Chang-You Zhang Jing-Jing Wang , Jing-Jing Wang Li-Xia Wan , Li-Xia Wan Ruo-Xue Yu
Published: March 2023

Traditional machine learning models generally use weak supervision model, which is difficult to adapt to the scene of multi classification for emotional text. Therefore, a multi model ensemble learning algorithm for emotional text classification is proposed. The algorithm takes the labeled emotional text data as the training sample, uses the improved TF-IDF algorithm to train the word vector space model, selects three weakly supervised machine learning algorithms, linear SVC, xgboost and logistic regression, to construct the base classifier, and uses the random forest algorithm to construct the meta classifier. It realizes the function of dividing emotional text into three categories: positive, neutral and negative. From the simulation and test results, the AUC values of the multi model ensemble learning algorithm model for each category are 0.93, 0.94 and 1.00, and the AP values are 0.87, 0.86 and 1.00, and the indicators of accuracy and recall are better than the single machine learning model, which realizes the high performance and high accuracy for emotional text classification.

 
Face Age Feature Analysis Based on Improved Conditional Adversarial Auto-encoder (I-CAAE)
Authors: Jia-Li Li Jia-Li Li , Jia-Li Li Xing-Guo Jiang , Xing-Guo Jiang Li He , Li He De-Cai Li
Published: March 2023

In recent years, the research of face age features has achieved rapid development driven by deep learning. The faces generated by the Conditional Adversarial Auto-encoder (CAAE) model are not only highly credible, but also closer to the target age. However, there are many problems, such as low resolution of human face image generation and poor local feature retention effect of human face features. To this end, this paper improves on the CAAE network. Firstly, referring to the LSGAN network structure, the 4 convolution layers of the encoder are added to 5 layers and the 4 convolution layers of the generator are added to 7 layers. Secondly, on the basis of the original loss function, the image gradient difference loss function is added to ensure the output face image quality. Meanwhile, the data set were preprocessed for face correction. Finally, this paper performs face similarity analysis on the Eye-key platform and contrasts the generated image quality using structural similarity and peak signal to noise ratio metrics. In addition, the generated results were tested for their robustness. The experimental results show that the average similarity of faces generated by the Improved Conditional Adversarial Auto-encoder (I-CAAE) network was increased by 3.9. And the average peak signal to noise ratio of the generated pictures was reduced by 1.8. Confirming the superiority of the proposed method.

 
Intelligent Tumor Cell Detection Method Based on Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) Technology
Authors: Zhen-Ning Wu Zhen-Ning Wu , Zhen-Ning Wu Hao-Sen Huang , Hao-Sen Huang Jun-Jun Jiang , Jun-Jun Jiang Zhong-Zhe Xiao , Zhong-Zhe Xiao Min Huang
Published: March 2023

Cancer has become one of the greatest threats for human life. Doctors can get original images of the sick organs with the assistance of medical technology. However, manual interpretation of the original images is time consuming and labor consuming. Nowadays, the intelligent detection of tumor cell images is commonly adopted in cancer diagnosis. In this paper, we propose Imporved Selective Search (ISS) algorithm and CTCNet based on Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) technology to improve the cancer images’ detection efficiency. CTCs can be collected by a sampling needle with EpCAM antibody which can specifically bind to tumor cells. After fluorescent staining process, images obtained from sampling needle will be processed by the ISS algorithm for candidate region preselection. All of the eligible areas are evaluated with a self-designed neural network called CTCNet, resulting in efficient recognition of circulating tumor cells. During this process, all algorithms are accelerated through the GPU and NPU hardware platform, which further improves the detection speed of the system. In the experiment, we first verify the efficiency of proposed ISS algorithm by compared with Original Selective Search (OSS), we found that the number of candidate boxes reduced from 549 to 16 and the time consuming reduced by 0.3s after adopting the ISS algorithm. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed 7-layer CTCNet, we compared CTCNet with SVM, BP neural network, AlexNet and VGGNet by using the dataset of 12312 samples from 30 patients, among them, there were 12 patients with early cancer and 18 patients with advanced cancer. And we got the highest recognition accuracy of 97.95% on CTCNet, which even beyond the VGGNet with deeper layers. In contrast to other combinations, we detect CTC in diverse clinical CTC images, the joint application of ISS algorithm and CTCNet achieves an outstanding system performance with accuracy up to 94.03% in the whole view images. Meanwhile, because of the application of a lightweight network in different hardware acceleration platform, the detection time of the CTC image in a single view can be less than 12s.

 
Differentially Private Feature Selection Based on Dynamic Relevance for Correlated Data
Authors: Chunxia Wang Chunxia Wang , Chunxia Wang Qiuyu Zhang , Qiuyu Zhang Yan Yan
Published: March 2023

Traditional feature selection methods are only concerned with high relevance between selected features and classes and low redundancy among features, ignoring their interrelations which partly weak classification performance. This paper developed a dynamic relevance strategy to measure the dependency among them, where the relevance of each candidate feature is updated dynamically when a new feature is selected. Protecting sensitive information has become an important issue when executing feature selection. However, existing differentially private machine learning algorithms have seldom considered the impact of data correlation, which may cause more privacy leakage than expected. Therefore, the paper proposed a differentially private feature selection based on dynamic relevance measure, namely DPFSDR. Firstly, as a correlation analysis technique, the weighted undirected graph model is constructed via the correlated degree, which can reduce the dataset’s dimension and correlated sensitivity. Secondly, as a feature selection criterion, F-score with differential privacy is adopted to measure the feature importance of each feature. Finally, to evaluate the effectiveness of feature selection, differentially private SVM combined with dynamic relevance measure is utilized to choose features. Experimental results show that the proposed DPFSDR algorithm can effectively obtain the optimal feature subset, and improve data utility while preserving data privacy.

 