Prevalence of Bovine Mastitis in the Western Region of Cameroon

Mastitis is the major disease in milking cows causing huge losses to the dairy industry worldwide. It is in view to contribute to the eradication of this pathology that the present study was carried out in cattle farms of the West Region of Cameroon from March 2020 to November 2020. A total of 473 lactating cows of local and improved breeds were screened for mastitis. Screening for clinical and sub-clinical mastitis was based on the observation of clinical signs and on the use of the California Mastitis Test (CMT) respectively. The overall prevalence was 34.88%, among which 9.72% and 25.16% represented clinical and subclinical mastitis respectively. In summary, the factors influencing the occurrence of mastitis were: the divisions surveyed (p<0.001), breed type (p=0.003), age range (p<0,001), farm type (p=0.05), soil type (p<0,001), cleaning frequency (p<0.001), feeding method (p<0.001), hygiene of udder (p=0.05) and stage of lactation (p=0.02). The results obtained allow us to recommend an improvement of the breeding conditions to prevent mastitis, because once mastitis appears in a farm, it becomes very difficult to eradicate it.

Mesin Pakan Otomatis Guna Meningkatkan Produktifitas Ternak Lele di Desa Sumbersari, Jember Jawa Timur

Catfish is one of the freshwater fish whose demand is increasing every year, both in the form of fresh fish and processed foods. This increase in demand along with the ease of maintenance has made catfish a cultivated commodity that is widely eyed by fish farmers. One of the important aspects in fish farming is the provision of fish feed, although it is relatively easy, but feed management is needed to increase fish production targets. The fish feeding method mostly uses manual sowing on the surface of the pond. This method has weaknesses in terms of labor requirements and the time required if catfish farmers have many ponds, especially if the breeders forget the schedule for fish feeding. The method of implementing this community service consists of socializing activities, presenting material, directing the steps for making automatic fish feeding tools, tool making practices, tool testing and evaluation. The manufacture of this automatic fish feed tool generally consists of making the body of the tool and the assembly of the timer module components. This activity was attended by 20 people who are members of the SYSGA group in Sumbersari District, a community group engaged in catfish farming. The activity went smoothly, the participants seemed enthusiastic during the activity. Further monitoring is needed to determine the level of effectiveness and efficiency of catfish production by breeders after the use of automatic fish feed equipment.

DESAIN ANTENA MIKROSTRIP E-SHAPED PATCH PADA FREKUENSI 5500 MHz UNTUK WIFI

Modifying the shape of the patch microstrip antenna is one way to solve the narrow bandwidth. E-Shaped patch microstrip antenna is obtained by modifying a rectangular patch mikrostrip antenna. The results on this research have succesfully compared the design and simulation antenna parameters between rectangular patch and E-shaped patch. It uses FR-4 as a substrate and works on 5500 MHz frequency for WiFi. The feeding method using a feedline method. The E-shaped patch microstrip antenna has a VSWR value of 1.04 and the antenna return loss is -33.73 dB, better than the rectangular patch. The gain of E-shaped patch is increased by almost 2.5 times and the bandwidth is increased by 10.18% compared to the rectangular patch. The radiation pattern of the two patches has the same directional radiation pattern.

A Novel Dual-Band “C+O” Structure Antenna

This article proposes a novel multiband antenna with “C + O” structure, which uses two classic circular letters and combines them. The antenna is suitable for wireless applications such as second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), WLAN, and Bluetooth. The antenna is based on the structural characteristics of the classic monopole antenna. It is a vertical quarter-wavelength antenna. The radiator of the antenna is mainly composed of letters, and the radiator is symmetrical along the feeder line. The antenna radiator is composed of “C + O” structure. The antenna uses a coplanar waveguide feeding method. After actual testing, the antenna covers two frequency bands: 1.82–2.66 GHz and 3.46–3.72 GHz. The center frequency points are 2.06 GHz and 3.68 GHz. The antenna uses FR-4 dielectric material, the relative dielectric constant of the dielectric plate is 4.4, and the actual size of the antenna is 15 × 15 × 1.6 mm³. The test and simulation have good consistency, which verifies that the proposed antenna meets the requirements of various wireless applications.

Preparation and Characterization of Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Modified Polyphenylene Oxide by a Direct Fiber Feeding Extrusion Process

Polyphenylene oxide (PPO) polymers have good mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties, but they have poor processability owing to their quite high melt viscosity. This hinders the manufacturing processes of fiber-reinforced thermoplastics that have enhanced mechanical and physical properties. Although PPO was modified by blending with polystyrene (PS) or polyamide to improve processability, the modified PPO (mPPO) still had a high melt viscosity compared with other polymers. Thus, the fiber-reinforced mPPO is manufactured by compounding with chopped fiber, while various methods are applied to manufacture the fiber-reinforced polypropylene and polyamide in order to improve properties. One of the methods is a direct fiber feeding method, which can keep the longer fiber length because of a direct and continuous roving yarn feeding without chopping. Therefore, the composite manufactured by the direct fiber feeding method is expected to improve the mechanical properties. Hence, this study aims to investigate the feasibility of a direct fiber feeding extrusion process for manufacturing glass-fiber-reinforced mPPO or GFmPPO. The manufactured GF/mPPO composites exhibited increased tensile and flexural properties as the fiber content increased up to 50 wt% of GF owing to the predominant effects of fiber content.. Nevertheless, the larger core area in the cross-section micrograph of the tensile specimen of the GF/mPPO composite with 50 wt% of GF was observed to reduce the fiber efficiency factor for tensile strength. Meanwhile, the impact strength of the GF/mPPO composites decreased with increasing GF content. This is attributed to the insufficient fiber length for the impact strength. As the GF content increased, the glass transition temperature slightly decreased. This result was interpreted as being a result of thermal degradation during the extrusion process to manufacture the GF/mPPO masterbatch. The results of the dynamic mechanical analyses, e.g., storage modulus and tan δ, show the good correlation with the increased flexural modulus, the decreased glass transition temperature, and the impact strength as the GF content increased.

