APPLICATION OF SOIL INFORMATION IN NIGERIAN AGRICULTURE: A CASE STUDY OF SOME HORTICULTURAL FARMS IN IBADAN, OYO STATE.

Soil information is a critical element in any agricultural venture. It often provides the missing link between assumptions and actuality in agricultural and non agricultural land use. A field study was carried out to assess the effects of poor application of soil information and the present level of soil information and utilization among small scale horticultural crop farmers in Ibadan, Oyo state. Six candidate citrus trees each were selected from two citrus orchards planted on suitable and marginally suitable soils based on available soil survey information which was monitored over two seasons, while structured questionnaires were administered to get empirical data on land use by the farmers. There was over 35% yield difference and this was significantly different (P <0.05) with loss of some trees after 15 years of establishment of the orchard on marginally suitable soils. Mean yield per tree was 50.43kg and 30.12kg for suitable and marginally suitable plots respectively. None of the respondents sought professional advice on land use or have knowledge of previous land use type while the farms were not surveyed before use. 56.27% of the farmers do not carry out soil test while less than 10% of the farmers apply fertilizers suggesting nutrient mining with an average land use period of 14years. The findings of this work show that soil information is not adequately utilized among horticultural crop farmers in Oyo state. Therefore, there is need to enlighten farmers on the need for accurate soil information and application for enhanced horticultural crop production

Digital Urban Administration Model for a Traditional City (Case Study of Ibadan, Nigeria)

Urban administration has been a challenge in the developing economy especially in historical traditional settlements. Growth of these cities often outstrips the capacities of urban managers to administer urban systems coupled with the fact that developments in the older parts and new areas require different strategies. Therefore it is often recommended that digital technologies be adopted to enhance administration of old and new areas in urban settings. The chapter evaluated the challenges of urban administration in Ibadan city, Nigeria from colonial period to recent urban planning systems. It advanced a model of municipal administration in a digital platform for efficient management of Ibadan city. The model is also applicable to any similar cities in the developing economy. The model recommended a replacement paper and maps approach administration to digital approach. The chapter highlighted the deficiency of the current paper and map approach and advanced efficient approach through digital technologies

Simulated drought influences oxidative stress in Zea mays seedlings

Drought is an abiotic factor that limits the productivity of crop plants survival and productivity. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of simulated drought on the malondialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidant enzymes activity in Zea mays. Seedlings were grown for 8 weeks in nursery bags filled with sandy-loam soil in two categories. Category 1 which serves as a control and received 300 ml of water every three days throughout the experimental period . Category 2 received 300ml of water every 2 days for 5 weeks before subjecting them to simulated drought. Physiological and metabolic parameters which include biomass, relative water content, total chlorophyll, oxidative damage and antioxidant enzyme activity were evaluated after the treatments. Analysis of variance at 0.05 significance level was used as the statistical tool. The results showed that drought condition caused a significant decrease in biomass, total chlorophyll, relative water content (RWC) of the plant and a significant increase in MDA level, and activity of catalase peroxidase. It was concluded that drought made water absorption by plants difficult and also induced oxidative stress in plants.Keywords: Catalase, drought, oxidative stress, seedlings, Zea may

Characterization of Ibamajo, Moye and Nkwo-Alaike Fireclays for Use as Refractory Materials in Foundry Industry

This work is directed towards harnessing local potential in refractory sourcing for use in foundry industries. Fireclay deposits from Ibamajo, Mowe in Ogun State and Nkwo-Alaike in Imo State were characterized for refractory properties and from the results; it was revealed that, the clay sample from Mowe has the required refractory properties compared to that of Ibamajo and Nkwo-Alaike clays. The samples collected are of the compound of aluminosilicate and are acidic in nature. The refractoriness of Mowe clay is 1,700oC while those of Ibamajo and Nkwo-Alaike are 1,630oC and 1,660oC respectively. They all fell within the standard value range of 1,500-1,700oC. The percentage of impurities Fe2O3 in Nkwo-Alaike is higher than that of Mowe and Ibamajo. Thermal shock resistances of the materials were +30 cycles for both Mowe and Ibamajo clays, while that of Nkwo-Alaike was 26 cycles, The compressive strength of Ibamajo, Mowe and Nkwo-Alaike clays are 14.68, 28.61, 27.60MPa respectively. The compressive strength of Ibamajo clay is lower than the minimum value of 22.9MPa, while that of Mowe and Nkwo-Alaike are superior to standard. The results of these analyses show that the materials from Ibamajo and Nkwo-Alaike can be used for refractory bricks production for various purposes in the foundry industries (lining of preheating furnaces and other furnaces operating below 1630oC), while that of Mowe can be used for linings of melting furnaces for ferrous metal and its alloys. Keywords: aluminosilicate, compressive strength, fireclay, foundry, furnace, refractory

