Diet Composition of Purple Lagoon Crab Goniopsis pelii (Herklots, 1851) from South West Nigeria

The crab family is the largest of the invertebrate phylum, the purple mangrove crab Goniopsis pelii (Herklots, 1951) collected from Lagos lagoon south west Nigeria were studied for insight in to their diet composition for the period between February and July, 2012. Of the three hundred and sixty (360) crabs examined (14.6%) had empty stomach while (85.4%) comprised of partially filled and filled stomach. The stomach contents of the crabs showed that they fed mainly on diatoms with a percentage occurrence of 42.4% and a numeric count of 40.3% while the least ingested food item was nematodes with a percentage occurrence of 0.2% and a numeric count of 0.09%. Other food items observed included algae, annelids, mollusc, plant parts, detritus, debris, crustaceans, fishes and sand grains. This research reveals the opportunistic dietary preference of Goniopsis pelii. The results will aid the understanding of the food ecology of Goniopsis pelii and will certainly provide a database for the food web dynamics of this lagoon crab in Nigeria. Keywords: Purple Lagoon Crab, Lagos Lagoon, Diet

Antihyperlipidaemic and Antioxidant Potential of Fermented Citrullus vulgaris Seeds (Thunb.) on Tyloxapol-induced Hyperlipidaemic Rats: A Comparison With Fluvastatin

Globally fermented foods form an integral part of the staple diet of people. Fermented Citrullus vulgaris (FCV) (ogiri) seeds is a nutritious natural fermented condiment that features frequently in West African diets as a spice.This study investigated the antihyperlipidaemic potential of this condiment in tyloxapol-induced hyperlipidaemic rats with reference to that of fluvastatin, a standard antilipidaemic drug. The antioxidant potential of the condiment was also examined using different relevant in vitro assays. Albino rats were divided into six groups (n=5), based on the diet and treatment received. The groups were standard feed (control); FCV supplemented feed; standard feed with tyloxapol administered at the end of the experimental period (tyloxapol control); FCV supplemented feed and tyloxapol at the end of the experimental period; standard feed with fluvastatin sodium (40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg body weight separately) followed by tyloxapol. The results revealed that administration of tyloxapol induced significant (p < 0.05) increase in total-cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG). These lipid increases were significantly mitigated in groups initially pre-fed with supplemented FCV feed. Plasma TC decreased by 69.38% (p < 0.05); TG by 80.58% (p < 0.05); LDL-C by 7.80% (p < 0.05) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels increased by 78.61% (p < 0.05). FCV showed appreciable antioxidant activities in vitro in a dose dependent manner. Histomorphological examination of the liver suggested that the FCV possessed hepatoprotective potential. These results suggest that FCV consumption may be a possible dietary measure for the control of dyslipidaemia

Sublethal Effects of Organophosphate Chlorpyrifos on Hemato-Immunological Parameters of the Gercacinid Crab, Cardiosoma armatum (Herklots, 1851)

Low insecticide exposure has been shown to cause profound effects on non-target organisms, including crabs. Therefore, the changes in hematological parameters, serum biochemistry and antioxidant enzymes in the Gercacinid crab, Cardiosoma armatum were assessed during 28-day exposure to four concentrations of organophosphate chlorpyrifos (0.003, 0.006, 0.03 and 0.06 mg/l). The results showed a significant (P= 0.0) decrease in packed cell volume and total haemocyte count of the exposure crabs (except in 0.003 mg/l concentration) compared to control group. There were no significant changes in hemocyte sedimentation rate, granulocyte and agranulocyte, although all exposure groups increased in hemocyte sedimentation rate and agranulocyte with respective ranges of 3.00-3.02 mm/hr and 64.00-67.00 %. Except for alkaline phosphatase, there were no significant variation in the biochemical profile of both the control crabs and exposure crabs, although organophosphate chlorpyrifos exposure induced increase in all the measured biochemical parameters. The serum protein level and the activities of the enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase and malondialdehyde) were inhibited in exposure groups. The changes in these hemato-immunological parameters of the crabs were suitable biomarkers of a sub-lethal exposure to chlorpyrifos at the concentrations tested, and this will be useful in biomonitoring of aquatic environment

