Survey of fungal diseases associated with aerial stems and leaves of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in some irrigated fields in Kaduna and Katsina States of Nigeria

A survey was conducted to determine the incidence of fungal diseases associated with aerial stems and leaves of Irish potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in some irrigated fields in Kaduna and Katsina states. The fields were selected based on systematic random sampling method and the samples were collected using stratified random sampling (SRDS) techniques. Disease symptoms were identified using CABI and CIP description of potato diseases. A total of four fungal diseases were found to be associated with aerial stems and leaves that included early blight (17.8%), leaf blight (48.7%) Fusarium wilt (21.1%) and Sclerotinia wilt (12. 29%). The fungi were identified based on standard mycological methods. The colonies observed were distinguished microscopically and macroscopically. Six genera of fungi were isolated from the wilted aerial stems and blighted leaves as Fusarium sp (18.7%), Sclerotium sp (18.7%) and Alternaria sp (18.7%); Helminthosporium sp (18.7%) had the highest frequency of occurrence. Botrytis sp (17.7%) and Stemphylium sp (5.6%) had the least frequency of occurrence. The results of this study could be used for further studies in plant protection and disease management

Sero-prevalence of Hepatitis B markers among blood donors from National Blood Transfusion Service centre in Kaduna, Nigeria

The survey was carried out to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus markers among blood donors from National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) centre in Kaduna, Nigeria. Five milliliters of blood was collected through the vein into the EDTA container and screened for Hepatitis B virus (HBV) using diagnostic kit for HBV infection marker in whole blood. The socio-demographic factors associated with HBV infection were determined using structured questionnaires. The prevalence of HBV markers among blood donors was compared using Pearson correlation matrix. The total prevalence rates of the five (5) HBV markers were: HBsAg 12(7.3 %), HBsAb 5(3.0 %), HBeAb 12(7.3 %), HBcAb 18(10.9 %) while all blood samples were negative for HBeAg. Statistically, there were significant differences between the rate of prevalence for HBsAb and age, likewise HBcAb and occupation at (p<0.05). A high significant correlation was found between HBsAg and HBcAb at r=0.725 and p=0.0001, between HBsAg and HBeAb at r=0.820 and p=0.0001 as well. Additionally, there was a high significant correlation between HBcAb and HBsAb at r=0.278 and p=0.0001, between HBcAb and HBeAb at r=0.725 and p=0.0001. However, HBsAg and HBcAb have no significant correlation with any other HBV markers (P>0.01). Some of the samples that were HBsAg negative have been found to be positive for other HBV markers specifically HBcAb (IgG and IgM). Therefore, based on this study screening for HBsAg alone might not be sufficient for diagnosis of HBV infection

Differences in haematological parameters and haemoglobin phenotypes in symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects with Plasmodium falciparum infection in parts of Kaduna metropolis, Nigeria

