Effect of surgical and immunological castration on haematological variables, reproductive hormones and ejaculate characteristics in mongrel dogs

Welfare concerns are growing regarding surgical castration (SC) in pets, necessitating the need for non-surgical alternatives. Administration of vaccines against gonadotropins releasing hormone (GnRH) have been reported as alternative to SC. This study determined the effect of surgical and immunological castrations (IC) on complete blood counts, plasma testosterone (T), luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations and ejaculate characteristics in mongrel dogs. Ten intact male dogs were randomly divided into two groups (A & B). Dogs in group A were surgically castrated, while dogs in group B were immunologically castrated with single subcutaneous injection of GnRH vaccine (Improvac®). Blood and semen were collected before SC or IC and fortnightly until sixteen weeks. Blood was analyzed for packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell count (WBC), haemoglobin concentration (Hb), absolute neutrophil (NEUT) and lymphocyte counts (LYMP), T and LH. Sperm volume (SV), concentration (C), motility (SM), live-dead ratio (LDR) and percentage of abnormal spermatozoa were determined for the semen. Data were presented as mean ± standard deviation and compared using analysis of variance. The PCV and HB of dogs surgically castrated increased progressively up to16th week after castration but only up to10 weeks in dogs immunologically castrated. Both PCV and HB decreased progressively after 10 weeks in dogs immunologically castrated. Similarly, the WBC of dogs surgically castrated steadily increased from 2 weeks up to week 16, while it increased from 6 weeks up to 16 weeks in dogs immunologically castrated. However, PCV, Hb, WBC, NEUT and LYMP did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) between SC and IC. In both groups, the SV, SC, SM, LDR and percentage of abnormal spermatozoa did not differ significantly. It was therefore concluded that there is no significant haematological or endocrinological changes between surgical and immunological castration and that immunological castration may provide safer alternative.Keywords: Surgical castration, immunosterilization, dogs, GnRH vaccine, Testosterone, Luteinising hormon

Influence of Mycorrhizae and Rhizobium Inoculation on Growth, Nutrient Uptake and Proximate Composition of Upland Rice Cultivars

The activities of microbial rhizospheric organisms have been well documented in non-leguminous plants such as wheat, rice and maize. Such activities include nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization and mineralization that are beneficial for the overall growth and development of the plant. Field experiments were carried out in the early and late cropping season of 2013 in the tropical rainforest agro-ecology of southwest Nigeria to study the growth promotion, nutrient uptake, proximate composition of upland rice and harvested grains based on single inoculation of Mycorrhizae and Rhizobium. A 5 x 3 factorial experiment was conducted; five upland rice varieties selected with and without the application of mycorrhizae and rhizobium, laid out in split plot arrangement, with mycorrhizae and rhizobium in the main block, while variety was in the sub-plot. Each treatment was replicated three times. In both seasons, result show significant (P < 0.05) effect of single mycorrhizae and rhizobium inoculation on plant growth (plant height, numbers of tillers and leaves) and plant biomass except for shoot weight in the late season. Also, result show significant (P < 0.05) effect of single mycorrhizae and rhizobium inoculation on nutrient uptake in both seasons. Significant (P < 0.05) effect of single mycorrhizae and rhizobium inoculation was observed in proximate composition of rice grains in the early season, with rhizobium inoculated rice having the highest protein content. It was concluded that upland rice inoculation with mycorrhizae and rhizobium  improved their nutrient uptake, proximate composition and growth. Keywords: Mycorrhizae, rhizobium, upland rice, nutrient uptake, growth, proximate compositio

Geo-electrical investigation of Leachate Impact on Groundwater: A Case Study of Ile- Epo Dumpsite, Lagos, Nigeria

In the past few decades, disposal sites have been filled with household refuse and different kinds of potentially dangerous industrial waste in an uncontrolled manner which poses an enormous risk for the environment, and are the main sources for groundwater contamination. With the aim of assessing impact of leachate on the underlying aquifers by determining and delineating possible leachate infiltration into the aquifer matrix ,Constant Spacing Traversing (CST) was carried out using Wenner array and spacing between 10-60 m along four 160 m – 180 m profiles. The results revealed the aquifer is characterized by low resistivity response generally below 4.5 ohm-m depicting possible contamination of the underlying aquifer from Oke-Odo landfill. The surface of the waste landfill is characterized by differential decomposition of waste as zones of advanced decomposition and fresh waste are reflected as low and high resistivity respectively. The absence of leachate in the aquifer 100 m from the studied area suggests that the leachate has not spread to this area, therefore, safe for groundwater exploitation. This study demonstrated the expeditiousness and effectiveness of the resistivity technique as a tool for geo-environmental mapping of leachat

