Agricultural land-use change and disappearance of farmlands in Kaduna Metropolis-Nigeria

This study assessed agricultural land-use change in Kaduna metropolis. This study combined the use of remote sensing and geographic  information system (GIS) application to ascertain the rate of agriculturalland-use change from 1980 to 2012 in the study area. The four imageries (Landsat MSS 1980, Landsat TM 1990, Landsat ETM+ 2005 and Nigeria Sat X 2012) used were classified and compared to understand the rate and extent of agricultural land-use change during the different periods. The  findings revealed that the study area experienced a significant reduction inagricultural land and these leads to continued disappearance of farmlands. Lastly, the decrease in agricultural lands leads to loss of livelihood, reduction in food supply and increase poverty. This has raised so many concerns about the sustainability of Urban and Peri Urban Agriculture (UPA) production in the study area whereby the small scale farmers are the most affected.Key Words: Land-Use, Urban, Farmers, Remote Sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS) and Kaduna, Nigeri

Blood group and Rhesus antigens among Blood donors attending the Central Blood Bank, Sudan

Background: It is well known that the Rhesus system remains the second most clinically important blood group system after the ABO. There is no published work regarding the frequency of various Rhesus antigens among Sudanese population.Objectives: In order to minimize Rhesus allo-immunization among blood recipients a cross sectional study was conducted to determine the frequency of various Rhesus antigens among the blood donors attending the Central Blood Bank in Khartoum.Methods: Two hundred male blood donors were enrolled in the study. ABO and Rhesus typing were performed using the classical slide method and gel micro typing system.Results: The frequency percentage of ABO blood phenotypes in the total samples were as follows: O(51.5%), A (29.5%), B (16%), and AB (6%); whereas the frequency percentage of Rh antigens were D (93%), e (79.5%), c (68.5%), C, (27%), E (18.5%).Conclusion: We concluded that the frequency of the Rh antigens can be shown in this order D > e > c > C > E. Special precautions need to be undertaken to minimize any possible allo-immunization by such antigens.Keywords: Frequency, Rhesus antigens, phenotyping, Blood group

Detection and Identification of Helicobacter pullorum in Poultry Species in Upper Egypt

This work aimed to detect, identify and study the epidemiology of Helicobacter pullorum in avian species in Upper Egypt. A total of 1800 samples, including cloacal swabs, cecal swabs and livers were collected from chickens, turkeys and ducks in five different governorates in Upper Egypt. Using conventional phenotypic methods for isolation and identification, Helicobacter pullorum could be identified only from chickens with percentage 39.33% and no presence of the organism in turkeys and ducks. Sixteen randomly selected phenotypically identified Helicobacter pullorum isolates were confirmed using PCR assay based on 16S rRNA gene. In conclusion, conventional phenotypic methods for detection and differentiation of Helicobacter pullorum are often hampered by many limitations, while molecular methods, and PCR, in particular, have marked an important step forward in bacterial diagnostics and can provide a sensitive and rapid alternative method for detection and identification and highlights the potential of PCR technology in routine detection and identification of pathogens

Differentiation of Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (IBDV) Strains in Experimentally Infected Chickens

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is an acute, highly contagious, and immunosuppressive avian disease caused by IBD virus (IBDV). Differentiation of IBDV strains is crucial for effective vaccination programs and epidemiological investigations. In this study, a combination of clinical, histopathological examinations, immunohistochemistry and indirect immunofluorescence techniques were used to differentiate different IBDV strains. Sixty three weeks old chickens were divided randomly into five equal groups. Chickens of four groups were inoculated orally with different strains of IBDV. Chickens of the fifth group were kept as a control. Three chickens per group were euthanized at 3, 7, 14, 21 days post-inoculation (dpi). Euthanized chickens subjected to autopsy and tissue samples were collected in 10% neutral-buffered formalin for histopathology, immunohistochimestry and immunoflrourescence. The results revealed that clinical examination and histopathology cannot be used alone for differentiation of IBDV strains, while immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence techniques are reliable tools for differentiation of IBDV strains

Foliar Nutrition and Post-Harvest of Onion Seed: Effects of storage temperatures, storage period and foliar nutrition

The aim of onion bulb storage is to meet consumer demand for extended availability of onions whilst maintaining product quality.The principal biological factors leading to onion bulb deterioration are respiration, resumption of growth and pathogen attack. In onion bulbsa dormant period, when sprouting and rooting cannot be induced, is followed by a period of internal changes that prepare the bulb for breakingof dormancy and subsequent growth. Out of storage, the bulb then proceeds towards flowering and seed production.Two successive winter seasons of 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 were conducted under sandy soil conditions to study the effect of spraying with12 commercial compounds on yield and yield components of onion seeds and storage The seed yield of each commercial compounds plotfrom previous experiment was divided into two groups, storage under room temperature and 5°C. Seeds transferred immediately after dryingto Increasing Export Competition of Some Vegetable Crops Project Laboratory located in Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University. The effectsof storage temperature, storage period and foliar with some commercial compounds on onion seed quality were considered. Storage in 5°C hadthe higher germination percentage than storage in room temperature. Results indicated that as storage period increased the germination percentdecreased. The treatment with boron or amica in the first season had the highest germination percentage. While, the treatment with union Zn,union feer, union Mn, boron, elga 600, caboron, amica, hummer or amino X had the highest germination percentage in the second season. Storagein 5°C resulted in higher moisture content than storage in room temperature. Regarding the effect of storage period on moisture content, the watercontent was significantly increased with prolongation of storage period. The lowest values of water content were recorded for treatments withunion feer, shams K or boron in the first season, and union feer, shams K, boron, magnesium, shetocare or hummer in the second one. Catalaseactivity was significantly decreased as storage period increased. The treatment with shams K, boron, shetocare or amino X had the highestcatalase activity in both seasons. Peroxidase activity was significantly decreased as storage period increased. Foliar application with boron had thehighest peroxidase activity in both seasons. Seed stored in room temperature had the higher malondialdehyde content than those stored in 5°C inthe second season. The malondialdehyde content increased as storage period increased. The treatment with magnesium, caboron and the controlin the first season, and the treatment with magnesium and the control in the second season had the highest malondialdehyde content

