Enrichment of captive environment for effective animal reproduction

Animals are kept in captivity for the purpose of recreation, experimentation, rearing, reproduction, conservation, research etc. This study reviews how adequate welfare must be provided for the animals in captivity so that they will be able to perform to their maximum capabilities. It is imperative that the animals should not suffer because of the conditions they have been subjected to. The captive environment must be adequately enriched to foster effective reproduction that will sustain the population of the endangered species. This review has identified some of the problems faced by the captive animals and how to minimize these challenges. It is mandatory that before any animal is confined, adequate provision for its welfare must be provided to reduce any form of physiological or psychological stress.

Isolation and Identification of Phenol-Degrading Bacteria from Oil-Contaminated Sites

This work is aimed at isolating and identifying phenol-degrading bacteria from oil-contaminated sites. Five soil samples from three auto-mechanic workshops within Katsina metropolis were collected. The samples were analyzed by selective enrichment technique, which resulted in the isolation of four bacterial species. The species were further subjected to the Vitek 2 compact microbiological system analysis. Cupriavidus pauculus, Pontoea spp, Proteus mirabilis 1 and Proteus mirabilis 2 were identified. Result from the present study showed that the bacteria could utilize phenol as their carbon source. Proteus mirabilis 1 and Proteus mirabilis 2 showed lower phenol degradation potential, under similar conditions. Cupriavidus pauculus and Pontoea sp. showed significant increases (p<0.05) in their optical densities. The optical density increment is strongly correlated with increase in colony forming units of the bacteria. This study further showed that the isolates could tolerate high phenol concentrations and may serve as strong putative isolates in bioremediation of phenol-contaminated sites.

Mushroom-mediated delignification of agricultural wastes for bio-ethanol production

Biological pretreatment is a cost-effective method of delignifying lignocellulosic biomass, making it less recalcitrant to hydrolysis into fermentable sugars. In this study, selected agricultural wastes were pretreated with mushrooms (Lentinus squarrosulus and Pleurotus ostreatus) to delignify them for bioethanol production. The substrates were supplemented with 0.2 % CaCO3, inoculated with 12 % (w/w) L. squarrosulus and Pleurotus ostreatus spawns and incubated at 25 oC for 21 days. The highest lignin removal and highest bioethanol yield of 77.45 % and 13.98 % were obtained from bean husks pretreated with L. squarrosulus. Similarly, 64.29 % and 60.92 % lignin were removed from the Pleurotus ostreatus-pretreated banana leaves and sawdust, respectively, while 12.08 % and 13.05 % bio-ethanol yields were recorded, respectively. These findings demonstrate that affordable and straightforward mushroom delignification of abundant and cheap biomass can improve hydrolysis outcomes, thus easing bioethanol production.

The role of biosensors and biological weapons in national defence and security operations

The knowledge of biotechnology plays an important role in the development of biological weapons. Biological weapons are considered an attractive factor in war for several reasons: ease of manufacture, low cost, confirmed injury, increased number of victims, large losses incurred by other countries. Biological weapons detection methods are among the most important means of military defense. Biological sensors are used in early detection of weapons. Biotechnology is of paramount importance in all fields of medicine, engineering, agriculture, industry, as well as military life. The key applications of biotechnology in the military are in the areas of sensor systems and systems for protection from espionage. Among the most important countries that have applied knowledge of bioweapons technology into their security system are the USA and China. Despite the enormous advantages of biotechnology, it has negative effects in biological weapon production. Therefore, the near future will witness a tremendous boom in biotechnology. DNA profiling also plays an important role in detection of crime. The overall aim of the review is to emphasize the importance of biotechnology towards solving bioterrorism and other forms of security challenges in an environment.

Morphological diversity in growth characteristics of Jatropha curcas l. accessions from South- West Nigeria

Jatropha curcas is a multi-purpose tree with significant economic importance that has not been fully exploited due to lack of adequate breeding programme in Nigeria. Consequently upon this, 31 accessions collected from 4 states in Southwestern Nigeria were assessed for their morphological diversity in order to establish this as a bed rock for further breeding programmes. Data were collected on plant height, numbers of leaves and collar diameter; these were subjected to analysis of variance, principal component analysis and cluster analysis using Minitab version 17. The results showed significant differences (p≤0.05) among the 31 accessions assessed. Principal component analysis indicated that the first three axes contributed 97.8% of the total variation observed. The first axis accounted for 68% of the total variation while the second and third axes accounted for 24.7% and 5.1%, respectively, of the total variation recorded. Cluster analysis as well as the dendrogram revealed three distinct clusters of genetic similarities and differences. High genetic similarities were observed among accessions collected from the different states whereas some accessions collected from similar regions had low genetic similarities. Cluster 1 consisted of 21 genotypes with their characters falli ng below the grand mean. Cluster 2 had nine genotypes, they produced the highest values for all the characters assessed. Cluster 3 with only one genotype has its values below the ground mean. Members of cluster 2 have proven to be superior. The existence of morphological diversity offers potential for selection among the accessions in the breeding of J. curcas from southwestern Nigeria.

