Modification of Institute for Agricultural Research Multi-Crop Thresher for Improved Performances

In millet producing areas of Nigeria, the predominant method of threshing is traditional. It involves beating the millet panicle with a stick, over a log of wood or by pounding using mortar and pestle. This method is inefficient, time-consuming, labor intensive, prone to drudgery, uneconomical, low output and gives product contaminate with extraneous material such as stones and sand. Though imported threshers are effective in millet threshing; they are expensive, complexed in design and required skillful personnel for operation. An Institute for Agricultural Research  (IAR) multi-crop thresher for sorghum, millet, and wheat was modified for improved performances. The performance of the modified thresher was evaluated using Ex-borno variety of pearl millet. Two levels of moisture content; 9.21% and 10.81%, four feed rates levels; 3, 4, 5 and 6 kg/min, four levels of drum speed; 700, 800, 900 and 1000 rpm were considered during the experiment. The test results indicated as high as 98.78% threshing efficiency, a minimum of 1.02% grain damage, maximum cleaning efficiency of 97.19%, and 2.50% scatter loss and maximum throughput capacity of 194.02 kg/hr. In comparison to the previous thresher, threshing efficiency, mechanical grain damage, cleaning efficiency, scatter losses, and throughput capacity have improved by 2.01%, 330.56%, 9.79%, 10.78%, and 69.86% respectively. The developed thresher is anticipated to increase the farmer’s productivity due to improved performances.Keywords: Millet, Threshing Efficiency, Cleaning Efficiency, Feed Rate, cylinder Spee

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers of childbearing age

BackgroundThe American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for up to 6 months. Despite the importance of breast milk, EBF is far less prevalent in Nigeria than is recommended for developing countries. Worse still, the odds of EBF practice are very low in rural communities. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of EBF as well as identify the factors associated with EBF practice among mothers of childbearing age in Chamo town, Jigawa State, Nigeria.MethodsThe study is a cross-sectional design using a questionnaire to assess the required information. The methodology involved the use of simple random sampling to select mothers of reproductive age from Chamo town, which is a rural community located in Jigawa State, Nigeria. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess the mother’s knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding EBF. Simple and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the factors associated with the practice of EBF.ResultsA total of 400 mothers between the ages of 18 and 41 took part in the study. More than half of the participants (57.8%) were between the ages of 26 and 33 and had a primary level of education (30.5%). Only 26.8% of the respondents practice EBF. Those with a tertiary education (AOR = 10.00, p < 0.001), civil servants (AOR = 12.51, p < 0.001), those aware of EBF (AOR = 3.65, p = 0.002), those with correct EBF knowledge (AOR = 4.61, p < 0.001), those with a positive attitude toward EBF demand (AOR = 0.51, p = 0.050), and those who received encouragement from their community (AOR = 9.87, p < 0.001) were more likely to practice EBF.ConclusionThe findings of the study revealed that the majority of the respondents’ knowledge, attitude, and practice of EBF were minimal. This shows the need to step up efforts to educate mothers about the advantages of EBF for both their own health and that of their children while they are in the hospital recovering from childbirth

Modelling Growth Kinetics of Klebsiella sp. FIRD 2 on TBT-Resistant Containing Lead

Tributyltin (TBT) is one of the most toxic substances ever deliberately introduced into the marine environment. The high toxicity of TBT has resulted in a wide range of adverse effects on biological systems ranging from bacteria to mammals and from the molecular to the community level. One of the most deleterious effects of TBT is imposex. The growth kinetics of TBT-Resistant Bacterium containing lead was studied. In this study various lead concentrations ranging from 1 to 100 mg/dm3 were used. Seven kinetic models (Teissier, Monod, Yano, Luong, Aiba, Webb, and Haldane,) were investigated and the accuracy of the fitted models were evaluated using statistical analysis such as coefficient of determination, adjusted coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square (RMSE). Aiba model was fitted to the experimental growth kinetics data and gave a very good fit with an R2 of 0.98 and RMSE of 0.0042 respectively. The calculated value for the Aiba constants such as maximal growth rate, half saturation constant and half inhibition constant rate symbolized by μmax, ks, and ki, were 0.038 hr-1, 0.38s mg/dm3 and 34.38 mg/dm3respectively. This is the first report of growth kinetics of TBT-Resistant bacterium by Klebsiella sp. FIRD 2 Containing lead.Keywords: Growth Kinetic models, Klebsiella sp. FIRD 2, lead, TBT-resistant bacteria

