Fusarium graminearum in a Papilloma Virus Infected Friesian Bull in Vom, Nigeria: Case Report

Importation of exotic cattle to improve the yield and productivityof the local 'White Fulani' breed of cattle has been on the rise inNigeria. The problem most farmers faces with the Friesian hasalways been the adaptation to the weather and endemic diseaseconditions in Nigeria. Fungal infections represent an importantcomplication for immunosuppressed animals and are associatedwith high morbidity and mortality (De Pauw and Meunier, 1999).Fusarium is one of the most important fungal genera, whichincludes many species that are pathogenic to plants and responsible for a broad range of diseases while others are highly mycotoxigenic (Viquez et al., ) and some cause opportunistic infections in humans and in farm animals. Fusarium graminearum (Gibberella zeae) is an importantpathogen of commercial crops such as wheat, maize, and rice.Infection with F. graminearum causes yield losses in grains anddegrades their nutritive, physical and chemical qualities, resultingin their being used for animal feed rather than for human consumption (Charmley et al., 1994). A contaminated crop can be salvaged by feeding it to livestock or poultry, but further losses may be incurred due to the negative effects of mycotoxins on animal performance. Potent toxins such as the estrogenic toxin zearalenone (F-2) have been reported by Vesonder and Hesseltine, (1980) but the most common mycotoxins produced byF. graminearum are deoxynivalenol (DON, also known as vomitoxin), 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol, and nivalenol belonging to a group of compounds known as trichothecenes (Homdork et al., 2000; Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, CAST, 2003). These mycotoxins are known to diminish feed consumption in domestic livestock, especially swine (CAST 2003). Because of their apparent tolerance for higher levels of dietary DON, Fusarium-infested grains are often fed to cattle or sheep asopportunity feeds. This may be due to little or insufficient information describing the pathogenesis and the ability of this plant pathogen to survive as they move through the gastrointestinal tract of cattle or on a compromised skin (Kedar and Gemerlyn, 2008)

Mass transfer to a nanostructured nickel electrodeposit of high surface area in a rectangular flow channel

Nanostructured nickel was electrodeposited on a stainless steel plate. The convective-diffusion mass transfer to this nanostructured electrode was compared to that of a planar, mirror polished solid nickel electrode using the limiting current technique, for the reduction of ferricyanide, hexacyanoferrate (III) ion in an undivided cell. The effect of introducing a turbulence promoter into the electrolyte channel was also evaluated for each electrode under steady state conditions. At a Reynolds number of 700, the product of mass transfer coefficient and active electrode area, kLA for the nanostructured nickel electrode increases over 11 times compared to the mirror polished planar nickel electrode. In the presence of a turbulence promoter, the nanostructured nickel electrode shows an approximately 23 times increase in kLA compared to the planar mirror polished nickel electrode. The dimensionless mass transfer correlations Sh=aRe?Sc?L?? are compared to others in the literature