Effects of Environmental factors on the Growth and Proliferation of Yeasts

Yeast is one of the organisms that grow and survive in diverse conditions. The influence of environmental factors on its growth and proliferation were evaluated. The yeast used for the study was isolated from honey using Sabouraud Dextrose Agar and pour plate methods. The effects of temperature, pH and ultraviolet radiation on the growth of Rhodotorula, Debaryomyces, Zygosaccharomyces and Candida species were determined using standard methods. The growths of all the yeast isolates were greatly affected at 80oC. Rhodotorulla species showed least growth at 50oC, but optimal growth was recorded at 30oC after 96 h of incubation. A similar trend was observed in Debaromyces species. Zygosaccharomyces species recorded high reduction in growth at 60oC after 96 h of incubation, though there were no significant differences in the growths of the isolates at 60oC and 80oC. Candida species recorded the least effect of temperature at 30oC and highest at 60oC and 80oC after 96 h of incubation. The results of the effect of pH on growth of the yeasts showed that Rhodotorula and Zygosaccharomyces had optimum growth at pH of 5 and 4 respectively. All the isolates showed increase in growth with increase in incubation time. Exposure of the isolates to UV-rays negatively affected the growths of the isolates. The growths of the yeasts decreased with increase in exposure time. This study showed that yeast can survive adverse temperature and pH and can as well survive UV-ray exposure.

Organoleptic properties and shelf-lives of differently dried fowl eggs

Poultry eggs are perishable, hence could lose their quality rapidly between storage and consumption. Maintaining fresh quality is a major problem which is aggravated by temperature, humidity, storage method and time. Several methods of altering these environmental conditions to prolong the shelf-life of the eggs have been reported, yet little is known about kiln, solar and oven methods of drying boiled fowl eggs. This study was targeted at creating awareness, evaluating the organoleptic properties and determining the shelf-life of kiln-, solar- and oven-dried fowl eggs, stored under different environmental conditions. A total of 160 Isa brown freshly laid eggs were obtained and weighed, and were divided into four different groups of 40 eggs each, designated as control, kiln-, solar- and oven-dried. The eggs were boiled for 30 minutes and dried at 100 – 120oC overnight (kiln dried), 45 – 50oC for 5 days (solar dried) and 100oC for 24 hours (oven dried), but those in the control group were not dried. Panelists were used in obtaining information on awareness of fowl eggs drying/drying methods and organoleptic evaluation. Twenty-seven eggs each from the control, kiln-, solar- and oven-dried groups were kept in locally fabricated egg packs and stored for 30 days in a sales outlet, deep freezer and kitchen for shelf-life determination. Results showed that egg weight loss was highest (52.3%) in the kiln-dried, followed by oven-dried (38.9%), solar-dried (27.4%) and control (20.6%) groups. All the panelists (100%) were aware of the different forms of storing boiled fowl eggs and have eaten fowl eggs in different forms, but none (0.0%) was aware of kiln, solar and oven method of drying fowl eggs, or has eaten kiln-, solar- and oven-dried fowl eggs before then. Some of the panelists liked the appearance, taste, aroma, mouth feel, after-taste and overall acceptability of the dried eggs. All (100%) of the eggs in the sales outlet spoilt, but none (0.0%) among the dried eggs stored in the deep freezer was spoilt. In the kitchen, all the control eggs (100%), 22.2% (kiln dried), 88.9% (solar dried) and 66.7% (oven dried) spoilt. Kiln- and oven-dried eggs had more water loss, apparently implying better effectiveness of the drying methods. Therefore, fowl eggs could be boiled, dried and refrigerated to elongate their shelf-lives.

