The Environmental Impact of Flooding on Transportation Land Use in Benin City, Nigeria

Environmental problems of flooding on transportation land use manifest as a result of different land use activities of man to earn his living and his livelihood. Natural surfaces were replaced by more impermeable roads and concrete which have very low infiltration capacity, which have hydrological consequences of resulting into flooding problems in the Benin City metropolis. Data for this study were collected through the administration of 200 questionnaires, using the random sampling technique on respondents and through the physical survey of the study area. Simple percentages were used to analyze the data. Two hypotheses were formulated. The student ‘t’ test statistical method was used to test the hypotheses. Results from this study show that illegal disposal of refuse on drainage channels, high intensity of rainfall, the absence or infective drainage channels, poor construction of roads and building of houses on stream channels were identified as the causes of flooding on transportation land use in the study area. The study recommends that good road construction works, controlled dump sites, and timely response of the Town Planning Authority to flooding menace should be carried out as a matter of urgency to tackle the environmental problems of flooding on transportation land use in Benin City, Nigeria.Keywords: Environment, Impact, Flooding, and Transportation Land us

Development of Organic fish feeds: Case study of poultry droppings and pig feces as replacement for soybean meal in practical diets for Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.)

There have been persistent increases in the cost fish feeds and organic fish feeds are practically non-existent in Nigeria. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of replacement of soybean meal (SBM) with dried pig feces (DPF) and poultry droppings (PD) on growth performance, nutrient utilization and carcass composition of Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings. O. niloticus weighing 5.29 ± 0.02g and standard length 5.35 ± 0.07cm were fed seven iso-nitrogenous diets containing 40% crude protein in which the SBM protein was replaced with DPF and PD meals each at 0% (control diet, D7), 15% (Diets DPF1 and PD4), 30% (Diets DPF2 and PD5) and 45% (Diets DPF3 and PD6) levels for 12 weeks in plastic aquaria measuring 52 x 33 x 33 cm3 (Length x Breadth x Height). Each treatment was in triplicate. At the end of the feeding trial, data obtained were analyzed statistically using one-way analysis of variance; and means were separated using Duncan’s multiple range test, DMRT. Water quality parameters measured during the study period were within the range for tilapia production, except for dissolved oxygen. Weight gain of 11.0 ± 0.27g was highest in fish fed PD5, while PD4 had the lowest (6.99 ± 0.27 g); and was significantly different (p0.05) from 1.81 and 1.83 recorded for fish fed D7 and PD6 respectively. Apparent net protein utilization was highest (62.57%) in fish fed PD5 and lowest (35.85%) with a significant differences (p<0.05) in fish fed diet PD4. Apparent protein digestibility was highest in fish fed PD5 (91.86%) and lowest in fish fed PD4 (78.98%). Percentage survival was similar (100%) in fish fed DPF3 and PD6 (93.33%) but was significantly higher (p<0.05) than values obtained in fish fed D7, DPF1, DPF2, PD4 and PD5 with an equal value of 90% respectively. This study revealed that poultry droppings could replace 30% of soybean meal in practical diets of O. niloticus without any adverse effects on growth and with concomitant reduction in aquaculture feed costs

Subjective Evaluation of Life Satisfaction by community-dwelling Spinal Cord Injury Patients Managed at the University College Hospital, Ibadan

Background: Life satisfaction in Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) population is influenced by the ability to perform social roles and engage in activities. Investigations on the psychosocial aspects of SCI in Nigeria have concentrated on the objective dimensions, while much has not been documented, qualitatively, on life satisfaction among the SCI survivors in our setting. The research focused on the subjective evaluation of well-being related to social role performance among community-dwelling adults with SCI managed at the University College Hospital Ibadan, Nigeria.Methods: The study design is descriptive and qualitative data collection was utilized. Seventeen SCI patients who had been discharged home were purposively selected and interviewed via telephone. The domains of life evaluated included sexual life, marital life, and general life satisfaction. These were assessed with an interview guide intended for this purpose. Data were thematically content analysed.Results: Some participants could return to employment and perform occupational roles. The participants described their life as dissatisfactory. Dissatisfaction was reported with sexual and marital life and social interaction after SCI. Family role performance was likewise dissatisfactory. The participants’ dissatisfaction with life post-SCI was largely influenced by their internalization and interpretation of the inability to function in areas of life they perceived important.Conclusion: The subjective evaluation of life reported by persons living with permanent SCI suggests that they require more support from their families, healthcare providers and the community at large. Additionally, their psychosocial needs deserve constant monitoring by the significant others and healthcare providers in order to provide timely countermeasures. Keywords: Life Satisfaction; Social Role; Spinal Cord Injury; Subjective Evaluation; Nigeri

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

Quality attributes and safety of processed meat products in Ibadan, Nigeria

Consumption of processed meat products has greatly increased due to availability and accessibility of ready to eat meat products. Despite increased patronage of ready to eat meat products, food safety implication of processed ready-to-eat-meat products is of global concern. Against this background, this study was aimed at assessing the quality and safety of processed ready to eat meat products sold in Ibadan. Samples of asun, suya and kundi were randomly collected from four selected markets in Ibadan metropolis and subjected to chemical analyses. The total cholesterol content in suya (1538.00 mg/100mg) was significantly higher (P&lt;0.05) than in asun (1277.60 mg/100mg) and kundi (1277.60 mg/100mg). Kundi had significantly (P&lt;0.005) higher crude protein (70.66 %) and ether extract (23.42 %) than asun with 20.17 % and 10.85 % ether extract, respectively. Lipid peroxidation of suya (6.18 mg/MDA/kg) at day 28 was significantly higher (P&lt;0.05) than kundi (4.50 mg/MDA/kg) and asun (4.19 mg/MDA/kg). The total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (TPAH) was 5.31μg/kg in suya, 2.02μg/kg in asun and 1.55μg/kg in kundi. The total heterocyclic aromatic amine (THAA) was 51.66 ng/g in suya, 28.12 ng/g in asun and 23.70 ng/g in kundi. The total heterotrophic bacteria count in suya (28.17 ×10-3cfu/g) was higher than in kundi (11.19 ×10-3cfu/g) and asun (3.99×10-3cfu/g). Therefore, safe keeping and quality of suya in Ibadan metropolis was low based on the above parameters measured

