30 research outputs found
A review of the impact of mycotoxin contamination on poultry performances
No full textExtensive research over several decades has revealed that mycotoxin is commonly found in most poultry feed ingredients. All poultry is sensitive to mycotoxins. This partly depends on the type, age, and production categories of poultry, their living conditions, and nutritive status and partly on the type, quantity, and duration of mycotoxin ingestion. Mycotoxins are toxin secondary metabolites produced primarily by fungi of the genera Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium that have harmed poultry, animal, and human health for thousands of years. Some common effects of mycotoxin are reduced feed intake, weight gain, feed efficiency, growth performance, immunity, and hatchability along with increased mortality, organ damages (mainly kidney and liver), carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, and decreased egg production. There is a strong need to evaluate the effect of mycotoxin on poultry performances and their importance.
 
Influence of Different Processing Methods on Aflatoxin Level in <i>Ogi</i> Slurry Produced from Millet (<i>Pennisetum typhoideum</i>)
No full textOccurrence of aflatoxins in Nigerian foods: a review
No full textAflatoxins are a family of poisonous, mutagenic, and carcinogenic mycotoxins that contaminate a wide range of foods and agricultural goods. Aspergillus species, such as Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus parasiticus are the most common producers. Aflatoxin generation can occur at any point of the food chain, including pre-harvest, drying, storage, transit, processing, and handling, if conditions are favourable for fungus to create toxins. It is classified into six main types which are Aflatoxin B1, Aflatoxin B2, Aflatoxin G1, Aflatoxin G2, Aflatoxin M1 and Aflatoxin M2. In Nigeria, Aspergillus species that produces aflatoxin has been isolated from agricultural products such as cereals, spices, locally fermented food, oil-seeds, and animal products. Aflatoxin contamination is high due to poor storage of food crops and lack of awareness of aflatoxins contamination among farmers, marketers and the consumers of these goods. Locally fermented foods such as ogiri, ugba, ogi-baba, and iru have been said to be contaminated by aflatoxin. Preventive measures should be carried out by the policy-making bodies to create awareness and sustain ongoing measures to effectively manage aflatoxin contamination in Nigeria so as to reduce the health risk of aflatoxins on the people and economy of the country
Sensory, Proximate and Mineral Properties of Smart Baby-Led Weaning Foods from Millet, Soybean and Ripe Banana Flour Blends
No full textAim: The need for formulating and developing smart baby-led weaning (BLW) foods from millet, soybean and ripe banana flour blends as alternative complementary foods inspired this study, which had no documentation in literatures.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Food Technology, Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi, Nigeria from June 2022 to January 2023.
Methodology: Smart BLW foods were formulated from millet, soybean and ripe banana flour blends and coded as WMF (100% whole millet flour), MSB1 (60% millet; 20% soybean; 20% ripe banana) and MSB2 (50% millet; 30% soybean; 20% ripe banana). The sensory, proximate and mineral compositions of the foods formulated were compared with those of commercial weaning food (CWF).
Results: MSB1 and MSB2 competed favourably with CWF in terms of texture, general acceptability, colour, aroma and taste attributes with high negative deviation most noticeable in WMF (P < 0.05), and exhibited acceptable shelf-life and stability. The ash contents ranged from 1.16±0.02% (WMF) to 2.83±0.02% (MSB2). Increase in fat content in MSB1 to CWF was ≈534%, MSB2 to CWF was ≈492%, MSB1 to WMF was ≈385% and MSB2 to WMF was ≈353% while their protein abundances were in the ratios 1:3.6 for CWF:MSB1, 1:5.9 for CWF:MSB2, 1:2.4 for MWF:MSB1 and 1:3.9 for MWF:MSB2. Generally, MSB1 and MSB2 were appropriate sources of Na, K, Ca, Mg and Zn compared to CWF and WMF in providing adequate intake (AI) and recommended daily allowance (RDA) of these minerals in both infants and children in the age classes of 0-6 months, 7-12 months and 1-3 years.