Design and Development of Student Data Retrieval System via GSM

Remote data access and machine to machine communication are some of the value added services made possible by the GSM communication technology. With this service, automated access to records, information and updates can be achieved by the use of the GSM short message system (SMS) queries. This work presents the development of a remote access platform for remote access to a database. The system utilizes the GSM-SMS technology and an interactive voice recorder system to access data. The database contains students result, financial status and information on the number of exeats taken. This data is accessed by calling dedicated phone number and following the voice prompt voice prompt, the user is able to access the desired information from the database. Once the required data is accessed, the GSM module transmits this query result back to the caller in SMS format. The system provides a cost effective channel for accessing data from remote databases

Stampidine prevents mortality in an experimental mouse model of viral hemorrhagic fever caused by lassa virus

BACKGROUND: The potential use of microorganisms as agents of biological warfare (BW) is a growing concern. Lassa virus, a member of the Arenavirus class of Hemorrhagic fever (HF) viruses has emerged as a worldwide concern among public health officials. The purpose of the present study was to further elucidate the antiviral activity spectrum of stampidine, a novel nucleoside analog with potent anti-viral activity against the immunodeficiency viruses HIV-1, HIV-2, and FIV, by examining its effects on survival of mice challenged with Lassa virus. METHODS: We examined the therapeutic effect of Stampidine in CBA mice inoculated with intracerebral injections of the Josiah strain of Lassa virus. Mice were treated either with vehicle or nontoxic doses of stampidine administered intraperitoneally 24 hours prior to, 1 hour prior to, and 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, and 96 hours after virus inoculation. RESULTS: The probability of survival following the Lassa challenge was significantly improved for stampidine treated mice (Kaplan Meier, Chi-squared = 11.7, df = 2, Log-Rank p-value = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Therefore, stampidine shows clinical potential as a new agent for treatment of viral hemorrhagic fevers caused by Lassa virus

Strengthening retinopathy of prematurity screening and treatment services in Nigeria: a case study of activities, challenges and outcomes 2017-2020.

OBJECTIVES: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) will become a major cause of blindness in Nigerian children unless screening and treatment services expand. This article aims to describe the collaborative activities undertaken to improve services for ROP between 2017 and 2020 as well as the outcome of these activities in Nigeria. DESIGN: Descriptive case study. SETTING: Neonatal intensive care units in Nigeria. PARTICIPANTS: Staff providing services for ROP, and 723 preterm infants screened for ROP who fulfilled screening criteria (gestational age <34 weeks or birth weight ≤2000 g, or sickness criteria). METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A WhatsApp group was initiated for Nigerian ophthalmologists and neonatologists in 2018. Members participated in a range of capacity-building, national and international collaborative activities between 2017 and 2018. A national protocol for ROP was developed for Nigeria and adopted in 2018; 1 year screening outcome data were collected and analysed. In 2019, an esurvey was used to collect service data from WhatsApp group members for 2017-2018 and to assess challenges in service provision. RESULTS: In 2017 only six of the 84 public neonatal units in Nigeria provided ROP services; this number had increased to 20 by 2018. Of the 723 babies screened in 10 units over a year, 127 (17.6%) developed any ROP; and 29 (22.8%) developed type 1 ROP. Only 13 (44.8%) babies were treated, most by intravitreal bevacizumab. The screening criteria were revised in 2020. Challenges included lack of equipment to regulate oxygen and to document and treat ROP, and lack of data systems. CONCLUSION: ROP screening coverage and quality improved after national and international collaborative efforts. To scale up and improve services, equipment for neonatal care and ROP treatment is urgently needed, as well as systems to monitor data. Ongoing advocacy is also essential

Factors Influencing Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Nigeria Processed Chicken in Kwara State

Despite the ban on importation of frozen poultry products in Nigeria, about 1.2 million tonnes unwholesome products are been smuggled into the country annually. This practice is impacting negatively on the health of the citizenry and local producers continue to face daunting obstacles posed by activities of smugglers. This study analyzed the factors influencing urban households’ Willingness To Pay (WTP) for Nigeria Processed Chicken (NPC) in Kwara State. Data used for the study were obtained from 274 respondents using the multi-stage sampling techniques. They were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Probit regression. From the study, it is seen that the majority of the respondents (54.7%) were fairly educated with mean year of schooling of 12.97. About 34.7% and 13.9% of the respondents had below N50,000 and above N200,000 respectively as their total monthly income. The result indicates that over 80% of the respondents claimed that NPC was not readily available while the mean distance to sales outlets stood at 3.21 km. The probit estimation of willingness to pay increased significantly with education and income and decrease with distance to sales outlets. It was recommended that policies that will enhance respondents’ purchasing power should be pursued in order to encourage them to pay for Nigeria processed chicken. Also, the creation of more sales outlets for NPC should be considered

Effect of thermal degraded products of <i>Cymbopogon</i> <i>citratus</i> on the In vitro survival of <i>Meloidogyne</i> <i>incognita</i> eggs and juveniles

The products of thermally-degraded Cymbopogon citratus were evaluated for nematicidal activity as an alternative of toxic synthetics. The products exhibited moderate nematicidal activity, but not as significantly (p&lt;0.05) effective as carbofuran, a synthetic nematicide.  Thermally degraded products of fresh Cymbopogon citratus (CMGC/th/fresh) was the most promising at 90 mg/mL and could be used in place of the toxic synthetic nematicide