Performance and digestibility of weaner rabbits fed graded levels of soybean cheese waste/maize offal diet and brachiaria grass hay

Weaner crossbred rabbits were allocated to five treatment groups in a completely randomized design. The treatments consisted of 100, 75, 50 and 25% levels of soybean cheese waste/maize offal diet (SBW).100% rabbit meal served as control. Each rabbit received chopped Bracharia decumbens hay ad libitum. Water was offered ad libitum. Concentrate and hay were offered in separate feeders. Rabbits onthe control diet had significantly higher feed intake compared with SBW treatments. Hay intake was significantly lower in 100 and 75% level treatments than 50 and 25% SBW treatments. Weight gain was significantly lower for 25% level with daily gains ranging between -2.08 g for 25% and 6.70 g for the control. Feed conversion efficiency was significantly lower for 25% level compared with other treatments. Survival rate of rabbits ranged between 40 and 60% for the experimental treatments. Dry matter, ash, ether extract, crude protein and nitrogen free extractives intake decreased with decrease in the level of concentrate. Crude fibre intake was similar for the control, 100, 75 and 50% SBW treatments but significantly lower for 25% SBW treatment. Dry matter, ether extract and nitrogen free extractives digestibility were similar for the control, 75 and 25% SBW treatments, and significantly higher than 100 and 50% SBW treatments. Crude protein digestibility and retention were similar for all the groups. Soybean cheese waste/maize offal diet offered at 50% along with bracharia hay compared favorably with the standard rabbit meal in terms of growth and digestibility of nutrients by weaner rabbits. Level of SBW concentrate offered to rabbits should however, not be below 50% when fed with bracharia ha

Pooled analysis of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89.6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60.6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0.17, 95 per cent c.i. 0.14 to 0.21, P <0001) or low (363 of 860, 422 per cent; OR 008, 007 to 010, P <0.001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference -94 (95 per cent c.i. -11.9 to -6.9) per cent; P <0001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+121 (+7.0 to +173) per cent; P <0001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0.60, 0.50 to 073; P <0.001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low- and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries.Peer reviewe

Global variation in anastomosis and end colostomy formation following left-sided colorectal resection

Background End colostomy rates following colorectal resection vary across institutions in high-income settings, being influenced by patient, disease, surgeon and system factors. This study aimed to assess global variation in end colostomy rates after left-sided colorectal resection. Methods This study comprised an analysis of GlobalSurg-1 and -2 international, prospective, observational cohort studies (2014, 2016), including consecutive adult patients undergoing elective or emergency left-sided colorectal resection within discrete 2-week windows. Countries were grouped into high-, middle- and low-income tertiles according to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). Factors associated with colostomy formation versus primary anastomosis were explored using a multilevel, multivariable logistic regression model. Results In total, 1635 patients from 242 hospitals in 57 countries undergoing left-sided colorectal resection were included: 113 (6·9 per cent) from low-HDI, 254 (15·5 per cent) from middle-HDI and 1268 (77·6 per cent) from high-HDI countries. There was a higher proportion of patients with perforated disease (57·5, 40·9 and 35·4 per cent; P < 0·001) and subsequent use of end colostomy (52·2, 24·8 and 18·9 per cent; P < 0·001) in low- compared with middle- and high-HDI settings. The association with colostomy use in low-HDI settings persisted (odds ratio (OR) 3·20, 95 per cent c.i. 1·35 to 7·57; P = 0·008) after risk adjustment for malignant disease (OR 2·34, 1·65 to 3·32; P < 0·001), emergency surgery (OR 4·08, 2·73 to 6·10; P < 0·001), time to operation at least 48 h (OR 1·99, 1·28 to 3·09; P = 0·002) and disease perforation (OR 4·00, 2·81 to 5·69; P < 0·001). Conclusion Global differences existed in the proportion of patients receiving end stomas after left-sided colorectal resection based on income, which went beyond case mix alone

