Dry Matter, Protein and Fibre Digestibility by West African Dwarf Sheep Fed Varying Levels of \u3cem\u3eVernonia amygdalina\u3c/em\u3e Meal in Cassava Starch Residue-Based Diets

It is imperative to find alternative source(s) of feed for livestock in lieu of the limited availability of conventional concentrates and the competition for this resource by man. One plant with great potential for the livestock is bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina). It is wide spread with about 200 species, is edible, drought tolerant, nutritious and has been found to have medicinal qualities (John 1994). V. amygdalina has an astringent taste which affects its intake. Bitter leaf meal contains 20-34% crude protein (CP) and can be used as protein supplement (Aregheore et al. 1998). With the recent introduction of trees and shrubs into cropping and grazing systems to provide high protein fodder to supplement post harvest crop residues, it is conceivable that V. amygdalina could play a valuable role in ruminant feeding system. This study was conducted to assess the dry matter, protein and fibre digestibility by WAD sheep fed diets containing various levels of Vernonia amygdalina leaf meal

Spatial Variability Study of Duty Cycle in GSM 900 and 1800 MHz Bands in Rural and Urban Environments

This paper examines the spatial variability of duty cycle in the GSM 900 and 1800 MHz bands within Kwara State, Nigeria. The results show spatial variance in the duty cycle with average occupancies of 1.67%, 17.76%, 10.55% and 0.39%, 11.00% and 5.11 in the rural, urban and all locations for 900 and 1800 MHz bands. Findings also show that there is very high positive correlation between rural 900/1800 MHz and urban 900/1800 MHz. But very high negative correlations exits between urban 900 and rural 1800, and urban 1800 and rural 1800. There is a weak and negative correlation between rural and urban 900 MHz, rural-urban 1800. These results clearly showthe abundance of unutilised spectrum within the GSM bands. Therefore, regulatory commissions should adopt flexible spectrum reuse strategy to relax the regulatory bottlenecks to maximize the scarce radio resources in the licensed bands, especially for rural network deployment

Blood chemistry, haematological indices and nutrient digestibility of starter turkeys fed macaroni waste meal as a replacement for maize.

A 56-days experiment was carried out to study the effect of replacing macaroni waste meal (MWM) with maize on nutrient digestibility and blood chemistry of indigenous turkey starter. Ninety-six indigenous turkey poults with an average weight of 52 g were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments containing macaroni waste meal at 0%, 15%, 30% and 45% level as replacement for maize. Each treatment consist of 24 turkey poults replicated thrice with 8 turkeys per replicate. A three day metabolic study trial was carried out for nutrient digestibility determination. Blood samples were also collected for serum and haematological indices. Data collected were subjected to one way analysis of variance. Result showed that MWM at 15% had the highest values for packed cell volume, red blood cell, white blood cell while values recorded for serum uric acid and creatinine were significantly lower (P0.05). However, the packed cell volume, red blood cell count, albumin, hemoglobin, total serum protein and serum glucose. It can be concluded that MWM could be incorporated into the diet of indigenous turkey starter at 15% level without any deleterious effect on nutrient digestibility and blood chemistry

Toxicity, Tunneling and Feeding Behavior of the Termite, Coptotermes vastator, in Sand Treated with Oil of the Physic Nut, Jatropha curcas

Oil of the physic nut, Jatropha curcas L. (Malpighiales: Euphorbiaceae), was evaluated in the laboratory for its barrier and repellent activity against the Philippine milk termite Coptotermes vastator Light (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). The study showed that J. curcas oil had anti-feeding effect, induced reduction in tunneling activity and increased mortality in C. vastator. Behavior of termites exposed to sand treated with J. curcas oil indicated that it is toxic or repellent to C. vastator. Toxicity and repellent thresholds, were higher than those reported for other naturally occurring compounds tested against the Formosan subterranean termite

Ethical and legal implications of whole genome and whole exome sequencing in African populations

