Archives-December  

Numbers of studies in animal models have shown changes in hemoglobin content after lead administration during gestation and lactation, still lead induced hematological changes are not well established. In the present study, hemoglobin content of normal and lead exposed pregnant and lactating Swiss mice were compared. Pregnant females were exposed to heavy metal lead orally on diet containing 4.5% lead nitrate and lead acetate trihydrate during gestation to 3^rd week of lactation. Hemoglobin content and blood cell counts were examined on 15^th day of gestation and on 1^st, 11^th and 21^st day after birth. The results indicated that in lead intoxicated pregnant females, hemoglobin content decreased. From the results of above study it can be concluded that high levels of lead exposure during gestation and lactation can severely damage heme synthesis.

Nine plantain samples from some communities in the Bibiani mining town and surrounding towns/villages, Abrofrem, Akwawuakrom, Beposo, Besie, Fahiakorbor, Kofikrom, Hwenampori and Old Town – all in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai District – have been analysed using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) for their levels of the essential elements, Ca, Cl, Cu, K, Mg, Mn, Na and Zn. The aim of the study was to determine the levels of the above essential elements in the plantain samples and also to establish whether the mining activities have had any impact on the levels measured. The concentrations of Ca, Cl, K, Mg and Na referred to as major nutrients measured were in the ranges; 495 – 1895 mg/kg for Ca, 1076 – 3019 mg/kg for Cl, 1800 – 17000 mg/kg for K, 946 – 1337 mg/kg for Mg, and 42.34 – 83.20 mg/kg for Na. The micro/trace elements measured in the samples were in the ranges, 2.55 – 25.44 mg/kg for Cu; 7.40 – 17.20 mg/kg for Mn and 8.25 – 67.96 mg/kg for Zn. The results supported the claim that plantain contains high levels of K and low levels of Na. However, with regard to the RDA/AI values of the various nutrient elements, it could be said that plantain is relatively richer in Mn, followed by Cu and Mg than K. This was due to the fact that relatively lower amount of plantain is required to meet the RDA/AI values of those elements than K. The levels of the nutrient elements measured in the plantain samples did not give any indication of impact of mining activities which could have resulted in loss of soil fertility since the results obtained in this work compared favourably with the results obtained in a similar study conducted by Danso et al (2006) in a non mining area. The only difference observed in the results obtained in this work from that of Danso et al (2006) was with the levels of Mg and Mn. The levels of Mg and Mn measured in this work were however, consistent with the geology of the area as well as their respective RDA/AI values.

The environment friendly natural fibers used in this study are taken from leaf stalk portion of palm tree. Portions of these fibers are alkali treated while the remaining kept raw. Both these fibers are sandwiched separately with glass fibers to form two set of plates by reinforcing into polyester resin matrix blend with coconut shell powder using hand lay-up method. Specimens are tested as per ASTM standards. The results reveal that alkali treatment improved fiber quality and a novel composite was developed to producing automobile parts.

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and genetic profile of the rotaviruses involved in gastroenteritis among children in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria. Two hundred and five stool samples were collected from children (1-5yrs) presenting diarrhea at the paediatrics Departments of five hospitals. The stool samples were screened, using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay. Sixteen stool samples were found positive, representing 7.8% prevalence. Children within 1-2years had 4.39% while those within 3-5years recorded 3.41%.During dry season, the prevalence was more (4.87%) compared to the rainy season (2.93%). Identification of the rotavirus strains using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed genotypes such as G1, G2, G8, P4, P8, and P6. Hospital and community based studies should be encouraged in order to have a more clear picture about the prevalence and the strains of the virus in circulation in the studied area.

We are very happy to announce that from 30th November 2016, Mr. Muthu Manokar has joined the team of Elixir Editorial Advisory Board. He/She will carry a special responsibility for dealing with manuscripts based on Mechanical Engineering. Mr. Muthu Manokar working as Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dhaanish Ahmed College of Engineering, Chennai, India. The appointment of Mr. Muthu Manokar as member Editorial Advisory Board strengthens the links and will make it easier for prospective authors to establish contact with the journal.