Background: Plasmodium falciparum is the leading cause of malaria morbidity and mortality in Nigeria with varied symptoms and haematological consequences. The objective of this study is to assess the differences in haematological parameters and haemoglobin phenotypes in symptomatic P. falciparum infected and apparently healthy asymptomatic individuals in parts of Kaduna metropolis.Methodology: A total of 1000 subjects; 500 symptomatic and 500 apparently healthy subjects asymptomatic for malaria, were recruited from selected hospitals and National Blood Bank in Kaduna metropolis. Blood samples were collected for thick and thin film microscopy to determine malaria parasitaemia and parasite species identification respectively. Haematological parameters were determined using automated blood analyser (KX-21N, Sysmex, Japan) and haemoglobin phenotypes by alkaline cellulose acetate electrophoresis.Results: Of the 1000 subjects recruited, 347 (34.7%) were positive for P. falciparum on blood film, which included 226 (45.2%) of 500 symptomatic and 121 (24.2%) of 500 asymptomatic subjects (p<0.00001). Of the 347 P. falciparum infected subjects, 275 (79.3%) had HbAA, 61 (17.6%) had HbAS, 1 (0.3%) had HbAC, 8 (2.3%) had HbSS, and 2 (0.6%) had HbSSf phenotypes. One hundred and sixty-three (72.1%) of the 226 symptomatic subjects had HbAA while 112 (92.6%) of the 121 asymptomatic subjects had HbAA, which indicated a significantly higher frequency of asymptomatic malaria in subjects with HbAA (p<0.00001). Conversely, 53 (23.5%) of the 226 symptomatic subjects had HbAS while 8 (6.6%) of 121 asymptomatic subjects had HbAS, indicating a significantly higher frequency of symptomatic malaria in subjects with HbAS (p=0.000086). The frequency of parasitaemia > 3,000 parasites/μL of blood was 100% for HbSSf, 25% for HbSS, 8.2% for HbAS and 2.2% for HbAA, which showed significantly higher frequency in subjects with HbSS (X2=7.5989, p=0.0054) and HbAS (X2=3.9627, p=0.046519) compared to HbAA. In symptomatic subjects, only MCHC value was significantly higher in subjects with HbAS (33.21±2.430) compared to those with HbAA (32.09 ±2.315) (p=0.003), while all other haematological parameters were not significantly different (p>0.05). In asymptomatic subjects, none of the haematological parameters was significantly different between subjects with HbAS and HbAA (p>0.05).Conclusion: Although the frequency of P. falciparum infection in this study is generally higher in subjects with HbAA, symptomatic infection and higher parasite density are associated with HbAS, HbSS and HbSSf. Effective utilisation of personal preventive measures by inhabitants, in addition to current malaria control and intervention strategies should be adequately implemented in Kaduna metropolis. Keywords: Haematological parameters, haemoglobin, electrophoresis, Plasmodium falciparum, malaria   Différences dans les paramètres hématologiques et les phénotypes d'hémoglobine chez les sujets symptomatiques et asymptomatiques atteints d'une infection à Plasmodium falciparum dans certaines parties de la métropole de Kaduna, Nigéria   Contexte: Plasmodium falciparum est la principale cause de morbidité et de mortalité liées au paludisme au Nigéria avec des symptômes et des conséquences hématologiques variés. L'objectif de cette étude est d'évaluer les différences de paramètres hématologiques et de phénotypes d'hémoglobine chez des individus symptomatiques infectés par P. falciparum et asymptomatiques apparemment en bonne santé dans certaines parties de la métropole de Kaduna. Méthodologie: Un total de 1000 sujets; 500 sujets symptomatiques et 500 sujets apparemment sains asymptomatiques pour le paludisme ont été recrutés dans certains hôpitaux et dans la Banque nationale du sang de la métropole de Kaduna. Des échantillons de sang ont été prélevés pour la microscopie à couche épaisse et mince afin de déterminer respectivement la parasitémie du paludisme et l'identification des espèces de parasites. Les paramètres hématologiques ont été déterminés à l'aide d'un analyseur sanguin automatisé (KX-21N, Sysmex, Japon) et des phénotypes d'hémoglobine par électrophorèse sur acétate de cellulose alcaline. Résultats: Sur les 1000 sujets recrutés, 347 (34,7%) étaient positifs pour P. falciparum sur frottis sanguin, qui comprenait 226 (45,2%) de 500 sujets symptomatiques et 121 (24,2%) de 500 sujets asymptomatiques (p<0,00001). Sur les 347 sujets infectés par P. falciparum, 275 (79,3%) avaient HbAA, 61 (17,6%) avaient HbAS, 1 (0,3%) avaient HbAC, 8 (2,3%) avaient HbSS et 2 (0,6%) avaient des phénotypes HbSSf. Cent soixante-trois (72,1%) des 226 sujets symptomatiques avaient une HbAA tandis que 112 (92,6%) des 121 sujets asymptomatiques avaient une HbAA, ce qui indiquait une fréquence significativement plus élevée de paludisme asymptomatique chez les sujets avec HbAA (p<0,00001). À l'inverse, 53 (23,5%) des 226 sujets symptomatiques avaient une HbAS tandis que 8 (6,6%) des 121 sujets asymptomatiques avaient une HbAS, indiquant une fréquence significativement plus élevée de paludisme symptomatique chez les sujets avec HbAS (p=0,000086). La fréquence de parasitémie> 3000 parasites / μL de sang était de 100% pour l'HbSSf, 25% pour l'HbSS, 8,2% pour l'HbAS et 2,2% pour l'HbAA, ce qui a montré une fréquence significativement plus élevée chez les sujets atteints d'HbSS (X2=7,5989, p=0,0054) et HbAS (X2=3,9627, p=0,046519) par rapport à l'HbAA. Chez les sujets symptomatiques, seule la valeur MCHC était significativement plus élevée chez les sujets avec HbAS (33,21±2,430) par rapport à ceux avec HbAA (32,09±2,315) (p=0,003), tandis que tous les autres paramètres hématologiques n'étaient pas significativement différents (p>0,05). Chez les sujets asymptomatiques, aucun des paramètres hématologiques n'était significativement différent entre les sujets avec HbAS et HbAA (p>0,05). Conclusion: Bien que la fréquence des infections à P. falciparum dans cette étude soit généralement plus élevée chez les sujets atteints d'HbAA, une infection symptomatique et une densité parasitaire plus élevée sont associées à l'HbAS, l'HbSS et l'HbSSf. Une utilisation efficace des mesures de prévention personnelle par les habitants, en plus des stratégies actuelles de lutte antipaludique et d'intervention, devrait être mise en oeuvre de manière adéquate dans la métropole de Kaduna. Mots clés: Paramètres hématologiques, hémoglobine, électrophorèse, Plasmodium falciparum, paludism

