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A three year old nulliparous Boerboel bitch presented with complaints of fever and inappetence six weeks after an elective caesarean section was diagnosed with an extrauterine foetus. A per-cutaneous abdominal ultrasound revealed a foetal sac showing a well-developed skeletal structure and the absence of foetal movement or heartbeat. During laparotomy, a foetal sac containing a dead foetus was located between the spleen and the stomach. The foetal sac was excised following ligation of its mesenteric attachment to the spleen. The previously operated uterus was observed to have involuted but revealed a small bud observed on the middle portion of the left uterine horn. The histological findings of the foetal sac revealed fibro-adipose tissue with numerous congested vessels. It was concluded that the Boerboel bitch had a secondary abdominal ectopic pregnancy and recommended that owing to the difficulty of diagnosing the condition before or during routine elective caesarean surgery, post-operative abdominal ultrasound would have been instructive.

One of the major attributes of boiled cassava roots is its ability to soften within a short period, otherwise known as mealiness. This study aimed to establish and validate standard operating procedures for assessing the mealiness of boiled cassava roots. Twenty cassava genotypes, including landrace and improved varieties, were selected for the protocol development, with an additional ten genotypes used for validation. Following cooking, the cassava roots were evaluated for hardness and work done in extrusion using a texturometer equipped with a five-blade Ottawa cell probe. The same samples were assessed for sensory texture analysis using trained panelists for parameters such as softness and chewiness. Pearson's correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations (p < 0.01) between sensory softness and instrumental texture measurements, as well as between softness and cooking time (p < 0.01, r = 0.94), and between chewiness and cooking time (p < 0.05, r = 0.81). Validation results confirmed significant correlations (p < 0.01) between cooking time, sensory softness, and chewiness. These findings suggest that cooking time can serve as a reliable indicator, closely associated with sensory attributes, in determining the mealiness of boiled cassava roots. This approach offers a practical, mid-throughput method for assessing cassava root mealiness, with implications for breeding improved varieties, farmers adoption, and consumer acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Boiled yam key quality attributes typical for West African consumers are that it is crumbly, easy to break and has a sweet taste. New yam varieties are being developed but high‐ or medium‐throughput tools to assess the required quality traits and their range of acceptance are limited. This study assessed the acceptance thresholds of these quality attributes and established predictive models for screening yam varieties that meet the required consumer preferences. RESULTS: Overall liking was associated with sweet taste, crumbliness and easiness to break (r‐values 0.502, 0.291 and −0.087, respectively). These parameters and selected biophysical parameters highly discriminated the boiled yam varieties. Crumbly texture and easiness to break were well predicted by penetration force and dry matter, whereas sweet taste were well predicted by dry matter and sugar intensity. A high crumbliness and sweet taste are preferred (sensory scores above 6.19 and 6.22 for crumbly and sweet taste, respectively, on a 10 cm unstructured line scale), while a too high easiness to break is disliked (sensory scores ranging from 4.72 to 7.62). Desirable biophysical targets were between 5.1 and 7.1 N for penetration force, dry matter around 39% and sugar intensity below 3.62 g 100 g−1. Some improved varieties fulfilled the acceptable thresholds, and screening was improved through deviation from the optimum. CONCLUSION: Acceptance thresholds and deviation from optimum for boiled yam assessed through the instrumental measurements are promising tools for yam breeders. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive land application of poultry litter (PL) may lead to surface runoff of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), which cause eutrophication, fish death, and water pollution that ultimately have negative effects on humans and animals. Increases in poultry production in the Delmarva Peninsula underscore the need for more efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable disposal technologies for processing PL instead of direct land application. The pyrolysis conversion process can potentially produce nutrient-rich poultry litter biochar (PLB), while the pyrolysis process can change the N and P to a more stable component, thus reducing its runoff. Pyrolysis also kills off any microorganisms that would otherwise trigger negative environmental health effects. This study is to apply an integrated method and investigate the effect of pyrolysis temperature (300 °C, 500 °C), poultry litter source (different feedstock composition), and bedding material mixture (10% pine shavings) on PLB qualities and