AN OVERVIEW OF DEEP LEARNING TECHNIQUES FOR SHORT-TERM ELECTRICITY LOAD FORECASTING

This paper presents an overview of some Deep Learning (DL) techniques applicable to forecasting electricity consumptions, especially in the short-term horizon. The paper introduced key parts of four DL architectures including the RNN, LSTM, CNN and SAE, which are recently adopted in implementing Short-term (electricity) Load Forecasting problems. It further presented a model approach for solving such problems. The eventual implication of the study is to present an insightful direction about concepts of the DL methods for forecasting electricity loads in the short-term period, especially to a potential researcher in quest of solving similar problems

Assessment of heavy metal content in imported and local fish and crustacean species obtained within Lagos Metropolis

Fishes are known for their abilities to concentrate heavy metals in their muscles and since they play important role in human nutrition, they need to be carefully screened to ensure that unnecessary high level of some toxic trace metals are not being transfer to man through their consumption. The study was to evaluate heavy metals (chromium, lead, iron and cadmium) in imported and local species of shrimps, crabs and fish using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. The selected imported species were horse mackerelkote fish (Trachurus trachurus), mackerel - titus (Scomber scrombus), croaker (Pseudotolithus typus), smooth swim crab (Portunus validus) and pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus notialis) while the local species used were; Sole fish (Cynoglossus senegalensis), Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), brackish water catfish (Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus), freshwater catfish (Clarias gariepinus), lagoon crab (Callinectes amnicola) and freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium macrobrachion). It was observed that there was no significant difference in the metals (Cd, Pb and Cr) between the imported and local fish species and between imported and local crustacean species. However, these metals concentrated more in the local fish species, O. niloticus (1.846 ± 1.00 mg/100g). The mean heavy metals concentration occurred in the following decreasing order: Fe &gt; Cd &gt; Pb &gt; Cr for all the samples. The mean concentrations of the analyzed heavy metals in the samples were below the maximum permissible limits as recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) for heavy metals in fish.Keywords: Fish, Shrimp, Crab, Heavy metal, Chromium, Lead, Iro

CYTOTOXIC EFFECTS OF FERMENTED AFRICAN LOCUST BEAN SEEDS ON A BREAST CANCER CELL

Objective: There is a growing scientific evidence of the health-enhancing benefits of fermented food especially in cancer treatment and prevention. Fermented African locust beans (FALB) are a condiment with many medicinal activities and consume in many West African countries. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women globally. This study investigated the cytotoxicity of FALB extracts on breast cancer (MCF-7) cells overtime and at different concentrations. Methods: The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to quantify the extent of cytotoxicity of the extracts. Results: The aqueous extract of FALB had an half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 1.51 and 0.98 mg/mL on exposure for 24 and 48 h, respectively, against MCF-7 cells. Comparatively, the IC50 obtained for the same extract against normal human fibroblasts was 1.90 and 1.37 mg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: The results obtained here suggest some measure of selective cytotoxicity by the aqueous extract against transformed as compared with normal cells. These findings present an important lead to the usefulness of this condiment in cancer treatment. Further studies are recommended

Occurrence and variation in the depth of burrows of mangrove crabs around a tropical creek in Nigeria

Mangrove crabs are active burrowers in intertidal sediments of wetland, living beneath drifts and high-tide marks in lagoon shores in many parts of the world. The occurrence, distribution and burrow depths and diameters of the mangrove crabs, Cardisoma armatum and Goniopsis pelii collected from a mangrove wetland of the Lagos Lagoon were investigated between February and July, 2017. Burrows were counted biweekly on permanent square plots marked out in the six stations, while the appearance of new burrows as well as disappearance of old burrows, depths and diameters were recorded. C. armatum was present in all the study sites with a total of 848 specimens and occurred throughout the study period, while G. pelli with a total of 115 specimens occurred in two study sites and during the wet season only. Species ratio was 1: 0.37 while the Chisquared value at 1 d.f and 5 % significant level was 557.93. The depth of the crab burrows across the stations ranged from 16.65 – 33.47 cm with diameter ranging between 4.0 – 6.40 cm. Crab burrows, its occurrence and distribution were observed to be affected by natural and anthropogenic factors. There was a rapid decline in burrows in the month of April when rainfall seized and anthropogenic factors like noise, refuse dumping and construction works also played major roles in determining the dispersion of burrows. Therefore, mangrove crabs and their burrows are greatly influenced by both abiotic and biotic factors.Keywords: Cardisoma armatum, Goniopsis pelii, Mangrove wetland, Burrow, Depth and width, Occurrence, Distributio

