The aim of this research is to assess the soils and water quality along Sokoto-Rima Floodplain; the correlation analysis was used to find out the degree of relationship between pollutants in soils and water. Seven sample points was selected systematically from the map at 6.13km interval, and in each sample point, three samples were taken each of soils and water from the river at hundred meters interval. A total of 21 samples of each soils and water were taken. The samples were taken to the laboratory for analysis. The results from the analysis show that: Positive correlations exist between soils and river in P and PO4, Mg, Ca, and Fe. R2 (coefficient of determination) values are .124, .013, .053, and .445 respectively. While, negative correlations exist between soils and river in pH, N and NO3, K, and OC and CO3. R2 values are .015, .224, .075, and .027 respectively. The correlation is statistically significant between N and NO3 at 0.05 and also, it is significant in Fe at 0.01 levels.

The rate of non-fatal deliberate self-harm (DSH) in Sri Lanka has increased in recent years, with associated morbidity and economic cost to the country. Pesticide ingestion is the commonest mode of suicide in Asia with an estimated loss of around 300,000 lives every year. We conducted a cross-sectional observational study in patients with 12 years of age and above who were admitted with deliberate self-harm (DSH) in Teaching Hospital Batticaloa, SriLanka. Of the 121 patients observed 83 (68.6%) females and 38 (31.4%) males. Among them, 119 (98.34%) cases (1.65%)) were of intentional poisoning and only two cases (1.44%) were of accidental poisoning. In this study, the majority of victims 47(38.84%) were young age group (20-29). Forty-two (34.71%) were teenagers.In the present study, the commonest poisoning agent was yellow oleander seeds 33 (27.3 %) followed by organophosphorus compounds 23(19%) and Paracetamol overdose 22 (18.2%). These findings support a strategy of limiting easy access to pesticides and oleander, and for improving the supply and effectiveness of antidotes, as a strategy for reducing fatal self- poisoning in rural SriLanka

Abstract: Tax non-compliance reduces tax collection and the tax performance within a country. The Kenyan government has implemented various strategies to bring businesses in the informal sector into the tax bracket. However, available data shows that tax collections from the informal sector are above average but on a declining trend. The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of complexity of tax returns on tax compliance in the informal sector in Nyeri Town. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design and targeted 715 informal businesses in Nyeri Town. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 143 informal businesses to participate. Researcher-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents. Descriptive methods such as frequency distribution, percentages, mean, were used to summarize and organize data. Chi-square tests and correlation analysis were employed to establish relationships between study variables. Findings were presented using tables of frequencies and percentages, Majority (71%) of the participants indicated that they could not calculate their tax returns on their own. The study found that complexity of tax returns had a significant relationship (p=0.001) with tax compliance at 95% confidence level. The researcher therefore concludes that there is a significant relationship between complexity of tax returns and tax compliance It was recommended that the government should commit monies to eservice delivery to enhance tax compliance.

Cancer is a major public health problem and a cause of morbidity and mortality in many parts of the world. On the other hand radiotherapy is one of the cancer treatment methods available but it has many side effects. Hypoalbuminaemia and hypoproteinaemia are common effects of radiotherapy and are often used to assess nutritional status of patients but there are few published reports on albumin and total protein levels in cancer patients on radiotherapy in Zimbabwe. Hence this study was carried out to determine the levels of serum albumin and total protein and compare levels in radiotherapy-exposed patients at Parirenyatwa Radiotherapy Clinic by type of cancer. A total of 63 cancer patients took part in this cross-sectional study, 30 had breast cancer while 18 had cervical cancer and 15 had prostate cancer. Samples were analysed using the Beckman Coulter AU680 Chemistry Analyser based on Bromocresol Green (BCG) method for albumin and the Biuret method for total protein, respectively. One way ANOVA was used for comparison of normally distributed data while the Kruskal-Wallis test was used for skewed data. Out of all cancer patients who took part in this study, 18 (28.6%) were hypoalbuminaemic and 3 (4.7%) had hypoproteinaemia. There was no significant difference between albumin and total protein of patients with different types of cancer. Prevalence of patients with hypoalbuminaemia (28.6%) and hypoproteinaemia (4.7%) was comparable to studies from other countries. High prevelance of hypoalbuminaemia is worrying in this context as it worsens prognosis of cancer patients

