Software Development for Estimating the Cost of Injuries and Man-hour Downtime in Hydropower Plant, Nigeria a Case Study

This work understudied injuries/accidents in power generation plants in Nigeria. The work was based on the compilation of various hazards associated with individuals working in power plants, injuries/accidents exposed to and treatment given to the injured. The cost implication due to the accidents and man-hour lost were computed using the developed visual basic programming. Data regarding cases of injuries/accidents were collated for a given period in the power plants and used in the computation. It was discovered that a lot of financial losses were been incurred by the organizations due to injuries/accidents sustained by the workers in the process of carrying out their duties. The Visual Basic Programme developed was found to be versatile, easy to understand and suitable for the estimation of cost of injuries/accidents and man-hour losses in the power plants used as case studies. This programme can also be used to predict the cost of injuries/accidents in the sector even before they occur. Keywords: hydropower, injuries, accidents, man-hour, risks, visual basi

Analysis of ill-health and technical efficiency of maize farmers in selected local government areas of Osun state, Nigeria

Several farmers have died or incapacitated as a result of preventable and curable health challenges. These challenges no doubt have had negative impact on farmers’ welfare, agricultural production, efficiency of the farmers and the economy of developing countries like Nigeria. Though it is a known fact that ill-health is devastating but the extent of the devastation may not be known with certainty until it is scientifically proven through research. The study therefore investigated the effect of ill-health on the technical efficiency of maize farmers in Osun, State, Nigeria. 220 farmers were interviewed while the tools of analysis included descriptive statistics, stochastic production frontier and cost of illness procedure. The results revealed that aches (34.32%) and malaria (22.53%) were the most prevalent illness in the area while the perceived causes of illness included stress, poor financial base and, inadequate medical facilities. Meanwhile, the main sources of treatment included consultation with herbalists, local/self medication and hospitals. The main challenges in seeking for good health comprised inadequate medical personnel, inadequate finance and, long distance of the clinics/hospitals from their farm/residence. Time cost accounted for the largest proportion of the economic cost of illness. In addition, access to health care services, number of days absent from farm due to illness and amount spent on drugs all had significant effect on the technical efficiency of the farmers. With a mean of 0.64, none of the farmers operated at the frontier level of technical efficiency. Based on the results, it is therefore recommended that extension personnel should educate the farmers on the need for adequate rest always and use of treated mosquito nets at night.Keywords: Efficiency, ill-health, self-medicatio

Inguinal Hernia: The Quest for the Best Repair

Background: Inguinal hernia repair may be the most common procedure in general surgery. Many repairs have been described but none appears completely satisfactory. A brief look at the popular methods of repair from the traditional tissue approximation to the current meshbased techniques is presented. Methods: The PubMed database was searched for all English language literature. Further references were obtained through cross-referencing the bibliography cited in each work and using books from the authors' collection. Conclusion: The history of inguinal hernia is a rich one, from the traditional tissue approximation techniques to the current mesh-based repairs which are now performed as open or laparoscopic procedures. Recurrent rates have reduced but are still a problem. Perhaps the perfect repair remains elusive because the problem may also be with patients' collagen not just the surgical procedure.Keywords: Inguinal hernia, repair, tissue approximation, mes

A prelimnary study of diet in the juvenile gorean snapper, Lutjanus goreensis (Valenciennes, 1830) from Five Cowrie Creek, Lagos, Nigeria

Diet of the juvenile Gorean snapper, Lutjanus goreensis from Five Cowrie Creek was investigated between April 2008 and January 2009. Analyses of 184 specimens by numerical (NO), frequency of occurrence (FO) and geometric index of importance (GII) methods, respectively revealed a moderately high proportion (47.83%) of stomachs with food or prey. Shrimps and crabs constituted more than 80 % of total prey items. Other dietary components included lobsters, stomatopods, whole fish and fish parts. Similarly, analysis of diet composition by size - groups also indicated a predominance of the shrimps and crabs over all other prey items. In conclusion, L. goreensis can be described as a top-level carnivore feeding almost exclusively on epibenthic crustaceans in the juvenile stage

Determinant of agroforestry practices among small holder farmers in Oyo State Nigeria

The multiplicity of agroforestry practices demand the choice of appropriate methods that will give the rural farmers an excellent result. Thus, this study analysed the factors determining the choice of agroforestry practices among small holder farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria. Primary data was obtained using multi-stage sampling technique. Structured questionnaire was administered to 250 selected small holder farmers to elicit relevant information and 211 was retrieved and used for this study. The findings revealed that most 55% of the farmers chose agrisilvicutural system while 33.2% and 11.8% of the farmers chose agrosilvopastoral and silvopastoral systems respectively. Most of the farmers were males 89.1%, with average age of 47years indicating they were relatively young with basic formal education. The average farm size of 3.34ha indicated that the study covered small holder farmers. The multinomial logit result showed that factors such as educational level, meeting attendance, type of labour used, household assets significantly determined the choice of agroforestry practices adopted by the farmers. The study therefore recommends the implementation of policies that promote more enlightenment on the benefits of agroforestry to both the educated and non-educated farmers to facilitate quick adoption, provision of incentives to farmers that attend meetings regularly and making available improved agroforestry methods and practices to enhance wider suitability of agroforestry practices

Influence of Maxicrop on Agronomical Attributes and Yield of Four Rice Varieties in Kebbi, North-Western Nigeria.

