Prevalence of trichostrongylid nematode in sheeps in Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria

Parasitism of Trichostrongylid nematode is a world-wide problem for both small and large scale farmers and is a great threat to the livestock industry and also a major  constraint to the wellbeing and productive performance of ruminant animals. This study was carried out to determine the effect of Trichostrongylid nematode in sheep. The study was carried out in Aduwawa, Ugbiyokho, Oluku and Airport road in Edo State in 2015. A total of one hundred and fifty (150) sheep were examined for the present of gastrointestinal parasite. Sedimentation technique was used in examining the faecal sample for the presence of the GIT pararsites. The prevalence of eggs and larvae of H. contortus were 71.3% and 15.3%, Trichostrongylus species were 61.3% and 7.3%, O. ostertagii were 42.7% and 6.7% respectively. Among 150 faecal sample examined, 103 (68.67%) were found positive for Trichostrongylid infection. Grazing time, consistency of faeces and weight are factors having  significant impact on the infection in sheep. Sheep that graze in the evening had the highest prevalence (82%), faecal samples that were unformed had the highest  prevalence (85.71%) and sheep with weight range of 10kg-30kg showed the highest prevalence (97.96%). Chi-Square Test used to determine the relationships between age and location, had no significant impact on the prevalence of infection. These factors need to be considered in the control of trichostrongylid nematode infection but more emphasis should be given to improvement of hygiene, regular de-worming and frequent diagnosis of trichostrongylid nematode and management of infected animals.Keywords: Age, Consistency of faeces, Gastrointestinal parasites, Grazing time, Sheep, Trichostrongylid nematode, Weigh

Evaluation of some heavy metals loading in dust fall of three universities motor parks in Western Nigeria

The high density of vehicles that run to and fro University campus to town has become of great concern for assessment of health status of the ambient air around the Universities motor parks. Moreover, some of the University’s parks are unpaved while the paved ones are old and unmaintained. Dust fall samples in parks of Universities of Ilorin, Ibadan and Kwara State University were collected for five months spanning from 1st November 2014 to 31st March, 2015 using open bucket sampler based on ASTM D 1739 of 1998 (2010). A 0.1 g of dust sample was digested with 20 ml of HNO3, HClO4 and HF in ratio of (3:2:1) respectively and heavy metals (Mn, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Ni) were analysed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Buck Scientific model 210 VGP). Results of heavy metal concentrations showed decrease in the following order: 1479.75, 1255.68, 241.50, 128.00, 85.25, and 9.63 mg/kg for Mn, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cu and Cd respectively for University of Ibadan. The decreased in concentrations of heavy metals obtained for University of Ilorin motor park dust-fall were found to be 1145.75, 797.75, 219.63, 133.51, 58.25 and 23.13 mg/kg for Mn, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cu and Cd respectively. For Kwara State University, decrease in the following order: 778.5, 323.88, 259.38, 101.38, 34.38, and 4.63 mg/kg for Mn, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cu and Cd respectively were obtained. Generally for the three sites used, the heavy metal concentrations decreased in the following order: Mn>Zn>Pb>Ni>Cu>Cd. This implies that dust-fall in the parks are heavily loaded with some heavy metals that are of concentrations above Romania standard threshold limit for Cd and Pb while concentration values obtained for Ni are higher than US- EPA values (75 mg/kg). The regulatory agent or management should ensure that the roads are paved and there should be intermittent wetting of the roads with water.Keywords: Dust Fall; Heavy Metals; University Motor Park

Proximate analysis of the fruit Azanza garckeana (“Goron Tula”)

The chemical composition and some selected metal ions of the fruit Azanza garckeana locally called “Goron Tula” obtained from different parts of Tula in Kaltungo Local Government Area of Gombe State were analysed. The chemical compositions determined showed a carbohydrate content in the range 49-56%; ascorbic acid 285.5-308.5mg/50g; fat content 0.0541-0.0543%; and starch while the selected metals Fe, Mg, Ca, and Mn were in the range 120-140μg/g, 1700-2300μg/g, 350-450μg/g, and 71-101μg/g respectively.Key words: Azanza Garckeana fruit, proximate analysis, metal ions, carbohydrate content, ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid, Azanza Garckeana fruit, carbohydrate content, proximate analysis, metal ions

