First report of enteropathogenic and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli with multiple antibiotic resistance indices from African catfish (Clarias glariepinus) in Nigeria

Background: There are increasing reports of food safety issues associated with intensive production of fish which increase the chances of disease outbreaks from stressful growth conditions accompanying mass production and presence of bacterial pathogens.Methodology: Two hundred gastrointestinal tract (GIT) samples from two hundred African Cat Fish (Clarias glariepinus) were assessed for the presence of enteric Escherichia coli species including E. coli 0157, Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) and Enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) which are traditionally associated with infantile gastroenteritis. The antibiotic resistance profile and Multiple Antibiotic Resistance Index (MARI) for these isolates were determined. The serogrouping of the E. coli isolates was done using E. coli agglutinating sera (Oxoid) and E. coli 0157 latex reagent (Oxoid). Antibiotic susceptibility was determined according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines.Results: A total of 35 (17.5%) E. coli isolates were recovered from the fish intestines among which 9 (25.7%) were EPEC and 2 (5.7%) were EIEC. No E. coli 0157 strain was recovered. Thirty-three (94.0%) isolates had a MARI greater than 0.2. Antibiotic resistance to cefoxitin and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid were 77.1% and 74.3% respectively. All isolates were susceptible to meropenem and amikacin but all EPEC and EIEC isolates were AmpC (resistance to all penicillins, cephalosporins and beta lactamase inhibitors) positive.Conclusion: The isolation of EPEC and EIEC which can cause fatal gastroenteritis coupled with high MARI among isolates in this study represents a public health concern. Strict monitoring of administration of antibiotics in aquaculture is recommended.Keywords: EPEC; EIEC; Multiple antibiotic resistance; Aquacultur

Quality evaluation of ‘gari’ produced from cassava and sweet potato tuber mixes

The quality evaluation of gari produced from mixes of cassava (Manihot esculenta, Crantz) and Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) tubers were investigated and reported. This is done to allow for the establishment of the best mixes of cassava and potato tubers to be adopted in the composite gari produced. Gari was produced from mixes of cassava and sweet potato tubers at different ratios (100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, and 50:50 cassava and potato tubers, respectively). The samples of gari produced were subjected to various analyses like nutritional, antinutritional and organoleptic assessment using standard methods. The outcome of the proximate analysis revealed a gradual increase in the protein contents (1.27± 0.003 to 2.30 ± 0.110%,), ash (0.12 ± 0.020 to 0.48 ± 0.020%), fat (1.08 ± 0.030 to 1.54 ± 0.030%) and crude fibre (1.24 ± 0.004 to 1.48 ± 0.020%) as the percentage of sweet potato increased in the produced gari. There was reduction in the carbohydrate contents (84.55 ± 0.004 to 82 ± 0.030) with the increase in the percentage sweet potato. The moisture content was within the range of 10.20 ± 0.020 to 11.75 ± 0.030%. For the antinutritional factors, all the components (tannins, phenols, saponnins, glycosides, trypsin, phytate and oxalate) determined were at a very low concentration (maximum of 0.01 g/100 g and 0.012%). The sensory evaluation showed that sample A was scored best in all the quality attributes (color, taste, texture, chewability, soakability and the overall acceptability) except for the aroma where sample C scored highest. Conclusively, from the results obtained in this work, sweet potato addition in gari production can be said to give positive effects on the nutritional qualities of the product but does not really add to the organoleptic properties.Keywords: Cassava, sweet potato, nutritional, anti-nutritional, organolepticsAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(31), pp. 4920-492

Global Economic Crisis Effect on Shareholders Wealth in Agro-Allied Industries in Nigeria

This paper examined the effect of global economic crisis on shareholders’ wealth through evaluation of price movement in agro-allied industries in Nigeria. Agriculture being the most accepted sustainable source of revenue to Nigeria economy, though under gross neglect since the time of oil boom, is becoming the turning point of action for Nigeria to retain her economic status among the Commonwealth Nations in recent time. Consequent upon this, the trend of movement of share price in this sector need urgent analysis. Selected listed agricultural based company’s share prices were collected through secondary source from April, 2004 to March, 2014. The trend of share price movement were observed for a period of ten years divided into pre-share crisis period (April 2004 to March 2008) and post share crisis period (April 2008 to March 2014). Data were analyzed through Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the student’s t-test. The paper revealed that there is a significant relationship between the 2008 global economic crisis and shareholders’ wealth in the agriculture sector of economy in Nigeria as the p value of yearly average share price was (0.000) in the post share crisis period which is lower than (0.05) level of significant record in the pre-crisis period. The paper concluded that the crisis was responsible for the crash in the agro-based share price on the Nigeria Stock Exchange Markets thus rendering investment in the share of this sector unattractive. Based on this, proactive stock market regulation and reforms to strengthen the wealth of investors by regulatory institutions were recommended

Exchange parameters from approximate self-interaction correction scheme

The approximate atomic self-interaction corrections (ASIC) method to density functional theory is put to the test by calculating the exchange interaction for a number of prototypical materials, critical to local exchange and correlation functionals. ASIC total energy calculations are mapped onto an Heisenberg pair-wise interaction and the exchange constants J are compared to those obtained with other methods. In general the ASIC scheme drastically improves the bandstructure, which for almost all the cases investigated resemble closely available photo-emission data. In contrast the results for the exchange parameters are less satisfactory. Although ASIC performs reasonably well for systems where the magnetism originates from half-filled bands, it suffers from similar problems than those of LDA for other situations. In particular the exchange constants are still overestimated. This reflects a subtle interplay between exchange and correlation energy, not captured by the ASIC.Comment: 10 page

