Preliminary study on comparative morphometry of Cynothrissa mento (Regan, 1917) from Ologe, Badagry and Epe Lagoons, Lagos, Nigeria

The morphometric characters of Cynothrissa mento from three major Lagoons (Ologe, Badagry and Epe) in Lagos, Nigeria were compared to assess the possibility of this fish species from the three Lagoons belonging to the same sub-population. The length-weight relationships (LWR), and condition factors (CF) of the fish were also described as well as the physico-chemical parameters of the three water bodies. The study was conducted between May, 2009 and April, 2010 and monthly sampling of fish and water was done in each sampling site. Seven7 physico-chemical parameters were assessed and these are; temperature, pH, salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, total alkalinity and total hardness. A total of 294 specimens (Ologe 60, Badagry 174 and Epe 60) of C. mento were collected from the landings of the local fisher folks from the sampling sites. Seven morphometric characters; total length (TL), standard length (SL), body depth (BD), head length (HL), head depth (HD), eye diameter (ED) and interorbital width (IW) were measured. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in all the physico-chemical parameters measured among the sampling sites except pH. Coefficient of difference revealed that the C. mento from the three lagoons are uniform in all the morphometric parameters examined, which means that the specimens from the three sampling sites do not belong to different sub-populations. The growth coefficient/slope (b) values obtained for the fish species from the sampling sites ranged from 2.27 - 2.53, and differed significantly (p < 0.05) from 3, which indicates that most of the fish species have negative algometric growth

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

A Comparative Study of Growth Performance and Feed Efficiency in Dominant Black strain, Fulani Ecotype chicken and Progeny from their Reciprocal Crosses

A study of the relative performance of a local chicken (Fulani Ecotype or FExFE), an exotic chicken (Dominant Black or DBxDB), and their reciprocal crosses (DBxFE and FExDB) was undertaken. A total of three hundred and thirty (330) chickens comprising 100 DBxDB, 80 DBxFE, 80 FExDB and 70 FExFE were studied. All animals were raised from day old to 21 weeks age contemporaneously under identical housing, feeding and management procedures during which growth parameters were measured. Significant (p DBxFE 1346.80±3.05 > DBxDB 1314.40±3.61) over the 21 week experimental period. FExFE had significantly (p FExFE 67.50±0.02) over the same period. Low mortality (≤ 2%) occurred across genotypes with FExFE having the least mortality. The results indicated that reciprocal crossing of pure local Fulani Ecotype with exotic Dominant Black strain produces chickens with indistinguishable Feed Efficiency from the highly improved Dominant Black, and superior to the pure Fulani. Cross breeding of the type reported here may therefore serve as a tool for improving efficiency of Fulani Ecotype local poultry whilst retaining elements of their valued characteristics which include meat value. Further studies will evaluate the hybrids (F1) of FE and DB for retention of desirable characteristics of local breeds

Sensitivity and specificity of copper sulphate test in determining fitness of blood donors

Background: The accuracy of the copper sulphate method for the rapidscreening of prospective blood donors has been questioned because this rapid screening method may lead to false deferral of truly eligible prospective blood donors.Objective: This study was aimed at determining the sensitivity and specificity of copper sulphate specific gravity test for haemoglobin estimation as a determinant of fitness for blood donation at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria (LUTH).Methods: This study was a case control study carried out at LUTH between March and April, 2012. Subjects (n=263) recruited were classified into unfit donors/study group (n=153) and fit donors/control group (n=110). 5ml of venous blood withdrawn from each subject in EDTA bottle were used for full blood count analysis using the Haemoglobin auto-analyzer (Sysmex KX21, USA®) as a reference test for Haemoglobin determination.Results: The mean Haemoglobin, PCV and MCHC of the control group were significantly higher (P&lt;0.05) than that of the study group. MCV and MCH were not significantly different (P&gt;0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of the copper sulphate specific gravity method were found to be 40.52% and 86.4% respectively while the positive and negative predictive values were 80.5% and 50.1% respectively.Conclusion: The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of Copper sulphate test to determine fitness of donation were too low to recommend it. It is recommended that more sensitive methods such as automated haematology analyzer should be encouraged.Keywords: Copper Sulphate specific gravity method, Blood donors, Haemoglobi

Comparative Studies of Two Nigerian Ecotypes Chicken Kept in Battery Cages for Laying Performance and Egg Quality Traits

This study was conducted to evaluate and determine the effects of ecotype on laying performance and some egg quality traits of two indigenous chickens ecotype in Kwara state Nigeria {Fulani Ecotype chicken (FE) and Yoruba Ecotype chicken (YE)} kept in battery cage for a period of fifty two (52) weeks. It was observed that the YE matured earlier than FE with Age at First Egg (AFE) of 20.56 (20 – 23weeks) compared to 26.73weeks (22-31wks) obtained for FE. Significant difference (p0.05) differences in other egg quality traits measured

An evaluation of Quasi-Moment-Method calibrated pathloss models for Benin City Nigeria

This paper introduces the Quasi-Moment-Method (QMM) as a novel radiowave propagation pathloss model calibration tool, and evaluates its performance, using field measurement data from different cellular mobile communication network sites in Benin City, Nigeria. The QMM recognizes the suitability of component parameters of existing basic models for the definition of ‘expansion’ and ‘testing functions’ in a Galerkin approach, and simulations were carried out with the use of a FORTRAN program developed by the authors, supported by matrix inversion in the MATLAB environment. Computational results reveal that in terms of both Root Mean Square (RMS) and Mean Prediction (MP) errors, QMM-calibrated models performed much better than an ‘optimum’ model reported for the NIFOR (Benin City), by a recent publication. As a matter of fact, the QMM-calibrated COST231 (rural area) model recorded reductions in RMS error of between 31.5% and 71% compared with corresponding metrics due to the aforementioned ‘optimum’ model. The simulation results also revealed that of the five basic models (COST231-rural area and suburban city, ECC33 (medium and large sized cities), and Ericsson models) utilized as candidates, the two ECC33 models, whose performances were consistently comparable, represented the best models for QMM-model calibration in the Benin City environments investigated