Effect of different feed forms with or without Oyster mushroom inclusion (Pleurotus ostreatus) on egg production and egg quality of egg-type chicken

This study investigated the effect of different feed forms with or without oyster mushroom inclusion (Pleurotus ostreatus) on egg production and egg quality of egg-type chicken. One hundred and sixty 16-week old pullets were purchased and acclimatized for 2 weeks. Afterwards, the birds were distributed on the basis of feed forms (mash and pellet) and oyster mushroom inclusion (with or without) into 4 treatments consisting of 40 birds per treatment. Each treatment was sub-divided into 5 replicates of 8 birds per replicate. External and internal egg qualities were investigated in three phases; early-lay (20-27 weeks of age), mid-lay (28-35 weeks of age) and late-lay (36-43 weeks of age). Data obtained were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement in a Completely Randomized Design. Result showed Total Egg Production (TEP) and Hen Day Egg Production (HDEP) were significantly (p&lt;0.05) higher in birds fed pellet feed and lowest in birds fed mash feed during early and mid-lay phases. However, birds fed diets with oyster mushroom inclusion recorded significantly (p&lt;0.05) lower TEP and HDEP (161.30 eggs and 36.00%, respectively) during the early-lay phase. Yolk colour score at mid-lay was significantly (p&lt;0.05) higher (5.80) in birds fed pellet feed than 4.30 in birds fed mash feed. Shell thickness was significantly (p&lt;0.05) higher (0.84 mm) in birds fed pellet feed than 0.66 mm in birds fed mash feed. Therefore, optimal egg production with darker yolk colour can be achieved at the mid-lay phase via feeding laying birds with pellet feed with oyster mushroom

Growth performance, nutrient digestibility and haematological indices of broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with riboflavin and pyridoxine

A 56 days feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the growth performance, nutrient digestibility and blood characteristics of broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with riboflavin and pyridoxine. A total of two hundred and forty day old unsexed Marshall Broiler chickens were assigned to eight diets in a completely randomised design. The diets were such that diet 1 was the control (basal diet without vitamin supplementation), diets 2, 3 and 4 had basal diet supplemented with 4 mg/kg, 8 mg/kg and 12 mg/kg riboflavin, respectively, diets 5, 6, and 7 had basal diet supplemented with 3.5 mg/kg, 7 mg/kg and 10.5 mg/kg pyridoxine, respectively while diet 8 had basal diet with 4 mg/kg riboflavin + 3.5 mg/kg pyridoxine. Each dietary treatment was replicated three times with 10 birds per replicate. The growth parameters measured at day 28 were not significantly influenced (P&gt;0.05) by the diets. At day 56, the final weight (1980 g) was highest in birds fed diets with 7 mg/kg supplemental pyridoxine, though the final weight value was similar (P&gt;0.05) to those fed diets supplemented with 4 mg/kg (1793.30 g) and 12 mg/kg (1700.00 g) riboflavin. Higher protein retention values were recorded for broilers fed higher concentration of supplemental riboflavin and pyridoxine. The packed cell volume (PCV) and haemoglobin (Hb) concentration of broilers fed diets supplemented with 8 mg/kg riboflavin and 7 mg/kg pyridoxine (insert the values here) were higher than those on other diets. Higher levels of riboflavin and pyridoxine and their combination resulted in an elevated heterophil and decreased lymphocyte values. An elevated (P&lt;0.05) mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) (44.75 pg/cell) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) (133.05 f/L) concentration was observed in broilers fed diets containing added 3.5 mg/kg pyridoxine. The study revealed that 8 mg/kg riboflavin and 7 mg/kg pyridoxine is required for improved final weight, crude protein retention and good health of broiler chickens

Predilection and growth performance of FUNAAB-Alpha chicken under different compact fluorescent light colours

The predilections of FUNAAB-Alpha chicken for Compact Fluorescent Light colours (CFL) and their effect on growth performance were&nbsp; evaluated. Three hundred and ninety six (396) FUNAAB-Alpha chickens were randomly divided into three treatments, each contained a coloured CFL light bulb of 45W and equal light intensity: T1 (Yellow CFL), T2 (Blue CFL), T3 (White CFL). Artificial lighting was provided for 8 hours from 8pm-4am. Dark to&nbsp; light predilection test was carried out at 2nd week of age. Birds under yellow light had enhanced (P&lt; 0.05) frequency of feeding behaviour (3.6) compared to those under blue (1.1) and white (0.7) light respectively. Moreover, birds that preferred yellow light exhibited higher frequency (P&lt; 0.05) of drinking behaviour (0.6) compared to those that preferred other lights. Growth performance result revealed that birds reared under blue&nbsp; light had enhanced average feed intake (77.4) compared to birds reared under white (69.2) and yellow (70.0) light colours. The result of the growth performance revealed that birds under blue light had improved feed intake. Yellow light is recommended for rearing of FUNAAB Alpha chickens at&nbsp; the early stage. Keywords: Behaviour, growth performance, predilection test, FUNAAB Alpha chicken