Heavy metal environmental contamination consequent of anthropogenic factors has become a global concern with cadmium and lead constituting a major public health, livestock and ecological threat. This study, therefore, uses goats (as sentinel animals) raised in 2 different regions based on their mining history (previous and existing) to evaluate exposure to cadmium and lead and their consequent toxicities and pathological changes. A total of 130 goats (composed of 88 goats which constitute the suspected exposure (SE) group and 44 goats, the suspected unexposed (SU) group) were sampled. Blood and tissue samples (liver, kidney and muscles) were analysed for lead and cadmium levels using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer along with the complete blood count analysis. The mean blood lead levels (BLLs) and cadmium levels (BCLs) in the goats from the SE groups were 14.59 and 3.12 µg/dl respectively, which were significantly higher than the SU groups (9.23 and 0.46 µg/dl respectively) A significantly higher frequency of goats in the SE (93.18%) also had an elevated BLLs compared to the SU group (78.57%). The levels of tissue lead and cadmium in both the SE and SU groups were found significant and higher than the FAO/WHO maximum limits. The packed cell volume, red blood cell count, and haemoglobin concentration were found significantly lower, and the platelet count and some leucocyte parameters (total white blood cell, neutrophil, eosinophil, and monocyte count) were found significantly higher in the SE group. The elevated cadmium and lead level in both groups further highlight the ubiquitous spread of cadmium and lead environmental contamination in both study regions and the direct risk of exposure to human and animals in Nigeria. The relative differences in the observed pathological changes in the two study groups also suggest the influence of the environmental heavy metal pollution and exposure levels on health.

It is stated that concrete, which is the basic building block of most of the buildings built today, is the most consumed the construction material in the world after water. cement is that is the main ingredient of concrete, has significant share because of the cost of concrete, the use of various additives as a cement substitutes is the subject of many studies. However, it should firstly be determined to what extent the additives used to affect the concrete properties. In this study, it was tried to determine to what at level the use of the ash of rice husk as a cement substitute changed some concrete properties. Within the scope of the study, the usability of the raw form of rice husk as aggregate in concrete was evaluated and thus an effective method in the disposal of rice husk, which is a agricultural waste, was tried to be determined. The study results show that the addition of both ash of rice husk and rice husk aggregate significantly alter almost all properties of concrete. These changes are at different levels for different characteristics. As a result of the study, it was determined that as the amount of foam increased, the flow diameter increased, while the addition of rice husk decreased the flow diameter. It was determined that the addition of rice husk decreases the depth of water penetration depending on time, the porosity of the samples with the high level of rice husk addition increases, and the compressive and flexural strength decreases.

However, irrigation practice is poor in Ethiopia, increases agricultural production and productivity. The study was conducted in Haramaya district, Eastern Ethiopia. The object of this study is to see contribution of small scale irrigation towards increasing agricultural production, and identify the factors that affecting the use of small scale irrigation. From the district, three peasant associations were purposively selected each from different agro ecological classifications. Sampling size of 116 households was interviewed and Secondary data were also collected from the office. Three different types of irrigation were identified; Surface irrigation type using furrow method of irrigation is the most common irrigation type in the study area, which accounts about 66.5%. The study indicated that, water scarcity, lack improved seed, and disease outbreak and drought were among the major constraints of irrigation practices in the study area. Therefore practicing water harvesting and supplying improved technologies provide extended service regularly for farmers should be practiced in the future.

This work reports the survival status of Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella Typhimurium in homemade fig and mulberry vinegar. Each pathogen was separately inoculated in vinegar samples at approximately 7 log CFU/mL. The survival status of pathogens was examined at 20°C for 0, 15, 30 and 60 min, and 4, 8 and 24 h. The residual populations after 24 h were below detection limit for all species assayed. S. Typhimurium was much more sensitive to mulberry vinegar ( 6 log reduction in 30 min) than it is to fig vinegar ( 6 log reduction in 24 h). L. monocytogenes had an overall quite different behaviour, being the most sensitive species to fig vinegar ( 6 log reduction in 4 h) while being the most resistant one to mulberry vinegar ( 6 log reduction in 24 h). The total phenolic content of fig vinegar (767 mg GAE/L) was higher than mulberry vinegar (557.5 mg GAE/L). The results exhibited that antimicrobial activity of vinegar is mainly related to the contact time, test pathogen and physicochemical properties of vinegar.

