Analysis of Some Mineral Elements in Major Coconut Cultivars in Nigeria

The mineral content of different cultivars of the endosperm tissues of coconut (Cocos nucifera Linn) samples commonly available in some parts of Nigeria were collected and analyzed for Fe, Zn, Ca and Mg by atomic absorption spectrophotometric techniques, while Na and K were determined by Flame photometric techniques. The mineral content of the coconut water ranged from 0.09 0.06µg/g Zn to 959.52 52.65µg/g Na while the mineral levels of the coconut meat ranged from 6.14  1.52µg/g Zn to 7809.53 436.41µg/g Na. The concentrations of the minerals were generally higher in the coconut meat than in the coconut water samples.  However, hybrid samples from Badagry, especially the larger nuts contained the highest levels of the minerals. The levels of Na, K and Ca suggest that health and nutritional benefits can be derived from consuming coconut water and coconut meat. Keywords: coconut meat, coconut water, mineral, nutritional benefit

Impact of Urban Growth on Green Space in Maiduguri Metropolis, Borno State (1975 – 2015)

A green area in a city is an open space that is deliberately left untouched permanently. The trees, grasses and shrubs in a green area have special attributes associated with a planned city that nurture healthy living condition for the inhabitants of the city on a sustainable basis. The paper assessed the impact of urban growth on the green areas of Maiduguri city. Data was generated from the city plan and satellite images of 1975, 1986, 1999 and 2015 to determine the changing pattern of land use in the green areas. The study was conducted within an area of a 10 km radius that effectively housed the green areas of Maiduguri in 1975. The total area under study was 31,428 hectares comprising 3245 ha of green areas and 28,183 of other land use. In 1986 the green areas have reduced to 1889 hectares with a corresponding increase in other land use to 29,539 ha. The green area in 1999 has further reduced to 1114 ha with an increase of other land uses to 30,314 ha. The result indicated that the green area of 3,245 hectares in 1975 has virtually disappeared by 2015. At the same time, satellite images of the city suggest a progressive increase in other land uses (residential, institutional,commercial/industrial and transportation). The results indicated a tremendous decline in the green areas of the city. This can be attributed to a lack of adherence to planning rules and regulation and the growing need for housing and other infrastructural facilities in the city. The paper recommends the need for land-use land cover monitoring to restore the green areas in the city, pragmatic physical planning intervention by the government, an all-inclusive approach to green area management involving NGOs, individuals, traditional rulers and advocacy to regain the cities green areas among others. Keywords: Green Space, land use, Urban Growt

Economic Reforms, Living Conditions and Urban Violence: A Situation Analysis of Metropolitan Lagos

Urban poor have suffered significantly from structural adjustment through reduction in employment creation and downward pressure on real wages. The precarious effects of fluctuation in the formal and informal sectorson urban men and women are seldom noticed in the upsurge of urban violence and conflicts. The study specifically examined the impact of privatization and commercialisation on social conditions and livelihood ofurban people as the cause of gender differentials in urban violence. Metropolitan Lagos, the study area has been chosen for her level of urbanization and diverse characteristics. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used for data gathering. For quantitative data 252 questionnaires were administered and for qualitative, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and In-depth interview were respectively used to enrich the study. The study revealed that more than two thirds of the respondents were affected by the economic reforms which have negative impact on their living conditions. It was also discovered that, there is strong relationship between incomes, education and ever participated in any forms of violence in the study area. The copping strategiesadopted in the study area include; involving children in street hawking, reduction in domestic consumptions, living in low-cost houses, entering big buses popularly know as “Molue” to reduce transportation cost within themetropolitan Lagos, sending children to public school or low-paying schools, and having sizable family size

Socio-economic factors influencing adoption of yam Minisett Technology in Niger State of Nigeria