Teachers' Perception on Influence of Social Adjustment on Academic Performance of Students with Mild Mental Retardation in Gombe State Special School

This study focused on determining the perception of teachers on influence of social adjustment on academic performance in West African Examinations Council/National Examinations Council (WAEC/NECO) of students with mild mental retardation in Gombe state, with emphasis on special secondary school. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. A total population of 37 teachers were used as respondents. Using drop and pick method, data was collected using adapted social adjustment (questionnaire) from Mei- Yin, Huei – Shyong & Cheng-Jung (2000) in Taiwan with 22 items. The instrument was reduced to 18 items. The instrument was validated by 2 experts and reliability was of 0.82 was obtained through Chronbach’s Alfa coefficient determination formula and the original reported reliability is 0.85. Data was analysed using descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean and SD) statistics. The study found that level of academic performance WAEC/NECO of mentally retarded students is moderate in Gombe state special school, while the level of social adjustment on academic performance WAEC/NECO of mentally retarded students was found to be high as perceived by the teachers. The study concludes that the teachers in Gombe state special school are heterogeneous and social adjustment has great influence on academic performance of mentally retarded students. The study recommends that government should make it a policy that, all mentally retarded persons between the ages of 5-7 are subjected to social adjustment programmes which will transit them into formal school system and parents of mentally retarded children should improve their closeness with their children and also build in hope of their rehabilitation

Design and Optimisation of Shea Butter Mixer

A shea butter mixer was designed, fabricated and tested.  The machine mixed milled shea paste with water and extract shea butter oil from the paste. Its major component parts included mixing blade, mixing tank, gear system, diesel engine and burner.  The machine capacity was 56 kg per hour. The results of testing of the machine revealed that the yield of oil ranged between 26.52 % and 39.43 %. The highest oil yield of 39.43 % was obtained from interaction between container diameter of 50 cm, blade type 5 numbers and speed of 110 rpm, while the least oil yield of 26.52 % was obtained from interaction between container diameter of 33.2 cm, blade type of 3 numbers and speed of 110 rpm. The blade type, container diameter and speed of mixing were found to have significant effects on yield of the shea butter. The development of this mixer would have a positive economic impact on the local processors. The mixer would improve oil extraction and increase the product throughput for the local investors Keywords: shea butter, mixer, blade, yiel

Design and Fabrication of Shea Nut Steam Roaster

Sheanut (Butyrospernum paradoxum) is an oil rich tropical tree crop, which is indigenous to the West African savannah zone. In Nigeria, most of the shea nut roasters are made of light mild steel materials with openings. The source of heat for the roasting is open fire. This takes time and the mild steel can easily get rusted and contaminate the product. In addition, open fire roasting has the disadvantage of producing burnt crushed kernels which in turn lead to black shea oil formation, loss of vital and essential nutrients.  A shea nut roaster which makes use of steam as source of heat energy was designed and fabricated to be used in roasting shea nut prior to extracting oil from them. It was developed to address the aforementioned problems. The equipment consists of heating unit, roasting unit, power transmission unit and the supporting frame. A gear motor of 0.25kW was selected to supply power to the shaft whose end was welded to the stirrer. The roasting unit consists of three compartments: roasting chamber, steam chamber and insulator chamber. The heating unit has two pipes: water inlet pipe and steam delivery pipe. Also, charcoal burner was attached to the heating unit to help boil the water for steam to form; this steam will then be transported by the steam delivery pipe to the steam chamber which in turn heats up the outer surface of the roasting chamber and thus the crushed nuts inside are roasted through the heat being supplied. The machine was fabricated with about 90% local materials. Test results of the roaster using shea nuts indicate successful heating/roasting, the nuts were not scorched or burnt, rather they were looking dry but fresh, this indicates that the design of the machine suits its purpose for roasting shea nuts prior to oil expelling . Also, roasting capacity of 45kg/hr was achieved. The successful development of this machine will reduce drudgery and time taken associated with the traditional method of roasting shea nuts and therefore will increase productivity and utilization. Keywords: Heating, steam; shea nut; roaster; desig

