Assessment of Risks and Uncertainties in Poultry Farming in Kwara State, Nigeria

This study was designed to assess the risks and uncertainties encountered by poultry farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study describes the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, identify the risks and uncertainties encountered by the farmers, determines the level of severity of the risks and uncertainties, and identifies the coping strategies employed by the farmers. Primary data obtained from 99 registered poultry farmers selected through multistage sampling technique were used for the study. These were complemented with data from published and grey literature. Descriptive statistics and 3-point Likert scale were used to analyze the data. The study shows that poultry farming in the study area is practiced mainly by young, small-scale farmers, who are married, with high level of formal education but had little access to extension services. The major sources of risks encountered by the farmers were severe weather fluctuation, lack of veterinary services, disease outbreak, transportation problems, parasites and severe price fluctuation of birds. The study further revealed that the severe risks encountered by the farmers were disease outbreak, poor parent stock, accumulation of dung, severe weather fluctuation, lack of veterinary services and transportation problems. The study therefore calls for improved extension services, good transportation facilities, adequate veterinary services, market information by government and relevant stakeholders as well as formation of cooperative socities by the farmers

Morphometric variations among three different populations of Cobia, Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus 1766) in Peninsular Malaysia

Cobia Rachycentron canadum, is one of the emerging aquaculture species but is usually a non-target resource in fisheries industry and within Malaysia, their landings are among the highest worldwide. Identification of stocks with unique morphological characters is important for effective management and sustainable utilization. Morphometric variations among three different cobia populations from Kedah, Terengganu and Johor were studied. All the morphometric characteristics varied among the three populations as all the elements of the first Eigen vector were positive. Discriminant analysis suggested that head depth (HD) and maximum body depth, (MaxD) were the most varied among the populations. Cobia populations from Kedah and Johor were in a single cluster in the dendrogram with a 63.69% similarity while Terengganu was in another cluster with a similarity of 8.01% from Kedah and Johor. The differences in the observed morphometry may be resulted from different trophic activities and/or habitat productiveness explored by each of the populations

DETERMINANTS OF POVERTY STATUS OF RURAL FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined the determinants of poverty status of rural farming households in Osun State, South western, Nigeria. A total of one hundred and twenty representative farming households comprising of the beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of the Farmers Empowerment Programme (FEP) in the state were used for the study. Descriptive statistics, the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke class of weighted poverty indices as well as the Tobit regression model were used to analyse the data generated from the survey. The results of the poverty indices show that 35 per cent of the beneficiaries of the Farmers Empowerment Programme were poor as against 55 per cent for the non-beneficiaries of the programme. The regression results show household size, amount of credit utilised and annual farm income as the factors influencing the poverty status of the rural farming households in the state. The lower incidence of poverty and access to credit for the beneficiaries of FEP in the state are indications of better welfare for this category of farming households. It is therefore suggested that the programme be sustained for poverty reduction among farming households in the state

The effects of curcumin on sperm parameters and nitric oxide production in varicocelized rats Efectos de la cúrcuma sobre los parámetros espermáticos y producción de óxido nítrico en ratas varicocelizadas

One of the proposed mechanism by which varicocele induces its damage is excessive release of nitric oxide (NO). Several studies have shown the role of NO in poor sperm quality in infertile patients with varicocele. Scientific studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of curcumin on the sperm parameters. Curcumin as an atoxic antioxidant can reduce production of NO. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of curcumin on NO levels and investigate if curcumin can improve sperm parameters in varicocelized male rats. Thirty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups (V1 and V2 (varicocele), T (treatment), Sh (sham) and C was control). In groups V1, V2, T and Sh, the left renal vein was partially ligated to induce varicocele. In groups V1 and V2, sperm parameters and NO level were evaluated 8 and 16 weeks respectively after varicocele induction. Groups T and Sh received 100 mg/kg curcumin and placebo respectively, daily for 8 weeks after 2 months of induced varicocele. Sperm parameters (count, motility, viability and morphology), epididymis and testis weight and also NO concentration were measured. Sperm parameters (count, motility and viability) in groups V1, V2 and Sh were significantly low in comparison with control and treatment groups. The level of NO was significantly increased in serum of rats in groups V1 and V2, whereas group T rat serum in which curcumin was administered, showed decreased NO levels. The values of the epididymis and testis weight had no significant changes (P� 0.05) in all groups. Administration of curcumin as a free radical scavenger, can decrease NO level and improve sperm parameters in varicocelized male rats. © 2015, Universidad de la Frontera. All rights reserved

Decoding of MSTd Population Activity Accounts for Variations in the Precision of Heading Perception

SummaryHumans and monkeys use both vestibular and visual motion (optic flow) cues to discriminate their direction of self-motion during navigation. A striking property of heading perception from optic flow is that discrimination is most precise when subjects judge small variations in heading around straight ahead, whereas thresholds rise precipitously when subjects judge heading around an eccentric reference. We show that vestibular heading discrimination thresholds in both humans and macaques also show a consistent, but modest, dependence on reference direction. We used computational methods (Fisher information, maximum likelihood estimation, and population vector decoding) to show that population activity in area MSTd predicts the dependence of heading thresholds on reference eccentricity. This dependence arises because the tuning functions for most neurons have a steep slope for directions near straight forward. Our findings support the notion that population activity in extrastriate cortex limits the precision of both visual and vestibular heading perception

Post-harvest losses along the rice value chain in Kwara State, Nigeria: an assessment of magnitude and determinants

