The concept of Pulaaku mirrored in fulfulde proverbs of the Gombe dialect

The paper gives a brief history of the Fulçe people who are found all over West and Central Africa. Since no study of a people is complete without mentioning their language, the paper also gives a very brief account of Fulfulde, the language of the Fulçe people. However, the central focus of the paper is the concept of pulaaku, that unique attribute of the Fulçe that serves as an unwritten code of conduct for all ‘true’ Fulçe. Pulaaku is Fulçe’s guiding principle in their dealings with their fellow Fulçe as well as with all other people. Rather than talk about pulaaku in isolation, however, the paper tries to mirror it through Fulfulde proverbs. Coded or loaded messages called wise-sayings or proverbs are widely used in all languages. Fulfulde is particularly rich in this, which is why the paper explores this reservoir of knowledge in trying to portray the rich culture of the Fulçe people. The corpus of proverbs from which the selected proverbs come, was compiled in and around Gombe with the help of Mallam Bappayo Bappa Yerima Djibril. Since the Fulçe are easily the most dispersed people in Africa, no single study can do real justice to all of them. This is why this study narrows its scope to cover just the Fulçe of Gombe area of the northeastern of Nigeria

Design and construction of a simple boat trailer for Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology, New Bussa

A simple boat trailer with an overall length of 4.59m, breathes 1.68m, and weight of 87kg was designed and constructed using locally available metals and scrap materials. The boat trailer was used to tow a boat of 250kg weight through a distance of 14km without affecting the safety and speed of the car. The construction resulted to the production of an open cart that is light and easily maneuvered that one person can move it manually without difficulty. The total production cost was N32, 300 which is affordable in relation to the cost of transporting boats through the use of pick up vans. The boat trailer can be easily maneuvered when coupled to any car or van. This makes it adequate for towing and for safer movement of boats from the school boat yard to any water bodies

Kualitas Rumput Unggul Tropika Hasil Ensilase Dengan Bakteri Asam Laktat Dari Ekstrak Rumput Terfermentasi

The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and king grass (Pennisetum purpureophoides) ensiled with addition of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) prepared from fermented grass extract (LBFG). Four treatments were napier grass without additive (EG), napier grass with 3% (v/w) of LBFG (EGL), king grass without additive (KG) and king grass with 3% (v/w) of BLEF (KGL). Ensiling was conducted in silos of 225 g capacity at room temperatures (approximately 28 °C) for 30 days. Chemical composition of silage, fermentation products and nutrient digestibility were measured. LBFG added silages were higher (P < 0.01) in LAB population but lower in pH value (P < 0.05) compared to silages without LBFG. Dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and NDF contents of LBFG added silages tended to have higher value than silages without LBFG. Total and individual VFA concentrations in KGL silage were lower (P < 0.05) than KG silage. In vitro DM and OM digestibility and Fleigh point in both silages with LBFG tended to be higher than silages without LBFG. It was concluded that addition of 3% (v/w) of LBFG improved the fermentation quality of napier and king grass silages, as shown by the lower pH value and NH3-N concentration, and the higher LAB population number

The Effect of Concentrate Containing Probiotics on Fermentation Characteristics, Methanogenesis and in Vitro Nutrient Digestility

The aim of the experiment was to evaluate the effect of probiotic addition in concentrate onfermentation characteristics, methane (CH4) production and in vitro nutrient digestibility. Two strainslactic acid bacteria (LAB) i.e. Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus acidhophilus, and one strainyeast of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used as probiotic.This experiment was arranged in a completelyrandomized design consisted of 4 treatments as follows grass silage (G); grass silage + concentratewithout probiotic (G+A); grass silage + concentrate containing L. plantarum and. S. cerevisiae (G+B);grass silage + concentrate containing L. acidophilus and. S. cerevisiae (G+C); grass silage + concentratecontaining L. plantarum and L. acidophilus (G+D). Data were analyzed as completely randomizeddesign and followed by Duncan's multiple range test. The results showed that the concentrate containingLAB varied 1.5 × 106 and 3 × 107 cfu/g, and 3 × 103 cfu/g of S. cerevisiae. Combination between L.plantarum and S. cerevisiae (G+B), and L. acidophilus and S. cerevisiae (G+C) in concentrate increased(P<0.01) propionic acid proportion. The average CH4 production in concentrate containing probiotic(G+C, G+D and D+E) was lower by 6.9% (P<0.01) compared to concentrate without probiotic (G+B). The in vitro dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility were higher (P<0.01) by25.7% and 6.3% respectively, in grass silage substrate with concentrate containing probiotic (G+C, G+Dand G+E) than in grass silage with concentrate without probiotic (G+B). In conclusion, addition ofprobiotic in concentrate could increase in vitro propionic acid proportion, DM and NDF digestibility andreduce CH4 production