Conclusion: MSB1 and MSB2 exhibited better intrinsic properties than WMF when compared with CWF. MSB1, however had better general performances than MSB2 and therefore, was recommended as the best smart BLW food formulation from this research
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Entwined positionality and interpretive frames of reference: an autoethnographic account
No full textThis paper investigates the ethnographic researcher’s positionality and its role in sensemaking within the research process. Using autoethnographic data of the first author - a black female West African (Yoruba) scholar in a Western organizational context, we adopt a critical sensemaking approach to make sense of the researcher’s field experience. We propose a conceptualization of the researcher’s positionality as one that is entwined in the field, being an active interaction of the researcher’s formative context with her sensory capabilities. We demonstrate how openness to the researcher’s entwined positionality generates interpretive frames of reference and uncovers nuances in the sensemaking process, which widens the scope for reflexivity. We offer a methodological roadmap for engaging entwined positionality in reflexive practice and contribute to the body of research which challenges the idea of the detached researcher; thus, we respond to the growing calls for integrating the elements of a researcher’s positionality into research in a way that enhances reflexivity
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Pen Stroking the Soul of a People: Spiritual Foundations of Black Diasporan Literature
No full textThis project examines the presence of African-derived spiritual ideals within the black literary tradition as a means of highlighting the fundamental influence of spirituality on communities of the modern black diaspora. I begin the discussion with an examination of traditional African spirituality, focusing on Nigerian author Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (1958). This discussion identifies four core principles of traditional African spirituality that resonate most thoroughly in diasporan communities: the interconnection of sacred and secular spheres, the concept of cyclical rather than linear time, the emphasis on a communal ethos, and the necessity for balance and reconciliation. I then examine the development of what I define as "Black Diasporan Spirituality," considering how these principles, resonating to varying degrees, constitute the basis for a philosophical system defining the universe and the place and role of mankind within it, as understood by African-descended peoples throughout the diaspora. Subsequently, I discuss the ways in which core elements of black spirituality at once inform and are represented in literature produced in Africa and the diaspora. Beginning with an analysis of James Weldon Johnson's God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse (1927) and Zora Neale Hurston's Jonah's Gourd Vine(1934), I examine "Black Diasporan Spirituality" as a defining influence on the black oral tradition, centering my discussion on the cultural articulation of the African American song sermon. Using James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953) and The Amen Corner (1954), I then examine the consequences of religious practice in the absence of black spiritual ideals. Focusing on the presence of spirituality in spaces which are not formally designated as religious, I then consider Gloria Naylor's Mama Day (1988) as a narrative that positions "Black Diasporan Spirituality" as vital to the healing processes of black communities, addressing both the trauma and the reconciliation inherent in the construction of diaspora. Ultimately, this dissertation argues that a clear understanding of the nature and character of black spirituality is essential to understanding not only the literature, but also the many circumstances--historical, social and cultural--of the communities out of which each text emerges.Afro-American StudiesDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.
Development of type 2 diabetesmellitus in people with intermediate hyperglycaemia (Review)
No full textBackgroundIntermediate hyperglycaemia (IH) is characterised by one or more measurements of elevated blood glucose concentrations, such as impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and elevated glycosylated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). These levels are higher than normal but below the diagnostic threshold for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The reduced threshold of 5.6 mmol/L (100 mg/dL) fasting plasma glucose (FPG) for defining IFG, introduced by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in 2003, substantially increased the prevalence of IFG. Likewise, the lowering of the HbA1c threshold from 6.0% to 5.7% by the ADA in 2010 could potentially have significant medical, public health and socioeconomic impacts.ObjectivesTo assess the overall prognosis of people with IH for developing T2DM, regression from IH to normoglycaemia and the difference in T2DM incidence in people with IH versus people with normoglycaemia.Search methodsWe searched MEDLINE, Embase, ClincialTrials.gov and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) Search Portal up to December 2016 and updated the MEDLINE search in February 2018. We used several complementary search methods in