The use of Bio stimulants in rice production is gaining more ground day by day. A two year experiment was conducted during the dry season of 2016 and 2017 in a flood plain area, around Jega, Kebbi state to determine the influence and optimum level of maxicrop application on four varieties of rice. The treatment evaluated consisted of four improved rice varieties (FARO 44, 52, 60 and 61) and three levels of maxicrop application (0, 2 and 4L/ha), applied at 4 and 8 WAT, factorially combined and laid in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated three times. From the outcome of the result, it shows that FARO 44 has a significant difference in number of tillers in 2016 with maxicrop inclusion level of 2 L/ha compared to other varieties, also in 2016 the influence of maxicrop level at 2 L/ha was significantly higher in FARO 44 with the highest yield/ha (6664.41Kg) compared to the other varieties while in 2017, FARO 44 has the highest yield/ha (6366.31Kg) and FARO 52 is least (6164.55Kg). Therefore, the application of maxicrop at 2 L/ha increased the yield/ha of all the four varieties of rice with FARO 44 been the highest Keywords: Rice varieties, Maxicrop and Yield

Irrigation and manure application influence on in vitro digestibility of herbaceous legumes

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of swine manure rates (0, 5, 10 tonha-1) and irrigation frequencies (2 and 4 days interval) on in vitro fermentation characteristics of three herbaceous forage legumes (Lablab purpureus, Mucuna pruriens and Vigna unguiculata). The experiment was a factorial design with three replicates. The legumes were harvested 12 weeks after sowing. The results showed no significant (p > 0.05) difference in crude protein content for all the parameters determined while lowest neutral detergent fibre content was 450.00 g kg-1 in legumes fertilized with 10tonha-1 manure and the highest was 482.78 g kg-1 in unfertilized legumes. Tannin contents ranged (p < 0.05) from 3.60 g kg-1 in V. unguiculata to 6.60 g kg-1 in M. pruriens. Application of 10 tonha-1 manure caused (P<0.05) higher total anaerobic bacteria count (TABC) (1.65 x106 cfu/ml), dry matter (63.98%) and crude protein (59.5 %) digestibility to be produced by the legumes compared to other manure rates. Lablab purpureus had highest TABC (1.13 x106 cfu/ml) while M. pruriens recorded highest DMD (62.22%) and CPD (58.00%). Legumes irrigated at 2 days intervals had higher TABC content (1.13 x106 cfu/ml) while legumes irrigated at 4 days interval had higher DMD (57.91%) and CPD (52.50%). In conclusion, application of 10 tonha-1 manure rate at 4 days irrigation frequency of the legumes will go a long way to improve the digestibility and availability of nutrients to ruminants

Comparison of Organoleptic Properties of Egusi and Efo Riro Soup Blends Produced with Moringa and Spinach Leaves

The organoleptic properties of  melon, “egusi” (Citrullus colocynthis var. Lanatus seed) and efo riro (Spinach; Amaranthus spinosus) soup blends produced with Moringa (Moringa oleifera) and spinach leaves were compared. Three soup blends were produced for egusi soup: Spinach: Egusi (60:40; Control), Moringa: Egusi (60:40), Moringa: Spinach: Egusi (30:30:40). Also, three soups blends were produced for efo riro: Moringa: Spinach (Moringa only) (100:0;Control), Moringa: Spinach (MS) (50:50), Moringa: Spinach (Spinach only) (0:100). The soup blends were subjected to organoleptic tests using a 7-point hedonic scale. Data obtained were statistically analyzed. The control Spinash:Egusi soup had the highest acceptability  in terms of colour, aroma, texture and general acceptability, this was closely followed by the soup blend with Moringa: spinach: egusi (30:30:40) and the Moringa: egusi (60:40)  was least accepted. In the efo riro group, the 100% spinach had the greatest acceptability, while the 100% Moringa had the least acceptability.  However, most of the respondents (60%) on realizing that Moringa leaf was included in the samples indicated their preference and higher rating for the Moringa soup blends. These studies show that a 30% or lower level of inclusion of Moringa leaves in traditional vegetable soup recipes is acceptable to consumers irrespective of whether content of the soup is declared/indicated, and a higher level of inclusion is acceptable when “Moringa” is declared/revealed as a recipe ingredient. Therefore, traditional soups can be used as vehicles or carriers of the nutritional/medicinal qualities of Moringa that are preserved during cooking, thereby circumventing negative psychological feeling of using medicines whilst gaining attendant benefits. Key words: Soups, Efo Riro, Egusi, Moringa/Spinach Blen

