Effects of Pollution on Vibrios in Woji River

The effect of pollution on Vibrio spp. in five sampling stations along Woji River in Port Harcourt was studied in the months of April and November 2010. Vibrio vulnificus , V. parahaemolyticus and Vibrio alginolyticus were isolated. The Plate count technique on Thiosulphate Citrate Bile Salt agar revealed a high population density of vibrios in the sampling stations than the Most Probable Number (MPN) technique. The average population density of vibrios ranged from 21MPN/100ml at Oginigba (station 1) to 1100MPN/100ml at Trans Amadi by slaughter (station 3) in April and 43MPN/100ml to 1100MPN/100ml in November respectively compared to plate counts that ranged from 2.2 x 105cfu/100ml to 1.6 x 108cfu/100ml in April and 3.2 x 105cfu/100ml to 2.6 x 108cfu/100ml in November respectively. The percentage proportion of Vibrio spp. to other heterotrophic bacteria ranged from 0.01 to 5.44% in April and 0.03 to 9.96% in November. The concentration of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Calcium, Magnesium, Hardness and chloride were much higher than the DPR/WHO limits and were not related to increase in presence of vibrios or their relative densities except for total dissolved solids. However, heterotrophic counts were high irrespective of the sampling station. There is therefore an urgent need to curtail the continued negative anthropogenic activities along the river course

Profitability of on and off-season plantain marketing in Nsukka Local Government Area, Enugu State, Nigeria

The study analysed the profitability of plantain marketing during on and off season in Nsukka local government area of Enugu state, Nigeria. Samples of 60 respondents were randomly selected from four communities within Nsukka Local Government Area to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of plantain marketers, identity the marketing channel of distribution performed, estimate the profitability of plantain marketing in and off season, identify the problems hindering plantain marketing. Data were analysed using, descriptive statistics and cost and return. The result showed that 70% of the respondents were female, within the age bracket of 40-50 years, implying that female of this age range is likely to be more energetic and willing to take risks involved in plantain marketing. Majority of them were married (86.7%) and (60%) have post primary education. Majority (51.7%) of the respondents claim that between January to March is the on-season period with gross margin of N17, 239 while (53.3%) believe off- season is from July-September with gross margin of N23, 775. This shows that it is more profitable to market plantain off- season. Major constraints include seasonality of product, lack of finance, pest and diseases attack, product breakages, lack of market information, price fluctuation and poor access road while cost of transportation, deterioration of product and high market fees are seen as minor constraints. Based on the findings of the study the following  recommendations were made; Storage facilities for plantain should be made available to ensure all year-round production, availability and accessibility of the product

HIV/AIDS Awareness Study of Fresh Students in Tertiary Institutions in Rivers State of Nigeria Department of Nigeria

This study examined the knowledge, attitude and preventive practices (KAP) of 285 first year University of Port-Harcourt students regarding HIV/AIDS, in December 2002. Data was collected using structured questionnaires administered by two trained interviewers. Students had partial knowledge of the definition of HIV/AIDS, the mode of transmission, prevention and cure. Only 56.1% were concerned about contracting the virus although 70.2% had had sex, 57.0% had had sex without condom and 42.1% had had multiple sex partners. Similarly, 82.5% believed HIV/AIDS was in their institution but majority, 86.0%, had never tested for HIV. There is urgent need for more education, counseling and testing for HIV in order to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in tertiary institutions due to ignorance and risky behaviours. @JASE

Effect of storage temperature on shelf-life of yogurt-like product from soybean (Glycine max)

Soy yogurt was produced from soy milk using commercially freeze-dried samples of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus at a ratio of 1:1 as starter culture. Evaluation of nutritional quality of the soy yogurt showed that the fat content (3.27%), moisture (89.42%) and ash content (0.96%) were higher than those of a popular brand of dairy yogurt (1.78%, 82.66% and 0.93%) respectively. However, the protein content (3.20%) and carbohydrate content (3.15%) were lower than values of (3.51%) and (11.12%) respectively for dairy yogurt. Soy yogurt had significantly lower acceptability (P ≤ 0.05) than the dairy yogurt. Shelf life study was carried out at room temperature (27±3oC) and refrigeration temperature (7±2oC). A product shelf life of four days at 27±3oC and ten days at 7±2oC was obtained without additives. There was decrease in pH from 3.8 to 3.3 and increase in titratable acidity from 1.21% to 1.93% during storage. Total aerobic bacterial and yeast counts reached 6.3× 103 cfu/ml and 4.5× 105 cfu/ml at 27±3oC respectively compared to 3.4 × 102 cfu/ml and 1.1× 103 cfu/ml at 7±2oC. The counts for the starter cultures at 107 cfu/ml dropped two log cycles at 27±3oC and a log cycle at 7±2oC. The spoilage yeasts in soy yogurt were mainly Saccharomyces sp. and Candida sp. Soy yogurt spoilage was evident from the curdling of the yogurt, increased moisture and yeasty odour.Keywords: Soy yogurt, soy milk, shelf-life, spoilage, temperatur

Effects of Pollution on Vibrios in Woji River

The effect of pollution on Vibrio spp. in five sampling stations along Woji River in Port Harcourt was studied in the months of April and November 2010. Vibrio vulnificus , V. parahaemolyticus and Vibrio alginolyticus were isolated. The Plate count technique on Thiosulphate Citrate Bile Salt agar revealed a high population density of vibrios in the sampling stations than the Most Probable Number (MPN) technique. The average population density of vibrios ranged from 21MPN/100ml at Oginigba (station 1) to 1100MPN/100ml at Trans Amadi by slaughter (station 3) in April and 43MPN/100ml to 1100MPN/100ml in November respectively compared to plate counts that ranged from 2.2 x 105cfu/100ml to 1.6 x 108cfu/100ml in April and 3.2 x 105cfu/100ml to 2.6 x 108cfu/100ml in November respectively. The percentage proportion of Vibrio spp. to other heterotrophic bacteria ranged from 0.01 to 5.44% in April and 0.03 to 9.96% in November. The concentration of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Calcium, Magnesium, Hardness and chloride were much higher than the DPR/WHO limits and were not related to increase in presence of vibrios or their relative densities except for total dissolved solids. However, heterotrophic counts were high irrespective of the sampling station. There is therefore an urgent need to curtail the continued negative anthropogenic activities along the river course