Analysis of the Impact of Relative Humidity and Mineral Nuclei Mode Aerosols Particle Concentration on the Visibility of Desert Aerosols

This paper presents the results of the Analysis of the Impact of relative humidity and water-soluble aerosol particle concentrations on the visibility and particle size distribution of desert aerosols based on microphysical properties of desert aerosols. The microphysical properties (the extinction coefficients, volume mix ratios, dry mode radii and wet mode radii) were extracted from Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds (OPAC 4.0) at eight relative humidities (00 to 99%RH) and at the spectral range of 0.4-0.8 mm. the concentrations of mineral nuclie component (MINN) were varied to obtain five different models. The angstrom exponent (a), the turbidity (b), the curvature (a2), humidification factor (g), the mean exponent of aerosol growth curve (µ) and the mean exponent of aerosol size distributions (n) were determined from the regression analysis of some standard equations. It was observed that the values of (a) are less than 1 throughout the 5 models which signifies the dominance of coarse mode particles over fine mode particles. It was observed that the curvature (a2) has both monomodal and bimodal types of distributions all through the 5 models and this signifies the dominance of coarse mode particles with some traces of fine mode particles. The visibility was observed to decrease with the increase in RH and increased with wavelength. The analysis further found that there is an inverse power law relationship between humidification factor, the mean exponent of the aerosol size distribution with the mean exponent of the aerosol growth curve (as the magnitude of (µ) decreases across the five models, the magnitudes of (g) and (n) increase, but the magnitude of both (g) and (n) increases for a given (µ) across the individual models). The mean exponent of aerosol size distribution (µ) being less than 3 indicate hazy condition of the desert atmosphere

Sustainability-Based Review of Irrigation Schemes Performance for Sustainable Crop Production in Nigeria

Irrigated agriculture has been identified as an important practice to achieving food security and socio-economic development in the face of rapid population growth and climatic uncertainties. In northern Nigeria, irrigation has long been identified as the key to achieving the much-desired increase in food production to meet the ever-increasing population. However, the existing irrigation schemes encountered several challenges coming from different dimensions including economic, social, environmental, institutional and technological. To attain sustainable crop production, this paper attempts to uncover the underline challenges confronting irrigation schemes in northern Nigeria that cut across sustainability pillars. The findings revealed that irrigation schemes contributed immensely toward achieving food security and improving the wellbeing of rural dwellers. However, the huge investment in large- and medium-scale irrigation schemes have resulted in massive economic losses. This could be attributed to their under-utilization, poor management and abandonment although few ones are performing remarkably well. The study recommends the need to adopt new water allocation and application methods that can improve water use efficiency, users-managers join approach (participatory), effective and competent institutions which include improved monitoring, evaluation and surveillance systems, frequent policy review to suit the situation, law enforcement, and timely sensitization and awareness campaigns

Glycyrrhiza Genus: enlightening phytochemical components for pharmacological and health-promoting abilities

The Glycyrrhiza genus, generally well-known as licorice, is broadly used for food and medicinal purposes around the globe. The genus encompasses a rich pool of bioactive molecules including triterpene saponins (e.g., glycyrrhizin) and flavonoids (e.g., liquiritigenin, liquiritin). This genus is being increasingly exploited for its biological effects such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, and cytotoxic activities. The species Glycyrrhiza glabra L. and the compound glycyrrhizin (glycyrrhizic acid) have been studied immensely for their effect on humans. The efficacy of the compound has been reported to be significantly higher on viral hepatitis and immune deficiency syndrome. This review provides up-to-date data on the most widely investigated Glycyrrhiza species for food and medicinal purposes, with special emphasis on secondary metabolites’ composition and bioactive effects

A review on Tradescantia : phytochemical constituents, biological activities and health-promoting effects