Quality of life and visual function in Nigeria: findings from the National Survey of Blindness and Visual Impairment

Aims To assess associations of visual function (VF) and quality of life (QOL) by visual acuity (VA), causes of blindness and types of cataract procedures in Nigeria. Methods Multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling was used to identify a nationally representative sample of persons aged >= 40 years. VF/QOL questionnaires were administered to participants with VA = 6/12. Results VF/QOL questionnaires were administered to 2076 participants. Spearman's rank correlation showed a strong correlation between decreasing VA and VF/QOL scores (p< 0.0001) with greatest impact on social (p< 0.0001) and mobility-related activities (p< 0.0001). People who were blind due to glaucoma had lower VF and QOL scores than those who were blind due to cataract. Mean VF and QOL scores were lower after couching compared with conventional cataract surgery (mean VF score=51.0 vs 63.0 and mean QOL score=71.3 vs 79.3). Finally, VF and QOL scores were lower among populations with specific characteristics. Conclusions Populations with the following characteristics should be targeted to improve VF and QOL: people who are blind, older people, women, manual labourers, people living in rural areas, those living in the northern geopolitical zones, those practising Islamic and Traditionalism faith, those not currently married and those who have undergone couching

Energy Use Patterns in Sugar Production: A case study of Savannah Sugar Company, Numan, Adamawa State, Nigeria

A study was conducted on the evaluation of energy use patterns in sugar production in Savannah Sugar Company, Numan, Adamawa State. Energy use and production data in this agro-allied company for seven years (1998-2004) were collected through the administration of a structured questionnaire. Results show of the two energy sources examined electrical energy consumed accounted for 93% of the total energy inputs over the years under review. The balance of 7% was in the form of manual energy. The minimum and maximum values of energy use ratios were 16.2:1 and 23.9:1 were obtained for 2000 and 2002 respectively. A correlation between energy inputs and outputs with R2 value of 0.57 was obtained. Some energy use lapses were identified in the course of the study, which includes malfunctioning of some electric motors and other auxiliary equipment and general wastage. Manufacture, Transport and Repair (MTR) energy was not evaluated due to insufficient data on the masses of machines available in the industries and on their usage. Thus, the results of energy use obtained from the industries are incomplete because the MTR energy plays a significant role in energy use analysis. The significance of the results obtained in this work is that since the level of use of each energy source was determined, the agro-allied industry would be able to relate energy use with commodity production so as to enhance production with minimum energy input

Struktur, Perilaku dan Kinerja Pemasaran Biji Kakao di Kabupaten Parigi Moutong Provinsi Sulawesi Tengah

Parigi Moutong is one of cocoa production center in the Central Sulawesi province. The problem faced by cocoa farmers in Parigi Moutong is the weak bargaining position of farmers in the price determination. The purpose of this study is to analyze cocoa beans market structure, conduct and performance at Parigi Moutong district. The methods used are market concentration and exit barriers to analyze market structure; market conductand farmer share and marketing margin to analyze market performance. The results show that the market of cocoa beans has four marketing channels which the highest total margin is on 2nd channel (Rp 25 465 and oligopsony structure. The most efficient marketing channel is channel 3 with 58.01 percent of farmer share. One of alternatives to increase farmer's bargaining position in determining the cocoa price is by improving the cocoa quality through fermentation. This can be conducted by the farmer empowerment systematically and sustainably