This article explores the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of sacrifice and religious ritual using instrument made of animal and human body parts among the Memba tribe of Menchuka Valley. The Memba is a name given to a collection of group of Buddhist people who migrated from various parts of Bhutan, present Tawang district and Tibet (China) respectively and settled in Menchuka Circle of West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, India during the early 17th Century A.D. The paper tries to present the ritual tradition of Memba tribe of Menchuka who follow Tibetan form of Buddhism and belong to Nying-ma-pa sect. It is interesting to know that Memba are still following and preserving most of the age-old ritualistic tradition of their ancestor. They followed extensive tantric ritual and comes under third vessel Vajrayana form of Buddhism introduced by Guru Padmasambhava in Eight century A.D. in Tibet. The article tries to provide brief information regarding the types of sacrificial ritual and use of animal and human body parts that are still prevalent among the Memba tribe. The paper also traces the belief and myth associate with it. In order to do so, varieties of sources in the form of secondary, primary, field study and folk narration are briefly examined to provide glimpse of their ritualistic practice.

Perinatal mortality rate is an important indicator of community health status. This study is to analyze the cause of perinatal death in Teaching Hospital, Batticaloa. A retrospective study was done over a period of last three and half years from January 2014 to June 2017, which included total 21,079 deliveries out of which 204 perinatal deaths occurred, hence perinatal mortality rate was 12.51 per 1000 birth on 2014, 15.11 per 1000 birth on 2015 and 13.28 per 1000 birth on 2016. The causes of perinatal deaths and risk factors were identified and analyzed. Out of 204 perinatal deaths, majority (53.4%) occurred due to pretermwith or without associated other factors, majority (87.2%) of perinatal death occurred in maternal age of 20-39 years, and found to be more common in (64.8%) multigravida patients and majority of perinatal deaths (58.3%) occurred during early neonatal period. Early identification of mothers at risk of pregnancy complications, especially intrauterine growth restricted fetuses, through antenatal care screening, educating pregnant women to recognize warning signs of pregnancy complications, timely access to obstetric care, monitoring of labour for fetal distress, and proper newborn resuscitation may reduce some of the categories of deaths. Fetal autopsy in future could detect many unknown causes. There should also be increased communication to work closelybetween neonatology team and obstetric team to bring down perinatal mortality

Objective of this study was to determine Biochemical condition and Microbiological load of water and soil sample of some costal shrimp Hatchery and Fisheries of Bangladesh. 8 samples were taken from 6 individual costal shrimp Hatchery. pH, temperature, Dissolved Oxygen, Biological Oxygen Demand, Ammonia, Salinity and Alkalinity of each sample was determined. The temperature and pH of the collected samples were found to vary from 29 to 32°C and 7.5 to 8.5 respectively. The Biological Oxygen Demand of the collected samples from different sources was found to range from 8.0 to 13.0 mg/L. The Dissolved Oxygen of the samples was observed to vary from 3.0 to 4.0 ppm. The ammonia content was observed to vary from 0.5 to 0.8 mg/L. The salinity was in the range of 28 to 32 ppt. The alkalinity of the samples was found to range from 120 to 130 mg/L. The total bacterial count and Vibrio load count of was done from collected samples. The maximum bacterial load was found to exist in the soil sample of dumping ground and at the zone of mixing point of hatchery discharged water with sea water next to it.

There are numerous kinds of centipedes present across the world. All species hold venom in their glands. However, a bite of each kind has its reactions. According to researchers, it has not been that bites of centipede killed people or pets. The symptoms of centipede stings vary depending on the degree of allergic reaction and the size of the centipede. Classically, bite victims have severe pain, swelling and redness at the site of the bite, with symptoms usually lasting less than 48 hours. Symptoms for those more sensitive to the venom’s effects may also include a headache, chest pain, heart tremors, nausea and vomiting. We are going to report and discuss a case of centipede bite or first dose of intravenous hydrocortisone complicated with a rare presentation of dystonic reaction

