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How Mathematics Can Solve Life-Threatening Ailments, By Don

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A professor of Mathematics at the Federal University of Technology Minna (FUTMINNA), Usman Abubakar, has demonstrated how mathematical modelling can be used to diagnose some killer ailments.

Abubakar revealed that he had used a mathematical model to study the prognosis of leprosy disease and its deadly effects on human health. He said his study focused on stages when leprosy patients were under treatment and recovery. He said his research also extended to the stage of patients’ death.

The professor of Mathematics spoke last Wednesday, while delivering the school’s 57th inaugural lecture titled: Predictive stochastic modelling of leprosy disease, human health condition and desertification in Nigeria: The untapped open secret ingredients. The event was held at the Caverton Lecture Hall in Gidan Kwano campus.

He defined mathematical modelling as the method of creating an arithmetical model of a problem, and using it to analyse and solve the problem.

He said: “A mathematical model is a mathematical description of some real-life situation. It can be applied in predicting weather conditions, diagnosing specific ailments and study drug efficiency in humans, among other areas.”

Prof Abubakar maintained that it would be possible for a researcher to predict the likelihood of having leprosy patients with grade one and two disabilities. He said his research was carried out on blood inventory at the Minna General Hospital, which enabled him to observe human health conditions daily.

He disclosed that he was able to estimate the amount of land mass lost in the country’s savannah region annually due to desertification by effective application of mathematical modeling.

Prof Abubakar said he there is a wide gap between mathematical model builders and the intended model users, because of the inability of the latter to understand fundamentals of mathematics. He called on government and non-governmental organisations to extensively utilise the quantitative information emanating from mathematical models to solve real life problems.

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