quantities. Proximate and ultimate analysis showed PL sources and bedding material addition influenced the physicochemical properties of feedstock. The SEM and BET surface results indicate that pyrolysis temperature had a significant effect on changing the PLB morphology and structure, as well as the pH value (7.78 at 300 °C vs. 8.78 at 500 °C), extractable phosphorus (P) (18.73 ppm at 300 °C vs. 11.72 ppm at 500 °C), sulfur (S) (363 ppm at 300 °C vs. 344 ppm at 500 °C), and production yield of PLBs (47.65% at 300 °C vs. 60.62% at 500 °C). The results further suggest that adding a bedding material mixture (10% pine shavings) to PLs improved qualities by reducing the content of extractable P and S, as well as pH values of PLBs. This study also found the increment in both the pore volume and the area of Bethel Farm was higher than that of Sun Farm. Characterization and investigation of qualities and quantities of PLB using the integrated framework suggest that PL from Bethel Farm could produce better-quality PLB at a higher pyrolysis temperature and bedding material mixture to control N and P runoff problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the role of oxpeckers in wound creation and healing in calves at the Cattle Production Venture of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. Eleven calves with wounds out of twenty in the herd of 234 animals were randomly recruited for this study. Bates-Jensen wound assessment tool (BWAT) was used to assess the size, depth and edges of the wound, necrotic tissue type and tissue, exudate type and amount, skin colour surrounding wound, peripheral tissue edema and induration, granulation tissue and epithelialization to determine the severity. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA were used to analyse data obtained. Nine (81%) out of the 11 calves had more than one wounds. The score for all wounds decreased on day 15. The highest average score was 38.2 while the lowest was 17.8. The average score for each wound fell under wound status continuum. The highest percentage of reduction was 16.2% while the lowest was 0.9%. All wounds granulated at one stage or the other, except in one calf that did not throughout the study. Three calves had epithelialization above 75% on BWAT score of 2. At the termination of the study, 5 calves showed epithelialization of their wounds, 3 above 75% and 2 less than 50% while one wound did not epithelialize. In conclusion, wounds induced or exacerbated on calves by oxpeckers were under the status of continuum, and none neither regenerated nor degenerated. The activities of oxpeckers contributed to the delay in the wound healing process in the calves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The backslopped cassava mash (BCM) produced by pre-fermenting grated cassava for 96 h was mixed with fresh cassava mash from the same variety using different blend ratios and processed to backslopped fermented gari (BFG). Another batch of the same variety was fermented for 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 96 h to get spontaneous fermented gari (SFG). Standard methods were used to analyze the chemical composition and sensory properties of the samples. Results showed that the moisture, fat, and CNP contents, and the pH value of the 96 h SFG were significantly different (p <.05) from that of the BFG. The overall acceptability of the BFG was not significantly different (p >.05) from those of the 24 h and 72 h SFG. The information presented in this study may help the processors produce consistent quality gari for different end-users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge is scarce on the drivers of textural characteristics of cooked dough prepared from gari (eba). To address this need, quality attributes of backslopped fermented gari (BFG) were correlated with the sensory texture profile analysis (STPA) and instrumental texture profile analysis (ITPA) of the eba produced from six cassava varieties. The results showed that a significant and negative correlation exists between the STPA mouldability of the eba and the sugar (p <.05, r = −0.83) and amylose (p <.05, r = −0.86) contents of the BFG. The STPA stretchability of the eba had a significant negative correlation with the bulk density (p <.05, r = −0.83) and a significant positive correlation with the setback viscosity (p <.01, r = 0.92) of the BFG. A significant and negative correlation exists between the STPA stickiness of the eba and the amylose (p <.05, r = −0.84) contents of the BFG. The ITPA adhesiveness of the eba was significant and negatively correlated with the solubility index (p <.05, r = −0.89) and the ash content (p <.05, r = −0.87) of the BFG. The correlation between the ITPA stretchability of the eba and the peak (p <.05, r = 0.83) and breakdown (p <.05, r = 0.88) viscosities of the BFG was significant and positive, while a significant negative correlation (p <.05, r = −0.83) exist between the ITPA stretchability of the eba and the starch content of the BFG. The information provided in this study may assist the breeders in developing varieties with good textural attributes for eba. Practical applications: This study depicts the relationship between the quality attributes of backslopped