Tradescantia is a genus of herbaceous and perennial plants belonging to the Commelinaceae family and organized into three infrageneric classifications and 12 sections. More than 80 species within the genus have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes. Phytochemical compounds (from various species of the genus) such as coumarins, alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, phenolics, tannins, steroids and terpenoids have recently been characterized and described with antioxidant, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, anticancer or antimicrobial properties. The objective of this review is to describe the different aspects of the genus Tradescantia, including its botanical characteristics, traditional uses, phytochemical composition, biological activities, and safety aspects.https://www.imrpress.com/journal/FBLdm2022Plant Production and Soil Scienc

Deciphering gut pathology, oxidative stress, metabolome and microbiome alterations in javanese medaka fish (Oryzias javanicus Bleeker, 1854) exposed to polystyrene microplastics

Microplastics (MPs) defined as plastics of less than 5mm in size have become pollutants of concern due to their continuous and unregulated release into the environment, making them readily accessible to a wide range of aquatic organisms and easily transferred across the food web. Their ever-present nature has led to human exposure largely through food and drinking water, with unrevealed health implications. Animal studies, in most instances, heavily relate its effects to the mere accumulation and induction of oxidative stress and inflammation in the gut system with other organs not well studied. Recently, a few studies on the exposure effects of MPs on the gut have reported bacterial microbiome and metabolome perturbations, which need to be explored further. This study hypothesised that polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) exposure induces organs histological alterations, gut oxidative stress and increase permeability, brain oxidative stress, oxidant damage and neurotoxicity and gut microbiome and metabolome alterations in Javanese medaka fish. The goal of the study is to determine the exposure of effects of PS-MPs on organs histopathology, gut oxidative stress and permeability, brain oxidative stress, oxidant damage, and neurotoxicity, and gut microbiome and metabolome alterations. Javanese medaka fish were exposed to polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) suspensions for a period of 21 days at concentrations of 100μg/L (MP-LOW), 500μg/L (MP-MED) and 1000μg/L (MP-HIGH). The gut and other organs were evaluated for histological alterations, oxidative stress, permeability, and neurotoxicity. Furthermore, gut metabolome and microbiome alterations were assessed. Histological features of inflammation and tissue damage was found in the PS-MPs exposed groups, but none in the control, with significant difference (p-value < 0.05) found between the three exposure concentrations in the intestines [MP-HIGH (74 ± 6%), MP-MED (54 ± 6%) and MP-LOW (26 ± 5%)], Liver [MP-HIGH (86 ± 3%), MP-MED (60 ± 5%) and MP-LOW (46 ± 3%)] and the kidney [MP-HIGH (66 ± 4%), MP-MED (26 ± 5%) and MP-LOW (14 ± 4%)]. Intestinal permeability assessed by D-Lactate in nmol/mL [Control (38 ± 20), MP-LOW (60 ± 2), MP-MED (67 ± 2), MP-HIGH (78 ± 2)], and intestinal oxidative stress using catalase (CAT) in U/mg protein [Control (191 ± 22), MP-HIGH (29 ± 17)] and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity in U/mg of protein [Control (61.8 ± 5), MP-HIGH (43 ± 4)] were found to be significantly increased. In the brain, a significant increase in oxidative stress [CAT activity, Control (16±3), MPHIGH (6 ±1) and T-SOD activity (Control (67 ± 18), MP-HIGH (38 ± 5)], oxidant damage measured using MDA in ng/mL [Control (30.8 ± 2), MP-LOW(47 ± 2), MPMED (55 ± 3), MP-HIGH (38.8 ± 50)], and neurotoxicity by inhibition of acetylcholinesterase in ng/mL [Control (8 ± 0.1), MP-MED (6 ± 1), MP-HIGH (5 ± 1)] was elicited. High throughput sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene V3-V4 region and fungal ITS2 region, revealed reduction in richness and diversity of the gut microbiome. The top 5 relative abundance of bacterial phyla showed increase in Proteobacteria from 65% in the control to 79% in the MP-LOW and MP-MED groups, and 88% observed in MP-HIGH. Conversely, Actinobacteriota showed a decline from 22% in the control group to 9%, 10% and 6% in the low, medium and highest PS-MPs exposed groups respectively. A total number of 7 bacterial biomarkers including g_Aeromonas as unique feature in the MP-HIGH group, and g_Ralstonia, g_ Paraburkholderia, g_Pelmonas, g_Staphylococcus, g_Bradyrhizobium, and g_Pararhizobium were found as the unique features in the MP-LOW group. The top 5 fungal phyla relative abundance showed a reduction of Ascomycota and Chytridiomycota from 42% and 48% in the control to 30% and 40% respectively in MPMED group, and 24% and 21% in MP-HIGH group. 1H NMR metabolomics revealed 9 metabolites responsible for metabolomic alteration due to PS-MPs exposure including anserine, glucose, creatine, glucuronate, glutamate, alanine, lactate, valine, and 2- hydroxyvalerate. The glucose and lactate showed a statistically significant increase with glucose having more than a fourfold increase (Log 2 fold change >2) in all the PS-MPs exposed groups and lactate having more than twofold increase (Log 2 fold change >1) in MP-MED and MP-HIGH exposed groups. The metabolomic pathway analysis revealed the enriched metabolites to be related to energy metabolism via tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), creatine pathway and urea cycle. Furthermore, positive correlation was found between the genus Aeromonas and glucose, lactate and creatine metabolites. The results revealed that P S-MPs exposure causes histopathological alterations in the gut and other vital organs including the brain, it causes significant increase in gut oxidative stress and permeability, brain oxidative stress, oxidant damage, as well as neurotoxicity. In the same vein, PS-MPs exposures causes significant alterations in gut bacterial and fungal microbiome both in terms of relative abundance, reduction in species richness and diversity, and differential enrichment of certain clades of the gut microbiome. Furthermore, it led to the alteration of the gut metabolites, by upregulation of glucose, lactate and amino acids. The altered gut microbiome and metabolome are related to hypoxia, inflammation, tissue injury and metabolic disorders. This study have provided additional data on gut bacterial and fungal clades, as well as metabolites associated with MPs toxicity in aquatic organism, this will inevitably enable further exploration, identification of biomarkers, and future health risks associated with MPs exposure in aquatic organisms and possibly humans