Anti- trypanocidal potentials of Aqueous and Ethanolic leaf extracts of Moringa oleifera in wistar stock albino rats

Moringa oleifera is a pan-tropical species that is reputed to possess a number of nutritional and medicinal properties. Aqueous and Ethanolic extracts from Moringa oleifera leaves were screened for in-vivo curative activities against Trypanosoma brucei brucei (T.b. brucei) which is pathogenic to many animals and has a direct bearing on agricultural activities. Thirty three rats were assigned to eleven treatments with three rats per treatment. The treatments were Treatments 1(control; not inoculated with T.b. brucei), 2 (Inoculated with T.b. brucei but not treated), 3, 5, 7 (inoculated with T.b. brucei and treated with 100mg, 200mg and 300mg ethanolic extract respectively), 4, 6, 8 (inoculated with T.b. brucei and treated with 100mg, 200mg and 300mg aqueous extract respectively), 9, 10 (Not inoculated with T.b. brucei but treated with ethanolic and aqueous extracts respectively), 11 (inoculated with T.b. brucei and treated with Diminazine Aceturate). The inoculated rats were treated through the intra-peritoneal route with ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Moringa oleifera twice daily for 5 consecutive days. The results showed that the rats treated with 100, 200 and 300mg/kg body weight for both extracts had their life span prolonged by 4, 10, and 15 days respectively when compared with rats that were inoculated but not treated. Both extracts were also not toxic to the rats at 300mg/kg body weight. The findings are indicative of the anti-trypanocidal potentials of Moringa oleifera in the management of trypanosomiasis.Keywords: Moringa oleifera, Extracts, Anti- trypanocidal, Wister Rat

Effect of Palm Oil Supplementation in Yam Peel Meal Diets Fed to Broilers

A 56 day trial was conducted to evaluate the nutritive value of Yam Peel Meal (YPM) in broiler diets. A total of 225 day-old broiler birds with an average initial weight of 43g were used. The birds were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments, with three replicates of 15 birds each in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The YPM based diets had equal amounts of yam peels (20%, determined as the best level of inclusion of YPM from a previous trial) in both the starter and finisher phases of the experiment and were supplemented with varying levels of palm oil (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4%) for diets 1-5 respectively. During the starter phase of the experiment, there were significant differences (P&lt;0.05) in daily feed intake and feed cost per kilogram gain among the dietary treatments, with diet 2 (20% yam peel meal and 1% palm oil) promoting the best overall performance. During the finisher phase, daily feed intake, feed conversion ratio, average daily gain and cost per kilogram gain differed significantly (P&lt;0.05) among treatments. The use of YPM and palm oil at graded levels improved the quality of the yam peel meal based diets and favoured its digestibility. It was concluded that supplementation of 20% YPM based diet with 3 % palm oil promotes better performance at least cost in broiler finisher diets.Key words: Palm oil supplementation; Yam Peel Meal; broiler

Inter-relationship Between Body Measurements and Prices of Sheep in An Open Market in Kano State