fermented gari (BFG) and the sensory and instrumental texture profile of the cooked dough (eba). Both the sensory and the instrumental texture attributes of the eba have correlation with the quality attributes of the BFG. Apart from providing information on the drivers of the textural characteristics of eba, this study may also assist the breeders in developing varieties with good textural attributes for eba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tamoxifen is a non-steroidal, anti-estrogenic and selective estrogen receptor modulator commonly used as adjuvant chemotherapy in humans with breast cancer and occasionally in dogs following mastectomy. This report presents a case of cystic endometrial hyperplasia-pyometra in a dog following oral administration of the Tamoxifen. A 4-year-old intact nulliparous Boerboel bitch presented at Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. It was diagnosed with mammary carcinoma of the right cranial lumbar mammary gland. Mastectomy was performed followed by oral administration of Tamoxifen (10mg daily) for six weeks as adjunct chemotherapy. Eight weeks after, the owner reported that the bitch was lethargic, anorexic and had a purulent vaginal discharge. Abdominal ultrasound revealed cystic endometrial hyperplasia. Results of complete blood counts showed neutrophilic (absolute neutrophil count = 19.5×10³ /L) leukocytosis (total leukocyte count = 24.9X10³ /L), while bacterial culture yielded moderate growth of Staphylococcus aureus, which was sensitive to Ciprofloxacin, Ofloxacin, Sparfloxacin and Gentamycin. The bitch was treated with 400µg of Misoprostol and 500mg of Ciprofloxacin twice daily for two weeks. Ovariohysterectomy (OVH) was performed using a ventral midline approach when no significant improvement was observed from medical treatment. The dog improved significantly after ovariohysterectomy and was discharged one week after OVH. It was concluded that, although tamoxifen is routinely used as adjuvant chemotherapy following mastectomy, more research is required to evaluate its safety in intact bitches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclophosphamide (CLP), a cytotoxic alkylating agent with immunosuppressive and antitumor properties is used in the treatment of different types of cancers, but it is known to cause toxicity-induced changes to the body tissues. Melatonin, an antioxidant mainly secreted by the pineal gland has protective properties especially against tissue toxicity. This study was aimed at investigating the role of melatonin (MLT) in cyclophosphamide-induced toxicity of the liver and kidney using serum biochemical analysis and histopathology in adult Wistar rats. Twenty-four adult male Wistar rats were grouped into four (n=6): group 1 was injected intraperitoneally with 0.2mL of normal saline for 14 days, group 2 was injected with 10mg/kg of melatonin intraperitoneally for 14 days, group 3 was injected intraperitoneally with 0.2mL of normal saline for 14 days and 150mg/kg of CLP on the 15th day and in group 4, the rats were injected with 10mg/kg of melatonin for 14 days and 150mg/kg of CLP on the 15th day. Forty-eight hours after the last treatment, the rats were weighed; blood samples collected for biochemical analysis while liver and kidney samples were processed for histology. The results revealed that CLP-treated rats had hypokalemia and hypochloremia with a significant increase in the levels of liver and kidney function markers. Histopathological analysis showed congested central vein and widened sinusoids in the liver, while there were widened as well as congested urinary spaces and loop of Henle, with loss of glomerular epithelia in the kidneys. The rats treated with melatonin and CLP showed improvement in body weight, biochemical parameters of hepatic and renal functions as well as improved tissue conditions. In conclusion, a pretreatment with melatonin is recommended in cyclophosphamide therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low soil fertility coupled with the high cost and scarcity of mineral fertilizers are the major causes of poor crop yields on farmers' fields. Nitrogen (N) is the most limiting nutrient affecting maize yield in Nigeria. As alternative to the scarce and costly mineral N fertilizers as well as environmentally friendly additions, prunings of agroforestry species as Nitrogen source for maize was evaluated in Igboora, Oyo State, Nigeria. The field experiment was carried out at the Research Farm, Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora in 2015. Three Agroforestry tree species; Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena leucocephala and Acacia albida were used. Different quantities of their prunings based on their N content were incorporated into appropriate plots at two weeks before planting to supply N at the rate of 120 kg/ ha. Urea fertilizer was also applied at 120 kgN/ha. A control (Neither prunings nor Urea) was included for comparison. Oba Super 2 maize variety was planted at 0.75 × 0.25cm with 1m spacing between plots. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replicates. Data collected include plant height (cm), number of leaves, leaf area (cm2), stem girth (cm), maize grain yield (kg) and the Nitrogen fertilizer replacement index (%). Pre and post planting soil samples were collected and analysed for pH, Organic Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium. Data generated were analysed using Analysis of Variance and Least Significant Difference at 5% probability. The treatments had no significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on plant height and number of leaves. G. sepium (3.8 cm) and Urea (3.4 cm) supported significantly more robust stem girth than the control (1.9 cm), L. leucocephala (2.0 cm) and A. albida (2.3 cm) which were not significantly different from each other. Similar trend was observed for leaf area. G. sepium (5.7t/ha) and Urea (5.3t/ha) influenced significantly higher grain yield than the control (2.8t/ha). L. leucocephala (3.1t/ha) and A. albida (4.4t/ha) produced higher grain yield than the control though not significantly so. Application of G. sepium increased post-harvest soil pH level by 0.51 unit. Other treatments had no effect on pH. G. sepium also increased post-harvest soil Mg content slightly (from 1.49 to 1.92 cmol/kg) and K (from 0.27 to 0.40 cmol/kg). A. albida and the control reduced soil K content. All the treatments including the control, reduced soil Ca content. Post-harvest soil N, Organic Carbon and available P were not different from the initial values. The Nitrogen fertilizer replacement index (NFRI) for G.sepium (1.15)) is the best replacement, followed by A. albida (0.63) and the least was obtained from L.leucocephala (0.11). In conclusion, G. sepium had the potential to serve as an alternative to Urea as N source for maize production. It also improved soil chemical properties and exhibited environmental friendliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pro-vitamin A carotenoid (pVAC) rich foods are those foods that contain substance which can be converted within the human body into retinol. These foods also contribute to the reduction of vitamin A deficiency diseases. Yellow-seeded maize flour is a pVAC rich food. Identifying the right packaging materials and storage conditions that retain pVAC in this food is essential for their health benefits. Traditionally, maize flour is stored with different packaging materials to increase its shelf life. For example, previous studies have shown how during storage in different food matrices, carotenoids, including maize grains, are highly susceptible to degradation by temperature, light, and oxygen. Therefore, in this study we investigated the effect of storage packaging materials (polypropylene woven sacks-PWS, high-density polyethylene bags-HDPE, and polyvinyl plastic containers-PPC) and storage condition (temperature and relative humidity) on retaining pVAC in yellow-seed maize flour. Methods: The yellow-seeded maize grains were collected and ground into flour. The maize flour was divided into portions (200 g). Each portion was packed and sealed in PWS, HDPE, and PPC. The control samples (12 pieces) were stored on top of the storage box. The packed samples were stored in both the upper (12 samples) and lower (12 samples) compartment of a storage wooden box. The interior of the upper part was lightened with aluminum foil and fitted with fluorescent tube to increase the light intensity. The lower compartment was darkened with gloss black painting. The flour samples were stored for 28 days. Samples were collected for pVAC and xanthophylls analyses at 7 day intervals using standard methods. Results: The results demonstrated how packaging in PPC and storing in a dark compartment resulted in the highest total pVAC (92.39%) and total xanthophylls (89.44%) retention and retinol equivalent (RE) (0.40 µg/g). In contrast, packaging in HDPE and storing in lighted compartment resulted in the lowest pVAC (44.92%) and total xanthophylls (46.76%) retention and RE (0.19 μg/g). Conclusions: Packaging yellow-seeded maize flour in PPC and storing in the dark may be recommended for maximum retention of carotenoids in yellow-seeded maize flour since, as the packaging material and storage condition resulted in the highest pVAC retention and retinol equivalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dried cassava products are perceived as one of the potential sources of mycotoxin ingestion in human foods. Processing either contributes to the reduction of toxins or further exposes products to contamination by microorganisms that release metabolic toxins into the products. Thus, the prevalence of microbial metabolites in 373 processed cassava products was investigated in Nigeria. With the use of liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the constituent analysis, a few major mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1 and G1, fumonisin B1 and B2, and zearalenone) regulated in food crops by the Commission of the European Union were found at concentrations which are toxicologically acceptable in many other crops. Some bioactive compounds were detected at low concentrations in the cassava products. Therefore, the exposure of cassava consumers in Nigeria to regulated mycotoxins was estimated to be minimal. The results provide useful information regarding the probable safety of cassava products in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the