RELATIVE DISCRIMINATING POWERS OF GGE AND AMMI MODELS IN THE SELECTION OF TROPICAL SOYBEAN GENOTYPES

Selection of crops is preceded by multi-locational testing in plant breeding; however, it becomes difficult for breeders to determine which genotypes should be selected in the presence of genotype by environment (GEI). Six genotypes of soybean ( Glycine max (L.) Merr.) were evaluated at ten locations in Nigeria for grain yield and stability. The analysis of variance revealed significant (P 640.05) GEI effect. Mean grain yield of the soybean genotypes ranged from 1148 kg ha-1 for genotype M351 to 1584 kg ha-1 for TGx 1448-2E. Ilorin in the southern guinea savanna of Nigeria was the most variable with high interaction principal component axes (IPCA); while Bauch in the northern guinea savanna was identified as more stable location in evaluating the soybean genotype. Mega-environments and the best yielding soybean genotypes in each mega-environment were revealed by the GGE biplot analysis. Furthermore, TGx 1448-2E and TGx 1440-1E, were established as the most promising, and stable genotypes across the test locations. Stability model of GGE biplot was superior, effective and informative in mega-environment analysis compared to AMMI analysis.La s\ue9lection des cultures est pr\ue9c\ue9d\ue9e de tests multilocaux en am\ue9lioration des plantes; cependant, il appara\ueet difficile pour les am\ue9liorateurs de d\ue9terminer quels types de g\ue9notypes s\ue9lectionner en pr\ue9sence du g\ue9notype x environnement (GEI). Six g\ue9notypes du Soja ( Glycine max (L.) Merr.) \ue9taient \ue9valu\ue9s dans dix milieux au Nigeria pour le rendement en grains et la stabilit\ue9. L\u2019analyse de la variance a r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 un effet significatif (P 64 0.05) du GEI. Le rendement moyen en grains des g\ue9notypes du soja variait de 1148 kg ha-1 pour le g\ue9notype M351 \ue0 1584 kg ha-1 pour TGx 1448-2E. Ilorin au sud de la savanne guin\ue9enne au Nigeria \ue9tait le plus variable avec une interaction \ue9lev\ue9e des axes de la composante principale (IPCA); pendant que Bauch dans le nord de la savanne guinn\ue9enne \ue9tait identifi\ue9 comme milieu le plus stable dans l\u2019\ue9valuation du g\ue9notype du soja. Les Mega-environments et le meilleur g\ue9notype du soja du point de vue rendement dans chaque mega-environment \ue9taient r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9s par l\u2019analyse du biplot. En plus, TGx 1448-2E et TGx 1440-1E, \ue9taient jug\ue9s les plus promettants et g\ue9notypes stables \ue0 travers le test de milieu. Le mod\ue8le de stabilit\ue9 du biplot GGE \ue9tait sup\ue9rieur, effective et informative dans l\u2019analyse m\ue9ga-environmentale en comparaison avec l\u2019analyse du AMMI

ISOLATION METHODS FOR MOLECULAR DETECTION AND ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE PATTERN OF CAMPYLOBACTER SPP IN LAYER CHICKENS

This study was conducted to compare two culture methods for the isolation of Campylobacter spp from commercial layer chickens and subsequently confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction assays (PCR). Furthermore, the antimicrobial resistance profiles of PCR positive Campylobacter isolates were determined.Cloacal swab samples (550) from chickens randomly selected from five poultry farms in the four geographical zones in Ogun State were cultured for Campylobacter using modified charcoal Cefoperazone deoxycholate agar (MCCDA) and an improved culture method involving Preston broth pre-enrichment and subsequent subculture on Mueller Hinton agar with Campylobacter growth supplements. Putative isolates were later confirmed by PCR assay and sequencing analysis.Other isolates that grew on MCCDA and confirmed by sequencing analysis are Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichis coli, Comamonas kerstli and Pseudomonas aeroginusa . The antibiotic resistant profile of all the isolates were evaluated genotypically for resistance genes to tetracyclines (tetO), multiclasses (cmeB), aminoglycosides (aphA-3-1) and β-lactams (Blaoxa-61) using multiplex PCR (mPCR), and phenotypically for chlortetracycline, tylosin, streptomycin, ciprofloxacin and erythromycin resistance by microbroth dilution method which correspond to the antibiotic resistance genes. The apparent prevalence of Campylobacter was 16.8% by MCCDA while none of the isolates was positive to PCR. Meanwhile, prevalence rate of 26% was obtained using Preston broth pre-enrichment and Mueller Hinton agar with Campylobacter growth supplements, of which 11/50 (22%) of the isolates was confirmed positive by PCR. Genotypic characterization of PCR positive isolates showed 10/11(90%) were C. coli, 1/11(10%) other Campylobacter species and 0% C. jejuni. All the isolates carried both tetO and cmeB resistant genes. The results of minimum inhibitory concentration presented all PCR positive isolates had resistance of 10/10(100%), 9/10(90%), 6/10(60%), 9/10(90%), and 8/10(80%) to tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, spectinomycin and tylosin respectively. In addition, all isolates carried multiple resistance to most antibiotics tested which are commonly used in poultry practice in Nigeria. Campylobacter spp in the study areas showed diverse genotypic characteristics, and gene mediated multidrug resistance.   &nbsp