Parthenium hysterophorus L. is an invasive alien species of natural and agroecosystems. It causes biodiversity loss in the former and yield loss in the later. Successful eradication of P. hysterophorus is still a distant dream. We argue that the possibilities to exploit this species for material production and services should be explored. Present study evaluates this species for phytoremediation of chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni). P. hysterophorus plants were exposed to four concentrations of chromium (CN10, CN15, CN30 and CN40) and nickel (NN10, NN20, NN40 and NN50). The low concentrations of Cr (CN10) and Ni (NN10 and NN20) enhanced all the growth parameters studied. Shoot accumulation of Ni exceeded the root accumulation (TF<1) while TF>1 was noted for Cr. P. hysterophorus accumulates both heavy metals as evident from high biological concentration factor (BCF) and biological accumulation coefficient (BAC). Hence P. hysterophorus can act as phytoremediator of Ni and Cr.

Fluoroquinolone antibacterial agents are broad spectrum molecules and may be co-prescribed with antimalarial drugs in co-presenting infections. This study aimed at assessing the intestinal permeability of piperaquine (PQ) from dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) co-formulated antimalarial co-prescribed with ciprofloxacin (CP), using ex vivoabsorption model. Excised intestinal segments (duodenum and ileum) of length 4 cm from New Zealand white albino male rabbits (n=2) loaded with DP suspension equivalent to PQ (100 mg/mL) and CP suspension (100 mg/mL) based on body weights of animals. Similarly, DP alone was loaded to serve as controls C1 and C2, respectively. The organ bath contained Tyrode solution (TS) 100 mL. Sampling (5mL) was taken at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 6 h post immersion of tissue. PQ analysis was performed using high pressure chromatographic system with C8 ZorbactEclipse XDB (150 x 4.6 mm, 4.6 µm) column with UV detection at 220 nm and flow rate of 0.7 mL/min. Mobile phase contained acetonitrile: 10 mM ammonium acetate (70: 30 %v/v) and flow rate of 1.0 mL/min at ambient temperature. Area under the curve (AUC) ± SEM at 2 h and 6 h (AUC00-2 and AUC0-6) for tests and their respective control in duodenum were (0.2940±0.1055 versus 0.6198±0.0083 µg.mLh-1, P=0.009) and (1.9270±0.1287 versus 3.3975±0.3638 µg.mLh-1, P=0.006) and ileum (1.5300±0.1242 versus 1.5408±0.4275 µg.mLh-1, P=0.645) and (3.9500±0.0205 versus 5.6603±0.1073 µg.mLh-1, P=0.045), respectively. CP revealed lower permeability indices for PQ in duodenal but not in ileal intestinal barrier. Spacing out of drug regimen may be required for optimum PQ permeation

Hemosiderotic Fibrolipomatous Tumor (HFLT) and pleomorphic hyalinizing angiectatic tumor of soft parts (PHAT) are rare, locally aggressive neoplasms with overlapping morphological and immunohistochemical features. HFLT is a recently described neoplasm whose cytological features have not been widely described in the literature. We present the cytological and histopathological features of this case because of its rarity and the intermediate features exhibited in this tumor, suggesting a continuous spectrum of tumors of uncertain differentiation, which includes both HFLT and PHAT. A 29 year old female presented with a painful swelling over the dorsum of foot for 1½ months. FNA of the swelling showed features of a spindle cell neoplasm with marked pleomorphism, cytoplasmic pigment, intranuclear and intracytoplasmic inclusions. A possibility of a sarcoma was given. Histopathological examination of the excised specimen showed features in favor of a soft tissue tumor of intermediate malignancy of uncertain type. Immunohistochemistry showed immunoreactivity for CD34 and negativity for CD31, S-100, HMB-45, Melan-A and pancytokeratin. These findings favoured the possibility of a HFLT. An early PHAT was also considered owing to considerable overlap seen in these two tumors.