Development and Evaluation of a Manual Multi - crop Planter for Peasant Farmers

Farming today has gone beyond subsistence farming that produces for the farmer and his household. Research shows that the consumption of grains or cereal crops is at an alarming rate in the world, so to encourage small farm holders a manually operated multi-crop hand push planter with changeable metering devices for cowpea, maize and soybean was designed, fabricated and evaluated to improve planting efficiency and reduce drudgery involved in manual planting method. The laboratory and field tests were conducted to determine weight of seeds discharged from the planter, seed percentage damage, field capacity, average depth of placement of seeds in furrow, average inter-row spacing of seeds and the emergence of the seedlings. Results revealed that the planter had field efficiency and field capacity of 76.3% and 0.39 ha/hr with seed rate of 0.25 kg/ha, 0.18 kg/ha and 0.21kg/ha respectively for cowpea, maize and soybean. Percentage difference between the seed damage of 3.54%, 2.32% and 1.32% of cowpea, maize and soybean respectively obtained was from an average spacing of 40.8cm and depth of 3.98cm. The single-row multi-crop planter is very simple to use and it is maintenance free, except for the bearings which needs to be lubricated from time to time to allow the planter's ground wheel to move freely. For this design, the drive shaft directly controls the seed metering mechanism which eliminates completely attachments such as pulleys, belt systems, and gears thereby eliminating complexities which increase cost, and increasing efficiency at a highly reduced cost which is the focus of this project work. The planter can be easily maintained without any technicality and all materials used for the fabrication are locally available in the case of worn - out parts

The AgResults Nigeria Aflasafe TM Challenge Project: 2019 Annual Report

This report documents the key activities that were carried under the AgResults Aflasafe Pilot Project during the 2018/ 2019 maize-growing season on the verification process to trigger premium payments for successfully harvested and aggregated Aflasafe™-treated maize

Recognising the Key Role of Agriculture In Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2: Challenges And Prospects In Nigeria

The issue of food security has in recent times attracted a lot of scholarly debates in Nigeria. In spite of different methodologies utilised by the governments in addressing the challenge, the issue still persists. Results further revealed that the agricultural sector has not performed palatably in its quest for ensuring sustainable development. Suffice to note that agriculture should be given its rightful place if the country wants to experience development that will be said to be sustainable. In addressing this, the second Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) become handy because of its emphasis on eradicating hunger, which can only be achieved when the role of agriculture is recognised in the nation. It is on this premise that this paper examined the key role of Agriculture in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 in Nigeria. This is a conceptual paper that relies on an extensive review of related literature. The findings show that the agriculture sector faces many challenges, making it quite difficult in achieving its main goal which is ensuring an adequate supply of food in all parts of the country. In specificterms, the current insurgency in Northern Nigeria has been one of the major factors which have further destabilised the lopsided agricultural sector in the country. The paper recommended among others that investment in the agricultural sector should be given top priority by the Federal, State and Local Governments so that the continuous dependence on imported products will be reduced, as well as to relieve dependence on the oil sector for economic growth

Assessment of Heavy Metals Level in Soil and Vegetables Grown in Peri-Urban Farms around Osun State and the Associated Human Health Risk

Farming around urban centres (peri-urban farming) is a major source of fresh crop produce, notably vegetables. However, the limitation of land resources and the associated high level of soil contamination from domestic and industrial pollutants are major concerns for the safety of food materials from peri-urban farms. Thus, this study investigated heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) concentration in soil and vegetable samples (Amaranthus hybridus and Corchorus olitorius) collected from selected peri-urban farms with a view to providing information on the human health risks associated with consumption of peri-urban vegetables.This study showed that the concentration of investigated heavy metals in the soils of peri-urban farms were within the background range for farming set by FAO/WHO (2002) and EU (2006) while appreciable level of these metals were observed in vegetable samples. Arsenic concentration was below detection limit in all samples. Amaranthus showed higher retention capacity for the assayed heavy metals except Cu. Transfer Factor values showed metal uptake by vegetables in the order Cd > Zn > Pb > Cu. The estimated daily intake showed that the highest consumption of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn were from Amaranthus. The Health risk index showed high values for Cd and Pb but low values for Cu and Zn for both Amaranthus and Corchorus. The results obtained in this study regarding the hazard index indicate that vegetables grown in selected peri-urban farms are not safe for consumption

Patients’ satisfaction with the quality of services accessed under the National Health Insurance Scheme at a Tertiary Health Facility in FCT Abuja, Nigeria

Background: Evaluation of patients’ satisfaction is increasingly gaining importance as one of the main tools for the assessment of the quality of healthcare delivery and its impact from the patients’ perspective. This study assessed patient satisfaction with services accessed under the National Health Insurance Scheme at a tertiary health facility in FCT Abuja, Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among NHIS patients attending the General Outpatient Department at the National Hospital FCT Abuja, Nigeria between April and September 2017. Data was collected from 388 patients selected by systematic random sampling; using pretested, anonymous, self-administered, structured questionnaires, with each satisfaction area scored on a five-point Likert scale ordinal response. Evaluation was done from the typical complaints received from NHIS enrollees such as: hospital reception and patient registration process, waiting time, doctors’ consultations, laboratory services, availability of prescribed drugs and hospital facilities. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0.Results: The overall average satisfaction score was 58.1%. The satisfaction score with various aspects of services were: doctors’ consultation (69.9%), laboratory services (66.5%), hospital facilities (62.2%), hospital services (60.4%), reception/registration (59.8%), waiting time (59%) and prescribed drugs (54.2%).Conclusion: The patient’s overall satisfaction was good. However, unavailability of prescribed drugs, long registration processes and waiting time were found to be the major causes of dissatisfaction. Therefore concerted efforts should be directed by all stakeholders towards the areas of patient dissatisfaction through better service delivery.Keywords: Patient Satisfaction, Services, Health insurance, Health facility, Nigeri