Nigeria produces about 70% of the world’s yam accounting for about 39.9 million tonnes. The major constraint has being that of planting seeds amounting to about one third of the total production cost. In order to reduce this perennial production problem, yam minisett technology developed by National Root Crop Research Institute, Umudike, was thought to be an alternative to solving the planting seed menace. This study attempts to investigate the socio-economic factor influencing the adoption of this new technology. It was conducted in all the 25 local Government areas of Niger State. Data were collected by multi – stage random sampling technique using structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the information collected. Results showed that majority of the farmers interviewed had no access to credit, very low extension contact, low levels education, lack of awareness about the minisett technology and therefore were yet to  adopt the minisett technology. Farm size (0.796), labour input (-0.585), cooperativeness (1.026), extension contact (0.959), income (0.473) and credit (0.533) were found to significantly influence the adoption of the yam minisett technology. The study recommends increased farm advisory services. Farmers  should belong to Cooperative societies. Key words:            adoption, minisett technology, socio-economic facto

Preliminary Survey of Ectoparasites Infesting Chickens (Gallus domesticus) in Four Areas of Sokoto Metropolis

A faunistical study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of ectoparasites of chickens in four areas of Sokoto metropolis, Nigeria, on 160 chickens raised under free-range system. Both the skin and plucked feathers were thoroughly searched for the presence of ectoparasites between July and December 2009. The results indicate that all the chickens (100%) harboured ectoparasites. Five lice, two mites, two tick and one flea species were identified with the following prevalences: the shaft louse, Menopon gallinae (8.1%), the chicken body louse, Menacanthus stramineus (6.9%), then the wing louse, Lipeurus caponis (5.0%), the body and feather louse, Gonoides gigas (4.4%) and finally the fluff louse Gonoicotes gallinae (3.1%). The two tick species were Argas persicus (8.8%) and Ixodid larvae (5.6%). The two mite species were Cnemidocoptes mutans (9.4%) and Cnemidocoptes gallinae (8.1%). The sticktight flea Echidnophaga gallinacea was the only flea species found (10.6%). No association was found between ectoparasitism and sex, breed and fur colour (P > 0.05), however a strong positive association was observed with fur texture (P < 0.05). This study has shown that ectoparasites are highly prevalent on traditionally managed chickens in the study areas. Further detailed study with particular reference to ectoparasitism and assessment of their impact is recommended.Keywords: Ectoparasites, Free range, Chickens, Prevalence, Infestation, SokotoNigerian Journal of Basic and Applied Science (2011), 19 (2): 173-18

Promjene serumskih proteina, hematološki i neki biokemijski pokazatelji u sahelske koze tijekom bređosti

The effects of pregnancy on haematological and some biochemical parameters were studied using 30 (25 pregnant of known gestational age, while five animals remained as cycling non-pregnant control) Sahel does aged between 1½ to 2½ years and managed under controlled conditions. Their weights ranged between 14 to 25 kg. Red blood cell and the white blood cell counts were the only haematological parameters that showed a significant (P0.05) in the other biochemical parameters determined, namely: Na, Ka, Ca, Total proteins, FFA, Urea, Creatinine, AST, ALT, and Alkaline phosphatase. The present study indicates that haematological and mineral imbalances are unlikely to occur during pregnancy in Sahel does when properly managed.Učinci bređosti na hematološke i neke biokemijske pokazatelje istraženi su na 30 (25 bređih s poznatim trajanjem bređosti i pet kontrolnih nebređih) sahelskih koza u dobi od 1,5 do 2,5 godine držanih pod kontroliranim uvjetima. Njihove mase kretale su se od 14 do 25 kg. Od hematoloških pokazatelja jedino je broj crvenih krvnih stanica i broj bijelih krvnih stanica bio značajno promijenjen (P0,05) u koncentraciji drugih određivanih biokemijskih pokazatelja: Na, Ka, Ca, ukupnih proteina, FFA, mokraćevine, kreatinina, aspartatne aminotransferaze (AST), alaninske aminotransferaze (ALT) i alkalne fosfataze. Istraživanje pokazuje da se tijekom bređosti pravilno držanih sahelskih koza ne javljaju promjene hematoloških pokazatelja i sadržaja minerala

Assessment of regulation compliance and quality of sachet water factories In Ibadan North Local Government, Oyo State, Nigeria