This research was conducted to overcome the problem of slow and erratic emergence in okra and to find out the effects of priming on germination, growth performance and yield in okra at Research Field of Nepal Polytechnic Institute (NPI) Bharatpur-11, Chitwan, Nepal (April-July, 2019). Arka Anamika variety was used for experiment. The experiment was laid out in Randomize Complete Block Design with 5 treatments and 4 replications, i.e. T1 (hormonal priming with IBA), T2 (hydro priming with fresh tap water), T3 (halo priming with NaCl), T4 (chemo priming with liquid urea) and T5 (un-primed seeds). Field experiment results showed that priming proved effective in improving germination percent except the chemo priming, reducing the mean germination time (MGT), improving the growth parameters (plant height, number of branches, plant canopy and number of leaves) and improving yield contributing characters like fruit length, fruit diameter as compared to un-primed seeds. The highest and lowest germination percentages were found in hydro priming and hormonal priming respectively while better growth performance in hormonal and chemo priming. Similarly, hormonal and hydro priming resulted in higher yield. Hence, it is suggested that seed priming is important to improve the overall germination, growth performance and yield in okra.

In this study, the presence and residue levels of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) were investigated in traditionally produced cube cheeses in Sivas and its region. For this purpose, 90 pieces of cube cheese were used as a material. Cheese samples were collected periodically in November and December 2016 from central sales location and surrounding villages. ELISA technique was applied in aflatoxin analyses. According to the analysis results, AFM1 was detected in total of the cube cheeses. The lowest level of AFM1 was found to be 2.16 ng/kg, the highest was 53.94 ng/kg and the mean was 6.36±0.87 ng/kg. AFM1 level vas determined one cheese sample above to the limit set by European Union.

Genetic improvement in components of economic importance along with maintaining a sufficient amount of variability is always the desired objective in the any maize (Zea mays L.) breeding program which will be handled under the conditions of Haramaya, Eastern Ethiopia. Therefore, an experiment was conducted using (27) and (3) check/control varieties to determine the genetic variability of maize genotypes at Haramaya, eastern Ethiopia. The study results revealed that significantly the tallest plant heights for (PH) were recorded from (3) (170 cm) and (18) (167.5 cm) genotypes whereas the shortest PH were recorded from (13) (117.5 cm) and (23) genotypes (120 cm). Good plant aspects (PA) were obtained from genotype 12, 22 and 26 (PA-1.5) and poor PA were attained from genotype 1 (PA-2.5). Besides, genetic and phenotypic variances were estimated for seven components. The highest genotypic coefficients variation (GCV) and phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV) were calculated from grain yield (GY – 23.39%). Comparatively the higher GY were attained from the genotypes of 3, 9 and 12. It can be concluded that almost all components of the PCV are greater than the GCV. Superior selected genotypes are recommended to the researchers /breeders to develop disease resistant and high yielder varieties to increase maize production by farmers under Haramaya and other similar agroecologies.

The effects of temperature and pressure processing on myrosinase extracted from fresh broccoli and brown mustard seed was studied. Brown mustard seeds had higher myrosinase activity (2.75 un/mL) than fresh broccoli (0.58 un/mL). The extent of enzyme inactivation increased with pressure (200-800 MPa) and temperature (30-80°C) for both brown mustard seeds and fresh broccoli myrosinase. However, at combinations of lower pressures (200-400 MPa) and temperatures (30-80°C), there was less myrosinase inactivation. When processing at a pressure of 300 MPa with a temperature of 70°C for 10 minutes, there was 65% myrosinase activity for brown mustard while at 300 MPa and 60°C, activity retention in fresh broccoli was 30%. Whereas, the corresponding activity retentions when applying only heat (70°C for 10 minutes) was 35% for brown mustard myrosinase, while there was no measurable myrosinase activity for fresh broccoli (60°C, 10 minutes). Thus, application of moderate pressures (200-400 MPa) on brown mustard and fresh broccoli can potentially be used to retain myrosinase activity needed for subsequent glucosinolate hydrolysis.

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is a beneficial group of free-living soil bacteria that colonize the rhizosphere and are helpful in root growth and development. PGPR plays an important role in plant growth through the production of phytohormones, solubilization of inorganic phosphate, increased iron nutrition via iron-chelating siderophores and volatile compounds that affect the plant metabolism and signalling pathways. Additionally, PGPR shows synergistic and antagonistic interactions with rhizosphere microorganisms and soil which indirectly improve and enhance plant growth rate. Various environmental factors affect the PGPR growth and proliferation in the plants. There are several shortcomings and limitation in the PGPR research which can be addressed through the use of modern approaches and techniques by exploring multidisciplinary research which combines applications in microbiology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, agro-biotechnology, and chemical engineering. Furthermore, PGPR is also known to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), carbon footprint, and also increase the nutrient-use efficiency. Here we describe the importance of PGPR in sustainable agriculture and their role in plant growth and development.