Performance Characteristics of West African Dwarf Goats Fed Sweet Potato Peels and Cashew Nut Shell Supplemented with Ocimum Gratissium Leaves

The study assessed the impact of sweet potato peels and cashew nut shell with Ocimum gratissium leaves supplementation on performance characteristics of West African Dwarf Goats under intensive system. Goats weighing between 7.98 and 8.22 kg were randomized assigned to three dietary treatment groups with six goats per treatment group. The compared treatment diets that comprised sweet potato peels and cashew nut shell  were in the following ratios, in the treatment diets;  I (30:25 ),  II (25:30) and  III ( 20:35) respectively. Concentrate of 45% was also served to each of the experimental diet, while each goat also received 8 grams of Ocimum gratissium leaves powder as supplement in the diets. The results of the study showed that diet I, has pronounced effect (P<0.05) on average total feed intake (6.42kg), feed conversion ratio (2.15), digestibility of ash (60.77%), gross energy intake (12.78MJ/Kg) and faecal energy output (3.01MJ/Kg) than other treatments. Diet II was significantly highest (P<0.05) in final body weight (12.01kgkg), average total weight gain (3.89kg), dry matter digestibility(82.43%), crude protein digestibility(62.00), total digestible nutrient (70.43%), digestible energy intake(10.33MJKg) and metabolisable energy as percentage of gross energy (1.03MJ/Kg). Ether extract with crude fibre digestibility (62.18% and 77.89%) was significantly highest in diet III compared to other treatment diets). The experiment further showed that, there was no significant (P>0.05) difference in initial body weight of goats, average daily weight gain, metabolisable energy and metabolisable energy in BW-.75. . It was therefore concluded that diet II improve and enhance performance characteristics of West African Dwarf Goats. Keywords: Sweet potato peels, cashew nut shell, Ocimum gratissium, performance, goats.

STRENGTH PROPERTIES OF SLURRY INFILTRATED FIBROUS CONCRETE (SIFCON) PRODUCED WITH DISCRETE BAMBOO AND STEEL FIBRES

This paper examined the comparison between the mechanical properties of slurry infiltrated fibrous concrete with short steel fiber and discrete bamboo. The differences in properties of the concrete with fiber, concrete without fiber and concrete with discrete bamboo was determined. Compressive and flexural strengths of concrete and slump were also determined. A total of six mix batches of concrete containing 0% (control), 1%, 2% and 3% of steel fiber and discrete bamboo was incorporated into concrete, while 0%, 0.5%, 0.75% and 1.0% of steel fibre and discrete bamboo by volume fraction of concrete were used for flexural strength test. The bamboo stripes were sun dried, cut in sizes ranging from 50- 63mm in length and 4.4mm thick for easy mix with concrete while the steel fiber was 25mm in length and 0.4mm thick. The concrete prism used was 300mm x 100 mm x 100mm for compressive strength test and beam 350mm x 100mm x 100mm for flexural strength test. A thickness of 10mm cement slurry was infiltrated into the beam prism while the remaining 90mm thickness was filled with concrete. Plain concrete without fiber or discrete bamboo served as control. The addition of steel fibre increased the strength of concrete

Assessment of Agroforestry Practices in Ago-Owu Forest Reserve, Ayedaade Local Government area, Osun State, South-western Nigeria

Agroforestry is a collective name for land use systems and practices in which woody perennials are integrated with food crop and forestry, either in a spatial mixture or in a temporal sequence and there are normally both ecological and economic interactions between woody and non woody components. This study investigated types of agroforestry practiced, the impact of agroforestry on the lives of people, assessed the impact of agroforestry on the environment, and identified possible problems associated with agroforestry system in Ago-owu Forest Reserve, Ayedaade Local Government area of Osun State, Nigeria by collecting samples from Mokore, Ajegunle and Alabameta villages using verified methods. Sampling intensity of 10% for population below 500, 5% sampling intensity for population between 500 and 1000 and 2.5% sampling intensity for the population above 1000. A total of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered, thirty copies of questionnaires were distributed both in Mokore and Ajegunle and twenty in Alabameta. The result was analysed using Descriptive Statistics such as frequency tables, percentages, bar chart and Chi square. The result showed that 47.5 % of the respondents are involved in Agri-silviculture. The benefits derived from agroforestry was also unfolded, they are medicinal (11.25%), Income generation (52.5%), production of food crop (33.75%) and non-timber forest products generation (2.5%). The impact of agroforestry to the environment includes Soil erosion control (48.75%), Soil stabilization (31.25%), and (Stable environment 20%)