BACKGROUND: Rapid advances in high throughput genomic technologies and next generation sequencing are making medical genomic research more readily accessible and affordable, including the sequencing of patient and control whole genomes and exomes in order to elucidate genetic factors underlying disease. Over the next five years, the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Initiative, funded by the Wellcome Trust (United Kingdom) and the National Institutes of Health (United States of America), will contribute greatly towards sequencing of numerous African samples for biomedical research. DISCUSSION: Funding agencies and journals often require submission of genomic data from research participants to databases that allow open or controlled data access for all investigators. Access to such genotype-phenotype and pedigree data, however, needs careful control in order to prevent identification of individuals or families. This is particularly the case in Africa, where many researchers and their patients are inexperienced in the ethical issues accompanying whole genome and exome research; and where an historical unidirectional flow of samples and data out of Africa has created a sense of exploitation and distrust. In the current study, we analysed the implications of the anticipated surge of next generation sequencing data in Africa and the subsequent data sharing concepts on the protection of privacy of research subjects. We performed a retrospective analysis of the informed consent process for the continent and the rest-of-the-world and examined relevant legislation, both current and proposed. We investigated the following issues: (i) informed consent, including guidelines for performing culturally-sensitive next generation sequencing research in Africa and availability of suitable informed consent documents; (ii) data security and subject privacy whilst practicing data sharing; (iii) conveying the implications of such concepts to research participants in resource limited settings. SUMMARY: We conclude that, in order to meet the unique requirements of performing next generation sequencing-related research in African populations, novel approaches to the informed consent process are required. This will help to avoid infringement of privacy of individual subjects as well as to ensure that informed consent adheres to acceptable data protection levels with regard to use and transfer of such information

Meta‐Analysis of Genome‐wide Linkage Studies in BMI and Obesity

Objective: The objective was to provide an overall assessment of genetic linkage data of BMI and BMI‐defined obesity using a nonparametric genome scan meta‐analysis. Research Methods and Procedures: We identified 37 published studies containing data on over 31,000 individuals from more than >10,000 families and obtained genome‐wide logarithm of the odds (LOD) scores, non‐parametric linkage (NPL) scores, or maximum likelihood scores (MLS). BMI was analyzed in a pooled set of all studies, as a subgroup of 10 studies that used BMI‐defined obesity, and for subgroups ascertained through type 2 diabetes, hypertension, or subjects of European ancestry. Results: Bins at chromosome 13q13.2‐ q33.1, 12q23‐q24.3 achieved suggestive evidence of linkage to BMI in the pooled analysis and samples ascertained for hypertension. Nominal evidence of linkage to these regions and suggestive evidence for 11q13.3‐22.3 were also observed for BMI‐defined obesity. The FTO obesity gene locus at 16q12.2 also showed nominal evidence for linkage. However, overall distribution of summed rank p values <0.05 is not different from that expected by chance. The strongest evidence was obtained in the families ascertained for hypertension at 9q31.1‐qter and 12p11.21‐q23 (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Despite having substantial statistical power, we did not unequivocally implicate specific loci for BMI or obesity. This may be because genes influencing adiposity are of very small effect, with substantial genetic heterogeneity and variable dependence on environmental factors. However, the observation that the FTO gene maps to one of the highest ranking bins for obesity is interesting and, while not a validation of this approach, indicates that other potential loci identified in this study should be investigated further.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93663/1/oby.2007.269.pd

Identification, Replication, and Fine-Mapping of Loci Associated with Adult Height in Individuals of African Ancestry

Adult height is a classic polygenic trait of high heritability (h2 ∼0.8). More than 180 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), identified mostly in populations of European descent, are associated with height. These variants convey modest effects and explain ∼10% of the variance in height. Discovery efforts in other populations, while limited, have revealed loci for height not previously implicated in individuals of European ancestry. Here, we performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association (GWA) results for adult height in 20,427 individuals of African ancestry with replication in up to 16,436 African Americans. We found two novel height loci (Xp22-rs12393627, P = 3.4×10−12 and 2p14-rs4315565, P = 1.2×10−8). As a group, height associations discovered in European-ancestry samples replicate in individuals of African ancestry (P = 1.7×10−4 for overall replication). Fine-mapping of the European height loci in African-ancestry individuals showed an enrichment of SNPs that are associated with expression of nearby genes when compared to the index European height SNPs (P<0.01). Our results highlight the utility of genetic studies in non-European populations to understand the etiology of complex human diseases and traits