An enquiry into the prospects of mobile telephone for agricultural information delivery in Ondo State, Nigeria

Extension is essentially a communication process whereby various  participants are linked together and exchange information to enhance their potential and standard of living. It makes use of different channels  through which this information could be passed across of which mobile phones constitute one of the contemporary channels. This study was carried out to investigate the prospects of mobile telephone in  dissemination of agricultural information in Ondo state, Nigeria. A  multistage sampling technique was used for the study, both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse results. The study revealed that the majority (85%) of the respondents in the study area was male. Those with primary education and above were 60.2%. Majority accessed  information through friends (79.6%) and radio (75.2%). Mobile phones were used by 81.4% of which Nokia was the most common brand of  handsets (57.3%). The various functions on respondents’ phones include browsing facilities (31.9%), camera (37.2%), video player and recording (31.9%), blue tooth (30.1%) and radio (45.1%). Their ability to operate these functions was low; about 90% cannot use MP3 on their phone. Majority (71.7%) were ready to purchase phones with multimedia facilities and to receive extension messages through phones (93.8%). There was a significant but negative correlation relationship between age of  respondents and their operational proficiency of mobile phones (r= -0.50), but positive relationship exists between education of respondents and operational proficiency of mobile phone (r= 0.60).Government should go into partnership with communication outfits to provide cheaper phones at subsidized rate as well as develop agricultural information packages to be used on mobile phones.KEYWORDS: Mobile phones, agricultural information, global system for mobile communication (GSM), telecommunication, extension agent, rura

Farmers’ involvement in capital markets investment as an alternative source of funding for agriculture in Ondo State, Nigeria

Farming in Nigeria largely takes place in peasant and small scale physical labour-fed farms where productivity diminishes with age. Given depleting productivity accounted for by loss of agility due to advancement in age and general insufficiency of capital, avenues capable of sufficiently salvaging this dearth must, therefore, be explored. The study examined farmers   involvement in the capital markets as an alternative funding source for agricultural activities in Ondo State of Nigeria. It specifically examined farmersf awareness of the capital markets as well as the influence of their socioeconomic characteristics on their involvement in the capital market. Using a random sampling technique, a well structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 90 farmers selected for the study. Descriptive statistics like frequency tables were used to present the results of the study while the chi square analysis was used to test the study hypothesis. Results revealed that majority of respondents were males (86.7%). Nearly all were married (96.6%) and above 40 years of age (84.4%). Majority (82.2%) had one form of formal education or the other. Those with farming  experience over 10years were 63.3%. Only thirty six percent of the farmers were aware of capital markets investment while only 8% actually had investment in the capital markets. The study also found that agricultural extension services had never disseminated any information on the capital market. A major constraint to respondentsf investment was lack of  adequate information. At p . 0.05, chi square analysis revealed that age of the farmers, their level of education, farming experience and awareness of capital markets investment were significantly associated with their  investment in the capital market. The study recommended that agriculturalextension agents should be mobilised to develop and disseminate information on the capital markets to farmers. Stock brokers should also visit farmer groups for enlightenment campaigns.Key words: Capital market, awareness, investment, fundin

African traditional medication and keloid formation in herpes zoster ophthalmicus

Keloid scar complicating herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) has not been much reported among Africans despite the African population having dark skin. We report on a middle-aged Nigerian with HZO who developed keloid scar following use of traditional herbs to the herpetic rashes. A 52-year-old immune-competent Nigerian male presented with a 2-week history of vesicular rashes involving the left side of the forehead down to the tip of the nose. He initially presented to an African traditional healer who had advised application of various herbs to the lesion. When he presented to the eye clinic, he was treated for the associated uveitis with significant improvement. The cicatricial skin change gradually became raised with clinical appearance of keloid at 1 year of follow-up. Cicatricial skin changes in HZO are not unusual, but keloid formation among Africans has not been much described. Late presentation, use of traditional herbs some of which have corrosive effect and secondary bacterial infection are the possible factors that may encourage such abnormal wound healing. The myth associated with HZO in the local African setting as well as the fact that African traditional healers are still widely accepted among most African communities may play a role in increasing the risk of keloid formation among our population following HZO infection

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Some Haematological And Serum Biochemical Parameters Of Goats Fed Cynodon nlemfuensis, Spondias mombin and Gmelina arborea Based Diets