Insect and vertebrate pests associated with cultivated field pea (Pisum Sativum linn) in Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria

Pisum sativum commonly called field pea (Family; Fabaceae). The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and identify pests of field pea in major growing areas of Nigeria. The larval stages of the insect were collected from different field pea farms in Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria (Shika dam, Katanga and Zangon Danbarno, Sabuwa, Rapiyan fan in Barkin Ladi and Razek fan). The percentage incidence of pest’s infestation was calculated for each sampling location. Identification of the pests was done using identification keys. Shika dam has the highest percentage incidence of insects with 60 % followed by Katanga, Zangon Danbarno and Rapiyam fan with 20 % while Razek fan has 15 %. Sabuwa has the least with 10 %. A total of six insect pests were identified from the six different sampling locations (Spodoptera exigua Hwan, Spodoptera exempta Walk, Heliocoverpa armigera Hubn, Etiella zinckenella Trerischk, Tetranychus urticae and Caliothrips sp.) and one mammal (Rattus sp.). All the insect pests are more devastating at seedling stage; however, Tetranychus sp. and Caliothrips sp. proceed up to podding stage. Farmers are advised to practice sole cropping and avoid intercropping with susceptible hosts. Keywords: Pisum sativum, Pest

Preparation and characterization of nanocrystalline Ba(Ti0.96SnxZr0.04-x)O3 ceramic

