Profitability of Striga tolerant maize variety (Sammaz 17) amongst smallholder farmers in Lapai, Niger State, Nigeria

The study was conducted in Lapai, Niger State, North central Nigeria to determine the profitability of improved maize variety (SAMMAZ 17) in cooperative farmer’s fields. Demonstration plots were cited in three cooperative farms where the improved variety and a local variety were planted. All agronomic practices were carried out uniformly and simultaneously on the plots. In addition, structured questionnaires were administered to 20 members of each of the cooperative farms. Participants were selected by means of simple random sampling techniques to solicit information on the performance of SAMMAZ 17 maize variety on their farms. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, while gross margin analysis was used to compare the profitability of maize varieties. The results revealed that maize farmers were mostly male and small-scale in operations. The local maize variety supported high Striga infestation with low yield of 1.7 t/ha, while SAMMAZ 17 yield was 4.4 t/ha under less Striga infestation. The gross margin production of SAMMAZ 17 maize variety was  ₦ 254,127.40, while the gross margin for the production of farmer’s maize variety was  ₦ 102,517.90. Based on these findings, SAMMAZ 17 was found to be profitable and is therefore recommended for planting in Striga endemic fields in North Central Nigeria.Keywords: Maize, Striga tolerant, cooperative farm, action research, farmer’s variety, gross margin, profitability, extension implicatio

Phylogenetic relationship between the gut bacterial flora of honeybee (Apis mellifera) from Apiary in Ogun State, Nigeria

The present study is aimed to determine the phylogenetic relationship between honeybee (Apis mellifera) gut microbiome from Apiary in Olabisi Onabanjo University and Osoba Avenue Odo-Epo, Odogbolu Local  Government. Honeybees workers (A. mellifera) totaling twenty (20) were collected into a vile having a powdery sugar from the apiary located in OOU and Osoba Avenue at Odo-Epo during rainy season in July and transported to Zoology and Environmental Biology laboratory in OOU and kept in ice-cubes (-50oC) till  daybreak. Before the dissection process, the bees were washed in 95% ethanol and complete alimentary canals of the bees were aseptically dissected by clipping the stinger with sterile forceps. The phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S rDNA gene were further used to characterize the organism in order to establish relationships among them. The partial 16S rDNA sequences obtained were utilized in search of reference nucleotide sequence available in NCBI GenBank database using BlastN algorithm. Maft version 7.0 was employed in the multiple  alignments of nucleotide sequences while trees were drawn based on character method (Maximum Likelihood) for comparing set of data against set of models of evolution using MEGA 7

Molecular Characterization of Gut Bacterial Flora of Honeybee (Apis Mellifera Adansonii) From Some Selected Apiaries in Ogun State, Nigeria

Research related to physiology and pathology of honey bees in particular Apis mellifera adansonii has attracted a lot of attention. The present study is aimed to determine honeybee (Apis mellifera adansonii) gut microbiome from Apiary in Olabisi Onabanjo University and Osoba Avenue Odo-Epo, Odogbolu Local Government. Twenty (20) honeybees workers (A. mellifera) were collected into a small vile containing sugar powder from the apiary located in OOU and Osoba Avenue at Odo-Epo during rainy season in July and transported to Zoology and Environmental Biology laboratory in OOU and kept in ice-cubes (-50C) till daybreak. Standard microbiological analysis for isolation of bacteria was used, adopting Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute procedures. The phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S rDNA gene were further used to characterize the organism in order to establish  relationships among them. The results showed microbiota of the studied samples includes; Cedeca davisae, Cronobacter  dublinensis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Kluyvera cryocrescens, Klebsiella oxytoca, Providencia vermicola, Salmonella enteric, Providencia alcalifaciens, Serratia nematodiphila, Pseudomonas plecoqlossicida, Klebsiella michiganensis, Serratia marcenscens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Aeromonas hydrophila and Enterobacter asburiae. Klebsiella spp. was more abundant and prominent in the digestive guts of honeybee workers both in OOU and Osoba Avenue, Odo Epo. The result of the percentage identity and closest accession of the isolates revealed that, Enterobacter aerogenes had the closest accession number and with highest percentage identity of (99%). The findings from this study showed that microbiota component communities of A. mellifera adansonii in OOU were composed of more Gram-negative bacteria than Gram-positive bacteria in Odo Epo

Evaluation of soil chemical and physical properties at the logged forest at Onigambari forest reserve

S. Soil samples were collected randomly from five locations around the forest at depth of 0- 45cm. Samples of about 500g each were collected in plastic bags and taken to the laboratory for analysis. Results presented shows that sand had the highest % in soil of the area (91.62). Bulk densities were at ranges of (1.43, 1.45 and 1.23g/cm3) at the depth of 0-15, 15-30 and 30-45 respectively. The textural classification for each depth of soil was sandy-loam. Calcium present in the soil ranges between 2.33- 2.60 which is at its lowest and cannot properly support the growth of plant. Magnesium which functions as the central core of the chlorophyll molecule in plant tissue seems to be deficient at each level of the soil depth. Therefore, if Mg is deficient, the shortage of chlorophyll will results in poor and stunted plant growth. Keywords: Decomposed, biomass, bulk density, deficien