Effect of Aqueous Leaf Extract of Jatropha tanjorensis on parasitaemia and haematological parameters in mice infected with Plasmodium ber ghei

Medicinal plants are proven sources of many useful drugs in our modern world. Jatropha tanjorensis, known as hospital too far, is consumed highly in Africa as herbal medicine. This research work was done to evaluate the effect of aqueous leaf extract of Jatropha tanjorensis on parasitaemia and haematological parameters in mice infected with Plasmodium ber ghei. The leaves of J. tanjorensis were extracted with distilled water and qualitative phytochemical analysis carried out. Acute toxicity studies were carried out using the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guideline. The curative activity of the extract was examined using Rane’s test. A total of forty (40) mice were used for the study and they were infected with Plasmodium berghei. The infected mice were subdivided into five groups of six mice each and treated with different doses of standard drug (artemether/lumefantrine 25mg/kg) and extract (200, 400 and 800mg/kg body weight) for 4 days. After treatment, blood was collected and used for percentage parasitaemia, packed cell volume and hemoglobin concentration. The result of phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, terpe noids, cardiac glycosides and anthra quinones. The result of the acute toxicity showed the signs of neither neurological, behavioral nor mortality at concentrations of 2,000 and 5,000 mg/kg oral doses within the first 24 hours and during the 14 days study period. A dose- dependent increase was observed in Total haemoglobin (Hb) and Packed cell volume (PCV) levels which was collaborated with increase in weight as compared with negative control. The leaf extract of J. tanjorensis also revealed a significant (p<0.05) suppression activity and mean survival time at the doses of 400 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg when compared with the negative control. The extract of Jatropha tanjorensis showed reasonable levels of anti-anaemia and antimalarial activities with no signs of acute toxicity. Therefore this study may support its use as an anti-prophylactic and blood tonic nutraceutical.

Formulation and nutritional evaluation of a complementary food blend made from fermented yellow maize (Improved variety), soybean and African cat fish meal

Fermented cereal-based gruels with poor nutritional value form a major component of the diet of infants during the transition phase of childhood. With the recent security challenges affecting people in the north- east region of Nigeria, food security is at stake, malnutrition is common among infants and young children while reliance on UNICEF for supplies of ready- to- use therapeutic foods is not a long-term solution. A complementary food blend was prepared following the guideline of WHO/FAO on infants’ nutritional requirements in a 60:20:20 ratio from fermented yellow maize (improved variety), roasted soybean and fishmeal respectively. All the sample materials were pre-processed by either fermentation, drying or roasting prior to food blend formulation. Standard methods (AOAC) were used to evaluate the nutritional values of the raw and processed materials and the formulated complementary food blend. Water absorption capacity of the fermented yellow maize significantly decreased (P< 0.05) with decrease in pH and increase in titratable acidity from 20% - 51% (0 – 72h). The carbohydrate (64.35±0.03%) and protein contents (14.55±0.03% and energy value (351.64±0.03 Kcal/100g) of the complementary food blend was closely comparable to the commercial complementary food blend cerelac® (Carbohydrate 69.00%, Protein 15.0%, and energy 426.00 Kcal/100g) and satisfied the needs of infants. The low moisture content (3.1±0.02%) exhibited by the complementary food blend might give a good storage stability. The iron level of the complementary food blend (40.33± 0.03%) was higher than that of the commercial complementary food blend celerac® (10.0%), though the levels of potassium, zinc and calcium were lower. Microbial analysis showed no contamination with pathogenic organisms in the formulated food blend. The formulated complementary food blend met the WHO estimated requirements of infant 6 – 23 months in terms of nutritional quality and may therefore be a good substitute to the imported, expensive alternatives.

Derivation of volatile fatty acids concentration-independent optimum trace elements configuration and elucidation of optimization kinetics of biomethanization processes

Trace elements (TEs) requirements for improved volatile fatty acids (VFA) degradation during biomethanization depend on VFA concentration of a reactor and the temperature of the process. While temperature remains relatively constant, VFA concentrations change in the course of biomethanization and this implies that for efficient VFA degradation, different trace elements configurations (TEC) should be supplemented. While this is the most efficient approach, it is impractical and constitutes a challenge for the effective use of TEs in the optimization of biomethanization processes. To alleviate this challenge, we modelled the biomethanization efficiency of various VFA concentration-dependent (VCD) TEs configuration as scenarios and derived a TEs configuration that produced optimum biomethanization across a wider range of VFA concentrations. The study was carried out at 37oC using different concentrations of fixed VFA composition and TEs configurations as scenarios. Response surface model and desirability function were used to determine and compare the biomethanization efficiency of the scenarios, and to derive a VFA concentration-independent (VCI) TEs configuration. Michaelis-Menten kinetics for two parameters was used to ascertain that the mechanism by which TEs supplementation enhanced mesophilic biomethanization was through an increase in maximum reaction rate (MRR). However, the enhancement was accompanied by an insignificant decline in inverse affinity (IA).