issues of packet delay and unfairness among multimedia UDP flows, this paper presents the design and evaluation of network models to study different parameters for quality-of-service (QoS) provisioning in differentiated service (DiffServ) routers using user datagram protocol (UDP) as network traffic agent and constant bit rate (CBR) as traffic generator. Traffic marker algorithms are used to define the treatment an incoming traffic (packet streams) receives at the edge routers in a DiffServ domain. In order to implement the TSW2CM and TSW3CM marker algorithms, a network model was designed. The designed models were simulated, analysed and evaluated. For the purpose of evaluation, packet delay and fairness index were considered. The obtained evaluation results were analysed based on a ranking system approach to showcase the strengths and weaknesses of the TSW2CM and TSW3CM algorithms for multimedia UDP flows. The adopted approach showed that the TSW3CM algorithm was ranked first with a packet delay value of 0.237704 while TSW2CM algorithm was marked second (with 0.431778), and the TSW3CM algorithm was ranked first with a fairness rate value of 0.3823960 while TSW2CM algorithm was ranked second (with 0.2817353). The obtained results indicate that applications that requires low packet delay can be deployed on UDP protocol using TSW3CM algorithm while applications that requires high fairness rate values can be deployed on UDP protocol using TSW3CM algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was conducted from June to September, 2010 to assess the impact of different mulch materials on the incidence and severity of okra mosaic virus (OMV) in okra cv. 'LD 88-1' in Ibadan, Nigeria. The overall effects of the different mulches were assessed on the incidence and severity of OMV and the resultant effect on the number of pods and pod biomass. The mulches assessed in the field experiment were Azadirachta indica (neem) leaves, Eugenia uniflora (pitanga) leaves, Terminalia catappa (tropical almond) leaves, Panicum clippings and black plastic polythene. Positive and negative controls included hoe-weeded and unweeded plots, respectively. Results indicated that at 5 weeks after sowing (WAS), there was no significant difference in the OMV incidence on plants mulched with A. indica, E. uniflora and T. catappa with values ranging from 11.91 to 15.48% while a low virus incidence of 0.5% was recorded for the plastic mulched plants. The mean virus disease severity ranged from 0.7 to 4.0 on a scale of 1-4 scoring system with plastic mulched plants showing little or no symptom of OMV at 5 WAS. However, the plants on the unweeded plots were stunted with deformed fruits. Similar trend was observed at 7 WAS with plastic mulched plot having the least incidence and severity score while the unweeded plot has the highest OMV incidence and severity. Of all the mulch materials, plots mulched with Panicum produced the least yield values while plastic mulch induced the highest yield on the okra plants. Comparing the mean number of pods of weeded and unweeded control plots; the weeded plot produced average value of 23.0±0.1 pods/plant while the unweeded plot produced average of 12.0±0.15 pods/plant. The results obtained showed that mulches especially plastic are effective in controling okra mosaic virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was conducted from June to September, 2010 to assess the impact of different mulch materials on the incidence and severity of okra mosaic virus (OMV) in okra cv. 'LD 88-1' in Ibadan, Nigeria. The overall effects of the different mulches were assessed on the incidence and severity of OMV and the resultant effect on the number of pods and pod biomass. The mulches assessed in the field experiment were Azadirachta indica (neem) leaves, Eugenia uniflora (pitanga) leaves, Terminalia catappa (tropical almond) leaves, Panicum clippings and black plastic polythene. Positive and negative controls included hoe-weeded and unweeded plots, respectively. Results indicated that at 5 weeks after sowing (WAS), there was no signifi cant difference in the OMV incidence on plants mulched with A. indica, E. uniflora and T. catappa with values ranging from 11.91 to 15.48% while a low virus incidence of 0.5% was recorded for the plastic mulched plants. The mean virus disease severity ranged from 0.7 to 4.0 on a scale of 1-4 scoring system with plastic mulched plants showing little or no symptom of OMV at 5 WAS. However, the plants on the unweeded plots were stunted with deformed fruits. Similar trend was observed at 7 WAS with plastic mulched plot having the least incidence and severity score while the unweeded plot has the highest OMV incidence and severity. Of all the mulch materials, plots mulched with Panicum produced the least yield values while plastic mulch induced the highest yield on the okra plants. Comparing the mean number of pods of weeded and unweeded control plots; the weeded plot produced average value of 23.0±0.1 pods/plant while the unweeded plot produced average of 12.0±0.15 pods/plant. The results obtained showed that mulches especially plastic are effective in controling okra mosaic virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]