[Avian cytogenetics goes functional] Third report on chicken genes and chromosomes 2015

High-density gridded libraries of large-insert clones using bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) and other vectors are essential tools for genetic and genomic research in chicken and other avian species... Taken together, these studies demonstrate that applications of large-insert clones and BAC libraries derived from birds are, and will continue to be, effective tools to aid high-throughput and state-of-the-art genomic efforts and the important biological insight that arises from them

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Prevalence and significance of ectoparasites other than lice attacking chickens in Sokoto, north-west Nigeria

In an examination of 330 free-ranging chickens in Sokoto area for ectoparasites other than lice, a total of 10 species comprising 6 mites, Bdellonyssus bursa (56%), Epidermo ptesbilobalus (20%), Rivaltasiabi furcata (20%), Megninia cubitalis/Megninia tetraonis (72%), Cnemidoco ptesmutans (14%); 3 species of ticks, Argaspersicus (30%), Amblyomma variegatum (4%), Haemphy salishoodi (8%); and a species of flea, Echidnopha gagallinacea (26%) were recorded. Many infestations consisted of a few to a dozen individuals per bird. However, B. bursa, A. persicus and E. gallinacea were abundant (dozens to hundreds/thousands of individuals) on some birds constituting considerable health hazards. Ectoparasites fluctuated seasonally being more often found in the hot dry season (p<0.01) and warm wet season (p<0.05) than in the cool dry harmattan season. The findings suggest the need to develop preventive and control options against ticks, mites and fleas in the area for improved production potentials of birds.Keywords: Chicken; ectoparasites; excluding lice; Sokoto; Nigeri

An overview of mastitis in Sokoto red goat, Nigeria

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Pattern of ticks and lice infestation on small ruminants in Sokoto, Sokoto State

Sheep and goats are major sources of meat, skin and farm yard manure for more than 60% of indigenous population in Sokoto State, Nigeria. In addition, they are important for the high social economic value, as insurance against crop failure, and usage for cultural festivities and religious sacrifices. Among the factors which hamper the productivity of these small ruminants is ecto parasitism. This study was therefore carried out to investigate the pattern of tick and lice infestations on small ruminants  presented at the state Zonal Veterinary Clinic, Sokoto between March and August, 2015. Of the total 104 small ruminants presented for treatment  consisting of 73 sheep and 31 goats investigated, the prevalence of tick and lice infestations in this  study was observed to be 23.1% and 3.8% for sheep and goats, respectively. Thus, confirming the presence of these parasites in Sokoto. In sheep, Amblyomma variegatum (14.4%), Boophilus decoloratus (6.7%) and Linognathus ovilus (1.9%) were found, while Amblyomma variegatum (3.9%) was the only tick species found in goats. The pattern of ticks and lice infestations on small  ruminants based on age distribution showed that infestation was highest among the sheep above 3 years of age. It is also higher among the female animals than in males. The infestation was highest among Yankasa breed than other breeds encountered in the study, while infestation in goats was found only among Sokoto Red. A strategic control of these ectoparasites with appropriate acaricides during the period of high burden of ticks and lice based on epidemiology is recommended.Keywords: Lice infestations, Pattern, Small Ruminants, Sokoto, Tick

Pattern of tick infestation on one humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Sokoto, Nigeria

The pattern of tick infestation in one humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) was assessed in Sokoto metropolitan abattoir, Sokoto State, Nigeria where an average of 10 to 15 camels were slaughtered per day on an open concrete slaughter slab. A total of 200 randomly selected camels made up of 124 males and 76 females were aged by dentition determination technique and examined for tick infestations between February and September, 2015. All the camels examined in this study were infested with at least one species of ticks with some mixed infestations. Hyalomma species is the most common tick genus found on camels of both sexes; where it accounted for 73.4% and 71.1% of male and female camels respectively. In all, Hyalomma species accounted for 72.5% while Amblyomma variegatum, Boophilus decoloratus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus accounted for 20.0%, 14.0% and 19.0% respectively. Hyalomma species is also the most common genus found on camels of all age groups and accounted for 75.4% in 1 to 6 years age group, 70.9% in 7 to 12 age group and 71.4% in 13 to 18 age group. The species of Hyalomma identified in the study included Hyalomma dromedarii (50.7%), H. rufipes (17.0%), H. impeltatum (17.5%) and H. truncatum (14.8%). Prevalence of infestation was not seasonal, as ticks were found on the camels during the dry and wet seasons of the study period, with higher tick burden in the wet season. It was concluded that untreated tick-infested camel herds may pose a public health hazard to other animals and man in the environment; hence they should be factored into consideration during control programmes of ticks on other livestock animals.Keywords: Camels, Pattern, Sokoto, Tick infestatio