Impact of intrapartum antibiotics on the infant gastrointestinal microbiome: a narrative review

BackgroundThe composition of the infant gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome has been linked to adverse long-term health outcomes and neonatal sepsis. Several factors are known to impact the composition of the microbiome, including mode of delivery, gestational age, feeding method and exposure to antibiotics. The impact of intrapartum antibiotics (IPAs) on the infant microbiome requires further research.ObjectiveWe aimed to evaluate the impact of IPAs on the infant GI microbiome.MethodsWe searched Ovid MEDLINE and Embase Classic+Embase for articles in English reporting on the microbiome of infants exposed to IPAs from the date of inception to 3 January 2021. Primary outcomes included abundance and colonisation of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, as well as alpha and beta diversity.Results30 papers were included in this review. In the first year of life, following exposure to IPAs, 30% (6/20) of infant cohorts displayed significantly reduced Bifidobacterium, 89% (17/19) did not display any significant differences in Lactobacillus colonisation, 21% (7/34) displayed significantly reduced alpha diversity and 35% (12/34) displayed alterations in beta diversity. Results were further stratified by delivery, gestational age (preterm or full term) and feeding method.ConclusionsIPAs impact the composition of the infant GI microbiome, resulting in possible reductions Bifidobacterium and alpha diversity, and possible alterations in beta diversity. Our findings may have implications for maternal and neonatal health, including interventions to prevent reductions in health-promoting bacteria (eg, probiotics) and IPA class selection.

Larvicidal Activity of Selected Plant Extracts Against the Screwworm Fly Chrysomya Albiceps

Myiasis is a kind of parasitic disease originating from the invasion of tissues of domestic animals by dipteran larvae. Chrysomya albicebs is a type of screwworm fly spread in the tropical areas and known to cause myiasis among live human and animals leading to health problems and high economic losses to dairy producers. Management and control of this pest is needed to overcome these losses. Nowadays, natural botanical products have been increasingly investigated as controlling agents against insects of medical and veterinary importance. This research was designed to evaluate the larvicidal effect of the total extracts of three plants, Ficus palmate, Juniperus procera and Nerium oleander against screwworm fly Chrysomya albiceps. The plants leaves were extracted with organic solvents mixture methanol : chloroform (1:1) and were tested against the second larval instar of C. albiceps using feeding and dipping methods. The extracts caused larval mortalities in the order of F. palmate> N. oleander > J. procer with IC50 values of 15.97, 33.73 and 37.24, respectively using feeding method and in the order N. oleander > F. palmate > J. procera with IC50 values of 43.12, 47.41 and 73.39, respectively using dipping method. It is concluded that the F. palmate followed by N. oleander and J. procera are candidates to use in controlling the larvae of myiasis-caused fly C. albiceps.

Caregivers Perspective Towards Use of Enteral Lactoferrin Supplementation In Newborn Infants; Formative Research Findings

Background: Infection is the second most leading cause of neonatal deaths in Pakistan. Lactoferrin is a naturally occurring protein found in human milk which can prevent neonatal infections and improve the survival of high-risk, low birth weight newborns. Bovine lactoferrin (bLF) has been recognized as a safe nutrient with no adverse effects. The aim of this study was to explore routine newborn care practices, care seeking attitudes, and assess the acceptability and the optimal method of administering bLF at the household level.Method: Exploratory qualitative research design was adopted. Thirty in-depth interviews with mothers, grandmothers and fathers of low birthweight (LBW) infants were conducted at postnatal wards and the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the Aga Khan University Hospital. Eleven of these families were also recruited for a trial of improved practices (TIPs) to assess the feasibility and the method of administration of bLF prior to the main trial. Interviews were recorded and analyzed using thematic analysis.Result: Most study participants consider birthweight as a predictor of neonatal health outcomes. Caring of LBW newborns was identified as a physically and emotionally overwhelming experience. Majority of mothers believed that LBW babies are prone to infections, gastrointestinal, respiratory and developmental problems. Fathers and grandmothers were major decision makers in the family and supported the use of bLF in LBW newborns. Parents, who used bLF were satisfied with feeding method and frequency of bLF. Conclusion: Our formative study found that participants were willing to use bLF for feeding LBW babies. However, educating mothers, fathers and grandmothers is crucial for successful uptake of the intervention. Bovine lactoferrin is a safe and easy to administer according caregivers of LBWs babies. It also has potential to be translated into a safe and effective intervention for LBW babies to prevent sepsis.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03431558.