PREDICTING THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF PORK BELLY AND THE EFFECT OF COOKING AND STORAGE CONDITIONS ON BACON SENSORY AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The first objective of this research was to use a widely varying pig population to create prediction algorithms for dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) pork carcass compositional estimate and pork belly softness measurement. Further, bellies with compositional extremes were used in bacon production and cooked in two ways to determine the impact of composition, storage days and cooking method on lipid and protein oxidation as well as heterocyclic aromatic amines. A total of 648 pigs, either barrows or gilts, from three sire breeds (Lacombe, Duroc or Iberian boar × Large White * Landrace F1 dams), were provided one of three diets (conventional, canola-based or flaxseed-based feed) ad libitum until they reached either ~120 or 140 kg slaughter weight. These variations were intentionally introduced so that the animal population could adequately represent the variation applicable to commercial production. Following slaughter, carcass sides and primal cuts were scanned under DXA equipment. For the second experiment, 198 left side bellies were assigned to belly-flop angle and subjective score measurements to evaluate pork belly softness. The third experiment employed 44 right side bellies which were randomly selected from the treatment extremes (barrows or gilts, Iberian or Lacombe, and control or flaxseed based diet). These 44 bellies were processed into bacon slices which were cooked with either microwave heating or pan frying after 2 or 28 days of refrigerated storage. Regardless of variation in animal population, DXA accurately predicted dissected/chemical fat and lean content of carcass sides and primal cuts (R2 > 0.94, P 0.05). The cooking treatments and storage days also had minimal effects on bacon sensory attributes. Overall, the present study established mathematical models to improve DXA estimate of pork carcasses and enhance pork belly softness assessments. The results could also inform public health recommendations regarding choice of cooking method for bacon

The tracheophytes (Angiosperms and Pteridopytes) of Augustine University Campus, Ilara-Epe, Lagos State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to assess the avalanche of species existing in an undisturbed vegetation in Lagos State, Nigeria, prior to developmental activities. One hundred and eighty-eight (188) plant species (Angiosperms and Pteridopytes) across 68 families were recorded, following standard taxonomic protocols. The trees and shrubs were dominant and cut across 25 and 24 families, respectively. The family Rubiaceae had the highest number of species represented, with 18, followed by Euphorbiaceae with 17, then Papilionaceae and Apocynaceae with 10 each. This preliminary survey showed that the study area is a rich biodiversity hotspot especially as it accommodated some unique species of South-Western Nigeria. Even though urbanization and the development of the study site is inevitable, the conservation of the Eredo-Sugbo area of the site should be encouraged as much as possible

The tracheophytes (Angiosperms and Pteridopytes) of Augustine University Campus, Ilara-Epe, Lagos State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to assess the avalanche of species existing in an undisturbed vegetation in Lagos State, Nigeria, prior to developmental activities. One hundred and eighty-eight (188) plant species (Angiosperms and Pteridopytes) across 68 families were recorded, following standard taxonomic protocols. The trees and shrubs were dominant and cut across 25 and 24 families, respectively. The family Rubiaceae had the highest number of species represented, with 18, followed by Euphorbiaceae with 17, then Papilionaceae and Apocynaceae with 10 each. This preliminary survey showed that the study area is a rich biodiversity hotspot especially as it accommodated some unique species of South-Western Nigeria. Even though urbanization and the development of the study site is inevitable, the conservation of the Eredo-Sugbo area of the site should be encouraged as much as possible

Antibiotics Resistance in Bacteria Strains Isolated From Fish: Potential Health Risk.

Fisheries and aquaculture provide an important source of food and livelihoods for more than one billion people globally. Products from fisheries and aquaculture have sometimes been associated with certain food safety issues. This article reviewed the issues of antimicrobial resistance in aquaculture as documented by some workers. Literature reviewed revealed multiple drug resistance of bacterial strains to commonly used antibiotics. The public health implications of these observations are discussed. Effective use of antimicrobial drugs, authorization of prudent use of veterinary antimicrobial drugs, good aquaculture practices and efficient management of municipal ‘waste among, others are recommended to curb the issue of antimicrobial resistance in aquaculture products. Keywords:  Aquaculture, Antibiotic resistance, Bacteria, Public health, Resistance

Effects of Roasted Yam (Discorea rotundata Poir.) on Erythrocyte Osmotic Fragility and Other Haematologic Values in Male Albino Rats

The effects of roasted yam (Discorea rotundata Poir.) were studied on some hematologic parameters in male albino rats. Twenty four (24) adult male rats were divided into three groups of eight rats per group.Group I served as the control group, in which the rats were given normal rat chow. Group II rats served as the sham control and received normal rat chow mixed with 25% of finely ground yam, while group IIIserved as experimental group and received normal rat chow mixed with 25% of finely ground roasted yam. At the end of the experimental period (6 weeks), animals in all the groups were sacrificed and bloodsamples were taken for the determination of red blood cell (RBC) count, hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, and packed cell volume (PCV) and erythrocyte osmotic fragility. It was observed that roasted yamingestion reduced RBC count, PCV, and Hb concentration while it increased erythrocyte osmotic fragility rats (