Pr ofitability analysis of goat marketing in Ado Ekiti metr opolis, Ekiti State, Nigeria

Pr ofitability of a livestock business has a gr eat influence on its sour cing, distribution and sustainability . Thus, this study was carried out to determine the pr ofitability of goat enterprise. A total of sixty r espondents wer e randomly selected fr om two major markets in Ado-Ekiti metr opolis (Shasha and Oja-Oba markets). Data wer e collected thr ough the use of structur ed questionnair e coupled with personal interview on socio-economic characteristics of the r espondents, cost and r eturns fr om goat marketing. Data collected wer e analyzed using descriptive statistics and budgeting analysis. The r esults on socio-economic characteristics showed that goat marketers wer e pr edominantly married (63.3%) and r elatively old (with a mean age of 58 years) in the study ar ea. The costs and r eturns analysis showed that mean T otal V ariable Cost (TVC) incurr ed in the marketing of goats per annum was N489, 700.00 while the mean T otal Revenue (TR) was N720, 000.00 and the mean Gr oss Mar gin (GM) per seller was N230, 300.00. The r esults implied that goat marketing in the study ar ea is a pr ofitable business involving both young and old, male and female, educated and illiterate

AMINO ACID COMPOSITION AND ANTI-TYROSINASE ACTIVITY OF METABOLITES FROM EDIBLE Pleurotus SPECIES FOR THEIR NUTRITIONAL AND THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL

Mushrooms are being extensively researched due to their nutritional value and medicinal importance. The genus Pleurotus is the second most cultivated mushroom and is known for its high nutritional value, therapeutic properties, taste, flavor, as well as their application in biotechnology and environmental study. Also, tyrosinase is prevalent in most living organisms. The enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of monophenols to ortho-quinones in a two-step reaction process. This study was aimed to assess the amino acid composition and anti-tyrosinase activity of metabolites obtained from edible Pleurotus species. Assessment of the nutritional content and inhibitory studies of mushroom tyrosinase produced from four Pleurotus strains was carried out using high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The results of the study showed that seventeen different amino acids were identified in the crude and partially purified protein metabolites. Also, the crude extract metabolite had the highest quantity of amino acids than the partially purified. The highest and lowest amino acids value Glutamic acid (1343.26 µmol/mL) and valine (0.34 µmol/mL). The anti-tyrosinase inhibition studies of the four Pleurotus strains showed varying results from significantly inhibitory effects to slightly inhibitory effects on mushroom tyrosinase. The highest inhibition was 14.86% (Pleu-W), while the lowest inhibition was 51.42% (Plof-30) respectively. The high point of this study is that the Pleurotus species contains a significant number of amino acids and also, they possess good anti-tyrosinase activity. Therefore, these are a good source of nutritional and therapeutic metabolites and these can be explored further for their nutritional and medicinal importance to man

Trip pattern of low density residential area in semi urban industrial cluster: predictive modeling

This research elucidates the trip pattern of the low-density residential zone in a semi-urban industrial cluster of southwestern Nigeria. These sets of dwellers are often times neglected in the transportation planning process. To achieve the aim of this research, domiciliary information gathering procedure was employed with 0.82 return rates. It was backed up with the focus group discussion method. Data on frequency of trips, per capita trip, modal choice, and socioeconomic and demographic data were collected, collated, and analysed. Accordingly, a predictive model was formulated for the trip pattern of the low-density area. This was achieved with the aid of statistical software SPSS version 21.Consequently, the results of the multiple regression models showed that both monthly income and car ownership had a significant positive influence on the work trip while only car ownership positively influences non-work trip. R2 values of 0.729 and 0.739 were obtained for the descriptive model at 95% confidence level. This established the robustness of the model, the analysis showed that monthly income and car ownership had a significant positive influence on the work trip with an Rsquare value of 0.729 and 0.739 for work and non-work trip respectively. This indicated that household will embark on more trips with an increase in car ownership and monthly income. However, effective transportation planning and traffic infrastructural development were recommended to meet the demands of the increased number of trips daily