addition to a Boolean search based on analytical text mining.Selection criteriaWe included prospective cohort studies investigating the development of T2DM in people with IH. We used standard definitions of IH as described by the ADA or World Health Organization (WHO). We excluded intervention trials and studies on cohorts with additional comorbidities at baseline, studies with missing data on the transition from IH to T2DM, and studies where T2DM incidence was evaluated by documents or self‐report only.Data collection and analysisOne review author extracted study characteristics, and a second author checked the extracted data. We used a tailored version of the Quality In Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool for assessing risk of bias. We pooled incidence and incidence rate ratios (IRR) using a random‐effects model to account for between‐study heterogeneity. To meta‐analyse incidence data, we used a method for pooling proportions. For hazard ratios (HR) and odds ratios (OR) of IH versus normoglycaemia, reported with 95% confidence intervals (CI), we obtained standard errors from these CIs and performed random‐effects meta‐analyses using the generic inverse‐variance method. We used multivariable HRs and the model with the greatest number of covariates. We evaluated the certainty of the evidence with an adapted version of the GRADE framework.Main resultsWe included 103 prospective cohort studies. The studies mainly defined IH by IFG5.6 (FPG mmol/L 5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L or 100 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL), IFG6.1 (FPG 6.1 mmol/L to 6.9 mmol/L or 110 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL), IGT (plasma glucose 7.8 mmol/L to 11.1 mmol/L or 140 mg/dL to 199 mg/dL two hours after a 75 g glucose load on the oral glucose tolerance test, combined IFG and IGT (IFG/IGT), and elevated HbA1c (HbA1c5.7: HbA1c 5.7% to 6.4% or 39 mmol/mol to 46 mmol/mol; HbA1c6.0: HbA1c 6.0% to 6.4% or 42 mmol/mol to 46 mmol/mol). The follow‐up period ranged from 1 to 24 years. Ninety‐three studies evaluated the overall prognosis of people with IH measured by cumulative T2DM incidence, and 52 studies evaluated glycaemic status as a prognostic factor for T2DM by comparing a cohort with IH to a cohort with normoglycaemia. Participants were of Australian, European or North American origin in 41 studies; Latin American in 7; Asian or Middle Eastern in 50; and Islanders or American Indians in 5. Six studies included children and/or adolescents.Cumulative incidence of T2DM associated with IFG5.6, IFG6.1, IGT and the combination of IFG/IGT increased with length of follow‐up. Cumulative incidence was highest with IFG/IGT, followed by IGT, IFG6.1 and IFG5.6. Limited data showed a higher T2DM incidence associated with HbA1c6.0 compared to HbA1c5.7. We rated the evidence for overall prognosis as of moderate certainty because of imprecision (wide CIs in most studies). In the 47 studies reporting restitution of normoglycaemia, regression ranged from 33% to 59% within one to five years follow‐up, and from 17% to 42% for 6 to 11 years of follow‐up (moderate‐certainty evidence).Studies evaluating the prognostic effect of IH versus normoglycaemia reported different effect measures (HRs, IRRs and ORs). Overall, the effect measures all indicated an elevated risk of T2DM at 1 to 24 years of follow‐up. Taking into account the long‐term follow‐up of cohort studies, estimation of HRs for time‐dependent events like T2DM incidence appeared most reliable. The pooled HR and the number of studies and participants for different IH definitions as compared to normoglycaemia were: IFG5.6: HR 4.32 (95% CI 2.61 to 7.12), 8 studies, 9017 participants; IFG6.1: HR 5.47 (95% CI 3.50 to 8.54), 9 studies, 2818 participants; IGT: HR 3.61 (95% CI 2.31 to 5.64), 5 studies, 4010 participants; IFG and IGT: HR 6.90 (95% CI 4.15 to 11.45), 5 studies, 1038 participants; HbA1c5.7: HR 5.55 (95% CI 2.77 to 11.12), 4 studies, 5223 participants; HbA1c6.0: HR 10.10 (95% CI 3.59 to 28.43), 6 studies, 4532 participants. In subgroup analyses, there was no clear pattern of differences between geographic regions. We downgraded the evidence for the prognostic effect of IH versus normoglycaemia to low‐certainty evidence due to study limitations because many studies did not adequately adjust for confounders. Imprecision and inconsistency required further downgrading due to wide 95% CIs and wide 95% prediction intervals (sometimes ranging from negative to positive prognostic factor to outcome associations), respectively.This evidence is up to date as of 26 February 2018.Authors' conclusionsOverall prognosis of people with IH worsened over time. T2DM cumulative incidence generally increased over the course of follow‐up but varied with IH definition. Regression from IH to normoglycaemia decreased over time but was observed even after 11 years of follow‐up. The risk of developing T2DM when comparing IH with normoglycaemia at baseline varied by IH definition. Taking into consideration the uncertainty of the available evidence, as well as the fluctuating stages of normoglycaemia, IH and T2DM, which may transition from one stage to another in both directions even after years of follow‐up, practitioners should be careful about the potential implications of any active intervention for people 'diagnosed' with IH
