Redescription of Lepismatophila cruszi Kundu and Haldar, 1984 (Apicomplexa : Sporozoea) from Chondracis rosea (Order: Orthoptera)

This study describes external characteristics and life history of a species of cephaline gregarine (Apicomplexa: Sporozoea) of the genus Lepismatophila [1], from Chondracis rosea (Order: Orthoptera)of Manipur, India. Diagnosis characteristic of the species the epimerite a simple symmetrical knob, Protomerite present throughout trophozoite stage, Solitary nature of Sporadins, Cyst without ducts dehiscence by simple rupture and Spores in uncoiling chains, ellipsoidal, boat shaped, without any filamentous process are discussed. And the morphological details of the different stages supported with photomicrographs are also provided

Studies on mosquito density in urban Kano: a study to calculate larval indices in municipal area of Gwale, Kano, Nigeria

The study is carried out to standardize larval indices namely House Index, Container Index and Breteau Index and also to identify the major breeding sources of mosquitoes in the residential environment in and around the Gwale Local government area of  Kano, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study by selecting 50 houses randomly from the 6 wards of Municipality was employed. Every water holding container indoors and outdoors were counted and searched for larval presence and noted on a pretested format. In this study, 300 houses were surveyed in 21 days out of which 94.33% (283 houses) were found to have potential sources for mosquito breeding. All the entomological indices were found to be above the critical level. House Index = 28.67%; Container Index = 12.14%; Breteau Index = 64.00% showing high chances for outbreaks of mosquito borne diseases. The area is prone to mosquito borne disease like malaria and therefore warrants interventions from the competent

Impact of Aisami Solid Waste dumping site, Kano Metropolis, Nigeria on the quality of ground water of the neighbouring environment

Open dumping and uncontrolled landfilling of solid wastes are the most widely practiced waste disposal methods in many cities of the less-developed regions, especially those in sub Saharan Africa. These practices are unsustainable and pose a major threat to the environment and public health. Of particular concern is the leachate produced at the disposal sites, which is concentrated with biological and chemical substances that could contaminate the soil, surface and groundwater sources in the environment. The effects of leachate percolation on the quality of groundwater sources is of great concern especially in sub Saharan Africa, where untreated self-supply groundwater options represent a major source of water supply for many inhabitants. Given this perspective, the physicochemical characteristics of some groundwater samples from wells around a major waste disposal site; Aisami in Kano metropolis, Nigeria, were examined. The samples were collected from the north, east, south and west directions around the disposal site and analysed for parameters that include: pH, turbidity, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, total alkalinity, total hardness, Ca+2, Mg+2, Na+, K+, NO3-, SO4(2-), Cl-, Cu+2, Fe+2 ,Mn+2, Pb, Zn, and Cr. Significant concentrations of most parameters were revealed, often above the WHO recommended thresholds. Accordingly, some measures were highlighted towards protecting, preserving and sustaining groundwater quality as a strategic source of water supply in the area and beyond

Pathogenic Protozoans of Grasshopper from Imphal, Manipur, India

Septate gregarines or Cephaline gregarines are a group of parasitic protozoans of Grasshopper. Eugregarines are the most common; these species inhabit the midgut though rarely pathogenic in the mid-gut, they have been reported to block the gut of the host. Those inhabiting the gastric caeca cause serious pathologies than the midgut-inhabiting species. Some of the best known genera found in Manipur are Gregarina, Phleobum, Didymophyes, Amphiplatyspora, Lepismatophila, Quadruspinospora and Quadruknobspora. The study reports the morphological details of 16species of the above genera collected from Imphal. Illustrative diagrams and photomicrographs are provided for better species identification

Evaluation of the Efficiency of Some Antagonistic Trichoderma spp. in the Management of Plant Parasitic Nematodes

Plant parasitic nematodes cause great economic losses to agricultural crops worldwide. They along, with their hosts, are not isolated in the ecological system, but are strongly influenced by antagonists, parasites and pathogens. Though pesticides appear to be the most economical and efficacious means of controlling plant pathogens, toxicological, environmental and sociological concerns have led to drastic reductions in the availability of efficient commercial nematicides. These restrictions have forced farmers to look for an integral system that makes use of other means of disease control. Species of spiral nematodes, Helicotylenchus and Scutellonema, were among the most abundant plant parasitic nematodes of the mulberry plant. Eco-friendly control of the parasitic nematodes could be achieved by means of endoparasitic fungi (like Hirsutella, Meria, Nematophthora and Nematoctonus), trapping fungi (like Arthrobotrys and Duddingtonia) or parasitic fungi (like Paeceilomyces lilacinus). During the course of this present work, Trichoderma Pers. Ex. Fr. was found to be one of the most effective fungi in controlling the eggs and J2 of Meloidogyne javanica. The present study outlines the comparative efficacy of five Trichoderma species (T. viride, T. harzianum, T. longibrachiatum, T. koningii and T. hamatum) against Helicotylenchus sp. and Scutellonema sp. The study also outlines the effect of Trichoderma viride Persoon on Scutellonema spp. and Helicotylenchus sp., effect of Trichoderma harzianum Raifae on Scutellonema sp. and Helicotylenchus sp., effect of Trichoderma longibrachiatum Rifai on Scutellonema sp. and Helicotylenchus sp., effect of Trichoderma koningii Oudeom on Scutellonema sp. and Helicotylenchus sp., and lastly effect of Trichoderma hamatum (Bonord) Bainier on Scutellonema sp. and Helicotylenchus sp