Provision of clean drinking water is one of the basic human necessities for healthy livelihood. In Nigeria, many people relied on sachet waters as an alternative source of clean drinking water. However, complaints abound regarding lack of proper water quality standard being used which is a major health concern. This study assessed the regulatory compliance of some sachet water production companies and water quality standard in Ibadan North Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered on factory’s organisational structure and staffing; facilities and equipment; water treatment processes and sanitation practices, Also, Sachet water samples were analysed for the contaminants of Turbidity, Colour, Odour, pH, Nitrate, Chloride, Iron, Electrical conductivity and E-coli count. From the questionnaire analysis, the adherence level with the regulations was poor as majority (60%) of the sachet water factories have poor organisational structure and only 33% have adequate facilities and equipment. However, water quality analysis showed that most of the sachet water parameters tested were within the standard range except for pH values and E Coli count which majority (70%) falls below standard for both. The study concludes that most sachet water brands produced are unsafe for human consumption. There is need for proper monitoring by relevant agencies towards ensuring sachet water factories continuously complied with standard operations for better public health in the study area

Oral cavities multidrug resistant bacteria colonization in apparently healthy dogs in jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

Dogs harbor pathogenic, zoonotic or multidrug resistant bacteria in their oral cavities and may serve as a possible source of transmission to humans through direct contact or bite. We therefore carried out a clinic-based cross-sectional study design to assess the level of multidrug resistant bacteria colonization of oral cavities of apparently healthy dogs presented for routine examination, vaccination and deworming. Oral swabs were taken from 100 apparently healthy dogs of different age, breed and sex. Isolation and identification of bacteria was done based on colony morphology and biochemical test. Antibiotic sensitivity test to 12 antibiotics was carried out on the isolates using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method according to standard protocol. The study showed that the oral cavities of all the dogs included in the study have one or more bacteria species. E. coli accounted for the greater proportion (43.21%) of the isolates. Other isolates include Klebsiella spp, Bacillus spp and Staphylococcus aureus. There was also a mixed isolates of E. coli and Yeast (23.57%), E. coli and Bacillus (3.57%), E. coli and Staphylococcus (1.79%), E. coli and Streptococcus (1.79%) and Staphylococcus and Bacillus (1.79%). There was no statistically significant difference in the isolation based dogs’ characteristics such as age, sex, breed and management system. Varying degree of sensitivity was observed in the isolates. Some of the isolates displayed resistance to 2 or more antibiotics. The isolates showed resistant phenotype to β-lactam antibiotics-amoxicillin and ampicillin ranging between 75.0%−100.0% and 0.0%−83.0% respectively. Susceptibility of the isolates ranges between 83.3%−100.0%, 66.7%−100.0%, 63.7%-100% and 50.0%−83.3% for fluoroquinolone antibiotics-peflacin, ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid and aminoglycoside-streptomycin respectively. The dogs’ population sampled during the period were 6 years old and below. Six breeds of dogs; Caucasians, German shepherd, mastiff, Rottweiler and indigenous breeds were sampled. Apparently healthy dogs of different ages, sex, breeds, and management systems are colonized with multidrug resistant bacteria in their oral cavities and suggest a possible transmission to their owners and or handlers. Indiscriminate antibiotic use should be avoided by dog owners. Culture and antibacterial sensitivity testing in the event of dog bite is recommended. Keywords: Antibiotic, bacteria, dog, isolation, resistanc

Predictor-Corrector Modified Line Search Strategies for Solving Systems of Nonlinear Equations

Diagonal updating scheme is among the cheapest Newton-like methods for solving system of nonlinear equations. Nevertheless, the method has some shortcomings. In this paper, we proposed an improved matrix-free secant updating scheme via line search strategies, by using the steps of backtracking in the Armijo-type line search as a step length predictor and Wolfe-Like condition as corrector. Our approach aims at improving the overall performance of diagonal secant updating scheme. Under mild assumptions, the global convergence results have been presented. Numerical experiments verify that the proposed approach is very promising