20 research outputs found
A systematic review on COVID-19 pandemic with special emphasis on curative potentials of Nigeria based medicinal plants
No full textDespite the frightening mortality rate associated with COVID-19, there is no known approved drug to effectively combat the pandemic. COVID-19 clinical manifestations include fever, fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, and other complications. At present, there is no known effective treatment or vaccine that can mitigate/inhibit SARS-CoV-2. Available clinical intervention for COVID-19 is only palliative and limited to support. Thus, there is an exigent need for effective and non-invasive treatment. This article evaluates the possible mechanism of actions of SARS-CoV-2 and present Nigeria based medicinal plants which have pharmacological and biological activities that can mitigate the hallmarks of the pathogenesis of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 mode of actions includes hyper-inflammation characterized by a severe and fatal hyper-cytokinaemia with multi-organ failure; immunosuppression; reduction of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to enhance pulmonary vascular permeability causing damage to the alveoli; and further activated by open reading frame (ORF)3a, ORF3b, and ORF7a via c-Jun N- terminal kinase (JNK) pathway which induces lung damage. These mechanisms of action of SARS-CoV-2 can be mitigated by a combination therapy of medicinal herbs based on their pharmacological activities. Since the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are multifactorial with co-morbidities, we strongly recommend the use of combined therapy such that two or more herbs with specific therapeutic actions are administered to combat the mediators of the disease.Fil: Oladele, Johnson O.. Kings University; NigeriaFil: Ajayi, Ebenezer Idowu O. Osun State University; Nigeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Oyeleke, Oyedotun M.. Kings University; NigeriaFil: Oladele, Oluwaseun T.. Osun State University; NigeriaFil: Olowookere, Boyede D.. Kings University; NigeriaFil: Adeniyi, Boluwaji M.. Benue State University; NigeriaFil: Oyewole, Olu I.. Osun State University; NigeriaFil: Oladiji, Adenike T.. University Of Ilorin; Nigeri
Perceived Effects of Professionalization of Extension Services by Public and Private Agents in South West Nigeria
No full textAgricultural extension in Nigeria is at the verge of aspiring to a higher level of professionalism which will involve the accreditation, registration and certification of extension service providers by a recognized and legalized professional body in line with the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) mandate. This study thus specifically analyse the perceived effects of professionalization of extension services by extension agents in South West Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit data from three hundred and one (301) public agents and fifty-five (55) private agents that were selected through a stratified random sampling technique. The findings revealed that majority of the public and private extension agents were married, live in their job location, have a rural background with majority of them however not involved in pursuing a higher degree. The public and private agents had basic knowledge about the concept of professionalization and exhibited a favourable attitude towards professionalizing extension services. T-test analysis revealed significant differences in the average number of children, years of experience, farmers group covered and distance to clients travelled by the public and private agents. Extension agents in both organizations exhibited a positive perception of the effects of professionalization of extension services in enhancing and improving delivery. Regression analysis revealed that variables such as the extension agents’ knowledge, attitude, years of experience, educational qualification and rural-urban background were significant determinants of their perceived effects of professionalization on service delivery. It was recommended that there is the need for extension agencies to support continuous professional development of extension agents through trainings and acquisition of relevant higher degrees that will help to enhance their knowledge thus upgrading their professionalization-readiness status. This will facilitate the smooth implementation of professionalization in the area for efficient service delivery
Reactive Oxygen Species in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Implications in Pathogenesis and Treatment Strategies
No full textNeuroprotective mechanism of Vernonia amygdalina in a rat model of neurodegenerative diseases
No full textThe global upsurge in the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases in recent years has been associated with increase in toxic chemical exposure and release into the biosystem, having over 46.8 million people suffer dementia worldwide. This study focused on elucidating the neuroprotective mechanism of methanol leaf extract of Vernonia amygdalina (MLVA) in nitrobenzene-induced neurodegenerative disease in rats. Thirty aged male rats were sorted into five groups of six rats each. Group A received distilled water while 100 mg/kg bw of nitrobenzene was orally administered to groups (B to E) to induce neurodegeneration. Group B (disease control) was untreated, while Group C and D were treated with oral administration of 200 and 400 mg/kg bw of MLVA respectively and group E with vitamin E for 14 days. Locomotor behaviour was analysed using video-tracking software while the midbrain, cerebrum and cerebellum of the rats were processed for biochemical analyses. Results showed that treatment of nitrobenzene-induced neurodegenerative rats with MLVA significantly (p < 0.05) increase dopamine, GSH, antioxidant enzymes levels; and decrease acetylcholinesterase activity, biomarkers of inflammatory and oxidative stress level. Also, MLVA enhanced neurobehavioural and locomotor activities in all markers assessed. Taken together, neuroprotective mechanisms of MLVA can be linked to its antioxidant, acetylcholinesterase suppression, lipid peroxidation inhibition, anti-inflammatory and neurobehavioural restoring abilities
Perceived Effects of Professionalization of Extension Services by Public and Private Agents in South West Nigeria
No full textAgricultural extension in Nigeria is at the verge of aspiring to a higher level of professionalism which will involve the accreditation, registration and certification of extension service providers by a recognized and legalized professional body in line with the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) mandate. This study thus specifically analyse the perceived effects of professionalization of extension services by extension agents in South West Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit data from three hundred and one (301) public agents and fifty-five (55) private agents that were selected through a stratified random sampling technique. The findings revealed that majority of the public and private extension agents were married, live in their job location, have a rural background with majority of them however not involved in pursuing a higher degree. The public and private agents had basic knowledge about the concept of professionalization and exhibited a favourable attitude towards professionalizing extension services. T-test analysis revealed significant differences in the average number of children, years of experience, farmers group covered and distance to clients travelled by the public and private agents. Extension agents in both organizations exhibited a positive perception of the effects of professionalization of extension services in enhancing and improving delivery. Regression analysis revealed that variables such as the extension agents’ knowledge, attitude, years of experience, educational qualification and rural-urban background were significant determinants of their perceived effects of professionalization on service delivery. It was recommended that there is the need for extension agencies to support continuous professional development of extension agents through trainings and acquisition of relevant higher degrees that will help to enhance their knowledge thus upgrading their professionalization-readiness status. This will facilitate the smooth implementation of professionalization in the area for efficient service delivery
Application of Data Mining Algorithms for Feature Selection and Prediction of Diabetic Retinopathy
No full textDiabetes Retinopathy is a disease which results from a prolonged
case of diabetes mellitus and it is the most common cause of loss of vision in
man. Data mining algorithms are used in medical and computer fields to find
effective ways of forecasting a particular disease. This research was aimed at
determining the effect of using feature selection in predicting Diabetes
Retinopathy. The dataset used for this study was gotten from diabetes retinopathy
Debrecen dataset from the University of California in a form suitable for mining.