Assessment of Subsurface Conditions in a Coastal Area of Lagos using Geophysical Methods

An integrated geophysical and geotechnical survey was carried out at Magodo Estate, Lagos, Nigeria. The buildings in this area are either sinking or intensively affected by severe cracks showing structural instability. The survey was aimed at characterizing the shallow subsurface in order to delineate features that may have caused structural instability that led to cracking and sinking of the residential buildings in the area. To image the subsurface, resistivity profiling (2-D) using a Wenner array and Cone Penetration Test (CPT) was carried out on five profiles of length 180 m each. The acquired data were processed and interpreted integrally to image the shallow geotechnical setting of the site. Integrated interpretation led to the delineation of low resistivity, low bearing capacity clay which is identified as the main cause of instability that resulted in potentially dangerous cracking and sinking of residential buildings in the area.Keywords: Geo-materials, resistivity, geotechnical, geophysica

The Effect of a Congested Season on the Match Activity of Professional Football Players

The effect of fixture congestion in football has been researched extensively over the years. There have only been studies over congested fixture periods, none have investigated a whole fixture congested season. This is primarily due to there not being a pandemic that has affected the football season before as it did the 2020/21 season. To our knowledge there has not been a study to investigate the effect of COVID-19 and the subsequent fixture congestion that was caused the following season after that. Thus, the purpose of this study is to ascertain whether there has been an effect on the activity of professional football players due to the 2020/21 congested season. The study included 65 players from a team in the English Football League One over three seasons that met a specific involvement criterion. This study used a data analysis method to look at three different periods of this season and compare those same periods with a counterpart from previous seasons, using the metrics provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS) data. The metrics to be looked at include high speed distance (HSD) and total distance (TD). As a whole season across all three periods there was no significant differences for TD or HSD between 2020/21 and 2019/20 season (P = 0.88 and P = 0.28, respectively). However, mean TD and HSD from 2020/21 (24784 ± 10111; 2055 ± 905, respectively) were only slightly higher than those of 2019/20 (24280 ± 11860; 1885 ± 890, respectively) in both instances. In conclusion, this current study has shown that there was no effect for TD and HSD, this is in line with previous research, but more research is needed on the topic

THRESHOLD-BASED BANDWIDTH ALLOCATION SCHEME FOR MULTISERVICE WIRELESS NETWORKS

Priority Queuing with Buffer Management (PQBM) has been recently proposed in the literature. The protocol is acclaimed to be a very attractive candidate in current (2.5G and 3G) and next (4G) multiservice wireless networks. However, it suffers bandwidth monopolization by higher priority data packets. This paper proposes a new scheme namely Improved Priority Queuing with Buffer Management (IPQBM) with a view to redistributing service provision to the data classes optimally. In particular, the scheduling discipline of PQBM is modified so as to correct the monopoly problem. IPQBM is compared with PQBM vis-à-vis throughput and mean delay of data packets. Numerical results reveal that IPQBM offers improved throughput for lower priority data packets by ensuring that higher priority data class does not have a monopoly of bandwidth resources

Topophilia and the Quality of Life

With this research I tested the hypothesis that individual preferences for specific ecosystem components and restorative environments are significantly associated with quality of life (QOL). A total of 379 human subjects responded to a structured 18-item questionnaire on topophilia and to the 26-item World Health Organization’s Quality of Life (WHOQOL-Bref) instrument. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed four domains of topophilia (ecodiversity, synesthetic tendency, cognitive challenge, and familiarity) and four domains of QOL (physical, psychological, social, and environmental). Synesthetic tendency was the strongest domain of topophilia, whereas the psychological aspect of QOL was the strongest. Structural equation modeling was used to explore the adequacy of a theoretical model linking topophilia and QOL. The model fit the data extremely well: χ(2) = 5.02, p = 0.414; correlation = 0.12 (p = 0.047). All four domains of topophilia were significantly correlated with the level of restoration experienced by respondents at their current domicile [for cognitive challenge: r = 0.19; p < 0.01; familiarity: r = 0.12; p < 0.05; synesthetic tendency: r = 0.18; p < 0.01; ecodiversity (the highest value): r = 0.28; p < 0.01]. Within ecodiversity, preferences for water and flowers were associated with high overall QOL (r = 0.162 and 0.105, respectively; p < 0.01 and 0.05, respectively). Within the familiarity domain, identifiability was associated with the environmental domain of QOL (r = 0.115; p < 0.05), but not with overall QOL. These results provide a new methodologic framework for linking environmental quality and human health and for implementing evidence-based provision of restorative environments through targeted design of built environments to enhance human QOL