Coliforms and enterococci as indicators of faecal pollution of Woji River receiving abattoir effluents in Port Harcourt, Rivers State Nigeria

This study assessed the influence of the abattoir effluents and other human centred activities on the microbial quality of the Woji Trans-Amadi River of Port Harcourt, using coliforms and enterococci as indicators of faecal pollution. Four sites on the Woji River namely: the abattoir effluent, the waste/faeces disposal, upstream and downstream sites were monitored for total coliforms, enterococci, total heterotrophs, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), pH and salinity. Total coliform numbers varied from 2.0 x 106 MPN/100ml to 1.70 x 1010MPN/100ml with the highest values of 1.70x1010 MPN/100ml and 4.70x108cfu/100ml at the abattoir and waste sites respectively and the lowest values of 2.0x1065 cfu/100ml at the upstream and downstream respectively. Lower numbers ranging from 3.00 x 105cfu/100ml to 2.00 x 107cfu/100ml were obtained for enterococci similarly at the respective sites, and the range of values from 3.7 x 105to 1.8 x 1010 cfu/100ml were obtained for total heterotrophs. Bacterial numbers were higher at all the sites during the dry season compared with the rainy season. The BOD varied from 2mg/l at the upstream site to 360mg/l at the abattoir effluent site; and similarly the pH level varied from 6.22 to 7.36 and the salinity from 2879mg/l to 13898mg/l at both sites respectively. None of the sites achieved internationally accepted standards for water quality of Rivers. The results of this investigation revealed that Woji River is subject to sewage pollution and is impacted from the abattoir effluent site and waste/faeces site.Key Words: Coliforms, Enterococci, Abattoir effluents, Woji River, Faecal Pollution, Biochemical Oxygen Demand

Bacteriological quality of fresh and smoke-dried oysters sold in Creek Road Market, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

This study evaluated the bacteriological quality of fresh and smoke-dried oysters (Crassostreagasar) from Okrika fishing port, sold at the Creek Road market, Port Harcourt, found to have high bacterial load. Smoke-drying significantly reduced total aerobic count by 3 log cycles (p< 0.01) from an average of 1.26x109 cfu/g to 1.42x106 cfu/g and average pH value from 6.51 to 5.69. Total coliform and Escherichia coli counts, indices of sanitary quality, were also high but not significantly different for the sample types (p<0.05). Average counts for total coliforms and E. coli were 5.78x108 cfu/g and 2.36x108 cfu/g for fresh oysters respectively compared to 4.1x107 cfu/g and 1.46x107 cfu/g for smoke-dried samples. Bacterial isolates found in fresh oyster were Klebsiella sp. Escherichia sp., Proteus mirabilis, Citrobacter sp., Micrococcus sp., Bacillus sp., Staphylococccus sp. and Serratia sp. while E. coli, Streptococcus sp., Staphylococcus sp. and B. cereus predominated in dried oysters. The oyster meats did not meet the standards of International Commission on the Microbiological Specification of Foods (ICMSF) for raw oysters of 5x105 cfu/g for total aerobic count and 230/100g for E. coli using 5 sampling units and are therefore considered hazardous for export and consumption. However the pH of fresh oyster samples met the proposed standard for freshness of 6.2-5.9 while dried oysters did not.Keywords: Fresh and dried Oysters, Bacteriological Quality, ICMSF, Port Harcour

Phenotypic correlations between body weight and morphometric traits in rabbits

This study aimed at determining the relationship between body weight and morphometric traits in rabbits. A total of 93 kittens generated from crosses of New Zealand White (NZW) x NZW, Chinchilla (CHA) x CHA, NZW x CHA and CHA x NZW genotypes of rabbits in a nested classification of a Completely Randomized Design were used for this study. Data on body weight (BW) and linear body measurements namely, body length (BL), ear length (EL), heart girth (HG), head- to- shoulder (HS), length of hind limb (LHB), length of forelimb (LFB), tail length (TL) and thigh girth (TG) in weeks 4, 8, and 12 were taken. The simple correlation procedure was used to establish the strength of relationship between growth traits. It was observed that in all the phenotypic correlations of the four (4) genotypes studied in week 4, the correlations were highly significant (P<0.01) and positive (0.70- 0.98), with the exception of CHA x NZW in which there were very low, negative and non-significant (P>0.05) correlation values (-0.11- 0.15), which implies weak association between morphometric traits and body weight. The phenotypic correlations observed in the four (4) genotypes in week 8 were highly significant and positive (0.70- 0.97), with the exception of those of NZW x NZW which had negative correlations between some of the growth traits (-0.01- -0.33), and CHA x NZW which had lower values between some of the growth traits (-0.04- 0.35). The phenotypic correlations observed in the four (4) genotypes in week 12 were non-significant (P>0.05) and low (0.02- 0.39), with the exception of NZW x CHA which had positive and very high significant values (0.70- 0.92), which implies a very strong association between morphometric traits and body weight in this genotype. It is therefore concluded that the NZW x CHA rabbits should be used for growth purposes rather than the other genotypes used for this study. Keywords: Rabbit genotypes, body weight, morphometric traits, phenotypic correlatio