Post-harvest losses, particularly along the rice value chain, have been highlighted as a major source of reduction in revenue among the value chain actors. It is therefore imperative that empirical assessment of the magnitude and determinants be investigated, so as to be able to provide a reliable policy stand that can help reduce these losses. Patigi and Edu local government areas were purposively sampled from Kwara state, Nigeria, since they are the major producers of rice in the State. Data were gathered through the use of a questionnaire from 40 rice farmers, 40 rice processors and 40 rice marketers. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression model were used to analyze the data. The result showed that the loss was highest for farmers at 41-50 kg (₦14402.40) (1 Naira = 0.002772 U.S. $), 31-40 kg (₦2383.20) for processors and at less than 11 kg (₦398.30) for the marketers. Household size and farm size were significant at 1% in determining post-harvest losses for farmers, while only the household size was significant in determining post-harvest losses for processors. It was thus recommended that efficient milling machine should be introduced, particularly to rural rice processors, such that quality grains can be achieved

Characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from apparently healthy individuals in Malete, Kwara state, Nigeria

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a common and continuously growing cause of nosocomial and community-acquired staphylococcal infections around the world. Screening for colonization with MRSA is a major aspect of control and limiting the spread of infections cause by this organism. We investigated the carriage of MRSA among apparently healthy individuals in four rural villages: Eleburu, Tapa, Atere and Apo all around semi-urban town-Malete, in Moro Local Government of Kwara State, Nigeria.Methods: Nasal swabs were collected from volunteered individuals and were cultured on mannitol salt agar and blood agar for isolation and identification of Staph aureus using standard microbiological techniques. Susceptibility to cefoxitin disc (30 ag) was used to determine MRSA status of the isolates. Molecular method was used to detect the gene responsible for resistance among MRSA isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibility test to commonly prescribed antibiotics was carried out using discs diffusion method.Results: Total number of individuals carrying Staph aureus in their nostrils was 42 (37.2 %). Antibiotics susceptibility profile of Staph aureus isolates showed 100 % resistance to cefuroxime, cefotaxime, cloxacillin and augmentin, and were 87 %, 81 %, 69 % and 23.8 % and 19 % resistant to tetracycline, ceftriaxone, erythromycin, ofloxacin and gentamicin respectively. A total of 6 (14%) Community –Acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) isolates were recovered from individuals living in these villages. Molecular method detected muc and mecA genes in all the 6 (100%) CA-MRSA isolates and lukS-lukF was detected in 3 (50%) of the isolates.Conclusion: Detection of CA-MRSA strains among these rural dweller indicates that they are harbouring enhance virulence organism that may manifest a more severe disease condition. The danger associated with high prevalence of multidrug resistant Staph aureus and CAMRSA; and its consequential effects of poor drug administration in Nigeria was discussed. There is need to establish a more strict legislation and enforcement on drug control; and a body that would monitor production and appropriate use of antibiotics in the Nigeria.KEYWORDS: CA-MRSA, Staph aureus, Antibiotics, Rural Villages and Molecular Characterizatio

Development of Fingerprint Biometric Attendance System for Non-Academic Staff in a Tertiary Institution

Institutions, companies and organisations where security and net productivity is vital, access to certain areas must be controlled and monitored through an automated system of attendance. Managing people is a difficult task for most of the organizations and maintaining the attendance record is an important factor in people management. When considering the academic institute, taking the attendance of non-academic staff on daily basis and maintaining the records is a major task. Manually taking attendance and maintaining it for a long time adds to the difficulty of this task as well as wastes a lot of time. For this reason, an efficient system is proposed in this paper to solve the problem of manual attendance. This system takes attendance electronically with the help of a fingerprint recognition system, and all the records are saved for subsequent operations. Staff biometric attendance system employs an automated system to calculate attendance of staff in an organization and do further calculations of monthly attendance summary in order to reduce human errors during calculations. In essence, the proposed system can be employed in curbing the problems of lateness, buddy punching and truancy in any institution, organization or establishment. The proposed system will also improve the productivity of any organization if properly implemented. Keywords: Institution, Attendance, Biometric, Fingerprin

Spatial variability of solar quiet fields along 96° magnetic meridian in Africa:results from MAGDAS

We have used chains of Magnetic Data Acquisition System (MAGDAS) magnetometer records of the horizontal (H) and vertical (Z) magnetic field intensities during September 2008 to August 2009 (year of deep minimum) across Africa to study their variability during the quietest international days, which coincidently associated with the sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event in January 2009. This selection of the most international quiet days is indicative of 80% that are strongly associated with days when unusually strong and prolonged sudden SSW event occurs in January 2009. Interestingly, in January, a significant magnitude depletion of solar quiet (Sq) equivalent current was observed near noon hours around the magnetic equator (Addis Ababa, ABB) compared to any other months along with a consistent significantly reduced value across the Northern Hemisphere and moderate decrease at the Southern Hemisphere. Also, we found that Nairobi and Dar es Salaam at the Southern Hemisphere, which are close to ABB (dip equator), are strongly prone to westward electric field compared to the magnetic equator and Khartoum at the Northern Hemisphere. Significant negative values of MSq(Z) magnitudes observed near noon hours at Hermanus indicate the presence of induced currents that suggest ocean effects along with reversal to significant positive values in the afternoon, which subsided before 1800 LT in almost all the months, indicate stronger influence of ionospheric currents. On seasonal variability of Sq(H), a slight depression at ABB during September equinox is one of the evidences of seasonal Sq focus shift. Latitudinal variability of Sq near-noon hours was also investigated

An Appraisal of the Effects of Technological Changes and Development on Learners in Higher Education

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