Handwritten signatures are considered as the most natural method of authenticating a person’s identity. Human signatures can be handled as an image and used in a scanned document is a promising facility for many banking and insurance related business activities. The signatures of the same person vary with time, age of the person and also because of the emotional state of a person. This paper present an off-line human signature recognition system based on histogram analysis. The main steps of constructing a signature recognition system are discussed and experiments on the values of cumulative distribution function (CDF). The off-line signature recognition and verification is implemented using MATLAB.

In service based systems, QoS are the basic construct that aims to facilitate the quality and usability of service based system. Service based systems takes a very long time to get the result under workload, of quality evaluation when dealing with a workflow with several thousand services and multiple parameters. To address this need, we introduce a tool-supported framework for the development and to improve the evaluation performance of QoS by optimizing the QoS requirements. OQoSE approach develops adaptable service based systems which increases the evaluation result of QoS efficiently. OQoSE method which used to review every service and parameter time then it is used to discover the probabilities that are adaptable under various services with multiple parameters.

Twenty five ditch cutting samples from southwest Niger Delta basin were analysed to determine the palynostratigraphic studies. The samples contained very rich and diverse palynomorphs dominated by pollen grains which consist of 12 species distributed among ten genera. Pollen preservation is good with concentration ranging from 1,640 to 34,900 grains/g. The stratigraphic ranges of Circulina parva, Monoporites annulatus, Psilatricolporites operculatus, Multiareolites formosus, Zonocostites ramonae, Podocarpus milanjianus, Echitricolporites spinosus, Retibrevitricolporites obodoensis, R. protrudens and Retitricolpites bendensis and some other marker species were used to demarcate nine palynozones in the study area. These palynomorphs are mainly made up of mangrove swamp floras which suggest the predominance of a high sea level and wet climatic condition in Miocene-Pliocene during the deposition of the studied sediments.

This study assessed Farmers’ Perception and Attitudes towards Organic Agricultural Practices in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. The study employed purposive and multistage random sampling procedures in the selection of one hundred and twenty (120) respondents. Primary data were collected through field survey with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire and interview schedule. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in data analysis; which was done according to the specific objectives of the study. Results showed that the major vegetable crops grown in the study area were pumpkin (100%), eggplant (75%) and plantain (50%) among others. Further analysis revealed fellow farmers (82%), radio (74%) and Farmers’ Associations (67%) as major sources of information on organic vegetable farming to the rural farmers. The result further revealed that the respondents have good knowledge about organic farming as shown by their positive perceptions about it. Multiple regression analysis was used to establish the relationship between the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers and the number of sources of information on organic farming. A high R2 of (76%) was obtained. Most of the independent variables were statistically significant and met a priori expectations. The result of factor analysis identified: financial, institutional and environmental factors as constraints to organic vegetable farming in the area. It was concluded that farmers in the study area had favorable perception towards organic farming with moderate knowledge of its benefits. Recommendations such as encouraging youths to get involved in organic vegetable farming, better enlightenments and sensitization of the entire area on the beneficial effects of organic farming were made, among others.

The search for more effective hypoglycaemic agents continues to be an area of research interest. World Health Organization recommended the use of alternative therapy especially in countries including, Nigeria, where access to conventional treatments of diabetes is inadequate. Majority of people in Abeokuta were majorly peasant farmers and petty traders who could not afford high cost of pharmaceutical remedies of diabetes which is very rampant as a result of poor feeding pattern. However, naturally endowed plants such as Hibiscus sabdariffa are found everywhere, parts of which are taken as vegetables without putting into consideration its hypoglycemic advantages. However, this study could assist in providing some information needed for the health improvement of the rural populace (Abeokuta) as regards diabetes. Combination of 300g M. lucida + 100g A.sativum+l00g Z. officinale produced the best hypoglycaemic effect (69.85%) in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.