Haematological and serum biochemical analyses of West African Dwarf goats fed three different diets was carried out. Eighteen (18) growing bucks aged 7 – 7.5 months with a mean live weight ranging between 6.67 – 7.02 Kg were randomly allotted to three dietary treatments comprising six (6) animals per treatment. A 3 x 4 factorial experiment in a completely randomised design (3) different diets (A, B and C) and four collection periods (day 0, 21, 42 and 63) of blood samples was used. The animals were housed in wood shavings bedded individual pens (1.5 x 1.2 x 1.0) m3 and fed 0.30 Kg/head/day of the diets. The Cynodon nlemfuensis based diet served as the control (diet A) while Spondias mombin and Gmelina arborea based diets served as dietary treatments B and C respectively. Prior to the commencement of the feeding trial, blood samples were collected (day 0) by jugular venipuncture from the animals and at 21 days interval, during the trial which lasted sixty three (63) days. Collected blood samples, which were placed in well labeled heparinized bottles (2.5ml) and into anticoagulant-free well labeled plastic tubes (2.5ml), were analyzed within four hours of collection for Erythrocyte, Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Haemoglobin(Hb) and total leucocyte count. Total serum protein, albumin and globulin, PCV and white blood count (WBC) were not significantly (P>0.05) influenced by the dietary treatments and collection periods. However significant differences (

Foetal wastage in Abattoirs and its implications: Situation report from Ogun State, Nigeria

This study examined the magnitude and implications f foetal wastage resulting from the slaughtering of pregnant cows in Lafenwa - Abeokuhl and ljebu-Igbo abattoirs in Ogun State between 1984 and 1989. Results show that one foetus is wasted for every 8 cattle slaughtered in the abattoirs. This has the ~rnve effects of reducing over time the herd size and revenue of owners, the access of most Nigerians to a nutritive source of dietary protein and therefore the ability to attain the internationally recommended protein intake level per caput per day.Keywords: Slaughter, pregnant cows, foetal wastage/recovery

Nitrogen utilisation and nitrient digestibility of west African dwarf goats fed combinations of dry leaves of Cynodon nlemfuensis, Spondias mombin or Gmelina arborea and pap processing waste meal

An experiment to evaluate and compare the nitrogen utilization and nutrient digestibility of goat fed a pasture species (Cynodon nlemfuensis) or browse plant leaves (Spondias mombin or Gmelina arborea) based diets was conducted with fifteen (15) growing male West African Dwarf goats aged 7 – 7.5 months and weighing between 6.67 – 7.02 Kg. The animals were randomly divided into three groups of approximately equal mean live weight in a completely randomized design and each group was assigned to one of the experimental diets (A, B and C). The cynodon nlemfuensis based diet served as the control (diet A) while Spondias mombin and Gmelina arborea based diets served as dietary treatments B and C respectively. Each animal was later kept in a metabolism cage equipped with feed and water troughs. Feed (0.40 kg/head/day) was offered at 08.00hrs and water provided ad libitum. Faeces and urine were collected during the sixth week of the experiment and analysed chemically. The dry matter intake (40.25 g/day/W0.75 kg) of goats fed diet C was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those on diets A and B. Diet B was the least consumed (34.74 g/day/W0.75 kg). Animals on diet C recorded the highest Nitrogen intake (4.15 g / head/day) and nitrogen retention (0.44 g /day/W0.75 kg). Goats on diet C also recorded highest values for the digestibility of DM, CP and OM. Although goats on diet B recorded a higher nitrogen intake (2.90 g/head/day) as against that of diet A (2.27 g/head/day), the least nitrogen retention value (0.12 g/day/W0.75 kg) was obtained from them. The nitrogen retention value for goats on diet A was 0.17 g/day/W0.75 kg. The low DM intake and nitrogen retention recorded for goats on diet B was attributed to low palatability / availability of nitrogen due to the presence of high tannin content. Keywords: Cynodon, Spondias, Gmelina, nitrogen utilization, WAD goats, tanninJournal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences Vol 3(1) 2005: 89-9

Toxicological Assessment Of Veronia amygdaliana Leaf Meal In Nutrition Of Starter Broiler Chicks

In a 6-week feeding trial, Vernonia amygdaliana leaf meat (VaLM) was tested as a dietary ingredient in broiler starter diets. The diets comprised VaLM included at Og (diet 1), 50g per kg basal diet (incorporated at the expense of groundnut cake and wheat offals - diets 2 and 3 respectively) and 100g per kg basal diet (incorporated at the expense of groundnut cake - diet 4). During the study, parameters such as characteristics, blood parameters, histopathology of some organs (liver, kidney, lungs, heat, gizzard and pancreas) and carcass characteristics were investigated. Birds fed on VaLM - based diets performed poorly, the effects of the diet being more pronounced on those fed diet 4. Addition of VaLM to poultry feed significantly (P&lt;0.05) reduced feed intake and weight gain of experimental birds. Blood cellular constituents decreased significantly (P&lt;0.05) in birds fed VaLM - based diets and there were serious histopathological changes within the liver, kidney, lungs, heart, gizzard and pancreas.Keywords: Vernonia amygdaliana leaf meal, starter broiler performance, histopatholog