Nanocrystalline powders of Barium titanate (BaTiO3 or BT) and Ba(Ti0.96SnxZr0.04-x)O3 (BTSZ1, BTSZ2, and BTSZ3) [x=0.02, 0.03 and 0.04] have been synthesized by a combination of solid-state reaction and high energy ball- milling technique (HBM). The effect of increasing Sn content on the microstructure and dielectric properties of the ceramics were studied. X-ray diffraction patterns show cubic and tetragonal symmetry without secondary phase. Sn4+ and Zr4+ ions entered the perovskite-type cubic structure and led to an increase in the lattice parameters. The average crystallite size has been calculated using Scherrer formula. Using Scherrer, the crystallite size of the (110) peaks of the pure BT is 31.2 nm and that of BTSZ1, BTSZ2, and BTSZ3 are 42.7, 37.9 and 42.3 nm respectively. The FESEM results indicated a variation of grain size from 144.53, to 89.28 nm for the pure BT, BTSZ1, BTSZ2, and BTSZ3, which show a decrease in grain size as Sn doping increases. Frequency dependence of dielectric permittivity and loss studied in the range temperature and frequency range 30-400oC and 40 Hz–1 MHz, respectively, for BT, BTSZ1, BTSZ2, and BTSZ3 show a normal ferroelectric phase transition behavior. The corresponding dielectric constant and loss at room temperature show that BTSZ2 has the highest dielectric constant and loss of 1671 and 1.6 respectively. The high dielectric constants and relatively lower loss tangent values meet the current demand for device miniaturization in the electronics industry.Keywords: BT-BTSZ ceramics; high energy ball milling; XRD; FESEM; dielectric propertie

Phenotypic characterization of mycobacteria isolates from tuberculosis patients in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading public health challenges in Nigeria and the burden is still high. There is hence a need for continuous characterization of mycobacteria to obtain current data that will aid the ongoing TB prevention and control programme. The aim of this study was to phenotypically characterize mycobacteria isolates recovered from clinical specimens of patients with tuberculosis in Kaduna State, Nigeria.Methods: Two thousand, two hundred and twelve (2212) sputum samples were collected from patients clinically suspected to have TB in three different zones of Kaduna State, Nigeria, between May 2017 and October, 2018. Samples were processed by decontaminating with NaOH-Citrate N-acetyl-L-Cystein method for Ziehl Neelsen (ZN) AFB microscopy and culture on Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) slants which were incubated at 37ᵒC for 8 weeks. Positive LJ cultures were further analyzed with a rapid TB antigen assay (SD-Bioline) to differentiate Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) from Non Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM).Results: Out of the 2212 patients with suspected TB, 300 (13.6%) were positive for AFB by microscopy with Zone A (Kaduna North) having the highest AFB positive cases of 169 (15.2%). Of the 300 AFB positive samples, 272 (91.0%) were culture positive on LJ medium, 18 (6.0%) were culture negative and 10 (3.0%) were culture contaminated. Result of the distribution of mycobacteria among infected patients within the study area revealed that 219 (80.5%) were infected with MTBC, 42 (15.4%) with NTM and 11 (4.0%) with both MTBC and NTM.Conclusion: A relatively high number of TB in the study area was caused by NTM. There is need for advanced diagnostic tools that can differentiate MTBC and NTM strains among TB patients in all TB Reference Laboratories in Nigeria.Keywords: Phenotypic, Characterization, Tuberculosis, Mycobacteri

Genotypic identification of coliforms isolated from cases of subclinical mastitis among pastoral herds in parts of Kaduna State, Nigeria

Background: Mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus was initially considered the major problem in dairy herds, but over the last few decades, the incidence of coliform mastitis has increased among the pastoral herds in Nigeria due to poor environmental and milking hygiene. Hence, this study was aimed at genotypic identification of coliform bacteria isolated from cases of bovine mastitis among pastoral herds in parts of Kaduna State, Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 30 herds of cows across 7 Local Government Areas of Kaduna State, Nigeria, was conducted. One hundred and forty seven cows were proportionately selected by purposive sampling technique. The milk samples were aseptically collected and bacteriologically screened for coliform bacteria following standard bacteriological techniques. Nine out of 12 coliforms identified phenotypically were selected for PCR amplification and sequencing of their 16S rRNA gene. The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) analysis of the sequences obtained was done on the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) data base, and isolates confirmed based on similarity to 16S rDNA sequences in the Gen BankResults: Five of the 9 coliforms were confirmed to be Klebsiella pneumoniae (prevalence rate, 3.4%) and 4 were confirmed to be Escherichia coli (prevalence rate, 2.7%).Conclusion: This study shows that raw milk of mastitic cows can serve as a vehicle for the spread of pathogens such as K. pneumoniae and E. coli which, according to the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States Public Health Services, are potential threats to public health and safety of humans, animals and plant products.Keywords: pastoral herds, subclinical mastitis, cows, PCR, 16s rRNA, sequencin

