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

Proceedings of the 39th Annual Scientific Conference of The Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria

No Abstract

Radiographic Monitoring of Secondary Ossification Centers of Radius and Ulna Bones in Dogs

Monitoring the Secondary ossification centers and growth plates is necessary in order to decide whether there is abnormal development of these structures. It also to provides a base line in which the development of radius and ulna bones can be compared as there is paucity of information on the development of secondary ossification centers and growth plates of Nigerian local dogs as inferences are often drawn from foreign breeds of dogs. The present study was conducted for 16 weeks to monitor the appearance of secondary ossification centers and growth plates of radius and ulna bones of 16 dogs (8 males and 8 females). Each puppy was radiographed 11 times on the right forelimb at week 1-9, 12 and 16 weeks of age. A descriptive study was conducted and radiographic images were reviewed which revealed that no secondary ossification center and growth plate was present at week 1. Therefore Nigerian Local dogs had no secondary ossification centers and growth plate of the radius and ulna bones at birth, they all develop post natal.  

Genetic gains in grain yield of a maize population improved through marker assisted recurrent selection under stress and non-stress conditions in west Africa

Open Access JournakMarker-assisted recurrent selection (MARS) is a breeding method used to accumulate favorable alleles that for example confer tolerance to drought in inbred lines from several genomic regions within a single population. A bi-parental cross formed from two parents that combine resistance to Striga hermonthica with drought tolerance, which was improved through MARS, was used to assess changes in the frequency of favorable alleles and its impact on inbred line improvement. A total of 200 testcrosses of randomly selected S1 lines derived from the original (C0) and advanced selection cycles of this bi-parental population, were evaluated under drought stress (DS) and well-watered (WW) conditions at Ikenne and under artificial Striga infestation at Abuja and Mokwa in Nigeria in 2014 and 2015. Also, 60 randomly selected S1 lines each derived from the four cycles (C0, C1, C2, C3) were genotyped with 233 SNP markers using KASP assay. The results showed that the frequency of favorable alleles increased with MARS in the bi-parental population with none of the markers showing fixation. The gain in grain yield was not significant under DS condition due to the combined effect of DS and armyworm infestation in 2015. Because the parents used for developing the bi-parental cross combined tolerance to drought with resistance to Striga, improvement in grain yield under DS did not result in undesirable changes in resistance to the parasite in the bi-parental maize population improved through MARS. MARS increased the mean number of combinations of favorable alleles in S1 lines from 114 in C0 to 124 in C3. The level of heterozygosity decreased by 15%, while homozygosity increased by 13% due to the loss of some genotypes in the population. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of MARS in increasing the frequency of favorable alleles for tolerance to drought without disrupting the level of resistance to Striga in a bi-parental population targeted as a source of improved maize inbred lines

Studies on the development of cerebellum of one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius)

A histomorphological study of the development of foetal cerebellum was conducted. It was observed that at first trimester there were fewer fissures in the folia which progressively increased towards the third trimester. It was also observed that the histology of cerebellum of camel foetus at first trimester showed clear distinct external granular layer which was thin densely parked with cells which progressively decrease in thickness and amount of cells towards the third trimester. The next layer which was the molecular layer with less cell (stellate and basket) compared to the external germinal layer increased in volume with increased age. The molecular layer was followed by a densely cell (Golgi and granule) packed internal granular layer which progressively increased from first trimester to the third trimester. Purkinje cells which were in-between molecular and internal granular layer were not seen in the first trimester but were gradually becoming more visible in the subsequent trimesters. The development of the cerebellum in this study is similar to what was observed in most of the animal species

Tuberculin screening of some selected Fulani lactating cows in north-central Nigeria

The prevalence of mycobacterial infection among lactating Fulani cows was investigated in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Kaduna State of Nigeria. Tuberculin testing using single comparative intradermal tuberculin test showed a 14.6 % positive, 4 % doubtful, and 81.4 % negative reactors. Mycobacterial infection was found to be present in the nomadic (constantly moving) and seminomadic (limited movement) management systems studied but management showed no significant effect on the prevalence of the disease. However, the prevalence was significantly higher in older age groups than the younger ones (P < 0.05).Peer reviewedSubmitted Versio

Pathological Lesions in the Lungs of Neonatal Wistar Rats from Dams Administered Ethanol during Gestation

Abstract: This study was carried out to investigate the effects of ethanol ingestion during pregnancy on the fetal lungs development. Adult Wistar rats were used and grouped into four groups and each group having four females and two males. Group A was the control group received only distilled water, while groups B, C and D received 0.2 mL of 20, 25 and 30% ethanol orally respectively daily for seven days during the 4 th to 10 th day of gestation. After delivery, the fetal lungs were removed and fixed in 10% buffered formalin. The neonates&apos; lungs were prepared through histological techniques and stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin and were studied under the light microscope. The result showed alveolar degeneration, bronchiole-capillary thickening, bronchiolar degeneration and extravasations of erythrocyte in the ethanol treated groups while the control was normal. Ethanol ingestion during pregnancy could lead to ethanol-induced lung damage in the fetuses. Hence, alcohol ingestion should be avoided during pregnancy

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