Assessment of Selected Health Determinants among Almajiri Students in Gwadabawa Local Government, Sokoto State, Nigeria

Health determinants are factors that can influence our health either positively or negatively. This paper determined the factors that affect the health of Almajiri in their system of study in Gwadabawa local government of Sokoto state, Nigeria. Interview and visual observation were used to collect data, which was analyzed by thematic networks method. The result of this study was shown. Most (50.0%) of the Almajiri live in buildings own by school,whereas, 33.5% of them in donated buildings .There were three types of houses / classes where Almajiri live.Most (50.0%) were made of cement/modern style ,then (33.3%) the mud houses / classes, and (16.7%) were the ones from zinc .There were toilets for urination only ,no one was slated for defecation . In 75% of the schools there was no water, whereas 33.3% have water source from unprotected wells. In 33.3 % of the schools there was refuse dumps .In 33.3% there were no any source of risk. Whereas, in 16.7% there were gutters, and in 16.7% there were roads nearby. Personal hygiene was observed. 75.0% of Almajiri wore dirty garments.25.0% wore cleaned garments, 12.5% wore torn garments, and 87.5% wore untorn garments. 62.5% wore shoes and 37.5% have no shoes. 62.5% take bath weekly, 37.7% take bath daily. Interms of livelihood, most of them relied on begging for food; 25.0% do domestic work to get food and other needs. 70.0% of them eat twice in a day, 25.0% thrice, whereas, 5.0% once; in most cases. The result revealed many health determinants which can negatively affect the health of Almajiri.Keywords: health determinants, open defecation, overcrowding, begging, child labou

Comparative study of the level of bacterial/helminths contamination of vegetables produced from polluted and unpolluted irrigation site of Kano

A comparative study was contaminations of five major crops (Lactuca veriso, Darcus carota, Solanum lycopersicum, Phylanthus amarus, Alium cepa) produced from polluted (industrial/residential effluents) Sharada and unpolluted (tube well water)Yarimawa using the method described by FAO, (1979). The result shows that the five crops, produced with polluted water viz, Lactuca veriso, Darcus carota, Solanum lycopersicum Phylanthus amarus, Alium cepa, had mean aerobic plate count of 2.0 x 102 cfu/g, 8.40 x 102 cfu/g , 1.13 x 103 cfu/g , 5.8 x 104 cfu/g cfu/g, 5.7 x 101 cfu/g, respectively, and all the five crops had mean coliform count of 180 MPN/g, while that of unpolluted water had mean aerobic plate count of of 1.22 x 102 cfu/g 5.1 x 102 cfu/g , 1.4 x 102 cfu/g, 1.43 x 102 cfu/g, 1.32 x 101 cfu/g respectively, and had mean coliform count of 30, 21,21, 21 and 21MPN/g respectively. The organisms isolated in all the crops produced with polluted water were E. coli, Salmonella sp, Shigella sp, S. aureus, Ascaris egg, Strongloides and Ancylostoma while E. coli, Shigella sp, S. aureus, wer the organisms isolated in the crops produced with unpolluted water, only Lactuca verosa and Solanum lycopersicum, shows the presence of helmiths in the crops produced with the unpolluted water.Key words: Kano, Bacteria, Helminth, effluent, Yarimawa, Sharad

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Determinants of Acceptance among Healthcare Workers, Academics and Tertiary Students in Nigeria

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in millions of human deaths, prompting the rapid development and regulatory approval of several vaccines. Although Nigeria implemented a COVID-19 vaccination program on 15 March 2021, low vaccine acceptance remains a major chal-lenge. To provide insight on factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH), we conducted a national survey among healthcare workers, academics, and tertiary students, between 1 September 2021 and 31 December 2021. We fitted a logistic regression model to the data and exam-ined factors associated with VH to support targeted health awareness campaigns to address public