Structural and dielectric properties of Ba(Ti0.96Sn0.01Zr0.03)O3 perovskite nanoparticles fabricated by mechanochemical synthesis route

Lead free Nanocrystalline BaTiO3 doped with Sn and Zr is prepared by a combination of solid-state reaction and high energy ball milling (HBM) technique in a temperature range 30–150 °C, over a frequency range 40 Hz – 1 MHz. A single-phase nanocrystalline sample with ABO3 type of perovskite structure with cubic symmetry was confirms by XRD diffraction. The crystallite and grain size determined from Scherrer equation and intercept method are 38.2 nm and 46.13 nm respectively. FE-SEM images show samples are dense and have different microstructures with certain amount of porosity. A grain size of 46.13 nm is obtained by using linear intercept method. Room temperature (RT) variation of ′and tan as a function of frequency of the modified BT system has also been studied. Variation of dielectric properties with frequency shows the usual behaviour of dielectric materials i.e decrease of the value of ′ with the increase of frequency. A dielectric anomalies is observed corresponding to phase transitions viz tetragonal to cubic (− ) at 70oC. These effect can guide to design the nanostructure for various practical applications of MLCC

Isolation and characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Brevibacillus species and their potential to biodegrade polyethylene material

This study was conducted to screen for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Brevibacillus species from soil and investigate their ability to biodegrade low density polyethylene materials. The organisms were isolated using phenotypic characterization and molecular identification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR confirmed the presence of two different strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and absence of Brevibacillus specie from the soil sample. The bacteria were inoculated in a nutrient broth to which 2% polyethylene was amended for a period of three weeks in a shaker incubator at 180rpm. Effect of temperature, pH and concentration of polyethylene on the biodegradation process was also studied. The initial and final dry weights of the polyethylene were recorded and the % degraded was calculated. It was found that both strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were capable of degrading the polyethylene. Strain C3 produced a maximum degradation of 20% at 37°C and pH 6. Strain B3 achieved a maximum degradation of 15% at 37°C at pH 6 and 7. In addition, it was found that both strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were able to survive up to 6% of polyethylene producing a maximum degradation of 55%. Therefore strains B3 and C3 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa can be effective in biodegradation of polyethylene in dump sites if their potentials are well exploited

The Dynamics of Land Use Land Cover Change: Using Geospatial Techniques to Promote Sustainable Urban Development in Ilorin Metropolis, Nigeria

Land change dynamics was studied and analyzed across the plains of Metropolitan Ilorin between 1986 and 2010. A statistical sampling design, Landsat satellite data and Geographical Information System tools were used to efficiently identify patterns of land conversion. Variability of change ranged from approximately 2 percent to greater than 50 percent, and progressed at an uneven pace. Indicative of the changes is a sequence of agricultural expansion before 1986 followed by widespread conversion to built up area by 2000 and beyond. Pattern and magnitude of conversions influenced by contextual conditions of land quality, population increase, plus economic and policy drivers. The sporadic expansion of settlements, especially the built up areas in and around the study area, resulted in rapid diminishing and conversion of other land cover types to more built up environment and thus aaccentuating urban agglomeration of Ilorin. It is recommended that various Government regulatory authorities embark on careful urban planning by strickly allocating land for various designated purposes and ensure continous monitoring of physical developments so as to safeguard distortions to the urban environment of Ilorin