Assessment and Comparative Study of Radon Level in Water Samples Collected within Ogbomoso Metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria

In the recent time, due to the unavailability of public pipe borne water which the government provides for use, the alternative uncased and cased water became the popular means of water supply, both in rural and urban areas, not minding the likely health effect that may arise due to high level of concentration of radon and its progeny in drinking water from the aforementioned sources. Hence, this study focuses on the radon concentration in underground water samples collected across Ogbomoso land. A total of 300 water samples were collected, comprising of 160 water samples from uncased and 140 samples from cased well. The samples were analysed using a well calibrated active electronic radon detector RAD7 (DURRIDGE Company Inc., USA). The results obtained revealed that the radon concentration of the uncased well is in the range of 3.30 kBqm-3 to 33.95 kBqm-3, while the radon concentration for the cased well fell in the range 30.39 kBqm-3 to 65.98 kBqm-3. The results obtained from the two categories of water samples analyzed showed that the cased well sources had the highest concentration of radon compared with the limit set by local and international bodies. Hence, appropriate measures should be taken to mitigate the level of concentration of radon in the water within the study area before consumption. Concerted effort should also be made by the health workers to enlighten the residence on the potential harmful effect of radon to human health

Bioremediating Effect of Glomus Hoi and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa on the Organic Content and Heavy Metals of Soil Polluted with Oil Refinery Effluent using Amaranthus Cruentus as a Test Plant

This study analyzed the degrading effect of Glomus hoi and Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the organic content and heavy metals of oil refinery effluent polluted soil using Amaranthus cruentus as the test plant. This study was carried out to determine if agricultural activities can be improved using any or both of the micoorganisms. Eight different treatment layouts were used with three replicates for each level of pollution in the treatment layout. Ninety six (96) pots, each containing three kilograms of soil from both sterilized and unsterilized soil were used for the study. Fifty (50) grams of soil inoculum from propagated Arbuscular mycorrhiza was inoculated to a set of twenty four (24) experimental pots containing both sterilized and unsterilized soil before A. cruentus seedlings were transplanted to them. Another set of twenty four (24) pots containing both sterilized and unsterilized soil were injected with thirty (30) mL of P. aeruginosa inoculum solution before transplanting A. cruentus seedlings to them. The third set of twenty four (24) pots received dual inoculation of both fifty (50) grams of soil inoculum containing G. hoi and thirty (30) mL of P. aeruginosa inoculum solution before A. cruentus were transplanted to them. The residual twenty four (24) pots served as the control. Thereafter, pot preparation was arranged in the screenhouse in a randomized block design. The A. cruentus seedlings were raised in nursery for a period of two weeks before they were transplanted to the pots, seedlings were left for 3 days to overcome transplanting shock before contaminating the soil with refinery effluent at various concentrations of 0%, 2%, 4% and 6% v/w. The seedlings were allowed to grow for eight weeks before the termination of the experiment. The pre planting analysis of soil showed that heavy metals analyses (zinc and iron) of sterilized soil had a lower concentration to the unsterilized. The soil pH ranged from 6.3 to 6.8. It also revealed that organic matter and organic carbon content ranged from 0.8% to 1.3% and 0.4% to 1.7%. However, after the experiment, it was discovered in this study that treatments without any microorganism inoculation in sterilized and unsterilized soil had a higher level of % organic carbon and % organic matter content compared to the other treatments that were inoculated with one or two micro-organisms across all the levels of effluent concentration. Heavy metals of soil in all the soil samples were found to increase as the petrochemical effluent increased in concentration. The results obtained were analyzed using Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) and other descriptive statistics. This study opined that the combined use of G. hoi and P. aeruginosa was more effective in improving the organic contentand the reduce heavy metals of oil refinery effluent polluted soil than when either is used singly