This study attempted to determine the inter-relationship between market price and body measurements among different breeds of sheep in open markets of six Local Government Areas of Kano State (Municipal, Taruauni, Gmale, Nassarawa, Fagge and Dala) of Kano city. Body measurements and prices of sheep used for this study were obtained from Unguwa Uku, Dorayi, Kara, Bachirawa, yankaba, Mariri and Kabara livestock markets in Kano. The Sudanese price was the highest (N 30,000±0.0), followed by Uda, Balami and Yankasa with the least cost being N 10, 614±3,137. Similarly the Sudanese breed recorded highest body weight, back length, lion girth and height at wither compared to all other breeds, while Balami had a higher chest girth (78.77±6.0 cm), followed by Uda and Yankasa, which recorded the least. The extra large animals weighed 58.75± 1.25 kg, which was more than the body weight of the large, medium and small sheep which weighed 42.48±0.34kg, 34.93±0.21 and 27.92±0.26, respectively. The price of these animals also follow the same pattern as the extra large cost more than all the other weight classes. The prices were N 25,750±8,500, N 15,524±2,263, N 11,284±2792 and N 8,324±1,584 for extra large, large, medium and the small sheep, respectively. Price of sheep was positive and highly correlated to weight of the sheep (0.826). Price was also positive and moderately correlated to back length (0.579), chest girth (0.538), height at wither (0.535) and leg length (0.464) at 1% level of significance. Leg length was highly and positively correlated with height at wither (0.717). Height at whither together with back length are important additional variables to chest girth to obtain up to 38% prediction of price of rams. The price of any sheep breed is subjected to the weight and the price of sheep in an open market can best be predicted from a combination of leg length and loin girth. (Animal Production 13 (1):64-68 (2011)Key Words: price of sheep, sheep breeds and open market

Chemical Analysis and Consumer Preference of Selected Poultry Egg Types in Zaria, Nigeria

The chemical composition, cholesterol content and consumer evaluation of eggs from Japanese quails, guinea fowls, local chickens, and exotic chickens (Isa Brown) were determined. A total of one hundred eggs, twenty five from each of species were used to determine the chemical composition, cholesterol content and sensory evaluation (Five eggs for chemical composition, cholesterol content and twenty for sensory). On a dry matter basis, the local chicken had a significantly (P&lt;0.05) lower value of 23.20% than other species. The exotic chicken ranked highest with a mean value of 38.39%. The mean values recorded for ether extract showed no significant difference (P&gt;0.05) amongst the four species. The ash content of the local chicken was significantly (P&lt;0.05) lower (4.33%) than that of Japanese quails, guinea fowl and exotic chickens with values of 4.84, 4.87 and 5.15 per cent, respectively. Values obtained for the nitrogen free extract also showed the local chicken to be significantly (P&lt;0.05) lower (47.54%) than the other species whose values ranged between 51.39 – 52.06%. The exotic chicken had a significantly higher cholesterol value of 243.8 mg/dl while the values for the guinea fowl and the local chicken did not significantly (P&gt;0.05) differ while the Japanese quail eggs had the least cholesterol value of 80.60 mg/dl. Smell and texture were not significantly (P&gt;0.05) influenced by egg type however the guinea fowl and local chicken eggs were the most preferred in terms of colour and the quail with respect to taste. The lower cholesterol content of quail eggs perhaps gave it the potential of topping the consumers list of preference and wider acceptability. It is also evident that consumer’s preference for one egg type over others might not be absolutely based on nutritional considerations but on psychological perceptions.Keywords: Chemical composition, cholesterol, consumer preference, poultry egg

Effect of varying levels of energy on the performance, haematological and physiological parameters of does

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of varying levels of energy on the performance, haematological and physiological parameters of mated does. Sixteen does were allocated to 4 dietary treatments. Diets 1, 2, 3 and 4 had metabolizable energy levels of 2400kcal/kg, 2500kcal/kg, 2600kcal/kg and 2700kcal/kg respectively, with diet 1 serving as a control diet. Growth performance parameters (body weight gain, feed intake and feed: gain ratio) were measured weekly while haematological (packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb) and total protein (TP) of the does) and blood serum (Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) and Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT)) parameters were measured at 56 days of age. Increase of dietary energy above recommended levels had varied effects on the does. It generally led to decreased (p&lt;0.05) body weight gain, feed intake, and increased (p&gt;0.05) aspartate amino-transferase, packed cell volume, haemoglobin and total protein values of the does. No significant difference was detected in the Aspartate Aminotransferase. However, blood parameters largely remained within the physiological range. The result obtained in this study suggests that energy level of 2400kcal/kg, ME is adequate for the growth and maintenance of the health of does.Keywords: Energy levels,Performance,haematology,serum biochemistry, physiology,rabbit