Elevated Adipsin and Reduced C5a Levels in the Maternal Serum and Follicular Fluid During Implantation Are Associated With Successful Pregnancy in Obese Women

Introduction: Complement factors mediate the recruitment and activation of immune cells and are associated with metabolic changes during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to determine whether complement factors in the maternal serum and follicular fluid (FF) are associated with in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes in overweight/obese women. Methods: Forty overweight/obese (BMI = 30.8 ± 5.2 kg/m2) female patients, 33.6 ± 6.3 years old, undergoing IVF treatment for unexplained infertility were recruited. Baseline demographic information, including biochemical hormonal, metabolic, and inflammatory markers, and pregnancy outcome, was collected. Levels of 14 complement markers (C2, C4b, C5, C5a, C9, adipsin, mannose-binding lectin, C1q, C3, C3b/iC3b, C4, factor B, factor H, and properdin) were assessed in the serum and FF and compared to IVF outcome, inflammatory, and metabolic markers using multivariate and univariate models. Results: Out of 40 IVF cycles, 14 (35%) resulted in pregnancy. Compared to women with failed pregnancies, women with successful pregnancies had higher levels of adipsin in the serum and FF (p = 0.01) but lower C5a levels (p = 0.05). Serum adipsin levels were positively correlated with circulating levels of vitamin D (R = 0.5, p = 0.02), glucagon (R = 0.4, p = 0.03), leptin (R = 0.4, p = 0.01), resistin (R = 0.4, p = 0.02), and visfatin (R = 0.4, p = 0.02), but negatively correlated with total protein (R = −0.5, p = 0.03). Higher numbers of top-quality embryos were associated with increased levels of C3, properdin, C1q, factors H and B, C4, and adipsin, but with reduced C2 and C5a levels (p ≤ 0.01). Conclusions: Higher adipsin and lower C5a levels in the maternal serum during implantation are potential markers of successful outcome in obese women undergoing IVF-assisted pregnancies

The study of antibacterial activity of some plant extracts against causes of pneumonia

Eighty five samples were taken from patients suffering from pneumonia. Seventy-eight isolates were diagnosed as following: Staphylococcus aureus (23), klebsiella pneumoniae (29), Streptococcus pneumoniae (15), Serratia sp. (4), Haemophilus influenzae (4) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3). The clinical isolates were tested for antibiotics sensitivity. They appeared highly resistance to penicillin G and Ampicillin at percentage 89.7 and 84.6% respectly while the results showed highly sensitivity to streptomycin at percentege of (12.8%). To study the antibacterial activity of Alium sativum, Eucalyptus microtheca leaves and Cydonia oblonga seeds extracts, five multi resistant strains were used by using agar well diffusion and disk methods at concentrations of (24, 12, 6, 3)%. The agar well diffusion was prefered for both of Alium sativum and Eucalyptus microthesca extracts while both methods were prefered for Cydonia oblonga extract by measuring inhibition zones .The results showed antibacterial activity of Alium sativum on S.aureus and S. pneumoniae at concentration 3-24 % and for klebsiella pneumoniae at concentration of 6-24%While it was 12-24%for Serratia sp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Eucalyptus microtheca extracts showed antibacterial at concentration of 24-3%for S.aureus, S. pneumoniae and Ps. aeruginosa. While K. pneumoniae and Serratia sp sensitive at concartatins of 24%. The ethanol and oil extracts of Cydonia oblonga seeds had anti bacterial activity at all concentrations for all strains except Serratia sp. showed sensitivity at concentrations of 24-6%for both extracts

Rehabilitation Scenarios for Sustainable Water Mains

The ability to regularly deliver safe drinking water is a constant challenge to municipalities. According to the Canadian National Research Council reports, the renewal and rehabilitation of infrastructure across Canada is estimated to be at least $15 billion. Therefore, selecting the best repair and/or rehabilitation scenarios is essential to optimize the quality of the existing water mains and to minimize rehabilitation cost losses. Current research identifies several rehabilitation methods for water mains, which are classified into three main categories: (1) repair (e.g. Open trench, sleeves); (2) renovation (e.g. slip lining, cement lining, epoxy lining, CIPP); and (3) replacement (e.g. pipe bursting, micro-tunneling, directional drilling, auger boring, open cut). Stochastic life cycle cost (SLCC), using Monte Carlo simulation approach, is utilized to compare the developed scenarios so that the optimal scenario can be accommodated for different types of water main pipes (e.g. Cast Iron, Ductile Iron, Concrete, and PVC). Data, related to the cash flow of each scenario, are collected from contractors and municipalities in Canada. Current research framework will assist municipality engineers to select the optimum rehabilitation scenario for each type of water main. In addition, it will assist them to properly manage their assets, which guarantee better quality of life for the society