Impact of Sodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate Plus Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System Inhibitor Therapy on Short-Term Medical Costs in Hyperkalemia: OPTIMIZE II Real-World Study
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Navigating food fraud: A survey of Nigerian consumer knowledge and attitudes
No full text© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Food fraud presents a growing threat globally, impacting consumer health; food safety; and brand credibility. The key motivation for food fraud is usually an economic or financial advantage. Economically motivated food fraud (EMA) is the illegal deception, deliberate and intentional substitution or addition of a substance in a food product, which may pose a possible health risk to unsuspecting consumers. This study aims to assess the awareness and attitudes of Nigerian consumers towards food authenticity and the regulatory measures in place to combat food adulteration. The study comprised 2160 respondents who were asked about their knowledge of high-profile food fraud incidents, frequently adulterated products, and their opinions of the effects of food fraud and preventative measures. The findings of this study revealed that more than a third of respondents were unfamiliar with the term “food fraud”. However, they were aware of local high-profile cases, such as “plastic rice” and counterfeit dairy products. Most participants relied on point-of-sale information for assessing food authenticity, with street vendors being viewed as potential sources of food adulteration. The study also found that more than half of the respondents were concerned about food fraud regardless of whether it involved local or imported products. A wide variety of food items were identified as prone to adulteration or fraudulent activity. These included alcoholic drinks, dairy products, honey, rice, and tomato paste, amongst others. These findings highlight the need for improved consumer awareness, regulatory effectiveness, and remediation efforts to combat food fraud in Nigeria.Unfunde
Methods and mechanisms for measuring and monitoring outcomes from newborn screening: a scoping review
No full textBackground: Newborn screening programmes across the world screen for various rare diseases in newborns, often using a newborn blood spot (NBS) test. Current research is considering use of genomic testing as a screening strategy. In the United Kingdom (UK), newborns are screened for nine rare genetic conditions using an NBS test. Whilst data on process measures (number screened, timeliness of screening, yield, etc.) confirms that the UK NBS programme is operating efficiently, the net benefit on patients and their families is less clear. There is also a lack of evidence to inform decisions regarding candidates for additions to current screening programmes. Outcomes associated with screening programmes that could be measured range from epidemiological outcomes such as incidence and prevalence to natural history outcomes tracking the course of disease, test accuracy, and clinical and educational outcomes following treatment or surveillance. Due to challenges in conducting randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for rare diseases, most studies evaluating relevant outcomes are likely to be observational, so it is important to identify appropriate methods and mechanisms that could be used to collect outcome data. To understand which methods may be most appropriate, we must first understand which methods are currently being used.
Aim: To conduct a scoping review of the literature to identify methods and mechanisms used to measure and monitor outcomes from existing or candidate newborn screening programmes. Our review objectives are to summarise evidence on the following:
• the study designs, their respective objectives and data sources used
• the populations in which the outcomes (short term and long term) have been assessed
• the outcomes included in the relevant studies, including outcomes evaluated in older children, adolescents and adults.
The scoping review will form part of a two-phase project. The scoping review is the first phase which is descriptive in nature to identify the breadth of available evidence and will inform the second phase of the project. In the second phase, relevant methods and mechanisms identified in the scoping review will be evaluated.
Methods: This scoping review will be structured according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). A search strategy will be developed by an experienced information specialist. The SPIDER framework (Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research type) as specified by the UK National Screening Committee (NSC) will be used to determine study eligibility. Both title and abstract and full text screening will be performed by one review author and a random sample of 20% will be independently screened in duplicate by a second review author. A data extraction form will be piloted on 5 studies. Data extraction will be conducted by one author, and a random sample of 20% of data extractions will be done independently in duplicate. All results will be described narratively. Methods and mechanisms will be grouped into categories, and we will synthesise evidence based on these categories. Outcomes will be grouped thematically (epidemiological, natural history, test accuracy, clinical, educational) within each methods/mechanism category