Antioxidant Defense System Alternations in Four Crab Species as a Bio-Indicator of Environmental Contamination

The ecological health status of aquatic environment is a determinant for the survival and growth of organisms within such niche. An investigative study was carried out on four crab species – Cardiosoma armatum, Goniopsis pelli, Callinectes amnicola, Portunus validusinhabiting contaminated sites in Lagos Lagoon- exploring their anti-oxidant defense mechanism in the light of heavy metal concentration in the crab tissues. Amongst the measured heavy metals, cadmium level proved to be significantly highest (P<0.05) with range concentration of 0.42±0.12mg/kg (G. pelli)- 0.79±0.06 mg/kg (C. armatum). Contrastingly, lead was marginally low with concentration below 0.01 mg/kg in all the crab species. Organismal responses to environmental pollution showed a high level of biomarkers. C. armatum was observed to have elevated level of superoxide dismutase (123.04±0.01min/mg/pro), catalase (7.74±0.05min/mg/pro), glutathion transferase (18.21±0.02 Hmol/mg pro), reduced glutathione (2.92±0.04Hmol/mg pro) and glutathione peroxidase (61.85±0.06 Hmol/mg pro) above other species with C. amnicola recording the lowest concentration of the biomarkers. With the low level of heavy metals and corresponding high concentration of these biomarkers, the pollution indices within the study habitat are quite modest

Recognition of West African Indigenous Fruits using a Convolutional Neural Network Model

The. Fruit recognition involves the extraction and processing of relevant features from fruit images in order to deduce the categories of that fruit. Due to its importance to human health and sustainability, various systems exist for recognition of fruits, although none exist for recognition of west Africa's indigenous fruits. This research developed a fruit recognition system using a convolutional neural network (CNN) based model. Five west Africa indigenous fruits were selected, while “images were directly used as input to CNN based model of (3 convolutional layers, 3 max pooling layers and 1 fully connected layer) for training and recognition without features extraction process. The study further presents a transfer learning on visual geometry group 16 and ResNet models for result comparison. Using the optimal training set, the proposed CNN based model produced a recognition rate of 96%

Some ecological aspects of the gecarcinid land crab, Cardisoma armatum Herklots, 1851 (Crustacea, Brachyura, Gecarcinidae) from the estuarine region of the Comoe River, Côte d’Ivoire

Cardisoma armatum Herklots, 1851 is a land crab endemic to tropical coastal ecosystems and represents an important fishery resource. C. armatum was collected using traps at the eastern region of the Ebrie lagoon and the estuarine region of the Comoé River in 2009 during the high rainy season extending from mid-May to mid-July and in low dry season from mid-July to September. Some biometric parameters are measured to determine some aspects of population structure and condition of this edible crab. Sexual dimorphism was confirmed with the major chelae of male crabs reaching larger sizes than those of females. The sex ratio that varied with the sampling periods was associated with migrations occurring during the breeding season. Positive, negative, and positive allometric growth patterns were observed for the carapace length-total weight relationship, respectively, in males, females, and the population as a whole. For the carapace width/total weight relationship, negative allometric growth was observed, respectively, in males, females, and the whole population. Our data show an evidence of a serious problem of recruitment in the population of this crab related to degradation of the habitats and heavy harvesting pressures, highlighting the necessity of developing and implanting management and protection strategies of this crustacean.© 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Cardisoma armatum, Population structure, Condition index, Ebrie lagoon, Comoé River, Côte d’Ivoir