Atherogenic cardiovascular risk assessment is important in the management of dyslipidaemia associated with antiretroviral therapy (ART). Generally, Castelli’s Risk Index (CRI), Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP) and Atherogenic coefficient (AC) are becoming useful indices as risk predictors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). We studied the importance of these indices in identifying at-risk HIV individuals receiving treatment. Eighty (80) HIV-patients comprising treatment (n=40) and treatment-naïve (n=40) groups with age- and sex-matched were enrolled. Traditional lipid parameters {Total cholesterol (TC), Triglycerol (TG), and HDLc} were analyzed using spectrophotometry. The LDLc was calculated using Friedewald equation. Non-HDLc, CRI-I (TC/HDLc ratio) and CRI-II (LDLc/HDLc ratio), AIP {Log10 (TG/HDL-c)} and AC {(Non-HDLc)/HDLc} were also calculated. The CD4+ cell count was determined using flow cytometry. The correlations between atherogenic indices and lipid profile were determined using Pearson’s correlation.

Since independence in 1960 from British colonial rule, the various leadership of Nigeria have adopted various developmental strategies with view to reduce or to some extent do away with poverty but it could not, due to the complex nature of the country‟s poverty which can be termed as chronic. This is because poverty in Nigeria is persistent. It is estimated that up to 70% of Nigerians are living below poverty line. Nigeria has been branded by the international community as the second most corrupt nation in the World. For three consecutive years, 2000, 2001 and 2002, it has maintained that unenviable position. The rating came up as a consequence of several failed attempts by the administration to wipe out corruption and poverty or reduce them to a tolerable level in the polity. It is absolutely frustrating when one realizes the immense potentials in Nigeria. Sixteen years is enough time for any administration to sort out the fundamental problem of the country (poverty). All the recent poverty alleviation and development programs and initiatives are geared toward realizing the number one (1) Millennium Development Goal (MDGs), which is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by the year 2015. We have passed the deadline to the target of MDGs, these policies and programs are judged to be unsatisfactory and inadequate in meeting the MDGs. This therefore, necessitates the need for an elaborate study to critically assess the interplay between corruption, development and chronic poverty in Nigeria. The question to be asked is what are the problems of Nigeria‟s poverty reduction policies and development plans? To answer this fundamental question the paper clearly argued that Nigeria does not need any new policy on development and chronic poverty. All it needs is seriousness in terms of the implementation of existing policies to address the chronic nature of the Nigerian poverty. Nigerians need to sit up with a view to addressing corruption in all its ramifications. This is the only way Nigeria would get out of the shackle of chronic poverty and by extension development in general.

Odontogenic tumors represent a heterogeneous group of rare lesions accounting for about 1% of all jaw tumors. This work was carried out in order to evaluate the demographic and the histopathological characteristics of these tumors in Hassan II University Hospital, Fez, Morocco. This is a retrospective study including all cases of odontogenic tumors histologically diagnosed during a period of 10 years (2007-2016), in the department of pathology, Hassan II University Hospital, Fez, Morocco. Different demographic and histopathological characteristics have been analysed. A total of 31 odontogenic tumors were recorded. We noted a male predominance with a sex -ratio of 1.81. Mean age was 39.7 years (range, 7–87 years). The mandibular location was predominant with a maxillary/ mandibular ratio of 1: 1.21. Except one case of malignant odontogenic tumor, all other cases were benign. Ameloblastoma was the most common type (64.5%), followed by odontogenic myxoma/fibromyxoma and cementoma. In this series, odontogenic tumors have similarities and differences with those of previous series. We noted a male predominance, a more advanced age at diagnosis, and predominance of mandibular location and of ameloblastoma

Abstract: The study sought to investigate the influence of knowledge management systems on performance of small and medium enterprises. The study was anchored on systems theory. Descriptive cross sectional research design was adopted. Owners and employees of small and medium enterprises in Nanyuki town were targeted. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 115 respondents. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and regression analysis was used to establish the relationships between the variables. The findings were presented in tables and figures. The findings showed that knowledge management systems were lowly adopted by SMEs especially for feedback and decision support systems. Knowledge management systems (p=0.11) was not found to be statistically significant. It was concluded that majority of managers and employees did not have awareness of these systems. Failure to adopt these systems therefore remains the gap in the performance of SMEs. The study recommended that SME owners and employees should be sensitized about knowledge systems to enable them adopt the same and enhance performance.