Microplastics Pollution as an Invisible Potential Threat to Food Safety and Security, Policy Challenges and the Way Forward

Technological advances, coupled with increasing demands by consumers, have led to a drastic increase in plastic production. After serving their purposes, these plastics reach our water bodies as their destination and become ingested by aquatic organisms. This ubiquitous phenomenon has exposed humans to microplastics mostly through the consumption of sea food. This has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to make an urgent call for the assessment of environmental pollution due to microplastics and its effect on human health. This review summarizes studies between 1999 and 2020 in relation to microplastics in aquatic ecosystems and human food products, their potential toxic effects as elicited in animal studies, and policies on their use and disposal. There is a paucity of information on the toxicity mechanisms of microplastics in animal studies, and despite their documented presence in food products, no policy has been in place so far, to monitor and regulates microplastics in commercial foods meant for human consumption. Although there are policies and regulations with respect to plastics, these are only in a few countries and in most instances are not fully implemented due to socioeconomic reasons, so they do not address the problem across the entire life cycle of plastics from production to disposal. More animal research to elucidate pathways and early biomarkers of microplastic toxicity that can easily be detected in humans is needed. This is to create awareness and influence policies that will address this neglected threat to food safety and security

Polystyrene Microplastics Exposure: An Insight into Multiple Organ Histological Alterations, Oxidative Stress and Neurotoxicity in Javanese Medaka Fish (Oryzias javanicus Bleeker, 1854)

Microplastics (MPs) have become pollutants of concern due to their unknown human health effect and negative impact on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. There is increasing number of experimental research on MPs globally with its effects not fully understood; recent animal studies explore its effects on the intestines, yet on other vital organs. Javanese medaka fish was exposed to polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) beads for a period of 21 days. Histological alterations, intestinal oxidative stress, permeability and neurotoxicity were evaluated. Significant inflammatory changes and tissue damage were observed in the intestine, liver and kidney. Intestinal oxidative stress and permeability were found to be significantly increased. In the brain, neurotoxicity characterised by a significant induction of oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation and the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase enzyme were elucidated. This study provided an insight into the multiple organ effect of microplastics exposure, necessitating further exploration and identification of biomarkers to be utilised for biomonitoring population at risk in the future