Frequencies of feet feathering and comb type genes in the nigerian local chicken

Incidence of feet feathering condition, different comb types and the relative frequencies of the genes affecting these conditions were studied in 2030 local chickens. 14.78% of the local chicken surveyed had feathered feet, while 85.22% had non feathered feet. The single comb type was the commonest of the comb type observed in the chickens surveyed. 94.73% of the chickens had single comb, while 3.20% and 2.07% had rose and pea combs respectively. The estimated gene frequency for fish allele affecting feet feathering in the breed was 0.08, while its recessive allele, fih an estimated frequency of O. 92. The P allele for pea comb and the R allele for rose comb had a frequency of O. 02 and 0.01 respectively, while the recessive forms, rand p alleles for single comb had frequencies of 0.99 and 0.98 respectively. These estimated frequencies were found to be significantly different from the expected ratio based on simple Mendelian mode of inheritance of these traits

Comparative Analysis of Production Efficiency of Government-Assisted and Unassisted Pig Farmers in Lagos State

This study comparatively examined the efficiency of pig production among government-assisted and non-assisted farmers in Lagos State, Southwest, Nigeria. The study was based on primary data obtained in a cross-section survey of 120 pig farmers, 60 each drawn purposively from among the government-assisted (GAPF) and unassisted pig farmers (UAPF) in the state. The data were analysed by descriptive, budgetary and econometric (Stochastic Production Frontier) methods. The study revealed that, most of the pig farmers (67.7% of GAPF and 95.0% of UAPF) are men. Majority of the pig farmers (65.0% of GAPF and 55.0% of UAPF) are within 30 - 50 years age bracket; with as much as 83.3% of GAPF and 60.0% of UAPF, having no more than six years of experience in pig farming. However, most (95.0% of GAPF and 75.0% of UAPF) of the pig farmers had some tertiary education. Budgetary analysis revealed that an average GAPF incurred a total cost of N987,682 in producing N1,360,050 worth of pigs with a net farm income of N372,368 yielding 33.67% rate of returns on their investment during the 2008/2009 production season. His UAPF counterpart incurred a total cost of N727,860 in producing N938,000 worth of pigs with a net farm income of N210,140 yielding 31.73% rate of returns on during the same production season. The technical, allocative and overall economic efficiency estimates computed based on estimated Stochastic Production and Conditional Revenue Frontier models of the two categories of pig farmers revealed that GAPF are generally more efficient (with mean technical, allocative and overall economic efficiency index of 0.66, 0.68 and 0.48, respectively) than their UAPF counterparts (with mean technical, allocative and overall economic efficiency index of 0.53, 0.60 and 0.35, respectively). The differences in the production efficiency of the two categories of farms were found to be as a result of the institutional and infrastructural support received by GAPF which is not available to the UAPF. &nbsp

Assessing genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure of duck (Anas platyrhynchos) in Nigeria using mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequences

In this study, the maternal genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationship of Nigerian duck populations were assessed. A total of 591 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region of 87 indigenous ducks from two populations in Nigeria were analyzed. Seven haplotypes and 70 polymorphic sites were identified. The mean haplotypic and nucleotide diversity were found to be 0.381±0.058 and 0.315±0.155 respectively. The phylogeny revealed two divergent haplotype clades, suggesting two possible maternal lineage in Nigerian duck population, with the most commonly shared haplotype belonging to Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos). Genetic variation within and between populations accounted for 63.32% and 36.68% of the total genetic variation respectively. This study concluded that there was relatively high genetic diversity and differentiation, thus, this information will probably pave way for further evaluation studies, preservation and improvement of Nigerian ducks as genetic resources.Keywords: Genetic Diversity, MtDNA, Nigerian duck, phylogen

IMPACT OF THE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN PROCESS ON STUDENTS PERFORMANCE IN DESIGN STUDIO PROJECTS

Architecture can be seen as a discipline that poses several design challenges from conception to design realization stages. This path by which the idea of an architect is translated from the mind to paper and then birthed to life is known as design process. To solve design problems, architects have to go through a systematic design process, which vary with individuals and groups. In whatever way, this is done, the process determines the output and resulting performances. Hence, this study investigates varying design processes and the impact it has on students’ performances in their design studio courses. This study adopted a survey approach with 300 structured questionnaires distributed in three Schools of Architecture in southwest Nigeria. The Results showed two distinct design process approach by students namely: (i) Students who derive design concept in mind and stick to it from the beginning of the project to the end; and (ii). Students who embark on research with guided relevant key parameters to direct their project. Findings show that students in the latter category perform better in the design studio. Furthermore, the study recommended that the design process approach is important, but the rule of thumb is not a major determinant factor to performance in architectural design studio

Morphological Diversity and Cytological Studies in Some Accessions of Vigna vexillata (L.) A. Richard