Video big data: an agile architecture for systematic exploration and analytics

Video is currently at the forefront of most business and natural environments. In surveillance, it is the most important technology as surveillance systems reveal information and patterns for solving many security problems including crime prevention. This research investigates technologies that currently drive video surveillance systems with a view to optimization and automated decision support. The investigation reveals some features and properties that can be optimised to improve performance and derive further benefits from surveillance systems. These aspects include system-wide architecture, meta-data generation, meta-data persistence, object identification, object tagging, object tracking, search and querying sub-systems. The current less-than-optimum performance is attributable to many factors, which include massive volume, variety, and velocity (the speed at which streaming video transmit to storage) of video data in surveillance systems. Research contributions are 2-fold. First, we propose a system-wide architecture for designing and implementing surveillance systems, based on the authors’ system architecture for generating meta-data. Secondly, we design a simulation model of a multi-view surveillance system from which the researchers generate simulated video streams in large volumes. From each video sequence in the model, the authors extract meta-data and apply a novel algorithm for predicting the location of identifiable objects across a well-connected camera cluster. This research provide evidence that independent surveillance systems (for example, security cameras) can be unified across a geographical location such as a smart city, where each network is administratively owned and managed independently. Our investigation involved 2 experiments - first, the implementation of a web-based solution where we developed a directory service for managing, cataloguing, and persisting metadata generated by the surveillance networks. The second experiment focused on the set up, configuration and the architecture of the surveillance system. These experiments involved the investigation and demonstration of 3 loosely coupled service-oriented APIs – these services provided the capability to generate the query-able metadata. The results of our investigations provided answers to our research questions - the main question being “to what degree of accuracy can we predict the location of an object in a connected surveillance network”. Our experiment also provided evidence in support of our hypothesis – “it is feasible to ‘explore’ unified surveillance data generated from independent surveillance networks”

Assessment of runway excursion causal factors and mitigation strategies

Runway excursion (RE) is a significant cause of many aircraft accidents worldwide. Statistic reveals that accident associated with RE is on the increase. Although RE accident fatalities are usually lower with respect to loss of control (LOC) caused accidents, however the aircrafts involved in RE caused accidents are usually write-off. In response to the raising threat to aviation safety, the Research and Development (R&D) division of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Base, Kaduna Nigeria was tasked to conduct a study on RE problem. The study gathered of three kinds of secondary information associated with RE accidents: 1) statistical summaries, 2) accident report that cited runway excursion accident and 3) stakeholders inputs. Using this resources, the RE causal factors were identified. This paper described the study method, stakeholder viewpoint; key identified causal factors for RE caused accidents and mitigation strategies.Keywords: Aircraft accident, causal factor, runway excursion, mitigation strategie

A chemotaxonomic approach to the alkane content of three species of Anthocleista Afzel. (Loganiaceae)

The chemotaxonomic significance of leaf wax n-alkanes was studied in three species of Anthocleista Afzel. Identification of alkane components were determined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) data. In all, fourteen alkanes were identified, ranging from tetracosane (C24H50) to heptriacontane (C37H76). Tetracosane, pentacosane and heptriacontane were the major components in all the three species of Anthocleista. A. djalonensis and A. vogelii were characterized by high percentages of tetracosane (28.81 and 39.14%, respectively), whereas in A.nobilis heptriacontane (C37H76) was the major component being 24.76%. Significant correlation between A. djalonensis and A. vogelii (r = 0.884 and p = 0.000) at 0.01 implies a probable closeness between these species. However, the result obtained in this study provides further evidence of chemotaxonomic significance

Evaluation of iodine content of some selected fruits and vegetables in Nigeria

In the past few decades, there has been renewed interest on increase in intake of fruits and vegetables, owing to their numerous beneficial effects. The present study provides preliminary data on the ability of different fruits and vegetables grown and consumed in Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria to concentrate iodine in their tissues, given the same environmental conditions. Chemical evaluation of iodine content of some selected fruits and vegetables, grown and  consumed in the area was carried out. Out of the six fruits assessed, Musa paradisca has the highest level of iodine (258.83 } 11.43 ƒÊg / 100 g edible portion), while the least value was observed in Citrus paradis (2.43 } 0.01 ƒÊg / 100 g edible portion). No significant variation (P . 0.05) was observed in the iodine content of Citrus aurumthifolia (27.38 } 2.16 ƒÊg / 100 g edible portions) and Musa sapientum (19.79 } 6.23 ƒÊg / 100 g edible portions). The iodine contents of Carica papaya and Citrus paradis were not significantly different (P . 0.05) from each other. Out of the twenty (20) vegetables assessed, the highest iodine value was observed in Amaranthus hubridus (58.36 } 1.88 ƒÊg / 100 g edible portion) and the least value was found in Talinum triangulare (0.49 + 0.01 ƒÊg / 100 g edible portions). Our result indicates that few of the fruits and vegetables grown and consumed in the Local Government Area have the ability to concentrate enough iodine that can sufficiently meet the required daily allowance, thus, we advise that such fruits may need to be consumed along with some other dietary sources in order to meet the daily  requirement for iodine. Furthermore, our result suggests that the ability of fruits and vegetables to concentrate iodine in their tissues varies from one to another.Key words: Fruits, hypothyroidism, iodine, iodine-deficiency, vegetables