THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTS. By Oscar Kempthorne. New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1952. 631 pp. $8.50. This book by a teacher of statistics (as well as a consultant for \"experimenters\") is a comprehensive study of the philosophical background for the statistical design of experiment. It is necessary to have some facility with algebraic notation and manipulation to be able to use the volume intelligently. The problems are presented from the theoretical point of view, without such practical examples as would be helpful for those not acquainted with mathematics. The mathematical justification for the techniques is given. As a somewhat advanced treatment of the design and analysis of experiments, this volume will be interesting and helpful for many who approach statistics theoretically as well as practically. With emphasis on the \"why,\" and with description given broadly, the author relates the subject matter to the general theory of statistics and to the general problem of experimental inference. MARGARET J. ROBERTSON

The Design and Analysis of Experiments

BackgroundHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with prevalence 16–32 times higher in developing countries than in developed countr...

Global Burden of Aflatoxin-Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Risk Assessment

Antagonistic fungi, trichoderma spp.: panoply of biological control

Mycotoxin problem in Africa: Current status, implications to food safety and health and possible management strategies

The aflatoxin producing fungi, Aspergillus spp., are widely spread in nature and have severely contaminated food supplies of humans and animals, resulting in health hazards and even death. Therefore, there is great demand for aflatoxins research to develop suitable methods for their quantification, precise detection and control to ensure the safety of consumers’ health. Here, the chemistry and biosynthesis of the mycotoxins is discussed their occurrence and the health hazards to humans and livestock. This review focuses on resources, production, detection and control measures of aflatoxins to ensure food and feed safety. The results presented herein will facilitate health-conscious consumers and for experts, while providing knowledge on new and innovative approaches to ensure food safety and meet the future demands of the increasing population by decreasing the incidence of outbreaks by aflatoxins.

/pdf/aflatoxins-a-global-concern-for-food-safety-human-health-and-11m5m6peb0.pdf

Aflatoxins: A Global Concern for Food Safety, Human Health and Their Management

This review presents the different mycotoxins (aflatoxins, fumonisins and ochratoxin A) produced in agricultural crops in the West African sub-region. The acute and chronic toxic effects of the various mycotoxins are presented. Maize and groundnuts have been found to be excellent substrate for aflatoxin contamination, while fumonisins are widely distributed in maize. Other food products for which mycotoxin contamination has been reported in the sub-region include dried yam chips, tiger nut, melon seeds and stored herbal plants. Mycotoxin contamination is favoured by stress factors during plant growth, late harvesting of crops, high ambient humidity preventing thorough drying, unscientific storage practices and lack of awareness. Control measures include education of the populace on the danger of mycotoxin contaminated diet, early harvesting, rapid drying, sorting, sanitation, use of improved storage structures, smoking, insect control, the use of botanicals and synthetic chemicals as storage protectants, fumigation, biological control, the use of resistant varieties and detoxification of mycotoxin contaminated grains. Key words : Mycotoxins, aflatoxins, food, fumonisins, ochratoxin A, surveillance, toxicology, prevention, control, West Africa. 
African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.2(9) 2003: 254-263

/pdf/mycotoxins-in-food-in-west-africa-current-situation-and-3aft0k3beo.pdf

Mycotoxins in food in West Africa: current situation and possibilities of controlling it

th day. Bacterial, fungal and actinomycetes populations decreased upon treatment with herbicides when compared to the control. There was significant reduction in percentage organic matter after the herbicides were applied to soils. Soil organic matter then increased after continuous application from the second to the sixth week of treatment. Herbicide treatment resulted in a significant drop in dehydrogenase activity when compared to the control soil samples. Obtained results indicated that soils treated with primeextra had the lowest dehydrogenase activity of 16.09 µg (g -1 min -1 ) after the sixth week of treatment, while soils treated with glyphosate had the highest dehydrogenase activity of 20.16 µg (g -1 min -1 ) when compared to other herbicides used for treatment. Dehydrogenase activity increased from the second to the sixth week of treatment. This study indicated significant response of soil microbial activity to herbicide treatment and increased adaptation of the microbial community to the stress caused by increase in concentration of the herbicides over weeks of treatment.

/pdf/effect-of-four-herbicides-on-microbial-population-soil-390znu7eba.pdf

Effect of four herbicides on microbial population, soil organic matter and dehydrogenase activity

Mycotoxins, toxic secondary metabolites of fungi are now recognised as major cause of food intoxications in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Aflatoxins, the most important of the group have been implicated in acute aflatoxicoses, carcinogenicity, growth retardation, neonatal jaundice and immunological suppression in SSA. The hot and humid tropical climate provides ideal condition for growth of toxigenicAspergillus spp, making food contamination to be widespread in SSA, with maize and groundnuts being the most contaminated. The available data suggests that cassava products (the most important African food) are not prone to aflatoxin contamination. Recent data on ochratoxin A produced by species ofAspergillus on grains have indicated the necessity for it to be monitored in SSA. Fumonisins represent the most importantFusarium mycotoxins in SSA, and surveillance data indicate very high contamination rates of almost 100% in maize samples from West Africa. Limited information exists on the occurrence of trichothecenes, while the data currently available suggest that zearalenone contamination seems not to be a problem in SSA. The strategies under investigation to mitigate the mycotoxin problem in SSA include education of the people on the danger of consuming mouldy foods, pre and post harvest management strategies with emphasis on biological control, use of plant products to arrest fungal growth during storage, enterosorbent clay technology, and the search for traditional techniques that could reduce/detoxify mycotoxins during food processing.

Mycotoxins in food systems in Sub Saharan Africa: A review.

A survey was conducted on the incidence of fungi, and the natural occurrence of aflatoxins and fumonisins in preharvest maize from fields in south-western Nigeria. Mycological examinations revealed the predominance of F. verticillioides (Zea mays) (syn. F. moniliforme), occurring in 89.3% of samples with a mean kernel infection of 49.4%, while Aspergillus flavus was isolated from 65% of samples having a mean kernel infection of 6.8%. Aflatoxin B1 was detected in 18.4% of samples with a mean of 22 μg kg−1, while aflatoxins B2, G1 and G2 were present in 7.8, 2.9 and 1% of the samples with mean levels of 10, 8 and 7 μg kg−1, respectively, in contaminated samples. Total aflatoxins ranged from 3 to 138 μg kg−1 in positive samples, with a mean of 28 μg kg−1. Fumonsin B1 was the predominant toxin detected in terms of frequency (78.6% of samples) and quantity (concentration range 70–1780 μg kg−1, mean = 495 μg kg−1). Fumonisin B2 was detected in 68 samples (66%) with a mean of 114 μg kg−1. Fifteen samples were co...

S. A. Bankole

Papers

Mycotoxins in food in West Africa: current situation and possibilities of controlling it

Effect of four herbicides on microbial population, soil organic matter and dehydrogenase activity

Mycotoxins in food systems in Sub Saharan Africa: A review.

Occurrence of aflatoxins and fumonisins in preharvest maize from south-western Nigeria

On the functional properties of globulin and albumin protein fractions and flours of African locust bean (Parkia biglobossa)