Synthesis, Characterization and Antimicrobial Activities of Some Nicotinamide – metal Complexes

Some transition metal complexes of nicotinamide have been prepared and characterized using melting point, conductivity measurement, infrared, electronic, HNMR and atomic absorption spectroscopic methods. . The antibacterial and antifungal studies of the metal complexes and the ligand have been evaluated against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus and Bacillus subtilis , Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and penicillum species. It was found that nicotinamide formed stable metal complexes with these metal ions. The analysis of the spectroscopic data shows that nicotinamide act as monodentate, coordinating through the nitrogen atom of the pyridine ring. All the complexes exhibit 4- coordinate geometry. The results of the antimicrobial studies showed that the metal complexes have higher inhibitory activity than the original nicotinamide against the tested bacteria and fungi species.Keywords: Synthesis, Metal complexes, Nicotinamide, Antibacterial, Antifunga

Bioinformatics, Computational Informatics, and Modeling Approaches to the Design of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates.

This article is devoted to applying bioinformatics and immunoinformatics approaches for the development of a multi-epitope mRNA vaccine against the spike glycoproteins of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants in selected African countries. The study’s relevance is dictated by the fact that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) began its global threat at the end of 2019 and since then has had a devastating impact on the whole world. Measures to reduce threats from the pandemic include social restrictions, restrictions on international travel, and vaccine development. In most cases, vaccine development depends on the spike glycoprotein, which serves as a medium for its entry into host cells. Although several variants of SARS-CoV-2 have emerged from mutations crossing continental boundaries, about 6000 delta variants have been reported along the coast of more than 20 countries in Africa, with South Africa accounting for the highest percentage. This also applies to the omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in South Africa. The authors suggest that bioinformatics and immunoinformatics approaches be used to develop a multi-epitope mRNA vaccine against the spike glycoproteins of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants in selected African countries. Various immunoinformatics tools have been used to predict T- and B-lymphocyte epitopes. The epitopes were further subjected to multiple evaluations to select epitopes that could elicit a sustained immunological response. The candidate vaccine consisted of seven epitopes, a highly immunogenic adjuvant, an MHC I-targeting domain (MITD), a signal peptide, and linkers. The molecular weight (MW) was predicted to be 223.1 kDa, well above the acceptable threshold of 110 kDa on an excellent vaccine candidate. In addition, the results showed that the candidate vaccine was antigenic, non-allergenic, non-toxic, thermostable, and hydrophilic. The vaccine candidate has good population coverage, with the highest range in East Africa (80.44%) followed by South Africa (77.23%). West Africa and North Africa have 76.65% and 76.13%, respectively, while Central Africa (75.64%) has minimal coverage. Among seven epitopes, no mutations were observed in 100 randomly selected SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoproteins in the study area. Evaluation of the secondary structure of the vaccine constructs revealed a stabilized structure showing 36.44% alpha-helices, 20.45% drawn filaments, and 33.38% random helices. Molecular docking of the TLR4 vaccine showed that the simulated vaccine has a high binding affinity for TLR-4, reflecting its ability to stimulate the innate and adaptive immune response

Trip pattern of low density residential area in semi urban industrial cluster: predictive modeling

This research elucidates the trip pattern of the low-density residential zone in a semi-urban industrial cluster of southwestern Nigeria. These sets of dwellers are often times neglected in the transportation planning process. To achieve the aim of this research, domiciliary information gathering procedure was employed with 0.82 return rates. It was backed up with the focus group discussion method. Data on frequency of trips, per capita trip, modal choice, and socioeconomic and demographic data were collected, collated, and analysed. Accordingly, a predictive model was formulated for the trip pattern of the low-density area. This was achieved with the aid of statistical software SPSS version 21.Consequently, the results of the multiple regression models showed that both monthly income and car ownership had a significant positive influence on the work trip while only car ownership positively influences non-work trip. R2 values of 0.729 and 0.739 were obtained for the descriptive model at 95% confidence level. This established the robustness of the model, the analysis showed that monthly income and car ownership had a significant positive influence on the work trip with an Rsquare value of 0.729 and 0.739 for work and non-work trip respectively. This indicated that household will embark on more trips with an increase in car ownership and monthly income. However, effective transportation planning and traffic infrastructural development were recommended to meet the demands of the increased number of trips daily