Enzymatic Decolorization of Remazol Brilliant Blue Royal (RB 19) textile dye by White Rot Fungi

Synthetic dyes are widely used by different industries with over 7 ×105 metric tons produce globally each year. Dyes pose adverse effects including chemical oxygen demand, visual pollution, cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, mutagenicity and carcinogenicity on various types of living organisms. The versatile white rot fungi (basidiomycetes fungi) have developed specialized ligninolytic enzymes for reductive cleavage of dyes and xenobiotics. The present study optimized the decolorization of Remazol brilliant blue royal (RBBR) dye by enzymatic extracts of Coriolus versicolor and Pleurotusostreatus. Experiments were carried out by varying one parameter i.e. pH (2.5-6.5), temperature (30oC-60oC), enzyme activity (3.3U-20U), dye concentration (10mg/L-125mg/L) and time (0-480mins), while others constant to study its effects on decolorization of RBBR. From the results obtained, the optimum conditions for decolorization of RBBR by extracts of C. versicolor and P. ostreatus were pH 4.0, temperature of 300C, enzyme activity 20U, dye concentrations of 100mg/L and 50mg/L for C. versicolor and P. ostreatus respectively at the end of 480 minutes. At the optimized conditions, decolorizations for C. versicolor and P. ostreatus were 80.42% and 70.42% respectively. Highest laccase activity (19.50U) was recorded in C. versicolor compare to P. ostreatus (1.41U). 

First Report of Amphiplatyspora striata Kundu and Haldar, 1984 from Chondracisrosea (Order: Orthoptera) of Manipur, India.

The present communication deals with the complete life history of a Septate Gregarine (Protozoa:Sporozoa) found in Grasshoppers. Gregarines found in the mid-gut region of Grasshoppers were collected and examined for parasites. A species belonging to the genus Amphiplatysporawas obtained from Chondracisrosea. The morphology of the gregarine and its affinities with the other genera of the family Amphiplatysporidae [3] are discussed. The morphological details of the different stages supported with photomicrographs are also provided

Anti-microbial activities and phytochemical screening of some commonly used chewing sticks in Kano, Nigeria

This research work was aimed to determine the antibacterial activity of aqueous and ethanolic extract of plants commonly used in Kano on a clinical isolate of Staphylococcus and Streptococcus species obtained from the dental problem with a view to find the most efficacious one among them. The sensitivity disc method was used to test the antibacterial activity of chewing sticks, Eucalyptus globulus, Salvadora persica, Gledistsia triacanthos, Azadirachta indica and Jatropha curcas were the plants. It was found that none of the plants ‘aqueous extract had activity on the two species of the bacterial isolate at various concentrations. But ethanolic extract was active against all the test bacterial isolate obtained from the dental problem with a greater zone of inhibition in A. Indica, followed by E. globulus and a smaller zone of inhibition in J. curcas. Some of the secondary metabolites were all present with high content in ethanolic extract. The extracts of these plants may serve as sources for chemotherapeutic agents of the management of orofacial infection

Phytochemical analysis, proximate composition and antibacterial activities of Ziziphus Species (Z. jujube and Z. spina christi)

Despite tremendous progress in human medicines infectious diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites are still a major threat to public health. Their impact is particularly large in developing countries due to relative unavailability of medicines and emergence of widespread drugs resistance (Zampini 2009).The aim and objectives of this research work was designed to carried out the Phytochemical analysis, proximate composition and evaluate the antimicrobial activities of the Ziziphus jujube and Ziziphus spina christi leaves against clinical bacterial isolates (Escherichia coli, Staphloccoccus  aureus and Klebsiella  pneumoniae) as they were found out that since ancient times to date, they are used in treating various antimicrobial, ailmentand disorders etc. The results of the research shows that, the effect of antibacterial activities of both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Ziziphus jujube (e extract conc. aqueous; F=119.37, Bacterial extract conc. aqueous; F=1.00 and extract conc. ethanol; F=15.74, Bacterial extract conc. ethanol; F=0.59) are reciprocal proportional to their counterpart, Ziziphus spina-christi (extract conc. aqueous; F=54.96, Bacterial extract conc. aqueous; F=0.94 and extract conc. ethanol; F=81.11, Bacterial extract conc. ethanol; F=1.37). In sum, the minimum inhibitory concentration of Ziziphus jujube shows that, the aqueous extract has M.I.C at range of 11.7 to 8.7mg/ml on all tested bacteria but the ethanolic extract has M.I.C of 14.8 to 8.2mg/ml range on E.coli, Klepsiella spp and S. aureus. While, the minimum inhibitory concentraton of Ziziphus spina-christi shows that the M.I.C of aqueous extract range of 12.8 to 8.3mg/ml on E. coli, Klepsiella spp and S.aureus. But, Ziziphus spina-christi M.I.C of ethanolic extract is 13.5 to 8.8mg/ml on all the tested bacteria. In sum, Zizuphus spina-christi has lower nutritional content and low MIC ethanolic extract than that of Ziziphus jujube