Screening of Cowpea Genotypes for Their Reactions to Alectra Vogelii (Benth.) in the Southern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria

Field experiments were conducted at Garkawa, Plateau State, Nigeria (08o52’N; 09o34’E) during the rainy seasons of 2011 and 2012 to evaluate the reactions of cowpea genotypes to Alectrra infestations. The treatments consisted of eleven cowpea genotypes laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Five varieties (IT97K-499-35, IT98K573-1-1, IT03K-338-1, IT98K-205-8 and UAM 11D, 24-55-3) were confirmed resistant to Alectra in the study area.  The Gazum local variety, Banjar, Borno brown, and TVX3236 were found to be very susceptible to Alectra; while IT84S-246-4 and IT98KD-391 recorded moderate infestation of Alectra.  The combined year effect on days to Alectra emergence showed that Gazum local, TVX3236, Banjar and Borno brown supported significantly the earliest emergence of Alectra; while the genotypes IT89KD-373-1-1 and IT84S-246-4 delayed the emergence of Alectra by 6 and 4 days , respectively. Gazum local recorded the highest number of crop plants infested with Alectra. Similarly, Alectra shoot counts were highest in Gazum local and TVX 3236.  Apart from IT84S-246-4 in 2011, pod number, pod weight and 1000 seed weights were significantly higher in the Alectra free genotypes against lower values in the Alectra infested genotypes. Also, the Alectra infested genotypes recorded significantly more crop damaged syndrome score compared with the resistant genotypes which were healthier.   It may be concluded from this investigation that IT97K-499-35, IT98K-573-1-1, IT03K-338-1, IT98K-205-8 and UAM 11D-24-55-3 that were found to be resistant to Alectra infestation which gave relatively higher grain yields are recommended for cultivation by farmers in the study area. Keywords: key words, Cowpea genotypes,  Alectra  vogelii, Resistance/ Tolerance, Guinea Savannah

Application of remote sensing to state and regional problems

The use of remote sensing techniques to help the state of Mississippi recognize and solve its environmental, resource, and socio-economic problems through inventory, analysis, and monitoring is suggested

A Remote-Sensing Based Assessment of Seasonal Variation in Vegetation Quality and Productivity in Nimbia Forest

Agriculture plays a vital role in the growth and sustainability of developing countries, such as those in sub-saharan Africa. Therefore, there is need to monitor and assess the changes taking place on vegetation quality and productivity. Conventional ground survey method has proved to be highly tedious, laborious and grossly limited especially when large and densely forested regions are concerned. This paper presents a remote sensing based approach as a real time technology to determine the effect and extent of water loss caused by seasons on vegetation quality in Nimbia forest, Kaduna State. ENVI 4.7, ArcGIS 10.0 and Global Mapper Softwares were used and a discrepancy of about 45% in quality of vegetation has been observed between seasons in the region under study. Keywords: Remote Sensing, Normalized Difference Vegetative Index, ENVI, ArcGIS

Insights into the neuroprotective mechanisms of 2-iminobiotin employing an in-vitro model of hypoxic-ischemic cell injury

Neurolog

Genotypic characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains that cause diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome in Neuquén, Argentina

Fil: Pianciola, Luis. Subsecretaría de Salud de Neuquén. Laboratorio Central; Argentina.Fil: Chinen, Isabel. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Fisiopatogenia; Argentina.Fil: Mazzeo, Melina. Subsecretaría de Salud de Neuquén. Laboratorio Central; Argentina.Fil: Miliwebsky, Elizabeth. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Fisiopatogenia; Argentina.Fil: González, Gladys. Hospital "Dr. Horacio Heller". Laboratorio de Microbiología; Argentina.Fil: Müller, Constanza. Subsecretaría de Salud de Neuquén. Laboratorio Central; Argentina.Fil: Carbonari, Carolina. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Fisiopatogenia; Argentina.Fil: Navello, Mariano. Subsecretaría de Salud de Neuquén. Laboratorio Central; Argentina.Fil: Zitta, Eugenia. Subsecretaría de Salud de Neuquén. Laboratorio Central; Argentina.Fil: Rivas, Marta. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Fisiopatogenia; Argentina.Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are important food-borne pathogens associated with cases of diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). E. coli O157:H7 is the dominant serotype in Argentina and also in Neuquén Province, in which HUS incidence is above the national average, with a maximum of 28.6 cases per 100,000 children less than 5 years old reported in 1998. The aim of this study was to characterize a collection of 70 STEC O157 strains isolated from patients with diarrhea and HUS treated in the province of Neuquén, Argentina, between 1998 and 2011. All strains harbored eae, ehxA, rfbO157, and fliCH7 genes, and stx2a/stx2c (78.7%) was the predominant genotype. A total of 64 (91.4%) STEC O157 strains belonged to the hypervirulent clade 8 tested using both 4 and 32 SNP typing schemes. The strains showed the highest values reported in the literature for 6 of the 7 virulence determinants described in the TW14359 O157 strain associated with the raw spinach outbreak in the U.S. in 2006. Clade 8 strains were strongly associated with two of them: ECSP_3286, factor encoding an outer membrane protein that facilitates the transport of the heme complex (P=0.001), and in particular extracellular factor ECSP_2870/2872, coding proteins related to adaptation to plant hosts (P=0.000004). The q933 allele, which has been related to high toxin production, was present in 97.1% of the strains studied for the anti-terminator Q gene. In summary, this study describes, for the first time in Argentina, the almost exclusive circulation of strains belonging to the hypervirulent clade 8, and also the presence of putative virulence factors in higher frequencies than those reported worldwide. These data may help to understand the causes of the particular epidemiological situation related to HUS in Neuquén Province