Feature selection was executed on diabetes retinopathy data then the Imple�mentation of k-Nearest Neighbour, C4.5 decision tree, Multi-layer Perceptron
(MLP) and Support Vector Machines was conducted on diabetes retinopathy data
with and without feature selection. There was access to the algorithms in terms of
accuracy and sensitivity. It is observed from the results that, making use of
feature selection on algorithms increases the accuracy as well as the sensitivity of
the algorithms considered and it is mostly reflected in the support vector machine
algorithm. Making use of feature selection for classification also increases the
time taken for the prediction of diabetes retinopathy
An investigative and evaluative study of factors affecting quality of agricultural and farm information services in Kerala
No full textAgriculture is not only a country’s backbone of food, livelihood and ecological security systems, but is also the very soul of its sovereignty. In Kerala population density is high and land is scarce. To achieve sustainable advancement in quality of human life, meeting the domestic food requirement is to be given foremost priority in development plans. As the area of cultivation cannot be increased and growth of population cannot be controlled growth in food production is to be achieved by qualitative improvement in farming. This requires improvements in material inputs, farming techniques, storage technology and research. Effective integration of these factors is tied closely to adequate information flow, which can be ensured only by an efficient information system for agricultural education, research, extension and development. So evaluation and improvement of existing information services is very crucial for sustainable agricultural growth. The study evaluates the existing information resources, facilities, services, possibilities for resource sharing, accessibility of external sources, and the factors that affect the quality and efficiency of information services in agricultural sector. Coverage is limited to the State of Kerala. Sample consist 105 institutions of different levels, and information users consisting of 426 scientists and 220 farmers. Different sets of questionnaires and interview schedule were used to elicit information. The study found that agricultural research conducted at various institutions in the region at huge public expense has generated knowledge for improving production. Along with these huge collections of acquired content is also stored in the sector. But when a farmer, an extension worker, a scientist or an administrator needs information it is not easily accessible. The study found that agricultural sector fails to effectively bank on information resources available due to the lack of an information system and network. Recommends an Agricultural and Farm Information System for Kerala. Suggests a model plan for a computer communication network for resource sharing between the agricultural institutions in the State, which will also ensure, smooth flow of results of research down to the grassroots level to achieve maximum productivity in agriculture
Cardiorespiratory Response to Exercise Among Undergraduate Students of Ghana and Nigeria
No full textThe purpose of this study was to compare dynamic aerobic cardiorespiratory response to exercise among undergraduate students of the Department of Sports and Exercise Medical Sciences, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana and undergraduate students of the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education of University of Calabar, Nigeria. Ex-post facto research design was adopted for the study. The Population consisted of undergraduate students of Ghana and Nigeria totalling 85 students. Simple random sampling technique was applied to select 50 participants (25 students from each country comprising 15 males and 10 females) for the study. Standardized instrument was used for data collection. The variables compared were Resting Heart Rate, Exercise heart Rate and Maximal Oxygen Consumption (VO2max). Data collected were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics, where Independent t – test was applied to test for Hypotheses. The level of significance was set at .05 with 48 degree-of-freedom. The findings of the study revealed no significance differences in all the variables compared among the students of both Departments from both Countries, as a result the null hypotheses were rejected. It was concluded that the students from both Departments of the two different Countries in a related area of discipline exhibited good cardiorespiratory health and aerobic fitness as these are good indicator of physiological fitness for them to undertake their course in both Sports & Exercise Medical Sciences and Human Kinetics both in theory and in practice
A Deep Convolutional Encoder-Decoder Architecture for Retinal Blood Vessels Segmentation
No full textOver the last decades, various methods have been employed in
medical images analysis. Some state-of-the-arts techniques such as deep learn�ing have been recently applied to medical images analysis. This research pro�poses the application of deep learning technique in performing segmentation of
retinal blood vessels. Analyzing and segmentation of retina vessels has assisted
in diagnosis and monitoring of some diseases. Diseases such as age-related
fovea degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, hypertension, arterioscle�rosis and choroidal neovascularization can be effectively managed by the
analysis of retinal vessels images. In this work, a Deep Convolutional Encoder�Decoder Architecture for the segmentation of retinal vessels images is proposed.
The proposed method is a deep learning system composed of an encoder and
decoder mechanism allows a low resolution image set of retinal vessels to be
analyzed by set of convolutional layers in the encoder unit before been sent into
a decoder unit for final segmented output. The proposed system was evaluated
using some evaluation metrics such as dice coefficient, jaccard index and mean
of intersection. The review of the existing works was also carried out. It could be
shown that the proposed system outperforms many existing methods in the
segmentation of retinal vessels images