Aim: The objectives of this study were to characterize and evaluate intraspecific relationship among twenty-six accessions of Vigna vexillata (L.) and work out interrelationship among the morphological traits which could be used for genetic improvement of cowpea, V. unguiculata (L.) Walp. Study Design: Field experiment was laid out in blocks of five buckets per accession in a row giving a total of 260 plants. Place and Duration of Study: At the experimental field of the Department of Biological Sciences, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun state, Nigeria, during the dry planting season (September – December, 2012). Methodology: A total of 26 traits comprising 18 quantitative and 8 qualitative traits of the vegetative, floral, pod and seed were evaluated using descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis (CA). Mitotic chromosome counts and meiotic behaviour were studied using root tip cells and pollen mother cells from young flower buds. Results: The analysis of variance showed that all quantitative morphological characters were significantly different among the accessions (P = 0.01) except stipule length and width. There were significant correlations among characters such as calyx lobe length, standard petal length and width, peduncle length, days to 50% flowering, days to 50% pod maturity, pod length and width, number of locules per pod, number of seeds per pod, and 100-seed weight which could be used for breeding and conservation purposes. The first six principal components accounted for 89.84% of the total variance. The cluster analysis segregated the 26 accessions into three main clusters; cluster I (15 accessions), cluster II (10 accessions) and cluster III (1 accession). Mitotic chromosome counts of 2n = 22 were recorded for all the accessions and meiosis was observed to be normal with the formation of eleven bivalents (n = 11). Conclusion: The intraspecific variabilities indicates plasticity in the genomes of the studied accessions, with high correlations among the morphological characters which are common to all accessions, thus justifying their grouping as a species. The morphological and reproductive attributes displayed by accessions TVnu93 and TVnu97 in terms of plant vigour, early flowering and pod maturity, longer pods and relatively high 100-seed weight made them good potential candidates in breeding for host plant resistance in cowpea

Association between Insulin Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) gene polymorphism and carcass traits in improved Nigerian indigenous chickens

The insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) is a key regulator of muscle development and metabolism in birds and other vertebrate. Our objective was to determine the association between IGF1 gene polymorphism and carcass traits in FUNAAB Alpha chicken. Genomic DNA was extracted from the blood of 50 normal feathered birds. At 10 weeks, the birds were slaughtered for carcass traits. Specific primers for chicken IGF1 were used for amplification of a 622 base segment. The amplified gene products were digested with Hinf1 restriction enzyme and the digested fragments were genotyped. Allele frequencies were 52% and 48% for A and B, respectively. Genotype frequencies were 27%, 50% and 23% for AA, AB and BB genotypes, respectively. All carcass traits values and the IGF1 gene polymorphism observed were subjected to analysis of variance and the mean were separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test. The results showed that the occurrence of the polymorphism did not affect all the carcass traits but AB genotypes had the highest carcass traits values than the AA and BB genotypes. The conclusion of this study demonstrated that IGF-1 gene, to some extent, could be a candidate gene that affects carcass traits in Improved Nigerian indigenous chicken.Keywords: IGF-1, PCR-RFLP, indigenous chicke

Toxicological responses of environmental mixtures: Environmental metal mixtures display synergistic induction of metal-responsive and oxidative stress genes in placental cells

Exposure to elevated levels of the toxic metals inorganic arsenic (iAs) and cadmium (Cd) represents a major global health problem. These metals often occur as mixtures in the environment, creating the potential for interactive or synergistic biological effects different from those observed in single exposure conditions. In the present study, environmental mixtures collected from two waste sites in China and comparable mixtures prepared in the laboratory were tested for toxicogenomic response in placental JEG-3 cells. These cells serve as a model for evaluating cellular responses to exposures during pregnancy. One of the mixtures was predominated by iAs and one by Cd. Six gene biomarkers were measured in order to evaluate the effects from the metals mixtures using dose and time-course experiments including: heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and metallothionein isoforms (MT1A, MT1F and MT1G) previously shown to be preferentially induced by exposure to either iAs or Cd, and metal transporter genes aquaporin-9 (AQP9) and ATPase, Cu2+ transporting, beta polypeptide (ATP7B). There was a significant increase in the mRNA expression levels of ATP7B, HO-1, MT1A, MT1F, and MT1G in mixture-treated cells compared to the iAs or Cd only-treated cells. Notably, the genomic responses were observed at concentrations significantly lower than levels found at the environmental collection sites. These data demonstrate that metal mixtures increase the expression of gene biomarkers in placental JEG-3 cells in a synergistic manner. Taken together, the data suggest that toxic metals that co-occur may induce detrimental health effects that are currently underestimated when analyzed as single metals

Sedimentation, depositional environments, and hydrocarbon potential of the Maastrichtian-Paleocene Araromi Formation, eastern Dahomey (Benin) Basin, southwestern Nigeria

The Cretaceous sediments in southwestern Nigeria are host to one of the largest bitumen deposits in the world. In the current paper, an integrated study on sedimentology, palynology, and applied petroleum geochemistry of the Maastrichtian-Paleocene Araromi Formation was used to determine the depositional environments and hydrocarbon potentials of the formation on the eastern Dahomey Basin. Four sedimentary lithofacies were identified from core samples, namely, lower limestone (F$_{1}$); medium to coarse-grained sandstone (F$_{2}$); lower loosely consolidated sandstone (F$_{3}$); and shale and siltstone (F$_{4}$). Sedimentation in the eastern Dahomey Basin occurred mainly in fluvial and shallow-marine (shelf) environments. The palynological assemblages of the Araromi Formation reflect deposition in coastal through brackish water to shallow shelf environment with periods of localized wind-induced storms. The shale and siltstone samples of the Araromi Formation are characterized by total organic carbon (TOC) values of up to 2.50 wt % and S$_{2}$ (hydrocarbon-generating potential) values ranging from 0.26 to 0.70 mgHC/g rock, indicating poor source rocks. Shales show poor quality and thermally immature organic matter at shallow depth and could neither have generated liquid hydrocarbon nor contributed to the heavy oil occurrence on the bitumen and tar-sand belt of eastern Dahomey (Benin) Basin